On this episode of the Being Well Podcast, author Stephanie Foo joins Forrest to share her journey with Complex PTSD. They talk about what it was like to receive a diagnosis, the various techniques and modalities she used (and what really helped), the importance of social support, self-acceptance and self-compassion, difficulties with access and cultural competence in the mental healthcare system, intergenerational trauma, and motherhood.

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About Our Guest: Stephanie Foo is a writer and radio producer whose work has been featured on This American Life, 99% Invisible, and Radiolab among other shows, and she’s the author of the truly wonderful book What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma.

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Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and disclaimer

2:10: Stephanie Foo’s experience in sharing her story

6:00: Features of CPTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

7:50: What led Stephanie Foo to seek help, and work as a coping mechanism

10:15: “The Dread” and healing through relationship

17:40: The effects of receiving a diagnosis, and hidden superpowers of CPTSD

25:45: Practices that helped Stephanie Foo and how we can incorporate them

33:45: Balancing showing up for other people and receiving care

35:15: Self-love, gratitude, and relationships

38:20: Two-way repair, and comfort with receiving feedback

42:55: Challenges navigating our mental healthcare system

49:55: Societal trauma among first-generation immigrants

54:30: Parenthood

58:15: Recap