Loading...
Loading...
Please wait
Functional healing isn't about bouncing back, it's about becoming more whole. In this episode of Trauma Rewired, Elisabeth Kristof and Jennifer Wallace are joined by somatic expert Veronica Rottman, founder of Soma School, to explore what happens when post-traumatic growth deepens into post-traumatic wisdom.
Together, they unpack how healing often involves grief, identity shifts, and surrender, not just resilience and strength. You'll hear how emotions are constructed in the body, why dissociation and fawning are intelligent survival responses, and how safety is rebuilt through slow, titrated somatic experiences. We discuss how cultural narratives about "getting stronger" can overlook the body's need for modulation, rest, and relational repair.
You'll learn how capacity building is nonlinear, why co-regulation and oxytocin-based safety cues matter, and how tending to wounds rather than fixing them can transform pain into embodied wisdom.
Join us for a workshop, taking a deeper dive into Hormones, Stress and the Female Nervous System, combining applied neuroscience and somatics to support female cycles: https://neurosomaticintelligence.com/female-nervous-system-workshop/
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and framing: growth vs. wisdom
05:30 Emotions as predictions and survival patterning
14:00 Dissociation, boundaries, and identity shifts
22:30 Somatic titration, oxytocin, and co-regulation practices
31:00 Capacity, achievement, and health trade-offs
39:30 Reframing fawn and freeze as intelligent responses
47:00 Cyclical needs, rest, and redefining growth
54:00 Integration, tending, and systemic context
59:00 Takeaways and next steps
Key Takeaways:
Post-traumatic wisdom includes grief, ambiguity, and letting identities evolve, not only resilience.
Emotions are constructed from interoception and predictions; safety cues can update those predictions.
Small, consistent somatic doses help the system perceive more safety without overwhelm.
Fawn and freeze are adaptive; meeting them with curiosity reduces shame and supports change.
Capacity building is relational; co-regulation and oxytocin-supportive practices can expand what feels possible.
Resources Mentioned:
Soma School – founded by Veronica Rottman
The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron (via Alanis Morissette interview)
Peter Levine on Somatic Titration and Safety
Dr. Stephen Porges and the Polyvagal Perspective
Lisa Feldman Barrett – Theory of constructed emotion
Vincent Felitti – The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Study
Raja Selvam – Integral Somatic Psychology
Call to Action:
If this episode offered you a new perspective on healing—or gave language to something you've felt but couldn't name—share it with someone who needs to hear it. And don't forget to subscribe on your favorite audio platform or tap the bell on YouTube so you never miss an episode.