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Mapping Your Protectors: A Practical PTSD Tool for Inner Harmony

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this episode, Brad takes you deeper into protector work by showing you how to move from working with a single protector to mapping the whole “inner team” behind your PTSD triggers. Instead of feeling like a jumbled mess of emotions, you’ll learn how to see fear, anger, guilt, shame, worthlessness, and confusion as separate protectors with their own jobs, needs, and relationships.

Brad walks you through a simple, paper-and-pen process for mapping protectors around one big problem in your life, understanding how they interact, and spotting “dependencies” where one protector can’t fully heal until another one does. He also explains how to gently work with the “gatekeeper” protector that often blocks you from accessing deeper emotions because it’s afraid of what might come up.

You’ll hear practical examples of how to build trust with scared protectors, how to host a “meeting” of your parts, and how healed protectors can actually join your team and help you heal new ones. Throughout, Brad grounds the work in love, patience, honesty, and curiosity—so you can move forward without forcing yourself, without getting lost in complexity, and without being afraid you’re opening a can of worms you can’t handle.

💡 What You’ll Learn

How to map all of your protectors around one major PTSD or trauma trigger

How to turn a jumbled mess of emotions into clear, separate protector parts

How guilt, shame, fear, anger, confusion, and worthlessness can each be their own protector

How to identify and work with the “gatekeeper” protector that blocks access to deeper feelings

How to recognize and heal the relationships and dependencies between different protectors

How to call a “meeting” of your protectors and talk to them together when needed

Why love, patience, honesty, and curiosity are the foundation of safe trauma healing

How to face the fear of “opening a can of worms” in PTSD recovery without getting overwhelmed

How healed protectors can join your inner team and support future healing work

🧠 Key Takeaway

When you patiently map, listen to, and love every protector part of you—even the ones that scare you—PTSD stops feeling like chaos and starts becoming a system you can gently heal.

🔗 Next Steps

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To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit https://overcomingptsd.com/consultation.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction to Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery • trauma healing • mapping protectors • trauma protectors • parts work for PTSD • internal family systems style tools • emotional regulation • nervous system regulation • trauma coping tools • healing guilt shame fear anger • gatekeeper protector • inner harmony after trauma • self-love and trauma recovery • overcoming emotional triggers • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching • Overcoming PTSD Podcast