Podcast
The Estranged Heart
Hosted by The Estranged Heart · EN
Support and community for navigating the emotional storms of parent and adult child estrangement and repairing and transforming relationships with one another in healthy and productive ways.
43episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
EP237: When Certainty Stops Working
Feb 1500:07:47Tap to summarizeIn this Sacred Sunday conversation of The Estranged Heart podcast, Kreed explores the subtle yet profound experience of disorientation that arises when previously held beliefs and certainties begin to feel inadequate. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing this transition as a natural part of growth, rather than a collapse. Kreed encourages listeners to witness their feelings of unease and to understand that it is okay to feel disoriented during times of change. She advocates for a gentle approach to self-awareness, allowing oneself to sit with discomfort and recognize the evolution of personal beliefs.TakeawaysCertainty is a powerful shelter for many of us.Witnessing your beliefs is a tender process, not an aggressive dismantling.Feeling disoriented is a natural part of transition.Allow yourself to feel the wobble without labeling it as failure.Resources & SupportFacebook Support Group (facilitated by Kreed) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupOne-on-One ServicesPrivate coachingConsultingMediation servicesConnect with Kreed:Website: theestrangedheart.comEmail: hello@theestrangedheart.comSupport the work: Buy Me a Coffee (donation platform)Disclaimer: Kreed Revere is not a licensed therapist. Nothing in this podcast should be considered or taken as therapy. If you need therapeutic support, please seek out a therapist near you.
Transcribe →EP236: I Did Nothing Wrong
Feb 1100:16:06Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Estranged Heart, Kreed explores one of the most common and most misunderstood narratives in parent–adult child estrangement: blaming an in-law. When a parent says, “My child was always close to me until they married,” it often reflects not denial or malice, but a nervous system trying to survive unbearable loss. Kreed gently unpacks why certainty feels safer than curiosity in estrangement, how innocence claims can function as self-protection, and why scapegoating a spouse quietly removes the adult child’s agency making repair impossible. This episode invites estranged parents to move beyond blame without collapsing into shame, and to explore how grief, identity loss, and unexamined closeness shape the stories we tell when relationships fracture.TAKEAWAYSBlaming an in-law often protects parents from overwhelming grief - but it also freezes the story and blocks healing.“I did nothing wrong” is frequently a trauma response, not a refusal to reflect.Repair becomes possible only when adult children are allowed agency in the story, even when their choices are painful.Resources & SupportFacebook Support Group (facilitated by Kreed) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupOne-on-One ServicesPrivate coachingConsultingMediation servicesConnect with Kreed:Website: theestrangedheart.comEmail: hello@theestrangedheart.comSupport the work: Buy Me a Coffee (donation platform)Disclaimer: Kreed Revere is not a licensed therapist. Nothing in this podcast should be considered or taken as therapy. If you need therapeutic support, please seek out a therapist near you.
Transcribe →EP234: Part II - Estrangement Is Trauma for Parents
Feb 400:25:53Tap to summarizeIn this episode of the Estranged Heart podcast, Kreed delves into the complex emotional landscape of estrangement, particularly focusing on the trauma experienced by parents, especially mothers. The conversation explores how estrangement can trigger old wounds and feelings of confusion, panic, and helplessness. Kreed emphasizes the importance of understanding these feelings without assigning blame, and the need for support and permission to process these emotions. The episode also addresses the perspective of adult children and the challenges of reconciliation, highlighting that healing is not always linear and may require different approaches at different times.Takeaways- Mothers with significant trauma histories can experience an unraveling due to estrangement.- Healing is not always a linear process.- Estrangement can activate old survival (ie: protective) systems in the body.- Reconciliation can sometimes exacerbate feelings of distress.- Permission to pause and seek support is crucial.Resources & SupportFacebook Support Group (facilitated by Kreed) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupOne-on-One ServicesPrivate coachingConsultingMediation servicesConnect with Kreed:Website: theestrangedheart.comEmail: hello@theestrangedheart.comSupport the work: Buy Me a Coffee (donation platform)Disclaimer: Kreed Revere is not a licensed therapist. Nothing in this podcast should be considered or taken as therapy. If you need therapeutic support, please seek out a therapist near you.
Transcribe →EP233: Estrangement Is Trauma For Parents
Jan 2100:32:21Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Estranged Heart, Kreed addresses what the estrangement conversation has been avoiding: the traumatic impact of estrangement on parents at a nervous system level. This isn't about excusing harm or pressuring reconciliation. It's about understanding why telling parents to "just get it" has failed. There's extensive talk about adult children's experiences, boundaries, and emotionally immature parents, but almost no trauma-informed conversation about what estrangement does to parents. When something this big goes unnamed, it shows up sideways in resistance, defensiveness, rigidity, and shutdown.For parents, estrangement isn't just painful - it's traumatic. From their perspective, it arrives suddenly, often without warning, and destabilizes core identity:Who am I if I'm not a parent in relationship with my child?What did my life mean if this is how it turned out?What does the future look like now?Parents are expected to metabolize this identity collapse quietly and quickly while simultaneously becoming more reflective, accountable, and curious. This expectation is neurologically incoherent."Parents don't change because they are told to 'be accountable.' Parents change when their nervous systems can tolerate reality without collapsing."Resources & SupportThe Heart Collective Membership CommunityTwice-monthly live support groups for estranged and reconciled momsCommunity support and resourcesFacebook Support Group (facilitated by Kreed) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupOne-on-One ServicesPrivate coachingConsultingMediation servicesConnect with Kreed:Website: theestrangedheart.comEmail: hello@theestrangedheart.comSupport the work: Buy Me a Coffee (donation platform)Disclaimer: Kreed Revere is not a licensed therapist. Nothing in this podcast should be considered or taken as therapy. If you need therapeutic support, please seek out a therapist near you.
Transcribe →EP232: When Obedience Felt Like Love
Jan 1800:06:12Tap to summarizeIn this Heart Scripture episode of The Estranged Heart podcast, Kreed examines the profound connection between obedience and love, exploring how compliance often served as a survival strategy in childhood and the complex grief that emerges when we begin to question whether love should have required obedience at all.Obedience as Relational StrategyHow following rules became a map for preserving closeness and approvalThe Tender Origins of ComplianceEnvironments where unpredictability lived and belonging felt fragileWhat Trembles When Obedience Is QuestionedWhy releasing obedience as an organizing principle feels like risking everythingThe Grief of Losing CertaintyMourning the illusion that following rules guaranteed careThis episode offers compassionate space to acknowledge that obedience once worked. It protected something tender and kept us safe. It invites us to mourn what we're releasing without condemning what once served us, and to sit with the unsettling questions about what love requires when compliance is no longer the answer.Resources & SupportThe Heart Collective Membership CommunityTwice-monthly live support groups for estranged and reconciled momsCommunity support and resourcesFacebook Support Group (facilitated by Kreed) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupOne-on-One ServicesPrivate coachingConsultingMediation servicesConnect with Kreed:Website: theestrangedheart.comEmail: hello@theestrangedheart.comSupport the work: Buy Me a Coffee (donation platform)Disclaimer: Kreed Revere is not a licensed therapist. Nothing in this podcast should be considered or taken as therapy. If you need therapeutic support, please seek out a therapist near you.
Transcribe →EP231: When Pain Needs Care Not A Villian
Jan 1400:29:30Tap to summarizeIn this powerful episode, of The Estranged Heart podcast, marking the 10-year anniversary of her own estrangement, Kreed explores why parents' feelings deserve care, but cannot be resolved by rewriting their adult children as villains. Drawing from her unique perspective as both a former estranged parent and adult child who achieved reconciliation, she examines the protective function of villain narratives and their ultimate cost.The Hidden Function of Villain StoriesVillain narratives aren't born from cruelty—they're born from overwhelm, pain, and protectionThe True Cost of Moral CertaintyVillain stories may soothe the nervous system temporarily, but they freeze movement and make real repair nearly impossibleWhat Estrangement Really ExposesParents were told (implicitly or explicitly) that if they loved, sacrificed, and provided enough, their child would stayThe Casualties of CertaintyGrief never completes its cycle because it requires contact with loss, not moral victoryShame goes underground and hardens into defensiveness"What feeling am I protecting by needing my child to be the villain?" This isn't an interrogation—it's an invitation. You don't have to answer today.What Your Feelings Deserve:Your grief deserves careYour anger deserves spaceYour shame deserves tendernessYour heartbreak deserves witnessesWhat They Cannot Do:Your child cannot be the container for those feelingsNeither can a story that requires erasing their inner life to soothe your own painKreed's Personal Testimony"I firmly believe that if I had stayed in that frame of mind [of villainizing my daughters], we would not be reconciled today. And we have been reconciled eight and nine years this year."Resources & SupportThe Heart Collective Membership CommunityTwice-monthly live support groups for estranged and reconciled momsCommunity support and resourcesFacebook Support Group (facilitated by Kreed) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupOne-on-One ServicesPrivate coachingConsultingMediation servicesConnect with Kreed:Website: theestrangedheart.comEmail: hello@theestrangedheart.comSupport the work: Buy Me a Coffee (donation platform)Disclaimer: Kreed Revere is not a licensed therapist. Nothing in this podcast should be considered or taken as therapy. If you need therapeutic support, please seek out a therapist near you.
Transcribe →EP230: When Certainty Once Kept Us Safe and No Longer Does
Jan 1100:08:56Tap to summarizeIn this inaugural episode of Heart Scriptures, Kreed offers profound compassion for those navigating the collapse of certainty - exploring the grief that emerges when the structures that once provided safety, meaning, and belonging begin to constrict rather than shelter us. This episode offers sacred permission to grieve the collapse of certainty without pathologizing the process. It reminds us that we are not behind, not broken - we are simply standing at a threshold where what once held can no longer do so. The invitation is to rest in the not-knowing, to honor what mattered enough to wound us, and to resist the urgency to replace old certainties with new ones before we're ready.Take AwaysCertainty as Shelter - The way certainty organized the world and clarified belongingThe Quiet Failure of Certainty - When what steadied the nervous system begins to constrict itThe Grief of Letting Go - Discovering obedience doesn't always equal goodnessThe In-Between - Feeling unmoored in the space between certaintiesShame in the Threshold - Shame for doubting what once felt sacredThe Cost of Defending Certainty - The weight of unspoken truthwww.TheEstrangedHeart.comEmail: hello@TheEstrangedHeart.comWork with Kreed: https://theestrangedheart.com/services(private coaching, mediation, support groups, webinars, etc.)The Heart Collective: https://theestrangedheart.com/membershipFacebook Support Group for Estranged Moms (facilitated by Kreed)https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupTo support the podcast and Kreed’s work with estranged and reconciled parents and adult children: https://buymeacoffee.com/kreedrevere
Transcribe →EP229: Curiosity Is Respect & More
Jan 800:39:01Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Estranged Heart, Kreed explores the profound impact of curiosity in relationships, particularly in the context of estrangement and reconciliation. She emphasizes that curiosity is not merely a communication skill but a fundamental respect for another's experience. Through personal anecdotes, she illustrates how the absence of curiosity can lead to feelings of erasure and dismissal, ultimately affecting relational dynamics. Kreed advocates for a shift towards curiosity as a means of granting dignity and fostering deeper connections.Takeaways- The absence of curiosity can lead to feelings of erasure.- Self-protection often prioritizes coherence over connection.- Curiosity requires emotional slack and openness.- Curiosity is not just a skill; it's a willingness to be changed.- Curiosity fosters dignity in real-time interactions.www.TheEstrangedHeart.comEmail: hello@TheEstrangedHeart.comWork with Kreed: https://theestrangedheart.com/services(private coaching, mediation, support groups, webinars, etc.)The Heart Collective: https://theestrangedheart.com/membershipFacebook Support Group for Estranged Moms (facilitated by Kreed)https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupTo support the podcast and Kreed’s work with estranged and reconciled parents and adult children: https://buymeacoffee.com/kreedrevere
Transcribe →EP228: Myth of the Perfect Parent
Dec 3100:16:25Tap to summarizeIn this episode of the Estranged Heart podcast, Kreed discusses the damaging myth that adult children expect perfection from their parents. She emphasizes that what they truly seek is behavioral change and accountability. The conversation explores the emotional complexities surrounding estrangement, the importance of repair in relationships, and how discomfort is often misinterpreted as abuse. Kreed invites parents to reflect on their own fears and the need for self-awareness in order to foster healthier connections with their adult children.TAKE AWAYSThe belief that children expect perfection is structurally false.Behavioral change is what adult children are truly asking for.Estrangement often results from patterns of emotional injury, not single conflicts.www.TheEstrangedHeart.comEmail: hello@TheEstrangedHeart.comWork with Kreed: https://theestrangedheart.com/services(private coaching, mediation, support groups, webinars, etc.)The Heart Collective: https://theestrangedheart.com/membershipFacebook Support Group for Estranged Moms (facilitated by Kreed)https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupTo support the podcast and Kreed’s work with estranged and reconciled parents and adult children: https://buymeacoffee.com/kreedrevere
Transcribe →EP227: Best Gift To Give Self & Others
Dec 2400:21:25Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Estrange Heart Podcast, Kreed discusses the often misunderstood concept of 'owning your shit.' She emphasizes that this is not merely a moral virtue but rather a matter of emotional and relational capacity. Kreed explores the dynamics of accountability, identity threat, and shame, particularly in parent-child relationships. She highlights the importance of understanding one's capacity to engage in accountability and the potential harm of pushing for apologies without readiness. The conversation also delves into the significance of setting boundaries with compassion and the true essence of ownership in healing relationships.TakeawaysOwning your shit is about capacity, not morality.Identity threat can lead to existential crises for parents.Shame activation can shut down communication and reflection.Pushing for accountability without capacity can cause more harm.Maturity in relationships means understanding one's limits.The goal is to avoid adding harm in the name of truth.www.TheEstrangedHeart.comEmail: hello@TheEstrangedHeart.comWork with Kreed: https://theestrangedheart.com/services(private coaching, mediation, support groups, webinars, etc.)The Heart Collective: https://theestrangedheart.com/membershipFacebook Support Group for Estranged Moms (facilitated by Kreed)https://www.facebook.com/groups/estrangedmotherssupportgroupTo support the podcast and Kreed’s work with estranged and reconciled parents and adult children: https://buymeacoffee.com/kreedrevere
Transcribe →