What if the thing you’ve been trying to “fix” is actually an intelligence that protected you when you needed it most? That reframe changes everything. We sit down with Michael Stone to explore why trauma isn’t the event it’s what happens inside us and how integration, not problem‑solving, turns pain into presence and expands the space we have to hold life.
Michael shares a life marked by early loss and unimaginable violence, then shows how the nervous system adapts through tensing and numbing, draining energy and narrowing connection. We talk about trauma‑informed design in homeless services, the power of co‑regulation, and why genuine healing happens in relationship.
His trauma circles create containers where being witnessed dissolves shame and invites the body to feel in titrated doses small, safe steps that steadily build capacity.
We also tackle the post‑truth world of social media and AI: endless doomscrolling, manipulated feeds, and deepfakes that keep our systems on high alert.
The antidote isn’t to retreat from reality; it’s to become trauma‑informed, to track triggers and repeating loops, and to practice relating as a verb. You’ll hear clear distinctions feelings in the mind vs emotions in the body, happiness vs joy and practical ways to notice when “fixing” someone else is a way to avoid feeling your own pain.
Along the way, we unpack attachment adaptations, legacy burdens that echo across generations, and the myth of “someday.” Presence now is where future change is made.
If you’re ready to stop looping the same arguments, expand your capacity, and turn toward what hurts without being overwhelmed, this conversation offers language, practices, and a path.
Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the insight that hit you hardest, what pattern are you choosing to end today?
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