🎙️ Episode Title: The Shape of Trauma: Healing What We Didn’t Choose

Description:

In this profoundly healing episode of Take Off the Mask, therapist and trauma expert Dr. Katie Wiggins joins CasieCasem for a soul-deep dive into the often invisible ways trauma shapes our minds, bodies, and relationships.

Through raw personal reflection and clinical insight, they unpack the hidden symptoms of trauma — from emotional disconnection to panic attacks — and how high-functioning individuals can carry lifelong pain without even realizing it. Together, they explore the powerful healing potential of modalities like EMDR and Internal Family Systems, while reminding listeners that trauma isn’t always about what happened — it’s often about what didn’t.

This isn’t a clinical lecture. It’s a heart-to-heart conversation about reclaiming your story, your safety, and your self-worth — even when justice never comes.

Key Themes:

• What trauma really is — and how it hides in plain sight
• Panic vs. anxiety: decoding trauma responses
• Relationship dynamics and trauma reenactment
• The role of somatic memory and the body’s response
• Self-regulation, self-love, and healing without permission
• Justice vs. liberation: which truly sets us free?

Quote to remember:
"Healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken — it’s about honoring what we survived."

Before we wrap, Dr. Katie Wiggins shared two powerful resources that align beautifully with today’s conversation. If you’re looking to deepen your understanding of trauma and the nervous system, we encourage you to explore the following:

"Still Face Experiment" by Dr. Edward Tronick
This foundational video illustrates the emotional impact of caregiver disconnection on infants and how early attachment experiences shape our lifelong understanding of safety and connection.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qlQeSnyLong

"Why You Can’t 'Think' Your Way Out of Trauma" featuring Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
A compelling explanation of how trauma lives in the body and why true healing must be embodied—not just intellectualized.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXXDklZQ4JQ

If the links above don’t open, you can copy and paste them directly into your browser:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qlQeSnyLong
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXXDklZQ4JQ

These resources are powerful reminders that healing is not only possible—it’s personal, ongoing, and entirely valid whether or not justice ever arrives.