Naked Insights Podcast - Honest Talks about Trauma, Health and Relationships

Adele Theron and Dr Lindsay Aikman
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  • Mental Health

The Naked Insights Podcast explores the powerful connection between mind and body in navigating trauma, health, and relationships and focuses on making sense of human behaviour through trauma, attachment and neuroscience. Each episode examines how our perceptions and behaviours shape mental health, our relationships with others, and the delicate balance with physical well-being. From managing trauma, workplace stress, and major life transitions to cultivating healthy, nourishing relationships, Naked Insights offers tools, tips, and real stories to help you and your loved ones become more resilient and adaptable to change. Through an integrative and evidence-based lens, you’ll learn how to maintain balance and well-being in today’s increasingly chaotic world.  Hosted by Adele Theron, each season features a different expert as she deep-dives into the intersections between trauma, health, and relationships. Season 1 features Sam McSorley, a functional medicine specialist and together Adele and Sam bridge the gap between holistic health and psychological resilience, guiding you towards a more balanced, empowered, and successful life. Season 2 features Dr Lindsay Aikman, a consultant clinical psychologist and together they bring a clinically grounded lens to mental health, trauma, and relationships, cutting through myths, challenging oversimplified narratives, and exploring what truly supports lasting change.  About the Host: Adele Theron (CCTP, CFTP, CFFTP, PGDipTraumaticStudies, MPsych) is a trauma therapist and specialist in trauma and transition recovery. She is the founder of Naked Recovery, which offers structured programmes to help clients transform trauma related to bereavement, redundancy, birth trauma, separation, divorce, infidelity, midlife crises, family estrangement, and health-related challenges. Her evidence-based recovery programmes have supported thousands of clients across more than 90 countries. Adele is currently completing her doctorate in Health Psychology at the University of Auckland, where her research focuses on developing clinically applicable treatments for clinician-delivered trauma-informed care for patients with chronic illness. Her integrative, science-based methods draw from somatic psychology, coaching psychology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and trauma-informed practice. About the Season 1 Expert: Sam McSorley (MHealSc, PGHlthSci, DipClinHerbMed, BHSc (Complementary Medicine)) is a naturopath and functional medicine practitioner passionate about empowering people with choice in healthcare. As the founder of Sam McSorley Connecting Wellness, she helps clients recover from complex health conditions through holistic programmes that unite body and mind. Sam’s approach integrates nutrition, herbal medicine, genetic testing, nutritional psychiatry, and somatic psychotherapy. About the Season 2 Expert: Dr Lindsay Aikman is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology in the UK (BA BSc PGCert DClinPsy AFHEA) registered with The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Lindsay brings a rich blend of clinical, academic, and leadership experience to conversations about how trauma, relationships, and physical health are intricately connected. Her work is rooted in the understanding that psychological distress is embodied, relational, and shaped by lived experience across the lifespan. Lindsay supports people with complex presentations where physical health, identity, attachment, and trauma are deeply intertwined. Alongside clinical practice, Lindsay is an Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth, UK. 

  1. 4d ago

    Season 2 - Episode 12 - Anxiety - When Your Brain Won't Let You Feel Safe

    Anxiety isn't simply worrying too much or being unable to relax. It's what happens when your brain becomes so focused on detecting danger that it struggles to recognise when you're actually safe. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore anxiety through a compassionate, trauma-informed, and neuroscience-based lens, unpacking why the brain can become trapped in survival mode, even when there is no immediate threat. Together, they explore: 🧠 What anxiety really is and why it's a protective system that's become overactive rather than something that's "wrong" with you ⚡ How the brain's threat detection system can begin treating everyday situations as dangerous 💔 The role of trauma, chronic stress, attachment experiences, and life adversity in shaping an anxious nervous system 🔬 What happens in the brain and body during anxiety, including the role of the amygdala, stress hormones, and the autonomic nervous system 🌪️ Why anxiety shows up in so many different ways, from panic attacks and health anxiety to social anxiety, overthinking, perfectionism, and constant hypervigilance 🌱 Why reassurance, avoidance, and control can unintentionally keep anxiety alive and what actually helps the nervous system relearn safety Rather than asking, "How do I stop feeling anxious?", this episode asks a different question: "What would it take for my brain to believe I'm safe again?" This is a compassionate, evidence-based conversation that moves beyond symptom management to explore the deeper biological and psychological processes that drive anxiety. Because healing isn't about eliminating fear, it's about helping your brain rediscover safety, flexibility, and trust. 🎧 Join us as we explore why anxiety develops, why it persists, and how recovery begins when we stop fighting the nervous system and start understanding it.

    Season 2 - Episode 12 - Anxiety - When Your Brain Won't Let You Feel Safe

  2. Jul 21

    Season 2 - Episode 11 - OCD: The Prison of Certainty - When the nervous system mistakes uncertainty for danger

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder isn't about being neat, organised, or liking things a certain way. It's about what happens when the brain becomes convinced that uncertainty itself is dangerous. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore OCD through both a scientific and trauma-informed lens, asking what happens when a nervous system becomes trapped in an endless search for safety. Because beneath the rituals, checking, reassurance-seeking, and intrusive thoughts is often a person trying desperately to prevent something catastrophic from happening. Together, they explore: 🧠 Why OCD is driven by an intolerance of uncertainty rather than a desire for perfection ⚡ How the brain's threat detection system becomes overactive, convincing us that "just in case" rituals are necessary for survival 🌀 The many faces of OCD, including intrusive thoughts, relationship OCD, health OCD, contamination fears, moral and religious OCD, magical thinking, and the relentless need to make things feel "just right" 💔 How early experiences of unpredictability, trauma, shame, or chronic emotional invalidation can shape a nervous system that struggles to tolerate uncertainty 🔬 What neuroscience tells us about the brain circuits involved in OCD and why compulsions temporarily relieve distress while strengthening the cycle over time 🌱 Why healing isn't about achieving certainty, but gradually teaching the nervous system that uncertainty is survivable Rather than asking, "What's wrong with this person?", this episode asks a different question: "What happened that made the brain believe certainty was the only path to safety?" This is a compassionate, evidence-based conversation that moves beyond stereotypes to explore the deeper psychological and neurobiological processes that keep OCD alive and why recovery is possible when we learn to build safety from within rather than chasing certainty outside ourselves. 🎧 Join us as we explore one of mental health's most misunderstood conditions and discover why freedom from OCD begins not with finding the right answer, but with learning that you can survive not knowing.

    Season 2 - Episode 11 - OCD: The Prison of Certainty - When the nervous system mistakes uncertainty for danger

  3. Jul 14

    Season 2 - Episode 10 - Psychosis: Losing Reality or Trying to Survive It? - Exploring psychosis through trauma, neuroscience and lived experience

    Few mental health experiences are as feared, misunderstood, or stigmatised as psychosis. Popular culture often portrays it as madness, danger, or a complete break from reality. But what if psychosis is far more complex than we've been led to believe? In this thought-provoking episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore psychosis through a compassionate, evidence-based lens, asking a difficult but important question: Is psychosis simply a loss of reality or can it sometimes be understood as an attempt to survive overwhelming reality? Together, they explore: 🧠 What psychosis actually is and the many different ways it can present ⚡ The early warning signs and stages of psychotic experiences 🌪️ The role of trauma, stress, attachment disruption, and overwhelming emotional states 🔬 What happens in the brain during psychosis, including the impact of dopamine, threat detection, and altered perception 🫥 The overlap between psychosis, dissociation, spiritual experiences, and extreme states of consciousness 💊 Current approaches to treatment, including medication, psychotherapy, family support, and recovery-oriented care ❤️ Why people experiencing psychosis are often far more frightened than frightening This episode challenges simplistic explanations and explores the human experience beneath the diagnosis. Rather than viewing psychosis solely as a symptom to eliminate, we ask what meaning, function, or survival strategy may be hidden within the experience itself. 🎧 Join us for a nuanced conversation about one of mental health's most misunderstood conditions and discover why understanding psychosis requires us to look beyond symptoms and into the stories, relationships, and realities that shape them. Topics Covered: Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Trauma, Dissociation, Dopamine, Spiritual Emergency, Mental Health, Recovery, Attachment, Psychotherapy, Severe Mental Illness.

    Season 2 - Episode 10 - Psychosis: Losing Reality or Trying to Survive It? - Exploring psychosis through trauma, neuroscience and lived experience

  4. Jul 7

    Season 2 - Episode 9 - Bipolar or Borderline? Looking Beyond the Chaos to Trauma, Mood and Identity

    At first glance, Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder can look remarkably similar. Both can involve intense emotions, impulsive behaviour, relationship difficulties, and periods of crisis. But beneath the surface, these are fundamentally different conditions and understanding the difference can be life-changing. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman cut through the confusion and explore one of the most commonly misunderstood distinctions in mental health. Together, they unpack: 🧠 Why Bipolar Disorder is primarily a disorder of mood, while Borderline Personality Disorder is often a disorder of self, attachment, and emotional regulation ⏳ The crucial difference between sustained mood episodes and rapid emotional reactivity 💔 How trauma, attachment wounds, and fear of abandonment shape borderline presentations ⚡ What mania and hypomania actually look like and why they're very different from emotional dysregulation 🫥 The role of dissociation, identity disturbance, and chronic feelings of emptiness in borderline personality disorder 🔬 What neuroscience and clinical research tell us about the origins of both conditions 💊 Why the treatments differ so significantly and why getting the diagnosis right matters We also explore the reality that some people live with both conditions, creating a far more complex clinical picture than social media often portrays. This episode challenges simplistic labels and explores the human experience beneath the diagnosis. Because understanding whether someone is struggling with a mood disorder, a trauma-related disorder, or both can be the difference between feeling misunderstood and finally receiving the right help. 🎧 Join us for a thoughtful, compassionate, and evidence-based conversation about two of the most commonly confused diagnoses in mental health.

    Season 2 - Episode 9 - Bipolar or Borderline? Looking Beyond the Chaos to Trauma, Mood and Identity

  5. Jun 30

    Season 2 - Episode 8 - When the Self Feels Unsafe: Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder Through Trauma and Attachment

    Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), also known as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatised diagnoses in mental health. Too often, people are labelled as manipulative, attention-seeking, or difficult, without anyone asking a far more important question: In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore the deeper reality behind the diagnosis, moving beyond stereotypes to understand what life feels like when your sense of self, safety, and connection becomes unstable. Together, they unpack: 🧠 Why BPD may be better understood as a disorder of self-coherence rather than simply emotional instability 💔 The powerful role of childhood trauma, emotional invalidation, neglect, and attachment disruption 🌪️ Why relationships can feel life-or-death, and how fear of abandonment can trigger overwhelming emotional reactions 🫥 The hidden role of dissociation, fragmentation, depersonalisation, and feeling unreal 🔬 What neuroscience tells us about emotional regulation, threat detection, and the brains of people living with BPD 🤝 How therapies such as DBT, Mentalization-Based Therapy, and the Conversational Model help people rebuild a stable sense of self Most importantly, this episode offers a message of hope. Recovery is possible. Many people with BPD go on to build stable relationships, meaningful lives, and a stronger, more integrated sense of who they are. This is a compassionate, evidence-based conversation that challenges stigma and asks us to look beneath the behaviours to the human being underneath. 🎧 Join us as we explore what happens when the self feels unsafe — and how healing begins when we learn to feel real, connected, and whole again.

    Season 2 - Episode 8 - When the Self Feels Unsafe: Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder Through Trauma and Attachment

  6. Jun 23

    Season 2 - Episode 7 - When It's Not Just Depression: What Trauma, Grief and the Nervous System Can Look Like

    Depression. It’s a word often used loosely to describe a bad day, but the clinical reality is far more complex than just "feeling sad." In this episode, Adele and Lindsay peel back the layers of one of the most common yet misunderstood mental health conditions to explore what’s really happening when "the color is sucked out of life." We unpack: 🧠 The Clinical Reality: Understanding DSM-5 criteria and the persistent loss of pleasure. ⚖️ Depression vs. Burnout: How to distinguish between being overloaded and being clinically depressed. 💥 The Compass of Shame: Why depression leads to withdrawal and how self-attack keeps the cycle going. 🔍 Beyond the Brain: The surprising role of nutrition, movement, and daily routines in recovery. 🚩 Living with Values: How taking a stand for what matters can be the first step toward healing. This episode moves beyond labels to offer a compassionate, multi-system look at treatment and recovery. 🎧 Tune in for a deeper understanding of the path back to a colorful life.

    Season 2 - Episode 7 - When It's Not Just Depression: What Trauma, Grief and the Nervous System Can Look Like

  7. Jun 16

    Season 2 - Episode 6 - Self-Compassion Without Losing Your Edge: Why Trauma Makes Kindness So Hard

    Self-Compassion. Is it just "soft and fluffy" indulgence, or is it actually the ultimate tool for high performance and resilience? In this episode, Adele and Lindsay challenge the myth that being hard on yourself is the only way to succeed. They dive into why true self-compassion is a "wise system" that requires immense courage. We unpack: 🧠 Myth-Busting: Why self-compassion isn't selfish, weak, or self-indulgent. ⚖️ The Strength of "No": How setting firm boundaries is a core act of kindness. 💥 Threat vs. Soothing: Understanding your nervous system and moving out of "attack mode." 🔍 The Three Flows: Insights from Compassion Focused Therapy on giving and receiving kindness. 🚩 Performance & Wisdom: Why moving slower and being kinder actually leads to better long-term results. This episode reframes self-compassion as a space of true strength and the foundation for lasting change. 🎧 Tune in to learn how to turn your inner critic into your greatest ally.

    Season 2 - Episode 6 - Self-Compassion Without Losing Your Edge: Why Trauma Makes Kindness So Hard

  8. Jun 9

    Season 2 - Episode 5 - Toxic Positivity: When 'Staying Positive' Becomes a form of Emotional Survival - Why avoiding difficult emotions can keep us stuck

    "Everything happens for a reason." "Just look on the bright side." We’ve all heard it, and we’ve all said it, but when does optimism become harmful? In this episode, Adele and Lindsay explore the phenomenon of Toxic Positivity: the minimization and invalidation of real human emotions in the name of "staying positive." We unpack: 🧠 Intention vs. Impact: Why well-meaning advice can feel like a shut-down. ⚖️ The Cost of Suppression: How pushing down "negative" emotions drives stress deeper into the body. 💥 Emotional Bypassing: Recognizing when we use optimism to avoid difficult truths. 🔍 Stoicism vs. Silence: The difference between healthy resilience and harmful emotional masking. 🚩 The Power of Being Seen: How to create a space where difficult emotions are bearable, not intolerable. This episode is a vital look at why we need to embrace the full spectrum of the human experience to truly heal. 🎧 Tune in to discover why it’s okay, and necessary, to not be okay.

    Season 2 - Episode 5 - Toxic Positivity: When 'Staying Positive' Becomes a form of Emotional Survival - Why avoiding difficult emotions can keep us stuck
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About

The Naked Insights Podcast explores the powerful connection between mind and body in navigating trauma, health, and relationships and focuses on making sense of human behaviour through trauma, attachment and neuroscience. Each episode examines how our perceptions and behaviours shape mental health, our relationships with others, and the delicate balance with physical well-being. From managing trauma, workplace stress, and major life transitions to cultivating healthy, nourishing relationships, Naked Insights offers tools, tips, and real stories to help you and your loved ones become more resilient and adaptable to change. Through an integrative and evidence-based lens, you’ll learn how to maintain balance and well-being in today’s increasingly chaotic world.  Hosted by Adele Theron, each season features a different expert as she deep-dives into the intersections between trauma, health, and relationships. Season 1 features Sam McSorley, a functional medicine specialist and together Adele and Sam bridge the gap between holistic health and psychological resilience, guiding you towards a more balanced, empowered, and successful life. Season 2 features Dr Lindsay Aikman, a consultant clinical psychologist and together they bring a clinically grounded lens to mental health, trauma, and relationships, cutting through myths, challenging oversimplified narratives, and exploring what truly supports lasting change.  About the Host: Adele Theron (CCTP, CFTP, CFFTP, PGDipTraumaticStudies, MPsych) is a trauma therapist and specialist in trauma and transition recovery. She is the founder of Naked Recovery, which offers structured programmes to help clients transform trauma related to bereavement, redundancy, birth trauma, separation, divorce, infidelity, midlife crises, family estrangement, and health-related challenges. Her evidence-based recovery programmes have supported thousands of clients across more than 90 countries. Adele is currently completing her doctorate in Health Psychology at the University of Auckland, where her research focuses on developing clinically applicable treatments for clinician-delivered trauma-informed care for patients with chronic illness. Her integrative, science-based methods draw from somatic psychology, coaching psychology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and trauma-informed practice. About the Season 1 Expert: Sam McSorley (MHealSc, PGHlthSci, DipClinHerbMed, BHSc (Complementary Medicine)) is a naturopath and functional medicine practitioner passionate about empowering people with choice in healthcare. As the founder of Sam McSorley Connecting Wellness, she helps clients recover from complex health conditions through holistic programmes that unite body and mind. Sam’s approach integrates nutrition, herbal medicine, genetic testing, nutritional psychiatry, and somatic psychotherapy. About the Season 2 Expert: Dr Lindsay Aikman is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology in the UK (BA BSc PGCert DClinPsy AFHEA) registered with The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Lindsay brings a rich blend of clinical, academic, and leadership experience to conversations about how trauma, relationships, and physical health are intricately connected. Her work is rooted in the understanding that psychological distress is embodied, relational, and shaped by lived experience across the lifespan. Lindsay supports people with complex presentations where physical health, identity, attachment, and trauma are deeply intertwined. Alongside clinical practice, Lindsay is an Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth, UK. 

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