Healing From Abuse & Trauma - Victim 2 Victor

I found this podcast last week and have found it really interesting. I love Anu’s style of presenting too as it’s warm and friendly, and she obviously understands what trauma survivors are going through. Thanks. I’ll keep listening :-)

After listening to Lyn Barrett’s interview I respectfully disagree with lxlvi’s review. Years ago, a prior therapist, would constantly “mmm”, uh-huh”, and “yes” while I was speaking. Clearly it was to display active engagement, which I found helpful and reassuring, as it was evident my therapist was showing interest and support. Personally, I believe it’s wildly unfair to assert the host was unable to comprehend the gravity of the topic at hand. To me that discourteous assumption is what qualifies as patronising and condescending. I can’t help but wonder the manner in which Anu should have welcomed her guest, that would have met with your approval. Taking a somber tone in that moment would serve only to set the tone for the guest, whereas a warm introduction allows the guest to dictate their preferred style of discussion. Survivors such as myself, and I’m guessing Ms. Verma, sometimes feel the need to protect ourselves from painful memories by taking a lighter tone. In short, it’s her right to communicate in any way she deems fit. Expressing your concern to Anu directly would have been a productive and mature way to open a respectful dialogue. The method you choose to voice them comes across as a desire to excoriate rather than communicate. I hope you consider this approach as and act of courage on your part and consideration for the person with whom you take issue. We all know what is said about assumptions and, frankly, it’s not a good look.

Lots of information in no time – just what I was looking for! I can highly recommend the podcast as I found each episode valuable and full of usefull tips.

I was so excited when I found the episode with Lyn Barrett on DID and reclaiming life from traumatic memory but I couldn’t even get halfway through the episode because Anu’s constant ”mmm”ing while Lyn was speaking drove me up the wall. Now, I understand that saying “mmm” or “uh-huh” or “yeah” while listening to someone else speak is often used as a way to show attentiveness to and approval of what the other person is saying BUT the way Anu did this (ie. the frequency and timing) actually communicated something else entirely: At times it came across as patronising, other times it seemed like she wasn’t really listening at all. Lyn was discussing serious topics and delicate issues from her own personal life but Anu seemed incapable of taking in the weight of the conversation and it was very off putting. Add this to her very odd tone of voice while introducing Lyn at the start of the episode —making it sound like being diagnosed with DID was something exciting, like winning the lottery, rather than life altering and possibly traumatic in itself— and I’m just flabbergasted.