Medical trauma is real. Millions of people are living with it. And most of them don't even have a name for it yet.

In this episode, Sarah sits down with Dr. Jim Jackson, neuropsychologist at Vanderbilt University and author of Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma, for a deeply human conversation about what medical trauma actually looks like, why avoidance is so much more dangerous than we realize, and why you don't have to be symptom-free to live a meaningful life.

Dr. Jackson has spent over 25 years working with ICU survivors, long COVID patients, and people navigating the aftermath of life-altering medical experiences. He brings both clinical expertise and his own lived experience with OCD to a conversation that is honest, warm, and genuinely hopeful.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why medical trauma is "hiding in plain sight" and what it costs people to not have a name for it
• How avoidance quietly shrinks your world (and what actually helps you move through it)
• What acceptance and commitment therapy offers people who can't imagine returning to medical care
• The "beach ball in the pool" approach to distressing symptoms
• Why shame keeps people stuck, and how to begin gently moving out of it
• Jim's own story of being diagnosed with OCD and what it taught him about healing without a cure
• Why post-traumatic growth isn't about gratitude, it's about finding a new opportunity

Resources mentioned:

• Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma by Dr. Jim Jackson (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold, including an audio version)
• ICU Recovery Center at Vanderbilt University
• Critical Illness Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship Center at Vanderbilt
• Medical Trauma Support Circle: https://your-bc-befriend.mn.co/landing/

• medicaltraumasupport.org

The Medical Trauma Support Podcast is a human-centered, nervous-system-informed space for anyone whose relationship with their body, safety, and trust has been shaped by medical experiences. Because your experience deserves recognition.

Have you ever been dismissed by a doctor, told your pain wasn't real, or watched the people you love begin to doubt you? You are not alone — and this episode is for you.

Sarah sits down with Deborah Weed, founder of the Self Worth Initiative, author, artist, and creator of the upcoming musical Paisley: The Fashion Forest — a story born directly out of her own experience with medical trauma. Deborah spent three excruciating years bedridden, told by doctors she might have MS or ALS, and ultimately dismissed as making it all up. All while a grapefruit-sized tumor hidden behind her uterus was slowly hemorrhaging her body to near death.

What Deborah discovered on that journey, about self-worth, the difference between self-esteem and self-worth, and the healing power of creativity, is something every survivor of medical trauma needs to hear.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What it felt like to be disbelieved by doctors and by the people closest to her
• The difference between self-esteem and self-worth, and why losing one does not mean losing the other
• How gadolinium poisoning and a mismanaged black-box antibiotic added to her medical trauma
• Why she believes creativity is what saved her life — not once, but three times
• The Broadway-bound musical she is building as a movement for women who have lost their voice
• Sarah's vision for a peer support certification program so no one ever faces a medical procedure alone

Whether you are healing from a misdiagnosis, navigating a mystery illness, supporting a loved one, or working in healthcare, this conversation will remind you: your quills grow back. So does your power.

Connect with Deborah: paisleysfashionforest.com

Keywords: medical trauma, misdiagnosis, dismissed by doctors, chronic illness support, medical PTSD, self-worth, mystery illness, long COVID, rare disease, reclaiming your voice, women's health, gadolinium poisoning, peer support

If you've ever left a doctor's appointment feeling worse than when you walked in — not from the news you received, but from how you were treated — this episode is for you.

I sat down with Casey Berna, licensed clinical social worker, endometriosis advocate, and author of Endometriosis: From Harm to Hope, A Chronic Illness Guide, for a deeply honest conversation about medical trauma, the nervous system, and what it really means to heal.

We talk about: the 7–10 year diagnostic delay so many endometriosis patients face, why gaslighting in medical settings is a form of emotional abuse, how your nervous system responds to repeated harm (and why that's not your fault), a simple nervous system regulation tool called finger breathing, the layered grief of living with chronic illness, what truly trauma-informed care looks like — from providers AND from the people in your life, and Casey's powerful message about learning to believe yourself again.

Whether you're living with endometriosis, another chronic illness, or have experienced medical trauma of any kind, this conversation will remind you: your experience deserves recognition.

Resources mentioned: CaseyBerna.com | @EndoSocialWorker | Endometriosis: From Harm to Hope (available at bookshop.org) | Below the Belt documentary at https://www.projectendo.org/

In this episode, I talk with family nurse practitioner Alec Bradbury about compassionate care, chronic pain, street medicine, and what it really means to make patients feel heard.

We talk about the power of simple human connection in healthcare — eye contact, listening, validation, and even saying something as simple as, “I’m proud of you for coming in today.”

If you have experienced medical trauma, dismissal, or feeling unheard in healthcare, this conversation is for you. There are compassionate providers out there, and conversations like this are part of how healthcare is changing.

We discuss:

• Medical trauma and trust
• Chronic pain and the nervous system
• The pain–fear cycle
• Street medicine and meeting patients where they are
• Burnout, empathy, and clinician wellbeing
• How healing happens in relationship

This conversation is compassionate, validating, and full of hope.

To connect with Alec you can find him at the following link:

https://linktr.ee/alecbradburyfnp?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=a5ce4795-a0a9-4860-a549-0757fee615f5

#MedicalTrauma#ChronicPain#TraumaInformedCare#PatientAdvocacy#NervousSystem

Disclaimer - This episode shares one individual’s personal medical experience. It is not intended as medical advice. The goal of this conversation is to explore the human experience of illness and the importance of compassionate care within healthcare systems.

In this episode of the Medical Trauma Support Podcast, Sarah speaks with family nurse practitioner Shaun Barcavage about what happens when a healthcare provider suddenly becomes the patient.

After receiving a COVID vaccine during the early rollout of the pandemic, Shaun began experiencing a cascade of complex neurological and cardiovascular symptoms. What followed was not only a medical mystery—but also a deeply challenging journey through the healthcare system.

Shaun shares his experience of navigating chronic illness, searching for answers, and encountering one of the most common contributors to medical trauma: not being believed.

Together, Sarah and Shaun explore:

• What it feels like when a clinician suddenly becomes the patient

• The layers of trauma that can occur in medical settings

• How dismissal and gaslighting can compound medical suffering

• The importance of listening to patients, even when answers are unclear

• Finding purpose, meaning, and moments of joy during long-term illness

This conversation is not about politics—it is about the human experience inside healthcare and the importance of compassion, curiosity, and support when patients are navigating complex and unexplained symptoms.

If you have ever felt dismissed, unheard, or alone in a medical experience, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Medical Trauma Support Podcast, I’m joined by licensed clinical social worker Ellie Vincent, founder of Manna Moments conversation cards.

Ellie shares how working with patients and families facing end-of-life moments inspired her to create prompts that help people talk about grief, legacy, values, and gratitude — before it’s too late.

Together, we walk through three powerful prompts from her decks and reflect on:
• Disenfranchised loss and unrecognized grief
• Living in alignment with your values
• Practicing gratitude toward your body
• Supporting yourself as a clinician in the medical system
• How intentional conversations can regulate the nervous system

Whether you are healing from medical trauma, supporting a loved one, or working in healthcare, this episode offers gentle reflection and meaningful tools for connection.

You can learn more about Ellie and her cards at:
Instagram: @by.mannamoments
Website: https://www.manna-moments.com/

Pause the episode, journal, and let yourself reflect alongside us.

Because your experience deserves recognition.

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Sarah Stasica sits down with Kim Black, founder of Scarred and Fabulous, to talk honestly about healing after medical trauma and surgery.

Kim shares her story of childhood surgery, nervous system survival responses, and the long journey of learning how to feel safe in her body again. Together, Sarah and Kim explore why medical experiences can feel traumatic — even when procedures “go well” — and how powerlessness, avoidance, shame, and control patterns can show up long after hospital stays are over.

This episode offers gentle, practical tools for:
✨ Preparing emotionally for medical appointments
✨ Understanding fight, flight, and shutdown responses
✨ Rebuilding trust with your body after trauma
✨ Releasing stored stress and fear
✨ Practicing self-compassion on the healing journey

If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, anxious about doctors, overwhelmed after surgery, or wondered, “Why am I still struggling?” — this conversation is for you.

You are not broken. Your nervous system adapted to protect you. And healing is possible.

More about Kim:

Kim Black is a Post Surgery Confidence Coach and author who helps women heal from the PTSD no one warned them about after surgery. After 30 years of misdiagnosed 'anxiety,' 'IBS,' and 'anger issues,' Kim discovered she had Medical PTSD from childhood surgeries—a condition affecting up to 20% of patients that doctors rarely mention. Now she teaches women the research-backed tools she wishes she'd had, combining neuroscience with raw honesty (zero toxic positivity). Founder of Scarred & Fabulous and previously featured on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Kim's Book Launch Group

Join the Befriend Your Body Community

When a child experiences medical trauma, parents are often overlooked—but their role is powerful.

In this episode of the Medical Trauma Support Podcast, I’m joined by neuropsychologist and founder of Parenting Kids with CHD, Dawn Ilardi, who has spent over 16 years working in pediatric healthcare. Together, we explore how parents’ nervous systems, emotional responses, and sense of agency directly shape a child’s medical experience.

We talk about:

• Why parents are often “the missing patient” in pediatric care

• How parental stress, anxiety, and trauma affect children’s outcomes

• The power of co-regulation, presence, and advocacy

• Why dissociation can be protective—and how healing happens gently

• How asking for “the pause” can change everything

This conversation is for parents navigating medical systems, clinicians wanting to understand family dynamics, and anyone impacted by medical trauma .

Learn more about Dawn's work, Parenting Kids with CHD, https://parentingchd.podia.com/

Learn more about the Befriend Your Body Community, where you can access peer support, nervous system education and a Foundation Course: https://your-bc-befriend.mn.co/landing

#MedicalTrauma
#MedicalTraumaSupport
#ChildhoodMedicalTrauma
#TraumaInformedCare
#NervousSystemHealing

In this episode, Sarah sits down with Danielle Ford, who opens up about a life-altering medical crisis: after an MS diagnosis and years on a high-efficacy disease-modifying treatment, Danielle developed a “run-of-the-mill” infection that rapidly became life-threatening—resulting in 97 days in the ICU, 12 surgeries, months of wounds and recovery, and a permanent colostomy.

Together, we explore what it means to survive—and then return to a life that doesn’t look the same. Danielle shares the mental and emotional aftermath (including post-ICU trauma/PICS and PTSD symptoms), the difficulty of seeing scars in the mirror, and how therapy, community support (including ostomy communities), and faith helped her reclaim purpose. We also talk about a rare but deeply hopeful experience: a surgeon who went beyond medical care—checking in emotionally, advocating for her readiness, and helping her feel seen when she was most vulnerable.

If you’ve been through an ICU stay, a medical emergency, or a body-changing procedure, this conversation is a reminder: you’re not alone—and healing is possible.

Mentioned in this episode: Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), trauma therapy, exposure/support, ostomy community support.

To reach out to Danielle:

Email - [email protected] - https://www.instagram.com/d.b_ford/FB - https://www.facebook.com/share/16zzudq61U/?mibextid=wwXIfr

To join us in the Befriend Your Body Community - https://your-bc-befriend.mn.co/landing/

What happens when healthcare providers are truly supported—and how does that ripple out to patient care?

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, I’m joined by three heart failure nurses from Christ Hospital Health Network who are quietly transforming what compassionate, trauma-informed care can look like from the inside of the system.

Together, we talk about:

• Why medical trauma can occur even when “everything goes right”

• How chronic illness and hospitalization impact both patients and providers.

• The importance of peer support—for patients and clinicians

• What patients are really processing after they go home

• Why being seen, believed, and supported by medical staff matters so deeply

• How systems that care for their staff create better outcomes for everyone

These nurses also share how they run a heart failure support group that welcomes both inpatients and community members—creating connection, hope, and healing during some of the hardest moments of life. We explore grief, nervous system overwhelm, and the simple yet powerful practices that help people feel safer in medical spaces.

This episode is especially meaningful to me as I continue expanding my work supporting medical providers, knowing that when clinicians are resourced, regulated, and supported, patients feel it.

Whether you’re:

• A medical professional navigating burnout or moral injury

• A patient or caregiver recovering from a traumatic medical experience

• Or part of a healthcare system looking to do better

To connect with the Christ Hospital Heart Failure Support Group you can call the Heartlink Line at 513-585-0378

or email Pam at [email protected]

If you are looking for a peer support group for medical trauma, please join us in the Befriend Your Body Community where you can feel seen and validated with others who "get it".