Today on The Big Silence, we’re joined by Debbie Whitehead, a licensed therapist with thirty years of experience in mental health and family and marriage counseling. She shares her deep trauma experience as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse which led to her becoming a thriver and sharing her story with the world.

[Content Warning: This episode deals with overcoming difficult traumas, including child sexual abuse and incest. Please listen with care and compassion.]

Practicing out of Plano, Texas, Debbie has a holistic approach when it comes to mental health and counseling, leveraging her training in cognitive-behavioral therapy, family dynamics, and marriage and family therapy, as well as her knowledge as a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach to help people find balance throughout their lived experiences.

She details the breathwork session that changed her life, empowering her to raise voice enough to share her traumas, taking us back to one painful memory and releasing a tsunami of emotions that she had repressed since childhood. 

We also dig deep on how to stop the cycle of generational trauma, highlight the power of forgiveness as a release of self-hatred, navigate our way through grief, and take responsibility for our own healing – not the traumas which preceded it.

Debbie teaches us that repression is our brain’s way of protecting us, explaining the critical differences between repression and suppression. Her openness and willingness to learn from the past, no matter how visceral, is living proof that we can work through anything to live our most beautiful life.

Resources:

• Website: debbiewhitehead.com
• Instagram: @debbiekwhitehead
• RAINN: National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE)Read: The Big Silence: A Daughter's Memoir of Mental Illness and Healing 
• Follow Karena Dawn on Instagram: @karenadawn
• Follow The Big Silence on Instagram: @The.Big.Silence
• Subscribe: The Big Silence YouTube Channel
• Therapy For All: Resources for those in need

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The Big Silence is produced by Crate Media.