Pleun Elsa Andriessen is a graduate of the 2022 Menstrual Cycle Coaching and Facilitation Professional Training. She joins us today to speak with me about her vast professional work experience as a facilitator, her journey with Bloody Practical, and all the things that make a skilled facilitator and educator. Join us for this engaging chat!

Today I chat with you about navigating disappointment and how when we learn to befriend it, it can be easier to be with. Often we avoid taking risks if life in order to protect ourselves from disappointment. Here I talk you through some mindset tips to get better at being with disappointment so that you can go after the things you want in your life.

Do you take time to celebrate yourself? The small wins? The big wins? The small steps towards progress in something? In this episode I reflect on what celebrating ourselves can look like and why it's so important to do.

In this episode I chat about something that is not talked about much in the wellness and trauma space – the healthy fight/flight response. There is so much focus on calming, soothing, and down-regulating the nervous system, but it's also really important to have safe access to our healthy fight/flight energy.

In this episode, I share with you my own personal relationship with driving and why I have had my challenges with it as a result of trauma. I also discuss how there seems to be a lot more aggression in society since the pandemic, and how to mind ourselves when we are navigating systems and cultural elements of life we cannot avoid e.g. driving.

I've officially completed one whole year of the From Pain To Power Podcast! In this episode on my reflections from the creative year it's been.

In this episode as part of the Cyclical Business Series, we explore the common barrier to creativity and business which is "looking for approval" from family or friends. I explain to you exactly why it happens and how we can free ourselves from this pressure so we can finally focus on what it is you are here to create!

In this episode I get to chat to naturopath and herbalist Siobhán Carroll who is based in Co. Clare, Ireland. Siobhan has a clinic treating her clients through naturopathy and herbs. We talked about all things healthy eating and herbs for hormonal health and period problems.

In this episode, we chat about what "regulation" means exactly when it comes to your nervous system, and how to have more of it in your body and emotional life. We also discuss trauma and polyvagal theory.

In this episode I go into more detail on the nervous system and the Polyvagal Theory. We chat about the fight/flight response, the freeze response, trauma, and regulating your nervous system when you feel stuck.

In this episode, I share a personal update from my life at the moment in relation to making difficult decisions. We reflect on our past difficult decisions, what decisions we might be facing today in the present, and why they are sometimes so important to make for our wellbeing.

I've decided to launch one episode a month on running a "cyclical business." Running a cyclical business aims to integrate the values of inclusion, self-care, feminism, menstrual cycle awareness, and anti-oppressive values into the ways we do business and marketing.

In this episode, I chat with you all about what role trauma plays in chronic pain. I explore different types of traumas, what happens in the body and how to start thinking about trauma healing work in your body. Learn about the fight/flight response and why trauma causes inflammation in the body.

In this episode, which is a follow-on from episode 43, I explore the mind-body connection when it comes to trauma. We chat about coming back into the body, what role the mind also plays, why our thoughts are still important alongside our feelings. I explain what happens, not just in the body on the somatic level, but also the types of thoughts we have when we are in a hijacked trauma response such as the fight/flight and freeze response.

In this episode we chat about what trauma is, how it impacts us, why it's important to be trauma-informed in the women's health space, how I work with it, trauma and the menstrual cycle, and more!

In this episode I share some personal reflections on my last week. I had my work featured in the mainstream media here in Ireland which also included a radio interview. I share about my experience, about getting nervous, and why it's important to move slowly out of your comfort zone.

In this episode, I chat with a former client of mine and graduate of the Menstrual Cycle Coaching and Facilitation Professional Training, Jennifer Van Uffelen.

In this episode I share a personal update with my journey with endometriosis as I approach the end of the year. This is relevant for anyone with any kind of chronic pain condition, trauma, or PMDD.

In this episode, we chat about what hidden loyalties are, how they play a role in our lives, and how we can uncover them?

In this episode, I had the pleasure of being joined by singer/songwriter and recording artist, Shannon Curtis, to speak about all things creativity, recovery, and personal power.