Alex Williams was eight years old when his mum was murdered by his stepfather.

In this episode, Alex shares what it’s really like to grow up after extreme trauma, how it shaped his nervous system, identity, and relationships, and why “healing” is often misunderstood.

Alex is an NHS mental health practitioner with over 20 years of experience and a suicide and self-harm prevention trainer. He brings both lived experience and frontline insight into what actually helps people after childhood trauma, and what doesn’t.

We talk about:

Growing up after domestic abuse and parental homicide

Why safety matters more than therapy in the early stages of trauma

The long-term impact of unprocessed grief in childhood

Compassion fatigue in mental health and helping professions

Why forgiveness is not required for healing

How the mental health system labels people instead of holding them

Phone addiction, numbing, and modern forms of escape

Meaning, survival, and choosing a life after trauma

This is a raw, honest conversation about loss, resilience, and what it means to live a good life after something unimaginable.

If you grew up in dysfunction, abuse, or emotional neglect, this episode will likely resonate.

Find Alex here -

https//instagram.com/thealexjwilliams

https//tiktok.com/thealexjwilliams

https//www.linkedin.com/thealexjwilliams

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trauma doesn’t just live in your head. It can shut down your voice too. Vocal coach Claire Delaney joins me to talk C-PTSD, nervous system survival, toxic industry culture, and finding your voice again.

"Claire is a vocal coach who works with singers and actors whose voices have to hold up under real-world pressure. She’s coached performers across the West End, Broadway, and the National Theatre, and has worked for Italia Conti and ITV’s Mamma Mia: I Have a Dream.

Her approach is trauma-aware and shaped by the belief that you can’t separate a voice from the person using it. Her work blends science, psychology, and practical technique, with a lens shaped by lived-experience. She helps performers rebuild the physical, emotional, and technical foundations of their voice, aiming for long-term reliability, confidence, and self-trust to make singing actually enjoyable again."

Instagram: @clairedelaney.vocalcoach

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I’m joined by Jared Shurin, a strategic communications specialist who works in counter extremism, violent radicalisation, misinformation, and social cohesion. We dig into the psychology of people who reach the point of extreme violence, why it often starts with the loss of trust, hope and faith, and how communication can pull people back from the edge.

We talk about:

How people become vulnerable to radicalisation

The link between extremism, suicidality, and hopelessness

Why most people sit in the exhausted moderate middle

The role of belonging, community, and agency in prevention

How governments, NGOs and everyday people can reduce social harm

What actually works when trying to talk someone down from violent thinking

This episode explores the real human drivers behind extremism, how isolation fuels dangerous behaviour, and why rebuilding local community may be our best defence.

Find Jared -

https://extra-fox.com/

newsletter - https://raptorvelocity.beehiiv.com/

https://www.instagram.com/straycarnivore/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.