Episode Details

That constant sense of dread, the feeling you're always one wrong move from getting in trouble, isn't a character flaw and it isn't in your head. Trauma expert Caroline Strawson explains that it's your nervous system doing exactly what it was built to do after a long stretch of not feeling safe.

Caroline walks Lisa through the "traffic lights" of the nervous system, why suppressed trauma shows up as inflammation and illness, and why so many people come out of narcissistic abuse and a brutal court process physically sick, not just sad. Then it gets practical: why the urge to throw yourself into advocacy mid-case is a trauma response, how to prepare for court so you walk in calm, a simple ritual for leaving the courtroom's stress behind, and what somatic work, EMDR, and brain spotting do that talk therapy alone can't.

✅ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
✅ Why narcissistic abuse leaves you in a near-constant state of dread
✅ How your nervous system's "traffic lights" (safe, fight-or-flight, shutdown) work
✅ Why unprocessed trauma turns into inflammation, illness, and disease
✅ The reason talk therapy alone can sometimes make trauma feel worse
✅ Why the urge to throw yourself into advocacy mid-case is a trauma response
✅ How to prepare for court so you walk in calm instead of flooded
✅ A simple ritual for leaving the courtroom's stress at the courtroom
✅ What somatic experiencing, EMDR, and brain spotting each do

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS (+1:00 for the bumper)
0:00 Intro
1:00 Why you feel a constant sense of dread
7:40 How trauma turns into physical illness
13:49 The advocacy urge, and why to wait
23:50 Preparing for court without wrecking your body
28:40 Washing off the poison after a hearing
32:29 Somatic work, EMDR, and brain spotting
37:22 Where to find Caroline

CTA (spoken): Carrying the physical weight of a toxic relationship or court battle? Book a free discovery call at beentheregotout.com.
Books: Been There Got Out — https://www.amazon.com/Been-There-Got-Relationships-Circumstances/dp/194627495X/ · When Your Ex Turns the Kids Against You — https://www.amazon.com/Been-There-Got-Out-Against/dp/1967674183
Tags: narcissistic abuse recovery, trauma and the body, caroline strawson, nervous system, somatic healing, emdr, brain spotting, life after abuse, healing