“The lack of money is the root of all evil.” – Mark Twain

Self-Limiting Beliefs Are Not Permanent—They Can Be Changed

One of the most hopeful truths in healing is that beliefs are not set in stone. They do not define your identity. They are interpretations—often shaped during moments of fear, betrayal, or survival—that can be rewritten with conscious effort.

i) Beliefs Are Flexible

Your beliefs are not who you are—they are what you’ve come to think. If you can think in a certain way, you can rethink it. Understanding that beliefs are mental constructs gives you the power to step back, question their origins, and decide whether they still serve you.

ii) Awareness Is the First Step

Transformation starts with awareness. When you recognize the inner voice that says you’ll never be good with money or that you’re not worth investing in, you can begin to examine it instead of obeying it. Ask yourself: Whose voice is this really?

iii) Interrupt the Inner Critic

Negative self-talk is the language of self-limiting beliefs. By challenging these internal scripts and replacing them with compassionate truths, you disrupt the cycle of self-sabotage. Start with simple reframes: I’m learning to manage my money, rather than saying I’m terrible with money.

iv) Introduce Empowering Beliefs

Don’t just reject the old stories—write new ones. Replace disempowering narratives with beliefs that reflect your true potential: I am capable of creating financial freedom. Use affirmations, visualization, and repetition to strengthen these truths until they feel real.

v) Adopt a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset says: I can learn, I can change, I can grow. When applied to your finances, career, and self-image, it opens the door to new possibilities and helps you bounce back from setbacks with resilience and curiosity, rather than shame.

vi) Draw Strength from Your Wins

Even in the midst of hardship, you've had moments of courage and strength. Recall them. Celebrate them. Use them as evidence that you are resourceful and capable. Every small win is proof that your old beliefs were never the whole truth.

vii) Ask for Support

Shifting deeply rooted beliefs is courageous, but it doesn’t have to be done alone. Coaches, therapists, and supportive communities can mirror back your strength when you can’t see it. Their guidance can accelerate your healing and help you stay committed to making lasting changes.

How This All Connects to Money and Self-Worth

The way you think about yourself reflects how you think about money.

When your self-worth is damaged by abuse, your relationship with money often becomes fearful, avoidant, or self-sabotaging. You may undercharge, overspend, depend on others, or believe you’re simply “not good with money.” But these patterns are not the problem—they are symptoms of deeper beliefs about worthiness and power.

As you reclaim your self-worth and challenge limiting beliefs, you start to see money not as a source of fear or conflict, but as a tool for freedom, safety, and self-expression. Financial empowerment isn’t separate from personal healing—it results from it.

Every time you choose to believe in your value, you make a different financial decision.
Every time you show yourself compassion, you rewrite your relationship with money.
Every time you forgive your past, you take a step toward a future of independence and choice.

This is how healing becomes wealth.

What’s Next: Building Financial Confidence After Abuse

If you’re ready to take this even further and truly master your financial mindset, my Money Mastery for Women program is designed to help you break free from financial limitations and create a path to wealth that aligns with your values. I will guide you through the transformation process step by step.

Find out more HERE

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Self-compassion isn’t weakness. It’s the fierce, quiet rebellion of saying: I am worthy—even if no one ever told me that before.

Beliefs are not truths—they are lenses. When you change the lens, you change the view.

Understanding the Hidden Impact of Past Abuse on Self-Limiting Beliefs — Part 3 of 3

This is a three-part post.
If you missed the previous ones, read them first:

Part 1: How Abuse Creates Self-Limiting Beliefs
Part 2: How Abuse Damages Your Self-Worth and Sense of Identity

Reclaiming Your Power After Abuse

When you've experienced emotional or psychological abuse, you don’t just walk away with bruises on the outside—you carry wounds to your self-worth that quietly dictate your choices, confidence, and relationship with money. These wounds often solidify into self-limiting beliefs: I'm not capable. I’ll never be good with money. I can’t trust myself. But these beliefs are not facts—they’re learned responses to trauma.

Thankfully, what was learned can be unlearned. In this final part of the series, we explore how self-limiting beliefs are formed, how to dismantle them, and how to begin building a new foundation of empowerment rooted in self-awareness, compassion, and financial confidence.

Healing Begins with Self-Awareness, Self-Compassion, and Self-Forgiveness

Self-limiting beliefs thrive in the presence of shame and secrecy. To dismantle them, you must first face them with honesty and meet yourself with radical compassion. Healing is not about “fixing” what’s broken; it’s about remembering your wholeness.

i) Self-Awareness Creates Clarity

Self-awareness allows you to see your thoughts and patterns without judgment. It provides the clarity to identify where beliefs like "I’m not good enough" originated—and the insight to choose differently moving forward.

ii) Reveal the Patterns

By shining a light on old patterns—such as people-pleasing, under-earning, or financial avoidance—you take away their power. What was once unconscious becomes something you can interrupt and transform.

iii) Vulnerability Opens the Door

Healing requires vulnerability. It’s not always easy to sit with the pain or revisit the past, but this brave act of honesty allows you to tend to wounds that have been dismissed or denied once and for all.

I’m Carmen Tosca, a certified financial coach, artist, traveler, and animal advocate. I founded this platform exclusively to help women attain financial freedom.

I write and teach about the vital connection between money, mindset, and self-love—it's about healing and empowerment, offering a holistic approach to money management that enables you to design your ideal life.

If you're a woman who wants to manage your money confidently, ready to break free from past limitations, or navigate the struggles of divorce and reclaim your financial power, I'm here to guide you through a transformation that goes far beyond numbers—it's about rediscovering your worth and living with autonomy.

Let’s transform your life—one courageous step at a time, one woman at a time!

If you prefer to watch the video of this blog post, scroll down to the end of this article. :-)

iv) Self-Compassion Softens the Inner Critic

Many women who’ve been abused continue the pattern by becoming their own harshest critic. Self-compassion interrupts this cycle. Speak to yourself the way you would to a dear friend: with patience, encouragement, and kindness.

v) Forgive Yourself for What You Didn’t Know

Self-forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning mistakes—it means letting go of the shame that keeps you stuck. You did your best with the tools and awareness available to you at the time. Now, you have new tools. Forgive yourself and move forward.

vi) Let Go of Emotional Baggage

As you offer compassion and forgiveness to yourself, you release the emotional weight you’ve carried—guilt, shame, fear—and create space for joy, peace, and self-trust.

vii) Build a New Foundation

Self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-forgiveness are not merely soft skills—they are essential survival skills. They form a strong foundation for healing that can support the empowered life you’re ready to create.

Imagine a life where you feel empowered, self-sufficient, and in control of your destiny—where financial worries no longer hold you back from living your best life.

My "Money Mastery for Women: The Complete Program to Achieve Financial Freedom" can help you rewrite your story and reclaim your worth.

This ultimate program blends emotional and practical financial mastery to help you achieve total financial independence and lasting prosperity.

Enrolling in ProsperWoman’s Signature Program, “Money Mastery for Women,” will also give you a free copy of Carmen’s eBook, "Breaking Free: Empowering Women to Escape Abuse and Achieve Financial Independence," as a bonus.

Visit ProsperWoman to start your journey to financial freedom today.

It's time to #OwnYourWorth and shape your financial destiny.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Carmen Tosca created ProsperWoman as a platform dedicated to helping empower women to heal from abuse and attain economic independence and, ultimately, freedom.

Her work focuses on guiding women through a transformative journey toward financial freedom while fostering personal growth.

She combines her expertise as a Certified Financial Coach with her business and personal experiences, writing articles that address deep-rooted mindset challenges, money behaviors, and self-worth issues that can obstruct women’s paths to financial freedom. She aims to help women who feel stuck, either in toxic relationships where financial abuse occurs or who struggle with a sense of self, to break free and empower themselves both emotionally and economically.

Despite having come from childhood trauma that left Carmen with CPTSD and all the effects that accompany it, she has been resilient in overcoming abusive relationships and establishing financial independence for herself. Her experience motivates her to help other women through similar challenges, enabling them to break free, heal, and thrive.

In her meticulously curated flagship program, “Money Mastery for Women: The Complete Program to Achieve Financial Freedom,” Carmen guides women in reshaping their money mindset and developing practical money management strategies. This holistic approach goes beyond traditional financial coaching; it empowers women to achieve true financial freedom, elevate their self-worth, and create a purpose-driven life that aligns their financial goals with their deepest desires.

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