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Quitting the substance is only the first wave. The true reckoning begins when the silence sets in, forcing you to face the quiet lie you’ve carried for years—that you don't matter, that you're impossible to love, and that staying numb is the only way to survive.

In this deeply vulnerable episode, we sit down with Paul Drayton, author of Ride or Die Trying: A Life Before, During, and After the Laughter. Paul opens up about the crushing weight of living as "the invisible one" in rooms dripping with fame and attention, the desperate attempts to drown out undiagnosed ADHD with alcohol, and the profound, agonizing loss of self that happens when you disappear into someone else’s shadow. He walks us through the painful shift from carrying decades of toxic shame to finally finding grace through a late-in-life diagnosis.

We bridge Paul’s journey with the unspoken grief so many women veterans carry: the quiet agony of losing your identity, being rendered invisible, and suffering in silence because asking for help feels like an invitation to break.

This isn't just a story about hitting rock bottom; it’s about the terrifying, beautiful work of pulling yourself out. It’s an honest, raw look at public judgment, the quiet daily effort of sobriety, and the gentle resilience it takes to rebuild a life from the ashes.

If you have ever felt completely unseen, if you are exhausted from just trying to survive, or if you're terrified that it’s too late to start over—this episode was made for you.

Listen through to the end. Subscribe, send this to a friend who is fighting a quiet battle, and leave a review sharing the moment that cracked your heart open.

You can find Paul's book on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Die-Trying-Before-Laughter/dp/B0HDR233Q9/

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Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

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Betrayal doesn’t just break your heart, it can rewrite your entire history. One day you’re looking at vacation photos with warmth, and the next you’re scanning every memory for lies, gaps, and red flags you “should’ve” seen. That whiplash is a hallmark of betrayal trauma, and it’s exactly what we dig into with our guest, Mr. J, a certified betrayal trauma practitioner.

We start with the surprising way trauma can stay dormant for years, then explode after a catalyst like a death, surgery, or major life stress. Mr. J connects panic attacks, grief, and childhood wounds to a “loaded gun” nervous system, and we unpack why telling someone to simply “move on” misses what the brain and body are actually doing. From there, we get clear on what makes betrayal trauma different from other trauma: the personalization (“Was I not enough?”), the secrecy and shame that isolate people, and the painful reality that betrayal can poison the past, not just the present.

Then we get practical. Mr. J shares the “three gardens” framework for recovery: caring for yourself, caring for the relationship, and intentionally rebuilding trust after infidelity or broken trust. We also talk about common patterns that can lead to cheating, including thrill seeking, avoidant coping, validation hunger, hero complex dynamics, and “a thousand micro-justifications.” Most importantly, we come back to what makes healing possible: boundaries you enforce, honest self-connection, and two people willing to pick up an oar and row in the same direction.

If this conversation helps you name what you’re living through, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find real support.

Learn more about Mr. Jay at mrjayrelationshipcoach.com.

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

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Your nervous system can win a war and still lose the peace. I sit down with Tony Crescenzo, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and the President and CEO of Intelligent Waves, to talk about what PTSD, moral injury, and high-stress service can look like years later: hair-trigger anger, relentless rumination, broken sleep, and that feeling of being stuck in “hurry up” mode even when life is safe. Tony shares an extraordinary counterintelligence story from the early 1980s and how betrayal, retaliation, and stigma shaped the way his brain and body carried stress long after the uniform came off.

Then we get practical. Tony walks me through Peak Neuro, his neuroacoustic neuromodulation platform designed to bridge complex physiological data and real-world recovery. We unpack brainwave entrainment, EEG-based personalization, and the idea of state-to-trait change: not just feeling better while you listen, but training the brain to access calmer, more focused states on demand. We also talk about measurable outcomes like restorative sleep improvements, hypervigilance reduction, and how clinicians can use this alongside talk therapy, CBT, and other evidence-based care.

We zoom out to modern “episodic war” and why transitions can be brutal for fighter pilots, drone operators, special operators, and anyone expected to shift from lethal decision-making to family life in minutes. If you care about veteran mental health, PTSD recovery, moral injury support, sleep optimization, neuroplasticity, and cognitive performance, this conversation connects the dots without hand-waving. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more veterans and families can find tools that actually help.

Learn more at: https://peakneuro.com/

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/

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A lot of us hit adulthood thinking our childhood is “over,” then we watch ourselves react like a younger version of us just grabbed the steering wheel. Dr. Adam McCormick joins us to unpack why that happens, especially for people in service roles, and why the helping professions are full of high-functioning survivors who look fine on the outside while carrying heavy inner pressure.

We get practical about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and a distinction that changes everything: ACEs are what happened, but trauma is the wound and the meaning we made. From there we talk about the scripts and “personal commandments” we inherit or create, how we keep corroborating them, and why the familiar can feel safer than the healthy. If you’ve ever wondered why boundaries feel risky, why self-care feels impossible, or why you pour yourself out for others but resist care for yourself, this conversation puts language around it.

We also connect childhood survival adaptations to real workplace outcomes like secondary trauma, burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury. Adam explains how the same emotional attunement that makes a social worker, therapist, counselor, teacher, or chaplain exceptional can also lead them to absorb others’ pain without realizing it. We close with Gabor Maté’s lens on attachment versus authenticity, plus slow, realistic ways to reclaim a healed and authentic self.

If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague who carries a lot, and leave a review so more helping professionals can find it. What old script are you ready to question?

Find Dr. McCormick's book at: https://www.stedwards.edu/directory/sociology-social-work/adam-mccormick

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

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Porn is easy to blame. It’s harder, and far more useful, to ask what it’s doing for you. Dr. Daniel Roberts sits down with hypnotherapist Nelson Whiting to look underneath compulsive pornography use and talk about the real engines of stuck patterns: loneliness, grief, rejection, chronic stress, and the quiet identity belief that keeps showing up, “I’m not good enough.”

Nelson shares how his first exposure to self-hypnosis started as a simple breathing and affirmation routine that boosted learning and memory, then grew into a clinical practice focused on fast, measurable behavior change. We dig into why pornography can become a go-to form of escapism in high-pressure environments, including military culture, and why secrecy and shame can make standard approaches feel slow or ineffective. Instead of chasing the symptom, Nelson lays out a clear map from actions to emotions to memory to beliefs to identity, and explains why targeting the deeper layers is where lasting change happens.

We also get practical about the brain. When you’re in survival mode, your amygdala stays online, flexibility drops, and even smart plans can backfire. Nelson explains how hypnotherapy, meditation, and breathwork can calm the threat response so new thoughts and new choices finally feel possible, even when old triggers are still present.

If you want a science-informed, compassionate conversation about porn addiction recovery, self-hypnosis, trauma, and rebuilding agency, hit play. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re trying this week.

Want a free copy of Nelson's e-book, Your Problem Isn't Pornography? Get it here: https://www.nolimitshypnotherapy.com/e-book-download-gift-register. Inside the book, you'll receive access to a free 30-minute training on how to begin redirecting the subconscious mind away from unwanted thoughts and feelings.

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

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A patient dies quickly, a family can’t agree, a nurse goes home and still can’t turn it off. That ethical weight has a name: moral injury, and it doesn’t belong only to the battlefield.

We sit down with Kelly Edmondson, a trauma ICU nurse, healthcare executive, certified grief counselor, and founder of Timely Presence, to talk about what COVID looked like from inside hospital walls: constant uncertainty, fear of exposure, rapid loss, and the shock of feeling mistrusted in a profession that’s usually deeply trusted. From there, we get into the quieter, daily moral injuries of critical care and end-of-life decisions, where clinicians are asked to do painful work while wondering if the system is serving the patient, the family, or neither.

Kelly also shares the story of her son Darius, who died after an epilepsy-related seizure in his sleep, and the moment she realized grief isn’t the notification. Grief is the lived absence that returns on Mother’s Day, birthdays, and holidays. That insight led her to build Timely Presence, a grief aftercare service that helps people show up all year long on the dates that hurt most. We close with concrete guidance for leaders and employers, including her Presence Framework: regulate, respond, remain, plus why bereavement policies often fail the moment an employee returns to work.

Subscribe for more conversations on moral injury, grief support, and leadership under pressure, and if this resonates, share it with someone who needs language for what they’re carrying and leave us a review.

Learn more at: Timely Presence

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

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Trauma doesn’t just live in memories. It hides in the body, locks into identity, and quietly runs decisions until we feel like we’re fighting ourselves.

I’m Dr. Daniel Roberts, and I sit down with Dr. Judith A. Swack, PhD, a biochemist and immunologist who became a pioneer in energy psychology and mind-body healing. Judith created Healing From the Body Level Up (HBLU), a practical model that treats us as multi-level beings: conscious mind, unconscious mind, body, and soul. When those levels fall out of alignment, “knowing better” doesn’t fix the problem, because talk and logic don’t automatically clear fear, shame, or stress patterns stored deeper down.

We dig into two hands-on tools that listeners can actually use: muscle testing to get a reliable readout from the body, and tapping (EFT) to calm trauma activation fast, including those middle-of-the-night adrenaline spikes. Then we turn to the heart of moral injury in veterans: the painful beliefs that get woven into identity after combat, including the crushing internal verdict “I am a murderer.” Judith shares how amend-making forgiveness, drawn from the Jewish practice of teshuvah, can help repair internal betrayal and reduce guilt when the inner levels finally become congruent.

We also talk about trauma from sexual assault, the importance of asking respectful inner questions, and why reproducible, step-by-step protocols matter for skeptics who want something grounded and repeatable. If you want to go deeper, Judith’s book is Clear Trauma Now, and her resources including mass trauma healing webinars and a free consult are at hblu.org.

Subscribe for more conversations on moral injury and trauma recovery, share this with someone who needs relief, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Learn more at HBLU.org

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts

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Burnout can look like productivity on the outside while your inner life is collapsing. We sit down with Keith A. Cole, a Vietnam Marine veteran, speaker, and Christian recovery advocate, to trace how grief, combat trauma, and years of “just power through” can quietly stack up until you hit a wall you can’t muscle past anymore.

Keith shares his story with disarming honesty: wounded three times in Vietnam, later tasked with notifying families of fallen Marines, and eventually trying to build a successful civilian career while still “mentally knocking on doors.” We talk about PTSD stigma, why strong people often hide pain the longest, and how the military drive-on mindset can become dangerous when we apply it to marriage, ministry, leadership, and health.

From that breaking point, Keith found a faith-based burnout recovery plan that’s both spiritual and practical. He walks us through PRASIER, his daily framework grounded in scripture: action guided by prayer, reading scripture, affirmation, gratitude journaling, visualization, exercise, and rest, built into a 12-week workbook. We also dig into visualization, why some Christians avoid it, and how hope and faith can shape a healthier future without slipping into prosperity gospel thinking.

If you’re a veteran, caregiver, pastor, clinician, or leader running on empty, this conversation offers language, tools, and a path back to peace. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find real help when burnout starts closing in.

Get his book and learn more at: recoverybyfaith.com.

Support the show

Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!

Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/