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⚠️ Content / Trigger Warning:
This episode contains discussion of childhood abuse, domestic violence, coercive control, racism, religious trauma, foster care involvement, and self-harm. Listener discretion is advised. Please take care of yourself while listening.

This week on Marionette Dolls, we are honored to share a powerful listener story:  Pandora’s story.

In this deeply personal episode, we read Pandora’s experience in full before unpacking the psychological and neurological impact of growing up in an environment shaped by coercive control, religious manipulation, isolation, and abuse. We explore what happens to the brain and nervous system when survival becomes the only option — including dissociation, trauma bonding, learned helplessness, and hypervigilance.

Pandora’s journey does not end in childhood. We discuss how early trauma can shape adult relationships, influence identity, and affect how safety is recognized or missed later in life. We also take time to examine the realities of foster care involvement, therapy, diagnosis, and the long-term process of healing from complex trauma.

This episode focuses not just on what was endured, but on what it takes to break generational cycles through advocacy, parenting differently, and slowly rewiring the brain toward safety.

If you recognize pieces of your own experience in Pandora’s story, you are not alone — and support is available.

RESOURCES

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or abuse, help is available:

📞 National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.)
Call: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
TTY: 1-800-787-3224
Text: START to 88788
Online Chat

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