Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Do you believe you're broken? Or not good enough? These are things that we all struggle with. So how do we change our beliefs? How does trauma shape those beliefs? Listen in as Sara goes deep on the spiritual epiphanies that have improved her life. Here's a bit about Sara from her website: I’m an adoptee. I’m a mother (to two teen daughters). And I’m a writer (of books and essays). I am also a rea...

Who would we be without that voice in our head that tells us there's something wrong with us? That we're substandard? That our birth mother rejected us? That we'll never heal because we're forever stuck with our trauma? Listen in as I suggest answers to some of our most fundamental questions. Connect with me on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/simonjbenn Guests and the host are not (unless ment...

Have you felt uncomfortable in your own skin? Uncertain about who you are? Sensed something missing? Eric's anxiety about people sometimes compelled him away and he didn't know why. He felt incomplete. Listen in as he shares the most important things he's learned on the journey to feeling whole and healed. Eric’s life experiences inspired him to give back and to serve others. In 2005 while climbin...

How do we heal from a poor adoption? Listen in as Gaynor shares some of her most important lessons in releasing trauma by being raised by a narcissistic adoptive mother. Here's a bit about Gaynor and her book. Gaynor Cherieann lives in Northamptonshire. She is married has four grown up children and four grandchildren. She was born in a church mother and baby home and adopted at six weeks old. She...

Are you considering a search for your biological family? Or in the middle of a search and struggling. Listen in as Colin shares what he learned through a 28 year search including how to ride the emotional rollercoaster of search and more. Here's a bit about Colin's book: “I doubt that another human being will tread this same unconventional path.” This is an intimate and emotive account of an adult...

Do you sometimes find identity confusing? Transracial and transnational adoption adds another layer to identity. Listen as Mariela shares her insights on identity, trauma, gratitude and more. We strip back the layers of identity to the universal heart. We both loved this conversation and hope you do too. Here's more about Mariela and her book. Adopted as an infant from Colombia and raised in the U...

What gets in the way of you thriving? For many of us, it's been anger and resentment. What about you? Listen in as transracial adoptee and therapist Jaime shares the antidote to anger. Here's a  bit about Jaime from her website. My name is Jaime Weatherholt (she/her/hers) and I am excited to work with you. I enjoy working with adults who experience anxiety, depression, and mood disorders. I will s...

Are you a transracial/transnational adoptee with a complex relationship to your birth country/culture? Listen in as Zhen shares what she's learned navigating that complexity. Highly empowering. Zhen E Rammelsberg is a Korean American adoptee and new playwright and has had her Heuer Play Canst Thou Hearest Thee Now produced and performed in multiple states. She has traveled to a few of these states...

Do you fear rejection? Many of us are on high alert scanning what other people do and say for signs of potential rejection. We're desperate to avoid big feelings like rejection. And yet we have to feel to heal. Listen in as adoptee and mental health therapist Lisa shares her learnings about finding herself by feeling the big feelings. Here's more about Lisa from her website. Education  · B.S. in A...

Do you ever feel uncomfortable? AJ grew up in a very toxic environment that left her grieving the loss of what her life might have looked like if she hadn't been adopted. She was very uncomfortable at home and outside was rarely better. She captured her experience in a poem "Alone in the crowd" which she reads to us. Listen in as she shares how she eventually got to feel comfortable in her own ski...

Are you stuck with beliefs that stop you from loving you? That make you feel less than? Beliefs that keep you small? Listen in as Terri shares her insights on becoming unstuck from these beliefs and setting her free to realise her potential. Here's more about Terri from her Amazon profile Terri always knew she was adopted, but it was never a topic of conversation, ever. She was in her forties when...

Do you suspect your beliefs may be holding you back? Are you sure that you're getting in your own way? Listen in as Jean shares how our beliefs form, how we get wise to them and, most importantly, how we bust them.  An incredibly thought provoking episode. Here's a bit about Jean from her website: Jean Provance graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in visual arts and psychology and then moved forwa...

Are looking for love from others because you don't love yourself? Shame can drive us to do that. And in some cases we take that to extremes. Yi’s love addiction spiralled until she became acutely aware of it and joined a 12 Step programme to overcome it. Listen in to see how loveable you are. Woo Ae Yi, formerly Ame Ai, is a screenwriter, playwright, author, poet, lyricist, and unofficial anthropo...

Our relationships are fundamental to our happiness. And attachments are fundamental to our relationships. So how can we have healthier attachments? And avoid toxic attachments? Adoptee and mental health counselor Emelia shares what she's learned personally and professionally. Emelia Thygesen is a licensed Mental Health Counselor. She received her Masters degree in community mental health at Canisi...

Are you frustrated on your healing journey? How can you heal faster? Listen with big ears as Isaac goes deep to share his ongoing insights on healing to speed you along your healing journey.  A very vulnerable, inspirational episode. Isaac Etter is a social entrepreneur. Isaac was transracially adopted at the age of two.  He is the founder of  Identity a startup focused on using technology to help...

Many of us feel there's something missing from us. Perhaps a hole only our birth mother can fill. Or something else that will make us whole. We've felt this so long we ache for completeness. So what do we do? Where do we look? How will we go from having a hole to feeling whole? Listen in as adoptee and coach Candi answers some of our most existential questions. Here's a link to the image Candi men...

Does rejection haunt you? Feeling you were rejected as an infant is one thing. Being rejected as an adult takes rejection to a whole new level and can lead us adoptees to very dark places. That's why some of us shy away from search and reunion. But what if we can heal from rejection as an adult? How does that healing happen? Listen in as Reenie takes a deep dive into healing after reunion breaks d...

At some level, often unconscious, many of us believe that a good reunion will make us whole again. But that reunion might not even happen. And even if it does, we haven't got a clue how well it will go.  So where's the hope given all the unknowns? How best should we navigate the process? Adoptee Heather shares her what she's learned from her own reunion and coaching fellow adoptees on their own jo...

Trauma can keep us mired. Or help us grow. So how do we make sure it helps us grow? So we harness it to live our best lives? Listen in as Maya dives deep on her hard won insights on going beyond the pain. Maya Fleischmann is a freelance writer and the author of Finding Ching Ha and If You Give a Mum a Minute . Her book reviews are published in book industry trade journals, such as Publishers Weekl...

Ruptured attachment with our birth mothers often weakens our sense of self. So what do we do? Jo shares her top insights as a psychotherapist who's worked with 14,000 clients. Here's a bit about Jo from her website: I have been a practicing psychotherapist for thirty years with a focus on mental health and wellbeing and supporting adoptive families and adults affected by adoption.   I am a Senior...

Many of us share the belief that there's something wrong with us. What would happen if we were to focus on what's right with us? Wouldn't that help us heal, grow and thrive? Yes! Because what we focus on gets bigger - like magnifying glasses enlarge objects. Listen in as transracial adoptee and counsellor Lynn goes deep on seeing ourselves differently. Here's more about Lynn from her website: "I u...

Do you want to grow? Listen in as transracial adoptees Cosette and Zoe share what helped - and continues to help them - grow so they can overcome adversity and challenges. Here's more about today's guests from their website: My name is Cosette Eisenhauer. I am a 21-year-old transracial adoptee from Guangdong, China. I am going into my senior year at the University of Texas in Arlington. I am study...

Do you long to belong? To feel loved and loveable? Late discovery adoptee Nancy didn't find out she was adopted until she was 37. She was devastated. She was haunted by a feeling of loss. And yet there was a part of her that she never lost. A part where she felt she belonged, loved and loveable. Listen in and she takes you to that healing place. Deep and profound. Touching and powerful. Find out m...

How can you get a stronger sense of your own identity? Whether it's a full blown identity crisis or a vague lack of clarity on who we are, most of us struggle to see who we are at some stage of our lives. Transracial adoptees are, unsurprisingly, particularly conflicted. Listen in as Shelley shares how she's developed a stronger sense of self. Let her insights guide you to clarity. Here's a link t...

How do we become more than our trauma? Through the epiphanies that help us see, understand and heal. Adoptee and psychotherapist Cristina goes deep on what she's learned to help you heal too. Here's more about Cristina from her website: I am a licensed clinical social worker with over ten years of experience in the field of mental health.  I have worked with various populations including children,...