This week’s episode is a crossover conversation with Dave Markel from Sexual Assault Survivor Stories.

This conversation centers around what survivors face every day: how people respond when a survivor shares their story, the misunderstandings that follow trauma, and the emotional labor survivors are often expected to carry. Shannon shares insight into the messy, painful, and confusing parts of her own journey, alongside the resilience and clarity that continue to shape her voice and her advocacy.

This episode dives into day-to-day survival after trauma, relationships and intimacy, the legal process, and the importance of saying the things that too often go unsaid.

Dave's SASS podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/33U3Vn4jGkzNf5weufDnjB?si=c1f725cf41044a06

Send Dave an email: [email protected]

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Send us a message and/or check out our merch: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through Buy Me a Coffee . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

In this episode, Ray shares her story of being abused at 13, and what happened when the people and institutions meant to protect her didn’t.

This conversation explores coercion, fear, and trauma at a young age, as well as the lasting impact of being disbelieved, silenced, and pushed aside by a school system more focused on protecting itself than protecting a child. Ray shares what it’s like to grow up without language for what happened, and how institutional failure can be just as damaging as the abuse itself.

If you were hurt when you were young. If the adults or institutions meant to protect you, failed. You’re not alone here. This episode is for you. Grab a blanket and get cozy. Cheers!

Follow Ray on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluraybeyond/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bluraybeyond

Book mentioned: https://a.co/d/dZAuhkE

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send us a message: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

Traumaversaries are the weird little days your body remembers even when your brain swears you are fine. In this episode, Shannon talks about what traumaversaries are and how to move through them without “should” -ing all over your needs.

Whether you dread the date, forget the date, feel everything at once, or feel nothing at all, you are not weird, and you are not alone. If you love someone who has been through trauma and you want to support them better on the hard days, this episode will help you, too.

Grab your drink and cheers to surviving the days you never should have had to survive. 

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Buy a Consent is Hot™ Hoodie: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send us an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

What does it take to feel safe enough to be close again?

In this episode, Shannon and Lauren sit down with intimacy expert and trauma survivor Susan Bratton to unpack what rebuilding intimacy looks like after trauma. They talk about how communication builds safety, and why so many survivors struggle to feel touch without fear.

Susan shares her story of healing after childhood abuse and how she learned to turn numbness into sensation and shame into sovereignty.

It’s a conversation about presence, power, and the possibility of pleasure after pain, and a reminder that rebuilding intimacy isn’t about sex at all. It’s about coming home to yourself. Cheers!

Susan: https://susanbratton.com/

Follow Susan: https://www.instagram.com/susanbratton/?hl=en

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Check out merch & more: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send us an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

There were 430,000 rapes in the UK last year. 5 in 6 women never report what happened to them. If reporting feels impossible, the system needs new paths forward. That’s why the organization, Enough, was created.

Shannon sits down with Katie White, co-founder of Enough, and Dr. Maisie Johnstone, counseling psychologist and clinical lead, to talk about how they’re giving sexual assault survivors more choice and more agency through a self-testing rape kit, an encrypted place to record what happened, and a digital recovery platform for those who can’t access therapy.

They discuss what sexual violence really looks like in the UK, the silence surrounding it, and how reframing words like “delayed realization” and “hyper-sexuality” could change the way we understand sexual assault and healing. Grab whatever’s in your glass and press play. Cheers!

Checkout Enough: https://myenough.com/Follow Enough on IG: https://www.instagram.com/enoughtoendrape

Follow Enough on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@enoughtoendrape?lang=en 

Enough on Youtube: https://youtube.com/@enoughtoendrape?si=mA_Rtx-rLtQmInOj

Check out our merch: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send us an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

Life after sexual assault looks different for everyone, but no one talks about how it can change your dreams, your work, and your body’s capacity to keep going.

In this solo episode, Shannon unpacks how sexual trauma impacts careers and identity, and what it really means to meet yourself where you are in the aftermath. She talks about adjusting to a new normal, why it’s okay to have one, and what strength looks like for who you are now. Let's get cozy and talk about meeting yourself where you are. Cheers!

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Tell the world that consent is hot: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

In this episode, Shannon answers a few of the questions listeners have written in. Drawing from her own healing, a bit of research, and conversations with experts, she offers honest and unfiltered responses to the things survivors are often left wondering.

She gets into:

– What really counts as sexual assault (and why “gray areas” aren’t gray)

– Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn explained– Coping with dissociation

– Her honest take on therapy, including EMDR

– Red and green flags when dating again after trauma

Grab your favorite beverage and join Shannon for this survivor Q&A. Cheers!

Learn how your state defines sexual assault: https://rainn.org/take-action/fight-for-justice/state-law-database/

Check out the website (& merch!): WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea? Send us an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

No one really prepares you for the first days after sexual assault. The confusion. The self-blame. The nonstop “am I crazy for thinking this?” thoughts. It can sometimes feel like your whole world is upside down, and like you’re the only one going through it.

In this solo episode, Shannon talks directly to survivors who were recently assaulted, or are just starting to process what happened. She shares why your brain might be doubting itself, why your body feels off, and why needing rest is a non-negotiable.,

If you’ve been asking yourself “Is this normal?” the answer is yes. You’re not broken, you’re not alone, and joy will find its way back to you, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.

So grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s walk through this together. Cheers!

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Check out the merch: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send me an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

In Part 2 of our conversation with trauma therapist Cindie Henrie, we talk about what it means for survivors to recognize their own predatory impulses and how anger can be both destructive and productive in the healing journey. We also unpack how trauma lives in the body, how survivors reclaim power through movement and sensation, and what the cycle of abuse can look like behind closed doors—including in places like Hollywood. Cindie brings insight into the minds of perpetrators, the mechanics of trafficking, and how manipulation, denial, and control play out across systems and relationships. It’s raw, it’s honest, and you should stop reading this description and press play already. Cheers!

Los Angeles Therapy Network: https://www.latherapynetwork.com/

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Check out our merch: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send us an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress Treatment, LMFT, and BCETS, Cindie Henrie joins us to explore the psychology behind sexual abuse and survival. Cindie shares her experience working with high-risk youth, sex offenders, trafficking survivors, and the LGBTQIA+ community, offering a rare and honest look at the “why” behind predatory behavior. Together, we unpack how perpetrators often carry their own trauma and project it onto their victims, how survivors internalize abuse, and she introduces the "Trauma Triangle". A model in psychology of the victim, rescuer, and perpetrator that keeps people stuck in painful cycles.

If you've ever found yourself asking, "Why did this happen?" this episode will help you start making sense of it. Strap in, this is a good one. Cheers!

Los Angeles Therapy Network: https://www.latherapynetwork.com/

Get Educated: www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Check out our website: WhatTheyDontSay.com

Got questions? Have an episode idea?

Send us an email: [email protected]

Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattheydontsayofficial/

Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@whattheydontsayofficial

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs support: 1-800-656-4573 (National Sexual Assault Hotline)

If you value these conversations and want to help us keep them going, one way to support is through ⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠ . Your contribution helps us continue creating these conversations. And if monetary support isn’t accessible, rating the show, sharing an episode, or following along on social helps more than you know <3