The Complex Trauma Podcast

The Longing to Be Understood in Complex Trauma Recovery

You finally understand something about yourself. Something that took months of therapy to even name. And now you need someone else to get it too. This week we're ta

Complex Trauma, Brain Fog, Memory & Focus Problems

Why can you handle a crisis without blinking but completely blank when someone asks what you want for dinner? Brain fog, forgetfulness, trouble focusing, difficulty star

Why Trauma Memory Gaps Don't Mean You Made It Up

Maybe you barely remember your childhood. Maybe you've done years of trauma work, you're finally feeling better, and now you're wondering, was it really th

The Messy Middle of Nervous System Regulation

This week's episode is  a little different. Instead of something super polished, I'm giving you the real time version of my own messy middle. What dysregulation

Why Relationships and Connection Feel So Hard After Complex Trauma

Why does connection feel so hard after complex trauma? You want closeness, but when someone gets too close, you pull away. You want support, but "I'm fine" comes o

The Impact of Emotionally Immature Parents with Lindsay Gibson

What is the real impact of growing up with emotionally immature parents? Dr. Lindsay Gibson, author of the bestselling Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, joi

Why You Don't Know Who You Are After Complex Trauma

If you've ever caught yourself wondering who you actually are underneath the anxiety, the people pleasing, or the version of you that shows up to keep everyone else

When Perfectionism Takes the Joy Out of the Things You Love

Sometimes a hobby amplifies whatever relationship your nervous system has with uncertainty. If you've ever found yourself staring at a blank page, putting off a cre

Somatic Therapy 101: The Nervous System Basics Behind Trauma Healing

If you've ever wondered why insight alone hasn't been enough to heal your trauma, this episode is your answer. We're going all the way back to fundamentals

Why Your Nervous System Craves Certainty (And Why It Looks Like Control)

Ever been called controlling? Too rigid? Too much? On today's episode I breaks down why it was maybe never about control. Your nervous system has maybe been trying t

Emotional Flashbacks in Complex Trauma Explained

Emotional flashbacks are one of the most common and most misunderstood experiences in complex trauma. Unlike visual flashbacks, they don't come with images or a clea

Complex Trauma and the Belief That You're a Burden

Do you feel guilty every time you need something, even from people who love you? Do you find it easy to show up for everyone else but nearly impossible to let someone sho

Why Complex Trauma Survivors Struggle to Believe Themselves

Many complex trauma survivors struggle to trust their memories, emotions, perceptions, and reactions.  In this episode, we're exploring why being disbelieved can fe

Why Emotional Loneliness Runs So Deep in Complex Trauma

Emotional loneliness is one of the most common and least talked about experiences in complex trauma recovery. It's not about the number of people in your life. It&ap

What CPTSD Does to Your Sleep and Why Nothing Else Has Worked

Sleep is one of the most common struggles in the CPTSD community, and one of the least understood. If you've tried the routines, the supplements, the magnesium, the

What Inner Child Healing and Reparenting Actually Looks Like

Inner child healing isn't easy work. For people living with complex trauma, it can be one of the most neurobiologically specific processes in trauma recovery. And th

Corrective Emotional Experiences After Childhood Emotional Neglect

You've done the work. You've been in therapy, read the books, and you can name what happened to you. So why doesn't it feel like enough? That gap between

CPTSD and the Stack of Diagnoses Nobody Connects

If you've been diagnosed with more than one thing, and it feels like every provider is treating each piece in isolation, this episode is for you. Complex PTSD doesn

It's Not People-Pleasing, It's Fawning

If you've spent your life being told you're "too nice," "a people-pleaser," or that you just need to "set better boundaries," this episode is for you.  Fawning

When Being Seen Can Feel Unsafe in Therapy for CPTSD with Katie Fries

If you've ever sat in your therapist's office and thought "I sort of just want you to take care of me" and then felt embarrassed for even thinking it, this epis