Mamahood After Trauma | Healing Childhood Trauma, Parenting Triggers & Emotional Regulation for Moms

In this powerful episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn speaks directly to mothers navigating the intersection of trauma recovery and parenthood. Emily explores the concept of "identity whiplash"—the disorienting experience of becoming someone new while still carrying old patterns and responsibilities. She reminds listeners that feeling caught between two versions of yourself isn't failure; it's where real tr...

In this powerful episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes Paula Yost — attorney, therapist, mother, and author — who shares her courageous journey through pregnancy trauma. Paula recounts the terrifying experience of delivering her son prematurely at 27 weeks due to acute preeclampsia, navigating a lengthy NICU stay, and healing from the emotional aftermath. She emphasizes the critical lack of ed...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn explores one of healing's most overlooked challenges — grieving the person you once were. Emily compassionately unpacks why letting go of a past self can feel confusing, even painful, reminding listeners that missing the "old you" often means missing pieces like joy, confidence, and freedom. She encourages mothers to honor that former version of themselves while courageously cho...

In this inspiring episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes life coach Emily Beacher, who shares her profound healing journey through postnatal depression, psychosis, and burnout. Emily discusses discovering her own ADHD diagnosis alongside her daughter's, the transformative power of embracing "good enough" parenting over perfectionism, and how authentic storytelling shaped her coaching work. She even chann...

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn explores one of healing's most profound challenges: identity reconstruction. Emily vulnerably shares how early childhood trauma left her unsure of who she was beyond survival, and guides listeners through the disorienting "middle space" of healing — where the old self no longer fits, but the new self hasn't fully emerged. She encourages mothers to reconnect wit...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes trauma recovery expert Tori Janae, who shares her remarkable journey from a childhood shaped by addiction and generational trauma to becoming a beacon of healing. Drawing on three psychology degrees and 26 years of holistic practice, Tori reveals how shifting out of a victim mindset is the essential first step toward transformation. She offers practical, compassionate guida...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn — trauma survivor and cycle breaker — tackles the relentless self-doubt that haunts mothers healing from trauma. She explores how past emotional invalidation and gaslighting erode self-trust, making everyday parenting decisions feel overwhelming. Emily reassures listeners that healing doesn't require perfection; rebuilding trust happens through small, intentional steps lik...

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes Joni Woods — trauma survivor, single mother, and author — for an honest and uplifting conversation about healing and self-discovery. Joni shares her journey through a difficult 15-year marriage, divorce, and rebuilding life after her ex-husband's passing. She opens up about breaking free from others' expectations, finding her authentic voice, and t...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn dismantles the damaging myth that cycle breakers must be fully healed before they can raise healthy children. With honesty and compassion, Emily reframes what breaking cycles truly means — not perfection, but intentionality. She walks listeners through practical steps including repairing after ruptures, learning emotional regulation, setting boundaries, and challenging inherited...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes Jessica Danel, whose journey through motherhood reads like a testament to unbreakable resilience. Jessica candidly shares navigating her daughter Piper's heart surgery, cerebral palsy, and autism diagnosis, her son's Asperger's, the devastating loss of her million-dollar preschool business, and surviving a high school shooting. Rather than surrendering to adversity, Jessica...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn explores how unresolved trauma shapes the lens through which mothers perceive their children's behavior. She explains that trauma-wired brains often assign negative meanings to neutral situations — interpreting independence as rejection or meltdowns as disrespect. Emily introduces a transformative tool: distinguishing between observation and interpretation. By as...

In this empowering episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes physician and digital wellbeing researcher Dr. Sanjita Setia for a vital conversation about navigating technology as trauma-surviving mothers. Dr. Setia reframes children's technology struggles not as "addiction" but as manipulation by intentionally designed platforms — relieving parents of unnecessary guilt. She offers practical strategies, i...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn — trauma survivor and cycle breaker — tackles one of the most painful realizations in parenting after trauma: unconsciously repeating the very patterns we promised to leave behind. Emily explains how trauma responses are rooted in the nervous system, not broken by willpower alone. She offers a compassionate, four-step pattern interruption practice to help mamas notice trig...

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes Jenny C. Cohen, a women's wellness expert whose path was shaped by infertility, her husband's cancer, endometriosis, breast cancer, and parenting children through trauma and gender transition. Jenny shares how these profound challenges led her to help women over 40 reconnect with their bodies during perimenopause and menopause. Through movement, play, and bod...

In this powerful episode, trauma recovery coach and host Emily Cleghorn tackles one of motherhood's most challenging realities: parenting while still healing. Emily explains how trauma survivors' nervous systems interpret everyday parenting moments as threats, creating overwhelming triggered responses followed by crushing guilt. Her transformative message reframes the experience entirely — a triggered response is informat...

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes Dr. Jordin Wiggins, naturopathic doctor and founder of The Pleasure Collective. Drawing from her own experience surviving an abusive relationship, Dr. Wiggins shares how she helps women reclaim pleasure and heal after toxic relationships. She introduces the concept of "super traits" — survival strategies that lead to self-abandonment and people-pleasing ...

In this powerful episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn opens up about one of motherhood's most unspoken struggles: shame. Drawing from her own experience following her daughter's birth, Emily shares how suppressed trauma surfaced and left her feeling isolated and overwhelmed. She vulnerably recounts admitting to her husband that she hated being a mother — and how his compassion became a turning point in her h...

In this episode of Mamahood After Trauma, host Emily Cleghorn welcomes hypnotherapist and mother Alix to explore the transformative power of Rapid Transformational Therapy. Alix shares her personal journey through identity loss, infertility, and emotional healing, explaining how hypnotherapy unlocks the subconscious mind—where 95% of our behaviors and beliefs originate. Together, they discuss breaking generational trauma ...

In this powerful episode, host Emily Cleghorn addresses the shame and self-judgment trauma-surviving mothers experience when their nervous systems become overwhelmed. Emily compassionately distinguishes between mom guilt and mom shame, reminding listeners that reactive moments reflect nervous system responses — not character flaws. Rather than striving to "fix" themselves, she encourages mothers to learn their body's lang...