The Complex Trauma Podcast

What Greek Myths Reveal About Complex Trauma with Dr. Gillian O’Shea Brown

Why do we keep reliving the same painful patterns, even when we can see them coming? In this episode, psychotherapist and complex trauma expert Dr. Gillian O’Shea Brown j

Is It a Part or Is It Dissociation? OSDD, DID, and CPTSD

Everyone has parts. So how do you know when a part is just a part of you, and when it's crossed into a dissociative disorder like OSDD or DID? This episode came fro

Why Do I Want Two Opposite Things? Conflicting Parts in Complex Trauma

Why can you feel lonely and then want everyone to leave you alone, or set a boundary and immediately want to take it back? Today, I explore why conflicting parts and cont

Grieving What You Never Had After Emotional Neglect

How do you grieve a childhood you never had? If you grew up with childhood emotional neglect, you may have heard that grief is part of complex trauma recovery and still h

How Narcissistic Abuse Shapes Self-Trust, Relationships and Complex Trauma with Amy Marlow-MaCoy

What happens when you grow up learning that someone else’s needs, emotions, or version of reality matter more than your own? In this episode, I’m joined by Amy Marlow-Ma

Functional Freeze and Why You Feel Stuck Even When You’re Functioning

You’re functioning. You may even be the person everyone relies on. But inside, you feel stuck, distant, or like you aren’t fully there for your own life. In this episode

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