Key Takeaways

• Healing past wounds is essential to avoid repeating toxic patterns.
• Your gut and nervous system often signal red flags before your mind does.
• Butterflies can mean dysregulation, while safety might initially feel “boring” but is actually healthy.
• Setting and flexing boundaries early reveals how someone respects (or disrespects) you.
• True love doesn’t complete you—it complements who you already are.

Resources & Support Mentioned

• Bitch is a Bad Word Podcast: Available on Apple, Spotify, and all major platforms
  
  Follow Lindsay Abernathy:
• Instagram: @bitchisabadwordpod
• Community Line: Call or text 331-BITCHES to connect or share your story

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

Key Takeaways

• Abusive relationships often follow the same predictable cycle—love bombing, devaluation, isolation, and intermittent reinforcement.
• Survivors often stay not because they want the relationship to end, but because they desperately hope the abuse will stop.
• Even small “repairs” (like a crumb of kindness) can keep survivors hooked, similar to a slot machine’s intermittent rewards.
• Children benefit profoundly when even one parent provides a safe, secure, and loving environment—even if only part-time.
• Leaving abuse allows survivors to rebuild their identities, reconnect with their support networks, and show their children what safety looks like.
• Abusers often store survivors’ vulnerabilities in a “vault,” later weaponizing them—this is not a reflection of your worth but of their manipulation.

Resources & Support Mentioned

• National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.): 800-799-7233
• If outside the U.S.: Search for your local domestic violence hotline. If you cannot find one, message Dr. Kelley via her website and she will help research for you.
• Bitch is a Bad Word Podcast: Available on Apple, Spotify, and all major platforms
  
  Follow Lindsay Abernathy:
• Instagram: @bitchisabadwordpod
• Community Line: Call or text 331-BITCHES to connect or share your story
  

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

Why does slowing down feel so uncomfortable for some of us? In this powerful episode, Dr. Amelia Kelley speaks with licensed psychotherapist and relational trauma recovery specialist Annie Wright about rest resistance, the anxiety, guilt, and discomfort that can arise when we try to pause.

Annie explains how early life experiences, relational trauma, and high-achieving personalities can wire us to equate rest with danger and productivity with safety. They explore how to tell the difference between healthy drive and a compulsion to keep going, and how cultural pressures can reinforce burnout. Annie also offers practical, compassionate tools for making rest feel safe again, starting small, reframing guilt, and learning to “go slow to go fast.”

Whether you’re a high achiever, a highly sensitive person, or someone who struggles to stop, this conversation offers the insight and strategies you need to create a sustainable, balanced life.

Key Takeaways:

• Rest can feel unsafe when trauma has linked achievement to love or safety.
• The key difference between drive and compulsion is having true choice in when to stop.
• Burnout often starts with self-doubt, apathy, and resentment toward what you once loved.
• High sensitivity and sensation seeking can complicate rest needs.
• Small, consistent rest practices help your nervous system adapt to stillness.
• Guilt over rest can be reduced by understanding where it began.
• Relationships can either support or undermine healthy rest.
• “Go slow to go fast” ensures long-term energy and passion.

Connect with Annie Wright:

Visit her website here
Follow her on Instagram

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

Key Takeaways:

• Midlife in pets often starts earlier than owners realise, especially for larger breeds.
• Overweight pets are at a much higher risk of arthritis and mobility issues.
• Simple strength-building exercises like “dog pushups” and “dog squats” can maintain muscle and prevent frailty.
• Animal empaths should trust their instincts when they notice subtle changes—video evidence can be a powerful tool at the vet.
• Supplements like probiotics, Omega-3 fatty acids, and muscle-support formulas can extend mobility and quality of life.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Follow Dr. Kelly Fishman on Instagram
• Visit her website for supplement recommendations and exercise demos

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

• Van Gogh’s legacy reveals how sensitivity and emotional depth can create timeless beauty even amidst pain and struggle.
• The immersive art experience provides a soothing and transformative space for highly sensitive people to connect deeply with creativity and history.
• Art can be a powerful trauma response, turning inner chaos into external healing.
• Letters to his brother Theo reveal Van Gogh’s introspective, deeply feeling nature and provide rare insight into his mental and emotional world.
• The design of immersive experiences takes into account sensory variety, emotional resonance, and the healing power of storytelling.

Connect with John:
🌐 Website for Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience – www.vangoghexpo.com
💼 LinkedIn – John Zaller

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

Key Takeaways:

• Sensitivity can be both innate and shaped by trauma; both can coexist.
• Highly sensitive people absorb their environment more deeply, making trauma and gaslighting more impactful.
• Gaslighting creates a destabilizing feeling; overthinking, while mentally exhausting, feels different and more internalized.
• Intermittent rewards and euphoric recall explain why we sometimes miss people who hurt us.
• HSPs and neurodivergent individuals may unintentionally attract narcissists due to their deep empathy and adaptability.
• Masking your sensitivity over time can lead to disconnection from your authentic self—Dr. Kelley shares how to reconnect.
• Healing from gaslighting starts with reconnecting to your voice through rest, play, and safe relationships.
• Sensitivity is not fragility—it’s a heightened awareness that can be a superpower when properly understood.
• Therapists should learn to differentiate between mental health diagnoses and sensitivity or neurodivergence for better treatment outcomes.

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

Key Takeaways:

• Dopamine traps often mask deeper unmet needs for connection, safety, and belonging.
• External validation can offer a temporary high, but often leaves us feeling more depleted in the long run.
• Highly sensitive people (HSPs) and neurodivergent individuals may experience micro-rejections more intensely, increasing their reliance on outside reassurance.
• Social media can be both a connection tool and a comparison minefield, recognizing the difference is key.
• Self-validation and cultivating awareness of your unique needs are essential to break free from harmful validation loops.
• Being selective about your environment, who and what you engage withmcan help create a life that supports rather than depletes your nervous system.
• Compassionate curiosity can help us notice our habits without shame and shift toward true connection.

Connect with Alyssa Scarano:

Alyssa’s website: https://www.collective-therapy.com

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram

Key Takeaways:

• Why Jeanne stepped away from the podcast—and what she’s gained since
• Learning to manage life and business as a highly sensitive entrepreneur
• How grief manifests in the body and why it needs space to breathe
• The challenge of letting go of perfectionism and redefining failure
• The energetic cost of staying misaligned in your career
• How intuition and anxiety often go hand-in-hand
• Understanding the emotional and physical impact of burnout
• The importance of listening to your body when making decisions
• Launching a new store in Scotland and finding purpose through alignment
• Letting go of hustle culture and choosing healing instead

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram