What if the silence after going no contact was louder than any fight you imagined?In this first part of a two-part episode episode, Sinead joins Helen to share the emotional aftermath of going no contact with her grandmother and the family system that enabled harm. Raised primarily by her grandparents, Sinead unpacks a childhood shaped by coercion, manipulation, and control. What she was told was her choice now reveals itself as something else entirely. Her grandmother enforced strict emotional rules, weaponised guilt, and used comparisons to keep her in line, while her grandfather remained passive in the face of it all.As Sinead reflects on the silence that followed her decision to step away, she speaks honestly about the identity crisis that surfaced in its wake. Without guilt as a guiding force, she feels untethered, unsure of who she is or what she’s allowed to feel. Together, she and Helen explore the legacy of emotional neglect, survival-based behaviours, and the fear of becoming like the very people she had to leave behind. This is a deeply validating conversation about letting go of inherited shame, rebuilding self-trust, and beginning to choose who you want to be.Content warning: This episode discusses abortion and emotional abuse.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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17. Why Were They Willing to Sacrifice Me?
What if the moment you chose yourself was the moment they turned against you?In this episode, Lola joins Helen to share her story of surviving an emotionally abusive marriage and the painful fallout that followed. Raised in a household where love came with conditions and silence was expected, Lola entered her first long-term relationship as a teenager. What followed was years of emotional entrapment, manipulation, and failed attempts to leave, all under the weight of cultural and family pressure.When Lola finally made the decision to walk away, she was met with humiliation, rejection, and a devastating lack of support. She describes the isolation that followed, including being gaslit, coerced into couples therapy, and eventually made homeless. Yet through it all, she held on to a quiet determination to survive and rebuild. Now living abroad with her independence reclaimed, Lola reflects on the emotional toll of reactive abuse, self-blame, and the fear of connection after betrayal.This is a powerful conversation about scapegoating, identity loss, and the slow work of self-trust. With clarity and courage, Lola shares what it means to heal on your own terms and find safety after being told you do not deserve it.Content warning: This episodes contains discussions of coercive control and emotional abuse.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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16. Does My Trauma Make Me A Bad Parent?
What if feeling your emotions meant risking everything that keeps you safe?In this episode, Stephen joins Helen to explore the collapse of his coping systems after becoming a father. As a neurodivergent parent living with autism and ADHD, Stephen reflects on how the unpredictability of raising a toddler has triggered early patterns of fear, control, and emotional self-protection. He speaks openly about growing up in an environment where feelings were unsafe, religion was weaponised, and perfection was the only path to acceptance.Together, they explore the dissociative gap between knowing and feeling, the shame of not being able to access emotions, and the fear that if he lets go, everything will fall apart. Helen gently invites Stephen to consider what it might cost to feel more deeply, and what it might make possible. This is a powerful conversation about emotional impermanence, parenting after trauma, and the slow work of learning to trust yourself when no one ever taught you how.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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1:34:59
15. Was I Too Sensitive?
What if the hardest part wasn’t what happened, but what it meant about who you were?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Louise speaks with Helen about the long-term impact of childhood emotional abuse. She shares how years of being controlled, shamed, and repeatedly told she was “too sensitive” left her doubting her instincts and shrinking herself to survive. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about the cost of being silenced, the confusion of loving people who hurt you, and the quiet strength it takes to begin telling the truth.Together, they explore the inherited roles that keep families functioning at your expense, the shame of not feeling “bad enough” to ask for help, and the slow rebuilding of self-worth after decades of internalised blame. Louise speaks with clarity and courage about becoming someone she trusts again, and choosing a life that no longer revolves around being easy to love.Content warning: This episode contains references to covert sexual abuse. Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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1:14:56
14. Am I Being Unreasonable?
What if love meant always being available, even when it cost you your future?In this episode, Christine speaks with Helen about growing up with a mother who expected complete emotional and practical availability. She shares how her life was shaped around her mother’s needs, including being asked not to get a job, not to go to university, even to plan her days around minding the dog. Christine reflects on how these constant, unreasonable demands blurred the line between love and control.Together, they explore the guilt of saying no, the pressure to stay small and agreeable, and the work of reclaiming autonomy after years of self-abandonment. Christine speaks with honesty and insight about learning to disappoint others in order to protect herself, and the slow process of becoming someone who lives by choice, not obligation.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
Each week Helen invites a guest to explore a problem they’re facing and works through it with them; peeling back the layers to understand what’s happening and offering ways to move forward and make changes to resolve the issue.
Whether it’s coping with narcissistic parents; going no contact; parenting ADHD or Autistic children; parenting after trauma; or their own ADHD or Autism; Helen helps the listener untangle the parts that keeps them stuck.
To access Helen’s community focused on healing, learning and support, visit https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/
Ireland