Tag: trauma

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#23 Healing From Inherited Trauma – Being an Adult Child of an Alcoholic

adult child of an alcoholic mental health podcast

Elizabeth has built a successful career in education but grew up in an alcoholic household and became an adult child of an alcoholic. In Silent Superheroes, we often hear about people’s personal battle with mental illness.  The truth is that most of us aren’t an island. We have friends, family and colleagues in our life that we interact with everyday.  When you spend a lot of time around someone, you leave marks on each other. This episode is about how our personal struggles change those around us.

Listen To Episode 23

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:55 — 28.9MB)

Show Notes

In this episode, Elizabeth is going to talk about her upbringing as the child of an alcoholic and how that shaped her worldview and affected her work.  She’ll tell us about the life changing news she found in her lunchbox and how a residential recovery program changed her mom. We’ll hear about the night drinking with her brother that showed her how her Mom’s alcoholism had affected her.  And how as a result of that night how she started her road to recovery. Finally, she’ll share the various different approaches she’s taken to healing, and how they’ve lead her to a place where she’s comfortable in ambiguity in her work.

Links

About The Adult Child of an Alcoholic Program

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA)/Dysfunctional Families is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of men and women who grew up in dysfunctional homes.

We meet to share our experience of growing up in an environment where abuse, neglect and trauma infected us. This affects us today and influences how we deal with all aspects of our lives.

ACA provides a safe, nonjudgmental environment that allows us to grieve our childhoods and conduct an honest inventory of ourselves and our family—so we may (i) identify and heal core trauma, (ii) experience freedom from shame and abandonment, and (iii) become our own loving parents.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#10 Healing From PTSD and the Trauma of Sexual Assault

healing from ptsd mental health podcast

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women will be a victim of rape at some point in their lives. If that number shocks you, it’s because many victims of sexual assault and rape cope with their trauma in silence. In 2017, the silence broke as women started speaking out on social media through the #metoo movement. Now the healing from PTSD can begin.

Listen To Episode 10

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:31 — 29.2MB)

Show Notes

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, we meet Lauren, a software engineer from Australia who was a victim of rape as a teenager, leaving her with PTSD. Unable to tell anyone for more than a year, Lauren dropped out of high-school and struggled with panic attacks. Eventually, her journey of healing from PTSD began by writing a letter about her experience to her mum. Lauren has come to terms with her trauma through psychologists offices, medication, and with the support of family, friends and now colleagues. While coming to terms with her trauma, she studied to be a software engineer, and is now forging a successful career in technology.

Links

  • Finding a psychiatrist in Australia and New Zealand (resource)
  • National Sexual Violence Research Center (resource )

About PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

People who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping. Fortunately, with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD. In that case, it is important to get effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop. Getting treatment can be critical to reduce symptoms and improve function.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.