Triumph After Trauma

Welcome back, friends! I'm so glad you're tuning into this episode!

If you're new here, hello and welcome! I'm so glad you found my podcast and we're now connected!

Before saying anything else, I want to apologize for not having this episode out last week like originally planned! I changed  banking stuff and until Buzzsprout could verify it was me who purposely made that change, to play if safe they suspended my account. We're back in business now, and I'm good to get back to podcasting as usual!

We talk a lot about mental health on this podcast. Our mental and physical health are connected though, so I thought a conversation about the mind body connection would be beneficial. 

In today's episode friends, that is exactly what we're doing. During today's chat you'll learn what the mind body connection is, ways to tell if/when your mind and body need to be re-connected, and tangible habits we can all do daily that will help us keep or mind body connection strong or realign ourselves when life gets hard. 

Welcome back to Triumph After Trauma, friends!

If you're new here, I'm so glad you found my podcast and we're now connected! Welcome to the community!

Sometimes we go through something in life that deeply affects us, but we can't quite tell if what we're feeling is categorized as trauma or if what we're stuck in is a state of trauma.  This can happen to any of us - especially when an experience or sudden life change hits us like a freight train and we go into survival mode. When we are focused on (maybe barely) surviving each day, focusing on anything else can feel impossible.

There comes a time when we finally feel like we can start baby steps in healing.  and we need to figure out what types of tools, resources, coping mechanisms, and support we need. Knowing how your body and mind have reacted or are reacting to an experience can help you do that.

If you're not sure if what you're experiencing and feeling can be considered trauma, there are some signs you can look out for. Today friends, we're having a conversation about what some of the common signs are that we're experiencing trauma or are actually stuck in a state of trauma. 

If you resonate with this or the conversation hits home with you, feel free to  DM me on Instagram (thisiskaitey is my handle), so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma. I'm so dang grateful we're connected <3

Welcome back, friends! I'm so happy you're here for the 75th episode of Triumph After Trauma!

If you're new here, hello & welcome to this community! I'm so happy you have found your way here, and we're now connected! 

I cannot believe it ( but am also so thankful), but I have officially released 75 episodes since starting this journey with you all December 2021. When I started I was fearful and doubted myself, but I am SO excited to be at this point and have the chance to use my voice via this platform. 

YOU are all the reason I'm still here and still love podcasting, so from the bottom of my heart, thank every single one of you so dang much! I truly love connecting with you all!

Now, a bit about today's episode. We're diving in deep friends, and talking about health related and medical traumas. I share some of my own experiences, the importance of working through our experiences (as hard as that is), and some ways you can begin to process what you have been through/might be holding onto. 

If this episode is helpful for you or resonates with you, DM me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey) is my handle), so we can connect more! 

If you know someone who needs to hear this, share it on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma. I am so dang grateful we're connected <3

Welcome back to Triumph After Trauma, friends!

If you're new here, I'm so glad you found my podcast and we're connected!

In my late teens/early 20's when my mental health was at its worst, I heavily struggled with having respect for, liking, or appreciating my body. I didn't like any of me including the body I had, and I didn't see myself through my own eyes. It has taken years of work, struggle, effort, patience, tears, and trial and error, and personal growth to get to a place of feeling healthy and good in my body. Honestly, my late 20's was the first time in my adulthood I had true self respect, love, and confidence. 

I'm 32 and have been lucky enough to have no issues with body image for about four or five years now. However, through 2023 I unexpectedly experienced a few health issues. Debilitating migraines were the worst of my health issues. They got so bad that the last half of 2023 every time one migraine attack (a few days to a week long) ended, another attack would start within a day or two.

Chronic migraines are no freaking joke. While I'm grateful I've finally found a medication that is preventing them, this past year of dealing with migraines constantly has changed my body/strength and I'm struggling a lit bit with body image right now. It's a common thing (for a wide variety of reasons, and at all different levels of severity) unfortunately for people to struggle with body image.

Since it's something I have struggled with and am having trouble with again now, I felt like this is the right time for me to bring this topic up on my podcast. I share my experiences struggling with body image, some of the work I've done (and still do) to work through these issues with how I see/treat my body, and how I'm dealing with my inner critic/chatty mind when they creep in on me now. 

If this episode was at all helpful to you or you resonate with my story, send me a DM on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm  so glad we're connected <3

Welcome back to Triumph After Trauma, friends!

If you've just found my podcast, I'm so glad you're here and we can connect!

I recently hit a huge milestone in my life, 10 years clean from self harm, and it honestly feels a little surreal. It has been a long and extremely tough road to get myself to this point, but every ounce of work over the years has been worth it. I'm forever grateful I found the strength in me to fight for myself, and never for a second blind to how lucky I am to have hit such a milestone.

In a previous episode I have shared the deep and dark details of what things were like at the time I was struggling with hurting myself, and how I found the strength in myself to fight for myself. If you're curious to hear that part of the story, check out _____.

Since I've been clean for a decade officially, it felt right to share some tips for how you can stop (yourself from) self harming if you're not doing well, and a few ways you can support loved ones struggling with this who you want to support - from someone who has walked the path and does work every day to stay on the right track. 

Please know if you're struggling with your mental health or self harm and are worried about your safety, there is absolutely NO shame in seeing your doctor, going to the hospital, contacting mental health services (such as crisis hotlines), or getting professional help via therapy. If you are struggling, I encourage you to reach out for help. It's scary, but it's going to be worth doing.

If you resonate with or relate to any of this, send me a DM on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share it on social media and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma. I'm so grateful we're connected <3

HAPPY 2024 YOU LOVELY HUMAN BEINGS!

I can't believe we're already in 2024, time goes by quicker and quicker the older I get!

I hope you brought yourself into this year in ways that felt right/safe/good for you.

For the first episode of 2024 friends, we're having a great chat about the statement "what you don't work through, will keep you weighed down". I heard this during a Mel Robbins podcast last week, and I think because we were at the end of 2023 it got me reflecting on who I am today vs. who I may have ended up being if over the years I never worked through really tough/heavy things.

I dive deep with you all today on who I think I may have ended up being today if specific things, because I want you to hear real life examples and truly understand the importance (and benefits) of working through hard shit instead of letting it simmer inside or drown you.

Hello friends, and welcome back to Triumph After Trauma!

If you're new here, I'm so excited you found this podcast and we can start connecting! 

This is it friends, the final episode of 2023. 

What a year it has been. The roller coaster called life had plenty of ups and incredible memories were made, but I'd be lying to say there were no massive bumps throughout the year. Today friends, I'm sharing with some of the biggest lessons I learned through 2023. I hope you spend this episode reflecting, learning, and laughing with me.

If any of this episode resonates with you, feel free to DM me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who could benefit from any of this episode, share it on social media and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! i'm so grateful we're connected <3

Welcome back friends, to the show and the last few weeks of 2023!

I can't believe we're already at the end of the year, but here we are, into the final TWO episodes of Triumph After Trauma for 2023!

If you're new here, I'm so excited you found my podcast and can't wait to connect!

Today we're having an important and heartfelt conversation. Life throws curve balls at all times of the year, and life's curve balls can be pretty freaking brutal. None of us are immune to curve balls, tragedy or trauma - it's an unfortunate but true part of life. 

First of all - I want to let you know that if you're going through something rough or grieving and you're not as excited/mentally prepared for 2024 as some people may be, that is okay. Don't feel guilty or shame yourself if you're struggling right now.

If you feel, fear or know 2024 will start rough, or are going into the new year with a lot of uncertainty I have some advice for you. 

Going into 2022, I had an idea of how I wanted to end the year. Life threw major and really tough curve balls, and I ended up ending that year knowing 2023 could be hard and uncertain. 

It was - and while I admit (and share with you all as much as I can) there were a lot of hard days, uncertainty that lead to high anxiety levels, and struggles in 2023 I didn't see coming, I believe this year would have been even tougher for me if I hadn't of done the three things I talk about with you in today's episode. 

Whatever you are going through that isn't easy or fair, give yourself grace for doing the best you can with what you have and how you're feeling. You're not alone, and you deserve to give yourself credit even on the days you barely make it through a day.

I hope you enjoy the episode, friends! If you resonate with it, DM me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle), so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share this episode and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so grateful to be connected with you <3

Welcome (back) to Triumph After Trauma!

If you're new here, I'm so glad you found my podcast and are here friends!

As we enter the last few weeks of 2023, I wanted us to have a conversation where I take some time to remind you all of a few important reminders as we get into the height of the holiday season, and (somehow, already) the end of this year.

Whether part of your year was hard or the whole year was tough for you to get through, you deserve to give yourself more grace than you may be giving yourself. You also deserve to celebrate yourself, for getting through the days you thought you wouldn't and the things that did go right/well. 

I also share a couple of reminders and tips for those of you who may struggle with holidays, or who are for the first time seeing a change in how their holiday season will look for hard reasons. 

Whatever you have had to overcome or are working through this year, know I'm proud of you for not giving up on yourself even when you wanted to and showing up daily the best you could no matter how messy surviving your days were!

If this resonates with or hits home for you, DM me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who should or needs to hear this, share the episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma!

I'm so glad we're connected and have spent another year growing, learning, and healing together <3

Welcome back to Triumph After Trauma! 

If you're new here, I'm so glad you found my podcast! Welcome to the show, I'm happy to be connected with you!

This podcast is all about mental health, understanding/working through trauma together, and supporting one another on this life journey. I love growing, learning, and connecting with every one of you who reach out! 

Our chats are often about how we can work through things and I love that, but today I thought we'd talk about how we can actually help others work through things. 

I say often on this podcast that no human is immune to facing heartache, loss, sorrow, hurt, tragedy, trauma etc.. basically the bad shit in life. And that, as much as we may sometimes not want to face this truth, includes every single person we love and have a connection with. 

None of us may be immune to bad shit, but we can all help each other through it when the universe throws something tragic and terrifying our way. As humans we want to fix people because we hate to see people, especially those you're close to, hurting in any way, but none of us need to be fixed even when we're in our darkest times. Many of us want to say or do the right things and don't know what they are (spoiler alert: when someone is deeply hurting or working through trauma, there isn't one "right thing" to say or do), so we end up saying/doing nothing all which also isn't helpful. 

So, how can you actually support and help someone you love when shit really hits the fan on them? That's what we're talking about today, friends! I'm sharing with you a few tangible and easy ways to be of real support to someone you love who is going through something really fucking hard. 

If this chat resonates with or is helpful for you, send me a DM on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this episode, share it on social media and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so grateful we're connected <3

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY EPISODE!

Welcome back to Triumph After Trauma! 

If you're new here, I'm so glad you found my podcast! Thank you so much for being here!

I turned 32 yesterday! While most of the time I don't feel any specific age which makes it often feel surreal I'm truly in my 30's, I'm in fact now part of the 32 club. 

Life has been beautiful, incredible, and sometimes felt magical but my life is ultimately a series of unfortunate events with amazing things that happen in between each of them.

I have faced a lot in my years of living so far, so I thought for my birthday episode I would share with you all the things that come to mind when I'm asked, "out of all the hard and tragic things you've been with, which few hurt the most/were hardest to overcome but helped you build the most resilience and confidence in yourself?".

I don't just tell you all what those situations and experiences are, I share why they are the ones that come to mind first and exactly what about them helped me build resilience and self-confidence. I love sharing with you all and being a "let's figure out and do life together" type of podcaster!

I hope something in this episode resonates with you, reminds you that you're not alone, and maybe reassures you (if you're in a rough time of life) that you can get through your hard season no matter how rough it may be to. 

If this does help you in some way, send me a DM on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my Instagram handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this episode, share it on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so glad to be connected with you <3

After an unplanned two week break due to my microphone breaking I am back, and it feels SO good!

If this is your first time listening into Triumph After Trauma, welcome! I'm so happy you're here!

As you know, this podcast is dedicated to talking openly about three things essentially:
talking openly about mental health, understanding ourselves better, and sharing healthy ways I've discovered to work through trauma that I think may work for/help you too. 

Today friends, we're diving into a specific topic related to understanding ourselves as humans: what a few big differences in how men and women process trauma. We talk about how men vs. women are biologically built, differences in brain function, gender roles, etc.

I also passionately share why I feel understanding and respecting these differences can help us support someone we care about of the opposing sex when they are going through something extremely hard. 

If any of this resonates with you or something I said pulls your heart strings, feel free to send me a DM (@thisiskaitey on Instagram is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! 

I'm so grateful to be connected with you! <3

Welcome back to Triumph After Trauma! If you're new here, I'm so happy you found this podcast!

We have recently had good conversations about things such as navigating seasons that are both good and really hard (ep. 61), signs your body/nervous system need a reset (ep. 60), and ways to recall trauma if your memory is repressed (ep. 59). Today friends, we're going to have a chat about signs (I find common for myself) that the work I'm doing - as scary, hard, and uncomfortable as it is -                                                                                                                                    to heal my nervous system and work through trauma I've experienced is working. 

I want to remind you of a few things before you dive into this episode: whatever trauma or grief you're experiencing/working through is valid - however you feel and work through that is valid, you deserve to work through the things that feel impossible to get through and take time to adjust to massive life changes, and you're not alone in things you're going through (there are 7 billion+ of us on the planet, definitely not alone!).

If this episode resonates with you, don't hesitate to DM me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle), so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so grateful we're connected <3

Hello friends, welcome back to Triumph After Trauma! 

If you're new here, I'm so happy you found my podcast. Welcome!

For those of you who don't know much or anything about me I'm 31 (will be 32 next month) and have lost almost everyone on my mothers side of the family. I lost my first uncle when I was 9 years old. In total I have lost both my aunts, both my uncles, and my grandparents - I lost them before I was 30. Through these losses I've also had to navigate an unhealthy relationship someone who turned out to be a narcissist and I had to run from, being sexually assaulted by the first person I gave any sort of chance to when I did get back into the dating scene, losses of long term friendships, a failing relationship with my father, and struggles with my mental health. 

Right now I'm navigating a relationship with my partner that is healthy and happy, but where what happens next and when is not in our hands (health issues, etc). I see all my friends getting to make plans with their partners without so many outside restrictions, and it does make me emotional knowing exactly what I want Alex and I's future to look like. I also unexpectedly and tragically lost an old friend (we hadn't spoke in a few years but the years we knew hung out, we were close) at the end of September who is the same age as me, and it has been a hard reminder of just how life fragile is. I'm also going through issues with my cycle and frequent migraines, and have been having quite the time trying to get answers as to what the fuck is going on with my body. 

To put it simply, while my life is great and I'm thankful for it I'd be lying to say my life is not also a series of unfortunate events.

I get asked by a lot of people, and all kinds of people, how I manage to show up for myself everyday and how I find it in me not to give up on myself or my life given that as good of a life as I have it is full of so many hurdles, heartbreaks, chronic pain, losses, and tragedies.

I decided today would be the day I answer that right here in my podcast. I figure it will be an easy way for people to get my full detailed answer, and have access to this answer at all times!

If you have ever asked me this, I hope this answers your question! If you're in a really hard season and (some days) you don't feel like you have it in you to keep going/fight for yourself, I hope this makes you understand two things: you're far from being alone and
there are ways to slowly get yourself out of the dark place you're in. 

If this episode resonates with you or you find it helpful, please don't hesitate to DM on Instagram (my handle is @thisiskaitey) so we can connect more, or re-connect! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so grateful to be connected to you <3

Hello friends, and welcome to another episode of Triumph After Trauma! If you're new here, welcome to my podcast!

In last week's episode (#60, wow!) we had a good but important conversation about ways you can tell your body and nervous system are signalling it's time for a slow down, or complete reset. If you haven't checked it out, you can by clicking the link below or searching 'Triumph After Trauma' in listening apps such as Spotify, iheartradio, etc!

Today I'm talking with you all about being good and hard/bad simultaneously, because this is where I'm actually at right now! For the most part things are good right now and there are great things to celebrate. At the same time I recently lost an old friend the same age as me, have been trying to get an answer as to why my cycle has suddenly stopped/disappeared, and am supporting my partner through some of his own health concerns.

Life is great in many ways and I'm so grateful for that, but at the same my nervous system has been shocked by the recent loss of someone I once was close with and there is a lot of anxiety/frustration with my body lately. There are a lot of feelings and emotions happening, and they seem to change by the freaking minute which can be a lot to deal with and process. 

In today's conversation I share with you my friends a few ways I'm navigating being in a good, grief, and uncertain season at the same  time. I hope these tools help you if you're in a season that is both good and hard (or down right tragic/heartbreaking) season of life yourself, and this episode serves as a reminder to you you're definitely not alone.

If this episode resonates with you, feel free to DM me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so grateful to be connected to you <3

Hello and welcome back to Triumph After Trauma!

On today's episode friends, which is somehow already episode 60, we're going to have a chat about some signs that you and your entire nervous system need to slow down and completely reset. 

Since last week we had a great chat about signs of trauma that may currently be repressed/suppressed memories you need to work through, I thought talking about signs of when you need to reset your nervous system (before doing that tough work or taking steps to go for big goals) just made sense!

As I did some research for this episode, I realized I'm currently experiencing two of these five physical signs from my body/nervous system right now, and actually might need to do so some slowing down and resetting myself. 

Everything about this topic today felt right, so I hope if you're tuning in this is helpful to you in some way! If you do resonate with this episode, feel free to DM me on Instagram (thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! And if you know someone who needs to hear this, share the episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma! I am so grateful to be connecting with you <3

Welcome (back) to Triumph After Trauma; I'm so glad you're here for another chat!

Today friends, we're taking a slightly deeper dive into talks about trauma than we're already used to. I felt like having a conversation about signs of suppressed or repressed trauma and what we can do for ourselves (or people we care about) when these signs show up is important, because sometimes our brain stores memories in our subconscious. Our brain does this sometimes to try and protect us, but unfortunately in the long run it ends up hurting us more than anything.

I have been in denial about how much certain things have affected me, dealt with anger issues as a result of unresolved trauma (more because for a long time I didn't know where to start in getting help) and experienced the type of deep + dark depression you don't know if you'll make it out of.  I feel like as someone who has been through it, talking about some of my experiences and sharing  physical signs of trauma that maybe needs to be understood better or worked through might help someone who is currently in a place that feels impossible to get out of/work through. 

Please remember that while I believe doing the hard, scary, uncomfortable work to heal from different traumas and learn to sit with grief is worth it I 100% understand none of us can even begin to do any work unless we feel ready. If you are trying to recall some of your traumatic memories or work through your trauma, please make sure you are doing it because you feel ready to. This is not something you should feel/be forced into, that will not help.

If you resonate with this episode, please feel free to message me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share this episode on social media and tag me so I can thank you for spreading the word about Triumph After Trauma! I'm so grateful we're connected <3