Mentally Healthy Dating and Relationship Advice
Confidently Authentic was created to provide dating and relationship advice for women which is both effective and empowering. The guiding philosophy here at Confidently Authentic is you are already innately lovable and worthy. And if you don’t feel that way, completely yet, there are therapeutic skills and concepts that can help you get there.
Confidently Authentic is the site I wish I had when I was struggling in my dating life for almost two decades! Here you will work to first and foremost care for your relationship with yourself. Our articles help you stop second-guessing yourself or giving your amazing energy away to people who can’t reciprocate. You are empowered to start truly hearing your intuition and not only finding – and maintaining – your right healthy relationship but to have your authentic dream life in general.
Every week, two articles are posted. One on a general topic, related to personal development, healing problematic relationship patterns, as well as self-awareness. On the surface, some of these articles may not seem like dating advice or relationship advice yet they are. After all, you can only love another person to the degree to which you love yourself.
If you have any of your own personal dating or relationship questions, Krystal is here to support you with over a decade over experience as a relationship therapy. She welcomes your questions and your information will always be kept private. You may DM us on Instagram your questions or send us an email at krystal@confidentlyauthentic.com
Relationship therapist & author
Krystal Mazzola Wood is a licensed marriage and family therapist. For over a decade, she has helped clients heal their relationships with others and themselves. She currently sees clients at her private practice, The Healthy Relationship Foundation. Her clinical experience and expertise led her to write her two best-selling books, The Codependency Recovery Plan: A 5 Step Guide to Understand, Accept and Break Free from the Codependent Cycle and The Codependency Workbook: Simple Practices for Developing and Maintaining Your Independence. Her third book, Therapy Within Reach: Setting Boundaries, will be released September 2023. Krystal lives in Phoenix, AZ with her husband and their two rescue pets, a cat and dog. When she’s not writing or seeing clients, Krystal is enjoying yoga, cycle classes, reading, enjoying the Arizona sunshine and updating her Goodreads account.
12
years as a relationship therapist2
Articles a week3
Books for improved relationships
My Personal Dating Journey
I struggled for almost two decades in my dating life. I was the queen of the situationship as well as on-again, off-again relationships. Dating was incredibly hard for me because I didn’t know what I wanted. Instead, I sought validation from emotionally unavailable men to “prove my worth.”
Yet, as an avid learner (& relationship expert!), I knew it was possible to break these patterns of low self-esteem, people-pleasing, insecurity, and codependency. I realized my worth needed to no longer be dependent on romantic or sexual attention. Knowing this, I began to heal my relationship with myself.
Over time, as I became confidently authentic, everything changed. My sense of self-worth came from inside of me. I stopped believing another person would make me whole or happy. I knew that even if a romantic partnership was never mine my life still mattered!
Yet, I still truly wanted to find “my person” to experience the adventure of life-long intimacy. Therefore, I dated in a completely new way – one rooted in self-worth and self-protection. I became honest with myself about what I genuinely wanted instead of what was “cool.” I stopped ignoring red flags. I stopped choosing to experience hurt just to have a good “story.” I started to really listen to myself and trust myself. I stopped feeling “guilty” and obligated to spend my time with someone and started setting genuine boundaries. I stopped self-sabotaging.
Dating in this new way where I focused on self-love first did lead to ultimate external success though as well. Eventually, I did find my husband who is the partner I always dreamt of. But this only happened because I healed my relationship with myself first.