What happens when you've spent so many years being told not to trust yourself that you stop listening to your own inner knowing? For many adult children of dysfunctional families, this can become one of the lasting effects of growing up in an unpredictable environment. You learn to watch. You notice the tone of someone's voice. Their facial expression. The way they walk into the house. The tiniest shift in the energy of the room. Sometimes you become incredibly good at reading other people—but somewhere along the way, you may stop trusting yourself. In this episode of the Adult Child of Dysfunction Podcast, I'm joined by Mindy Jackson, a psychotherapist, Reiki master, and spiritual coach who integrates psychological, nervous-system, energetic, and spiritual perspectives into her work. Mindy's own story began very early. She describes having a near-death experience at five years old and growing up highly sensitive, with mystical and spiritual experiences she didn't yet have language to understand. She also grew up with adversity, unpredictability, and mental-health struggles within her family. That combination led us into a fascinating conversation: What's the difference between intuition and hypervigilance? Mindy describes learning as a child to scan her mother's microexpressions and tone of voice because she didn't know what to expect. She even remembers being able to tell what kind of day it might be simply by the way a key went into the front door. If you grew up in dysfunction, you may recognize that immediately. Your ability to “read a room” may have started because reading the room helped you stay safe. But does that mean everything you sense today is fear? Or can you learn to distinguish an old survival response from genuine inner knowing? That's where this conversation gets really interesting. Mindy and I explore trauma, hypervigilance, nervous-system regulation, intuition, spirituality, self-trust, boundaries, people-pleasing, generational patterns, energy work, and what it means to reconnect with parts of yourself you may have learned to dismiss. We talk about: How trauma can put the nervous system into fight, flight, freeze, or fawnWhy children from unpredictable homes become so good at reading peopleHypervigilance versus intuitionWhy some highly sensitive children learn to shut down their inner knowingPeople-pleasing and the fawn responseLearning to trust yourself after years of conditioningNear-death and out-of-body experiences from Mindy's personal perspectiveGenerational and ancestral patternsReiki, energy healing, and spiritualityThe divine feminineFear-based versus connection-based livingHow boundaries and self-trust can grow togetherMindfulness and nervous-system regulationWhy curiosity can be an important part of discovering who you are One of the parts of our conversation that really resonated with me was Mindy's advice to people who have spent their lives worrying about what everybody else thinks: Start listening to yourself. She talks about reclaiming the freedom to explore your own beliefs, experiences, intuition, and curiosity rather than allowing the outside world to completely define who you're supposed to be. And isn't that so much of the work for adult children? When you've repeatedly been told: You're wrong. You're too sensitive. You're imagining things. That didn't happen. You're overreacting. Eventually, you don't need anyone else to question you. You start doing it to yourself. That's where rebuilding self-trust becomes so important. Mindy describes intuition almost like a muscle: when you begin trusting it a little, confidence can grow, and you become more willing to listen to yourself again. We also talk about the body. Because you can intellectually tell yourself that you're fine, but when something happens in real time, your nervous system may respond before your thinking mind has had time to catch up. The good news is that regulation skills and awareness can help us notice those reactions earlier and practice responding differently. Mindy leaves us with a surprisingly simple exercise. Ask yourself: “What is my next thought going to be?” Notice that tiny moment of blank space. Mindy describes that as shifting out of active thinking and into awareness—a space where she believes we can more easily access intuition, creativity, and inner knowing. She offers another simple practice: bring your awareness to the tip of your nose and notice that the air feels cooler as you breathe in and slightly warmer as you breathe out. For those few seconds, you're not analyzing. You're noticing. You're here. And maybe rebuilding trust in yourself doesn't begin with having all the answers. Maybe it begins with getting quiet enough to hear yourself again. 💜 CONNECT WITH MINDY JACKSONMindy provides psychotherapy to clients in Georgia and says her energy-healing and spiritual-coaching work isn't geographically limited. Psychology Today: Mindy Jackson's Psychology Today Profile LinkedIn: Connect with Mindy Jackson on LinkedIn Instagram: @jacksonmindy Facebook: Mindy Jackson on Facebook Additional Facebook Page: Connect with Mindy on FacebookHey there, I’m so glad you’re here and tuning in! If this episode spoke to your heart, just know there’s even more support waiting for you. Book Your Free Clarity and Calm Call: No Judgement, just a chat https://calendly.com/tammyvincent/clarity-and-calm-call If you are curious about where you stand energetically, or just need a frequency boost, book your FREE biofrequency voice scan here: https://calendly.com/tammyvincent/complimentary-scan-demo if you want to take part in an amazing club, where you can get unlimited scans and free coaching every month, sign up here: $25 ($250 Value) Join For One Month Here https://workshops.tammyvincent.com/offers/JQz3QDrr/checkout If you would like to ask a question, and hear the answer in a future episode, please leave your question here: https://www.speakpipe.com/Tammyvincentcoaching Trials To Triumph: An Adult Child's Emotional Freedom Blueprint: Use code THRIVE25 for 75% off today. https://workshops.tammyvincent.com/offers/DSbcgrZZ/checkout As an international inspirational speaker, NLP Practitioner, Trauma-Informed Coach, Neurofit Trainer, and Best-Selling Author, I bring both deep personal experience and professional training to the work I do. I believe in prevention, not just intervention — and use a body, mind, and spirit approach to guide others toward becoming the happiest, healthiest versions of themselves. My holistic toolbox includes nervous system regulation, trauma-informed coaching, nutritional support, and natural healing strategies, 🔑 Start Your Healing JourneyFind ALL THE THINGS HERE: Anything that I have to offer is right here ✈️ Bonus for Travel Lovers!Did you know I also offer access to an amazing travel savings program that can help you save up to 70% on hotels, resorts, cruises, and more? Let’s compare your next upcoming itinerary and see how much you could save. 👉 Try the Trip Check: https://calendly.com/tammyvincent/trip-check 📺 Subscribe to My YouTube Channel 👉 Adult Child of Dysfunction on YouTube 🌟 Book Me to Speak at Your Event 👉 Let’s connect: https://calendly.com/tammyvincent/speakers-event-chat 🫶 Let’s Connect📩 Email: tammy@tammyvincent.com 📱 Text: 513-280-3555 🌟 If this episode helped you, please share it with a friend, leave a...
