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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Thank you for listening to and loving the podcast. If you’ve benefitted from these conversations and would like to contribute to podcast creation costs, I’d greatly appreciate it!
Looking for a specific topic or guest? Search below:
Ep 101: Neurodivergence, Unschooling, Consent Based Living and Growing Up in Motherhood with Fran Liberatore
Cath was joined by Fran Liberatore in episode 101. Cath and Fran talked about Fran's path to motherhood and how she felt she found her purpose through motherhood, her becoming and growing up in motherhood. Fran talked about her own neurodivergence, how she learnt to let go of control in parenting and how she continues to focus on this. Cath and Fran talked about the imprecise nature of diagnosis and some of their thoughts on this. Fran talked about the schooling journey in her family and how she uses a consent based model in life and education and much more.
Ep 100: Home Education, Extracting ourselves from Systems and Growing Up in Motherhood with Julie Walter
Cath spoke with Julie Walter in episode 100. They talked about Julie’s motherhood journey, home educating her children, how she left teaching, unschooling from whatever position we are in and what Julie is currently involved in.
Ep 99: Birth, Postpartum, Mother in laws and Growing Up in Motherhood with Concetta Ferretti
Cath was joined by scientist Concetta Ferretti in episode 99. Cath and Concetta talked about Concetta’s path to motherhood, how she used science to support her in thinking about birth, how she does this on an ongoing basis and all about how Concetta is growing herself up in motherhood. We talked about her relationship with her mother in law, how she manages it and how she got to this place. This is a conversation packed with realism and richness, hope you enjoy it.
Ep 98: Intrusions, Control and Growing Up in Motherhood with Anna Butcher (Re-release)
In this episode Cath is joined by Anna Butcher. We talked about Anna's journey to motherhood, how she experiences mothering and how the act of becoming a mother is an intrusion into our lives (on multiple levels). There is some deeply personal storytelling illustrating the concepts being discussed and we focused on how control turns up for both Cath and Anna and the antidote to this.
Ep 97: Power, Systems, Gardening and Growing Up in Motherhood with Marchelle Farrell
Cath was joined by author and medical psychotherapist Marchelle Farrell in episode 97. Cath and Marchelle chatted about Marchelle's childhood in Trinidad and Tobago, the systems her parents operated in, how those systems still operate today, privilege, power, relationships and so much more.
Ep 96: Partner Rage, Postpartum Health and Healing in Motherhood with Molly Caro May. Re-release
In episode 96 Cath was joined by author Molly Caro May. This rich and beautiful conversation covered so much ground. They touched on Molly’s memoir ‘Body Full of Stars’, talked about Molly’s postpartum health experiences, breaking cycles in motherhood, rage and self responsibility.
Ep 95: Hypervigilence, Knowing Ourselves, Enoughness and Values in Parenting
Cath speaks about the core of people pleasing and how carrying this into parenting sets us up to feel bad, she touches on ‘metrics’, getting to know ourselves and having an embodied sense of our enough-ness. There is also discussion around values.
Ep 94: People Pleasing, Boundaries and Our Needs
In today's episode Cath focuses on people pleasing. She looks at how and why it arises in our family of origin, how it manifests in the way we are in relationships and how it can turn up in parenting. She suggests ways in which to counteract this urge. And next week there will be more on this subject.
Ep 93: Matrescence and Growing Up in Motherhood with Lucy Jones (Re-release)
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 92: Respect, Needs, Divorce and Growing Up in Motherhood with Nicola Rae
Cath was joined by Coach, Trainer and Supervisor Nicola Rae in episode 92. Cath and Nicola talked about Nicola’s path to motherhood, how she came into relationship with her needs, her divorce and how this relates to growing herself and much more. Nicola shared what she focuses on instead of focusing on being liked and how this gives her freedom.
Ep 91: Perimenopause, Early Postpartum and Growing Up in Motherhood with Kate Codrington
Cath was joined by Kate Codrington in this episode. Cath and Kate talked about Kate’s path to motherhood, perimenopause in early postpartum, how Kate cares for and supports herself in her life and more. We also talked about breaking free from what the patriarchy says we are allowed and how we can empower ourselves with play, creativity and joy.
Ep 90: Building Better Brains, Primitive Reflexes and Growing up in Motherhood with Lorraine Driscoll
In episode 90 Cath was joined by Integrative Educational Therapist and Nutritionist Lorraine Driscoll. Cath and Lorraine talked about PANs/PANDA’s and how Lorraine supported her daughter in her healing. The impact of retained primitive reflexes and how Lorraine’s teaching career informed her move into being a therapist and educator, and much more.
Ep 89: Guilt and Shame in Parenting: Ask Cath
In episode 89 Cath answers a listener's letter. The content of this episode deals with the question: ‘How can we tend to ourselves when we realise some of our parenting has come from our own pain and trauma?’ How do we deal with the guilt and shame arising from this? What helps this shift?
Ep 88: Learning to Meet Needs is a Practise (re-release)
In episode 88 Cath focuses on our needs and why starting to meet/meeting them can be so complex. Building on earlier episodes on this topic, listen to episodes 1-4 and 26. She makes a suggestion for how you can reframe times when there is self abandonment (needs not being met) to reduce shame. Having our needs met is a huge contributor to being in our own sense of power and agency.
Ep 87: The Fatherwound, Patriarchy and Growing up in Fatherhood with Clint Davis
In episode 87 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.
Ep 86: Being a Changemaker, Fawning and Growing Up in Motherhood with Kemi Omijeh
In episode 86 Cath was joined by Psychotherapist, Speaker and Clinical Supervisor Kemi Omijeh. Cath and Kemi talked about Kemi's journey to motherhood, how her own parenting differs from the parenting she received and how she centres her children and supports them in getting their needs met. Kemi talked about being a changemaker in workplaces which are predominantly white and how exhausting that is, fawning, people pleasing and much more about Kemi continues to grow herself up and be her authentic self wherever she goes.
Ep 85: Making Sense of Our Own Experience: Culture, Generational Trauma and Parenting Practises
In this episode Cath answers a question she receives a lot which is some version of 'why do I identify so much with your content when I did not think I had childhood trauma'.
Ep 84: Mental Health and Personal Growth in our Mothering with Emily Adler Mosqueda (Re-release)
In this episode Cath is joined by Emily Adler Mosqueda. We discuss Emily's mothering experience. Emily shares how her postpartum time after the birth of her second daughter was much more challenging than her first. We examine what contributed to this touching on cultural expectations, perfectionism, rage, meeting our inner child in parenting, mental health, support and learning to make space for ourselves as mothers. Emily shares the arc of her journey explaining how she has landed in her own good enough space.
Ep 83: Well being, Perimenopause and Growing Up in Motherhood with Thalia Pellegrini
In episode 83 Cath was joined by Nutritional Therapist Thalia Pellegrini to talk about her mothering experiences, how she learnt to support herself better with nutrition and how she centres her own well being in motherhood. Thalia shared how she continues to grow herself up in motherhood and how changing her perspective supports her in tricky times and more.
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