PTSD and Beyond

In this episode of PTSD and Beyond, we welcome Christopher J. Allen, a military leader and veteran advocate dedicated to supporting service members, veterans, and their families.

This conversation centers on leadership in its most human form. Beyond titles, rank, or position, leadership is about presence, connection, and the willingness to check-in.

Christopher shares insights from his experience in service, highlighting the importance of everyday moments that build trust, strengthen connection, and create meaningful impact. We explore how small actions, like a conversation or a simple check-in, can serve as powerful protective factors in supporting mental health and preventing crisis.

This episode is a reminder that leadership and care often show up in the smallest moments.

What We Discuss -

• Leadership through presence, connection, and care

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership is expressed through presence and genuine connection

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In Love and Healing,

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LinkedIn - Christopher Jay Allen

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Anxiety often shows up when we are standing in front of a decision or when a lived experience feels like it might repeat itself. In these moments, the mind begins scanning for threat, danger, and risk.

Fear of rejection can become very loud and can create hesitation, avoidance, and sometimes complete inaction.

In this episode of PTSD and Beyond, Dr. Deb explores the connection between regret, rejection, and resilience and how anxiety can influence the way we approach decisions in our lives.

Resilience is not the absence of anxiety. Resilience is the ability to move forward even when uncertainty and fear are present. When action is taken with awareness, anxiety may still exist, but it no longer holds the same power.

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is available 24/7 and free and confidential.

Follow, subscribe, and leave a review to support PTSD and Beyond. Join us on Ko-Fi to help keep these conversations going.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

Join our community where we remind one another:

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

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Insta - @DrDebraLindh

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In this powerful episode of PTSD and Beyond, Dr. Deb welcomes firefighter and author Cody J. Mecham, whose story is one of resilience, courage, and rising from life’s most difficult moments.

Cody is the author of Burning It Down and Rise from the Ashes, two deeply personal books that explore pain, purpose, and the journey of rebuilding life after hardship.

In Burning It Down, Cody shares a raw and honest memoir about what it feels like to stand in the ashes of loss and struggle while searching for meaning and a way forward. The book is described as a conversation and a lifeline for anyone who has ever felt broken, exhausted, or uncertain about what comes next.

Through his experiences as a firefighter and through his personal journey, Cody speaks openly about mental health, trauma, resilience, and the strength it takes to rebuild after life’s hardest moments.

This conversation is about courage, healing, and the reminder that even when life feels like it has burned everything down, something new can still rise.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

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• Burning It Down

Available on Amazon.

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

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In this powerful conversation, Dr. Deb sits down with Wendy B. Smith, a trauma expert, licensed clinical social worker, and former clinical professor of social work, to explore the lasting effects of childhood trauma and the pathways toward healing.

With more than three decades of psychotherapy experience working with survivors of childhood maltreatment, Dr. Smith brings deep insight into how early experiences shape development, relationships, and life trajectories.

Dr. Smith is also the author of Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding About Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing, a groundbreaking book that examines the connection between adverse childhood experiences and later behavior through interviews with individuals who committed crimes as teenagers.

Together, Dr. Deb and Dr. Smith explore how childhood trauma affects brain development, identity formation, and the ways people move through the world. They also discuss the powerful role of human connection, understanding, and compassion in the healing process.

This conversation is a reminder that behind many behaviors are stories of pain, survival, and resilience. When we begin to understand those stories, we open the door to healing.

In this episode we discuss:

• What childhood trauma actually does to the developing brain and nervous system

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with Dr. Wendy B. Smith:

Website - Dr. Wendy B. Smith

LinkedIn - Dr. Wendy B. Smith

Book - Before Their Crimes

Insta - Wendy B. Smith

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

STORE - PTSD and Beyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh

Why does someone who has led in extreme, high-pressure environments write a book about mindfulness and resilience?

In this episode, I sit down with Ash Alexander-Cooper, OBE - former elite military commander and author of Mindful Soldier, to talk about the lived experiences that shaped his leadership and the lessons earned along the way.

We explore why he wrote the book, what real-world leadership under pressure taught him about responsibility and resilience, and how he now works with leaders to build steadiness from the inside out.

Each chapter of Mindful Soldier includes practical tools and exercises, making this more than a story. It is a guide people can actively apply in their own lives and leadership.

We also discuss the individuals and organizations this work has already impacted.

Grounded. Practical. Reflective.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

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💌 Connect with Ash Alexander-Cooper:

Website - Ash Alexander-Cooper

LinkedIn - Ash Alexander-Cooper

Book - Mindful Soldier

Insta - Ash Alexander-Cooper

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

STORE - PTSD and Beyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh

This conversation explores workplace bullying through a lens that goes far deeper than behavior. We examine the physiology of harm, the nervous system impact of chronic workplace stress, and how leadership either contributes to trauma or actively prevents it.

Liza Collins is a trauma preventative leadership coach, consultant, and number one best selling author of The Physiology of Bullying. With more than three decades of experience across healthcare systems in the UK and internationally, her work bridges lived experience, neuroscience, and relational leadership practice.

In this episode, we explore:

• What chronic workplace harm does to the nervous system

This conversation moves beyond surface level discussions about difficult personalities. It addresses power, safety, and the biological cost of sustained psychological threat.

For anyone navigating workplace harm, leading teams, or building cultures of psychological safety, this episode offers insight, clarity, and grounded perspective.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with Liza Collins:

Website - Liza Collins

LinkedIn - Liza Collins

Book - The Physiology of Bullying

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh

In this episode, Dr. Deb talks with Amanda Anderson, speaker and resilience strategist, about what it really means to rebuild after trauma, burnout, and major life disruption. This conversation moves beyond surface motivation and explores practical mindset shifts, personal truth, and intentional growth after hardship.

Together, we explore surviving versus living with purpose, how adversity reshapes identity, and tools that support lasting inner change.

Listeners will walk away with grounded insight, real talk on resilience, and practical ways to move forward with clarity and strength.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with Amanda Anderson:

Website - Amanda Anderson

LinkedIn - Amanda Anderson

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh

Understanding Trauma Across the Lifespan with Dr. Frank Putnam

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of trauma, child maltreatment, and dissociation; please listen at your own pace and care for your wellbeing while engaging.

In this episode, Dr. Deb Lindh sits down with Dr. Frank Putnam, a renowned psychiatrist, researcher, and national leader in the study of trauma, child maltreatment, and its lifelong effects. With a career spanning decades of clinical work and groundbreaking research, Dr. Putnam has been instrumental in advancing the field of traumatic stress studies and mentoring generations of trauma scientists.

Dr. Putnam’s work began early in his career at the National Institute of Mental Health, where he first encountered the profound effects of child abuse on psychological and biological development. This experience shaped his lifelong focus on understanding trauma’s impact from childhood into adulthood and highlighted the importance of early research to inform healing-informed practice.

His pioneering research on dissociation and dissociative disorders helped transform the field from case-based observations into evidence-based science, including influential publications and the co-authorship of tools widely used in trauma research.

Today, Dr. Putnam continues to research and advocate for trauma-informed approaches that acknowledge the complex ways early adversity shapes health outcomes across the lifespan. He is also recognized for his decades of mentorship and service, including the establishment of the Frank W. Putnam Trauma Research Scholars Program, which supports emerging trauma researchers whose work has great potential to contribute meaningfully to the field.

In this conversation we explore:

Whether you’re new to the trauma conversation or deeply embedded in healing work, this episode offers clarity, context, and hope grounded in decades of research and human experience.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

We’re better together. We’re stronger together. Take what resonates and go beyond.

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with Dr. Frank Putnam:

Website - Dr. Frank Putnam

Book - Old Before Their Time, and others

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh

In this episode, Dr. Deb is joined by Anne Karber, author of The Life Hack Playbook, for a practical conversation about simplifying life, reducing overwhelm, and building peace through intentional daily choices.

Anne shares grounded insights on clarity, boundaries, habit change, and creating a life that supports wellbeing rather than burnout. This conversation centers on realistic tools, sustainable growth, and how small shifts can create meaningful long term change.

This episode is for anyone feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, or disconnected from what matters most, and looking for grounded ways to create more peace, purpose, and stability in everyday life.

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is available 24/7 and free and confidential.

Follow, subscribe, and leave a review to support PTSD and Beyond. Join us on Ko-Fi to help keep these conversations going.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

Join our community where we remind one another:

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with Anne Karber:

Website - AnneKarber

Book - The Life Hack Playbook

Podcast - Let's Get Naked Podcast

Facebook - Let's Get Naked Podcast

Instagram - Let's Get Naked Podcast

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh

Moral injury is what happens when our values, beliefs, and sense of right and wrong are fractured by experiences we never chose, systems we did not control, and situations that forced impossible decisions.

In this episode, Dr. Deb explores moral injury as a deeply human experience that impacts identity, meaning, trust, and connection. This conversation moves beyond fear based trauma and into the space of shame, guilt, grief, anger, betrayal, and disillusionment, offering a grounded, trauma informed understanding of how moral injury forms and how healing becomes possible.

• What moral injury is and how it differs from fear based trauma

Where have your values and experiences felt misaligned?

What parts of you adapted to survive morally challenging environments?

What does integrity feel like in your body?

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is available 24/7 and free and confidential.

Follow, subscribe, and leave a review to support PTSD and Beyond. Join us on Ko-Fi to help keep these conversations going.

Listen, subscribe, and share PTSD and Beyond® with someone who might need this message today.

Join our community where we remind one another:

In Love and Healing,

✨ Remember to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode!

💌 Connect with us:

Website - Dr. Deb Lindh

Website - PTSDandBeyond

Ko-Fi Store - Buy a Cuppa Coffee

Insta - @DrDebraLindh

Insta - @PTSDandBeyond

X (formerly known as Twitter) - @DebraLindh