166 The Many Faces of Trauma | The Wound in the Bond: Attachment & Relational Trauma Artwork

How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

You can't go through life without experiencing loss and trauma the question is how do we deal and live with the grief and pain? Join Nathalie Himmelrich, grief expert and author, talking to people who have experienced grief and trauma first-hand. If you want to be inspired by others who traveled through their grief and trauma, found that healing is possible, and came out the other end knowing they can survive and thrive in life after loss. For more info: www.nathaliehimmelrich.com

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How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

166 The Many Faces of Trauma | The Wound in the Bond: Attachment & Relational Trauma

January 31, 2026 • Nathalie Himmelrich • Season 16 • Episode 166

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Attachment and relational trauma can be hard to name because it often doesn’t come from one dramatic event—it forms through patterns over time: inconsistency, emotional absence, unpredictable caregiving, chronic criticism, or rupture without repair. In this episode, we explore attachment as nervous-system education through relationship, and why closeness can become a trigger for protection (anxiety, control, people-pleasing, withdrawal, shutdown). You’ll learn a simple polyvagal-informed lens for understanding relational responses, plus practical starting points for repair and regulation. We close with a short grounding practice designed to support boundaries while staying connected.

In this episode, you’ll learn

What attachment is (beyond “neediness”) and why it’s biological as well as psychological
How rupture and repair shape nervous-system safety
What relational trauma is and how it forms over time
Why closeness can trigger fight/flight or shutdown (polyvagal-informed, plain language)
Common relational patterns (non-diagnostic): fawning, withdrawal, over-apologising, control, fear of abandonment
What helps: naming states, repair language, predictability, and safe connection
A gentle grounding practice that supports boundaries and connection

Check the website for the free resources offered for both those affected by trauma and those supporting them.

What’s next: Developmental Trauma: A Brief Map (Building on Earlier Episodes)

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