6 Common Pitfalls in Healing Childhood Trauma

This episode tells the story of Thomas, a survivor who went no contact with his abusive father after a public meltdown at his wedding, and how the world around him quietly blames him for the relationship he didn’t break. From well-meaning coworkers saying “all families have stuff,” to relatives insisting “you’ll have to let it go,” Patrick explores why the burden to forgive and reconnect so often falls on the person who was hurt, not the person who caused the harm.Learn how survivors like Thomas are pressured to “be the bigger person,” while abusers avoid accountability, and how to stop carrying that emotional labor yourself.Topics include:Why abusive parents are rarely held accountableHow relatives and in-laws minimize harm to “keep the peace”The shame, guilt, and invisibility survivors feel when going no contactThe hidden motives behind advice like “just forgive”How to flip the script and protect your peaceIf you’ve ever been told to reconcile with someone who never took responsibility for the pain they caused, this episode offers validation, and a new way forward.Keywords: family estrangement, toxic parents, no contact healing, emotional abuse recovery, accountability, narcissistic parent, trauma recovery, boundaries, forgiveness pressure, inner child healingNearly 16M kids have lost grocery benefits.Help them get the meals they need!Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership

This episode explores how growing up with a toxic or emotionally unavailable mother can shape a daughter’s sense of worth, identity, and boundaries, and how to finally break free.Rather than focusing on blame, Patrick unpacks the lasting emotional damage that daughters carry into adulthood and the path toward self-trust and emotional independence.Learn why patterns like people-pleasing, guilt, and over-responsibility aren’t flaws, they’re survival strategies that once kept you safe. Through stories, insights, and tools, Patrick guides you toward seeing your story with compassion and clarity.Topics include:How toxic maternal behavior damages self-perceptionThe “good daughter” role and its emotional consequencesGuilt, shame, and the confusion between love and obligationReparenting yourself and building healthy emotional boundariesReclaiming confidence and connection without losing yourselfYou’ll leave this episode with practical tools to stop carrying emotional responsibility for others, repair your self-image, and begin building the safety your mother couldn’t provide.Keywords: toxic mother, mother-daughter trauma, emotional abuse, inner child healing, childhood trauma recovery, boundaries, reparenting, self-worth repair, codependency, healing tools, family roles, emotional neglect Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership

This episode explores how growing up with a narcissistic or emotionally immature parent can distort your perception of yourself, others, and your worth, and how to reclaim it. Instead of fixating on the parent, we look at the damage that lingers and the path to undo it.Learn why triggers around work, relationships, and self-doubt aren’t personality flaws—they're leftover survival responses from childhood. Patrick shares vulnerable personal stories about being cast as “the dumb one” and how those old narratives showed up in adulthood, even during success.Topics include:How narcissistic parents damage a child’s perceptionThe impact on self-worth, identity, and intimacyHypervigilance, projection, and feeling “in trouble” for existingThree powerful recovery tools:Protecting your inner childWriting a truth statementGiving back what was never yours to carryYou’ll walk away with practical exercises to shift perception, stop living in fear, and reclaim a sense of self that was always yours.-----------------------------Workbook Chapters1 — How to Get Your Inner Adult in Place … 122 — The Built-In Forgetter (Codependency) … 273 — Honoring Our Trauma Responses & Coping Strategies … 384 — Overcoming Magical Thinking … 515 — The Feeling of Being "In Trouble"… 636 — How to Stop Anticipating Criticism … 747 — Childhood Trauma & Physical Energy Issues … 848 — Depression Related to Childhood Trauma … 979 — Processing Childhood Emotional Neglect        (The Things That Didn’t Happen)… 10710 - Processing Childhood Enmeshment with an        Emotionally Immature Parent …11811 - Processing Childhood Trauma-Related Grief … 13112 - Processing Guilt: Recognizing the Family History       Before Low or No Contact … 14313 - How to Recover from a Narcissistic Parent … 153Journal PromptsJournal Prompt #1: How did self-worth get twisted?How did your narcissistic parent create damage around your self-worth and how you perceive yourself?Write a list of ten experiences about lost self-worth due to that parent.ExamplesThat Christmas when my mother made me stand up in front of the entire extended family while she berated me about why I didn’t get any gifts.My father would take any achievement I had and one-up me. I gave up on having self-worth because he was the focus.Journal Prompt #2: Who did they say you are?Write several paragraphs about your struggle with a healthy sense of self and how the narcissistic parent contributed to a poor sense of self. Who did your parents say you were, either through protection, neglect, or supply?ExampleI’ve always guessed at what I like or who I am. My mother had these twisted ideas, or fantasies, that I was going to become an entrepreneur and live a fabulous life in support of her. Did I want that? What even is that? What I know now is if she had a child who was a rich genius, she could have supply and validation—she could tell her friends she raised an entrepreneur. Of course I don’t know who I am.Access the workbook herePatrickteahan.com/workbookKeywords: narcissistic parent recovery, childhood trauma, perception wounds, inner child healing, self-worth repair, intimacy triggers, emotional abuse healing, trauma recovery toolsJoin the Monthly Healing Community Membership

This episode dives into the ways childhood trauma shows up in daily triggers—and how to break free from them faster. Learn how your past shapes present reactions and discover practical tools to release the emotional charge that keeps you stuck.Topics include:Understanding how triggers connect past and presentFour actionable tools for regulating emotional triggersHealing practices for body and mindReclaiming your time, energy, and creativity from traumaJoin us for an empowering conversation on building resilience, calming your nervous system, and supporting your inner child.Keywords: Childhood trauma, emotional triggers, healing tools, inner child work, trauma recovery, nervous system regulationJoin the Monthly Healing Community Membership

This episode explores the ways childhood trauma survivors often feel left out in friendships and social situations, and how those early family patterns show up in adult connections.Topics include:Struggling to “jump in” during conversationsStarting friendships but pulling away quicklyFeeling “too much” or too intense for othersHow family modeling shapes social shameInner child work and dialoguing prompts for healingJoin us for an honest, compassionate conversation on finding belonging and becoming more comfortable in your own skin.Keywords: childhood trauma, social anxiety, inner child healing, friendships, boundaries, CPTSD, feeling excluded, self-worth.Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership

In this episode, Patrick sits down with Dr. Ingrid Clayton to unpack fawning, the often-missed, deeply relational trauma response: why “people-pleasing” isn’t what it seems, how power dynamics shape it, and first steps toward taking up space—without turning into someone you’re not.Order your copy of Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves—and How to Find Our Way Back today!ORDER HEREJoin the Monthly Healing Community Membership

This episode explores in-depth how emotionally immature or abusive mothers impact their sons long into adulthood. Keep an eye out for two more parts of this series!Topics include: Feeling triggered by other women - imaginary or realDifferent types of toxic mothersReplicating patterns from our childhood traumaTips for healing and building healthy relationshipsJoin us for an insightful conversation on healing and finding emotional balance. Keywords: Childhood trauma, toxic mother, relationships, healing, self-worth.Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership

Toxic Fathers & The Daughters They Leave Behind I hope this episode was helpful and or thought provoking for you. Please like, follow or comment w/questions. For in depth journal prompts, subscribe to my YouTube channel for video versions of these episodes!Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership

Why Your C-PTSD Isn't Getting BetterTopics covered: sense of self, childhood trauma, DSO, CPTSD, PTSD, relationship problems, emotional triggers, psychology, assessment, measurable goals, journal prompts, childhood trauma, trauma response, attachment. In this episode I go over Disturbances in Self-Organization, a diagnostic criteria set that separates PTSD from C-PTSD. We can fine tune our healing efforts if we know which of the three DSO ideas affects our functioning the most. This episode also discusses a tool we are developing to measure C-PTSD progress and gives resources such as what therapy modalities might be the most useful for the category that you score the highest in.Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership

In this episode I cover the mental health personality of a Star Wars character C-3P0. Other Star Wars mental health mentions: K-2S0, gonk droid, Luke Skywalker, Andor, Mon Mothma, Empire Strikes Back, Luthen Rael, Dedra Meero, Syrill, R2-D2, Darth Vader, Palpatine, Han Solo, Narcissism, Covert Narcissist, codependency, Chewbacca, Emperor Palpatine, Princess Leia, Yoda, Boba Fett, Sith, Star Wars fans. The sound clips used in this episode are owned by Lucasfilm Ltd. and are part of the Star Wars franchise. All rights are reserved by the respective copyright holders. This episode is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and falls under fair use.Join the Monthly Healing Community Membership