What if the way you love, fight, avoid, or people-please wasn’t a personality flaw—but a survival blueprint?

In this episode, I sit down with trauma-informed therapist Laura Fess, founder of VOX Mental Health, for a powerful conversation about what really happens to our nervous system when we grow up in survival mode—and how those early patterns shape our adult relationships, attachment styles, and mental health.

We explore:
• How survival mode wires the brain for hypervigilance
• What anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment really look like in adulthood
• The neuroscience behind healing, storytelling, and post-traumatic growth
• Why unlearning old patterns isn’t failure—it’s neuroplasticity
• The quiet, resilient power of hope—and how to let it drive

I also share a journal entry from when I was 15, written during a pivotal turning point in my family’s story. It’s conflicted and searching, filled with the kind of quiet hope that surfaces when you're desperate for change but not sure it will come.

It’s vulnerable, reflective, and the perfect opening to this layered conversation about pain, healing, and how we can slowly carve new paths—machete in hand—toward something different.

If your story includes trauma, survival mode, or the long journey of trying to feel safe again, this one is for you.

🔗 Connect with VOX Mental Health:
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Host & Producer: Jenn St John
Editor: Andrew Schiller
Website: www.jennstjohn.ca
Follow along:
Instagram: @jenn_stjohn
TikTok: @jenn.st.john
LinkedIn: Jenn St John
BlueSky: @jennstjohn.bsky.social

If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.

Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.