Stuck Not Broken

By Justin Sunseri

Education Social Sciences

What's Stuck Not Broken about?

Stuck Not Broken is the first podcast built on clearly teaching the Polyvagal Theory and applying it to your trauma recovery process. Justin Sunseri is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist that makes the science of connection easily understood and accessible to anyone. He created the Polyvagal Trauma Relief System and is the author of Trauma & The Polyvagal Paradigm.
(Justin Sunseri, LMFT99147)

4.7

231 ratings

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LAST EPISODE

Is "Our Polyvagal World" Wo...

09.21.2023

Our Polyvagal World is overall worth owning, especially at $14 from Amazon. Buy the book here (portion of sale goes to me at no extra cost to you) - https://amzn.to/3rr9YBa Total Access Membership of trauma recovery courses and community - ...

Stuck Not Broken episodes:

09.21.2023 Is "Our Polyvagal World" Worth Buying? - a Book Review Our Polyvagal World is overall worth owning, especially at $14 from Amazon. Buy the book here (portion of sale goes to me at no extra cost to you) - https://amzn.to/3rr9YBa Total Access Membership of trauma recovery courses and community - ...
09.19.2023 Fawn and Appeasement: Actual Mixed States or Something Else? Are the new Polyvagal Theory mixed states of fawn and appeasement better understood as mixed states or behavioral adaptations? Trauma recovery System of courses and community - https://www.justinlmft.com/totallaccess Free ebook, "Trauma & the Polyvagal Paradigm" when you sign up for ...
09.11.2023 Comply to Survive: Fawn and the Polyvagal Theory Fawn has officially been added to the growing list of Polyvagal Theory mixed states. I’ll explain fawning and how the theory interprets it to deepen your understanding of the Polyvagal Theory. Trauma recovery System of courses and community - https://www.justinlmft.com/totalaccess ...
09.05.2023 Connect to Survive: Appeasement Replaces Stockholm Syndrome via Polyvagal Theory Appeasement has replaced the outdated understanding of "Stockholm Syndrome," as described by the Polyvagal Theory. Learn what appeasement is and how it acts as a survival mechanism when one is under life threat. Order Dr Porges’ NEW book - Our ...
08.22.2023 Dr Stephen Porges: Polyvagal Theory Updates & Critiques (2023) Dr. Stephen Porges addresses critiques of the Polyvagal Theory, new mixed states (fawn, appease, intimacy), and "stimulating the vagus nerve." He also discusses his new book, Our Polyvagal World, and his newest academic paper, the Vagal Paradox: a Polyvagal Solution. ...
08.17.2023 Time: the Uncomfortable Truth Today will end. In this episode, I cover a heavy topic - time. I want to add a bit of urgency to your self-improvement or trauma recovery process. Don't listen if this is too heavy a topic for you. Total ...
08.11.2023 BANGING on our window at night!? a Polyvagal Neuroception Story. Someone BANGED on our window in the middle of the night with their fists! I'll teach you how this connects to the Polyvagal concept of neuroception. Trauma recovery System of courses and community - https://www.justinlmft.com/totalaccess Free ebook, "Trauma & the ...
08.08.2023 Silence: an Essential Mindfulness Ingredient Learn how incorporating small moments of silence into your daily routine can enhance essential mindfulness, reduce stress, and help you feel more connected to your surroundings. Trauma recovery System of courses and community - https://www.justinlmft.com/totalaccess Free ebook, "Trauma & the ...
08.04.2023 Are They Really a "Friend"? Healthy Boundaries & Levels of Friendship Do you have "friends" in your life that drain you? In this episode, I discuss the different levels of friendship to help you prioritize where you're putting your energy. Stuck not Broken Total Access Membership - https://www.justinlmft.com/totalaccess Free ebook, "Trauma ...
08.01.2023 Can't Sleep? The Stress and Insomnia Connection Are you tossing and turning at night, plagued by worries and anxieties? You're not alone. Stress-induced insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects many people. But what's the connection between stress and insomnia? I'll delve into this relationship with ...
07.28.2023 How Feeling Stuck Trauma May Actually Help... Our bodies are naturally compelled to self-regulate and release trauma. But are you worried about what might happen if you touch upon it? In this episode, I discuss how touching upon your stuck defensive state might be helpful. But also ...
07.25.2023 Navigating 3 Stages of Trauma Healing: a Polyvagal Perspective Explore the transformative journey of trauma healing through the lens of the Polyvagal Theory. This episode guides you through the three key stages: learning accurate information, building the safety state, and mindfully experiencing your stuck defensive state. Empower your healing ...
07.11.2023 Personal Growth: Allowed, Necessary and No Permission Needed! Discover the keys to personal growth and enhance your mental health with these practical steps. Learn how to take responsibility for your own development, set clear goals, and embark on a continuous journey of self-improvement. Find out why surrounding yourself ...
07.04.2023 Losing Access to Personal Boundaries and How to Strengthen Them Ever regret how you reacted to situations that felt unsafe? Learn what happened and how to strengthen personal boundaries. SSIEC Sheet - https://www.justinlmft.com/ssiec Total Access - https://www.justinlmft.com/totalaccess Trauma recovery System of courses and community - https://www.justinlmft.com/traumarelief Free ebook, "Trauma & ...
06.27.2023 What is a Polyvagal Therapist and how can they help you? Learn about Polyvagal therapy, how to find a Polyvagal-informed licensed therapist, explore coaching options, or delve into Polyvagal-informed courses for self-guided growth. Get unstuck, enhance your well-being, and unlock your inner resilience starting today. SNB: Total Access - https://www.justinlmft.com/totalaccess Polyvagal ...
06.13.2023 Understanding Dorsal Vagal Shutdown: Numbness and Trauma Learn about dorsal vagal shutdown and how it affects your daily life. Learn how to recognize, manage, and begin to overcome this common physiological response to stress and trauma. Dive deep into the connection between trauma and shutdown, and gain ...
06.06.2023 Mastering Panic Attacks: Coping vs Safety Grounding Discover practical techniques to improve your mental health and overcome panic attacks. Explore the Polyvagal Theory, learn self-regulation strategies, and find ways to access your body's safety state. Strengthen your distress tolerance and reduce the frequency and intensity of panic ...
05.30.2023 Trauma Recovery: Trusting in Your Power to Self-Regulate Discover the secrets of trauma recovery and unleash your body's natural healing power. But the question is, do you trust your body's natural ability and need to self-regulate? Learn what you can do starting today. Trauma recovery System of courses ...
05.23.2023 5 Emotional Impacts of Trauma Join me as I delve into the emotional impacts of trauma. I'll explore the neuroscience of trauma, its profound effects on emotions like anxiety, depression, anger, fear, guilt, and shame, and the role of the autonomic nervous system as per ...
05.19.2023 7 Easy Anxiety Management Skills to Use Today I have seven simple yet effective anxiety management skills that you can use TODAY. Yes, for free too! From deep breathing exercises and mindful movement breaks to calming music and journaling, discover practical techniques to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. ...
05.09.2023 Easy Beginning Meditation Tips for Busy People Discover the benefits of meditation and how it can improve your mental health, even if you're busy with little time to spare. Learn simple beginner techniques and practical tips for incorporating mindfulness into your daily life. Reduce stress, increase productivity, ...
05.02.2023 How to Feel Your Feelings to Improve Emotional Processing Learn how to feel your feelings and improve emotional processing through mindfulness. Discover the relationship between mindfulness and emotional processing, the benefits of practicing mindfulness, and strategies for feeling your feelings. Learn practical techniques to practice mindfulness and encourage emotional ...
04.25.2023 How to Give Yourself Permission to Feel Your Feelings The third step in my Top-Down Self-Regulation Openers is giving yourself permission to feel your feelings. Learn to build on validation, normalization, and how to allow yourself to experience your emotions fully. Trauma recovery System of courses and community - ...
04.19.2023 Emotional Normalization and How it Helps in Trauma Recovery Emotional normalization is the process of making sense of your emotions based on your life context, which can help alleviate emotional dysregulation. I also discuss the importance of validation as the first step in the top-down self-regulation process, followed by ...
04.12.2023 What Validation is and How it Connects to Trauma Recovery I teach you what validation is, how to validate yourself and how it connects to trauma in this video. I also discuss why validation might be difficult for many people. This is a segment from a book I am currently ...
04.04.2023 5 Practical Tips for Managing Anxiety in Your Daily Life Struggling with anxiety? You're not alone! Join me as I reveal the 5 best FREE tips to combat anxiety and enjoy a stress-free life. From understanding what anxiety is to practical tips to manage it, this video covers it all. ...
03.28.2023 How Positive Affirmations Might be Making Things WORSE You might be using positive affirmations in your self-development, and that's great. Buuuut it also might be making this worse! I talk about this with my course students in this clip from one of our bi-monthly meetups. We also talk ...
03.21.2023 AI answered my questions about trauma recovery and shocked me. This is a full-on AI episode! I chat with Chat GPT, an AI program, about the polyvagal theory and trauma recovery. Surprisingly, the AI accurately described the theory and its implications for mental health treatment. It emphasizes the importance of ...
03.14.2023 How your thoughts are preventing your trauma recovery What is under your thoughts? Your Polyvagal state, emotions, sensations and impulses are more significant than your thoughts. I make the case in this snippet from a meetup for course students. The Polyvagal Trauma Relief System - https://www.justinlmft.com/traumarelief National Suicide ...
03.07.2023 3 Tips to Reduce Fear During Trauma Work I have three tips for you to reduce your fear of working on your stuck defensive state. Fear might be a significant obstacle for you, something that comes up during therapy or meditation and derails your efforts. In this episode, ...
02.28.2023 I was desperate & agreed to spend $9k My family was in a financial upheaval and I got so desperate I agreed to spend $9,000, which I soon after deeply regretted. Desperation can bring us to some scary places. Download my free ebook by joining my email list ...
02.22.2023 Reduce your shame, blame and judgment with the Polyvagal Theory If you're struggling with shame, blame or judgment, this is a good place to start. It might be too early to feel your feelings or to "sit with it". Instead, use the Polyvagal Theory to build a top-down new narrative. ...
02.14.2023 How Polyvagal Safety is different than coping with dysregulation There is a difference between activating and anchoring in your Polyvagal safety state and coping with dysregulation. Both have their uses and they can be built on each other. I share a clip from one of my Stucknaut Meetups, where ...
02.07.2023 I'm a Therapist and I was Wrong About Trauma Recovery I’m a therapist and I was wrong about trauma recovery! When I first learned the PVT and began understanding the somatic pieces of trauma work, I got something very wrong. I thought recovering from trauma was sort of done all ...
01.31.2023 What to do AFTER learning the Polyvagal Theory and Why You know the Polyvagal Theory. NOW WHAT? (And why?) I have a nifty gifty for you when you sign up for my email list experience. https://www.justinlmft.com/polyvagalprimarybooks Polyvagal 101 podcast series - https://player.captivate.fm/collection/cce134e7-1550-4d33-8e56-738d344c63b0 Building Safety Anchors - https://www.justinlmft.com/buildsafety National Suicide Prevention ...
01.24.2023 Happiness & the Polyvagal Theory: Sorry, there is NO magic key What is happiness and is there a key to unlocking it? I answer this question from the lens of the Polyvagal Theory. I actually think we have things backwards... Nifty Gifty - Polyvagal Checklist - https://www.justinlmft.com/polyvagalchecklist Building Safety Anchors - ...
01.17.2023 How to Relieve Your Polyvagal Fight State What is the best way to relieve a stuck Polyvagal fight state? I address what the fight state is, how it got stuck and ways to get unstuck. Unstucking Defensive States - https://www.justinlmft.com/uds Nifty Gifty 3 Day Polyvagal Challenge - ...
01.10.2023 Release Trauma to Relax OR Relax to Release Trauma? (edit) Are you supposed to release trauma to relax or do you relax to release trauma? I delve in depth into this question from a Fellow Stucknaut. SSIEC Nifty Gifty - https://www.justinlmft.com/ssiec Original blog - https://www.justinlmft.com/post/polyvagal-safety-how-to-use-it BSA - https://www.justinlmft.com/buildsafety National Suicide ...
12.27.2022 Why You Have Resistance to Polyvagal Ladder Climbing Why do you have resistance to climbing your Polyvagal ladder and accessing your safety state? Why is it that being in a defensive state seems like it’s what your body wants? I answer a message I got from one of ...
12.20.2022 Polyvagal Freeze, Self-Harm, Panic & Rage How does crying fit with the Polyvagal mixed state of freeze? What about rage, panic and self-harm? 3 Day Challenge -https://www.justinlmft.com/3daypolyvagal My Polyvagal 101 online course will teach you the Polyvagal Theory accurately and simply in under 2 hours and ...
12.13.2022 Acting on Impulses and Trauma Releasing What is unstucking? What do pendulation and titration have to do with self-regulation? And what about acting on impulses and relieving trauma? I answer a listener's question and discuss each of these points in Stuck Not Broken podcast episode 168. ...
12.06.2022 Grief and the Polyvagal Theory How does grief fit into the Polyvagal Theory? I explain that it's kind of all over the Polyvagal ladder! 3 Day Polyvagal States Challenge - https://www.justinlmft.com/3daypolyvagal National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1 (800) 273-8255 National Domestic Violence Hotline -1 (800) ...
11.23.2022 How to Deal With Anger & the Polyvagal Theory How to reduce angry thoughts and angry emotions from the lens of the Polyvagal Theory. It's not easy, but it's possible. Reducing aggression requires a bit of mindfulness and allowance of your fight state. Polyvagal Checklist - https://www.justinlmft.com/polyvagalchecklist Dealing With ...
11.15.2022 How to Self Regulate Through Triggering Events? How do you self-regulate through situations that you know will be triggering? Self-regulation is built on practicing, just like anything else. Best not to wait until the moment of the circumstance and to do some self-regulation beforehand. And have some ...
11.09.2022 Polyvagal Safety and How to Use It What is the Polyvagal safety state? Find out in this episode! And once you find out, what do you do with that information? Also find that out in this episode! Polyvagal Checklist -https://www.justinlmft.com/polyvagalchecklist Original Blog, Polyvagal Safety and How to ...
11.02.2022 Polyvagal Theory for Total Beginners I believe these are three essential starting points for the person that is brand new to the Polyvagal Theory. At least, it's what I found to be the most beneficial in understanding this paradigm. I made a Polyvagal Checklist for ...
10.18.2022 Is It Possible to Come Out of Polyvagal Shutdown A brief summary of this episode
09.27.2022 Pendulation in Grieving and Imagination as a Safety Anchor A brief summary of this episode
08.23.2022 Gently Allowing Emotion and Sensation My thoughts on a listener's question about gently allowing sensations to exist without being sent back into shutdown. Polyvagal 101 - https://www.justinlmft.com/pvt101 Building Safety Anchors - https://www.justinlmft.com/bsa Website - https://www.justinlmft.com National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1 (800) 273-8255 National Domestic ...
08.16.2022 Coming Out of Flight/Fight I answer a listener's question about coming out of shutdown into fight and then flight. This podcast is not therapy, not intended to be therapy or be a replacement for therapy. Nothing in this creates or indicates a therapeutic relationship. ...

Older episodes

Stuck Not Broken

What's Stuck Not Broken about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Stuck Not Broken episodes:

Is "Our Polyvagal World" Worth Buying? - a Book Review

Fawn and Appeasement: Actual Mixed States or Something Else?

Comply to Survive: Fawn and the Polyvagal Theory

Connect to Survive: Appeasement Replaces Stockholm Syndrome via Polyvagal Theory

Dr Stephen Porges: Polyvagal Theory Updates & Critiques (2023)

Time: the Uncomfortable Truth

BANGING on our window at night!? a Polyvagal Neuroception Story.

Silence: an Essential Mindfulness Ingredient

Are They Really a "Friend"? Healthy Boundaries & Levels of Friendship

Can't Sleep? The Stress and Insomnia Connection

How Feeling Stuck Trauma May Actually Help...

Navigating 3 Stages of Trauma Healing: a Polyvagal Perspective

Personal Growth: Allowed, Necessary and No Permission Needed!

Losing Access to Personal Boundaries and How to Strengthen Them

What is a Polyvagal Therapist and how can they help you?

Understanding Dorsal Vagal Shutdown: Numbness and Trauma

Mastering Panic Attacks: Coping vs Safety Grounding

Trauma Recovery: Trusting in Your Power to Self-Regulate

5 Emotional Impacts of Trauma

7 Easy Anxiety Management Skills to Use Today

Easy Beginning Meditation Tips for Busy People

How to Feel Your Feelings to Improve Emotional Processing

How to Give Yourself Permission to Feel Your Feelings

Emotional Normalization and How it Helps in Trauma Recovery

What Validation is and How it Connects to Trauma Recovery

5 Practical Tips for Managing Anxiety in Your Daily Life

How Positive Affirmations Might be Making Things WORSE

AI answered my questions about trauma recovery and shocked me.

How your thoughts are preventing your trauma recovery

3 Tips to Reduce Fear During Trauma Work

I was desperate & agreed to spend $9k

Reduce your shame, blame and judgment with the Polyvagal Theory

How Polyvagal Safety is different than coping with dysregulation

I'm a Therapist and I was Wrong About Trauma Recovery

What to do AFTER learning the Polyvagal Theory and Why

Happiness & the Polyvagal Theory: Sorry, there is NO magic key

How to Relieve Your Polyvagal Fight State

Release Trauma to Relax OR Relax to Release Trauma? (edit)

Why You Have Resistance to Polyvagal Ladder Climbing

Polyvagal Freeze, Self-Harm, Panic & Rage

Acting on Impulses and Trauma Releasing

Grief and the Polyvagal Theory

How to Deal With Anger & the Polyvagal Theory

How to Self Regulate Through Triggering Events?

Polyvagal Safety and How to Use It

Polyvagal Theory for Total Beginners

Is It Possible to Come Out of Polyvagal Shutdown

Pendulation in Grieving and Imagination as a Safety Anchor

Gently Allowing Emotion and Sensation

Coming Out of Flight/Fight