One in three women experience their birth as traumatic. One in four struggle with perinatal mental health. Almost nobody talks about it. 

Perinatal therapist Trina Grater joins us to explain matrescence, the developmental transition into motherhood that has been named since the 1970s and that most women have never heard of. She shares her own fast, unattended birth, why "at least your baby's healthy" causes so much harm, and how brain spotting helps women heal what they cannot put into words.

 For the mothers who thought they were the only one.

 Support: postpartum.net, 1-833-TLC-MAMA, or 988. 

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Angela Brown wasn't supposed to survive her second birthday. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 18 months, she and her twin sister were sent home so their parents could "enjoy them" for six months. She's 49 now, a mother of eight and a grandmother and that miracle is only the first thing that happened to her.

At seven, she was raped by a foster child living in her home, and told he'd kill her family if she spoke. She carried it silently for eight and a half years. She carried depression for more than thirty. She learned to mask so well that the people at church had no idea, and her own twin sister never knew about the suicidal thoughts.

In this conversation, Angela walks through all of it: the number that appeared at a gas pump when she was ready to drive away from her life, the night in 2015 when the voice in her head changed from I to you, and the prayer she yelled out loud with her kids in the next room after which, she says, the depression never came back.

She also talks about what came after rock bottom, which is the part nobody warns you about: relearning how to fight fair with her husband after ten years of marriage, the mirror exercise she started only to prove the teacher wrong, the heart rocks, losing their first grandbaby, and the book she finished in the middle of the worst grief of her life.

⚠️ Content note: This episode includes discussion of child sexual abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, and infant loss. Please listen with care. If you're struggling, you don't have to do it alone in the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7.

00:00 Crying Out to God

00:40 Meet Angela’s Story

01:01 Birth and Early Trauma

02:36 Cystic Fibrosis Diagnosis

05:22 Holistic Healing Diet

09:09 Growing Up Different

11:20 Marriage and Vegan Turnaround

14:28 Back to Strict Health

19:34 Childhood Assault Revealed

28:12 Faith Shame and Worth

31:33 Motherhood Trauma Trigger

33:46 Patterns and Trauma Cycles

34:24 Rapist Reappears

35:06 Trauma Stays Stored

36:29 Marriage Meets Unhealed

38:15 Postpartum Breaking Point

39:26 Gas Pump Sign

43:14 Masking Depression

44:12 Rock Bottom Deliverance

47:45 Emotions Without Rumination

49:34 Anger After Healing

51:16 Inside Job Lessons

55:08 Marriage Communication Shift

59:15 Mindset Training Breakthrough

01:04:09 Skeptic To Affirmations

01:05:09 Cheat Day Spiral

01:06:44 Testing Affirmations

01:08:37 Mirror Breakthrough

01:09:57 Rewiring Beliefs

01:13:00 Parenting With Consequences

01:17:11 Rock Bottom Launchpad

01:19:13 Faith And Healing Work

01:20:25 Heart Rock Signs

01:24:39 Stillbirth And Surrender

01:28:56 Trusting Timing

01:32:19 Gods Bigger Perspective

01:33:27 Perfect Timing Rescue

01:34:38 Finding Faith Your Way

01:35:44 Giving Teens Agency

01:39:43 Healing Parent Child Bonds

01:44:19 Signs Tender Mercies

01:46:37 Writing You Are Made To Heal

01:52:00 Sharing Stories To Heal

01:55:26 Foot Zoning Whole Person Healing

01:57:40 Where To Find Angela

01:58:55 Hope After Hard Days 

FIND ANGELA
 📺 YouTube: Made to Heal with Angela Brown
 📖 Book: You Are Made to Heal Spiritually, Emotionally, Mentally, and Physically (Amazon)
🦶 Sunny Souls Foot Zoning

IRENE CARES
 🎧 New episodes every Tuesday
 💬 IreneGPT communication support for high-conflict situations: irenegpt.ai
 📩 [email protected]

If Angela's story reached you, share this episode with someone who needs it. Someone out there is still masking.

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Emanuel Zevallos hit rock bottom in 2015 and found out the floor was solid.

In this episode of the Irene Cares, Hope sits down with Emanuel Zevallos, energy healer, regression hypnotherapist, and founder of Compass Healing Center in St. George, Utah. Raised by two physicians including a mother who ran early immunotherapy trials while fighting cancer herself Emanuel came out of childhood abuse, two divorces, and a season where everything was upside down, and turned it into a practice serving over 120 clients a week.

He talks about the Emotion Code and Body Code, the "heart wall" he says he's cleared more than 4,000 times, the pro bono work he did with Vietnam veterans that convinced him this mattered, and why he believes nobody is a victim of the life they chose. Hope shares her own story too a daughter born 16 weeks premature, three and a half months in the NICU, and 26 years of learning how to come back together with her husband.

This is a conversation about faith and healing refusing to be enemies.

00:00 Healing Faster

00:17 Meet Emmanuel

01:01 Childhood and Parents

02:13 Early Healing Lessons

05:26 Love as Medicine

08:36 Rock Bottom to Purpose

10:56 Discovering Emotion Code

12:40 Healing Spreads Outward

15:20 Parents and Identity

20:17 Trust Intuition

22:45 Proof Through Results

26:11 Men Healing Together

27:53 Trauma and Unprogramming

30:37 Gift of No Judgment

31:36 Judgment and Compassion

33:16 Emotion Code Basics

33:53 Trapped Emotions Explained

36:34 Muscle Testing Methods

37:50 Remote Healing and Quantum

40:17 Faith Meets Action

43:04 Attunement for Trauma

47:47 Patterns and Broadcast Messages

54:05 Empaths and Listening

57:53 Past Life Regression Intro

01:00:38 Reincarnation Stories

01:03:02 Past Life Phobias

01:05:07 Healing Beyond Dogma

01:06:59 Womb Mission Recall

01:08:55 Choosing Parents for Growth

01:14:05 Guides and Spirit Signs

01:16:40 Community Against Isolation

01:19:14 Hardship as Growth

01:22:05 Despair Anchors Explained

01:26:28 Gratitude and Divine Messages

01:32:47 Faith Meets Astrology

01:35:23 Tools Not Idols

01:36:39 Brad Story and Heart Wall

01:39:38 Healing Sparks Faith

01:40:10 Miracles Beyond Methods

01:42:19 Origin of Heart Wall

01:45:50 Heart Wall Symptoms

01:48:51 Trauma and PTSD Work

01:53:05 Connection Beats Anxiety

01:56:23 Map of Consciousness

02:02:12 God Loves Everyone

02:08:46 Gnosis and Divine Love

02:12:28 Forgiveness and Soulmates

02:13:48 Love Binds Souls

02:14:47 Multiple Soulmates Map

02:15:27 Soulmate Trigger Signs

02:18:39 Marriage Takes Work

02:22:52 Trauma and Spiritual Warfare

02:24:44 Healing to Attract Love

02:28:25 Polarity and Compassion

02:29:28 Past Lives and Tolerance

02:35:11 Politics and Unhealed Society

02:38:29 Peace Amid Chaos

02:41:17 Wife’s Frequency Healing

02:44:26 Where to Find Them

02:44:58 Final Blessing and Wrap

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Roslyn was five years old the first time she watched her father hurt her mother. By six, he'd turned on her. By nine, she was the one raising her two baby brothers feeding them on an EBT card, walking them to school, skipping her own classes, keeping them alive while the adults disappeared. She was in ninth grade when she picked up the phone and told her friend's mom she couldn't do it anymore. That phone call changed everything. CPS came. Foster care came. And for the first time in her life, so did someone who actually showed up. In this conversation, Roslyn talks about what she survived abuse, molestation, neglect, and the years she spent as a child protecting children and what she did with it. She talks about the anger she recognized in herself and refused to keep. The drinking she walked away from cold turkey when the choice became her kids or the bottle. The homelessness she prayed her way out of days before her fourth baby was born. And she talks about 2024, the year she lost her mother in August and her son two months later. She doesn't tell this story from a safe distance. She's still in it. But she tells it anyway, because someone out there is where she was, and she wants them to hear the one thing she says she'd want said to her: you matter, and you can do better for you, because only you can. This is a hard listen. It's also a hopeful one. 

Built by Survivors. For Survivors. 

00:00 No One Protected Me

00:04 Meet Roslyn

01:16 Who Roz Is Today

02:23 Meaning of Survivor

04:13 Faith and Motivation

06:14 Growing Up Hawaii

07:34 Abuse Begins at Five

12:48 Molestation and Neglect

15:15 Rock Bottom and CPS

17:16 Foster Care Healing

20:03 Losing Mom and Forgiveness

23:20 Losing Son to Suicide

29:22 Helping Siblings Grieve

34:46 PTSD and Prayer

37:47 Breaking the Cycle

40:58 Healing Takes Time

45:21 Parenting Without a Handbook

47:54 Choosing Your Direction

48:16 Institutional Help and Coping

49:01 Quitting Alcohol for Kids

49:55 Foster Mom Superwoman

50:40 Healing Shows Up Later

53:32 Marriage and Mutual Healing

55:57 Facing Trauma Head On

57:31 Parenting With Love

59:54 Grace and Rebuilding

01:02:47 Faith Gratitude and Prayer

01:05:31 Kindness and Giving

01:10:47 Homelessness and Provision

01:16:13 Final Message and Resources 

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Sterling Brown is a therapist in St. George, Utah, on a mission to change how small-town Utah talks about mental health. He grew up skeptical of therapy himself, seeing it as awkward and even manipulative — until losing a classmate to suicide in high school shifted everything for him.

In this episode, Sterling breaks down why rural Mountain West communities are hit so hard by the suicide epidemic, what stigma actually looks like in tight-knit rural culture, and why he believes the healing happens in the relationship, not the technique. It's an honest look at what it really takes to ask for help when you come from a place that doesn't talk about these things — and why that silence is costing lives.

Built by Survivors. For Survivors.

🔗 Learn more or share your story: [email protected]
 🎧 Subscribe for more real conversations on resilience, healing, and community.

00:00 Suicide And Stigma

00:23 Meet Sterling Brown

01:35 Rural Utah Mentality

02:30 Why Therapy Felt Wrong

05:46 From Skeptic To Therapist

08:12 Asking For Help

09:23 Burdensomeness And Belonging

11:23 Therapy That Heals

12:52 Classmate Lost To Suicide

14:59 Suicide Numbers And Silence

17:30 Grief And Language

20:00 Turning Loss Into Mission

21:32 Veterans And PTSD

23:58 Why Mountain West Rates

25:49 Gender And Firearms

27:45 Normalizing Male Emotions

30:17 Biology Vs Socialization

31:40 Rural Risk Factors

32:00 Guns And Isolation

34:20 Why Therapy Feels Distrusted

35:39 Making Therapy Feel Safe

37:35 What Finally Drives Help

39:28 AI As A First Step

42:32 Community Prevention Ideas

45:02 Connection Over Labels

48:15 Confidentiality In Small Towns

50:25 How Struggles Interconnect

51:34 Warning Signs For Youth

54:47 Becoming A Therapist

55:28 Humor As Coping

58:19 Carrying A Secret

01:00:58 Message To Rural Young Men

01:03:26 Where To Find Sterling

01:05:07 Final Takeaway

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Lisa Renda spent her career as a psychotherapist teaching clients to heal — until a psychic warning, a divorce, a faith crisis, and raising a child with autism forced her to apply everything she knew to her own life.

In this episode of Irene Cares, Lisa shares how she walked away from the old belief that trauma can only be managed, not healed, and how neuroplasticity, somatic work, and a life-changing psilocybin journey helped her rebuild her identity from the ground up. We talk about courage, boundaries, why some people never heal (and why that matters too), and what it really takes to get back to peace after chaos.

If you've ever had to lose yourself to find yourself, this conversation is for you.

🎧 New episodes of Irene Cares every week — hit subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

💬 IreneGPT: Built by Survivors. For Survivors. Learn more at [email protected]

00:00 Love as Healing Force

01:40 Psychic Childhood Awakening

06:48 Mormon Upbringing and Poverty

08:01 BYU Marriage and Cracks

09:53 Parenting Without Support

12:42 Autism Diagnosis Breakthrough

15:24 Marriage Dynamics and Control

18:54 Trauma Healing and Neuroplasticity

22:45 Catalysts and Psilocybin Insight

27:11 Divorce and Faith Crisis

35:46 EMDR Somatics and Intuition

00:13 Warning Signs of Burnout

38:52 Divorce and Isolation

40:24 Psychic Advice Pivot

41:42 Zion Shuttle Healing

42:28 Metaphysical Awakening

46:41 Trauma Therapy Tools

48:46 Psychedelic Turning Point

54:21 Energy Alchemy Talk

56:01 Autism and Self Focus

57:58 Narcissism Dynamics

01:05:37 No Absolute Truth

01:09:08 Dark Night Explained

01:13:51 Beyond Words Experience

01:14:31 Validation From Source

01:15:32 Dark Night Guidance

01:18:35 Growth Through Challenge

01:20:50 Window Of Tolerance

01:25:31 Somatic Shaking Release

01:29:39 Emotion As Superpower

01:31:49 Love Heals In Therapy

01:34:06 Finding The Right Therapist

01:36:52 Gentle Trauma Integration

01:39:41 Resilience And Neuroplasticity

01:41:00 Closing Thanks And Farewell

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Carol's son Dylan was 18 when a motorcycle accident took his life. In this episode, she opens up about the sound of grief she says she'll never get out of her brain, what it was like to sit with the not-knowing before the worst news arrived, and how a friendship forged through shared loss became one of the things that kept her standing.

Carol also shares what she's learned about showing up for someone in grief — not asking what they need, but just doing something — and why she believes being brave enough to say "I need help" changes everything.

This is a conversation about grief that doesn't resolve neatly, community that carries you when you can't carry yourself, and finding out who you are again after everything falls apart.

Built by Survivors. For Survivors.

🔗 Learn more or share your story: [email protected]
 🎧 Subscribe for more real conversations on resilience, healing, and community.

00:00 Living With Grief

01:05 Meet Carol’s Story

01:37 Finding Herself Again

02:59 EMT to Nurse Journey

05:37 Seven Kids and Stepmom Life

11:30 Dylan Remembered

13:45 The Night of the Crash

21:33 What Grief Felt Like

26:47 How People Can Help

30:05 Therapy and Family Support

34:20 Healing and New Normal

37:48 A Friend’s Late Night Call

39:21 ER Waiting Room Dread

40:47 Neurosurgeon Delivers Reality

43:58 Stepping Out For Boundaries

44:45 Supporting Amber Through Loss

45:51 How Grief Really Works

47:35 Helping A Friend Grieve

51:48 Why She Shared Her Story

57:27 What The Newly Grieving Need

59:10 Therapy Tools And EMDR

01:05:51 Show Up Dont Ask

01:06:52 Life Perspective After Trauma

01:10:25 Three Years Later And Hope

01:13:34 Faith After Loss

01:15:52 Final Message Youre Not Alone

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Ashley Larsen is both a registered dietitian and a personal trainer — a rare combination that gives her a uniquely balanced perspective on health. In this episode, she breaks down why she'd choose exercise over nutrition if she could only give someone one tool for better health, and how starting with movement naturally leads to better food choices instead of the other way around.

Ashley unpacks the psychology of dieting: why willpower works like a rubber band that eventually snaps, why restrictive "good food/bad food" thinking backfires, and how her 80/20 approach to eating helped her overcome a serious sugar addiction. She also shares the "stages of change" model she uses with clients, a gut-punch story about a client who quit on herself, and the difference between a fixed mindset ("I got an A, I won") and a growth mindset ("I'm going to put in the work"). This conversation is packed with practical, sustainable strategies for anyone who's tired of the diet rollercoaster and wants real, lasting change — mentally and physically.

00:00 Do Hard Things
00:50 Meet Ashley Larson
02:25 Exercise Before Nutrition
04:20 Willpower And Cravings
06:40 80 20 Food Balance
09:53 Protein Planning Basics
11:59 Practice Not Perfection
13:55 Growth Mindset Goals
18:12 Progress Over Perfection
20:11 Fitness Beyond The Gym
21:50 Vulnerability In Coaching
28:40 The Real Why Behind Weight
30:04 You Don't Need Salads
31:45 Balanced Food Mindset
32:01 Why Clients Show Up
32:29 Exercise For Capability
33:45 Pain Relief Through Strength
34:54 How Hard To Push
36:09 When Clients Quit
38:52 Stages Of Change
42:44 Breaking The Excuse Loop
44:41 Training Hard Things
46:46 Practice Builds Resilience
48:19 Unlocking New PRs
55:07 Progress Beyond The Scale
58:31 Grace After Time Off
01:00:16 Mental Toughness Rich Life
01:01:24 Strict vs Sustainable
01:02:20 Inside 75 Hard
01:03:20 No One Size Fits
01:04:11 Process Goals Monthly
01:07:16 Promises Build Confidence
01:10:28 Flip Your Self Talk
01:14:18 Hard Season Advice
01:15:44 Client Transformation Story
01:21:32 Food Guilt vs Shame
01:25:09 Wrap Up and Where to Find

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

What do a Doomsday cult, rat poison, and a .357 revolver have in common? They're all part of one man's survival story — and none of them won.

Raven is a lifelong musician, martial artist, and author who grew up in a cult, survived abuse at the hands of his stepfather, and spent years inviting death onto his own stage before driving to the woods one night with a loaded gun and one unanswered question: Does my life mean anything?

The trigger clicked. The gun didn't fire. And everything changed.
In this episode of Irene Cares, Raven shares how a moment of stillness, a shift in perspective, and a profound spiritual awakening turned a lifetime of rage into a mission. His message is simple and unshakeable: Don't quit. You are a rare and unique expression of something greater — and you were born to live it fully.

00:00 Intro
01:08 Meet Raven
02:15 Raised In Doomsday Cult
03:03 Poverty And Fear
05:59 Stepdad Poisoning
08:32 Bipolar Diagnosis
09:42 Mania And Coping
11:24 Hospitalizations And Memory Loss
13:29 Natural Healing Mindset
15:45 Martial Arts And Escape
16:33 Finding His Voice In Music
19:37 Touring And Shock Rock
22:03 Russian Roulette Turning Point
23:57 Satanism Explained
24:39 Meditation Awakening 1999
26:24 Catholic Buddhist Path
27:10 Meeting His Wife
27:37 Marriage And Family Life
28:09 Dojo And Utah Move
28:28 Cowboy Tour Company
29:55 Solo Gigs To UMG Deal
32:23 Six String Revolver Rise
33:52 Empty Eyes And Bipolar
35:20 Martial Arts Mentorship
40:14 School Of Rock And Stage Energy
44:22 Books And Nutrition Healing
48:42 Therapy Trauma And Faith
52:44 Never Quit Final Message
54:53 Where To Find Raven

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

On the Irene Cares Podcast, Carrie Crane shares how early trauma, an emotionally unavailable and abusive home, and becoming a mother at 15 shaped lifelong patterns of seeking love, people-pleasing, and survival mode. She describes placing her second baby for adoption at 17, pursuing nursing to prove a principal wrong, and later recognizing destructive relationship cycles, including severe abuse and partners’ addiction and infidelity, after her son confronted her bruises. Carrie discusses healing through self-love, boundaries, and shifting from victim to creator, along with tools like her “five T” trigger framework, nervous system regulation, and the power of language. She explains foot zoning as a mind-body-spirit alignment practice and outlines her work at Reclaim Wellness in Richfield, Utah, offering coaching, peptides, genetic testing, and holistic health support.

00:00 Judgment To Awakening

00:13 Meet Carrie Crane

01:16 Teen Mom Reality

02:22 Chasing Love And Safety

07:18 Victim To Creator Mindset

08:41 Body Image And Eating Disorders

11:46 Triggers Truth Transformation

14:47 Healing In New Chapters

19:42 Words Worthiness And Faith

21:52 Self Love Boundaries And Patterns

32:03 Childhood Abuse And Survival

35:23 Fifteen And Becoming A Mom

36:29 Proving Them Wrong

37:40 Midlife Peace Shift

38:07 Religion Love And Trauma

41:54 Mask Versus Spirituality

46:16 Trusting Intuition

49:45 Nursing And Fixer Roots

52:19 Survival Mode Inside

54:11 Healing Through Water

56:19 Abuse Pattern Wakeup

57:39 Foot Zoning Explained

59:35 Breaking Relationship Cycles

01:10:25 Control And Alone Time

01:11:52 Human Design Hermit Time

01:13:58 Goat Ranch Life

01:14:31 Goats as Land Managers

01:15:40 Reframing Life Events

01:18:16 Health Narratives and Diagnosis

01:20:13 Identity vs Feelings

01:21:35 Affirmations That Stick

01:25:05 Broken or Patterned

01:29:48 Coaching Approach and Identity

01:32:50 Small Changes Big Shifts

01:37:29 Burnout in High Achievers

01:40:23 Intuition vs Survival

01:42:48 Faith Feels Better

01:48:19 Daily Alignment Routine

01:53:03 Reclaim Wellness and Wrap Up

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube