Trauma Episodes

Amanda Hall shares her remarkable journey of overcoming addiction and incarceration, leading into changing lives through justice reform. S2E93: Amanda Hall - From Addiction and Incarceration to Justice Reform

Ginny Priem shares her personal story of betrayal and deception, which led to her transformative journey of overcoming narcissistic abuse. The conversation delves into the challenges, lessons learned, and path to healing and personal growth.

In this episode, Alyse Maslonik shares her story of surviving domestic abuse and sexual assault during her childhood. She talks about the constant state of fight or flight that she lived in and how it affected her personal development. Alyse also discusses her upcoming book, "The Anger She Keeps: A True Story of Rage and Redemption," which explores the theme of holding onto anger as a way of healing. "I get if no one wants to believe me, but I wouldn't feel right or if I would just not try one more time and then someone else becomes a victim. So that is why I told my mom. But it's interesting. There was so much turmoil in my life, even when I told my mom, it was not a turning point."

Sunny Chang shares his journey of finding strength, healing, and hope in mental health after coping with grief and guilt. Sunny emphasizes the importance of processing emotions and feelings and shares his strategies for dealing with loss, including practicing mindfulness, therapy, and exercise. He talks about finding hope and healing through mental health and emphasizes that seeking help is a sign of strength. “I think that's important to me now, where it sounds almost cliche, but it's okay to not be okay. It's okay to sometimes just lay in bed and cry, and you need to process those emotions and those feelings.”

Suzanne Anderson shares her journey of self-discovery and the traumatic event that changed the trajectory of her life. She discusses finding true love with her husband, David, and the magical life they built together. However, everything changed when David died by suicide just two days before his niece's wedding and five days before Suzanne was set to launch her new program. “I had a friend who does the shamanic rattles if you've ever heard of these intense rattling. And she rattled, rattled. And when it hit the peak moment, I took this vessel and just smashed it on the stone hearth. And it went into just a bajillion pieces. And the whole room went, kuch! And my body did. It was like the message to my body, and I think others felt this too, that there would be no putting back together this thing.”

Robert Peterpaul, host of the "The Art of Kindness" podcast, shares his inspiring story of resilience and the power of kindness. “I remember the moment that really started to shift things was waking up that morning to go to school. When my brother said, my stomach hurts, I don't feel well, I don't feel well. I immediately thought he was faking it. I thought he was just trying to get out of class because, listen, I've hid in the basement, I've hid in closets, I've hid under the tables to not go to school. That was us. And then he kept up with it. And I still was kind of like, huh. I think my parents, too, at first maybe thought that. And then... they finally relented and said, okay, we'll take you to the doctor. And he was just in so much pain. And so I went off to school, kind of probably forgot about it. I was like, maybe jealous he was staying home, to be honest. And then when I came out of school, my parents weren't there to pick me up.”

In this episode of The Life Shift Podcast, John D'Agostini shares his journey of overcoming shame, toxic masculinity, and finding purpose. He discusses his experiences coping with family addiction and abuse, societal pressure on gender roles, and struggling with isolation and sleeping in his car. He also talks about overcoming shame and toxic masculinity, seeking help, and providing safety and direction for the lost through a book and mentoring program. "I wouldn't even admit those things to myself back then. The lack of self-awareness was alarming because I had this blind spot that I know was full of a bunch of junk, and I just absolutely refused to deal with it because that's just not what men do. Or at least that's what I thought at the time.”

This week on The Life Shift Podcast, MC McDonald shares her journey of overcoming trauma, navigating grief and family relationships, and finding success. "I think if we can think about trauma and, and that point of healing as possible, then we can, we can enter into the healing process with a lot more hope than with this understanding that if you have trauma, that means you are somehow like marred or broken or, you know." - MC McDonald.

In this episode, entrepreneur and financial expert Larry Sprung shares his journey of overcoming loss and tragedy in his family to help others. Larry's experiences taught him valuable lessons about the importance of mental health and seeking help when needed. “If you're walking down the street and there's a pebble on the ground, and you pick up the pebble, and you put it right here up against your eye. It looks like a boulder. You're never gonna get around it. But if you take that same pebble and you put it out at arm's length and then you look at it, you're like, well, it's just a pebble. I could get around that thing”

In this episode, Ryan Berman shares his inspirational journey of self-discovery through writing a book and pursuing courageous ideas in business. “Like when you first tiptoe into that world, you have your own idea of what, like a powerful entrepreneur is gonna be like until you know, something about the word COURAGE resonates with them, and he comes up and has lunch with me. And so, like you, you realize that you're not that different. And I think that was big, you know, in my own mind, I was putting space between who I was and this pedestal of who other people are. And then when you actually peel back the onion, the only difference is that they've done at the level that you kind of want to do it at.”

Beth Booker, a public relations professional, shares her powerful story of resilience and hope on The Life Shift Podcast. In this episode, she opens up about the trauma of losing her birth parents at a young age and how it has shaped her life. Beth talks about the challenges of growing up without parents and how her grandparents stepped in to adopt her, providing her with a new family and a sense of stability.

TRIGGER WARNING: This ep contains talk of childhood and adult abuse. In her recent book, Wiley Davis shares her powerful journey of self-discovery. Growing up as a secret atheist in a Presbyterian household, she found solace in horse riding with her friends as she navigated life. But it was leaving an abusive marriage that truly tested her strength.

Daniel Rinaldi shares his story of how losing his older brother to an inoperable brain tumor at the age of 10 changed his life forever.

Angela's story of resilience, courage, and self-discovery is truly inspiring. In this episode, she talks about how she had to confront her childhood trauma of losing her hearing over fifteen years and how this trauma manifested in her 40s.

**Please note that this episode may be triggering for some listeners. Take care as you listen.** John Kelley shares his story of loss, resilience, and transforming grief in this week's episode. John's story is one of tragedy and triumph, and his incredible journey inspires many. In this episode, John talks about his father's advice (“Tomorrow is not promised”), his father's untimely and sudden death, and the tragic passing of his mother.

Content warning: This episode discusses depression, suicide ideation, and abuse. Please take care while listening. Pamela Topjian shares her inspirational story of overcoming childhood neglect and trauma to live a life she loves.

In the face of tragedy and loss, she found the strength to keep going for her kids. "I mean, if it weren't for them, I'm honestly a little afraid of what would have happened because they were my everything, everything I did for them."

Mathilde Bernard Funderburk arrived in the United States with two suitcases and a heart full of hope. "I still feel like that sometimes where I need to live this life for him. I need to go through these things that he could and never have done because he died at 15 years old."

In this episode, Matt is joined by Free Skin Co. business owner, branding, and marketing leader Ashley Pereira. Ashley shares deeply personal stories about her physically and sexually abusive upbringing. She shares the milestones in her journey, from leaving the situation to a devastatingly dark moment of a suicide attempt.

Erin talks about witnessing the sudden death of her partner. It was sudden and tragic, but the conversation centers around the signs around her on the day of the tragedy.

Diane talks about the journey to finding her confidence and grit, fueled by an abusive and mostly absent father, and how she vied never to repeat the cycle.

In this episode, I talk to my friend Becca Berkey about the more recent pivotal moments in her life – the convergence of many nearly simultaneously. In one year, Becca got pregnant at 37, lost two family members on the same day, and then the world shut down due to the pandemic. But the most interesting part about her story is her journey that brought her to live authentically – driven by her values.

In this episode of The Life Shift Podcast, we explore a non-traditional approach to recovering from chronic PTSD, featuring Adrienne, a yoga teacher, mobility specialist, biohacker, and self-improvement enthusiast. Adrienne's journey from the depths of severe PTSD to a life filled with purpose and anxiety-free days is truly inspiring.

Soon after Ted’s father died, he had what he called a "life revolution.” He quit his job in LA, sold his house, got re-married, and moved back to rural GA, all within a (pandemic) year. In our conversation, we talked about how performative experiences defined the early parts of his life until a series of back-to-back events occurred that created a new shift in his life. Finally, we discussed Ted’s path to finding his authenticity and happiness.