S3 E125 Death Is No Reason to Stop Living: Eva Levina on Surviving Covert Emotional Abuse and Finding Self-Respect
Growing Tall Poppies Podcast: Season 03, Episode 125
Content note: this episode includes discussion of emotional abuse, gaslighting and a medical emergency. If you or someone you know needs support, see the resources at the end of these show notes.
What if the abuse in your relationship never left a single bruise?
Eva Levina spent 25 years in a marriage she believed was loving. There were no visible scars and nothing that fit the conventional picture of abuse. Instead, the control was hidden — criticism disguised as concern, control disguised as love, and gaslighting that slowly convinced her she was the problem.
In this powerful conversation, Eva takes us back to the beginning: a successful businesswoman in Ukraine who met a man who made her feel truly seen for the first time. She shares the early red flags she didn't have the language for, the promises that never matured, and the final night that ended with a cardiac arrest, a coma and a marriage that was over before she woke up.
Eva then shares what came next — being cut off from everything, learning what was actually done to her, and rebuilding her sense of self from the ground up through therapy, salsa dancing, a surprise modelling career at 63, and eventually the memoir series Death Is No Reason to Stop Living.
This is an honest, unpolished and deeply human conversation about how covert emotional abuse really works, why leaving is rarely as simple as it looks from the outside, and what it means to finally respect yourself.
In this episode, Dr Nat and Eva explore:
What covert emotional abuse actually looks like — and how it differs from the picture most of us carry in our heads
Why the early red flags can be so easy to miss when you've never been taught what to look for
How messages like “you're so strong” and “you're so resilient” can keep someone in a harmful relationship
Eva's story of the night everything changed, and what followed in the hospital
The first steps of rebuilding: understanding what happened, building a team of professionals, and reconnecting with joy through dance
What it felt like to look at a photo of herself and not recognise the confident woman looking back
Why Eva wrote her memoir series, and the message she hopes readers take from it
What friends and family can do for someone in an abusive relationship: listen, hold their hand and resist giving advice
Eva's biggest achievement — self-respect — and why she believes it's the foundation for everything else
A closing thought from Eva: “Nothing is worth stopping living. Educate yourself, learn, respect yourself and never stop living.”
A Question To Reflect On
When you look back, what messages about being "strong" or "keeping the peace" did you absorb long before you could question them? And are they still quietly deciding what you put up with today?
If you've ever explained away something that didn't feel right, or doubted your own instincts, this episode is a reminder that self-respect can be rebuilt. It happens slowly, in your own time, and without having to prove anything to anyone.
If this episode resonated with you...
If you've done a lot of healing and learning but still catch yourself over-explaining, second-guessing your own judgement, or settling for less than you deserve, it may not be a lack of strength or insight.
It may be that identity patterns formed around staying safe, being the strong one, and keeping everyone else okay are still running in the background. Those patterns can create an Invisible Ceiling that's hard to see, let alone move beyond.
That's exactly why Dr Nat runs her Invisible Ceiling Masterclass. It helps you begin recognising the protective patterns and identity fractures that may be keeping you small, and reconnecting with the part of you that already knows what you deserve.
Reserve your place in the Invisible Ceiling Masterclass Here
Links & Resources
Eva Levina Books — evalevinabooks.com (books, Amazon links and coaching)
Connect with Dr Nat:
Website: https://drnataliegreen.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnatgreen/
Free Archetypes of Transformation™ Quiz Here:
And remember: you were never meant to cut yourself down to make other people comfortable.
There is always room to grow tall and shine brightly.
If this episode resonates with you, then I'd love for you to hit SUBSCRIBE so you can keep updated with each new episode as soon as it's released, and we'd be most grateful if you would give us a RATING as well. You can also find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drnatgreen/ or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DrNatalieGreen
Intro and Outro music: Inspired Ambient by Playsound.
Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be deemed or treated as psychological treatment or to replace the need for psychological treatment.
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👉 Episode 124 - Beyond the Mother Wound: Finding Your Voice and Reclaiming Your Identity with Shelly Sharon
