Overcoming PTSD with Brad Schipke

Struggling with trauma/PTSD and need help? Join my private recovery community here and get my 9 best relief tools 100% FREE: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

This episode dives into one of the most overlooked yet essential skills for trauma recovery: radical honesty with yourself. Brad shares how being willing to honestly face his darkest thoughts — including suicidal ideation — was the turning point that allowed him to actually heal those parts of himself. Not by pushing them away, but by accepting they existed so he could work with them.

The key insight is that honesty doesn't mean what you feel is objectively true. You might honestly feel like someone hates you even when you logically know they don't. But until you admit that belief exists inside you, you can't fix it. You'll keep acting it out unconsciously. As Carl Jung said, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

Brad breaks down the three things you need to be honest about — your thoughts and beliefs, your emotions, and what you truly want — and explains how to bring this forward in processing work. This isn't about facing your deepest fears unprepared. It's about building the skill of honesty little by little, starting with small things, so you can eventually shine light on even the darkest corners of your mind.

💡 What You'll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

The emotions, beliefs, and thoughts inside you are there whether you admit them or not. Denying them doesn't make them go away — it just keeps them in the darkness where they continue to control your life. Honesty is the light that allows you to finally see and heal what's been hidden.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive. To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS: 

Topics Covered: PTSD recovery • trauma healing • honesty in healing • self-awareness • subconscious beliefs • emotional release • protectors processing • parts work • facing dark thoughts • suicidal ideation recovery • Carl Jung unconscious • trauma processing • releasing emotions • self-honesty • inner work • healing mindset • confronting fear • shame and guilt recovery

Struggling with trauma/PTSD and need help? Join my private recovery community here and get my 9 best relief tools 100% FREE: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

This session builds directly on the previous day's conversation about balancing goals with daily processes. Brad and Kayleen take the theory and show you exactly how to implement it into your daily life using practical tools like the Unbreakable Planner, affirmations, and intentional self-talk.

At the core of this episode is the belief cycle — the feedback loop between your experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. If you believe you're a failure for not reaching your goal yet, you'll take fewer actions, have worse experiences, and reinforce that negative belief. But the beautiful truth is that you have control over this cycle through your thoughts. Same experience, different interpretation, completely different outcome.

Brad and Kayleen walk you through how to set micro goals you'll actually accomplish, how to celebrate yourself no matter what, and how to use evening and morning routines to bookend your day with the beliefs you want to build. This isn't about being perfect — it's about moving the ball forward, even if just by half a percent.

💡 What You'll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

You are a success if you do the daily process, not if you achieve the goal. Change the equation in your mind, and everything else follows.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive. To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS: 

Topics Covered: PTSD recovery • trauma healing • belief cycle • daily routines • micro goals • Unbreakable Planner • progress not perfection • self-talk • affirmations • celebrating small wins • morning routine • evening routine • mindset for healing • self-encouragement • building momentum • trauma survivor tools • mental health habits • consistency in recovery

Struggling with trauma/PTSD and need help? Join my private recovery community here and get my 9 best relief tools 100% FREE: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this powerful mindset session, Brad and Kayleen break down one of the most common traps in trauma recovery: becoming so focused on the end goal that you forget to celebrate the daily work that actually gets you there. They share how they each fall on opposite ends of this spectrum — Brad gets caught up in the goal and feels like a failure when he's not there yet, while Kaylene gets lost in the day-to-day and forgets why she's doing the work at all.

The truth is, you don't become a success when you achieve full recovery. You become a success every single day you show up and do the work. Using the example of Michael Phelps swimming over 1,400 sessions across four years to win Olympic gold, Brad explains how the championship is won in the daily process — not on race day.

This episode is a call to shift how you measure your worth. Stop treating yourself like a failure for not being fully healed yet. Start recognizing that every processing session, every moment of self-care, and every time you show up is the achievement. You already are the person who fully recovers — you're just walking the path to get there.

💡 What You'll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

You are not a success for achieving the goal. You are a success for completing the daily process. Every step forward — no matter how small — is the achievement.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive. To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

Topics Covered: PTSD recovery • trauma healing • mindset for healing • goal setting • daily routines • consistency in recovery • celebrating small wins • self-encouragement • positive self-talk • imperfect action • trauma survivor motivation • processing sessions • mental health habits • self-worth • healing journey • recovery mindset • emotional regulation • personal growth

Struggling with PTSD and ready to FULLY recover? Join my recovery program here (costs less than a single therapy session): https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

How to Have Difficult Conversations After PTSD

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this episode, Brad breaks down how to have truly productive, calm, and loving difficult conversations—especially when you’re healing from PTSD or trauma. Instead of going into conflict to “win” or defend, you’ll learn how to approach every hard talk as a learning conversation that creates understanding instead of more hurt.

Brad walks you through what true communication really is, why most people were never taught it, and how trauma and PTSD can make honest conversations feel dangerous, overwhelming, or pointless. You’ll see why having a clear goal for the conversation matters just as much as the words you choose.

You’ll also discover a simple three-part structure for every difficult conversation: set a goal, gather information, and watch for pain. Brad shows you how to separate intent from impact, use the powerful “and stance,” and stay grounded when emotions or triggers show up—so you can protect your nervous system and your relationships at the same time.

By the end, you’ll have a practical communication roadmap you can start using right away with partners, family, friends, and even with yourself. This is the kind of skill that can shift your relationships almost overnight when you begin to use it with curiosity, honesty, and compassion.

💡 What You’ll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

You can be hurt and loving, triggered and responsible, honest and kind—healthy communication is learning to hold both truths at the same time.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive.

To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery • trauma healing • difficult conversations • healthy communication after trauma • emotional regulation • nervous system regulation • trauma coping tools • how to talk about your feelings • conflict resolution for trauma survivors • intent vs impact in relationships • the and stance communication tool • learning conversations • triggers in relationships • C-PTSD communication struggles • boundaries and self-expression • recovery toolbox skills • relationship repair after trauma

Struggling with PTSD and ready to FULLY recover? Join my recovery program here (costs less than a single therapy session): https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

Stop Saying “Tomorrow”: The PTSD Routine Challenge That Changes Everything

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this episode, Brad walks you through a powerful routines challenge designed to break the “I’ll start tomorrow” cycle that keeps so many trauma survivors stuck. Instead of chasing the perfect routine, he shows you how to dissolve resistance and take simple, doable action today.

You’ll explore why starting is always the hardest part, how your brain tricks you into postponing change, and what it really takes to build momentum in PTSD recovery. Brad uses practical examples—like getting out of bed, exercising, brushing your teeth, or processing—to show how small, immediate actions can transform your future self.

This is a workshop-style session with live coaching, so you’re invited to pick one specific routine you’ve been putting off, commit to it, and create a concrete plan to follow through. By the end, you won’t just understand routines—you’ll have actually taken the first step toward becoming the version of you who follows through.

💡 What You’ll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

Tomorrow never comes—your future self is built by the small, imperfect actions you take today.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive.

To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery routines • trauma healing habits • overcoming resistance • breaking avoidance patterns • nervous system regulation • micro habits for PTSD • trauma coping tools • daily processing routine • morning and night routines for trauma survivors • emotional regulation skills • building momentum in PTSD healing • self-discipline after trauma • mindset for PTSD recovery • practical PTSD routine challenge • behavior change for trauma survivors

Struggling with PTSD and ready to FULLY recover? Join my recovery program here (costs less than a single therapy session): https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

What Are You Focused On? How PTSD Steals Your Attention (And How To Take It Back)

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this episode of Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching, Brad’s team walks you through one simple but powerful question: What are you focused on? When you’re living with PTSD or past trauma, your mind is often pulled toward what’s wrong, what went wrong, or what could go wrong next. This session breaks down how that default focus keeps you stuck—and how to retrain it toward healing and growth.

You’ll learn why the brain is wired to scan for danger, how that once kept us safe, and why it now fuels anxiety, rumination, and emotional overload. Instead of pretending the past didn’t happen, you’ll hear a healthier approach: “get in, do what needs to be done, and get out” when processing trauma, then intentionally return your focus to the present and the future you want to build.

Throughout the call, you’ll hear real examples from survivors—struggling with housework, procrastination, rough weekends, and relationship tension—and how shifting focus just a few degrees changes how they feel and what they do. You’ll also get a practical challenge: choose one thing today that would make the day a win, do it, and then positively “ruminate” on that victory.

By the end, you’ll see that focus is a muscle you already have. You don’t need a new brain—you just need to retrain where you aim it. This episode shows you how to move from “I should have…” to “How can I…?” and start building real momentum in your PTSD recovery.

💡 What You’ll Learn

Why your brain with PTSD defaults to focusing on threats and negative outcomes

How your daily focus quietly shapes your emotions, actions, and long-term recovery

The difference between helpful trauma processing and getting stuck in the past

How to use the “How can I…?” question to shift from helplessness to action

A simple “one thing today” strategy to break procrastination and build momentum

How to turn ruminating from a trauma loop into a powerful healing skill

Practical ways to celebrate small wins so your brain wants to keep taking action

How to hold both truths at once: “This was traumatic” and “Good has come from it”

How to start focusing on gratitude, growth, and possibility without invalidating your pain

🧠 Key Takeaway

What you focus on grows—when you deliberately aim your attention at healing, you stop feeding the thoughts and habits that keep PTSD in control.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive.

To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

00:00 – Welcome back to Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery • trauma healing • PTSD focus and attention • negative thinking after trauma • trauma coping tools • emotional regulation • nervous system regulation • mindset for PTSD recovery • rumination and PTSD • cognitive reframing • dialectical thinking • growth mindset after trauma • daily recovery habits • overcoming avoidance • motivation and PTSD • self-compassion in healing • trauma-informed coaching • practical PTSD tools • small wins for trauma recovery • how to fully recover from PTSD

Struggling with PTSD and ready to FULLY recover? Join my recovery program here (costs less than a single therapy session): https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

100 Lessons That Prove PTSD Recovery Is Possible

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this special 100th Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching session, Brad celebrates the community’s progress with a unique “Knowledge Challenge.” Instead of teaching a brand-new concept, he invites everyone to look back and notice just how much they’ve already learned about PTSD recovery and trauma healing.

Together, the group co-creates a list of over 100 things they’ve learned—from “full recovery is possible” to “I am not my PTSD,” “consistency is key,” and “healthy boundaries are a good thing.” As the list grows, Brad shows how powerful it is to pause, reflect, and see your own progress in black and white.

Brad also explains why your brain often forgets how far you’ve come, and how a simple exercise like this can reset your perspective. By the end, you’ll see that you’re not starting from zero—you’re already equipped with powerful tools, routines, and mindsets that can carry you the rest of the way.

This episode is a celebration of you: your courage, your consistency, and your willingness to keep showing up for your healing—even on the days it feels slow, messy, or imperfect.

💡 What You’ll Learn

How a simple “knowledge challenge” reveals the truth about your PTSD recovery progress

Why your brain already knows more about healing trauma than you realize

How to use community and accountability to deepen PTSD recovery

A practical way to list your own “100 lessons learned” in healing

Why consistency and small daily actions matter more than motivation

How to separate your true self from PTSD symptoms and triggers

The role of routines, boundaries, and self-love in trauma healing

How gratitude, reflection, and celebration reinforce nervous system safety

A simple question to ask yourself each week to track real progress

🧠 Key Takeaway

You’ve already learned more than enough to heal—now it’s about consistently using what you know.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive.

To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

00:00 – Welcome and what Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching is

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery • trauma healing • PTSD knowledge challenge • PTSD coaching • emotional regulation • nervous system regulation • trauma coping tools • reprogramming the brain after trauma • full PTSD recovery is possible • recovery routines • morning and evening routines for PTSD • self-love after trauma • healthy boundaries in trauma recovery • consistency and discipline in healing • gratitude practice for PTSD recovery • community support for trauma survivors • overcoming PTSD triggers • mindset shifts for PTSD healing • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching • Overcoming PTSD Podcast

Struggling with PTSD and ready to FULLY recover? Join my recovery program here (costs less than a single therapy session): https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

What Is Full Recovery From PTSD Really?

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching session, Brad walks you through one of the most important questions on the healing journey: What is full recovery, really? Instead of aiming at a vague idea of “getting better,” you’ll get a clear, practical picture of what full recovery from PTSD and trauma looks like in real life.

Brad breaks down his criteria for full recovery into simple, tangible elements—things like control over your thoughts and emotions, more energy and hope, healthy relationships, and a deep sense of inner calm. You’ll see why just “coping” with PTSD is not the end goal, and how aiming higher actually gives your healing more direction and momentum.

You’ll also hear real-time reflections from survivors in the community as they share what full recovery means to them—no more triggers, no more nightmares, more peace, more freedom, and more authentic self-expression. Brad then ties all of this together into a workable standard you can use to measure your progress and set your sights on a fully recovered future.

By the end of this episode, you won’t just know that full recovery is possible—you’ll know exactly what you’re aiming for, and how every mindset shift, routine, and processing step moves you closer to that future self.

💡 What You’ll Learn

Why you must clearly define what “full recovery” means in order to reach it

The core pillars of full recovery: control, energy, relationships, self-love, freedom, calm

How to regain control over your thoughts, emotions, actions, and habits

Why increased energy, motivation, confidence, and hope are signs your nervous system is healing

How healthy, loving relationships start with how you relate to yourself

What it really means for your past to be fully processed so it no longer triggers your present

How freedom from substances and addictive coping shows deeper emotional healing

Why internal validation matters more than others’ approval in trauma recovery

How to recognize that you can be calm and at peace even in stressful or chaotic situations

🧠 Key Takeaway

Full recovery from PTSD means you’re no longer controlled by your past—you’re in control of your thoughts, emotions, and choices, living with energy, freedom, self-love, and deep inner calm.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive.

To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

00:00 – Welcome and Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching intro

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery • trauma healing • full PTSD recovery definition • trauma processing • nervous system regulation • emotional regulation • healing from childhood trauma • trauma coping tools • overcoming PTSD symptoms • stopping flashbacks and nightmares • self-love after trauma • healing relationships after trauma • freedom from addictions • recovery from complex trauma • trauma-informed coaching • how to fully heal from PTSD • mental health recovery journey • calm nervous system practices

Struggling with trauma/PTSD and need help? Join my private recovery community here and get my 9 best relief tools 100% FREE: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this powerful session from the Boundaries Bootcamp Bash series, Brad and Kaylene walk you through one of the most transformative exercises in trauma recovery: creating your personal Book of Law. This isn't about controlling others or demanding change from anyone else. It's about defining your standards, writing them down, and committing to enforce them no matter what.

Brad shares how this exact exercise helped Kaylene transform abusive relationships into some of the healthiest ones in her life — without the other people doing a single thing differently. When you change one variable in the equation, the outcome changes. That's the magic of boundaries.

This episode breaks down the difference between negative and positive relationships, teaches you how to write clear boundaries, and most importantly, shows you how to visualize and practice enforcing them before you ever need to. Because when the moment comes, you want your boundary to be second nature — not a negotiation.

💡 What You'll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

You don't need anyone else to change in order to transform your relationships. When you respect yourself enough to set and enforce boundaries, others begin to respect you too — and the entire dynamic shifts.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive. To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

Topics Covered: PTSD recovery • trauma healing • setting boundaries • relationship boundaries • self-boundaries • Book of Law exercise • enforcing boundaries • toxic relationships • negative relationships • positive relationships • self-respect • trauma survivor tools • boundary visualization • emotional regulation • healing relationships • personal standards • communication skills • walking away from conflict • self-care for trauma survivors

Struggling with PTSD and ready to FULLY recover? Join my recovery program here (costs less than a single therapy session): https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

Turning Nightmares Into Progress: How Bilateral Processing Heals PTSD

Host: Brad Schipke • Overcoming PTSD Podcast • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching

In this final session of the Bilateral Processing Bootcamp, Brad answers real Q&A from members who spent the weekend actually using the tool. You’ll hear honest reflections on what went well, where they got stuck, and how to move forward when processing feels confusing, painful, or overwhelming. This is a practical, boots-on-the-ground workshop, not theory.

Brad breaks down why nightmares, spikes in anxiety, and intense emotions after processing are not signs you’re “doing it wrong” but powerful evidence your brain is finally opening old doors and trying to heal. He explains how to use those reactions as data instead of danger, and how to turn middle-of-the-night fear into some of your most effective processing sessions.

You’ll also learn how to adjust your bilateral processing when you hit roadblocks: swapping memories or beliefs, following where your brain naturally wants to go, and letting your body release emotions instead of shutting them down. Throughout the session, Brad and the community reinforce one core message: healing from PTSD is inevitable if you take imperfect action and refuse to quit.

If you’ve been nervous to start processing on your own, or discouraged because it suddenly feels worse before it gets better, this episode will ground you, validate your experience, and give you clear next steps so you can keep going with confidence.

💡 What You’ll Learn

🧠 Key Takeaway

Healing from PTSD is inevitable when you keep processing, treat triggers as data, and allow your brain and body to do what they need to do.

🔗 Next Steps

Subscribe for new weekday episodes from the Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching archive.

To go deeper or work with Brad directly, visit: https://www.skool.com/brokentounbreakable

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome, intro, and Bilateral Processing Bootcamp recap

Topics Covered:

PTSD recovery • trauma healing • bilateral processing • PTSD nightmares • trauma triggers • EMDR-style bilateral stimulation • emotional regulation • nervous system regulation • trauma coping tools • trauma processing tools • bilateral stimulation at home • overcoming PTSD naturally • Recovery Secrets Daily Coaching • healing from childhood trauma • intrusive memories and PTSD • how to process trauma memories • stuck in PTSD recovery • full PTSD recovery is possible