There are several possible entry points into Season 2, depending on how much time has passed since you left your abuser as well as how much work you've already done on yourself. Remember that Season 2 is not just about narcissistic abuse recovery, it's to get you to a point where you detach emotionally and are better able to focus all of your energy on being the best mom you can be, and on protecting your babies in court in a strategic and effective manner. Family court again

Here, we look at practical ways out of codependency as an autistic woman. Most of it applies to neurotypical people too, but I want to be mindful of the specific wiring of the ASD brain covered in Episode 21 . Welcome back to season two of Light in the Battle, emotional detachment as a tactical advantage for family court. Light in the Battle is a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse and it is a podcast where we get clearer, calmer, and spiritually and le

After introducing common codependency traits and behaviors, along with the concept of self-verification in Episode 20, we move on to shocking links between the wiring of the austistic brain, and the well-known codependent traits. It is my belief that just like people with narcissistic personality disorder may target people with autism , the reverse may be true as well. Let's dive in. This is the transcript for Episode 21 . Welcome back to season two of Light in the Battle, em

Here we explain what codependency is, common behaviors and traits of codependent people, as well as self-verification behaviors in women with ASD and men with NPD. This sets the stage for a deep exploration in Episode 21, of why just like narcissistic people target people with autism , women with autism can also find that relationships with dysfunctional people are a good fit for their brain wiring. Welcome back to season two of Light in the Battle, emotional detachment as a

What does it mean to forgive someone? Do I have to forgive my abuser? Why is everyone hellbent of getting me to forgive my coparent? These are questions that come up a lot in recovery circles. If we were clear about what forgiveness is, these questions wouldn't come up. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciling. It's something you do for yourself, and the other person never needs to know. They'll smell the shift, but they don't need to get a memo. Welcome back to season two

Here we cover 10+ practical impacts of EMDR on my life. It has been a game changer in how I've evolved as a woman, as a mother, as a coparent, as a worker, as a family member, as a child of God, and as a friend, after relational trauma and CPTSD. EMDR is an effective trauma therapy for survivors of domestic abuse and for survivors of narcissistic abuse who have developed PTSD. It is a terrific tool of nervous system recovery and it can be appropriate for people on the autism

This episode / blog post is a non-professional, blunt, simple description of EMDR, of traumatic memories vs. bad memories, of what you can expect when undergoing EMDR treatment. Most survivors of narcissistic abuse leave abusive relationships with PTSD / CPTSD, and that has to be handled in order to be able to detach emotionally from the intensity of the dysfunction if you're coparenting with a narcissist. EMDR is one of the therapies that exist to treat PTSD and CPTSD. There

This post explains my vision for the podcast. I intend to "cross-educate". For example, bringing trauma-informed strategies to single motherhood. Or, looking at narcissistic personality disorder through a spiritual lens. Or, showing how the autistic brain can perform in a superior manner in family court. Or, bringing the tools that the Church gives us access to, into your PTSD recovery. Or, linking regulation in mothers with trauma, to how they can handle PDA kids. Etc. Welco

Navigating family court can feel overwhelming, especially when trauma from past abuse or difficult relationships makes your reactions different from what they need to be . For narcissistic abuse survivors, and trauma survivors, the emotional rollercoaster of custody battles or legal disputes often triggers PTSD symptoms, making it harder to present your case clearly and confidently. Yet, there is a powerful tool you can develop to protect yourself and improve your chances: em

In this episode we explore how to reduce the levels of the stress hormones in the brain to become free from the trauma bond. Being autistic means you can have very methodical trauma bond recovery strategies. If you're also Catholic, that means you have an array of tools at your disposal to heal the trauma bond. Let's explore 6 different ways you can break the addiction to chaos, break the trauma bond and journey towards Emotional Detachment as a Tactical Advantage for Family

For this episode, we're going to be a little nerdy. We're going to talk about the neurochemicals and the stress hormones in the brain that are the reason for our addiction to intensity, our addiction to chaos. It explains the trauma bond in survivors of narcissistic abuse, on a chemical level. It's going to get a little scientific. Buckle up! This is the transcript for Episode 16-A . We're talking about something every survivor of narcissistic abuse deals with, really, espec

Staying present with your child when you're overwhelmed sounds simple but it is actually extremely hard when you're a trauma survivor or a neurodivergent parent . By overwhelmed I don't necessarily mean having a meltdown - crying on the floor, screaming. It's the more subtle kind. It's the day-to-day reality - you've got your child stimming over there loudly or pacing, you're over here trying to finish something and your whole body feels like it's vibrating. You're completely

Breaking the cycle and parenting differently after trauma is one of the hardest, most courageous parts of parenting after trauma. It means parenting in a way you've never seen modeled when you were a child. A lot of us are trying to break generational patterns we didn't choose. And we're doing it without a map, while still healing, still learning, and still trying to raise a child who needs us, sometimes intensely. If that's you, you're doing work your parents never did. This

How do you help your child regulate when you're not regulated yourself? If you're raising a neurodivergent child or healing from trauma, this is your daily reality. Your child has big emotions, sensory needs, meltdowns, refusals. And meanwhile, you might be dissociating, anxious, or overstimulated yourself. You love your child fiercely, but sometimes your nervous system just says, "I can't do this right now. I caaaaan't." Let's talk about what to do in those moments. T his is

When you're parenting after trauma, especially trauma that involved the other parent, there are moments where your mind knows that you're safe now, that you made it out, that the crisis has passed... But your body and your nervous system don't believe you yet. This is the transcript for Episode 10 . Your heart is racing, your shoulders are up by your ears, you're pracing for impact, your stomach's tight, your thoughts get fast or blank or sharp; that's what happens when your

There is something that sits in the back of the mind for many mothers who co-parent with someone unpredictable or high-conflict: That court date you can't stop thinking about, or the custody review, or the mediation, the evaluation, or the email that might come at any moment. This kind of stress is not theoretical, it's not just anxiety. It's your nervous system responding to something with real weight, and you are not overreacting. Your body is responding to something that r

There is an important difference between rest and escape. Escaping is something the nervous system does when it doesn't feel safe. It's a survival response. So there's no shame here. We are simply learning to notice what is happening so we can take care of ourselves better. This is the transcript for Episode 8 . What rest looks like: Rest is something that reduces stress in your body. Rest feels like your breathing slows down. Your shoulders soften, your thoughts quiet a lit

Today's question is, what do we do when their stimming overstimulates us? In most households, we hear parents talking about their kids wanting to be in their arms all the time or their kids being up against their legs all the time, wanting contact and needing that hug all the time. In parenting circles, neurotypical circles, a phrase has been coined for this. It's called being touched out . In those circles, they will remind you that love and overwhelm can coexist. That's a b

Peace can sometimes feel wrong. Like your body doesn't know what to do with it. Like there's an addiction to chaos, which is something I'm going to be covering in Episode 15A through 16B. This is something that used to confuse me and still sometimes surprises me. This is the transcript for Episode 6 . If you've lived through chaos, emotional abuse, instability, constant conflict, your nervous system learns that tension equals normal. You don't even notice it happening, your

When I left my marital home, I was a few weeks pregnant. At first, it didn't feel like escaping abuse. I just knew I couldn't keep living this way. The tension I felt, the fear, the constant confusion, something in me finally said, "enough". The feeling of being harrassed didn't stop after I left. In some ways, it got worse. This is the transcript for Episode 4 . But being in a new home and then eventually in another social circle gave me space to breathe and to start seeing