Y’all, this episode may be the most interesting one I’ve done yet. I couldn’t get enough of all this info from my new friend. She is a therapist and helps so many people who struggle with sex addiction and pornography, as well as couples who have experienced infidelity and “betrayal trauma”. Anyone and everyone will find something valuable out of this episode and I’m pumped for y’all to listen and learn so many new things like I did! Enjoy!

This week we get to hear from an awesome friend of mine who is an EMDR Therapist! She has the opportunity to help so many different people with different stories of their trauma, both “big” and “small”. I did not know much at all about this before so I was super excited to hear from her about what it is, how it works, and how effective it is. My hope is that y’all would learn some new things and maybe even consider doing this type of therapy yourself! Enjoy!

There’s things about my abuse story that I’ve left out in the past, and although it was intentional in the beginning, I’ve truly allowed my brain to stuff them down so deep that I no longer remembered them. I share more about why that is in this episode and get nice and vulnerable with y’all with the details of my own guilt. This episode wasn’t easy to record because of all of the things I worried people would think of me, but I felt it was important to do before moving forward in this season and wondered if others might be able to relate to even this part of my story. I hope it helps even one person!

This episode is so dang special! A truly amazing friend of mine visited this week and we had the most fruitful conversation. We talked all about how me opening up about my abuse and traumatic experiences to him grew our friendship tremendously and opened up a new door to growing in our faith alongside each other. This episode is longer, but it is truly one of my favorites to date. I hope you all enjoy!

In this episode, my anonymous guest shares her story of healing through two separate experiences of rape. As I listened to her story I was both shocked and encouraged by how much healing she has been able to find even through all of her circumstances. Listeners will get to hear what it truly feels like after an experience of sexual assault and the emotional toll it takes on a person, as well as the realities of how much it affects us subconsciously. I hope you all enjoy this interview as much as I did!

In my first interview with another survivor of sexual abuse, we hear the story of my sweet friend who shares about the struggles that happen when your boyfriend rapes you. It’s often believed or said that someone you’re in a relationship cannot in fact sexually assault you for many reasons, and we address why this simply is not true. We explore the struggles that come with and after an abusive relationship and my friend shares the reality of the healing process that she has recently started since her abuse. If you have been in a relationship where abuse a occurred, I hope that at least some of this story can make you feel heard and seen. For those that haven’t experienced this, I hope you can find better understanding of how rape can still occur in a relationship, and be able to support and believe more survivors that share their stories!

Sexual abuse invades every aspect of a survivor’s life, but rarely do we hear about those closest to the survivor that are affected. In this episode, my husband speaks to his experiences as a Significant Other of a survivor and how he has progressed with me in my journey of healing.

Whether we have given ourself labels or those labels have been put onto us, many of us that have experienced trauma and abuse find ourselves falling victim to those labels. In this episode I encourage listeners to take control of the labels they carry around and fight against them daily so that they may be able to begin healing. The longer we carry around these labels that don’t define us, the longer our abusers have power over us.

Do y’all know what a trigger really is? So many people have put their own definitions to this word, and have completely watered down what it’s truly meant to explain. I’m this episode I share what trauma triggers are and how survivors or trauma must take responsibility for dealing with those triggers. Although it is not our fault that we are left with triggers that are often debilitating, It’s no one else’s responsibility but ours to deal with and share those with those closest to us. I hope this episode is as helpful as others I’ve done, despite it being slightly controversial!

This episode is short and sweet and addresses the fact that many of us stay stuck focusing on things we cannot change or understand when it comes to our trauma. There is so much growth and purpose that happens when we recognize what we can and cannot change or understand, and begin to change how we deal with and heal from our trauma. I hope you enjoy!