About the Episode

My guest today is Mary Firestone is the co-founder of Firestone Sisters, Inc and has a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Princeton University. She is the author of the book “Trusting the Dawn: How to Choose Freedom and Joy After Trauma”. Mary joined this week’s episode of The Growth Guide podcast to talk about understanding trauma, how to talk to yourself, integration and initiation, aromatherapy, ketamine therapy, daily practices to reduce trauma, and more.

Sometimes we talk to ourselves in a harsh way that we never tell anyone else. But being empathetic and kind to ourselves is essential in the process of healing from trauma. The first step in addressing ourselves kindly is identifying our internal thoughts. The second step is to redecorate those internal thoughts with more powerful and empowering ones, says Mary.

The goal of trauma therapy is to integrate. That means we shouldn’t try to fully remove trauma from our lives. Instead, we can make the trauma a part of our story. A part of our lives that led us to the moment we are in or be the person we are today.  You are not alone, and there are a lot of ways to help you reduce your suffering with the right guidance. Healing is absolutely possible; you just have to keep searching.