
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

May 23, 2023 • 5min
These Triggers Are “The Tell” That You were Neglected and Ostracized As a Child
Abandonment triggers can get activated when you feel rejected, overlooked, left behind and ostracized: If you grew up physically or emotionally neglected, abandonment wounds may damage relationships and professional opportunities. How can you tell if YOUR abandonment wounds are active? In this episode, I teach about the triggers that are common for people who carry wounds of abandonment and ostracization.
You Can Try the Healing Techniques I mention in this episode here: FREE Daily Practice Course: https://bit.ly/3A3v5dH
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

May 19, 2023 • 15min
Once Paralyzed By Fear, It's time to Reactivate Your REAL SELF Now!
As a child you developed coping mechanisms to tolerate abuse and still keep your precious spirit intact. People with Childhood PTSD often internalize the hateful messages they received, and struggle to change their lives for the better. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a woman who speaks to herself in the same cruel way her father once did. Hear my advice to her on how CHANGE the pattern of self-attack, and take positive actions toward a fuller and happier life.
You Can Try the Healing Techniques I mention in this episode here: FREE Daily Practice Course: https://bit.ly/3A3v5dH
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

May 16, 2023 • 1h 45min
If You Struggle To Maintain Good Relationships, THIS Is why
In this "best of" compilation of earlier episodes, I teach about the ways Childhood PTSD and CPTSD can disrupt your ability to find, grow and maintain good relationships. Sit back and enjoy!
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

May 12, 2023 • 18min
Healing Past Trauma Is How You End the Evil Cycle & Shine GOODNESS On All
When destructive people harm children, they literally introduce evil into those children's lives. Unless trauma is healed, this evil -- this harm -- is very likely to be passed from person to person, and generation to generation. It can STOP with you! Learn how healing trauma is the most important step you can take to transform yourself and change the course of history.
Learn a practical way to release resentful and fearful emotions: Take my free Daily Practice course here: https://bit.ly/3A3v5dH
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

May 9, 2023 • 34min
Fantasy Love & Under-Earning = ESCAPE Reactions to Early Trauma
Emotionally immature and neglectful parenting may have left you with a huge developmental gap -- a failure to thrive -- unable to envision or pursue the future you need and deserve.The urge to ESCAPE is a normal response to trauma, and can show up as limerent obsession with someone you can't have, working in low-paying jobs that can never support you, and waiting for someone to come along and put your life on track. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a young woman who is isolated in a job that doesn't pay the bills, who is longing for someone to scoop her up and help her feel like she's part of a family. Are you ready to radically heal your life?
Download my free worksheet ONE YEAR TO HEAL here: https://bit.ly/3DX1iWx
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

May 5, 2023 • 1h 22min
Here's How to Communicate What YOU Want So People Respect You
If you grew up with trauma and dysfunction you probably didn't learn how to recognize, communicate and hold your boundaries. In this "best of" compilation, I teach what boundaries ARE, why people often don't respect them and how to manage your words and actions so that people can't violate the limits you set for yourself and how you're treated. A lack of boundaries may be the BIG reason why you isolate yourself from others.
Take my Connection Quiz here: https://bit.ly/3GMCgdX
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

May 2, 2023 • 24min
Burned Out, Resentful, and Busy All The Time? You Might Be an OVERFUNCTIONER
Some people "underfunction" -- they struggle to get motivated, finish tasks, or pursue what they really want in life. But the opposite traits can be just as limiting: Overfunctioning is the name for when you take on more than your share of responsibility. You pay more than your share. You help people who haven't asked for help (and who could help themselves). You have an overdeveloped sense that YOU know best what others should eat, think and do. But overfuncitoning is a trauma-driven behavior, and leads to burnout, resentment and alienation for the people you love. Find out what it looks like and how you can start healing.
Are you dysregulated? Download my QUIZ here: https://bit.ly/3MJFZwA
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

Apr 28, 2023 • 10min
You Think You're Helping, But You're Actually Pushing Your Friend Away
It's not easy watching a friend make choices that YOU think are terrible mistakes. You might be right, but that doesn't mean it's helpful or supportive to keep pushing your advice on them. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who has lost a friend whom she tried to warn about a job decision they were making. Finding out why I teach that believing you know BETTER than a peer how they should is a huge friendship mistake.
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
You can access my Connection Bootcamp course right here: https://bit.ly/3GLul0F

Apr 25, 2023 • 21min
These Trauma Reactions Trigger Self-Defeating Behaviors
Everyone has self-defeating behaviors, and everyone gets triggered sometimes. But if you grew up with abuse and neglect, it can be hard to control the emotional reactions that erupt when you're stressed, and this can lead to even stronger self-sabotaging actions. So much of the damage from childhood trauma lies in this trigger/emotiona/behavior sequence that can take place over and over throughout your life. But you can heal that sequence so that you can handle stress WITHOUT slipping into old patterns that have held you back. In this podcast I tell you how.
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf
Download '16 CPTSD Behaviors That Sabotage Your Success': https://bit.ly/3MLVdkO

Apr 21, 2023 • 31min
The Real Reason Your Friends Bail When You Need Them
People who were emotionally neglected as children often find themselves by people who (you guessed it) emotionally neglect them: They don't want to hear you when it's your turn to talk. They don't want to help you when you need help -- even though you've helped THEM many times. If you find yourself hurt and resentful that your friends are self-centered, the change begins with you. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who wonders why her friends are like this; hear my tips for how she can change this pattern and enjoy reciprocation with good people who care.
Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW
Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf