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Some relationships don’t begin with romance.
They begin with survival.

In this deeply moving Dear Katie episode, Katie responds to a letter from a partner who was abandoned with a newborn, struggled through postpartum depression, and entered a new relationship that quickly became about holding life together—not building intimacy.

Years later, the weight of that beginning has caught up with them.

If you’ve ever thought:

• “They did everything for me… and I don’t know how to give it back.”
• “I shut down emotionally and I don’t know how to open up.”
• “We skipped learning how to be partners because we were just trying to survive.”

This episode is for you.

Katie gently unpacks why emotional availability isn’t something you can force or perform your way into—and how unprocessed grief, abandonment, chronic stress, and survival-mode coping quietly shut down intimacy over time. She explains the difference between dependency and connection, why shame keeps couples stuck, and what it actually takes to move out of emotional shutdown and into real vulnerability.

You’ll walk away with:

• A reframe that replaces self-blame with self-understanding
• Practical first steps to regulate your nervous system before “big talks”
• Language to begin honest, non-defensive conversations with your partner
• Guidance on where grief belongs—and why your partner can’t be the place you process it

This episode is raw, compassionate, and hopeful—especially if you’re realizing you want more emotional closeness but don’t know where to start.

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