Dream Brave

Wai Jia Tam
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement

Dream Brave with Wai Jia, as she addresses the self-doubt and fear we all have to unlock the audacious faith we need to live out our God-given dreams, big or small. More encouragement on Instagram @drwaijiatam and YouTube @Kitedreams. Purchase Wai Jia's latest book Dream Brave, available where books are sold.

  1. 6 days ago

    Rewiring Your Brain Back to Health: A Therapist's Neuroplasticity Journey (with Alyssa DiLeo)

    What if the symptoms you've been told are "incurable" are actually your brain stuck in a learned danger pattern? Alyssa DiLeo shares how she went from being bedbound, diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and IBS, to rebuilding her life through neuroplasticity and nervous system regulation. This conversation dives into the deep connection between faith, healing, and the brain-body relationship, making this especially powerful for anyone who has felt dismissed by medicine, trapped by chronic symptoms, or unsure whether change is still possible. Alyssa breaks down the exact mindset shift that changed everything: understanding that the brain can wire illness as well as healing. She explains why chronic stress, emotional unsafe environments, and repeated fear can reinforce pain and fatigue—and how those same pathways can be retrained through repetition, visualization, and slow exposure. Wai-Jia also shares her own lived experience of brain-body symptoms in unsafe environments, adding a deeply relatable layer to the conversation. Together, they unpack how fear, faith, and repetition shape the nervous system—and why hope is possible when the brain is capable of change. If you've ever wondered whether your body can recover, whether your environment has been teaching your nervous system to stay braced, or whether a new path is available, this episode offers both a framework and real-world proof. Essential listening for anyone navigating chronic illness, stress-related symptoms, or the journey of healing with faith.

  2. 19 Oct

    Heal Your Inner Child through Your Inner Hero (with Ron Yap)

    Ever felt triggered without knowing why? Feel like your reaction is bigger than the incident and you're not sure why you're melting down? Frustrated you keep getting pulled into the same patterns and dysfunctional relationships? When I first came across Ron Yap's work on healing our Inner Child on social media, I knew I had to have him on the podcast…so I invited him from Tanzania, only to be pleasantly surprised...that he's Singaporean! 🇸🇬 This conversation was so good, I wish we were chatting over kopi and kaya toast instead. In this episode, we talk about: why small triggers can feel so big  what our inner child wounds are telling us how shame and guilt keep us stuck why familiar relationships do not mean they're safe how to gently approach the topic of su*cidal thoughts and how to access your inner hero—the future version of you who has faced it all and is still thriving If you've ever felt like you're overreacting, or repeating patterns you don't understand—this one's for you.  ⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode includes mentions of su*cide. Please listen with care and reach out for support if needed. Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and inspirational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Dr. Wai-Jia Tam is a medical doctor and complex trauma survivor, but not a licensed therapist or mental health provider. Please seek qualified professional support for your specific situation where needed. Episodes may include sensitive topics such as trauma, abuse, suicide, grief, or spiritual harm. Please listen gently and at your own pace. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.

  3. 6 Oct

    The Place Between Our Pains (with K.J. Ramsey)

    Just seconds into our conversation, tears arrived. In the darkest season of my life, K.J.'s writing was a lifeline. Our parallel crises in health and faith helped me feel seen — when my body was in pain and my faith felt fragile. K.J. is a trauma-informed therapist, a Penguin-published author of four books, and someone who lives with seven chronic illnesses. Her wisdom is hard-won, forged through suffering rather than theory. With her untamed and courageous writing, she refuses to censor pain into neat church formulas. Instead, she invites us to stay with suffering long enough for tenderness — and true joy — to emerge. Her newest book, The Place Between Our Pains, was meant to be an exploration of joy — until her life nearly ended. What followed was medical trauma, parts of her body literally dying from the very treatments that kept her alive, and a reckoning that tested everything she believed about faith, suffering, and hope. In this episode, we get a little nerdy about mushrooms — not for fun, but for the spiritual wisdom they offer about decay, nourishment, and why nothing is wasted. We talk about: living with chronic illness, medical trauma, and religious harm faith that changes when pain doesn't resolve why bypassing pain also bypasses the cross foraging through our past to rediscover joy small glimmers that sustain us when hope feels too big prayer when you've lost the words If you're in the place between your pains, this conversation is for you.

  4. 23 Sept

    Find Your Anchor: Befriending Your Nervous System (with Deb Dana)

    I thought I was strong because I could push through anything.   Until my body said, "Not anymore."   Two years ago, I moved to Tanzania for humanitarian work…but instead of peace, I found myself stuck in constant hypervigilance. Dogs barking for hours. Armed robberies outside our door. Even being groped in the place I lived.   I was falling apart. Spiritually. Physically. Emotionally. No amount of "just pray about it" or "be strong" helped. I couldn't willpower my way out of survival mode.   Then my therapist handed me a book—Anchored by Deb Dana. For the first time, I understood what my nervous system was trying to say. It wasn't broken. It was protecting me.   That book taught me that healing isn't just "mind over matter." It's body first. It's noticing the shift from fight or flight to stillness. It's anchoring yourself in compassion, not shame. And it changed everything.   This week on the Tender & Wild podcast, I'm honored to interview Deb Dana, the author and clinician behind the life-changing work of Polyvagal Theory. She is undoubtedly one of the most influential voices in the world of trauma recovery.   Known globally for her work in translating polyvagal theory into practical tools for healing, she has authored many groundbreaking books, including Anchored and Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection.    In this episode, we talk about: What nervous system regulation is and why it's crucial to healing How to start regulating your nervous system Why listening to your body isn't weakness, but strength If you've ever wondered why you can't willpower yourself out of stressful circumstances, and want to find your way back to wholeness, this episode is for you.   You can explore more of Deb's work at her website: www.rhythmofregulation.com.

  5. 10 Sept

    Trauma Myths We Need to Stop Believing (with Dr. Aimie Apigian)

    This episode exists because a listener reached out and recommended Dr. Aimie Apigian's work — and I'm so glad they did. Dr. Aimie is a double board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine, with Master's degrees in Biochemistry and Public Health, and specialised training in Functional and Integrative Medicine. She is the founder of the Mind-Body-Biology Institute, where she trains practitioners worldwide using her Biology of Trauma® framework. Her bestselling book, The Biology of Trauma, won 9 awards within its first two months of publication and is endorsed by Dr. Gabor Maté, who also wrote the foreword. What moved me most was her personal story — becoming a foster and adoptive mother while still in medical school, while navigating her own health crisis. That lived experience catalysed her groundbreaking work on how trauma is held not just in the mind, but in the body and biology. In this episode, we discuss: Why trauma is biological, not just psychological  Stress vs trauma responses in the nervous system  Freeze, stuckness, and chronic illness  Why talk therapy alone often isn't enough  Adrenaline, safety, and micro-steps toward healing The 3 levels needed for true healing: mind, body, biology  While our frameworks may differ — Dr. Aimie shares from trauma physiology and embodied healing rooted in medicine rather than a specific faith tradition — her insights have helped many people of faith better understand their healing journeys. As always, listeners are encouraged to take what is helpful, stay rooted in God's voice, and allow healing to unfold with both wisdom and agency.

  6. 25 Aug

    Truths About Trauma No One Told You (with Anya Charnaud)

    Have you ever wondered, "Was what I went through really trauma?" Or have you felt ashamed that therapy means your faith is weak? For years, I told myself what I went through wasn't bad enough to matter. Not war. Not abuse. Not the kind of "big T trauma" you read about. But then my body broke down—chronic pain, panic, tears that wouldn't stop. It was only when I began to understand what trauma really is—not the size of the event, but the wound left inside—that healing finally began. In this new episode of Tender & Wild, I sit down with psychotherapist Anya Charnaud, who brings over two decades of experience in the NHS and private practice, to unpack: What trauma really is (and isn't) Why Russian nesting dolls explain our inner child and reactions The "fishing net" analogy for triggers Why complex trauma is like a car alarm that won't stop blaring How faith and science can walk together in recovery You are not alone. You are not too much. And you are not beyond healing.

  7. 3 Aug

    What Prayer Does to Your Brain (with Jo Hargreaves)

    Have you ever wondered: "Is therapy biblical?" "Is breathwork new age?" "Why do I still spiral even when I pray?" These were honestly questions I wrestled with deeply too. And the more I've learned about trauma, the nervous system and neuroplasticity over the past two years… the more in awe I've become of Scripture. One of the people I've most loved learning from in this space is Jo Hargreaves—because she is one of those rare people who carries both deep biblical wisdom AND real neuroscientific and therapeutic depth with remarkable nuance and humility. Jo is both a pastor and psychotherapist, and honestly, this conversation felt like such a gift to me personally. Together, we explore: how prayer changes our brains and nervous systems the neuroscience behind renewing your mind if breathwork is actually "new age" practical tools to regulate spiraling thoughts and the difference between toxic positivity and biblical hope For those of us trying to reconcile our faith with neuroscientific and nervous system regulatory tools, I hope it encourages you as much as it encouraged me.

  8. 14 Jul

    Permission to Hurt: Healing Without Losing Your Faith (with Pastor Benny Ho)

    Have you ever been in pain and someone tried to explain it, rebuke it, cast it out, or pray it away… before simply sitting beside you? Have you ever been told you just needed more faith—when your body was exhausted? Or left a healing space feeling more ashamed than whole? I think in many church spaces—especially in Asian culture—there can be so many voices telling us what God is saying. What our pain means. What we should do next. And somewhere along the way, we quietly lose permission to simply hurt. But what if healing sometimes looks like: permission to lament. permission to wrestle. permission to seek therapy or medicine. permission to discern. permission to not be instantly fixed. In this week's episode of Tender & Wild, I sit down with Ps Benny Ho — founder of Faith Community Church in Perth, mentor to church leaders across Asia and beyond, and honestly, one of the safest leaders I know. He's the kind of person who carries authority without ego, wisdom without harshness, conviction without control, and somehow makes you feel safe enough to exhale. Together, we explore what trauma-informed, integrated faith can actually look like — and what happens when pain is mishandled in church spaces. We talk about: • Why trying to "fix" pain can deepen trauma • Why faith is not measured by visible outcomes • Prayer, therapy and medicine working together • Boundaries, agency and spiritual safety • Why some suffering cannot be quickly explained • What apology can look like in church leadership • And why you are allowed to walk away from unsafe systems If church hurt you in the middle of your pain—I really hope this conversation feels like a balm to your soul. You are not weak. You are not rebellious. You are not faithless because you are still hurting. And you do not have to choose between faith and safety. You deserve both.

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Dream Brave with Wai Jia, as she addresses the self-doubt and fear we all have to unlock the audacious faith we need to live out our God-given dreams, big or small. More encouragement on Instagram @drwaijiatam and YouTube @Kitedreams. Purchase Wai Jia's latest book Dream Brave, available where books are sold.

Information

  • Creator
    Wai Jia Tam
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Dream Brave

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