What if feeling your emotions meant risking everything that keeps you safe?

In this episode, Stephen joins Helen to explore the collapse of his coping systems after becoming a father. As a neurodivergent parent living with autism and ADHD, Stephen reflects on how the unpredictability of raising a toddler has triggered early patterns of fear, control, and emotional self-protection. He speaks openly about growing up in an environment where feelings were unsafe, religion was weaponised, and perfection was the only path to acceptance.

Together, they explore the dissociative gap between knowing and feeling, the shame of not being able to access emotions, and the fear that if he lets go, everything will fall apart. Helen gently invites Stephen to consider what it might cost to feel more deeply, and what it might make possible. This is a powerful conversation about emotional impermanence, parenting after trauma, and the slow work of learning to trust yourself when no one ever taught you how.

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What if the hardest part wasn’t what happened, but what it meant about who you were?

In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Louise speaks with Helen about the long-term impact of childhood emotional abuse. She shares how years of being controlled, shamed, and repeatedly told she was “too sensitive” left her doubting her instincts and shrinking herself to survive. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about the cost of being silenced, the confusion of loving people who hurt you, and the quiet strength it takes to begin telling the truth.

Together, they explore the inherited roles that keep families functioning at your expense, the shame of not feeling “bad enough” to ask for help, and the slow rebuilding of self-worth after decades of internalised blame. Louise speaks with clarity and courage about becoming someone she trusts again, and choosing a life that no longer revolves around being easy to love.

Content warning: This episode contains references to covert sexual abuse.

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What if love meant always being available, even when it cost you your future?

In this episode, Christine speaks with Helen about growing up with a mother who expected complete emotional and practical availability. She shares how her life was shaped around her mother’s needs, including being asked not to get a job, not to go to university, even to plan her days around minding the dog. Christine reflects on how these constant, unreasonable demands blurred the line between love and control.

Together, they explore the guilt of saying no, the pressure to stay small and agreeable, and the work of reclaiming autonomy after years of self-abandonment. Christine speaks with honesty and insight about learning to disappoint others in order to protect herself, and the slow process of becoming someone who lives by choice, not obligation.

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What if the person who hurt you most was the one everyone protected?

In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Emily speaks with Helen about the long shadow of sibling abuse, and the emotional cost of growing up in a family that denied her reality. She shares how her mother’s repeated refusal to acknowledge what happened left her isolated, gaslit, and cast as the source of the problem.

Together, they explore the deep confusion of being harmed and then blamed for it, the long road to rebuilding self-trust, and the clarity that comes with naming what was never allowed to be named. Emily speaks with honesty and conviction about her choice to remain no contact, her decision not to forgive, and the freedom that comes from choosing herself after years of being erased.

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What if protecting yourself came at the cost of everything familiar?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Elizabeth shares the story of a life reshaped by bold decisions. After walking away from toxic workplaces, family estrangement, and an abusive relationship abroad, she found herself free, but deeply alone. She and Helen explore what it means to honour the choices made for survival while grieving what was lost along the way.Together, they unpack the tension between strength and sadness, self-trust and self-abandonment. Elizabeth speaks candidly about navigating estrangement, sobriety, and grief, and the quiet ache of not knowing how to access love. Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: ⁠⁠https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/⁠⁠To be on the show please apply here: ⁠⁠https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application

What if the way you parent reveals the parts of you that are still hurting?

In this episode, Lucy explores the uncomfortable truth that she finds her daughter more triggering than her son, even when they display the same behaviours. What unfolds is a powerful, emotionally honest conversation about the legacy of childhood rejection, and how easily unhealed wounds can echo through the next generation.

Helen helps Lucy trace the roots of her inner critic, the shame she carries around being “too much,” and the fear of what it would mean to truly honour her younger self. From family dynamics that blamed her for others’ behaviour to the belief that love must be earned through perfection, Lucy brings humour, clarity and real insight to a story that will feel painfully familiar for many.

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What if being the good child meant being the forgotten one?

In this episode, Charlotte joins Helen to explore the long shadow of emotional neglect, people-pleasing, and being cast as the family scapegoat. As a child, Charlotte learned to stay quiet, meet expectations, and avoid conflict. But underneath the surface was a deep loneliness, a constant pressure to be easy, and a silence that cost her a sense of self.

Together, they unpack how roles like “good girl” or “too much” get assigned to children without their consent, and how those labels can shape your entire identity. Charlotte shares the pain of being punished for setting boundaries, the grief of realising her parents never truly protected her, and the courage it takes to finally trust your own voice.

This is a conversation about survival, clarity, and the moment you decide to stop carrying a story that was never yours.

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What if everything that made you different was dismissed, not just by the world, but by the people meant to protect you?

Christina joins Helen to share the quiet heartbreak of being visibly different but never truly seen. Despite clear signs of neurodivergence from a young age, her parents dismissed the red flags, choosing image, denial and normality over acceptance and support. Now, with a late autism, ADHD and dyscalculia diagnosis, Christina is left untangling years of confusion, anger, and grief.

Together, they explore what it means to grow up performing for approval while being punished for your needs. From emotional shutdowns and school struggles to masking, meltdowns and the fear of peace itself, this conversation cuts to the core of what happens when your suffering is invisible - even to the people who say they love you most.

If you’ve ever found yourself asking why they didn’t do more, or how to stop needing their validation to move forward - this episode will speak to you.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: ⁠⁠https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/⁠⁠

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