You have tried to leave. Maybe more times than you can count. You have packed bags, made calls, sat in parking lots at midnight asking yourself how you got here. And then you went back. And every time you went back you felt a little more ashamed, a little more confused, and a little more convinced that something must be wrong with you.

Nothing is wrong with you.

In this episode Phoenix breaks down one of the most misunderstood and most important concepts in relationship psychology — trauma bonding. What it actually is, why it is neurologically more powerful than willpower, and why the people who love you cannot understand why you will not just leave.

You will learn why your brain forms the strongest bonds not during the good times — but in the relief after the bad ones. Why intermittent reinforcement makes volatile relationships ...