Unravel with Elaine Clark

Elaine Clark
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Unravel, hosted by Elaine Clark, explores the intersection of mental health and physical health. Through expert interviews and insightful conversations, we uncover science-backed tools and practices for well-being and personal growth.Whether you’re seeking to cultivate resilience, challenge misconceptions, or reconnect with your innate wisdom, Unravel offers the insights and guidance to support your journey.Science meets embodiment. Let’s explore what it means to unravel the layers—together.

  1. Sep 8

    Why Reassurance Doesn’t Always Make You Feel Better — Part 1

    Think you just need more confidence? Not necessarily. Research on self-esteem shows something surprisingly counterintuitive: compliments, reassurance, and even positive relationships don’t always make us feel better about ourselves. Sometimes, they can actually create more discomfort. In this episode I unravel:   • Why compliments and reassurance don’t always make us feel better  • How low self-esteem can become protective by keeping us anchored to a familiar story  • Why our past experiences can shape what we expect from relationships  • The idea that “memories are the database of self-esteem”  • The difference between looking confident and having a solid foundation underneath  • Esther Perel’s definition of confidence   • Why confidence may have more to do with trust than certainty  • Dr. Dan Siegel’s SIFT practice  • How neuroplasticity helps explain why our learned reactions don’t have to stay fixed forever  Stay Connected: 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca A note about this episode: This episode includes a paid advertisement for IM8. You can use code UNRAVEL10 at checkout. Advertising partnerships help support the Unravel podcast, and any opinions shared are my own.

  2. Aug 19

    How We Learn to Feel Safe: Attachment, Play & Repair with Daphna Lender

    What helps someone feel safe enough to express who they really are—and what happens when that sense of safety is disrupted? In this episode, I’m joined by Daphna Lender, a licensed clinical social worker, international trainer, and supervisor specializing in attachment-focused work with children and families. Daphna is a certified trainer and supervisor in both Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and is the co-author of Theraplay, an attachment-based intervention focused on strengthening connection, trust, and joy between children and caregivers. We explore how secure attachment is shaped through everyday moments between children and caregivers—from how we respond to difficult behaviour to how we reconnect after conflict. In this episode, we unravel: • How children communicate emotional needs through behaviour • Why feeling understood helps children develop a stronger sense of self • How early attachment experiences can continue to show up in adulthood • Why rupture is a normal part of relationships—and why repair matters • What genuine repair looks like beyond simply talking about what went wrong • How playfulness creates safety, connection, and emotional regulation • The PACE approach: playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy • Why parents sometimes need to explore their own attachment histories too • How small moments of connection can shape a child’s experience of being loved and understood Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca

    How We Learn to Feel Safe: Attachment, Play & Repair with Daphna Lender

  3. Jul 21

    AI, Overthinking, and the Search for Human Connection with Dr. Romith Naug

    As artificial intelligence becomes part of how we seek advice, reassurance, and emotional support, what happens to our ability to tolerate uncertainty and trust ourselves? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Romith Naug, a dually board-certified family physician in Canada and the United States who now practices psychotherapy. Dr. Naug completed a fellowship in Medical CBT with CBT Canada and has since expanded his work to incorporate a range of integrative therapeutic modalities. He has developed an individualized model that brings these approaches together within an adapted CBT framework. Alongside his outpatient psychotherapy practice in Kingston, Ontario, Dr. Naug serves as a senior CBT consultant and supervisor with CBT Canada. He is also an assistant professor at Queen’s University, where he supervises medical residents through the departments of Family Medicine and Psychiatry. We explore a thought-provoking conversation about artificial intelligence, human connection, and what it means to remain deeply human in an increasingly digital world. In this episode, we unravel: • Why understanding a pattern does not always change it • How overthinking can create a perceived sense of safety • Whether AI is strengthening or weakening our self-trust • Why reassurance is not the same as genuine human connection • How AI could begin to function as an attachment figure • The relationship between consciousness, spirituality, and technology • Why slowing down and returning to the body matter more than ever Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca

    AI, Overthinking, and the Search for Human Connection with Dr. Romith Naug

  4. Jul 9

    How Somatic Work Helps Rewire Emotional Responses

    Sometimes, you can understand a pattern intellectually, but your body still reacts as if nothing has changed.  In this episode, I explore the concept of associative learning through a somatic lens—how experiences, emotions, bodily sensations, and expected outcomes can become connected over time. We unravel:  • Why insight alone may not be enough to change an established pattern • How emotional and bodily associations can develop through lived experience • Why rest, boundaries, intimacy, or calm may sometimes feel risky • How reproductive loss can create complex and layered experiences around intimacy • What memory reconsolidation may teach us about updating old emotional learning • Why protective responses can make sense in the context of what we have lived through • A simple somatic practice I call "Pause, Place, and Prove" This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered, “Why am I reacting this way when part of me knows this moment is different?” or “Why does my body pull away when I genuinely want to stay present?” Stay Connected: 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Listen and subscribe to Unravel with Elaine Clark on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio

  5. Jun 24

    The Wound of Abandonment: Adoption, Attachment & Healing the Nervous System with Catherine Moore

    In this episode, I’m joined by registered clinical counsellor, author, and adoption advocate Catherine Moore for a tender and deeply insightful conversation about adoption, abandonment, belonging, and healing the nervous system. Catherine brings a unique perspective as an adoptee, adoptive mother, counsellor, and co-director of We Are Adopted. Together, we explore the emotional complexity of adoption, including the impact of early separation, the longing to know where we come from, and the hidden grief, shame, and anxiety that can live beneath the surface. Catherine shares her own story of reunion, the silence and secrecy that often surround closed adoption, and how these early experiences can shape attachment, identity, relationships, and the felt sense of safety in the body. We also talk about how somatic therapy, mindfulness, movement, breath, and compassionate presence can help soften old imprints and support healing. In this episode, we unravel: The emotional complexity of adoption and reunionHow early separation can shape attachment and belongingWhy abandonment wounds often live in the nervous systemHow shame, anxiety, and hypervigilance can show up in adopteesThe difference between who we are and the adaptations we developed to surviveHow somatic therapy can help heal preverbal traumaHow to support someone you love who is adoptedWhy being seen, heard, and understood can be profoundly healingStay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio 🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca

    The Wound of Abandonment: Adoption, Attachment & Healing the Nervous System with Catherine Moore

  6. Jun 9

    Early Signs of Burnout: Recovery Before Collapse

    Burnout does not always begin with collapse. It often begins quietly, while we are still functioning, still showing up, still getting things done, and still being praised for the very behaviours that are disconnecting us from ourselves. In this episode, I explore the early signs of burnout. I discuss how burnout can hide inside over-functioning, responsibility, productivity, and being the person everyone relies on. In this episode, you’ll learn: How burnout can begin long before collapseWhy burnout is different from ordinary tirednessHow over-functioning, productivity, and responsibility can mask depletionWhy rest does not always feel restorative when the body is deeply depleted How nutritional nourishment may support capacity and recoveryWhy burnout recovery may require both physiological support and deeper honestyReferenced Research & Resources World Health Organization. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases Freudenberger, H. J., & North, G. (1985). Women’s burnout: How to spot it, how to reverse it, and how to prevent it. Doubleday. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2025, June 27). Vitamin D: Fact sheet for health professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/ National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2025, July 2). Vitamin B12: Fact sheet for health professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/ Whyte, D. (2001). Crossing the unknown sea: Work as a pilgrimage of identity. Riverhead Books. Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: ⁠info@elaineclark.ca⁠ 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio 🌐 Explore more: ⁠www.elaineclark.ca

  7. May 20

    How Creativity Shapes Us with Menaka Raman-Wilms

    In this episode, I’m joined by author and podcast host Menaka Raman-Wilms for a thoughtful conversation about creativity, writing, loneliness, and the long process of bringing a story to life. Together, we explore the inspiration behind her novel The Rooftop Garden, how her time in Berlin shaped the book, and what it takes to stay connected to a creative project over many years. Menaka also shares how writing fiction can help us make sense of the world, process complex emotions, and look beneath the headlines to the human stories underneath. In this episode, we unravel:  The creative journey behind The Rooftop GardenHow nature, cities, and Berlin inspired the novel Why writing can help us process complex emotionsWhat it takes to keep going with a long creative projectHow loneliness shows up in the book and in modern lifeThe human stories behind climate anxiety and extremism Why creativity can shape us as much as we shape itStay Connected  🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_  📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio  🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca

    How Creativity Shapes Us with Menaka Raman-Wilms

  8. May 6

    Why We Feel So Empty in the Age of Connection with John Vervaeke

    In this episode, I’m joined by cognitive scientist, author, and professor John Vervaeke for a profound conversation about the modern meaning crisis, mindfulness, flow states, loneliness, and the deep human longing for connection. Together, we explore why so many people feel empty in the age of constant stimulation and digital connection, and how practices like mindfulness, contemplation, and self-awareness can help us reconnect to what is truly meaningful. John also shares insights from cognitive science, philosophy, and psychology to help us better understand consciousness, self-deception, intuition, wisdom, and the patterns shaping modern life. In this episode, we unravel: What the “meaning crisis” really isWhy social media can leave us feeling more disconnectedThe difference between pleasure, happiness, and meaningHow mindfulness helps us become aware of unconscious patternsWhat flow states are and why they feel so meaningful Why insight and transformation require cognitive flexibility The relationship between self-awareness and human connectionHow wisdom is cultivated through relationship, presence, and practice Stay Connected 🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_ 📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca 🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio 🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca

    Why We Feel So Empty in the Age of Connection with John Vervaeke
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About

Unravel, hosted by Elaine Clark, explores the intersection of mental health and physical health. Through expert interviews and insightful conversations, we uncover science-backed tools and practices for well-being and personal growth.Whether you’re seeking to cultivate resilience, challenge misconceptions, or reconnect with your innate wisdom, Unravel offers the insights and guidance to support your journey.Science meets embodiment. Let’s explore what it means to unravel the layers—together.

Information

  • Creator
    Elaine Clark
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Unravel with Elaine Clark
  • Show Website
    Unravel with Elaine Clark