The Rising Beyond Podcast
If you're trying to protect your children while navigating an abusive ex, this podcast is for you. Because leaving the relationship didn't end the abuse, and no one prepared you for what came next.
The Rising Beyond Podcast is for protective mothers navigating the overwhelming reality of sharing children with someone who continues patterns of manipulation, coercive control, or emotional abuse after separation. Join Sybil Cummin, licensed professional counselor, who has spent the last decade helping survivors and their children navigate this incredibly difficult chapter. Every week, we share trauma-informed education, nervous system insights, protective parenting strategies, and honest conversations about family court, post-separation abuse, and healing, so you can feel more confident, more grounded, and better equipped to protect both your children and yourself.
Whether you're in the middle of family court, struggling with parenting alongside someone who continues patterns of control, or simply trying to become the parent you want to be after everything you've survived, you'll find validation, practical guidance, and hope here.
The Rising Beyond Podcast
Ep 185: Starting the New Year When You’re Still Facing Post-Separation Abuse
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What do you do when you’re staring down a new year and your life looks nothing like what you imagined? When you’re navigating post-separation abuse, family court chaos, or the long tail of coercive control, the idea of setting goals or creating a “new year plan” can feel impossible — or irrelevant.
In this episode, Sybil talks about how to begin again when you’re stuck in the thought “this is not the life I signed up for”. Instead of pretending everything is fine or forcing resolutions you don’t have the energy for, Sybil offers a grounded, compassionate way to approach the start of a new year.
You’ll hear about:
- Why it’s normal to feel stuck or resentful heading into a new year
- — especially when you’re still in a battle you didn’t choose.
- How to shift from overwhelm to clarity
- by identifying what you want now, not what you thought your life would be.
- Understanding what’s in your control — and what’s not
- so you can stop pouring energy into dead ends.
- How to identify small wins
- and why these matter so much more than big goals when you’re carrying a heavy load.
- Creating momentum through micro-actions
- that fit your season of life, your capacity, and the reality you're living in.
- A gentle way to start the year
- without bypassing the grief or frustration of where you are.
This episode is for anyone who is beginning a new year in survival mode, in a hard chapter, or while parenting in the midst of ongoing post-separation abuse. You don’t have to rebuild your entire life right now — but you can start with one clear step that’s within your control.
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