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Lynanne

Do you ever think that you’re running your life on autopilot? Well, that was me. For over 40 years, I was dealing with a past childhood trauma that hadn’t been fully addressed. Even though I had gone to therapy and I’ve done different methods of healing, there was something missing, and I felt incomplete. And then a couple of years ago, I realized what the answer was. My name is Lynn Anne, and I’m here to help you advance your healing to a brand new level where you can fully embrace the femininity and beautiful, sexy mama who you are. And I want to share that with you through this podcast. Myself and my guests are going to inspire you with our stories of our healing and how we have truly triumphed after trauma.

Hey, everyone. I am back with Karen Austen. Hey, Karen.

Karen

Hey, Lynn.

Lynanne

Yay. Okay, so we had so much to talk about, and I’m so grateful that she’s back. We get to hear her lovely accent again. And from what I have seen on social media, are you living on a boat, is that right?

Karen

No, I’m not living on a boat. However, if I took the video outside or the audio outside, you could hear the water lapping against the boat. So I live on a little island in the river near the ocean in a subtropical paradise of Australia.

Lynanne

Oh, my goodness. Okay. Well, listeners, I know you’re jealous, but I hope you’re not too jealous when you find out that she has completely healed from all of her trauma and has no triggers. She can talk about her trauma. She is a trainer and helps other people to fully release and live very abundant lives. And so we’re going to continue our conversation because Karen is very passionate about the nervous system. We will talk about that today. I want to encourage you to go back to the other episode where she got into more depth about her backstory, her childhood. She’ll touch on it a little bit today. And then we’re just going to talk more about the nervous system because I think that’s a very crucial part that’s not talked enough about. So, Karen, tell us just real briefly what your life was like and why you’re so passionate about the nervous system.

Karen

It took me a long time to get to the nervous system part of the healing, and it wasn’t until I got to that that everything opened up. But if we go right back to those early childhood moments where the prison cell was in the backyard and the police station was attached to the house, we as kids had to be better than good. So that was the context in which my sisters and I were to live our lives.

So our life, or my life particularly, I had to perform and I had to achieve. And that was how I was getting my self-esteem. Now, whether or not that was imposed, I can’t tell you it was internalized. Whatever the messages were going on in our household and our life, it was internalized. And I just had to perform. Now, we often had a lot of people coming to the house or we would be playing in the backyard and the prison cell would open and someone would walk out. It was quite the bizarre childhood when I think about it now.

Lynanne

So they weren’t contained.

Karen

They were contained, but every now and then someone would just want to sleep in there overnight. And so instead of walking a few miles to their home from the local hotel, they would walk and sleep in the cell and then just open the door the next morning.

Karen

So when you have that startle response, if you hear a loud noise, your body automatically looks around for danger. And we have this amazing autonomic nervous system. So we would be out there playing and then the door would clang open and someone would walk out because they didn’t want to walk all the way home after a night of drinking at the pub.

Karen

So we have these four categories of behaviors, and they are defined and informed by the nervous system. And it’s through the evolution of who we’ve been as a species over these hundreds of millions of years. The thing is, we still have this nervous system from this ancient nervous system. And it’s the thing that keeps us alive.

Lynanne

And can you explain that? Highly mobilized.

Karen

So it’s in the fight, flight, freeze. It’s in that mobilized response for protection and survival. Got it? Okay. So it’s in fight, flight, or freeze. And then if we break down so there are three highly refined survival mechanisms and we have to love the body for them because they’ve kept us alive.

Karen

If you are stuck in the fight aspect and you don’t need it, you would have a particular belief about the world I have to fight my way through. There would be specific words, thoughts, actions, behaviors, and body sensations that show that you’re in the fight part of the nervous system.

Karen

In those moments that we actually need to fight for our survival. It’s perfect. The challenge comes is when all of those behaviors continue on and yet we’re in a safe environment where we don’t need it. And so the nervous system is stuck in the fight when we don’t need it.

Lynanne

Okay, wow. And then for someone who as a child, they were always in fight, flight, or freeze, thank you. A lot of f’s there. When you’re in that either all of them or one or both or two of them, then that it’s very unhealthy.

Karen

It is because it colors your view of the world. So if you are stuck in the flight aspect and you don’t need it.

Lynanne

Anymore, also your physical. It’s taking a toll.

Karen

Physically, it’s everything. It’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. If you’re in flight mode and you don’t need to be. What do you think it is? It’s anxiety. How many people do you know that suffer from anxiety and think that’s normal? What it is is a nervous system that’s stuck in that anxiety mode, in that flight mode.

Lynanne

Got it? Okay.

Karen

And then if you consider freeze and the behaviors in our external world would be depression, you’re not motivated to get up, but you’re frozen in one spot.

Karen

I’m sorry, it makes me cry that there are so many people who think anxiety has to be a life sentence, who think fighting has to be a life sentence, who think depression has to be a life sentence. What they are are these incredible symptoms of a nervous system that hasn’t found its way back to its normal expansion and contraction.

Lynanne

Oh, yes. And I feel that just as humans, as a species, we don’t slow down enough either. We’re just taking action and moving, and even if we’re slowing down enough to sit and watch and binge-watch a series, it’s just a substitute.

Karen

It definitely is. We can distract ourselves with activity, with substances, with binge-watching. And it’s all because we can’t inhabit our body because there are things in there that we don’t want to feel. And yet if we can’t feel it, we can’t heal it.

And there’s a way to actually feel and be with the intensity that’s stuck in the cells with grace. It’s like we start to build awareness of our internal world at the same time that we’re building our awareness of the external world. It’s like we have to build it together so that we don’t get hijacked.

All it wants to do is leave. All it wants to do. The body has this incredible organizing principle towards health.

Lynanne

Yes.

Karen

So when you release the past from the body, and because all of those fight flight freeze responses are chemical communications from the brain that are stuck in the muscles. Right, because they’re stuck in the muscles, the body is so exquisite that it sends these messages into the muscle. So you can fight, so you can run, so you can freeze.

And if we don’t utilize all of that adrenaline, it stays in the muscles and changes for chemical composition. So when we release that, we have more of ourselves present and you can only create in the present moment.

Lynanne

Yes.

Karen

And so if we can’t be in that social engagement aspect of the nervous system, how can we connect? How can we have the conversations for our own work or dreams and visions and goals? How can we attract these people to come and work with us, work for us as clients? We just can’t.

Lynanne

Very powerful. Karen, thank you so very much. We have been filled with really incredible things. And one thing I’ve really been enjoying so many things about doing this podcast. One of the very top things I would say is I am hoping to provide hope. The word hope just keeps it’s in the back of my mind, and it’s driving me. And I hope that your message will give people hope that they can have a fully abundant life with everything they desire. And no more past, no more dwelling on it, no more memories, no more triggers, no more belittling themselves because of the past and just rising up. I thank you for all of your words.

Karen

Exactly. Rising up. Imagine if we touched the lives of 100,000 women who were living fully in their passion and, like, living and loving unleashed. Imagine that. Imagine the systems that would change in the family, in the community, in the world. It’s like if you have a huge amount of the population who are suppressed because they’re in their fight flight freeze mode and they’re not living their passion. And now that is unleashed. The legacy that we could create for a thriving planet is exponential.

Lynanne

Oh, yes. I mean, I don’t even think we can imagine. We don’t have the capacity to even imagine. But if we could get started, then I think we could eventually imagine it. But we have to get to that point. Well, thank you, Karen. Tell people how they can get a hold of you, because I’m certain you’ll have some people calling you or reaching out to you anyway.

Karen

Yeah. My website, Karen Austin, that is karenausten.com and I have a Facebook group, living and Lovingunleashed, and my Instagram is Ruby Rose 2810. Ruby rose 2810.

Final Farewell

Lynanne

Beautiful. Okay, yes. I love that. Okay, well, we’ve been honored. It’s been a privilege to hear from you, and thank you for all that you’re doing for the world.

Karen

Thank you, Lynn. Triumph after trauma. What a powerful rallying cry. It is possible. And thank you for creating such a format for people to have access to so many amazing people and their journeys and what’s possible and definitely hope.

Lynanne

Thank you.

Lynanne

I think it’s awesome that you’ve spent the time with us today. And my guests and I, we have been through a lot to heal our trauma and to get to where we are today. And I hope that you’ve been inspired. Please be sure to subscribe rate and review this podcast. Don’t forget to share it with other women who, you know, are looking for some more resources to help them along their healing journey. Also, go to our website, thesexymama.com, where you have an opportunity to book a call with me where we can talk together. I can assess where you are in your healing journey to see if there’s more that I can do for you. And we have a private Facebook group, which is an amazing resource for you, for women only. It’s called triumph after trauma. And I will catch you next time. Bye.”

I’ve learned that it’s crucial not to let my nervous system remain trapped in the survival and protection mode. Instead, I’ve come to appreciate my body’s natural reactions, especially when faced with the most challenging circumstances. It’s essential to recognize that now is the perfect moment to give my nervous system the much-needed respite it deserves.

I’ve also come to understand that there’s no permanent sentence for anxiety, depression, or overwhelming stress. Our bodies possess an innate ability to keep us alive, and it’s essential to show gratitude for how it responds in even the toughest situations. In my discussions, I emphasize the importance of releasing stored trauma and defusing our overactive nervous systems.

I’ve learned the value of regulating my nervous system when confronted with stress, rather than simply coasting through life as difficulties arise. Releasing the burden of past traumas has allowed me to rebuild and rejuvenate my body, creating a fresh start. It’s all about letting go.

By breaking free from the shackles of the damage my body had held onto, I’ve unlocked the potential to pursue my passions and live life to the fullest. As my Facebook group aptly states, it’s about unleashing the ability to live and love without restraint.

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