You did the hard part. You became aware. You named the pattern, traced it back, connected the dots. And then your nervous system completely lost the plot.

So now what?

In this episode — the follow-up to last week's pandemic PTSD story — I get into what actually happens after awareness hits and why digging into old stories often triggers nervous system dysregulation before it brings relief. I’m sharing exactly what I do when I feel activated, and why getting regulated first isn't optional — it's literally life.

In this episode:

• How nervous system activation physically shows up (and what it feels like when you're basically a scared dog in a shelter kennel)
• Why you cannot make a trustworthy decision from a dysregulated state — and what to do instead
• The difference between surrendering and avoiding (they are not the same thing)
• How the first three steps of Al-Anon apply to literally everyone, not just people in recovery
• Possibility vs. probability — and why blind faith might be your most powerful tool
• The smile file practice I use with my Rewritten clients from week one

This episode is for the woman who is doing the work, feeling all the feelings, and desperately googling "why does healing feel worse before it feels better."

Topics: nervous system dysregulation, nervous system regulation, healing old stories, surrendering control, inner child healing, trauma awareness, limiting beliefs, codependency recovery, Al-Anon, faith and healing, women's personal growth, identity work, narrative therapy

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities. 

Have you ever thought you moved on from something — only to have your body tell you otherwise? In this episode, I’m opening up about the pandemic chaos that led to PTSD: losing my job in China, living out of a backpack for 10 months across Vietnam, the Philippines, Liechtenstein, and Abu Dhabi — and what happened when I finally stopped moving long enough to feel it.

From nervous system dysregulation and cortisol overload to shaking on the drive to a line dancing class, I share the real signs of stored trauma I didn't recognize as PTSD — and the nervous system regulation, inner child work, and healing practices that helped me release it without years of formal therapy.

This episode is for anyone who:

• Has experienced trauma, anxiety, or uncertainty and pushed through instead of processing
• Is curious about nervous system healing, PTSD recovery, or somatic approaches to emotional release
• Needs permission to just be witnessed — without fixing, advice, or toxic positivity

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:56 Navigating life changes: Divorce and relocation

03:53 The Impact of the COVID Pandemic on Personal Identity

18:50 Coping with Uncertainty

30:56 The Journey of Healing: Recognizing PTSD Symptoms

37:03 Empathy and Understanding: The Power of Listening

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities. 

What actually happens when you finally do the scary thing?

Most of us wait to feel ready before we take the leap. But what if the terror you feel right before you do it is actually the sign you're exactly where you're supposed to be?

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the 24 hours after launching this podcast — the feelings that came up, the feedback that surprised me, and the pattern I noticed in myself that I wasn't expecting to unpack on air.

We'll cover:

• Why doing the thing you're most called to do can feel the most exposing
• The question I've been sitting with: do you actually need a rock bottom to change?
• How looking back at every risk I've ever taken gave me permission to finally take this one
• Why "one baby step" is not a cliché — it's literally how this podcast got made

This one is raw, unscripted, and very behind the scenes. If you've been sitting on something you keep almost doing — this episode is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:58 The podcast launch: what actually happened

14:53 The risks that always paid off

20:21 Rock bottoms and change

24:38 The awakening that led to Rewritten

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities. 

This is the podcast for women who have done the therapy, the courses, the personal development deep-dives — and still find themselves stuck in the same patterns, making decisions from stories they didn't consciously choose.

Here's what I know to be true: you don't have a decision problem. You have a story problem.

Your Stories Matter is a space where we get honest about the narratives running underneath everything — your confidence, your relationships, your business, your sense of self. And we rewrite them. Not in theory. In real time.

I'm Jessica Graham, certified narrative advisor and story coach. I've rebuilt my own story from the ground up — through divorce, identity collapse, and building a business that forced me to face every unhealed thing I thought I'd already dealt with.

This podcast is what I wish I'd had during all of it.

If you're ready to stop living inside a story that was never really yours — you're in the right place.

Subscribe wherever you listen. New episodes drop weekly.

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities. 

Do you know how to figure out what’s actually triggering you — and what to do with it once you do?

Most of us can feel when something’s off. We just don’t have a process for tracing it back to the root. 

In this episode, I’m walking you through my exact methodology for naming a trigger, finding the pattern underneath it, and beginning to rewrite the story attached to it.

We’ll cover:

• How to identify the emotion that’s actually coming up (not just the surface reaction)
• The process for tracing a trigger back to a specific memory or pattern
• What externalizing the problem means and why it’s a game changer for identity work
• How to find the alternative story and start integrating it as a new identity

This is the how-to episode. Practical, personal, and built from real experience.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:56 Understanding betrayal and trust

03:43 Identifying triggers and emotions

12:49 The process of reparenting

17:41 Finding trust and abundance

26:02 Moving forward with awareness

🎙️ New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe so you never miss one.

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities. 

Why do we spiral into crisis mode over things that don’t actually warrant it?

In this episode, I’m getting honest about a pattern I’m currently rewriting in real time — moving from betrayal into trust. What started as a simple argument with my husband revealed a much deeper story that had been quietly running my reactions for years.

We’ll cover:

• What betrayal actually means (hint: it’s probably not what you think)
• The five emotions tied to a betrayal block and how to identify them in yourself
• Why your biggest emotional reactions are rarely about what’s happening in front of you
• What abundance really means — and why trust is the thing blocking it

This one’s raw, real, and exactly the kind of conversation we don’t have enough of.

📓 Grab your journal — you’re going to want it.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:57 Today’s topic: Rewriting my story of betrayal

03:36 Understanding the emotions and experiences

06:58 The impact of guilt on ability to trust

09:42 Exploring abundance and redefining worth

12:34 Important conversations and processing emotions

18:36 Introduction to narrative integration

 🎙️ Your Stories Matter is a podcast for growth-minded women ready to stop living inside stories they didn’t choose — and start rewriting them.

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities. 

Ever feel like building a business is breaking you open in ways you never expected?

That’s because it is, and it’s not an accident.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why entrepreneurship is the most intense personal development journey you’ll ever sign up for, and what to actually do about it.

We’ll cover:

• Why owning a business exposes every unhealed story you’re carrying
• How looking outside yourself for permission keeps you stuck and disconnected
• The step-by-step process Jessica used to stop mimicking others and build a business that finally felt like hers
• Why your mess is actually your message — and how to start using it

If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your offers, your voice, or yourself, this is your starting point.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:57 Today’s topic: Entrepreneurship is personal development on crack

08:05 Building up trust in yourself

15:42 Identifying and externalizing the problem

22:13 Rewriting your story and identity

28:33 Finding community and support in the entrepreneurial journey

🎙️ Your Stories Matter is a podcast for growth-minded women ready to stop living inside stories they didn’t choose — and start rewriting them.

♥ Connect with me on Instagram: @jessicagraham.storycoach

♥ Sign up for the FREE monthly gathering for ambitious women in business, Stories in Action.  

♥ Book a call to discuss narrative coaching. 

♥ Start the process with a FREE Name The Narrative Session. 

About me: I help female founders and ambitious women rewrite the stories that are keeping them stuck in outdated identities.