Releasing Trauma; a Survivor's Podcast

Dream in a Suitcase from Domnica Radulescu is a fast-paced, true story of survival, resilience and the power of love, told from the perspective of a female Romanian-American survivor of the worst communist dictatorship behind the former Iron Curtain.

The story opens against the backdrop of 1983 Bucharest. The food lines are interminable, the secret police are omnipresent, and college student Domnica Radulescu is reluctantly preparing for a daring journey that will take her first to Rome, and eventually, the United States.

Domnica traces the defining moments in her life, beginning with her traumatic escape to Italy in 1983; back to several pivotal events in the her early childhood and adolescence in her native Romania; her arrival and first years as a fresh political refugee trying to adjust and survive in Chicago; and the saga of her resettlement in a small Southern town as a single working mother. 

With uncompromising irony, self-deprecating humor and unapologetic feminist rebelliousness that calls to mind Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Dream in a Suitcase is a powerful memoir that immerses readers in the mind of a woman who makes the bold but heartbreaking decision to leave behind her family and country to pursue the illusory American Dream.

More than 140,000 children in the United States have experienced the death of a parent or grandparent from COVID-19.

Many families have also lost jobs and had vital supports, such as school, health care services, and other community programs, interrupted and put on hold, putting a mental strain on children, whether or not they realize it.

According to research, 71% of parents said the pandemic had taken a toll on their child's mental health and 69% said the pandemic was the worst thing to happen to their child.

A national survey of 3,300 high schoolers conducted in spring 2020 found close to a third of students felt unhappy and depressed much more than usual.

Even after the pandemic subsides, its mental health effects on children will be around for much longer.

Stephanie Bolster McCannon is an author, teacher, self-development expert, and creator of the BolsterUP Method. She lives a life dedicated to helping people improve their productivity and happiness. 

Stephanie shares:

The reasons why children's mental health is suffering.

How to tell if your kid is suffering.

How to foster a social setting for your child, even as we feel more disconnected than ever.

Childhood abuse and trauma powered an alcoholism that would nearly defeat Jewels.

Yet Jewels assures us that even when we lose those things that give shape to our soul, such as belonging, the need for touch, and safety in our own home, we can go on to devise a new way of being that surpasses our childhood haunts.

Jewels was seven years old when her father attempted a family suicide, so her mother whisked her away to the arms and family of another man.

Ruled by her mother's delusional survival aspirations and the ignored evidence of her suffering at the hands of her new relatives, survival became a daily struggle for Jewels.

But when the truth could no longer be hidden, the family split, leaving Jewels to navigate a new world, not of her making.

Deciding to use her earlier trauma to enter recovery, sexually liberate herself, and enter the competitive world of professional bodybuilding, Jewels created a life that inspires others to push forward no matter the details.

In this uncommon ode to survival, Jewels creates a quite unexpected career from her truth-underscored by her complicated relationship with the allure of sexuality.

Through a tangle of forgiveness and understanding emerges an elevated journey of the mechanisms for survival, of pain and joy, and of discovering that family is what you make of it.

Motherhood is such a blessing. But it can come with pain and loss. The loss of a child is a pain no person should have to endure, especially the mother carrying that baby. 

But it happens, and we persevere. 

Charity Majors was called to create the "Meant For More" movement after going through the journey of losing a child...after journeying through the dark night of the soul and finding true healing.

Her mission is to impart that each of us are divine miracles, that we are each here on purpose for a purpose.

Being a caregiver is tumultuous. There are many highs and lows. But being a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia takes that to an entirely new level. And when that person is your mother, well there is nothing more rewarding and painful at the same time as being able to care for the woman who cared for you as a child. 

But along with that comes trauma. And so much of it. Watching someone you love turn into someone you don't know, and who doesn't know you is heartbreaking. 

Lisa Zawrotny's story —and the reason she does what she does now — started when she was a caregiver for her mom who had Alzheimer’s.

She moved her mom into her home when she was pregnant with her son and then had also had her daughter all while still caring for her mother.

What Lisa went through to keep her mom children safe (including her children safe from her) was something she didn’t label as trauma for years, but realizes now that's exactly what it was.

It impacted her physical and mental health and changed how she viewed the world. Those life lessons make Lisa the coach she is today.

As we settle into 2022, it becomes apparent that we are facing another year of the unknown.

But rather than focusing on what you cannot control, let’s flip the script and begin to discuss how to make 2022 an ethical and fulfilling year by making small simple choices.

Dr. Gilbert discusses:

3 simple, small and effective choices to make in your daily life to feel more fulfilled in 2022

The value of selflessness & how to incorporate tools into your daily routine

Why there is no right way to do the wrong thing – Easy ways to assess if a decision is worthwhile to pursue if you are feeling weary

For those of us who have survived a background filled with trauma, it may seem like becoming a well-adjusted adult seems like we made it out on top.

Come to find out, there's another, deeper layer that needs to be penetrated in order to truly come out on top.

It's not enough just to survive. In order to really thrive, you have to understand the beliefs you derived from the trauma that are informing your life today.

Against all odds, Jenna Banks pivoted from the self-loathing survivor of a traumatic childhood and a nearly fatal suicide, to a fully empowered woman who knows her worth.

Trauma can cause a lifetime of damage to health and wellbeing—for both those suffering from it, and the people around them. Additionally, children growing up in an environment with toxic stress are more likely to have difficulty in their adult relationships. Often, unresolved trauma results in many life challenges such as overworking, anxiety, overeating, difficulty sleeping, and physical pain. And, sadly, unintentionally passing along trauma to others including our children.

Sara Church, author of the new book Mending My Mind and an advocate for mental health, says that this damage can easily be transmitted from one person to the next. And it can lead those affected to hurt others, causing more pain and more trauma.

Then, in a vicious cycle, just like Covid, it spreads…

Sara has experienced this. While suffering unknowingly from C-PTSD, a condition caused by a series of events that occurred repeatedly over an extended period of time, Sara found herself sabotaging relationships that hurt those she loved—including her wife. She writes about this in her book.

Today Sara’s mission is to help stop the spread. Doing so could help heal many of the problems in our world.

The first step, she says, is to talk about it. Share your story about what happened, whether it was abuse, oppression or—as was Sara’s case—poverty and parental addiction and abandonment.

When you are challenged – how do you tap into your moment of joy?

We all have the ability to manifest a day based on joy and understanding by beginning with a transcendent moment.

Author and counselor Susan Lax offers such moments to get your day started in her gorgeous collection of stories, poems and insights, A HEART’S LANDSCAPE: An Invitation to the Garden of Moments

The seeds for Morning Inspiration were planted when Susan Lax learned that one of her closest friends was diagnosed with cancer and she was determined to find a way to bring light back to their bond.

Respecting her friend’s desire to keep her illness confidential, Susan began sending her friend an email each morning at 6 a.m. designed to bring a moment of joy to her day.

This daily tradition continued for five months until one morning Susan awoke with the flu and did not send her morning email.

By 7:30 a.m., she received a phone call from her friend, “Where is my morning blessing? Why didn’t you send it today?”

This would be the only moment in which the two friends discussed the emails aloud.

For the rest of the year, Susan sent a short morning blessing and eventually, her friend regained her health. Although the emails were only spoken about once, Susan understood the support they provided.

Right now, especially with ongoing COVID, Susan and her book offer deep reminders with words and warm visuals - to take a moment – and just pause - get away from the inundation and put the chaos away.

In a culture that does its best to run away from grief whenever possible— even though grief is an inevitable part of life and loss—Edy Nathan provides a practical, sensitive guide to surmounting the pain and regaining your soul.

An experienced psychotherapist and grief expert, Edy is author of  It’s Grief: The Dance of Self-Discovery Through Trauma and Loss. The book unravels the complex world of grief and helps to transform the dark mystery into one of life’s most important teachers.

While other therapists emphasize universal quick fixes to “get over it,” Edy says it doesn’t work that way. Like a fingerprint, everyone’s experience of trauma, abuse, or the loss of a loved one is unique, and in truth, you never really get over the resulting grief but learn to integrate it into your life.

She speaks candidly from her own personal experiences as one who has danced with grief in many forms from a young age. Her ideas are not theoretical!

Grief, trauma and loss can strike in a moment, today, or from a long past memory retrieved—and disrupt the norms in every part of your life.

Edy Nathan’s practical insights can help you get your life back—even though the world you live in has forever changed.