Why Making the ‘Right’ Decision Can Feel Impossible After Betrayal
Have you ever felt completely stuck trying to make a decision after betrayal — even when you’re doing everything “right”?
Stay or go.Try again or walk away.Trust your gut… or question it endlessly.
After betrayal, even wise, thoughtful decisions can feel impossible to make. Not because you’re broken — but because your nervous system is trying to keep you safe.
In this episode of FLAUNT!, Lora Cheadle unpacks why decision-making feels so overwhelming after betrayal, how perfectionism and self-blame sneak in when outcomes don’t match expectations, and why freeze is a trauma response — not a personal failure.
Using a powerful personal story, relatable examples, and trauma-informed insight, Lora reframes what it really means to “choose wisely” and introduces discernment as the missing language betrayed women were never given.
You didn’t lose your ability to decide.Your system is responding intelligently to uncertainty.
Top 3 Takeaways
Decision paralysis after betrayal is a nervous system response, not a flawWhen expectations collapse, the brain looks for certainty. Freeze is a survival strategy — not proof you can’t trust yourself.
New information doesn’t turn a wise decision into a mistakeA decision made with care and discernment deserves respect, even if the outcome changes later.
Self-trust isn’t about being right — it’s about staying with yourselfReal self-trust means knowing you won’t abandon yourself when things evolve, unravel, or feel uncertain.
Favorite Quotes
“You didn’t choose wrong. You exercised discernment — and the story kept unfolding.”
“Self-trust isn’t about being right. It’s about knowing you won’t abandon yourself when things change.”
“New information doesn’t retroactively make you wrong.”
“Blaming yourself isn’t truth. It’s an attempt to feel powerful again after uncertainty.”
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Don’t just listen—start healing.
Get your free downloadable guide on the “The Top Three Ways You Betray Yourself Every Day, and How to Stop” at www.burnoutorbetrayal.com. https://workplace-burnout.com/the-top-3-ways-you-betray-yourself-every-day-and-how-to-stop/
If you’re ready to Rise Up & Reign as the creator and queen of your life, let’s talk. I will walk by your side and give you the perspective, permission, and wisdom needed to turn your betrayal experience into something constructive, empowering, and transformative in all the right ways.
Learn more at www.loracheadle.com and follow me across all social!
Download your Sparkle After Betrayal Recovery Guide at www.BetrayalRecoveryGuide.com, a guide designed to help you take the first steps in feeling better, so you can reclaim your power, own your worth, and start putting yourself, and your life, back together again.
About Lora:
Lora Cheadle, JD, CHt is a betrayal recovery coach, attorney, TEDx speaker, and author of FLAUNT! and It’s Not Burnout, It’s Betrayal.
After uncovering her husband’s 15-year affair, she turned her own pain into purpose—helping high-achieving women reclaim their identity, power, and joy.
A trauma-aware coach, somatic therapist, and former attorney, Lora blends legal insight with emotional and spiritual healing for full-spectrum recovery.
She is the author of FLAUNT! Drop Your Cover and Reveal Your Smart, Sexy, & Spiritual Self (an International Book Awards Finalist and Tattered Cover Bestseller) and It’s Not Burnout, It’s Betrayal: 5 Tools to FUEL UP & Thrive. She also hosts the podcast FLAUNT! Create a Life You Love After Infidelity and Betrayal. Learn more at www.loracheadle.com and follow me across all social!
Get the support you need to find your footing, begin making sense of it all, and feel better fast. As an attorney, betrayal recovery expert, and survivor of infidelity I can help you find the clarity and confidence to create a life that you love on the other side of betrayal. Book Your Session Here: https://calendly.com/loras-schedule/coaching-session
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