
The Crappy Childhood Fairy Podcast with Anna Runkle
I’m Anna Runkle, also known as the Crappy Childhood Fairy, and I teach people to recognize and heal the symptoms of Childhood PTSD. Welcome to my podcast!I’m not a doctor or therapist; I know about childhood trauma because I lived it, and I discovered a radical approach to healing that focuses first on calming neurological dysregulation, which is common in people who grew up with abuse and neglect. In my podcasts, I teach about dysregulation – how to know if you have it, what it can do to your body, your thinking and your relationships, and what to do to master re-regulation. When I learned this, everything in my life got suddenly easier. I’ll also be teaching you to heal the life problems that so often develop after years of living dysregulated – feeling tired, isolated and unfocused, finding yourself always drawn to unavailable and inappropriate partners, and falling WAY short of your professional potential, for example. The thing about me is, traditional therapies never seemed to help me. When I found techniques that did work, my whole life changed. Only in the past few years has the trauma research caught up to explain why – why the techniques I use worked, why therapy didn’t, and why my healing journey was so unnecessarily long. I’ve been teaching what I learned for more than 20 years now. It started with friends who had noticed the quick and dramatic change in me, and gradually grew by word of mouth. In 2016, I had so many people seeking instruction that I made my first online video, and then an online course, and this is how Crappy Childhood Fairy was born. My techniques and principles are practical yet powerful – an approach anyone can use, whether or not you have access to professional help. In this podcast, I’ll be talking about the master of self-regulation, and teach the tough-love life-lessons that you may not have learned at home – like how to date so that stable love finds you, how to get ahead at work, and how to calm the negative hamster-wheel thoughts that block your ability to connect with other people. Today, almost half a million people follow my work and participate in my training and coaching programs. My mission is to change the paradigm of what’s possible for people like us, and to help you free yourself from the oppression of trauma wounds, and to become your full, happy and real self. I’m glad you’re here! Watch new videos on my YouTube channel every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and access my videos, courses and free tools at crappychildhoodfairy.com.
Latest episodes

Dec 10, 2023 • 1h 47min
Putting All Your Focus On Another Person's Problems Robs You of a Happy Life
Some people can't focus on anyone but themselves. But others can't focus on themselves and instead become entirely focused on another person's problems -- their feelings, their shortcomings, and how unhappy they make you. This is codependency -- when you lose perspective on your own life and your own needs, and "implant" your will into someone else. Codependents are hooked on the belief that if the other person would only change, they would be happy. instead, they end up tired, resentful and isolated. In this four-video "Best of the Fairy" compilation, I share tips for how to recognize codependent tendencies in yourself and others, and what to do to heal.
Signs You''re in a Codependent Relationship: https://bit.ly/3pwt5c6
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Dec 8, 2023 • 11min
No, You're Not Obliged to Lend an Ear to Troubled "Friends"
A true friend is someone who cares about you, and is interested in you, and supports what is best for you. They don’t get to tell you what to do, they don’t get to mercilessly criticize you, and they don’t get to use you as an emotional dumping ground and demand that you keep listening. If you have CPTSD, you may find you’re often on the receiving end of that, and you think you’re obliged to be support people who are doing things that morally abhorrent to you. But this is NOT what friendship is. In this video, I respond to a letter from a woman whose problem friend demands that she keep listening -- and that she not "judge" her terrible behavior.
Difficult People in Your Life? Try These NINJA BOUNDARIES: https://bit.ly/3YCnpZJ
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Dec 6, 2023 • 18min
Neglectful Parents Condition You to Love Unavailable People
If you grew up without the attention and love of good parents, you may find yourself with symptoms of Complex-PTSD. One of the worst symptoms is an attraction to people who can’t give you attention or love. You see the red flags, but you become attached anyway. Until you've healed that attachment wound, you may find yourself getting your heart broken again and again. In this video I respond to a letter from a man who found out early in a dating relationship that his partner was not available, but couldn't stop attaching. Heal trauma-driven patterns and find real love at last.
DATING & RELATIONSHIPS COURSE http://bit.ly/3IBbrv7
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Dec 4, 2023 • 23min
When Past Trauma Has You Stuck, Do This
If you’re living with trauma-related symptoms from abuse and neglect in childhood, you’ve had to work extra hard for things in life that come more easily to other people. Complex PTSD (CPTSD) is a type of PTSD that comes from chronic, intense stress, usually (but not always) in childhood. You might already know you have it, and you might be working hard to heal it. But if you’re like many people with CPTSD, your healing feels stuck, and you're afraid you your life may never get better. In this video I lay out ten steps you can take to accelerate your healing. Everything gets better when you find an approach to healing that works for you! Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Dec 1, 2023 • 11min
FIRST Get The Trauma Out Of Your Life, THEN Help Others
For people who grew up with abuse and neglect – it’s a HUGE DAY when you finally break free of that family of origin. You actually have a barrier up against their ability to keep hurting you. You're safe, and only way they can get into your life again is when you CHOOSE to connect with them. But there’s this one huge complication, and it’s when there are other family members – especially minor children – who are still stuck in that house, and still going through what YOU used to go through. In this video I respond to a letter from a young woman who's torn between getting her own life stable, and saving her younger siblings from trauma.
Here's My FREE WORKSHEET for Planning Your Life Priorities: https://bit.ly/3J3kYcH
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Nov 29, 2023 • 11min
How To Break Your Obsession With Winning Impossible Love
When you weren’t loved properly as a child, it’s very, very common to become romantically involved in “complicated” relationships – where YOU’RE longing for something monogamous and committed and THEY’RE just jerking you around. With parents who were self-centered or who put you down, it’s no wonder you developed the ability to see great potential in people who are basically broken. The brutal truth is that every day you spend pouring your energy and your love into someone who can’t really DO a relationship with you, you’re blocking the possibility of real love coming into your life. How can you tell if someone is worth “working with” through tough times, and when you’re wasting your time? In this video I respond to a letter from a woman whose boyfriend is dragging her along through a lingering attachment to his ex.
DATING RED FLAGS: Get My FREE Download Here: https://bit.ly/4203ozk
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Nov 19, 2023 • 1h 34min
After Terrible Things Have Happened, Here's How to Build A HAPPY LIFE
Bad things happen in everyone's life. For some of us, a history of abuse and neglect in childhood produces common, trauma-driven symptoms that hold us back. Even if you've endured trauma and tragedy, it's possible to heal the past, calm the symptoms and build the happy, functional, love-filled life you deserve. In this "best of" compilation, I teach about practical steps you can take to start solving problems and feeling happier today.
Eleven Strategies to Feel Happier Today, FREE DOWNLOAD: https://bit.ly/3SwljsV
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Nov 13, 2023 • 21min
Stop Reactivating Trauma Wounds With "Partners" You Never See
If you grew up neglected or abandoned, it's very likely you developed an attachment wound, and this can drive you into relationships with people who aren’t available, aren’t good to you, and aren't necessarily someone you even LIKE! One way that people with Childhood PTSD are affected by this is through long-distance relationships that don't fulfill their need for companionship and love. My letter today is from a woman whose attachment wounds drove her to rush into relationships with someone she doesn't know well; her fear of being alone keeps her clinging to someone far away who is rarely interested in her. Hear my advice to stop the pattern and change her life.
Is Past Trauma Affecting Your Dating Life? Take the QUIZ: https://bit.ly/3EUy8Yh
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Nov 10, 2023 • 25min
Staying Stuck in Bad Jobs, Bad Relationships FEELs Like The Safe Choice: Here's Why
Being STUCK means you know you’re in a bad place, but you don’t have the power to do anything about it. Most people get stuck sometimes, but those who were abused or neglected in childhood have extra susceptibility to staying in bad jobs and harmful relationships. It may be driven by financial insecurity, health problems, shame, fear of being alone, low self-esteem, or the freeze response. In this video I respond to a letter from a woman who KNOWS she's in a bad situation but struggles to take action and change her life.
Try the FREE Daily Practice Course: LEARN MORE: https://bit.ly/3Y4263I
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com

Nov 8, 2023 • 25min
What to Say to Doctors Who Don't Understand Childhood Trauma
The long-term effects of trauma on virtually every aspect of health has been well known for more than 20 years. But still, few clinical professionals understand the broad effects of trauma or which treatments have been shown to be effective. The result includes lack of appropriate treatment, missed diagnoses, innaccurate diagnoses, and shaming of people with a clear pattern of symptoms by clinicians see only their own assumptions about their patients. I provide tools to help educate your doctor so that you can be understood and receive appropriate care.
12 Things I Wish My Doctor Understood About CPTSD: FREE DOWNLOAD: https://bit.ly/3YKXcs8
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Send your questions & comments to: hello@crappychildhoodfairy.com