The Crappy Childhood Fairy Podcast with Anna Runkle

One very bad sign that someone is losing themself in an unhappy relationship, is that they write to me about their partner and how wonderful they are, then tell me all about their partner’s traumatic past -- and then list all the ways their partner is mistreating them. It's as if they don't want me to see the facts. Trauma might be an explanation for someone cheating and stonewalling, but it’s not...

Unpopular opinion, but so-called “adult entertainment” could not exist if there weren’t a steady supply of people who were abused as children, and skilled at shutting themselves down emotionally so that other people could use them for “pleasure.” It’s one of many ways that manipulative people – or those they have manipulated – like to normalize an obviously demoralizing and harmful way of treating...

There’s an almost universal symptom that people who grew up with trauma will tend to exhibit - and it’s a sense of isolation. Either you feel isolated even with people, or you literally isolate. Shutting people out feels like it's the right, best, most self caring thing you can do sometimes when you're under stress. But if you think that's a good thing, it's probably your trauma talking. Learn why...

If you were emotionally neglected as a child, you may be extra-prone to direct your romantic energy toward people who are not with you. It’s the consequence of an injury to our neurological development, and it can have terrible consequences for you and the people who love you. In this 4-video compilation, I share some of my most popular videos about limerence, and how to heal the obsessive pull of...

Just because someone got a credential to practice therapy doesn’t necessarily mean they’re mentally stable, or able to prioritize the attention that you deserve, over whatever it is they’re feeling. If you had a parent who neglected you or exhibited narcissistic traits, you may have a blind spot for this behavior in others. In this video I respond to a letter from a woman who finds herself in an e...

So many of us who grew up with trauma live as “divided selves” – longing for real love, but playing along to keep people around who DON’T want that – not with us, anyway – but who are happy to soak all our attention and time Iand of course, sex). Your ability to believe you can change how they feel by giving them all you've got – but never honestly finding out how THEY feel about you – is a classi...

When we talk about trauma symptoms, we talk a lot about strong feelings, acting out and emotional dysregulation. But there’s this other side of how trauma wounds and CPTSD can control your behavior, and it’s through *self-suppression*. In this video I teach the signs that your trauma is driving to suppress yourself. You may be surprised how much it applies to you! Try the FREE Daily Practice Cours...

When it comes to healing CPTSD, there's abundant advice and hundreds of treatments, but they rarely take into account that trauma wounds make it difficult to learn, process, remember, and categorize information. When your thinking is distorted, it's hard to tell what is your responsibility and what is not -- and to recognize choices available to you in each situation. In this video I share four of...

A huge number of people who lived through trauma have ended up with a LOT of physical clutter. And because clutter can hold you back, it’s a good thing when you release belongings that you’ve held onto that you DON’T need, that you can’t use, and that only bring you a sense of stress and obligation. But what about the old letters, gifts and cards that remind you that a) your family actually loved...

If you’re like a lot of people who grew up with trauma, you feel most comfortable with friends who also had trauma – people who struggle at times with the same trauma-driven problems you’ve struggled with. These people can feel like HOME for us – until we start to heal from trauma, and their actual flaws become more visible to us. Should you try to stay friends when the other person’s actions are...

There is a massive, almost universal trigger for Childhood PTSD symptoms – and you probably have it (even people who were not traumatized sometimes have it). It is HURRYING. We all do it. But when you have Childhood PTSD, hurrying very easily turns into overwhelm, and can trip you up and sabotage the most important things in your life. In this video I teach you what you can do -- even though you'r...

People who were neglected as children often struggle to form stable, lasting relationships. One big reason is insecure attachment -- a wound of trauma (particularly neglect) that creates a chronic sense of anxiety that you're not wanted, or you are about to be abandoned. You might RUSH in and get enmeshed with someone you just met, or exhaust yourself trying to be good enough for people who are em...

The reason I say codependency is so destructive to everyone it touches is that A) it drains the person who has abandoned themselves to become entirely focused on fixing another person, and B) the person being fixed is NOT fixed -- and doesn’t like it, and will usually leave. But that’s not what it FEELS like when you’ve been showing up in good faith with someone who is ambivalent toward you. In th...

When people want a “just-sex” relationship, they can hardly resist the lure of traumatized people who will pour out pure gold from their heart and yet suffer in silence that their “friend with benefits” never returns their love. Neglect in childhood does that to people – makes you feel ashamed that you want and need something more than a fling – it scares you into thinking that you better just set...

It's painful for a child to be left out, ignored and never included. This counts as trauma, and leaves behind telltale signs in the form of triggers in adulthood. You may find yourself reacting strongly with anger, anxiety or self-abandonment when people overlook you or disappoint you now, in adulthood. Unfortunately, this aspect of CPTSD can destabilize relationships or push you to bond with part...

If you were neglected or abandoned as a child, or your home life was full of chaos, you may still feel the effects through a pattern of triggers that push your nervous system into a dysregulated state. In this 4-video compilation, I share some of my most popular videos about CPTSD triggers that are common -- but most people haven't connected them with early trauma. Learn Quick Measures to Get Re-R...

Imagine finally finding someone who loves you as you are. And after so many painful attempts to find love, THIS person is right by your side and wants to be with you. So what is it in people who grew up with trauma, that the presence of someone THIS good, can shut you down, and make things feel "not real"? In this video I respond to a letter from a woman with CPTSD who finds herself feeling more n...

Even rats will get obsessed if you alternate kindness with abuse. So it isn’t any wonder that people who grew up with trauma would have a tendency to fall in love even HARDER when the people who say they love you suddenly kick you out the door. Non-traumatized people recognize this as abuse by an unstable and selfish person. In this video I respond to a letter from a man who is 100% determined to...

Children normally learn to handle themselves in the world from their parents. If you were ignored, you had to figure things out by yourself using a child's logic. In adulthood, you may find yourself going into a stress response when you try to communicate, especially when expressing emotions, or setting boundaries. This cold be a sign you weren't listened to. as a child. In this video I lay out se...

If you were born to sick people who neglect you, exclude you, and they couldn't give you proper care or protect you from harm, it was only natural for you to feel as a child that your family's shame was yours too. In this four-video compilation, I share four of my most popular videos about the harms that come from growing up in dysfunctional families -- whether you were shamed, left out, or otherw...

When someone writes to me and says “I’m dating this guy,” I learned to understand that “DATING” for some people means “just having sex.” No friendship, no commitment, no talking about real things, no helping each other through tough times JUST. SEX. So it breaks my heart when someone with the ordinary understanding of dating gets walked all over by someone who uses the LANGUAGE of love to take wha...

People who were neglected in childhood often turn out with a false identity that they were pressured into by parents who couldn’t see who they were AT ALL. This a pattern I’ve come to recognize in hundreds of letters I receive. There’s a developmental delay, almost, in forming a sense of self – of knowing your preferences, what make you make happy, what you long for. Some people just imprint on an...

Watching videos about trauma can take you down a rabbit hole of bad memories, scary diagnoses, and fears and doubts about whether life will better for you. Chances are, you’re ALREADY getting better, and in this video I teach you the signs that your healing may be well underway. Watch this and soak up validation and encouragement for all the hard work YOU do to transform your life after trauma. Te...

Nothing ruins new love like an agenda. If you grew up with trauma, you may end up romantically attached to people before you've gotten to know them, but there's a better way to date! In this four-video compilation, I share four of my most popular videos for people with CPTSD who want to change trauma-driven dating patterns and find real love at last. How To Prepare For a Great Relationship: FREE P...

I get letters from people who claim to want to heal from limerence – which is an addiction-level romantic obsession with someone who doesn’t want to be with you. But sometimes, the letter itself feels toxic to me – like they want to tell me about their limerence and PRETEND they want help, when what they really want to is to tell anyone who will listen ALL ABOUT their obsession. Limerence has to b...