In this powerful episode of Ask Kati Anything, licensed therapist and YouTube mental health advocate Kati Morton answers vulnerable audience questions about living without hope, healing from lifelong trauma, and navigating emotional burnout. We explore how to break free from chronic emotional numbness, cope with retraumatization in unsafe environments, and rebuild a sense of purpose when life feels stagnant or meaningless. Kati offers expert insight on topics like maladaptive coping strategies, therapy attachment wounds, and the overwhelming grief that comes from invisible disabilities and complex PTSD.

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Audience questions for Ask Kati Anything ep. 268

1. I'd like to hear what you have to say about living without hope. My therapist and I have been... 00:01:18

2. Hey Kati, I’m a 25F with ASD. I have been abused by over 50 people (after reaching 50 I stopped counting) in almost every way imaginable, even by people who were supposed to love and/or protect me, even by therapists and teachers, from when I was 4 years old until recently. I don’t even really know what the word “safe” means. I have helped or held space for many people dealing with pain and grief, but I never learned how to receive help for myself. I was shamed and physically punished by my parents for even the smallest acts of self-care, self-soothing or my ASD symptoms themselves... 00:09:27

3. How do I get past the fact that therapy itself requires an imbalance of intimacy and sharing and just overall is not an organic give and take relationship? 00:18:07

4. How to stop obsessing over the world we live in….and how scary it’s becoming for our children. 00:25:12

5. I feel like I have nothing exciting to look forward to. This has been ongoing for years. 00:29:38

6. How can you cope with re traumatisation when you can't get out of the situation? 00:33:49

7. Is it possible for untreated mental illness to be traumatizing? I think I had a period of depression for a few months when I was 12-13ish, but I never told anyone and would always say I was fine when asked. I was functional enough to shower, eat, do school... 00:33:49

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