Episode 15 | Depression, Trauma, and the Nervous System: The Missing Piece in Healing

Episode 17 | Breathwork, Trauma, Masculinity and the Search for Meaning

In this episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Jamie Clements, founder of The Breath Space and host of the Human Nature Podcast, recognised as a leading voice in the wellbeing space and an expert breathwork facilitator whose work explores the intersection of breath, consciousness, and human potential. Together, we explore the most common misconceptions people have about breathwork, and why many people misunderstand what the practice is actually for. We talk about how Jamie’s own life has changed through this work, what shifted internally and externally, and how breathwork became more than a practice, but a way of living. We also discuss breathwork through a trauma-informed lens, including the dos and don’ts for people with trauma histories, and why safety, pacing, and discernment matter so much when working with the nervous system. Jamie explains how breathwork can sometimes create experiences as transformative as psychedelics, the mechanics behind altered states of consciousness, and the difference between working with a practitioner versus trying it alone.  We speak about the modern obsession with optimisation and self-improvement, and the importance of learning how to sit with discomfort instead of constantly chasing the next fix or hack.  We also move into a conversation around masculinity, the rise of the manosphere, and what it means for men to confront identity, purpose, and emotional maturity. Jamie shares his own reflections on what Jung would call the puer aeternus—the eternal boy—and his personal work of moving toward grounded, embodied manhood.  Follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator [http://www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator]  Visit my website www.effiekli.com [http://www.effiekli.com/] Get in touch with us www.effiekli.com/contact [http://www.effiekli.com/contact] And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-informed conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.

Episode 16 | The Truth About Emotional Eating, Trauma and Recovery

In this episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Luis Mojica, somatic educator and founder of Holistic Life Navigation, whose work sits at the intersection of nutrition, the nervous system, and trauma recovery. Today is the publication of his new book, Food Therapy: Conscious Eating to Navigate Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma.  In this conversation how food can become part of the healing process, not through restriction or control, but through relationship. We talk about why so many people with a history of trauma use food to self-soothe, and what the body is truly needing in those moments. We also go into the role of shame and guilt in our relationship with food, how these patterns form, and how they can begin to shift when we bring in more compassion and somatic awareness. Luis offers a perspective that removes moral judgment from eating and instead looks at the underlying physiology and emotional needs. We explore the nervous system mechanics behind cravings, and why abrupt, restrictive changes are rarely sustainable for people who have relied on these strategies for a long time. Instead, we look at what a more realistic and supportive approach can be, one that works with the body rather than against it. If you’ve ever struggled with your relationship to food, or felt confused by what your body is asking for, this episode will give you a very different way of understanding it. Food Therapy is available now. You can buy it here https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book [https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book]     Follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator [http://www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator] Visit my website www.effiekli.com [http://www.effiekli.com/]   Get in touch with us www.effiekli.com/contact [http://www.effiekli.com/contact]   And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-informed conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.

Episode 15 | Depression, Trauma, and the Nervous System: The Missing Piece in Healing

Depression is often treated as something that is wrong with us.  But what if that framing is part of what keeps us stuck in depression? In this episode, I explore depression through a trauma-informed and nervous system lens and why understanding it purely through symptoms or serotonin imbalance narratives limits the way we approach healing.  Rather than asking “what’s wrong with you and you are depressed?”, this episode invites a different question: What happened to you, and how did your nervous system adapt to survive? I share why this topic is deeply personal to me, and how that experience shaped the way I understand depression. I talk about: The difference between a pathologizing model and a trauma-informed approach to depression Why depression is often a state of freeze and/or shutdown that are self-protective strategies after trauma The unprocessed emotions that live beneath depression Why we first need to embody depression to heal from it, and what this means What working with depression somatically and emotionally looks like The benefits of exploring depression through archetypes A trauma-informed approach to depression is the foundation of my 12-week program, The Chrysalis. The Chrysalis is not about fixing depression or pushing you out of it It’s about understanding it, working with it slowly, and gradually building the capacity your nervous system needs to move through it and welcome aliveness back into your body and life. Inside the program, we explore depression through somatic, emotional, and deeper soul, archetypal work, and the structure is intentional. Across 12 weeks, we move through three cycles of: * immersive mini-retreats  * integration calls  * and Q&A sessions  This allows the work to unfold with pacing, depth, and actual integration, not just insight. If you’ve been trying to “fix” your depression and it hasn’t worked, this episode (and this work) will resonate.  The Chrysalis begins on April 23 and runs only once a year. You can find all the details and join via the link here https://courses.effiekli.com/the-chrysalis [https://courses.effiekli.com/the-chrysalis] ______ Follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator [http://www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator] Visit my website www.effiekli.com [http://www.effiekli.com/]   Get in touch with us www.effiekli.com/contact [http://www.effiekli.com/contact] And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-informed conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.

Episode 14 | Dysfunctional systems, the loneliness of being the family scapegoat and building self-trust after trauma with Dr. Deniz Ahmadinia

In this episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Deniz Ahmadinia, a clinical psychologist whose work bridges trauma, somatic and parts work, and intuitive energy healing. Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal healing journey, Deniz brings a perspective that moves beyond intellectual understanding and into the lived, embodied process of reconnecting with the self. ·      We speak about what happens when memories of abuse surface later in life ·      Why self-doubt is a necessary survival strategy that once protected us  ·      The complexity of rebuilding self-trust, not as a guarantee that we’ll always get it “right”, but as a capacity to stay with ourselves regardless of the outcome ·      The reality of dysfunctional family systems, including the experience of being the scapegoat, and the loneliness that comes with that role ·      The confusion of being raised by a parent whose public image did not match what happened at home ·      The role of anger as a way of taking our life-force energy back and restoring a sense of agency after trauma ·      And what it takes to stop abandoning ourselves, especially when that pattern was shaped in environments where disconnection was necessary for belonging   For more information on Dr. Deniz’s, visit here www.drdeniz.com [http://www.drdeniz.com/]   Join The Chrysalis, my signature 12-week program on depression https://courses.effiekli.com/the-chrysalis [https://courses.effiekli.com/the-chrysalis]   Follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator [http://www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator] Visit my website www.effiekli.com [http://www.effiekli.com/]   Get in touch with us www.effiekli.com/contact [http://www.effiekli.com/contact]   And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-informed conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.

Episode 13 | Accessing our power after complex trauma through instinct, the symbolic life and shadow work with Hannah Fraser Moore

In this episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Hannah Fraser Moore, analytical psychologist and depth psychotherapist, whose work bridges trauma, instinct, and the symbolic life. Grounded in Jungian psychology and psychoanalytic thought, Hannah explores how early relational experiences shape the nervous system, the body, and our capacity to live with agency and meaning. She is a member of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP), and lives in the UK with her family.  Together, we explore how myths, stories, and the symbolic life can support people with complex trauma in making sense of their inner world and reconnecting with parts of themselves that have been cut off.  We discuss how instinct can become suppressed through early developmental trauma, and how childhood environments can shape our relationship to desire, teaching us to move away from what we want to avoid humiliation.  We also talk about the fear that something bad is about to happen and how to overcome it, about the difference between anxiety and intuition, what it means to make the “right” decision, and how to deal with regret over moments we believe we've made the wrong choice.   For more information on Hannah’s work, visit here www.hannahfrasermoore.com [http://www.hannahfrasermoore.com/]  Join The Chrysalis, my signature 12-week program on depression https://courses.effiekli.com/the-chrysalis [https://courses.effiekli.com/the-chrysalis]  Follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator [http://www.instagram.com/the.trauma.educator] Visit my website www.effiekli.com [http://www.effiekli.com/]   Get in touch with us www.effiekli.com/contact [http://www.effiekli.com/contact]  And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-educated conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.