

Adult Child
Andrea
A deep dive into the impact of growing up in an dysfunctional family and how to heal the unresolved pain of the past. Join Andrea and guests for raw & vulnerable conversations on topics including - codependency, complex trauma (CPTSD), alcoholism/addiction, generational trauma, and toxic shame. (Start on episode 1!!!) Follow Andrea on social - www.instagram.com/adultchildpod/ www.tiktok.com/@adultchildpod
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 16, 2025 • 41min
SHITSHOW SATURDAY #166 - The Return of Rachel
⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Aug 13, 2025 • 1h 5min
Overcoming the Fear of Intimacy: Avoidant attachment, Emotional Safety & Real Connection w/ Paul Gilmartin
When the people who were supposed to protect you also hurt you, your nervous system learns: closeness is dangerous. This is a conversation about what it takes to finally let yourself receive the love you’ve been craving your whole life — without running from it when it shows up.Paul Gilmartin is a comedian and writer best known as the host of The Mental Illness Happy Hour, a podcast that’s been exploring the messier side of the human mind for over a decade. He shares about his own path through addiction, recovery, and learning how to build a healthy relationship after a lifetime of avoiding intimacy.Key TakeawaysWhy Avoidants Pull Away – How childhood trauma wires your nervous system to see closeness as unsafe, even when you crave connection.Overcoming the Fear of Intimacy – Paul’s path from avoiding commitment to building a secure, deeply connected relationship.Dating with Boundaries – What happens when you create a plan for slow, intentional dating… and what it means when you throw it out the window.Breaking Old Attraction Patterns – How Paul stopped chasing red flags and learned to spot emotional availability.Healthy Love Without Losing Yourself – Building a relationship where both partners have full, independent lives and connection feels like “the ice cream on top.”When Vulnerability Changes Everything – The surprising power of disclosing your story early on, and why the right person won’t run.⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co4 weekly zoom support groups (Sun 3: 30 pm EST, Mon 8:30 pm EST, Tues 1 pm EST, & Thurs 8:30 pm EST)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chatSIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Aug 9, 2025 • 28min
SHITSHOW SATURDAY #165 - When Feeling Good Feels Bad
⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Aug 6, 2025 • 1h 15min
Emotionally Immature Parents: How They Twist Love, Avoid Accountability & Leave Invisible Wounds w/ Lindsay Gibson
Lindsay Gibson, a clinical psychologist and author of 'Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents', delves into the subtle scars left by emotionally immature parenting. She explains how conditional love and emotional neglect can create chronic self-doubt in children, masked by seemingly normal family dynamics. The conversation explores concepts like parentification and the invisible wounds of feeling unseen or unsupported. Listeners also learn about the struggles of internalizers and externalizers in therapy, emphasizing the path to healing and understanding their emotional landscapes.

Aug 2, 2025 • 37min
SHITSHOW SATURDAY #164 - The Living Hell of Emotional Flashbacks
⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jul 30, 2025 • 45min
How To Survive Emotional Flashbacks: Trauma Responses, Emotional Triggers & Nervous System Dysregulation
Why do I feel like I’m dying just because someone didn’t text me back? If you've asked yourself this, you’re not crazy — and this episode is for you.Andrea is riding solo in today’s deep dive into emotional flashbacks, the hallmark symptom of Complex PTSD. These aren’t your typical flashbacks — there’s no visual replays, just an overwhelming flood of emotions from your childhood that hijack your present. If you’ve ever spiraled over something that seemed way too small to cause that much pain, this episode will hit home.Key Takeaways:🔹 What emotional flashbacks are — and how they differ from traditional PTSD flashbacks🔹 The neuroscience of what’s happening in your brain during a flashback🔹 How childhood abandonment trauma gets triggered in adult relationships🔹 13 practical steps to regulate and recover in the moment🔹 Why self-compassion (not shame) is the antidote to emotional regression⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jul 26, 2025 • 40min
SHITSHOW SATURDAY #163 - Am I Controlling?
⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jul 23, 2025 • 1h 4min
How To Leave a Toxic Relationship: Trauma Bonds, Codependency, & Narcissistic Abuse
Leaving a toxic relationship isn’t just hard — it can feel impossible when trauma bonds, guilt, and confusion are running the show. This episode breaks down exactly why that happens and how to finally break free.Darlene Lancer is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the author of Conquering Shame and Codependency and Dating, Loving, and Leaving a Narcissist. After surviving her own painful relationship with a narcissist, Darlene spent decades researching, writing, and guiding others through the complex terrain of codependency and narcissistic abuse.Key Takeaways:🔹 The Trauma Bond Trap: Understand how the cycle of intermittent reinforcement keeps you stuck — and why leaving often feels more terrifying than staying.🔹 How Narcissists Erode Reality: Explore the tactics narcissists use to distort your perception, make you doubt yourself, and slowly dismantle your sense of identity.’🔹 The Hidden Cost of Codependency: Why self-sacrifice isn’t selflessness — and how chronic people-pleasing becomes a survival strategy rooted in early attachment wounds.🔹 Rebuilding Self-Trust After Narcissistic Abuse: Learn the slow, powerful process of reconnecting with your inner voice and learning to trust your perceptions again.🔹 Breaking the Addiction to Dysfunction: Why toxic love can feel like a high — and what it really takes to break free from the compulsive pull of unhealthy relationships.⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jul 19, 2025 • 49min
SHITSHOW SATURDAY #162 - Deb Y.
⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jul 16, 2025 • 1h 5min
When Recovery Isn’t Linear: Relapse, Shame & Telling the Whole Truth w/ William C Moyers
Recovery isn’t always a clean, upward trajectory — and most people don’t talk about what happens when it isn’t. This episode cracks open the shame, stigma, and complexity that surface when long-term sobriety takes a detour.William C. Moyers is the Vice President of Public Affairs at Hazelden Betty Ford and the author of Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption. In this conversation, he opens up about a rarely shared chapter of his recovery — one that tested his identity, sparked unexpected shame, and forced him to reexamine what long-term sobriety really looks like.Key Takeaways...🔹 Redefining Relapse: Why recovery isn’t linear — and how we can reframe slips without erasing progress, identity, or self-worth.🔹 The Weight of Perfectionism: How the pressure to be a “model” of healing can silence honesty and deepen internalized shame.🔹 When Shame Returns: What happens when long-term recovery collides with stigma, secrecy, and unmet expectations.🔹 The Evolution of Sobriety: Why what once worked may stop working — and how true recovery means learning to adapt, not perform.🔹 Family Systems & Codependency: How generational roles and emotional entanglements can follow us into adulthood — and what it takes to break free.⬇️DAMN THE JOIN SHITSHOW - ADULT CHILD HEALING COMMUNITY⬇️https://theshitshow.mn.co6 weekly zoom support groups (see the full schedule here!)Support community at your fingertips with discussion boards and chat📰SIGN UP FOR SHITSHOW NATION - ADULT CHILD NEWSLETTER👩HELP A GIRL & CAT EAT🐱 www.buymeacoffee.com/adultchild🛍️SHITSHOW MERCH🛍️www.adultchildpodcast.com/shop🎙️NEW TO THE POD🎙️How I learned I was an Adult Child - The Tale of 2 BriansTHE LAUNDRY LIST - Common Characteristics of an Adult ChildFollow Andrea on socialwww.instagram.com/adultchildpodwww.tiktok.com/@adultchildpodhttps://www.youtube.com/@adultchildpodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy