Why do you keep making the same choices even when you know better? In this episode, Michael Unbroken sits down with Carrie Davidson, a registered nurse, trauma coach, and author, to talk about complex PTSD (CPTSD), childhood trauma, and why so many survivors stay stuck in the same patterns.

Carrie grew up with an alcoholic parent in a home where nothing was predictable. As a kid and young adult she was diagnosed with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and none of those labels got to the root of what she was going through. Things finally made sense when she learned about complex PTSD and the inner critic. Her big shift was a new way of seeing herself: "I am not broken, but I'm patterned, and patterns can change."

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why trauma survivors get "subconsciously addicted" to behavior that feels safe and familiar
• How diagnoses and labels can miss the root cause of trauma
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and how they shape adult behavior
• Why you can't think your way out of trauma, and why healing also has to happen in the body and nervous system
• Being "high functioning" while struggling with substance use
• Performative healing vs. real change
• Letting go of the identity you built just to survive
• Why healing can't happen alone and needs community

ABOUT CARRIE DAVIDSON:

Carrie Davidson is an author, registered nurse, and trauma recovery coach who spent decades in destructive patterns before learning in her mid-thirties that she was living with complex PTSD. Coming to her work from inside the wound rather than a textbook, she writes and speaks about the difference between what was done to her and what was passed down, what addiction was really trying to do for her, and what changed when she stopped performing recovery and started living it. Her memoir, Addicted to Trauma: A Memoir of CPTSD, Addiction, and the Patterns That Almost Killed Me, arrives in Summer 2026. She splits her time between Durham, North Carolina, and San Pedro, Belize, and can be found at carriepdavidson.com.

Connect with Carrie Davidson:

• Website: https://carriepdavidson.com/
• Instagram: @carriepdavidson
• TikTok: @carriepdavidson
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cpdavidson1
• Podcast: https://podmatch.com/guestdetailpreview/178045952435507297817a5a1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriepdavidson/

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Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked, "Why am I like this?" Why does the same relationship, the same breakup, or the same painful pattern keep showing up in your life? In this episode, Michael Anthony sits down with relationship coach, podcast host, and author Sabrina Zohar to talk about her new book, Why Am I Like This? Break Your Relationship Patterns and Create the Life That You Want.

Sabrina shares her own story with raw honesty. She grew up with a narcissistic father and a mother who emotionally shut down. She describes herself as "the poster child" of anxious attachment. Her lowest point came in an abusive relationship that left her suicidal and down to 90 pounds. She explains the moment she finally chose herself, and how losing almost everything let her rebuild her life, her business, and her relationships.

Michael and Sabrina break down why self-awareness alone won't change your life, and why "people love information, they hate doing" the work. It's a deep, unfiltered conversation about childhood trauma, core beliefs, and what it takes to stop repeating the past.

 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How your first 18 months shape your attachment style (anxious, avoidant, secure, or disorganized)
• Why your brain and nervous system choose what feels familiar over what helps you grow
• Two powerful questions to ask when you're triggered: "How old do I feel?" and "Where did I learn this from?"
• Why you get hooked on people who don't make you feel safe (intermittent reinforcement and the "slot machine" effect)
• Why the "Amazon mindset" is hurting modern dating, and why you should "burn the checklist"
• Why knowing how you want to feel with someone matters more than a list of traits
• How to set boundaries, handle rejection, and be okay losing people as you heal
• Why a trigger doesn't mean your partner is wrong for you, and what healthy communication really looks like
• What it truly means to be unbroken

ABOUT SABRINA ZOHAR:

 

Sabrina Zohar is a dynamic entrepreneur and dating coach renowned for her transformative podcast, The Sabrina Zohar Show. With a clear, no-nonsense approach to relationship advice, Sabrina's podcast has resonated globally, ranking in the top 0.05% of all podcasts. Each episode features practical tips backed by board-certified and licensed psychologists, aimed at helping listeners improve their dating lives by fostering self-worth and personal growth.

 

Connect with Sabrina Zohar:

• Website: SabrinaZohar.com
• Instagram: @thesabrinazoharshow
• TikTok: @sabrina.zohar
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSKQduzS78E6-I9tx0jqjpw
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Sabrina-Zohar-Show/100094409286590/
• Podcast: The Sabrina Zohar Show
• Book: Why Am I Like This? (available now)

 

Subscribe for more conversations about childhood trauma, entrepreneurship, healing, mental health, personal growth, and becoming the best version of yourself.

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What if the moment your life falls apart is the moment you finally start living it?

In this conversation, Michael Unbroken is joined by Dr. Stephanie Nash, founder of Paradigm Expansions and author of "The D Word: How Divorce Ended Self-Abandonment and Led to Self-Reclamation," for a conversation about honesty, identity, the body's role in healing, and the quiet ways we disappear from our own lives.

Stephanie describes what it looked like to live between two worlds, one deeply spiritual and one built on constant achievement, always waiting for permission to believe she was enough. She walks through the choice to begin therapy, the ending of her marriage soon after, and the messy stretch of months that followed, including the loss of the future she had imagined and the grief that came with it. She and Michael get into why goodness alone will not make you happy, why we keep returning to rooms that hurt us, and how tuning into your own rhythms replaces the pressure to grow in a straight line.

Inside this episode:

• The link between chasing achievement and quietly abandoning yourself

• What dishonesty with yourself does to your relationships and sense of self

• Six areas of life where the truth is not optional

• Why healing often gets harder before it gets better

• Moving emotion through the body instead of thinking your way out

• Releasing the fear of how other people will see your choices

• Reading your current season so you know whether to push or pause

• Turning an ending into the beginning of reclaiming yourself

 

ABOUT DR. STEPHANIE NASH:

Dr. Stephanie Nash ("Dr. Steph"), PhD, OTR/L, is the founder of Paradigm Expansions, a platform that blends neuroscience and spirituality to help empaths break free from guilt and reconnect with their authentic selves; drawing on a diverse background in occupational therapy, rehabilitation research, health systems innovation, yoga, and intuition, she approaches inner healing work from both a scientific and soulful perspective, and her forthcoming book, The D Word, uses her own divorce as a lens to explore the journey from self-abandonment to self-reclamation—a message she captures through Carl Jung's idea that "the privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are."

Connect with Dr. Steph:

Website: https://www.paradigmexpansions.com/start

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paradigm_expansions/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paradigmexpansions/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@paradigm_expansions

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanierouch/

Book (The D Word): https://www.paradigmexpansions.com/dword

Subscribe for more conversations about childhood trauma, entrepreneurship, healing, mental health, personal growth, and becoming the best version of yourself.

 

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Jessie Tylre Williams spent 25 years heavily addicted to drugs before getting completely clean on February 1, 2009. In this episode of The Think Unbroken Podcast, she sits down with host Michael Unbroken to talk about childhood sexual abuse, generational addiction, self-sabotage, identity loss, and what it actually took to get and stay sober for good.

This is a real, unfiltered conversation about addiction recovery, childhood trauma, and healing. Jesse shares her turning point, the night she nearly died getting clean, and how she rebuilt her identity from the ground up. Michael shares his own story of childhood addiction, a suicide attempt at 14, and the self-sabotage that came from early success. Together they break down why addiction often isn't the problem, it's the coping mechanism for a deeper pain, and what real, sustainable healing looks like in the years after you get clean.

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, trauma, or feeling alone in the healing process, this episode is for you.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussion of childhood sexual abuse, addiction, and suicide. Please take care of yourself while listening.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

- Why addiction often starts as a coping mechanism for childhood trauma

- The connection between childhood sexual abuse and addictive patterns

- Why success and money can fuel self-sabotage

- How to rebuild your identity after getting sober

- Why "chaos becomes comfort" for people who grew up in dysfunction

- The role of surrender in long-term recovery

- How service to others supports sustainable healing

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction to Jessie Tylre Williams

00:16 The healing journey: rock bottom to rising

01:07 Why this conversation matters

02:02 Addiction running through generations

02:41 What addiction means to Jesse

05:27 Michael's story of childhood addiction

07:18 Jesse's childhood trauma and sexual abuse

09:49 The teenage years: escalating addiction

12:02 Jesse's addiction journey (trigger warning)

14:01 Wanting to die vs. wanting to live

18:06 Michael's suicide attempt at 14

19:59 Early success, money, and self-sabotage

21:26 Fight or flight and chaos as comfort

22:11 Life on tour as a musician

24:46 Training your mind like a muscle

26:42 Mental, emotional, and spiritual addiction

28:35 Feeling safe for the first time

29:33 The turning point question

30:35 Complete surrender: getting clean on Feb 1, 2009

33:29 Detox and replacing addiction with healing tools

36:35 Generational addiction and family history

38:04 Addiction as a "superpower" when redirected

38:34 Losing identity: killing "Mike" and "Aggie"

41:10 Rebuilding identity after addiction

45:14 Getting back up after falling down

46:41 Turning addiction into service to others

47:36 Where to find Jesse and her book

48:27 The legacy she hopes to leave

50:43 What it means to be Unbroken

ABOUT JESSIE TYLRE WILLIAMS:

Jessie Tylre Williams is a musician, author, and addiction recovery advocate who has been clean for over 17 years after 25 years of heavy addiction. She is the author of "Rising Above Hell," a memoir available in English and Spanish on Amazon, which includes a workbook to help readers process their own trauma and addiction.

Connect with Jessie:

Website: https://www.jessie-williams.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessietylre/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessieTylre

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-tylre-williams-601b7548/

Book (Rising Above Hell): https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jessie-Tylre-Williams/author/B0B8B6DWPP

ABOUT MICHAEL UNBROKEN:

Michael Unbroken is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and host of The Think Unbroken Podcast, where he interviews survivors of childhood trauma and addiction about how they rebuilt their lives. He is the author of "Think Unbroken: Understanding and Overcoming Childhood Trauma."

Connect with Michael:

Website: https://www.michaelunbroken.com

Podcast: https://www.thinkunbrokenpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelunbroken

Book (Think Unbroken): https://www.thinkunbroken.com/store/paperback

If this episode helped you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it, subscribe to the channel, and leave a review. You are not alone, and you are one decision away from everything being different.

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What happens when money, achievement, and success still leave you feeling broken?

In this powerful conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with entrepreneur and author Howard Steinberg to explore the hidden connection between childhood trauma, high achievement, self-worth, and the relentless pursuit of success.

Howard shares how growing up with inherited trauma shaped his identity, relationships, and entrepreneurial journey. Together, Michael and Howard discuss why external success cannot heal internal wounds, how fear can masquerade as ambition, and what it takes to move from self-criticism toward self-forgiveness and self-love.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why childhood trauma often drives high achievement

• How money can become a false source of safety

• The difference between confidence and self-worth

• Why successful entrepreneurs can still feel empty

• How to make decisions from love instead of fear

• The role of psychedelic medicine and integration

• How self-forgiveness helps you trust yourself again

• What it means to become “unbroken”

Learn more about Howard Steinberg and his book, Confessions of a Problem Seeker:

https://howardsteinberg.com

Subscribe for more conversations about childhood trauma, entrepreneurship, healing, mental health, personal growth, and becoming the best version of yourself.

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In a world of nonstop noise, hustle, and distraction, most of us never slow down long enough to ask a simple question: who am I really when everything gets quiet? In this powerful conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with neurospiritual practitioner Dhruva Gouler to unpack how isolation, deep silence, and ruthless honesty on the page helped him move from self hate to self love and emotional freedom.

You will learn why quitting the things that are destroying you, creating space for nothingness, and writing down everything you do not like about yourself can rewire how you see and speak to yourself when you are alone. Dhruva shares how he used “neurospiritual sovereignty” and what he calls emotional freedom to stop seeking external validation and instead govern his emotions from a calmer nervous system state.

If you struggle with trauma, self loathing, anxiety, or constant overstimulation, this episode will show you how to:

• Create intentional isolation and silence so you can finally hear your own thoughts and truth
• Use daily writing and journaling to process shame, resentment, and self judgment until there is nothing left to hide from
• Build emotional freedom instead of chasing emotional regulation that never seems to last
• Shift from self hate to self compassion by becoming the most important person in your life
• Move from sympathetic overdrive into a parasympathetic, grounded state through “neurospiritual athleticism”

Watch this episode if you are ready to stop numbing out, face yourself in the silence, and learn how to be unbroken from the inside out.

Timestamps (edit to match final cut):

0:00 – Why isolation and silence can save your life

2:00 – Dhruva’s journey from self hate to self love and emotional freedom

8:00 – Quitting what is not good for you and making yourself a priority

15:00 – Writing, journaling, and the power of radical self honesty

25:00 – Neurospiritual sovereignty, nervous system, and emotional governance

35:00 – How to create your own process of healing and sovereignty

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For so many high achievers, success becomes a survival mechanism instead of real healing from trauma. In this conversation, Michael Unbroken and inner child healing expert Ingeborg Mooiweer break down why working harder, achieving more, and collecting accolades never truly resolve childhood wounds. They explore how high performance can lead to burnout, divorce, health issues, and feeling emotionally unsafe, even when life looks “successful” from the outside.

You will learn:

• Why high performance often comes from childhood survival mechanisms, not genuine safety.
• What inner child work and reparenting actually look like in real life, step by step.
• How to create an emotionally safe “container” so you can finally address the root of your trauma.
• The role of environment, relationships, and self‑talk in long‑term healing and resilience.

If you are a high performer, entrepreneur, or leader who feels stuck in the same emotional patterns no matter how successful you become, this episode will help you understand what is really driving your behavior and how to start creating change that lasts.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro: High achievers and trauma

01:00 Why success will not heal your wounds

03:15 Survival mechanisms and childhood trauma

10:00 Inner child work and reparenting explained

20:12 Balancing high performance with real healing

If you found this valuable, subscribe for more conversations on trauma healing, inner child work, and becoming unbroken, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it today.

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It’s amazing what can happen when you step outside your comfort zone and answer the call of ayahuasca for deep healing and spiritual transformation. In this powerful conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with ayahuasca guide and retreat leader Yasha Shah to unpack what really happens in the medicine space – beyond the hype, beyond the biohacking, and beyond the Instagram retreats.

You’ll hear Yasha’s raw story of battling depression, ADHD and desperation, trying everything from psychiatry to Reiki before finally traveling to Peru for a 21‑day immersive ayahuasca experience that changed his life – and then seemed to “stop working” when old patterns returned months later. After losing about 2.5 million dollars in the stock market and facing his own dark night of the soul, Yasha went back out into the world, spending a year in Nepal and India searching for gurus in the Himalayas, only to realize that no one else could save him – and that true healing demanded a different kind of spiritual honesty and responsibility.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What ayahuasca is and how Indigenous Amazonians discovered and combined specific plants like ayahuasca and chacruna to create the medicine, against impossible odds in a jungle of tens of thousands of species.
• How tribes in Peru and Colombia understand trauma as “soul loss” – and why they use ayahuasca not only for healing, but also for hunting, finding medicine plants, communicating with ancestors, and navigating the spiritual world, including the darker side of brujeria and energetic attacks.
• Why many Western seekers focus only on DMT, the default mode network and “inner child work,” while Indigenous healers emphasize spiritual and energetic dimensions that can’t be reduced to brain science alone.

Michael also shares his own firsthand experience drinking ayahuasca with Shipibo healers in a small group with multiple shamans and dedicated facilitators, including one night where he felt the crushing weight of every soul’s energy in the room until a shaman performed an intense energetic clearing with tobacco, blessed water and song that changed everything in an instant. As a self‑described rational, skeptical, Type‑A personality, Michael breaks down why this ceremony shattered his disbelief and opened him to a deeper understanding of plant medicine and spiritual reality.

If you’re curious about:

• Ayahuasca for depression, trauma and spiritual healing
• How to think about safety, lineage and integrity when choosing a retreat or shaman
• The real difference between quick‑fix “biohacking” and long‑term, spiritually grounded healing

…this conversation will give you grounded insight from both a skeptical entrepreneur and a student‑turned‑guide who has lived this path across Peru, Colombia, Nepal and India.

Watch until the end for practical reflections on how to approach ayahuasca responsibly, what questions to ask before you sit with any facilitator, and why some people don’t get lasting results – plus what might be missing in their healing process from a spiritual and energetic perspective.

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Most people think kids who commit violent crimes are just “bad seeds” – but the truth is far more complex and rooted in childhood trauma, foster care, and survival. In this in‑depth conversation, Michael Unbroken sits down with Wendy B. Smith, author of Before There Are Crimes, to explore what really leads young people into juvenile justice and adult prison.

You’ll learn how traumatic childhoods, unsafe neighborhoods, hunger, and constant exposure to violence shape a child’s brain and decision‑making long before a crime is ever committed. Wendy shares research and real stories from former juvenile offenders so you can understand the hidden factors behind youth crime, recidivism, and why punishment without healing doesn’t work.

If you work in mental health, foster care, juvenile justice – or you grew up in chaos yourself – this episode will challenge the myths about “criminal kids” and show why early support and trauma‑informed care matter.

Timestamps:

00:00 Why we misunderstand people who commit crimes

02:00 Wendy B. Smith on Before There Are Crimes

05:00 What every juvenile offender had in common in childhood

10:00 Foster care, trauma, and the path to prison

20:00 How chronic stress rewires kids’ brains

30:00 Why many youth end up in adult prison anyway

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Here is a concise, SEO‑optimized YouTube description tailored to this episode and script:

If life is kicking your ass right now and you feel stuck, lost, and asking “why me,” this conversation is for you. In this episode of the Think Unbroken Podcast, Michael Unbroken sits down with author, musician, and survivor Ben Barbic to talk about his new book Rise and Climb: Finding Purpose Through Pain and the exact decisions that turned rock bottom into a life of purpose and happiness.

We dive deep into childhood trauma, losing everything overnight, panic attacks, addiction, getting arrested at 28, and the mirror‑moment that forces you to choose: stay a lifer in your old identity or become the hero of your own story. Ben shares how he used therapy, meditation, music, and “flip the switch” decisions to correct the ship one day at a time and build a life as a present father, creator, and peaceful soldier.

In this episode you will learn:

• How to know when you have truly had “enough” and are ready to change your life
• Why one decision at rock bottom can snowball into a completely different future
• Practical ways to turn anxiety, panic attacks, and darkness into fuel for growth
• How to deal with shame, imposter syndrome, and your past without letting them define you
• What it really means to find purpose through pain and raise your standards again and again

Timestamps:

00:00 Facing reality and finding purpose through pain

03:15 What to do when life is kicking your ass

07:50 Childhood chaos, anxiety, and feeling different

13:10 Rock bottom, getting arrested, and the teddy bear moment

22:30 Panic attacks, letting go, and driving to Portland for therapy

32:20 Daily habits, long‑game thinking, and building momentum

47:30 Purpose through pain and using your story to help others

50:30 What it means to be Unbroken

If you are ready to rise and climb beyond your past, this episode will give you honest, real‑world tools to make one powerful decision today and start correcting the ship.

Listen to Ben’s music: search “Ben Barbic” on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major platforms.

Get Rise and Climb: Finding Purpose Through Pain on Amazon.

More episodes and resources: search “Think Unbroken Podcast” or visit thinkunbrokenpodcast.com.

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