Why Some Adult Children Are Cutting Ties from their Parents Ft. Dr. Becca Bland w/Anita Nowak - Purposeful Empathy

Family estrangement happens to half of American families, but it’s still shrouded in silence and stigma. In this special series devoted to widening our circle of empathy for people who often feel marginalized or misunderstood, watch this important episode featuring Dr. Becca Bland, founder of Stand Alone, a UK-based non-profit dedicated to supporting adults who are estranged from their families.After making the difficult decision to go no-contact with her own parents, she wrote a story about her experience (published in 2012 by The Guardian) that went viral. Today, she is a Family Estrangement Specialist committed to supporting others navigating the complexities of broken family relationships.Together, we discuss:Why family estrangement is on the riseThe emotional, practical, and systemic challenges of family estrangementStrategies for parents to build empathy and safety in relationshipsSupport resources for people experiencing estrangementIf you want to understand the growing family estrangement trend, or feel less alone if you’ve decided to cut ties, Becca’s story will help you.00:00 Preview01:16 Introduction 02:49 About Dr. Becca Bland04:48 Becca’s backstory08:41 Why do people judge broken familial relationships?14:16 Insights from Becca’s research on estranged families16:38 How policymakers can better support the estranged community21:02 Inside the Prison Pilot: estrangement support for incarcerated men25:16 What is the biggest parenting mistake that leads to estrangement?28:03 TikTok’s #NoContactFamily trend34:18 Why Becca stepped out of the limelight 38:05 The power of somatic practices in processing trauma40:24 Discussing Becca Bland’s book, Running42:48 Extending empathy to those experiencing estrangement (children and parents)47:39 Dr. Becca Bland’s Purposeful Empathy StoryCONNECT WITH ANITA✩ Email [email protected] ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.socialCONNECT WITH BECCA✩ Website https://www.beccabland.com ✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-becca-bland/ SHOW NOTES✩ Stand Alone https://www.standalone.org.uk ✩ Becca’s Opinion Piece https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/15/becca-bland-estranged-parents ✩ Running https://www.amazon.com/Running-Dr-Becca-Bland/dp/B0B14J7LPL Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio