We all have needs. But what happens when we stop listening to them, or never learned how to in the first place? In this episode of You Make Sense, Sarah gently guides us through the heart of relational healing: learning how to get our needs met.With tenderness and clarity, she unpacks how early attachment wounds shape our ability to express, feel, or even recognize our needs, leading many of us into cycles of codependency, hyper-independence, or invisible exhaustion. From the helpers who give too much to the ones who learned to stay small and silent, Sarah explores the nervous system patterns that keep us stuck in survival, disconnected from true intimacy.Through the lens of somatics and parts work, she introduces a compassionate roadmap toward interdependence: a relational experience where we can be fully ourselves and fully connected. It's not about being needy, it’s about being human.Episode Highlights00:00 Intro00:15 We All Have Needs03:25 Understanding Codependency08:42 Different Roles of Codependency12:41 Hyper-Independence20:31 Unseen and Unknown22:07 Interdependence26:10 Getting Your Needs Met39:33 Question #1 - How to Reshape the Nervous System48:08 Question #2 - Hypervigilant Younger Parts with Deep Wounding57:15 Question #3 - Loving Inquiry01:04:49 Question #4 - Young Part Bargain Get on the Waitlist for Navigating Your Nervous System:Living a full, expansive life starts with nervous system regulation! If you’re wanting practical tools and live support on your healing journey, you can now get on the waitlist for my upcoming 6-week live program.All waitlisters get access to limited-time reduced pricing. Click the link below to learn more. https://bit.ly/sp-nyns-waitlistConnect with Sarah on:Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
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1:08:49
What is Burnout? And How Do We Break the Cycle?
Burnout doesn’t happen overnight—it’s what happens when we chronically override our nervous system. In this episode of You Make Sense, Sarah draws upon both Polyvagal Theory and Parts Work to explain what burnout really is, and how our protective parts often push us to keep going, even when our body is begging us to pause.Packed with tangible somatic tools, this episode will guide you toward healing through small, tolerable steps and simple lifestyle changes. If you’re experiencing burnout, please know you are not broken. This is simply a sign your system is being pushed beyond its limits, and with the right care, it’s absolutely possible to heal.Episode Highlights00:00 Intro00:40 Hierarchy of Your Autonomic Nervous System08:55 3 Primary Reasons for Burnout15:47 What We Neglect in Burnout22:07 Chronic Fatigue & Shutdown24:27 The Healing Power of Walking26:33 Building a Supportive Nighttime Routine30:11 Why Lifestyle Change Is Essential38:34 Question #1: How to Find Your Community43:31 Question #2: When Work Becomes Your Whole Life48:47 Question #3: Does Your Reaction Match the Circumstance? Get on the Waitlist for Navigating Your Nervous System:Living a full, expansive life starts with nervous system regulation! If you’re looking for practical tools and support on your healing journey, you can now get on the waitlist for my upcoming 6-week LIVE program.Everyone on the waitlist will receive access to limited-time pricing:https://bit.ly/sp-nyns-waitlistConnect with Sarah on:Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
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54:24
Heartbreak, Grief and Moving On Using Parts Work
Breakups aren’t just hard—they can feel completely disorienting, terrifying, or even impossible. That’s because we’re often not only grieving the end of a relationship as our adult self, we’re also navigating the pain, fear, and longing of our younger parts. In this episode of You Make Sense, we’ll explore why it can feel so difficult to leave or let go, even when we know deep down that a relationship is no longer right for us. Together, we’ll walk through how heartbreak reactivates old wounds, why love can feel confusing or even threatening to our protective parts, and how to begin creating the safety necessary to take our next right step.Episode Highlights00:00 Intro00:40 Signs It May Be Time to End a Relationship07:32 How Dysregulation Can Keep You Stuck13:36 How Do I Know If This Relationship Is Right for Me?17:03 Anchoring Into Our Adult Selves26:26 Your Partner Can’t Be a Perfect Parent to Your Parts31:21 Why It's So Hard to Let Go of a Relationship That's Ended35:14 Processing Grief41:11 Question 1 - Healing in the Midst of Grief and Dysregulation46:59 Question 2 - Accessing Healthy Aggression After Betrayal50:57 Question 3 - Why It Can Feel So Hard to LeaveDownload Sarah’s FREE Workbook:Not sure where to get started with somatic healing? Sarah created a FREE trauma-informed workbook called "How To Gain Control Over How You Feel" to help you step toward a life filled with more freedom, ease, and empowerment.Click the link below to download the workbook:https://bit.ly/yms-sp-workbookConnect with Sarah on:Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
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54:14
From Confusion to Clarity: A Path Back to Your Internal Knowing and Truth
Do you ever feel like you’ve lost touch with what’s true for you? In this episode of You Make Sense, Sarah gently guides us back to our internal truth—the quiet, steady knowing that lives within the body. She explores why so many of us lose contact with our truth and instead outsource decisions to others. Through powerful stories and somatic insights, she offers a compassionate roadmap for reconnecting with the wisdom that has always been there, waiting to be heard.You’ll learn how to begin distinguishing between intuition and a trauma response, while also getting tangible tools to help guide you back toward your truth based in the present moment. Whether you're questioning a relationship, your career path, or simply wanting to feel more at home in your life and body, this conversation will help you transform confusion into clarity.Episode Highlights00:00 Intro00:47 Your Internal Truth and Knowing04:40 2 Reasons We Lose Contact with Our Truth15:31 Distinguishing Between Intuition and A Trauma Response22:45 What’s True in This Moment?25:38 Truth from Adult Self vs. A Younger Part31:09 How to Come Back into Your Embodied Experience36:41 Question #1 - 2 Things to Remember About Intuition51:26 Question #2 - Identifying Your Parts59:13 Question #3 - Is This Job Right For Me?Get on the Waitlist for Navigating Your Nervous System:Living a full, expansive life starts with nervous system regulation! If you’re wanting practical tools and live support on your healing journey, you can now get on the waitlist for my upcoming 6-week live program.All waitlisters get access to limited-time reduced pricing. Click the link below to learn more. https://bit.ly/sp-nyns-waitlistConnect with Sarah on:Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
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1:08:52
When You Stop Choosing Yourself: How Self-Abandonment Turns into Resentment
What if the key to thriving isn’t in pushing harder, but in understanding the ways your nervous system brilliantly learned to protect you? In this episode, we will explore how self-abandonment is an adaptive response many of us found, often in early childhood, to maintain safety, belonging, or connection. Sarah unpacks why this pattern, while protective, can also lead to resentment in our relationships, work, and sense of self. Through the lens of the nervous system and attachment, she shares how chronic giving without receiving can disrupt our internal balance and impact our emotional, physical, and relational well-being. Drawing parallels from nature's rhythm of give-and-receive, Sarah reminds us that honoring our needs isn’t selfish, it’s necessary. When we stop abandoning ourselves, we start making space for deeper connection, creativity, and vitality.Episode Highlights00:00 Intro00:15 What Is Self-Abandonment?03:34 Receiving Is a Natural Part of a Child’s Development06:10 Having Needs is Not a Weakness07:58 How Self-Abandonment Shows Up in Our Adult Life13:15 Long-Term Effects of Self-Abandonment15:37 The “As If” Tool17:24 Identify and Connect with Your Resentment21:02 Communicate Your Needs in a Tolerable Way23:20 How to Stop Abandoning Yourself24:48 Question #1 - Rescuing Others Isn't Your Job28:31 Question #2 - Self-Care and Nourishing Yourself32:01 Question #3 - Getting to Know Your Doer Part Take Sarah’s FREE Quiz:Want more science-backed tools? Take her free quiz, “What’s Keeping You Stuck?” to learn more about your nervous system specific to you. You’ll get a downloadable worksheet and personalized guide to help you feel better in your body and life.https://bit.ly/yms-sp-quizConnect with Sarah on:Email Community - https://bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahbcoaching/Website - https://www.sarahbaldwincoaching.com/Submit a Question: https://sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
You Make Sense is a manual to understanding your human experience, so that you can navigate the world with freedom, ease, and empowerment. Using the latest neuroscience and trauma research, this podcast will equip you with powerful somatic tools to help you get unstuck and create the life you desire. Sarah Baldwin, SEP, is an expert in trauma resolution, attachment, parts work, and nervous system regulation. But before she was a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and trained in Polyvagal interventions, she first came to this work as someone struggling to find relief. It was through her own healing that led her to become a trained professional, now helping thousands of people across her programs, courses, and classes to do the same.
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