Elikqitie is a writer and a mother of two young ladies. She is dealing with PTSD symptoms as a result of childhood trauma, bullying, and rape. Listen to her story of triumph and hope and Elikqitie’s message that you can move past the daily life of being a victim and move into a space of grace and peace.

At the age of 2, her mother started physically abusing her, and although her dad didn’t abuse her, he didn’t interfere in the abuse and didn’t protect her. She learned to hide in the attic to avoid abuse, even in the summer, until her mom found her one day, pulled her down the stairs by her hair, beat her, and put a lock on the attic door. At the age of 5, her dad took a third shift job, and Elikqitie’s mom sexually assaulted her at night. When she wasn’t abusing her, she was neglective.

From fourth to seventh grade, Elikqitie was bullied by other girls at school daily. “The only reason they stopped bullying me was that they started to be interested in boys.” This bullying created a deep sense of mistrust of others and crushed her self-esteem. At the age of 18, she was raped by her ex-boyfriend.

“I woke up in the middle of the night with a hemiplegic migraine, which was the start of my memories of abuse flooding back.” This is how a mind can process and deal with years of suppressed traumatic abuse, she later found out from her psychologist. Since then, Elikqitie has been working extensively with a psychologist to overcome much of the trauma. Today, she works with Scott Clover, a somatic healer, who is interviewed in the previous episode. “Scott has given me the ability to move past the emotional blocks that were creating so much physical trauma for me.” She feels that Scott's process has given her unlimited potential and has uncovered her true self that had been blanketed with layers of emotional grief and trauma.

Elikqitie brings a message of hope and talks about how you can work your way through the emotions, body pain, and the fallout associated with trauma. “Everybody has a different way or process that works for you.” Try out a new process, but don’t feel pressured to move through a revolution if it doesn’t feel right for you.

She also talks about red flags when looking at and working with counselors or psychologists “If you go to a counselor and they suggest journaling, and you try it, and you tell your counselor this isn’t working for me, and they insist you do that, then that is not a person that you should work with.” Elikqitie suggests finding someone who will work with you and be considerate and respectful of your personal healing choices.

Resources Mentioned

Find Elikqitie and Travel Gluten Free Podcast on the web

COVID Travel Update Podcast on the web

Travel Gluten Free Podcast on YouTube Channel

Follow Travel Gluten Free on Instagram

Connect with Elikqitie on LinkedIn

Learn more about her content writing

Sleep For Life sleep program

Find out more about Somatic Healing with Scott Clover

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Speak Loud Podcast on the web

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Scott Clover is an "Energetic Plumber" who can find stuck and negative energy wreaking havoc inside your body. Known as a somatic healer or intuitive energy healer, Scott works with clients from various traumatic backgrounds to help them heal their emotional trauma and physical bodies.

When Scott first moved to Manhattan, he knew he needed something other than talk therapy. "I didn't get the talk therapy model; it hadn't worked for me." For several reasons, Scott didn't benefit from this type of treatment. Asking around, a friend suggested a person who lived in his neighborhood who went by the title holistic psychotherapist.

"The second session, he asked me a question that changed my life completely; he asked me how my body felt?" Scott didn't want to clue into his body at first. Working with him through the mind/body connection allowed Scott to connect with his own body that would eventually enable him to feel comfortable enough to rediscover his own intuition. Feeling more aware of his own body's energy allowed his instinct to return safely and ultimately flourish. He later realized that he could channel his intuitive abilities to help others heal.

Scott was a very intuitive child, but he pushed his intuition away in his early teens like most of us. After applying somatic healing technologies in his thirties, his instinct started breaking out of the shell he had created. When the intuition broke out of his shell a few years later, his skills became undeniable. After years of training, he went into private practice and now uses his intuition to tap into his clients' energetic systems to help them heal what holds them back and feel better in their body.

When he first started, he felt other's energy in his own body. "That's not really conducive to keeping me psychically clean by taking on other people's energies." Scott learned how to have others' energy presented safely, then channel those insights into healing energy. He looks for the direction, type, and color of the energy, along with the texture and the emotional components of that energy. It helps the process to view another person's energy as a hologram.

Scott collaborates with his clients to heal wounds from epigenetic abuse and trauma, which is a cornerstone in his private practice. Since we have many epigenetic memory generations, we can carry around previous family members' trauma and hurt.

"Children mimic or defend themselves against energies in the household." You can think of this type of energy as a divot or dent in your energy field. "That dent will attract dirt because it's a gutter that can trap the negative energy, which makes their patterns more likely to repeat."

Resources Mentioned

Book a session with Scott Clover today

Listen in to Intuitive Energy Podcast 

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Read about Scott’s work in the Wall Street Journal

***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. 

Susan has such a beautiful energy! Susan is the author of the book Live Your Life: A 30-Day Journey Book and produces her podcast Empowering Chats. With over 25 years of experience in counseling and supporting people in transforming from the inside out. Listen in to find out why her brand is living an empowered life, why gaslighting is so abusive, and how narcissism has been running unchecked in our country. Susan reminds us that it’s not your fault if you fall for a narcissist because they target shiny, energetic people to source their energy.

During her divorce, her husband became a completely different person. Although he was an instigator, he didn't want to let her go. She found out later during one of her own podcast interviews that her former husband was a passive-aggressive narcissist.

Susan explains what to look out for with a Narcissist. First, they fall in love with you and make you the center of their attention. "They are really good at convincing themselves that their story is true and correct. Therefore they see the world from that perception even though it's a made-up story." Once you've said yes to the love story, they start to gaslight you by making you doubt yourself, what you are seeing or feeling by telling you it's not true. "Gaslighting is abusive because it dissolves and denigrates your self-esteem."

At this point, the narcissist will tell you stories about how bad you are as a person. “The biggest thing about narcissists is that they have zero self-esteem.” As a result, they blame and bully anyone who challenges their concept. They will source your energy for their own personal benefit. 

“We all come from the same source, so we are all connected.” Our divine spark is here to guide us in our hearts, which is intuition. “Intuition is divine wisdom that helps us define and vision what our life purpose is.” No matter what type of abuse you have endured, your divine spark still shines and continues to burn.

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Susan on the web

Susan Burrell on Facebook

Empowering Chats on Apple Podcasts

The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist by Debbie Mirza

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***

With an incredible story and an inspiring message to share, my guest Pratiti Pathak. Pratiti is a real estate professional with Keller Williams. She is also a business coach and founder/owner of Results by Design and has a beautiful glow about her! Listen in as we talk about how she processed her child's loss, her perspective that got her through life, and her motto of resilience is becoming aware of what we are thinking. Her message is to focus on the positive things in life to get to a place where you can heal.

Pratiti’s Life Growing Up

Pratiti was born in India, and her family moved to American when she was two years old. Her father is an architect, and her mother was also a professional but didn’t speak English when they moved to the US. She grew up Indian in a society that didn’t have other children of Asian descent. “I grew up with blacks and whites and me.” She recalls the constant trial of wanting to fit into two cultures. “What was going on inside my house was very different than what was going on outside my house.”

Not fitting into either cultural scene, Pratiti was picked on and beaten up by other kids. She struggled with her self-identity in school and with peers. Her parents feared the activities that other school kids participated in, such as sports, and refused to let Pratiti participate. “I felt really left out, and this increased my inability to connect with my peers growing up.”

She Never Did “The Right Thing”

“I felt like from the time I was in elementary school to the time I was 18, my entire childhood I was physically hit by somebody. Everywhere I went, I wasn’t doing the right thing.” Walking down her path of abuse, Pratiti didn’t have a chance to develop her self-confidence. As a result of her abusive connections, Pratiti became a people pleaser and ended up bullying herself for not doing anything right.

Her Decision to Become a Single Mother

Pratiti decided not to marry her son’s father as he was an alcoholic. A high-school dropout, she didn’t have the skills or resources to make ends meet. “For the first three months, I lived in my car, working two jobs, while I was pregnant until my parents asked me back.”

Giving birth to her son changed her relationship with her entire family and their perspective of life. Her son Devon passed away at the age of 17 in 2009 in a high-voltage accident.

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Pratiti on LinkedIn

Results by Design on YouTube

Contact her via email 

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

Spread the message of Speak Loudly Podcast andshare this episode with a friend!

***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***

The Ripple Effect of Rape

 Today, my guest is Jess Munson, an ER nurse with 20 years of medical experience who specializes in sexual assault. In addition, she is certified in Somatic Healing. She is also the mother of five children. “I have an incredible relationship with my parents and had no abuse growing up.”

Jess’s Life Growing Up

Growing up in a small town of 1000, Jess knew many of the kids in town and has memories of playing outside in the creek with her friends. “I grew up with an amazing family, and my parents are still happily married after 35 years.” The third oldest of seven, her parents adopted three children from Russia when Jess was 15 years old. “Chaos is a norm for me in some way. I’m used to the crazy.”

“When I graduated high school, I came up to attend Salt Lake Community College.” She worked as a security officer for a local business. At the time, her roommate wanted to go on a date with a new guy and didn’t want to go by herself, so she asked Jess to come along with her on the date.

When they were hanging out, Jess told the guy that she had a boyfriend. They went to a movie, and everything was fine. Then, they went for a walk in a nearby park and were sitting at a picnic table when he forced her down on the top of the table. She told him to stop several times, and he backed off.

A friend of Jess’s warned her not to hang out with this guy as she felt like he couldn’t be trusted. A week went by, and her roommate asked her to hang out with this guy again, and that is when he had the opportunity to rape her.

Reporting her Sexual Assault

She drove the assailant to his house four hours later. Jess had many emotions flooding through her mind and body. She was worried about what her boyfriend would think and was worried that people would think less because she let this happen.

Jess went back home and scrubbed her body in the shower and washed her sheets in hot water, erasing much of the evidence that was left behind. When her roommate found out what happened, she called the police, and Jess filed a report.

Find out how Jess moved on in life, what happened when she married three years after her assault, how she endured emotional abuse in her marriage for 11 years, and how this experience affected every aspect of Jess’s life.

Links and Resources

Jess Munson on Instagram

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Speak Loud Podcast on the web

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***

My guest today has done so much with her time on Earth. Gigi Sabbat is a first-generation Haitian-American, motivational speaker, and a best-selling author. She is the host of the Walk With Me Podcast and sexual violence and domestic assault advocate. She is an experienced leader who has adopted a conservative approach to help Christians grow spiritually, financially, professionally, and personally by setting clear and measurable goals for those ready to take action and experience life growth and transformation.

Gigi truly believes multi-skilled individuals make great leaders when utilizing their skills for the greater good and overall fulfilling God's purpose for our lives and to serve his people.

Gigi's Life and Childhood

With her parents arriving in the United States 35 years ago from Haiti, Gigi was the first-born American in her family and was brought up in Coral Springs, Florida. Her parents were strict regarding education, and she was very focused on her studies. At eight-years-old, however, she was sexually assaulted and affected her life tremendously. The abuse was from extended family members, and she did not tell anyone about the abuse until the age of 18 when she spoke to her mother about what happened. Had her mother known, she would not have let her be around those family members.

"When something like that happens to you, especially at an early age, you have to make a decision to make: if you're going to live from a place of hate or out of love." Gigi chose love and decided to move forward no matter what obstacles or challenges life puts in her path.

Almost Losing Her Life to Domestic Violence

She was attacked at home and almost strangled to death. Her abuser took her phone and threw it across the room. "I'll never forget that when I got up to go get my phone, next thing I know, I fell flat like a vegetable." Not knowing why at the time, she now knows through her domestic violence advocates that she lost consciousness as a result of not having enough oxygen to her brain. Strangulation is the number one cause of death in domestic violence relationships, and she is fortunate to be alive!

Not Blaming Yourself for What Happens to You

Gigi teaches others that no matter how many precautions you take, there is always a chance for abuse. Importantly, you can't blame yourself for what happened, and you still need to take precautions in the future to lessen the chances of abuse. Additionally, Gigi teaches others the narcissistic character traits to look out for, so they don't end up in an abusive relationship.

She was also sexually assaulted in a public venue as an adult, and she teaches how to go back to your history but continue to move forward with a resilient mindset. Gigi continues her followers to grow, no matter what challenges they face.

Links and Resources

Chat with Gigi on Instagram

Life Service of America

Tweet with Gigi on Twitter

Connect with Gigi on LinkedIn

Grab a copy of Walk with Me

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

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Brooke Ann is a healing artist, talented mural artist, and survivor of abuse. She and I talk about self-sabotage and how we live our life based on beliefs outside of our own existence. However, Brooke voices our responsibility and the opportunity to reprogram ourselves and change those beliefs to feel the abundance of the world. She communicates about the need to believe that we are worthy of living in spiritual, emotional, and financial abundance.

She remembers life as a daughter of divorced parents as they decided to split up when Brooke was only one year old. Many of her childhood memories involve the turmoil of back and forth visitation and feeling of instability. "There was neglect, there were physical abuse and sexual abuse, and men coming in and out a lot."

Her mom came from an abusive background as well and was married several times to several different people. "When I was 7 ½, I had four different sisters, all with different dads. The dads from all her sisters banded together and received custody of their children, each going to a different household. "Then, my mom lost custody of me, and I wasn't allowed to see her until I turned 18."

Even though she was close to her dad, Brooke's other adult caretakers abused her as a child. She didn't recognize that she was being abused until she was an adult as she didn't consider herself abused as one of her abusers was another child in daycare.

Through her studies, Brooke has concluded that trauma is fear that is trapped inside the body. "You have to release those feelings to relieve the trauma." The feelings trapped inside your body have been known to cause medical illnesses, including disease. "Learning how to release them, you're able to have your symptoms go away."

Listen in to find out about how neurofeedback therapy helped Brooke's husband recover from the emotional fallout of childhood abuse, which treatment therapy helped Brooke the most, and how Brooke found that she has the power to change her life.

Links and Resources

The Body Keeps the Score

Feelings Buried Alive Never Die

Visit Sacred Design on the web

Chat with Brooke on Instagram

Find out more about Brooke’s Healing Art Classes on Facebook

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

Spread the message of Speak Loudly Podcast andshare this episode with a friend!

***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***

Today, I have a male guest who is making so many changes in our world and has a phenomenal story. He has interviewed numerous celebrities, royalty, and musicians, including Jackie Chan. Christopher Newhart is part of the Sundance Film Festival, FearCON, and is the official drink sponsor for The Underground Railroad, which raises funds to stop sex trafficking.

Christopher's Life and Childhood

Christopher is thankful to his mom for becoming the man he is today. His father, however, wasn't a positive influence. "My biological father was physically and mentally abusive towards me, and I know he was mental to my mom." Chris ended up in the hospital for his injuries created by his father. His parents went through a long custody court battle. At nine, he was able to testify in front of the judge, and the court recognized that he mentioned that he wanted to be with his mother 53 times when he was interviewed. "I was grateful that my mom won the custody battle" and gave his dad visitation only with supervision.

Core Beliefs in Life

"Where I think I've gotten my core beliefs, my strength, my religion from my mom and my grandmother on her side. They were both powerful women, and I love promoting strong women and strong causes for women." He reflects back and believes that if his mom didn't get custody of him, he's not sure what could have happened to him growing up. He looked up to his stepfather and public figures, good, clean individuals, for guidance and examples of how to live his life. In addition to public figures, he listened to music to inspire him and keep him moving forward in life. "I love music; I don't know what I'd do without it."

His Defining Turnaround Moment in Life

Looking at a year of house arrest for possessing marijuana, he negotiated and was able to get his GED and attend community college. He came out to visit Utah with his wife and decided to live here.

In Chris's experiences, he has found that medical marijuana use and the user's intent has a considerable effect on the way the drug affects your body. Chris distinguishes enhancement and dependency and how drugs cannot make you happy.

Links and Resources

Gorilla Mafia Entertainment

Reverbnation

Join Chris on Facebook

Visit Chris at his restaurant Irie’s in South Jordan

Empress Rudz on Instagram

Visit Chris on Instagram

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

Spread the message of Speak Loudly Podcast andshare this episode with a friend!

***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***

Today, I have a special guest because of what she’s been through and how she has dealt with her abuse. I’m chatting with Vanessa Osage, a sexuality educator for the past decade, and runs a non-profit, The Amends Project, whose mission is to “Mend the loophole that has allowed for the Cupra of the abuse of children in private schools.” Vanessa’s work is to implement the Justice CORPS Initiative, which she created with other health professionals. She has also authored the book “Can’t Stop the Sunrise: Adventures in Healing, Confronting Corruption and the Journey to Institutional Reform.”

Vanessa’s Home Life and Childhood

"I was a tomboy of the 1980's" is how she thinks of herself, looking back on her childhood. She grew up in a household of five children that were born within six years. Vanessa remembers her parents being unhappily married, her mother an alcoholic, and both her parents falling into consumerism as a way to project stability and happiness; she remembers her life growing up with her parents "always being concerned that our life looked good on the outside."

Being the second born of five, she recalls being in a parent role often as a child. "I have a lot of recollection of feeling maternal towards my siblings being the oldest girl." Her parents sent her to Catholic school, then boarding school in the small town she lived in Massachusetts.

Conditioned to Be Quiet as a Young Girl

“I believe I was very much conditioned to be quiet.” She has many memories of being quiet, sad, and the source of nurturing to be sought out. Her environment and family upbringing “lacked authenticity.”

Her Boarding School Sexual Abuse Experience

When she started boarding school at the age of 13, she went without any sexual education background, getting to high school completely uninformed about human sexuality. Vanessa arrived at her school with a sexual molester on campus, the groundskeeper, who had been preying on girls for at least a decade before her arrival.

He had a formula to get close to his victims and was in a teaching role in an automotive class during the summer.

The clearest moment, she understood that what he was doing was wrong, was when he told her not to say anything because “you don’t want to give people the wrong idea.”

Links and Resources

Visit Vanessa on the web at The Amends Project

Read her story here

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Liz Christensen, a mother of two teenagers involved in community theatre and is artistically talented. Liz enjoys writing her own scripts for plays and today has her Bachelors in Theatre and is self-employed in the theatre industry. Listen to her abuse story and how her experience has affected her marriage and emotional life, and how she attempted to “shortcut” her healing process.

The Last Child in Her Home

“If the Brady Bunch had one child together, that would be me!” With only half biological brothers and sisters, all older than her. “When my parents got married, they didn’t think they were going to have any more kids.” As a result, she has thirteen siblings, most of whom she doesn’t remember living with because they had already moved out of the home. Liz went through her teen years, being the only child in the house.

Being the last child in the house, her parents were older and a bit more financially stable. At this time, her parents started going on vacation and were able to take Liz with them. Older siblings didn’t have this opportunity.

Growing Up as a Creative in the Theatre Community

As a young child, she and her friends would write their own plays, practice, and put them on with their parents for the audience. Her parents wanted her to develop their interests, and she attended theatre classes. During one summer, she was in three different shows. An adult male member of the cast, in his late teens, drove her home from a performance at the age of 13 and started the cycle of abuse.

Self-Blame for Her Sexual Abuse

Liz remembers the episodes, and while she did tell her abuser to stop, some opportunities were given to him in the future that allowed him to continue the cycle of abuse. At 13, she was conflicted as there were many details associated with her relationship with her abuser. Ultimately, she blamed herself for her abuse.

Growing up in a religious perspective, she was told: “that we have needs and desires, and we want to act on those, making it hard to keep the law of chastity.” With this in mind, she spun the scenario that her abuser wanted her so much “that he must be in love with me and it’s too hard for him to control himself, and that’s why when I say, ‘No!’ he doesn’t listen.”

As an adult, Liz still feels that she can’t tell people that they are making her feel uncomfortable, which bothers her tremendously. “The verbalization of standing up for myself was a tough part for me in my story.”

Links and Resources

Visit Liz on the web

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

Spread the message of Speak Loudly Podcast andshare this episode with a friend!

***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast, and guest comments, opinions and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.***