Not That Girl Anymore

Can you love someone and still choose distance? Absolutely—and sometimes it's the healthiest decision you can make. In this episode of Not That Girl Anymore , trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon explores one of the most misunderstood parts of healing: setting healthy boundaries with people you still love. If you've ever struggled with guilt over creating distance from a family member, partner...

Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling like your pain disappeared while everyone else's emotions took center stage? In this deeply personal solo episode of Not That Girl Anymore , Dawn Bouillon explores one of the most painful patterns trauma can create: becoming the emotional caretaker for everyone else while quietly abandoning yourself. Through compassionate storytelling and gentl...

Dawn Bouillon explores the often-overlooked reality of the mother wound and the lasting impact of growing up with an emotionally unsafe, controlling, manipulative, critical, or abusive mother. With compassion, honesty, and deep understanding, Dawn invites listeners to examine the patterns that may have followed them into adulthood—from people-pleasing, perfectionism, and self-abandonment to bounda...

Women are exhausted—but not because they’re weak, demanding, or impossible to please. In this powerful episode, Dawn explores the hidden emotional burdens many women have carried for years: the responsibility to keep the peace, manage relationships, sacrifice their needs, and earn love through self-abandonment. She challenges the belief that love should require losing yourself and invites listener...

Why did a fictional love story spark such powerful conversations about trauma, healing, and hope? In this episode of Not That Girl Anymore , Dawn Bouillon explores the deeper psychological themes behind the hit series Off Campus and why so many survivors see pieces of themselves in the journeys of Hannah and Garrett. Through the lens of trauma therapy, Dawn unpacks how trauma lives in the nervous...

Why has Off Campus impacted so many people so deeply? Why are millions of viewers crying at the same scenes, rewatching episodes, and having emotional conversations with friends, partners, children, and therapists? In this deeply personal episode, Dawn explores why this story feels bigger than just a television show. Through the lens of trauma healing, emotional safety, healthy relationships, and...

What if the version of you that everyone praises… is actually the version of you that abandoned yourself to survive? In this deeply honest and emotionally powerful episode of Not That Girl Anymore , Dawn Bouillon explores the hidden cost of people-pleasing, over-functioning, perfectionism, and chronic self-abandonment. She unpacks why authenticity can feel terrifying, especially for women who lear...

What happens when life falls apart and you’re forced to rediscover who you really are? In this deeply honest and empowering episode of Not That Girl Anymore , Dawn Bouillon sits down with licensed professional counselor, supervisor, and founder of The Authenticity Center, Melissa Bowen, for a powerful conversation about authenticity, shame, boundaries, vulnerability, and healing. Melissa shares he...

In this powerful episode of Not That Girl Anymore, trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon explores the painful truth behind modern burnout, anxiety, emotional suppression, people-pleasing, and self-abandonment. From toxic relationships and hustle culture to religious trauma, nervous system exhaustion, and chronic stress, Dawn unpacks how society normalizes suffering while stigmatizing healing. T...

shorter, please. Show moreShow less In this powerful episode of Not That Girl Anymore, trauma therapist and founder of Embrace Your Brave, Dawn Bouillon challenges the dangerous habit of labeling abuse and violence as “mental illness” instead of calling it what it is: coercive control, entitlement, manipulation, and abuse. Dawn explores the realities of emotional abuse, domestic violence, victim s...

This is not an easy episode—but it’s an important one. In this raw and deeply honest conversation, we step into the weight of what’s happening around us: violence against women and children, abuse, trafficking, and the heartbreaking stories that too often become headlines we scroll past. This episode is a call to feel again. To refuse numbness. To remember that these are not just stories—they are...

You don’t have to stay who you had to be to survive. In this deeply personal episode, Dawn Bouillion and Brooke Haynes explore what it really means to heal from trauma and step into a new identity. From adoption and early survival patterns to visionary thinking and building aligned communities, this conversation dives into: The difference between surviving and truly living Why we disconnect from o...

In this episode of Not That Girl Anymore , Dawn Bouillon, trauma therapist and founder of Embrace Your Brave, shares her journey through spiritual deconstruction, religious trauma, and rebuilding faith in a more authentic way. Explore topics like leaving fear-based belief systems, trusting your intuition, healing from shame, and redefining your relationship with God, spirituality, and personal ide...

What if the key to healing isn’t doing more alone—but being seen by others? In this episode, Dawn Bouillon and Brooke dive into the transformative power of community, from reducing isolation to accelerating emotional healing. Learn how shared experiences normalize your story, reveal hidden patterns, and create real breakthroughs—especially for those navigating narcissistic abuse and toxic relation...

In a world that feels increasingly uncertain, chaotic, and unstable, how do you stay grounded? In this powerful conversation, trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon and guest Brooke explore what it means to navigate life when the systems we once trusted no longer feel reliable. Together, they dive into the growing sense of collective awakening, the breakdown of old structures, and why reconnecti...

What does it really cost to stay in environments that require you to abandon yourself? In this honest and unscripted conversation, trauma therapist Dawn Bouillion sits down with podcast producer Brooke Haynes to reflect on the deeper purpose of Not That Girl Anymore. Together they explore what it means to show up authentically, why awareness is the first step toward healing, and the painful but po...

In this episode of Not That Girl Anymore , trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon , founder of Embrace Your Brave , explores the emotional cost of waking up to difficult truths about the systems, relationships, and beliefs we once trusted. While awakening is often described as empowering, it can also bring grief, betrayal, and the painful realization that the people or environments we trusted we...

In this powerful episode of Not That Girl Anymore , trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon explores what true empathy looks like when someone says, “I was abused.” Why do so many survivors face a second wound—not being believed—after the initial harm? How can we respond in ways that create safety instead of silence? Through heartfelt reflection and cultural commentary, this episode addresses vic...

This week on Not That Girl Anymore , trauma therapist Dawn Bouillon shares a deeply personal reflection on talking to her daughters about abuse, racism, and the cultural headlines impacting children. How do we teach our kids to stay human in a world that often rewards silence? How do we talk about injustice without teaching them to look away? Dawn explores trauma reactivation, collective grief, pr...

When empathy is labeled weakness, humanity is at risk. A trauma therapist unpacks faith, fear, moral injury, and the cost of silencing compassion. In this powerful and deeply compassionate episode of Not That Girl Anymore , trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon addresses a growing and unsettling cultural narrative: the idea that empathy is weakness, manipulation, or even sin. Speaking from both...

Why Strong Women Get Caught in Abuse When Love Becomes Control — Part 3 In Part 3 of our When Love Becomes Control series, trauma therapist and coach Dawn Bouillon answers one of the most painful and confusing questions so many women ask themselves: “How did I end up here?” This episode gently dismantles the myth that abuse happens because a woman is weak, naïve, or unaware. Instead, Dawn explores...

In this episode, Dawn Bouillon delves deeper into the effects of psychological abuse on the body and mind, exploring how trauma responses manifest physically and emotionally. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the nervous system's role in trauma and discusses various healing modalities, including somatic therapies and medical interventions, to aid recovery. The conversation highlights...

In Part 1 of Dawn Bouillon’s new 3-part series “When Love Becomes Control: Understanding Psychological Abuse,” Dawn breaks down why coercive control is so often missed—and why it can leave strong, capable women feeling confused, trapped, and disconnected from themselves even when there are no visible bruises. She introduces the idea of psychological layering : a stack of subtle tactics that, over...

High-conflict divorce is often misunderstood—and misnamed. In this episode of Not That Girl Anymore , trauma therapist and Embrace Your Brave founder Dawn Bouillon sits down with author and trauma recovery practitioner Susie Miller Wendel (creator of Nurturing After Narcissism ) to unpack what’s really happening beneath “high conflict”: coercive control that continues after separation . Together,...

What does it actually mean to live in alignment—and why do so many women feel exhausted, disconnected, or stuck even when life looks “fine” on the outside? In the first episode of 2026, Dawn Bouillon is joined by somatic practitioner and collaborator Dottie Griffin for a powerful conversation about living in alignment —not as a mindset shift, but as a whole-person experience. Together, they explor...