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The Reality Between Us: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Aja Rutledge
The Reality Between Us explores what happens underneath relationships. Through the lens of trauma, nervous systems, self-awareness, and relational patterns, Aja Rutledge examines the forces quietly shaping how we connect, conflict, communicate, avoid, trust, and make meaning of our experiences. Most relationship advice focuses on behavior. This podcast explores what's driving the behavior. Rather than offering formulas or quick fixes, The Reality Between Us looks beneath the surface of our relationships, with partners, family, friends, coworkers, and most importantly, ourselves, to understand the hidden dynamics influencing how we show up and why we keep repeating the patterns we do. Because what happens between people rarely starts between people. Most relationship advice is looking in one place. We're going to look somewhere else.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 5 days ago26 min
When Harmful Relationships Feel Like Home | #18
Sometimes we find ourselves in relationships that we know aren't good for us, but we can't seem to leave. We might finally decide we've had enough, walk away, and somehow end up right back where we started. It's easy to question ourselves when this happens. "Why do I keep going back? Why can't I just leave?" But there can be a lot more happening beneath the surface than we realize.What if part of the reason it's so hard to leave is that the relationship feels familiar? Even when we recognize that we're being harmed, our attachment to someone, the ways we've learned to find safety, and the relationship dynamics we grew up with can all influence what we do next. And sometimes we're so focused on understanding why someone keeps hurting us that we lose sight of what being in that relationship is actually doing to us.In this episode, we explore:Why recognizing harm doesn't necessarily make it easier to leave a relationship.How childhood experiences shape what feels familiar, normal, and safe in adult relationships.The ways attraction, attachment, and emotional regulation can keep us connected to harmful relationships.Why understanding someone's harmful behavior can distract us from recognizing and responding to its impact on us.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“Why did they do that? As if it changes what is actually being done to you. It changes the impact of how they're affecting you. And it doesn't.”“Intensity will bond you quickly before you have the awareness and the time to actually see how somebody maneuvers in life situations.”“But it's not your fault. And despite it not being your fault, it is your responsibility.”If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I'm thinking about and exploring.To get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.comThank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
- 1 weeks ago21 min
Do You Believe Your Own Story?
We all have blind spots, and sometimes the person we believe ourselves to be isn't the person we're actually demonstrating ourselves to be. We may genuinely believe we're showing up in certain ways without recognizing that our behavior tells a different story.That difference matters in relationships. When our understanding of ourselves doesn't align with how we actually behave, it can affect how others experience us and whether they can trust and depend on us. Becoming more aware of those inconsistencies gives us an opportunity to develop greater coherence between who we believe we are and how we show up.In this episode, we explore:How we can engage in unhealthy or manipulative behaviors without recognizing what we're doing.The difference between who we believe ourselves to be and how we actually show up in relationships.Why inconsistencies between our words and actions can affect how others experience and trust us.The aspirational self and how we can identify with qualities we haven't yet developed through our behavior.What it takes to become more internally coherent and consistent across our relationships.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“Do you really know the idea you have of how you show up in a relationship and the reality of how you show up in a relationship?”“Many times we want to see ourselves in a certain way but we have not formed the skills and the practice to actually maneuver in that way yet.”“The behavior and the gap is revealing something and it is giving a person a story about us even if we have a different story about us.”“There is great satisfaction in knowing that who you are is who you are no matter where you are, no matter who you're with, no matter what situation comes up.”If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I'm thinking about and exploring. https://ajarutledge.substack.com/To get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.comThank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
- 2 weeks ago15 min
You Stopped Asking Questions | #16
Curiosity impacts the way we experience ourselves and the people we're in relationship with. But when we believe we already know someone, we can stop asking questions and start relating to the version of them we've created in our minds, rather than who they actually are today.The same can happen with ourselves. We accept our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors as simply who we are, without questioning where they came from or whether they still fit. Curiosity gives us an opportunity to question those assumptions and better understand ourselves and others.In this episode, we explore:Why curiosity matters in continuing to get to know people as they grow and change.The ways our assumptions about someone can prevent us from seeing who they actually are.What curiosity about our own thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors can reveal about ourselves.The gap between how we believe we show up in relationships and how others actually experience us.How asking questions during disagreements can create shared understanding, even when we don't agree.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“... if that's how you've always done it, how do you give yourself an opportunity to do it differently?”“Just because we believe we show up certain ways in relationships does not mean that's how we actually show up. And that does not mean that that is how somebody experiences us showing up.”“Do you like the idea of the person? Do you like what this person does for you? Do you like what they bring into your life? Do you like how they make you feel or do you like them?”“Safety doesn't come because we agree about everything. It comes because we're feeling understood. I don't have to agree with where you landed but I can understand how you got there.”If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I'm thinking about and exploring. https://ajarutledge.substack.com/To get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.com.
- 3 weeks ago23 min
Everywhere You Go, There You Are | #15
How well we know ourselves affects how we show up in every relationship we’re in. Our moods, patterns, needs, expectations, capacity, and the things we haven’t worked through all come into our relationships with us. When we don’t understand those things about ourselves, we may not recognize what we’re bringing into our relationships or how it’s affecting the people around us.In this episode, we explore:Why the relationship we have with ourselves matters in the relationships we have with other people.How little we may consider ourselves when making major relational decisions.What happens when we don’t recognize our own moods, reactions, and patterns.Why changing the person or environment doesn’t necessarily change a pattern we’re carrying with us.What it means to ask other people for things we may not know how to offer them or ourselves.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“How are we being in relationship with others when we’re ignoring the relationship with self?” “How can you sit with somebody else’s thoughts if you’re terrified to sit with your own thoughts?” “Getting to know ourselves, observing ourselves, being honest about what we do or what the patterns in our lives are or how we maneuver is critical for, one, us to have the life we say we want, and then, two, to be a person in relationship that is healthy with others.”“There’s so many people out here who say they want things from their parents, they want things from a partner, they want things from other people that they themselves have no ability to offer. The audacity. Why should you expect somebody to offer something to you that you can’t offer to them? Or even, how about, can you offer it to yourself?” tIf this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I’m thinking about and exploring. https://ajarutledge.substack.com/To get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.comThank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
- Sep 30, 202621 min
The Less Obvious Side of Self Trust | #14
Self-trust isn’t something we develop once and never have to think about again. It’s an ongoing practice, and sometimes the places where we aren’t trusting ourselves aren’t immediately obvious.We can see what is happening clearly, know how something is affecting us, and still override what we know by searching for more information, more understanding, or another explanation. We can also practice self-trust in the smallest everyday moments by responding to what we know we need instead of continually ignoring or questioning ourselves.The more we practice responding to what we know, the more self-trust becomes something we actually move from rather than something we simply believe we have.In this episode, we explore:Why self-trust is something we continue to practice, even after we’ve worked to develop it.How a lack of self-trust can show up in ways we may not immediately recognize.Why seeking more understanding can sometimes become a way of overriding what we already know.How responding to small signals from ourselves can help us practice self-trust.Why trusting ourselves includes being willing to act on what we know, even when other people see things differently.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“Why do you need more information? Does it change how you’re being treated right now? Does it change how you feel about how you’re being treated right now? Does it alter the impact that it’s having on you?”“I trust myself to understand my experience in the world, and I trust myself to know that my experience is just as relevant and deserving as the next person’s experience.”“Self-trust is not a mind thing. It’s a body and mind thing. You have to get to a place of being embodied because a lot of the time self-trust is going to show up in your body.”“There are opportunities presented to us daily to practice that self-trust muscle, and whether it’s the tiniest opportunity like I need to go to the bathroom so let me get up right now and go, or a big opportunity like this relationship is not for my highest good and I need to walk, it’s all still a practice.”If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I’m thinking about and exploring: The Better QuestionTo get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.comThank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
- Sep 23, 202625 min
Under the Influence of Shame | #13
Shame can be shaping our lives without us even realizing it’s there. Unlike feelings we can easily recognize, shame can sit underneath our reactions, our beliefs about ourselves, and the way we interpret what is happening around us.It can turn a mistake into evidence that something is wrong with us. It can change what we hear when someone brings a problem to us. And it can influence our relationships, the things we allow ourselves to receive, and even the things we say we want.In this episode, we explore:Why shame can be difficult to recognize even when it is having a significant impact on our lives.How shame can become connected to other emotions and experiences.How shame can influence self-sabotage and the things we believe we deserve.Why shame can change how we hear and respond to other people in our relationships.How self-compassion and questioning our own perceptions can begin to interrupt shame.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“Shame is like one of those emotions that you really don’t know it’s coming into play. You really don’t understand the impact that it’s having on you.”“Shame is what creates this perception of all-encompassing versus this one little issue that somebody addressed.”“When you can question what you perceive reality to be, to quote-unquote fact check your reality, you can see if what you’re perceiving is adding up to.”“Shame can direct your whole life.”Resources / Further ReadingHealing the Shame That Binds You by John BradshawEmbracing Shame: How to Stop Resisting Shame and Turn It into a Powerful Ally by Bret Lyon & Sheila RubinCenter for Healing Shame founded by Bret Lyon & Sheila RubinIf this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I’m thinking about and exploring: The Better QuestionTo get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.comThank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
- Sep 16, 202625 min
What You Don't Feel, Someone Else Will | #12
We can avoid our feelings, refuse to talk about them, or convince ourselves they aren't affecting us. But that doesn't mean they've disappeared. Our feelings are still showing up in how we behave, how we respond to other people, and what happens between us in our relationships.Feelings also give us information. And when we don't take the time to understand what they're telling us, we can end up responding to the person in front of us for something that isn't entirely about them.In this episode, we explore:Why avoiding or denying our feelings doesn't stop them from affecting our relationships.How feelings can give us information about what's happening within us.Why being unable to sit with our own feelings can make it difficult to hold space for someone else's.How trying to fix, minimize, or move someone through a feeling can sometimes be about our own discomfort with what they're feeling.Why the person who triggers a feeling isn't always the person the feeling is actually about.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“A person who cannot hold their own feelings cannot hold your feelings. And that is not a dig. That is not shaming anybody. That is the truth.”“Instead of him sitting with his own discomfort around that, he kept trying to fix my quote unquote problem. But I didn't have a problem. I had a feeling and I was willing to feel the feeling.”“Feelings are always giving us data. And when we refuse to look at the data, we can use what is coming at us and put it onto people around us when it really doesn't have anything to do with them.”“Just because somebody did something that initiates a feeling within us, doesn't mean they're the problem all the time. So we have to be able to process the data so that we can be more accurate with ourselves and we can engage relationally with those around us in a more accurate, caring and kind way.”If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.Join me over on Substack at The Better Question for more of what I’m thinking about and exploring. https://ajarutledge.substack.com/To get in touch about the show: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.comThank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
- Sep 9, 202624 min
What We’re Missing About Attachment | #11
Attachment styles have become part of how we talk about relationships. We hear about anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, secure attachment, and often use those labels to explain why someone behaves the way they do.But attachment is more complicated than a label or what happened between us and one primary caregiver. Our nervous systems learn how to find safety within much larger environments, and those adaptations can continue operating beneath our awareness, shaping not only how we move through relationships but what happens between us and the people we're in them with.In this episode, we explore:What attachment styles are and how they operate at a nervous-system level.How our environments, experiences, social conditioning, and other influences can shape the way we learn to attach.How different attachment styles develop around what our nervous systems have learned about safety and connection.Why behaviors that look similar on the surface can come from very different places underneath.How different attachment patterns can interact with one another and create relational cycles that are difficult to recognize when we don't know what's happening.Episode Thoughts to Sit With“It's also about how the child receives it and what your nervous system learns is the easiest, fastest way to get to what feels safe for you. That doesn't mean that's what is safe. That is not the same thing as what, in a securely attached person, would deem as safe. It's saying what is safe for you.”“There’s this really false binary narrative out there that says if your primary caregiver was horrible and critical and this and that, then you have this attachment style. And it’s not that simple. It’s not that black and white.”“Many times what is happening is it's a cycle that something in their attachment style triggers something in your attachment style, which makes you escalate, which then makes them escalate to pulling back, and now it's this whole big thing where we just keep escalating. So it's playing off of each other.”Resources / Further ReadingI don't usually include resources with episodes, but these are a few of the books that have informed some of the connections I'm making here. They explore different pieces of how our early experiences, environments, nervous systems, culture, shame, and other influences can shape us. They aren't necessarily talking about attachment in the same way I'm connecting these ideas here, but they offer more context for some of what I'm drawing from in this conversation.Decolonizing Therapy by Jennifer Mullan, PsyDThe Orchid and the Dandelion by W. Thomas Boyce, MDHealing the Shame That Binds You by John BradshawIf this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it.To connect, ask a question, or share your thoughts, email: ajarutledgecoaching@gmail.com.Thank you for listening to The Reality Between Us.
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About The Reality Between Us
The Reality Between Us explores what happens underneath relationships. Through the lens of trauma, nervous systems, self-awareness, and relational patterns, Aja Rutledge examines the forces quietly shaping how we connect, conflict, communicate, avoid, trust, and make meaning of our experiences. Most relationship advice focuses on behavior. This podcast explores what's driving the behavior. Rather than offering formulas or quick fixes, The Reality Between Us looks beneath the surface of our relationships, with partners, family, friends, coworkers, and most importantly, ourselves, to understand the hidden dynamics influencing how we show up and why we keep repeating the patterns we do. Because what happens between people rarely starts between people. Most relationship advice is looking in one place. We're going to look somewhere else.
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