Unravel with Elaine Clark

31- The Wound of Abandonment: Adoption, Attachment & Healing the Nervous System with Catherine Moore

In this episode, I’m joined by registered clinical counsellor, author, and adoption advocate Catherine Moore for a tender and deeply insightful conversation about adoption, abandonment, belonging, and healing the nervous system. Catherine brings a unique perspective as an adoptee, adoptive mother, counsellor, and co-director of We Are Adopted. Together, we explore the emotional complexity of adoption, including the impact of early separation, the longing to know where we come from, and the hidden grief, shame, and anxiety that can live beneath the surface. Catherine shares her own story of reunion, the silence and secrecy that often surround closed adoption, and how these early experiences can shape attachment, identity, relationships, and the felt sense of safety in the body. We also talk about how somatic therapy, mindfulness, movement, breath, and compassionate presence can help soften old imprints and support healing. In this episode, we unravel: 🧬 The emotional complexity of adoption and reunion 💔 How early separation can shape attachment and belonging 🧠 Why abandonment wounds often live in the nervous system 🌿 How shame, anxiety, and hypervigilance can show up in adoptees 🌀 The difference between who we are and the adaptations we developed to survive 🤍 How somatic therapy can help heal preverbal trauma 👂 How to support someone you love who is adopted ✨ Why being seen, heard, and understood can be profoundly healing Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca [info@elaineclark.ca] 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio 🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca [http://www.elaineclark.ca]

30- Early Signs of Burnout: Recovery Before Collapse

Burnout does not always begin with collapse. It often begins quietly, while we are still functioning, still showing up, still getting things done, and still being praised for the very behaviours that are disconnecting us from ourselves. In this episode, I explore the early signs of burnout. I discuss how burnout can hide inside over-functioning, responsibility, productivity, and being the person everyone relies on. In this episode, you’ll learn: 🕯️ How burnout can begin long before collapse 🌀 Why burnout is different from ordinary tiredness ⚡ How over-functioning, productivity, and responsibility can mask depletion 🌙 Why rest does not always feel restorative when the body is deeply depleted 🫁 How nutritional nourishment may support capacity and recovery 🧭 Why burnout recovery may require both physiological support and deeper honesty Referenced Research & Resources World Health Organization. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases Freudenberger, H. J., & North, G. (1985). Women’s burnout: How to spot it, how to reverse it, and how to prevent it. Doubleday. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2025, June 27). Vitamin D: Fact sheet for health professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/ National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2025, July 2). Vitamin B12: Fact sheet for health professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/ Whyte, D. (2001). Crossing the unknown sea: Work as a pilgrimage of identity. Riverhead Books. Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: ⁠info@elaineclark.ca⁠ 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio 🌐 Explore more: ⁠www.elaineclark.ca

29- How Creativity Shapes Us with Menaka Raman-Wilms

In this episode, I’m joined by author and podcast host Menaka Raman-Wilms for a thoughtful conversation about creativity, writing, loneliness, and the long process of bringing a story to life. Together, we explore the inspiration behind her novel The Rooftop Garden, how her time in Berlin shaped the book, and what it takes to stay connected to a creative project over many years. Menaka also shares how writing fiction can help us make sense of the world, process complex emotions, and look beneath the headlines to the human stories underneath. In this episode, we unravel:  ✍️ The creative journey behind The Rooftop Garden 🌿 How nature, cities, and Berlin inspired the novel 🧠 Why writing can help us process complex emotions 📖 What it takes to keep going with a long creative project 💭 How loneliness shows up in the book and in modern life 🌎 The human stories behind climate anxiety and extremism ✨ Why creativity can shape us as much as we shape it Stay Connected  🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_  📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio  🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca [http://www.elaineclark.ca]

28- Why We Feel So Empty in the Age of Connection with John Vervaeke

In this episode, I’m joined by cognitive scientist, author, and professor John Vervaeke for a profound conversation about the modern meaning crisis, mindfulness, flow states, loneliness, and the deep human longing for connection. Together, we explore why so many people feel empty in the age of constant stimulation and digital connection, and how practices like mindfulness, contemplation, and self-awareness can help us reconnect to what is truly meaningful. John also shares insights from cognitive science, philosophy, and psychology to help us better understand consciousness, self-deception, intuition, wisdom, and the patterns shaping modern life. In this episode, we unravel: 🧠 What the “meaning crisis” really is 📱 Why social media can leave us feeling more disconnected 🌱 The difference between pleasure, happiness, and meaning 🫁 How mindfulness helps us become aware of unconscious patterns ⚡ What flow states are and why they feel so meaningful 🔄 Why insight and transformation require cognitive flexibility 💭 The relationship between self-awareness and human connection ✨ How wisdom is cultivated through relationship, presence, and practice Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio 🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca

27- Why Nature Calms Your Nervous System with Elaine Clark

Maybe your nervous system is not asking for more discipline right now. Maybe it is asking for a different relationship to life. In this episode, I explore the connection between the nervous system and nature, and why time in natural environments may support stress recovery, emotional regulation, and a greater sense of inner settling. Drawing from both personal reflection and research, I speak about rumination, restoration, awe, and the quiet ways the body can begin to soften when it feels less overexposed and more rooted. This is an episode about healing, environment, and remembering that regulation is not just psychological — it is physiological too.  In this episode, you’ll learn: *  How nature may support the nervous system in shifting out of chronic activation  *  What research suggests about rumination, stress recovery, and time spent in natural settings  *  Why awe, slowness, and sensory contact with the natural world can feel regulating  *  How to begin noticing which environments help your body soften and settle  *  Why regulation is not laziness, and rest is not disengagement  Referenced Research & Resources Antonelli, M., Barbieri, G., & Donelli, D. (2019). Effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Biometeorology, 63(8), 1117–1134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-019-01717-x Kobayashi, H., Song, C., Ikei, H., Park, B. J., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2019). Combined effect of walking and forest environment on salivary cortisol concentration. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, 376. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00376 Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): Evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-009-0086-9 Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567–8572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112 Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11(3), 201–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7 Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio  🌐 Explore more: www.elaineclark.ca [http://www.elaineclark.ca]