The Shadows We Cast

Embedded

Misty Pratt, author of All In Her Head: How Gender Bias Harms Women’s Mental Health, joins Jennifer St John for a layered conversation about women’s mental health, systemic bias, emotional inheritance, and the stories that become embedded in our bodies, relationships, and nervous systems over time. Together, they explore how women’s distress has historically been misunderstood, medicalized, and dismissed — from the legacy of hysteria to modern conversations around burnout, anxiety, mental load, and nervous system overwhelm. Misty reflects on her grandmother’s late-life psychotic break, her own experiences with panic attacks and anxiety, and the long process of understanding what her body had been trying to say before she had language for it. Jennifer shares reflections from her own family’s journey as the two discuss intergenerational trauma, invisible labor, somatic healing, and the pressure many women feel to “hold it all together.” This conversation explores: • Gender bias in medicine and mental health care • The history and lasting legacy of hysteria • Burnout, mental load, and invisible labor • Anxiety, panic attacks, and nervous system dysregulation • Somatic therapy and body-based healing • Intergenerational trauma and emotional inheritance • Rest, boundaries, and adaptive coping • Why healing is both personal and systemic This episode is thoughtful, honest, and deeply validating — especially for listeners who have ever felt like their exhaustion, anxiety, or overwhelm was something they simply needed to “fix” within themselves. Connect with Misty Pratt: Website: Misty Pratt Official Website [https://www.mistypratt.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Instagram & Threads: @mistyprattwriter LinkedIn: mistypratt Substack: Misty Pratt Substack [https://mistypratt.substack.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Regulate

In this episode, Jenn St John sits down with psychotherapist and trauma expert Jenifer Freedy for a deeply grounding conversation about nervous systems, survival patterns, and what it really means to regulate. Together, they explore how chronic stress, trauma, and emotionally unsafe environments shape the way we move through the world long after the original danger has passed. Jenifer shares powerful insights into the nervous system — including the now widely recognized “fight, flight, freeze” responses — and explains why so many of us live stuck in states of hypervigilance, shutdown, over-functioning, or emotional exhaustion without fully understanding why. Jenn and Jenifer also talk candidly about parenting, grief, high-functioning survival, and the ways unresolved wounds can quietly surface in relationships and everyday moments. Throughout the conversation, Jenifer offers compassionate, practical tools for slowing down, reconnecting with the body, and learning how to return to ourselves with less shame and more awareness. This episode is a reminder that regulation isn’t about perfection or staying calm all the time. It’s about understanding that our nervous systems learned to protect us — and that healing begins when we stop seeing those responses as failures, and start seeing them with compassion. Topics discussed include: • Nervous system regulation • Trauma and chronic stress • Fight, flight, freeze, and shutdown responses • Parenting and generational patterns • Somatic therapy and polyvagal theory • Emotional safety and self-awareness • High-functioning survival patterns • Grief, healing, and repair About Jenifer Freedy: Jenifer Freedy is a psychotherapist and trauma expert with more than 25 years of experience working in the fields of trauma, grief, and loss. Her work integrates somatic therapy, parts work, and polyvagal (nervous system) principles to help clients better understand the connection between the body, trauma, and healing. She also provides professional trainings and supervision, and her upcoming book, Reclaiming What Was Lost, focused on healing from childhood sexual abuse, will be released in Fall 2026 through New Harbinger Publishing. Connect with Jenifer: Website: www.jeniferfreedy.com [http://www.jeniferfreedy.com/] Instagram: @jeniferfreedy_psychotherapist LinkedIn: Jenifer Freedy If this episode resonated with you, please consider following, sharing, or leaving a review. These conversations help remind people they are not alone. Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Legacy

In this episode, I sit down with Caitlin Morrison, Executive Director of the Matthew Perry House, to talk about the experience of loving someone through the illness of addiction — and what it means to carry that experience forward after loss. There’s a version of this story we don’t talk about very often. The one where someone you love spends years struggling, finally finds their way to recovery… and then is gone. Together, we explore what families often carry behind the scenes: the early signs that something isn’t quite right, the cycles of hope and disappointment, and the emotional weight of trying to support someone you can’t “fix.” This conversation also moves beyond the personal into something deeply hopeful — the work Caitlin is leading through the Matthew Perry House, a first-of-its-kind transitional housing initiative in Ottawa focused on long-term, community-based recovery. Grounded in the understanding of addiction as a medical illness, this model addresses a critical gap in care: what happens after treatment ends. This is a conversation about love, grief, understanding — and legacy. In this episode, we talk about: * What families often notice before they have language for addiction * The cycles of hope, relapse, and emotional impact on loved ones * The limits of control — and what “support” can really look like * Reframing addiction as an illness, not a failure * Recovery, and the part we don’t often talk about * The vision behind the Matthew Perry House and long-term recovery support About Caitlin: Caitlin Morrison is the Executive Director of the Matthew Perry House, carrying forward her brother Matthew Perry’s legacy by advocating for long-term recovery support. With a deep commitment to breaking down stigma and improving access to resources, Caitlin has played a pivotal role in the development of the Matthew Perry House Ottawa, a first-of-its-kind transitional housing initiative. Learn more: 🌐 https://matthewperryhouse.ca [https://matthewperryhouse.ca/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewperryhouse [https://www.instagram.com/matthewperryhouse] 🎧 Follow, share, and help these conversations reach more people. Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Embodied

In this episode of The Shadows We Cast, I sit down with Tychon Carter for a conversation about identity, self-trust, and what it really means to come back to yourself. Tychon shares his experience of growing up feeling misunderstood — navigating early messages around masculinity, emotional expression, and what it meant to be “right” or “wrong.” We talk about the identity shift that comes in early adulthood, especially when something that once defined you suddenly falls away — and the quiet, often confusing experience of feeling misaligned, even when everything looks “good” on the outside. Tychon reflects on how his time on Big Brother Canada became an unexpected turning point — not because of the game itself, but because of what happens when the noise disappears and you’re left with your own instincts. Throughout this conversation, we explore vulnerability, emotional literacy, and the process of rebuilding self-trust — including the powerful work of forgiving the version of yourself who had to survive. We also talk about the small, practical ways we can begin to reconnect with ourselves — from noticing what we feel, to creating routines that support both our mental and physical well-being. This is a conversation about embodiment — about learning to listen, to trust, and to return to who we are beneath everything we’ve been taught to be. ABOUT TYCHON CARTER Tychon Newman-Carter is a Canadian speaker, mental health advocate, and community builder, widely known as the first Black winner of Big Brother Canada and a contestant on The Amazing Race Canada. Beyond television, Tychon has built a platform centered around emotional awareness, personal growth, and self-trust. Through his work, he shares openly about his own experiences navigating identity, masculinity, and mental health — using storytelling, humor, and lived experience to make these conversations more accessible. His work also explores intergenerational trauma and anti-Black racism within African-Canadian communities, while emphasizing the importance of mindfulness, meaningful relationships, and purposeful routines as foundations for resilience and well-being. Connect with Tychon * Website: https://www.tychoncarter.com/ [https://www.tychoncarter.com/] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/tychonxcarter [https://instagram.com/tychonxcarter] * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tychoncarter [https://www.tiktok.com/@tychoncarter] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tychonxcarter [https://www.youtube.com/@tychonxcarter] Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

Inheritance

Amanda Patrick joins me for a conversation about inheritance—what we’re given, what we absorb, and what we eventually have to decide to do with it. In this episode, Inheritance, Amanda shares the story of her childhood—marked by poverty, neglect, and profound loss—and the long, complex path of what it means to carry that forward into adulthood. At just 13 years old, Amanda experienced a tragic event that would shape the course of her life. What followed were years of survival—leaving home at 15, navigating instability, masking pain, and building a life from the ground up without support. But as Amanda shares, survival is only one part of the story. This conversation explores what we inherit—not just from our families, but from the environments we grow up in. The patterns we learn. The coping mechanisms that once kept us safe. And the difficult, often painful work of deciding what we keep… and what we lay down. We talk about: * Growing up in neglect and the loneliness that lingers long after * Trauma, coping, and the masks we learn to wear * Addiction, sobriety, and the turning point into motherhood * The power of long-term therapy and self-awareness * Estrangement, boundaries, and the grief that comes with choosing distance * And how healing can evolve into service Today, Amanda is the co-founder of LADR Consulting, a speaker, and the founder of Gift-a-Family—an initiative that has raised over $200,000 to support children who might otherwise be overlooked during the holidays. Her story is not linear. It’s not simple. But it is deeply human. And at its core, it’s about this: We don’t get to choose what we inherit. But we do get to choose what we do with it. GUEST INFORMATION Amanda Patrick is a business strategist and co-founder of LADR Virtual Assistants, where she helps entrepreneurs streamline operations and build scalable systems. She is also a speaker and philanthropist, and the founder of Gift-a-Family, a community initiative that has raised over $200,000 to support hundreds of children. Through her “Drop the Mask” presentations, Amanda works with youth to build confidence, resilience, and self-trust. She’s also a proud mom and pickleball enthusiast. Connect with Amanda: Instagram: @amandalelepatrick Instagram: @ladrcoaching Instagram: @gift_a_family Website: https://www.ladrconsulting.com/ [https://www.ladrconsulting.com/] CONTENT NOTE This episode includes discussions of childhood trauma, neglect, addiction, and suicidal ideation. Please take care while listening and choose a time and space that feels supportive. SUPPORT RESOURCES If this episode brought something up for you, you don’t have to sit with it alone. Canada: Call or text 988 Simcoe County Crisis Line: 1-888-893-8333 U.S.: Call or text 988 Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14 Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John Editor: Andrew Schiller Website: www.jennstjohn.ca [http://www.jennstjohn.ca/] Follow along: Instagram: @jenn_stjohn [https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn] LinkedIn: Jenn St John [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennstjohn] If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too. Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.