the Grow Yourself Up Podcast

a podcast to support all of us in our adult lives

Many of us did not get our needs adequately met in childhood. The devastating legacy of childhood trauma, wounding and traumatic stress lives on in our brains, our bodies, our nervous systems and our behaviour/reactions impacting the way we turn up to our lives in many ways.

We are going to unpack all of this on Grow Yourself Up. This podcast will be a companion as you journey on your own road of healing and recovery.

You will learn you are not alone. Someone has been where you are. There is hope.

We will break down shame together and learn to cultivate self compassion. There is always the possibility for change. And regardless of what has happened in our past, as adults we have to take responsibility for our own lives.

We have to tend to our pain, our sadness and our dysfunction so that we can live a life we love and shift toxic patterns for our children.

Each week we send out journal questions based around the podcast’s topic. If you would like to receive these questions, please sign up here.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 126: Creativity and Growing Up in Motherhood with Flora Cruft

Cath was joined by Flora Cruft for this episode. Flora Cruft is a poet, a picture book writer, an existential psychotherapist and a creativity coach. She runs her own online therapy and coaching practice, South West Therapy. Her debut poetry book I am a Spider Mother was published by The Mum Poem Press in 2022. Flora won the Books that Help 2023 picture book mentorship with Little Tiger Press, and she loves to write, sing, bake and enjoy loud kitchen discos with her twin daughters.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 125: Burnout and Parenting When Our Kids Struggle with Kendra Wilde (Re-release)

Cath was joined by Kendra Wilde this week. They talked all about how to keep our sanity intact in parenting when our children are struggling in some way. Kendra shared about the 'why' behind (Wild Peace for Parents) and how she was pushed to a place of burnout on her parenting journey. This conversation is loaded with self compassion and wisdom from someone who has kids in their twenties, we hope you enjoy it.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 124: The Good Girl Grid and Owning our Own Motherhood Experience

In this solo episode Cath uses her concept 'The Good Girl Grid' to explain how women are held down in society and how this complicates our ability to own our own internal and motherhood experience. She talks about the idea of 'being on our own sides' and what that means and how that might look in practise (using anecdotes from her own life).

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 121: Thoughts on Embracing and Enjoying Time with our Kids

In this deeply personal episode Cath reflects on what often trips us up when we spend long periods of time with our kids, particularly when we have childhood trauma. She highlights some of the key issues we deal with when we have experienced trauma and gives some tips and suggestions for how you can make the most of time spent with your kids (while holding onto your sanity).

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 120: The Fatherwound, Patriarchy and Growing up in Fatherhood with Clint Davis (Re-release)

In episode 120 of Grow Yourself Up Cath was joined by Clint Davis. Cath and Clint talked about culture and patriarchy, how Clint parents differently to how he was patented and how he continues to grow himself up in fatherhood. Cath and Clint talked about Clint’s book and how the conversations you have with your kids when they are young provide an important basis for later communication and much more.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 119: Rage, Vitality, Agency and Growing up in Motherhood with Lisa Marchiano

Cath and Lisa talked about Lisa’s motherhood journey, how she has grown herself up, the need for women to grow up and let go of innocence, self abandonment and pleasing others. This maturation process and claiming all parts of our feminine energy (not just that which is kind or sweet) is essential to be able to protect ourselves and our kids and live a full adult life. 

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 118: Stress Responses, Feelings, Mood and Emotional Flow

It can feel really confusing as a cycle breaking parent learning to hold space for our child's feelings without taking responsibility for them. Often there is entanglement where we may feel we need our children to be a certain way so we can feel ok. Cath speaks to all of this and the overlap around holding space for feelings, stress responses and getting more comfortable with the displeasure of our children. She uses examples from her life to bring the points alive.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 117: Your Body Really Does Remember and Shifting Patterns with Dr Kathrin Stauffer

In this episode Cath was joined by Dr Kathrin Stauffer. They chatted about how the body remembers in multiple ways and how not getting what we need in childhood impacts multiple systems in our bodies (not just the nervous system). When we are on a healing journey the expression of sadness and grieving are an important part of this journey. However, it may be that we are blocked from crying by our defences. We dived into this and talked about food, body shape, body psychotherapy, the the function of comfort eating, shame and much more.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 115: Permission, Tending to Ourselves and Tending to the World

In this episode Cath links trauma healing to the healing we need to do in the collective and for our world. She speaks to how owning all parts of ourselves is essential to bringing in a healthier world, the importance of our imagination and how tending to ourselves is key to each of us playing our part in the revolution.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 114: Boundaries and Values in the Holidays

In this special bonus episode released on Christmas Day, Cath talks about what can sometimes derail us over the holidays. She makes suggestions around how to return to our own centre, to consider what is important to us and to focus on our own values.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 113: Understand your Nervous System to Support Yourself

Ironically Christmas is often a time when many of us struggle with our mental health and with staying in a regulated enough place.

Cath addresses why this may happen, focuses on why an understanding of our nervous system is so helpful in de-shaming this experience and suggests some practical tips to help you if you are feeling like this.

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Helena Bradbury Helena Bradbury

Ep 112: Developmental Trauma, Healing and Growing Up in Fatherhood with Stephen Terrell

In this episode Cath was joined by Stephen Terrell. Steve Terrell is a Healer, Teacher, and Author and sees clients at Austin Attachment and Counseling Center in Austin, Texas. He founded this center over 20 years ago for the treatment of Developmental Trauma and Adoption related issues. He has a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and a Doctorate in Psychology California Coast University and sees his clients under his license as a professional counselor in Texas. 

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