System Speak: Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders

We talk to the Infinite System.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We talk to the Labyrinth System.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Emma opens up about the ways Mother’s Day has been difficult in the past (trigger warning for references to miscarriages, deceased parents, infertility, and abuse dynamics).  These issues are only referenced, not described in detail.  She then shares that this year she is focusing instead on the things she has learned from the therapist, and she gives a list of ten.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We speak with local clinician Robert Cox.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Emma reflects on therapy.  She talks about learning to accept the others.  She talks about the overlap of memory time and now time.  She shares an experience of sensing one of the others inside, in a safe way.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We speak again with Dr. Peter Barach, who teaches us all about attachment.  He tells the story of being in class with Mary Ainsworth, and explains Bowlby’s theory (links in the blog).  He explains the different attachment styles, and what that looks like in adults.  He shares that disorganized attachment is quite common in DID.  He gives the example of the Robertson research film “A Two Year Old Goes to the Hospital”.  He then applies all of this to the context of trauma and multiplicity for some discussion - including suggesting that different alters have different attachment styles.  There is a trigger warning for when discuss therapy boundaries, and how unresolved attachment issues play a role in unethical behavior of otherwise good therapists (and bad ones) - an example of a therapist diapering her adult clients is given.  We also discuss ways to remain connected with your therapist between sessions, in good and safe ways that are healthy and contribute to healing attachment.  Then we apply it internally, too, and explain why improving internal communication changes things so much - and how that heals attachment, too.  He then ties this full circle to Dr. Daniel P. Brown’s theory of CPTSD, and how it’s caused by disorganized attachment followed by abuse later.  He also references “Ghosts in the Nursery”.  We apply what we learned our struggle through the last week, weather trauma, and efforts not to re-enact trauma.  The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Emma talks about being busy to avoid therapy.  She shares about only feeling safe with her family, and not having support outside the family.  She shares about feeling panic that they will lose her therapist.  She talks about feeling like the lights inside go out when she can't see her therapist, and when she feels this that she feels scared and alone.  She reflects on the impact of missing therapy sessions.  Emma notices her avoidance of journaling. The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

After trying for months to connect, Dr. E finally gets to talk with Robert Oxnam, who wrote the book “A Fractured Mind”.  He opens the interview asking her questions, which gives us all a rare glimpse into her own perspective throughout the interview.  She mentions what we have shared before, about the deaths of our parents.  He shares about his collaboration with McClean Hospital and gives some statistics about the occupancy of DID.  He introduces his own story of DID, including causes for his experience with it (trigger warnings for his examples of growing up in wartime, beatings, screaming, threats, and being confined in a freezer).  He normalizes DID as an understandable reaction to trauma.  He describes other countries and cultures where a multiple perspective is quite normal, and how these conversations help fight stigma.  He talks about the creativity of DID, and how beneficial this can be in ways other singletons don’t have access to be able to do.  He proposes that functional multiplicity should be called “cohesive multiplicity” to emphasize successful internal cooperation.  In sharing his story, he emphasizes the importance of being creative, being safe, and connection with others who are positive and strong enough to support you through your journey (trigger warning for mention of suicide attempt, but no details disclosed).  He also recommends humor as one of our greatest coping skills.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Emma does a chapter of therapy homework about avoidance and dissociation.  She discusses the impact of avoidance on daily living.  She learns about trauma and triggers.  She talks about how all of this impacts relationships.The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Sasha talking about the Steele workbook and mentalizing and reflection. Also talks about containing memory time flashbacks until therapy. Also talks about noticing internal experiences without judgement and with curiosity. The whole topic is about reflection and noticing internal and external things. Also talks about empathy internally and working together to meet needs of everyone when you can. Sasha talks about Emma feeling Sarah's feelings without knowing it's Sarah.  Sasha also talks about having to cancel therapy and how one missed session is difficult. A lot of the session is talking about how everyone processed and managed missing therapy through using the workbook.  Mentions the therapist being consistent. The website is HERE.You can join the Community HERE.  Remember that you will not be able to see much until joining groups.  Message us if we can help!You can contact the podcast HERE.Content Note: Content on this website and in the podcasts is assumed to be trauma and/or dissociative related due to the nature of what is being shared here in general.  Content descriptors are generally given in each episode.  Specific trigger warnings are not given due to research reporting this makes triggers worse.  Please use appropriate self-care and your own safety plan while exploring this website and during your listening experience.  Natural pauses due to dissociation have not been edited out of the podcast, and have been left for authenticity.  While some professional material may be referenced for educational purposes, Emma and her system are not your therapist nor offering professional advice.  Any informational material shared or referenced is simply part of our own learning process, and not guaranteed to be the latest research or best method for you.  Please contact your therapist or nearest emergency room in case of any emergency.  This website does not provide any medical, mental health, or social support services. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★