Stop Making Marriage the Goal - (With Bridgett Blood)

Bridgett Blood is back — a year older, a year braver, and now specializing in the work underneath the work. She's traded a leap-of-faith move to Nashville for certifications in story work, narrative-focused trauma therapy, and Christian sexual health, all aimed at singles, daters, and engaged couples. This episode isn't really dating advice. It's about the thing beneath every relationship you'll ever have: you can't show up authentically in romance while you're disconnected from yourself. Bridgett, Glenn, and Phyllis dismantle the myth of "compatibility," name why doing love in psycholation is so costly, and get unusually honest about Glenn and Phyllis's own early marriage — the quiet, the roles nobody chose out loud, and what might have been different if they'd learned themselves sooner.In this episode:Story work, and why what happened to you at six is still steering your cyclone at fortyWhy "stop making marriage the goal" is a healthier starting line than it soundsThe compatibility myth — why two matching pieces of paper can't survive WednesdayPsycholation: doing romance, marriage, or sex alone, and why it's a Connection Codes red flagSelf-contempt vs. self-hatred — and why the distinction changes everythingGlenn and Phyllis's story: quiet compliance, unclaimed identity, and a decision that changed their marriageA 25-second case study: Glenn asking a restaurant to turn the music downBridgett's issue-specific Core Emotion Wheel on her own story of harm and healingAbout Bridgett Blood: Bridgett is a certified Connection Codes coach based in Nashville, also certified in Christian sexual health and narrative-focused trauma therapy. She works with Christian singles, daters, and engaged couples to help them build an honest, embodied relationship with their own story, identity, and sexuality.Resources mentioned:The Core Emotion Wheel (free download) → connectioncodes.co/get-the-cewFind a certified coach → connectioncodes.co/coaches#find-a-coach-menuFoundations Masterclass → connectioncodes.co/foundationsMake Sense of Your Story by Adam YoungThe Deep Rooted Marriage by Dan Allender & Steve CallBridgett online → BridgettBlood.com | Instagram → @BridgettBlood