Mamahood After Trauma | Healing Childhood Trauma, Parenting Triggers & Emotional Regulation for Moms

After 27 years working with young people and 6,500 families, Dr. Jerry Weichman says one of the biggest sources of parental stress is trying to control what can’t be controlled.

On Mamahood After Trauma, he shares practical ways to steady yourself: notice when stress is rising, return to the present through your senses, and turn repetitive thoughts toward actions that can help. He also explains how looking for one or two positives in a hard situation can change how you feel—and why putting energy into others can restore a sense of purpose.

A grounded conversation about caring for your mental health while raising kids in an unstable world.

Connect with Dr. Jerry: 

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

When a crisis finally eases, your body may seem to fall apart—sleep, digestion, pain, or energy can become harder to manage. It’s unsettling when stress may be part of the picture, but new or persistent symptoms still need proper medical evaluation.

The belief that trauma explains every symptom can lead you to overlook care you need. And while fear can amplify the stress response, that doesn’t mean your symptoms are imaginary.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to listen to your body without dismissing it or treating every sensation as danger—and how to make room for both medical care and nervous-system support.

Emily Cleghorn explores the effects of prolonged stress on the body and offers a compassionate, balanced perspective on trauma and physical symptoms.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

At 20, Monica’s eating disorders and suicidal thoughts led her to seek urgent help at her university counseling office. Years later, as a young mother of three, severe depression returned—and a therapist helped her see that perfectionism hadn’t disappeared; it had shifted into all-or-nothing thinking. Monica joins Emily Cleghorn to explain how she spent a decade rebuilding her life through small steps, self-compassion, and a new definition of progress. She also shares the unexpected relief of being told recovery might take a lifetime—and how, 20 years later, those once-overwhelming thoughts have become “like a little fly.”

Bullet Points

- Perfectionism, overachievement, and the cost of tying self-worth to outcomes

Connect with Monica: 

https://aboutprogress.com

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Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

When a coping strategy starts causing harm, it can be frightening to wonder whether you’re addicted—or simply unable to stop. In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, Emily Cleghorn looks at how trauma-related coping can show up as substance use, endless scrolling, overwork, or always being the person everyone depends on—and how motherhood can bring those patterns into sharper focus.

The belief that you should be able to stop through willpower alone can deepen shame and keep you from seeking help. Emily offers a more compassionate question: What need is this behavior meeting, and what support could help meet that need in a safer way?

You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how to approach these patterns without judgment, when professional support may help, and when immediate care is important. Emily Cleghorn is a trauma-informed coach and host of Mamahood After Trauma, where she helps mothers understand how trauma can shape their experiences and find compassionate paths toward healing.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

After years of childhood abuse and managing seven pillboxes of medication, Thayne Martin says he now lives without them—and credits hands-on experiences that helped him rebuild connection and emotional awareness. In this candid conversation with Emily Cleghorn, he shares how a near-death experience reshaped his outlook, why a stranger’s unexpected kindness inspired his work, and what exercises like smiling at strangers or asking for help are designed to reveal. He also reflects on healing, his 35-year marriage, and the care needed to make difficult exercises feel safe. An intense, personal look at one man’s path from isolation toward connection.

Bullet Points

- Childhood abuse and its long-term effects on mental health, relationships, and daily life.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc 

Many trauma-surviving mothers are haunted by the fear: "What if I become the person who hurt me?" This episode dives into the heart-wrenching moments when old patterns surface, and self-doubt takes over, making you question your ability to parent differently.

But just because you recognize familiar behaviors doesn’t mean you’re doomed to repeat them. The belief that your past determines your future is a myth — you have the power to choose a new path, even when it feels impossible.

In this episode, Emily promises to show you how noticing patterns is the first step to breaking them, and why striving for repair, not perfection, is what truly transforms families. She’ll guide you to see yourself not as a product of your past, but as the author of your family’s future.

As a trauma survivor, mother, and certified trauma recovery coach, Emily Cleghorn brings lived experience and professional expertise to every conversation, offering compassionate, practical support for mothers on their healing journey. 

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes mindfulness and children's wellness specialist Veronica Moya for an empowering conversation about healing and intentional parenting.

Veronica shares how mindfulness transformed her own life and explains why children are naturally intuitive and wise — they simply need permission to trust themselves. She offers practical tools for trauma-surviving mothers, including morning affirmations, breathing exercises, gratitude practices, and creating a peaceful "quiet corner" at home.

Veronica emphasizes that a mother's own mindfulness practice is the most powerful gift she can model for her children.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

In this powerful episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn dives into the challenging moments when a child's tantrum or defiance unexpectedly brings up overwhelming emotions from the past. She names the specific struggle of feeling hijacked by triggers in everyday parenting, and the shame that can follow. Many believe that being triggered means they're failing as mothers or that their trauma makes them unfit to parent, but Emily challenges this belief, reminding listeners that triggers are a normal response and not a reflection of their worth or capability.

Emily promises to guide listeners through understanding their triggers, offering practical strategies to respond with compassion rather than react from old wounds. As a trauma survivor, mother, and certified trauma-informed coach, Emily brings both lived experience and professional expertise to support mothers on their healing journey.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

In this powerful episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes stress management coach and author Lolita Guarin, who shares her transformative journey from burnout to balance.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn tackles the vulnerable moment when trauma-survivor mothers wonder if their healing journey is "enough" to be a good parent.

She promises to guide you through reframing your expectations, embracing repair after mistakes, and modeling self-compassion for your children.

Become a Mamahood After Trauma Supporter-

https://buymeacoffee.com/emilycleghorn

💬 And if you’ve got a story, insight, or wisdom to share, I’m always looking for new voices for the podcast! You can connect with me on Podmatch to be a guest and share your experience with our growing community. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/riseandshinewithemilyc