In episode six of the Unvarnished Edit, Angie and Jaelene discuss what they feel is missing from common conversations about healing, after chatting about weekend downtime and seeing Project Hail Mary. They describe healing broadly—sobriety, trauma work, and changing one’s relationship with self—emphasizing that it’s long, non-linear, and not a destination. They explore unexpected grief, difficulty processing anger, and reframing emotions as neutral data points rather than “good” or “bad,” including separating behavior from identity and shrinking the timeline between harm and repair. They also stress that compassion does not excuse abusive behavior and that boundaries are necessary even when harm is unintentional, warning against “weaponized” trauma-informed language. They close with what gives them hope: increased public discussion, advancing brain science, more pathways to growth, and greater self-awareness in younger generations.

Showing Up When You Don’t Want To: Purpose and Tiny Steps Forward

In episode five of The Unvarnished Edit, Angie and Jaelene talk about showing up for life even when you don’t want to. They explore how responsibility, motherhood, and healing require effort, especially learning to show up for yourself after years of caretaking and unsafe self-advocacy. They discuss how changing long-standing patterns is difficult, especially when dysregulated, and share practical supports like recurring phone reminders and small, actionable steps. The conversation connects purpose to motivation at work and home, addresses working without purpose due to necessity, and emphasizes decompressing after work. They also discuss parenting by allowing children to face consequences, influenced by Codependent No More, and conclude with avoiding shame, investigating the “why,” and acknowledging feelings to move forward.

00:00 Welcome to Episode Five

00:23 Honeymoon Recap Europe

00:57 Crying on the Flight

02:51 Using Media to Cry

03:41 Theme Showing Up

06:02 Hardest Part Self

09:11 Phone Alarms Reminders

11:25 Why Calendars Fail

14:38 Small Steps Self Care

17:01 Purpose Makes It Easier

19:40 Work Without Purpose

20:35 Privilege and Survival Jobs

22:02 Doing Hard Things

22:28 After Work Recovery

23:25 Finding Balance Elsewhere

24:35 This Too Shall Pass

26:41 Parenting With Self Care

28:33 Let Them Face Consequences

32:30 Codependency Wake Up Call

33:29 Learning To Show Up

34:39 No Is A Sentence

36:55 Feelings Like Toddlers

38:11 Key Takeaways And Goodbye

In episode four of The Unvarnished Edit, Angie and Jaelene discuss ongoing struggles with stress responses and how their bodies react based on a “safety template” formed from early experiences. They explain that behaviors that look like problems can be protective solutions, and that while the immediate stress response isn’t fully controllable, people can choose what to do afterward by expanding the space between thought and action. They share examples such as yelling in the past, going quiet, withholding information, rigid routines (including needing the same hotel room), and silent treatment in relationships, and describe progress as recognizing patterns faster, reducing shame, and making repairs. They also talk about regulation tools—especially breathing, routines, breaks, and practicing regulation before crisis—plus journaling, movement, and small treats like coffee.

00:00 Welcome to Episode Four

00:43 Weekend Catch Up

01:42 Steps and Couch Time

03:50 Aging and No Fs

04:30 Safety Template Explained

06:10 Holy Shit Moment

07:56 Childhood and Survival Wiring

09:47 NICU Story and Body Memory

11:46 Defaults Yelling vs Silence

13:58 Behavior as Safety Strategy

16:04 Why It Still Shows Up

19:22 Healthy Relationship Challenges

20:56 Practice Over Perfection

22:09 Silent Treatment Wakeup

23:37 Progress Means Noticing

24:34 Repair Without Shame

25:51 Doors Closing Feeling

27:03 Tools and Capacity

28:56 Why Education Matters

29:59 Regulation Go To Basics

32:55 Proactive Practice Routines

36:01 Treats as Regulation

37:53 Wrap Up and Next Week

In episode three of The Unvarnished Edit, Angie and Jaelene discuss their therapy journeys and how therapy impacts daily life, starting with a light catch-up about Bridgerton and Succession as a segue into family trauma and treatment. One shares a mistrust of therapy stemming from a dismissive male therapist in high school, later negative experiences including marriage counseling, a session with an ex-husband’s therapist that felt like an ambush, and a longer but ultimately poor-fit therapist after a major diagnosis involving severe dissociative disorder. Jaelene describes talk therapy after divorce and maternal trauma, addiction disclosure, limited prison counseling focused on medication access, and later life-changing but difficult EMDR after a toxic relationship. They compare talk therapy with neuroscience, nervous-system regulation, body work, data from wearables revealing dissociation, and emphasize fit, honesty, and access barriers, noting consistent healing from movement like hiking and the gym.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:34 Catch Up and TV Talk

02:35 Therapy Topic Begins

03:13 First Therapy Experience

06:13 Marriage Counseling Lessons

08:38 Therapy Misfires and Diagnosis

11:37 Talk Therapy After Trauma

13:48 EMDR and Deeper Healing

14:32 Body Work and Neuroscience

17:19 Accepting PTSD Signs

19:52 Nervous System Tools

20:39 Dissociation Realizations

21:22 Stress Zero While Driving

22:32 When Data Reveals Dissociation

23:57 Dissociation Win Or Loss

24:59 Why Talk Therapy Misses

26:47 Fit Access And Honesty

31:26 What Actually Helps Healing

34:08 Movement As Medicine

37:29 Diagnoses Validation Vs Shame

40:24 Wrapping Up Next Topic

In part two of their introduction on The Unvarnished Edit, Angie and and Jaelene discuss being misunderstood as standoffish, explaining how introversion, social anxiety, analytical thinking, learned “seen not heard” behavior, and safety-assessing after past betrayals shape how they come across. They reflect on caring less about others’ opinions with age, how appearance and liking nice things can reinforce assumptions, and tease a future conversation about femininity. Asked what they’d tell their younger selves, they emphasize that their experiences are valid, life isn’t that serious, and they’ll be okay—plus “leave him.” They describe their trauma-informed friendship as a nonjudgmental space and touch on PTSD, attachment issues, therapy honesty, EMDR.

00:00 Episode 2 Unvarnished Edit

00:23 What People Misunderstand About Us: Aloof, Bitchy, or Just Guarded?

06:39 Caring What People Think, Femininity, and the Next Conversation We Need

09:58 Advice to your younger self: validation, leaving him & taking life less seriously

12:41 Childhood dreams: big families, law school plans & the paths we didn’t take

16:12 From Wisconsin winters to Arizona sun: how I ended up at ASU

19:47 Ohio to Utah to Arizona: faith shifts, culture shock & wanting out of the heat

34:56 Therapy honesty, EMDR exhaustion & why naps are part of healing (wrap-up)

In the first episode of The Unvarnished Edit, friends Jaelene and Angie introduce themselves and explain why they’re starting a podcast about living an adversity-filled life with humor and honesty. They discuss parenting identity, accountability, and wanting to amplify voices of people still struggling with fewer resources. They share mottos for hard times and preview a part-two episode.

00:00 Episode 1 Unvarnished Edit

01:52 When Parenting Becomes Your Identity (and Adult Kids Still Expect Everything)

03:40 Why We’re Starting This Podcast: Trust, Accountability, and Real Talk

07:20 Who This Podcast Is For: Women, Parents, Strugglers, and the Uncomfortable Truths

10:40 What Success Looks Like: Feeling Seen, Building Community, and Learning Out Loud

12:51 Trauma Therapy & Humor: Will EMDR Make Me Less Funny?

15:49 Do We Have Credibility? Lived Experience, Imposter Syndrome, and Brain Science

22:30 Default Mindsets When Life Gets Hard: “This Too Shall Pass” & “Next Right Thing”

27:38 Worst-Case Scenario Brains + Practical Survival Tips (Paper Plates Included)