Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Ryan found out that he was adopted just before he turned 18. It rocked his world. And not in a good way! Listen in as Ryan shares what he's learned - and continues to learn - about himself, being positive and helping others.   Find out more at: https://www.booksie.com/646853-my-story Connect with Ryan at: https://www.facebook.com/peshy https://www.instagram.com/peshy37 Guests and the host are not...

Healing is a word that's bandied about a lot in adoptee circles. But what does it mean? How do we heal? Listen in as I run through David Hawkins' Map Of Consciousness from the perspective of us adoptees. It's an incredibly valuable tool for our healing journey. Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph. D.,is  an internationally renowned spiritual teacher, psychiatrist, physician, researcher, lecturer and de...

Simon Benn was adopted at 5 weeks old and told so young he doesn’t ever remember not knowing.  He didn't experience any conscious adoption trauma until 40 when he found out his childhood teddy bear was a gift from his birth mother.  This caused an eruption of anger, feeling rejected and unloved. That kickstarted a healing journey exploring trauma, my roots and who he is. He’s spent 16 years doing...

Have you spent a lot of your life trying to be free from trauma? I know I have! What if you could be free with trauma? Poetry can take where we've never been before. Listen as adoptee and poet Sarah shares a couple of her poems and we discuss peace, trauma and healing. Sarah Audsley is the author of Landlock X (Texas Review Press, 2023). A Korean American adoptee, a graduate of the MFA Program for...

Boom! Many of us adoptees come out of the fog with a painful explosion. Adoptee and Developmental Psychologist Sharon goes deep on understanding repressed feelings, spiritual experience and much more as we explore her healing journey to help us progress along ours. Here's more about Sharon from her website: I am a graduate of Harvard University, where I completed my Doctorate in Education in human...

Liz's nightmares used to be so vividly terrifying that they took her all day or to get over. And depression and anxiety marred her waking hours. We go deep exploring the multiple layers of trauma, separating from it to heal. Listen in with big ears to Liz's inspirational story of transformational change. Connect with her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-debetta-ph-d-7b4ba953 https://www.facebook.c...

Catie's watershed moment came when shame shifted for her. Listen in as we go deep on shifting shame through tenacity and curiosity - being mindfluid rather than being stuck in a mindset. This episode is one of the most laser focused conversations we've ever had on the show. That focus makes it incredibly powerful. I hope you love listening to the conversation as much Catie and I loved having it. H...

With our life story missing chapter 1, it's no wonder identity can be tricky or a complete mystery for us adoptees. How can we feel good enough if we don't know who we are? Listen in as Jeff and I explore identity beyond shame, guilt and trauma. Jeff was adopted at birth. Raised in the Bay Area by two wonderfully loving parents, Jeff still felt a pull to know and uncover the mystery of his origin....

We adoptees often believe there is something wrong with us. This is known as pathologising ourselves. Adoptee Joyce has been working in the adoption world for 55 years. Listen in as Joyce shares what she's learned about busting the belief that there is something wrong with us. Dr. Pavao has done extensive training, both nationally and internationally.  She is a lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Me...

Late Discovery Adoptee Dr Syb got tired of being mad. At times she felt she didn't want to be here - in this place or lifetime. So what did she do? Listen in as we go deep into healing. Profound. Empowering. Just like we love these conversations. Dr. Syb is an educator by birth and a journalist by choice. She is a Vanderbilt educated, Harvard trained, two-time Emmy-award winning journalist. She is...

Here's the links I mention towards the end of the interview https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/self-love-for-adoptees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_AaeYGXVYQ Growing up, Black transracial adoptee Rebeccah Carlson hated the colour of her skin. She hated her hair and her lips. She would dress in the dark to avoid looking at herself. So how did she go from this to self acceptance?...

 So many of our feelings come from subconscious thoughts. That's a challenge because we can't deal with what we aren't aware of. Listen in as we explore adoption trauma and awareness. Get insights from people in the constellation that don't normally feature on the show. Birth mom Ashley Vite and daughter of an adoptee Kayla Vite are life partners and host the Adoption is podcast... "We are here to...

Working with a therapist involves making ourselves vulnerable. Putting ourselves in their hands. Accepting their authority. Emma's therapist abused her trust. Time and time again Emma ignored red flags as her intuition warned her off her therapist. Listen in as we explore this and how you can become aware of the red flags you've seen. Other people can't know us like we can know ourselves. There ar...

Our motivation away from pain is far stronger than our motivation toward pleasure. That's why painkillers outsell vitamins. But what if we are - completely innocently and inadvertently - prolonging emotional pain? Listen in as Vin and I unpack this to relieve shame, insecurity and all those painful feelings we don't want. Vin runs a Facebook group where adoptees and adopters can learn from one ano...

We've been through tough stuff so how do we adoptees grow? How do we learn from our mistakes? Listen in as Andres shares some of his learnings from both adoption and being diagnosed bi-polar. We explore who we are beyond our story, labels and psychology. Here's a bit about Andres  "My name is Andres, and as an adoptee, I created The Adoption Door to help people understand the experience a little b...

Like many of us, Daryn was underprepared for the emotional upheaval of reunion. Listen in as he shares learnings from reuniting with his birth mother and some of the different activities he's done to heal. We go deep on understanding who are, and who we are not. This empowers us to step off the treadmill of seeking approval from others. Here's a bit about Daryn from his website: Hello! My name is ...

So many of us adoptees feel so many painful feelings. Suppressing them leads to explosions later on. Numbing them through alcohol and drugs often leads to more pain. Fighting them never leads to peace. So what does? Listen as transracial adoptee Abby sheds her light on finding peace. Abby was adopted from Bogotá at the age of two months and grew up in a small suburb of New York City. She received...

There's pain and beauty in adoption. Donna like she's been healing her whole life. But coming out of the fog was a shock to her system. Listen in as she shares her insights on an expanding awareness of her self. That's where the most profound shifts are happening that are powering on to a better life. https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-joseph-6a277a6/ https://www.facebook.com/donna.joseph123 https:...

How do we heal is one of those inevitable questions that come up after we come out of the fog. Listen in as Cindy and I explore practical steps to heal and principles to help us along that journey. The distinction between healing physical v emotional wounds is particularly beneficial. Here's a bit about Cindy from her website: “I was adopted at 3 months and have always known. I have always had the...

We adoptees have so many questions! And international adoptions often throw up so many more especially when records are so sadly lacking or non-existent. Listen in as Yael shares what she learned handling ambiguity, letting go of overthinking and much more as we get to the heart of reunion decades after an international adoption. Here's  bit from from Yael's website: There comes a time in every ad...

Fighting abandonment, grief and loss is for many of us, a deeply ingrained habit. Pamela's 27 year relationship with alcohol was a big part of her fight. She shares some of her life changing insights on the road to sobriety and finding happiness within. Pamela Karanova, an adult adoptee, living in Lexington, Kentucky, was born in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1974. Although Pamela’s roots are scattered all o...

VL felt, as so many of us adoptees do, like an outsider. She was also adopted into abuse. Listen in as she shares what's helped move past this to forgiveness and letting guilt go. V.L. Brunskill is the award-winning author of the Savannah novel Waving Backwards  and the forthcoming memoir The Killing Closet .  She is also a blogger at adoptionfind where she shares lessons learned from her (pre-int...

Transracial adoptee Gina grew up in a very white part of the USA. Racism was part of her daily life. Listen is she shares her insights into getting clear about who she is, bravery and confidence.  Here's a bit about Gina and the background to her interview: The child welfare system can be a labyrinth for foster children and adoptees - a maze built around sometimes inadequate research, poor informa...

Doug almost died when he was 5. When he found out he was adopted at 6 he took that in his stride. What on earth do these two things have to do with one another? What on earth can we learn from this to help us be happier? Listen in with big ears. This is a BIG episode! Here's a bit about Doug from Amazon "I lost my adoptive mother, and my adoptive father has since remarried. However, I always felt...

Identity is tricky - to say the least - for many of us adoptees. For late discovery adoptees it can be a complete nightmare. LDA Fred's identity was swept away. So how did he find out who he really is? Listen as Fred shares his learning curve and see how that could help you along yours. There are lessons aplenty for all of us - not just LDAs. Here's a bit about Fred from his website. Fred Nicora h...