The Quiet As Kept Podcast With Shawnti B.

What happens when the first person who made you feel small wasn't a kid at school, but someone you loved?

In Episode 7 of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti Boswell gets personal about what happens when criticism, fear, physical punishment, emotional neglect, unpredictability, or abuse becomes part of a child's definition of home.

Children don't always have the language to say, “This environment is affecting me.” They adapt. They become quiet, funny, perfect, independent, invisible, helpful, tough, or hyperaware of everybody else's mood.

Then those children grow up.

And sometimes the survival skills that helped them make it through childhood show up in their adult relationships, parenting, self-esteem, boundaries, and ability to feel safe.

During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Shawnti also explores what children can learn from witnessing unhealthy and abusive relationships, and why experiencing or witnessing abuse does not mean someone is destined to repeat it.

This episode isn't about blaming parents forever.

It's about finally understanding what happened, what you learned from it, what you're still carrying—and what you're ready to put down.

Sometimes healing begins with admitting:

Home wasn't always safe just because it was home.

National Domestic Violence Hotline currently lists 24/7 support by phone at 800-799-SAFE (7233), text by sending START to 88788, and live chat. It also warns that internet activity can be monitored, which is why I kept the digital-safety line in the script. 

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Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

What happens when healing starts changing the role you've always played in your family?

In Episode 6 of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti Boswell gets into one of the hardest parts of healing: realizing that the people you love may not always support the healthier version of you.

Maybe your family taught you to keep quiet, forgive without accountability, protect the family image, tolerate disrespect, or keep showing up because “that's just what family does.” But when you start setting boundaries, telling the truth, questioning old patterns, and refusing to carry everybody else's mess, suddenly you're the one accused of changing.

And during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, this conversation goes even deeper. Family and community pressure can sometimes make it harder for survivors to speak openly about abuse or seek support, especially when protecting the relationship or family reputation becomes more important than protecting the person being harmed.

This episode is about family loyalty, generational patterns, secrecy, boundaries, domestic violence, accountability, and learning that healing doesn't require everybody's approval.

Sometimes breaking the cycle means becoming the person willing to say:

“We may have always done it this way, but it stops with me.”

The National Domestic Violence Hotline has confidential advocates available 24/7 in the United States.

You can call 800-799-SAFE—that's 800-799-7233.

You can text START to 88788.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

You can look good, show up, handle your responsibilities, take care of everybody else, and still be falling apart behind closed doors.

In Episode 5 of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti Boswell gets into the cost of pretending you’re okay. What happens when “I’m fine” becomes your automatic answer? When being strong becomes your identity? When everybody sees the functioning version of you, but nobody knows what it costs you to keep her together?

And as October begins Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Shawnti takes the conversation deeper—because sometimes pretending you’re okay isn’t just about hiding sadness, anxiety, or overwhelm. Sometimes people are hiding fear, control, emotional abuse, physical violence, and what is really happening inside their relationships.

This episode is about survival mode, emotional suppression, asking for help, recognizing abuse beyond bruises, and giving yourself permission to tell the truth about what hurts.

You don’t have to fall completely apart before you admit something isn’t okay.

Grab your journal. We need to talk.

NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: https://www.thehotline.org/

They currently provide free, confidential 24/7 support at 800-799-SAFE (7233), by text with START to 88788, and through online chat; they also caution that internet activity can be monitored. 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

Some lessons don’t come wrapped in pretty packages. Sometimes the truth hurts first and frees you later.

In this special episode of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti Boswell gets personal about the hard truths that changed the way she sees herself, relationships, healing, boundaries, forgiveness, and choosing herself.

From realizing that everybody you love doesn’t deserve unlimited access to understanding that healing requires more than knowing why you are the way you are, Shawnti shares the truths she wishes she had understood sooner.

This isn’t an episode about having everything figured out.

It’s about finally being willing to tell yourself the truth.

Grab your journal. Some of these might sting a little.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

Sometimes the person lying to you the most is you.

Not because you’re stupid. Not because you don’t see the red flags. But because telling yourself the full truth might require a decision you’re not ready to make.

“They’re trying.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Nobody’s perfect.”

“They’ve just been through a lot.”

“I’m staying for the kids.”

“I’ve already invested too much.”

“Maybe I’m expecting too much.”

Sound familiar?

In this episode of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti B.  gets into the stories we tell ourselves to avoid uncomfortable truths about relationships, family, careers, friendships, mental health, and even our own behavior.

Drawing from her memoir Quiet As Kept, Shawnti explores denial, rationalization, avoidance, hope, accountability, and what happens when keeping the peace starts requiring you to lie to yourself.

Because sometimes you don’t need another sign.

You need the courage to admit you already saw the first ten.

Grab your journal.

This one is about getting honest enough to stop participating in your own confusion.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

There is a difference between wanting to be loved and desperately needing to be chosen.

And when you’ve spent years feeling overlooked, rejected, abandoned, compared, or not good enough, somebody choosing you can feel like proof that you finally matter.

But being chosen does not automatically mean being loved well.

In this episode of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti B. gets raw about validation, rejection, attachment, overgiving, chasing emotionally unavailable people, accepting crumbs, and the dangerous ways we can confuse attention with affection and being wanted with being valued.

Drawing from her memoir Quiet As Kept, Shawnti reflects on her own desire to belong, the lessons she learned about love, and the uncomfortable realization that sometimes we aren’t fighting for the relationship—we’re fighting for what being chosen would prove about us.

We’ll also examine research on rejection sensitivity, childhood experiences, adult attachment, and why rejection can hurt so damn badly.

And then comes the question:

If you already knew you were worthy, would you still want the person you’re trying so hard to convince to choose you?

Grab your journal.

This one might expose some things.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

You may be grown, paying bills, raising children, running businesses, setting goals, and handling your responsibilities, but how many of your adult decisions are still being influenced by a younger version of you?

In this episode of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti B. goes deep into how childhood experiences can follow us into adulthood and quietly influence the way we love, argue, attach, trust, parent, people-please, shut down, and choose relationships.

Shawnti also opens up about her own childhood and the uncomfortable realization that some of the behaviors she once considered part of her personality were actually connected to experiences she had never fully processed.

Plus, we're talking about adverse childhood experiences, what research tells us about their long-term impact, and why understanding where a behavior came from does NOT give us permission to keep hurting people with it.

Grab your journal for this one.

Because sometimes the person making the decision isn't the grown-ass adult you are today.

Sometimes it's the scared, rejected, overlooked, angry, or abandoned child you used to be.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

How much of your personality is actually YOU and how much of it was built to protect you?

In the Season 3 premiere of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti B. asks one uncomfortable question: Who would you be if nobody hurt you?

We’re going beneath the labels we proudly wear—strong, independent, guarded, ambitious, unbothered, perfectionist, people pleaser—and asking where those traits actually came from.

Drawing from her memoir Quiet As Kept, Shawnti explores how childhood rejection, emotional neglect, bullying, abuse, disappointment, and the need to belong shaped the woman she became—and what happened when she finally started separating her authentic identity from her survival identity.

This episode also explores research on childhood trauma, self-esteem, emotional regulation, resilience, and adverse childhood experiences.

Grab your journal.

Because maybe you aren't “just like that.”

Maybe you became that way.

And if you learned it to survive, you might also be able to unlearn what you no longer need.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

This season we've talked about emotional exhaustion, carrying invisible burdens, healing, peace, and what happens when you ignore yourself for too long.

Today, I'm pulling back the curtain.

This isn't just a conversation about rebranding my business.

It's a conversation about rebranding my life.

In this season finale of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, I'm sharing what has changed behind the scenes, lessons from divorce, what healing still looks like in real time, and why I've decided to stop performing strength and start embracing authenticity.

If you've been feeling called to reinvent yourself, let go of old versions of who you used to be, or finally choose yourself, this episode is for you.

Plus, I'll share what's next, including my free Clarity Calls, one-on-one coaching openings in August, and when you can expect Season 3.

Let's talk about it.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays

At some point, your mind, body, and spirit stop whispering.

They start screaming.

The anxiety.
 The burnout.
 The resentment.
 The exhaustion.
 The feeling that you've somehow lost yourself.

None of it happens overnight.

It happens when you've spent years ignoring your own needs while showing up for everyone else.

In this episode of The Quiet As Kept Podcast, Shawnti Refuge explores the consequences of self-abandonment, why so many people lose themselves while trying to save everyone else, and how to begin reconnecting with the version of yourself you've neglected for far too long.

If you've ever looked in the mirror and wondered, "What happened to me?" this episode is for you.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Shawnti Boswell is an Award Winning Master Certified Mental Health Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Author of the best-selling book, “Quiet As Kept”, specializing in guided journaling for mental wellness. After overcoming severe depression and anxiety through journaling, Shawnti developed her own program, empowering individuals to heal and thrive without medication. She is the creator of Shawnti Refuge Journals, which carries a series of guided journals designed to help others release past traumas. With her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Shawnti's mission is to inspire personal growth and self-awareness. She is the founder of Stayin' Stuck Ain't Cute Coaching and a passionate advocate for mental health in both business and community settings.

Website:

ShawntiB.com

Social media:

IG: @shawntibsays

FB: Shawnti Boswell, MA, CMHC

TikTok: @shawntibsays

YouTube:  @shawntibsays