System Speak: Complex Trauma and Dissociation

By Emma SunshawScience Social Sciences Health & Fitness Mental Health

System Speak: Complex Trauma and Dissociation episodes

May 15, 2019 Julie Calls the Cops
Julie comes to visit and stay with our family. Julie shares about triggers on her trip, and how survivors face them uniquely in environments that are challenging for everyone. They also share about parenting with DID. While recording the podcast, they witness aggression between inebriated people in the park. It is triggering, but also part of Julie decides it was escalating enough that the police needed to be called for safety (trigger warning for description of assault). Involving the police triggers some of our system, and the podcast continues as both systems deal with what happened and try to get re-grounded.
1 hr 7 min
May 15, 2019 Guest: The Labyrinth System
We were excited to talk with one of our in-real-life friends, Scarlet of The Labyrinth System - one of the first systems online with a YouTube channel about DID. They share what they learned about DID, and how they were diagnosed. They also explain the difference between inpatient, intensive outpatient, and outpatient treatment. They share their experience with genetic testing to identify which medication are most helpful for them. They share about their efforts to educate online, and how supporting each other in the DID communicate brings healing to all of us. They share how this is reflected in the Infinite Mind conference in Orlando each year. They also explain some examples of boundaries when working publicly and in the media while advocating for DID. There is a trigger warning for mention of suicidality, but only in passing reference with no details.
28 min
May 13, 2019 Guest: Labyrinth System
We talk to the Labyrinth System.
Our website is HERE: System Speak Podcast and sponsoring nonprofit website is HERE: S3C Foundation.
You can submit an email to the podcast HERE.
You can JOIN THE COMMUNITY HERE. Once you have registered with the network, you will receive an invitation to orientation, and then can use a non-Apple device or non-safari browser to join groups HERE. Once you are set up, then the website and app work on any device just fine. We have peer check-in groups, an art group, recovery groups, social events, and classes. Additional zoom groups are optional, but only available by joining the groups. Join us!
Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general. Content descriptors are generally given in each episode. Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse. Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience. Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity. While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma is not your therapist nor offering professional advice. Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you. Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency. This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
28 min
May 11, 2019 Emma’s Top Ten
Emma opens up about the ways Mother’s Day has been difficult in the past (trigger warning for references to miscarriages, deceased parents, infertility, and abuse dynamics). These issues are only referenced, not described in detail. She then shares that this year she is focusing instead on the things she has learned from the therapist, and she gives a list of ten.
Our website is HERE: System Speak Podcast and sponsoring nonprofit website is HERE: S3C Foundation.
You can submit an email to the podcast HERE.
You can JOIN THE COMMUNITY HERE. Once you have registered with the network, you will receive an invitation to orientation, and then can use a non-Apple device or non-safari browser to join groups HERE. Once you are set up, then the website and app work on any device just fine. We have peer check-in groups, an art group, recovery groups, social events, and classes. Additional zoom groups are optional, but only available by joining the groups. Join us!
Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general. Content descriptors are generally given in each episode. Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse. Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience. Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity. While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma is not your therapist nor offering professional advice. Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you. Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency. This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
47 min
May 07, 2019 Guest: Robert Cox, LPC
Robert Cox shares his experience regarding trauma being misdiagnosed as autism. He then defines trauma, and explains about big T traumas and little t traumas, and why it all matters. Trigger warning for when he tells an example of a child protecting his sibling from a drunk father (no explicit details) and an explanation of why a survivor would rather just be hit than criticized or shamed. He uses this, then, to explain complex trauma. He then explains integration in the context of your brain processing memories and sensory experiences. He talks about outward signs of dissociation, and what skills he teaches to help patients stay present as they unlearn the habit of dissociating. There is also a trigger warning (for our system) when he uses the memory of a car wreck as an example of the difference between dissociated memory that feels like it is in now time, and integrated memories that you know are in memory time. He talks about sensorimotor therapy trying to avoid the reliving of memories because it can be traumatizing when it really does feel like it is happening in now time. He explains why mindfulness and yoga work so well with trauma in the brain. He shares how he explains DID and he tries to normalize and explain it as a survival skill. He then gives examples of breathing and relaxation exercises, including some visualizations. He explains how shame counts as trauma, and how it impacts our relationships in the present. He concludes by relating this to attachment, and explaining why animals are so helpful in healing attachment. They close by exploring how connections heals shame.
1 hr 3 min
May 02, 2019 Guest: Robert Cox
We speak with local clinician Robert Cox.
Our website is HERE: System Speak Podcast and sponsoring nonprofit website is HERE: S3C Foundation.
You can submit an email to the podcast HERE.
You can JOIN THE COMMUNITY HERE. Once you have registered with the network, you will receive an invitation to orientation, and then can use a non-Apple device or non-safari browser to join groups HERE. Once you are set up, then the website and app work on any device just fine. We have peer check-in groups, an art group, recovery groups, social events, and classes. Additional zoom groups are optional, but only available by joining the groups. Join us!
Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general. Content descriptors are generally given in each episode. Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse. Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience. Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity. While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma is not your therapist nor offering professional advice. Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you. Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency. This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
1 hr 3 min
April 29, 2019 All You Can Be
Emma shares about her therapy session today, including about trying to help crease eye contact and also reading out loud the letter she wrote last week to the others inside. She shares about “waking up” and starting to feel more aware of what’s happening in therapy, and how there is good in this even when it is hard. She shares what’s she has learned about friendship, and how both being wise in discerning who to connect with and the work of connecting has changed everything. There is a trigger warning for a sharing of a memory as an adult of caring for the mother, who then had dementia, and still getting hit. No graphic details of this memory are shared, only discussion of ongoing abuse dynamics as an adult. She then shares about boundaries and healthier dynamics that apply both to external friendships and others inside.
33 min
April 29, 2019 Emma Goes to Therapy
Emma reflects on therapy. She talks about learning to accept the others. She talks about the overlap of memory time and now time. She shares an experience of sensing one of the others inside, in a safe way.
Our website is HERE: System Speak Podcast and sponsoring nonprofit website is HERE: S3C Foundation.
You can submit an email to the podcast HERE.
You can JOIN THE COMMUNITY HERE. Once you have registered with the network, you will receive an invitation to orientation, and then can use a non-Apple device or non-safari browser to join groups HERE. Once you are set up, then the website and app work on any device just fine. We have peer check-in groups, an art group, recovery groups, social events, and classes. Additional zoom groups are optional, but only available by joining the groups. Join us!
Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general. Content descriptors are generally given in each episode. Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse. Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience. Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity. While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma is not your therapist nor offering professional advice. Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you. Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency. This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
32 min
April 29, 2019 The Closet
Sasha called Julie but elephant talk made the Littles pay attention so then the boys tune in on snack plans for Julie’s visit. There is trigger warning for littles and for reference of bad pictures but no memory time because now time is safe.
32 min
April 28, 2019 Guest: Peter Barach - All About Attachment
We speak again with Dr. Peter Barach, who teaches us all about attachment. He tells the story of being in class with Mary Ainsworth, and explains Bowlby’s theory (links in the blog). He explains the different attachment styles, and what that looks like in adults. He shares that disorganized attachment is quite common in DID. He gives the example of the Robertson research film “A Two Year Old Goes to the Hospital”. He then applies all of this to the context of trauma and multiplicity for some discussion - including suggesting that different alters have different attachment styles. There is a trigger warning for when discuss therapy boundaries, and how unresolved attachment issues play a role in unethical behavior of otherwise good therapists (and bad ones) - an example of a therapist diapering her adult clients is given. We also discuss ways to remain connected with your therapist between sessions, in good and safe ways that are healthy and contribute to healing attachment. Then we apply it internally, too, and explain why improving internal communication changes things so much - and how that heals attachment, too. He then ties this full circle to Dr. Daniel P. Brown’s theory of CPTSD, and how it’s caused by disorganized attachment followed by abuse later. He also references “Ghosts in the Nursery”. We apply what we learned our struggle through the last week, weather trauma, and efforts not to re-enact trauma.
Our website is HERE: System Speak Podcast and sponsoring nonprofit website is HERE: S3C Foundation.
You can submit an email to the podcast HERE.
You can JOIN THE COMMUNITY HERE. Once you have registered with the network, you will receive an invitation to orientation, and then can use a non-Apple device or non-safari browser to join groups HERE. Once you are set up, then the website and app work on any device just fine. We have peer check-in groups, an art group, recovery groups, social events, and classes. Additional zoom groups are optional, but only available by joining the groups. Join us!
Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general. Content descriptors are generally given in each episode. Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse. Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience. Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity. While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma is not your therapist nor offering professional advice. Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you. Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency. This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
53 min

About System Speak: Complex Trauma and Dissociation

From the publisher's feed

Emma shares about complex trauma, deprivation, and dissociation (CPTSD, OSDD, DID). Educational, supportive, and inspiring, System Speak documents the best and worst of life through insights,…