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.
Looking for a specific topic or guest? Search below:
Ep 77: Developmental Trauma, Healing and Growing Up in Fatherhood with Stephen Terrell
In the episode this week 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.
Ep 76: Relationships, Self-Responsibility and Roast Potatoes (part re-release)
In this deeply heartfelt and personal episode, Cath speaks to the complexity of managing family relationships around the holidays and high days (particularly when we have not had our needs met in childhood.
Ep 75: Slow Parenthood, Matrescence and Growing up in Motherhood with Mariana Castaman
In the episode today Cath was joined by author and Early Years consultant Mariana Castaman. Cath and Mariana talked about slow parenting, being present for the children we have, growing up in parenthood, learning to hold space for our children when that was not done for us in childhood and honouring the work done in mothering/parenting.
Ep 74: Busting Shame and Growing Up in Fatherhood with Josh Connolly
In this episode Cath was joined by Resilience and Breathwork coach Josh Connolly. The discussion focused on Josh’s path to parenthood, becoming sober, the importance of rupture and repair and how Josh grows himself up as he lives, works and parents. We talked about the importance of self honesty and how it is impossible to be a perfect cycle breaker/parent.
Ep 73: Secure Attachment, Shame and Anxiety
In this episode Cath returns to the content of episode 72 and discusses how secure attachment impacts how we turn up in life. She uses family history and context to show the power of cycle breaking and how creating secure attachment is hugely impactful. She also chats about how comparison can sometimes be helpful. This episode is real, vulnerable, hopeful and powerful and we hope provides comfort and connection for you.
Ep 72: Secure Attachment, Postpartum and Growing up in Motherhood with Jodi Pawluski
In this episode Cath was joined by Dr Jodi Pawluski, they talked about Jodi’s path to motherhood, her postpartum time, how she prepared for this time and how her own parents’ support impacted her.
Ep 71: Why Care About Attachment Styles?
In this episode Cath speaks about secure attachment, what it really means, why it is useful to understand and how our attachment style influences much of how we turn up in the world.
Ep 70: Sobriety, Self Responsibility and Growing up in Motherhood with Cat Sims
This week Cath is joined by author, podcaster and content creator Cat Sims. Cath and Cat talk about Cat’s experiences of motherhood, how she has grown herself up as she mothers, her path to sobriety and why she stopped drinking. And how she views self responsibility. Cat shares her story on boarding school, her family of origin, making living amends and how she holds herself kindly now (instead of self criticism).
Ep 69: Attachment, Regulation, Emotional Neglect and Feeling States
Cath delves into the impacts of emotional neglect, how it can be so hard to live with these, why this is and the relationship between emotional neglect, attachment and regulation.
Ep 68: Matrescence and Growing Up in Motherhood with Lucy Jones
In this episode Cath is joined by author and journalist Lucy Jones. Cath and Lucy discussed Lucy's matrescence journey, her most recent book (Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood), how she makes sense (and continues to) of the huge transition to motherhood, what Lucy finds supportive, how we are all eco systems and some of the realities of mothering at this time in our history.
Ep 67: Estrangement, Having a Narcissistic Mother and Growing Up in Motherhood with Harriet Shearsmith
In this episode Cath is joined by Harriet Shearsmith. Harriet is a coach, podcaster, Mum of 3 and the content creator behind @tobyandroo. In this episode she shares her experiences around growing up in a household where she always tended to the needs of her Mother, how she came to see the dynamics of her family, what action she has taken to protect herself as an adult and how she is shifting dynamics in her own family.
Ep 66: Emotional Neglect and Narcissistic Families
In this episode Cath starts to look in more detail at what emotional neglect actually is and why it matters. She explains how widespread emotional neglect is and gives some historical context to explain why.
Ep 65: Childhood Trauma, The Nervous System & Mothering
In this episode Cath was interviewed by Nikki McCahon for her Seasons of Matresence Podcast. We had a gentle, compassionate and open hearted conversation about the ways in which experiences of childhood trauma can shape and impact how we experience mothering and raising children.
Ep 64: Shifting Generational Trauma & Thoughts on Food
This episode is an interview with Cath and Crystal Karges which was originally released on Crystal’s podcast ‘Lift the Shame’.
Ep 63: When Our Needs Feel Illegitimate (Re-release)
The way we come into relationships with our needs when we are babies and young children, has a huge influence on the way we learn to tend to our needs as adults.
Ep 62: Self Mothering: Putting it into Practise (Re-release)
In this episode Cath discusses the concept of self mothering, explaining why this is such a crucial part of all our healing journey.
Ep 61: The Importance of Good Enough Parenting and Rupture and Repair for all Ages
The term ‘rupture and repair’ is widely used across social media to explain the process of repairing with your child after a break in connection (for example parent shouted or was unkind, snappy to a child).
Ep 60: The Family Nervous System, Transitions and Stress Responses
In this episode Cath discusses some nervous system science (Polyvagal Theory and Stephen Porges and Deb Dana's work) and invites us into considering how our parent nervous systems interact with our children's nervous systems.
Ep 59: Birth Trauma, Dissociation and Growing Up in Motherhood with Sophie Burch
Cath was joined by coach, trainer and hypno-CBT therapist Sophie Burch this week. We talked about Sophie's journey to motherhood, her passion and mission in the prenatal, perinatal and postpartum stages of parenthood and how her own experiences contributed to this. We touched on how birth trauma and a stay in NICU impacted her and her children. Sophie shared how she deals with the impacts of PTSD, maintaining her sanity while parenting 4 boys and how she cares for herself.
Ep 58: Words of Encouragement for Holidays (Re-release)
In this episode Cath discusses what shift we need to make as parents around the holidays.
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