Plenty with Kate Northrup

123. Healing Worthiness: Christine Gutierrez on Addiction, Power & Pleasure as Medicine

Have you ever felt like you have to earn your worth—whether by over-functioning or staying stuck in struggle? In this week's Plenty episode, I sit down with psychotherapist, mentor, and author Christine Gutierrez to explore healing worthiness through sobriety, power, and pleasure as medicine. We dive into why so many of us confuse toxic capitalism with true abundance, how to let old identities "die" so new ones can be born, and the practical, compassionate steps to reclaim your inherent worth—no proving required. What you'll learn: Worthiness first, money second : How rooting in inherent worth transforms your relationship with money and expands real abundance (without the hustle-and-prove loop) Sobriety—many paths, same heartbeat : Christine shares a non-dogmatic approach to changing your relationship with alcohol and choosing self-tenderness over self-punishment Masks that drain us : Recognizing people-pleasing, "good girl" conditioning, and hyper-independence—and how to gently retire these exhausting patterns The "life-death-life" cycle : Why true thriving includes endings, mess, and rebirth—and how to meet transitions with both grit and honey Pleasure as spiritual pathway : Rewriting inherited scripts that glorify suffering and renounce the body to reclaim joy as sacred Receiving with dignity : Especially for women of color, claiming fair compensation as part of collective healing—not a betrayal of your values This conversation will leave you with permission to stop performing your worth and start living from it. About Christine Christine is the author of I Am Worthy and I Am Diosa , a psychotherapist and facilitator whose work blends trauma healing, spirituality, and practical tools for women’s empowerment. “We cannot be in our soul led place on a bed of lies, we just can’t.” –Christine Gutierrez 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff 🎤 00:25 Guest Introduction: Christine Gutierrez 02:20 Exploring Worthiness in Money Work 05:08 Spirituality vs. Mundane Life 09:37 Paths to Sobriety and Healing 13:33 Masks of Over-Functioning Women 19:02 Deserving More: Beyond Mediocrity 26:45 Patterns of Worthiness and Struggle 33:39 Undoing Lies of Unworthiness 36:22 The Role of Compassion in Advocacy 40:00 Relationship with Money and Worthiness 44:11 Empowerment through Financial Growth 45:34 The Game of Worthiness Links and Resources: I am Diosa Terri Cole Clarissa Pinkola Estes Nisha Connect with Christine Gutierrez: Instagram Youtube I am Worthy ✨ Ready to create more on your wealth-building journey? Ready to create more ease on your wealth-building journey? I've created a special Money Breakthrough Guide just for you! I interviewed over 20 high-earning women and asked them to reveal their most powerful money breakthroughs—the kind of insights usually shared behind closed doors. Now I'm passing them on to you, completely free. Head to katenorthrup.com/breakthroughs to grab the guide PLUS a mini-lesson where I share my biggest money shifts and a nervous system healing tool to help you expand your abundance capacity. This is your chance to transform your relationship with money from the inside out— grab it now ! 💫

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