Crossed Wires: The Role of Emotional Incest in Estrangement

Premier Content - Subscriber-only EpisodeHi Listeners. I'd love to hear from you. Send an email to Janet@jesteinkamp. It is not possible to respond to your Fan Mail posts directly.This one’s tough—there’s no getting around it. And! It is a new and growing element of conversations related to estrangement.There was a time when incest was all-inclusive - physical, mental, emotional, etc. The times have changed. Around 2002, the mental health world began to recognize emotional incest as its own and different trauma. The core difference between physical and emotional incest is that physical abuse is often not involved in emotional incest.Emotional incest is a term that can feel offensive, confusing, or just plain shocking, especially if it's thrown at you as an accusation. Learning about the concept of emotional incest also gives you a chance to look at your upbringing and how your parents raised you.More and more adult children use it to describe parts of their childhood that felt overwhelming or emotionally out of balance.You’ll hear about:What emotional incest shows up in everyday family lifeHow emotional boundaries can get blurred, even with good intentionsWhy some adult children are using this term to express painHow to reflect without getting stuck in shame or blameRemember, my podcast content isn’t about agreeing with everything you hear—it’s about understanding where some of the hurt may have come. For both you and for your hurting adult child. If you’ve been accused of emotional incest, or just want to know what it means, take a listen.This episode gives you a chance to take a peek at emotional incest with honesty and courage. Knowledge is power and can open our eyes to blind spots. Knowledge can lead to compassion for everyone involved.#EstrangedParents #EmotionalIncest #EmotionalHealing #GriefSupport #MentalHealthHi Listeners. I'd love to hear from you!DISCLAIMERThe content of this podcast is based on my professional work as an estrangement coach and my personal estrangement journey. Any examples, characters, or stories referenced are drawn from my own lived experience or represent a composite of multiple real-life situations shared with me over time. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS: Dr. Janet SteinkampWhen Our Adult Children Walk Away with Dr. Janet Steinkamp explores healthy communication, ethical interaction, safe family relationships, and reciprocal (appropriate) boundaries. The podcast provides education and support for parents navigating family estrangement, communication breakdowns, grief, reconciliation efforts, healthy boundary development and adult family relationship dynamics.Dr. Janet Steinkamp's work emphasizes emotionally healthy communication, adult accountability, ethical and safe relationship practices, mutual respect and appropriate boundaries, voluntary communication and reconnection and safe and appropriate family systems. Listeners gain practical tools to improve communication, understand the dynamics of estrangement, and pursue emotional responsibility, compassion, and integrity.