Mind the Body Podcast

Yvette Vuaran
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  • MENTAL HEALTH

Mind the Body is a podcast about the space between how we think, feel, and live in our bodies — and how trauma, culture, and relationships shape the way we experience the world. Hosted by psychodynamic psychotherapist and EMDR therapist Yvette Vuaran, the show unpacks how the body remembers, how the mind protects, and how understanding that connection can change the way we live and love.

Episodes

  1. 5D AGO

    The Body as Stage - Chronic Illness, Body Image & Body Grief : Episode 8

    What happens when your body changes in ways you didn’t choose, and you no longer recognise yourself within it? Over the past seven episodes, we’ve explored how body image is shaped by culture, trauma, attachment, and neurodiversity. In this episode, we turn toward chronic illness and the psychological rupture that can occur when the body itself becomes unfamiliar, unpredictable, or altered. Drawing on psychoanalytic thinkers including Joyce McDougall, Donald Winnicott, and Wilfred Bion, alongside the work of Gabor Maté and writer Sophie Strand, this episode explores a central idea: Illness doesn’t just affect the body. It can become a stage on which something older, unspoken, and unresolved is finally given form. If you’ve ever felt estranged from your body, or like your body is holding something you can’t quite name, this episode offers a way to begin thinking about that experience. In this episode, we explore: How chronic illness can rupture the relationship between psyche and somaWhy body grief emerges in the gap between who you were and the body you now inhabitHow the body in breakdown can come to be experienced as a “bad object”Why medical encounters can sometimes deepen disconnection rather than hold itHow the body can carry what was never able to be spoken or knownWhy body image disturbance in illness is often not new, but newly visibleThe difference between grieving what illness has taken vs. something older and unmetabolisedWhat it means to create the conditions in which the body’s story can finally be knownKey Insight: The body is extraordinarily faithful. It holds what the mind cannot. Healing is not only about grieving what illness has taken, it is about creating the conditions in which what the body has been carrying can finally begin to be known. This episode is for you if: You are living with chronic illness or ongoing health changesYou feel disconnected, alienated, or at odds with your bodyYou’re navigating shifts in identity, appearance, or capacityYou’re interested in psychoanalytic or depth-oriented understandings of the bodyYou sense there is more to your experience than what can be medically explainedTake a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    23 min

  2. MAR 20

    Why Your Body Feels Different - Neurodiversity, Sensory Overload & Belonging: Episode 7

    🎧 Episode 7: Why Your Body Feels Different: Neurodiversity, Sensory Overload & Belonging Over the past six episodes, we’ve explored how body image is shaped by culture, trauma, and attachment. In this episode, we explore the missing piece: neurodiversity and how differences in sensory processing, interoception, and regulation shape how the body actually feels, not just how it is perceived. Drawing on the work of neuroscientist Mark Solms, Stephen Porges’ polyvagal theory, Damian Milton’s concept of the double empathy problem, and Christopher Bollas’ idea of the unthought known, we explore how internal experience, nervous system states, and relational understanding intersect. In this episode, we explore: How neurodiversity shapes the internal experience of the bodyWhy sensory discomfort is often mistaken for body image issuesWhat interoception is and how it affects emotion, hunger, and self-awarenessThe impact of masking and the concept of the “false body”The physical cost of suppressing natural regulation and needsHow neurodivergence shows up in intimacy and relationshipsThe mismatch between neurotypical expectations and neurodivergent needsThe “double empathy problem” and relational misunderstandingsWhy honouring sensory needs is key to connection and body trustKey insight: What is often labelled as a body image problem may actually be a mismatch between your nervous system and the environment you're trying to function in. Free Resource If you’re ready to begin gently rebuilding trust with your body, download the 7 Day Body Trust Reset - a series of short daily audio practices designed to help you reconnect with safety and compassion. Take a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    24 min

  3. MAR 13

    Bridget Jones - Attachment, Body Image, and the Anxious-Avoidant Pattern : Episode 6

    🎧 Episode 6: Bridget Jones - Attachment, Body Image, and the Anxious–Avoidant Pattern Over the past five episodes, we’ve explored how body image is shaped by culture, early relationships, trauma, and attachment. In this episode, we use the character of Bridget Jones from Bridget Jones’s Diary as a lens to explore these patterns. While often framed as romantic comedy, Bridget’s struggles with body image, insecurity, and emotionally unavailable partners reflect deeper attachment patterns. Drawing on attachment research from Allan Schore, alongside relationship dynamics described in Levine & Heller’s Attached and Julie Menanno’s Secure Love, we explore how body image can become the place where attachment wounds are expressed. In this episode, we explore: How early relational experiences shape body imageThe link between maternal messaging, worth, and appearanceAnxious attachment and body hypervigilanceWhy Bridget is drawn to emotional inconsistency (the anxious–avoidant trap)How body anxiety intensifies in insecure relationshipsThe difference between attachment style and nervous system regulationWhat earned security looks like for someone carrying these patternsWhy healing requires grief, embodiment, and secure relationshipsKey insight: Bridget’s body was never the problem. Her body became the place where an attachment wound was expressed. Healing begins not with changing the body, but with understanding the attachment blueprint beneath it and building experiences of relational safety and earned security. Take a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode. Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves. Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body Newsletter Follow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    29 min

  4. MAR 6

    "The Revenge Body" - What We're Really Trying to Fix After Heartbreak : Episode 5

    🎧 Episode 5: The “Revenge Body” - What We’re Really Trying to Fix After Heartbreak Over the past four episodes, we’ve explored body image as shaped by culture, attachment, and trauma. In this episode, we bring those threads together through a culturally familiar phenomenon: the “revenge body.” The post-breakup transformation. The intense focus on changing your body after heartbreak. The belief that if you look different, you’ll feel different. But what is the revenge body really about? In this episode, we explore: The “revenge body” as an attachment protestHow breakups can reactivate early wounds around worthiness and abandonmentWhy we locate relational pain in the bodyThe illusion of control that body transformation offers after heartbreakWhy changing your appearance does not resolve attachment/relational woundsThe concept of the “false body” and performing for the imagined gazeHow grief and trauma must be processed through the body - not by changing itWhat healing actually requires: grief, self-compassion, earned security, and reconnectionThis exploration draws on the work of Thomas Cash on body image, Peter Levine on somatic experiencing, Esther Perel on modern relationships, and Judith Herman on trauma and recovery. Key Insight: What looks like revenge is often an attempt to repair a relational wound. It is an effort to answer the question: “If I were different, would you have stayed?” Transformation promises relief - but relational pain cannot be resolved through appearance. The body becomes a project when what we are truly seeking is security, worth, and the capacity to survive loss. Healing after heartbreak does not come from perfecting the body. It comes from grieving, rebuilding attachment security, and coming home to yourself. Take a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    31 min

  5. FEB 27

    Building Secure Attachments - How Attachment Styles Shape Body Image and Relationships : Episode 4

    🎧 Episode 4: Building Secure Attachments - How Attachment Styles Shape Body Image and Relationships Over the past three episodes, we’ve explored body image as something shaped by culture, early experiences, and trauma. In this episode, we turn to attachment. Attachment is formed through the body - through early experiences of being held, soothed, mirrored, and responded to. These early relational patterns shape not only how we relate to others, but how we relate to ourselves. Including our bodies. Drawing on the foundational work of John Bowlby (Attachment and Loss), Mary Ainsworth, and later developments by Mary Main on earned security, this episode explores how attachment patterns formed in childhood continue to influence adult relationships, emotional regulation, and body experience. We also explore contemporary attachment-informed perspectives from: Linda Cundy - Anxiously Attached, Attachment and the Defence Against Intimacy, and Attachment, Relationships and Food: From Cradle to Kitchen, which examines how early feeding relationships shape later experiences of food and embodimentDiane Poole Heller The Power of Attachment - on somatic approaches to earned securityAllan Schore Affect Regulation and the Repair of the Self - on right-brain development and affect regulationIn this episode, we examine: Why attachment and body image are inseparableThe four attachment patterns: secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganisedHow attachment dynamics shape dating and intimate relationshipsWhy body image anxiety is often attachment anxiety expressed through the bodyWhat trauma-informed dating requiresThe concept of “earned security” and how attachment patterns can changeKey Insight:  Attachment patterns are adaptive - but they are not fixed. As attachment becomes more secure through therapy, consistent relationships, and body-based work, the relationship with the body often shifts. What appears to be a struggle with appearance is often a nervous system organised around safety and connection. Healing begins with building security -  in relationship, in the nervous system, and in the body. Take a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    33 min

  6. FEB 20

    Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Body Image : Episode 3

    🎧 Episode 3: Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Body Image Over the past two episodes, we’ve explored body image as a language - shaped by culture, attachment, and relationship. In this episode, we turn directly toward trauma. What if body hatred isn’t superficial - but protective? What if the way you relate to your body makes perfect sense given what you’ve experienced? This episode traces the powerful and often unspoken link between trauma and body image - and why traditional approaches to healing frequently fail when the nervous system remains dysregulated. Please note: this episode includes references to sexual abuse and trauma. Take care while listening. In this episode, we examine: Why trauma is broader than we often realise - including cumulative and developmental experiencesThe difference between “Big T” and “little t” trauma - and why both matterHow trauma lives in the nervous system, not just in conscious memoryThe impact of dissociation and disrupted interoceptionAlessandra Lemma’s distinction between the dyadic and monadic bodyWhy body image disturbance is often trauma speakingWhy cognitive reframing alone doesn’t work when the nervous system is dysregulatedWhat healing actually requires: safety, reconnection, and relationshipKey Insight: Trauma is not only what happened to you - it is what your body had to hold in the absence of safety. When trauma disrupts your connection to sensation and relationship, the body can become the place where unsafety, shame, and survival responses are displaced. What looks like body image struggle is often an intelligent adaptation. Drawing on the work of Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, Judith Herman, Stephen Porges, Alessandra Lemma, Nicole Schnackenberg, and Hillary McBride, this episode reframes body image through a trauma-informed lens. Healing does not begin with changing your thoughts. It begins with safety. Take a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    25 min

  7. FEB 20

    Where Body Image Begins - And Why It Shows Up in Your Relationships: Episode 2

    🎧 Episode 2: Body Image in Love Where does body image really begin - and why does it show up so powerfully in our intimate relationships? In this episode of Mind the Body, I examine how body image struggles are shaped long before adulthood - through cultural messaging, early attachment relationships, and experiences that disrupt safety in the body. While body dissatisfaction often appears to be about appearance, this episode looks beneath the surface - at how relational pain, insecurity, and unmet attachment needs are displaced onto the body, and why intimacy can become one of the most triggering spaces for body shame. Drawing on psychodynamic theory, attachment research, and clinical work, this episode traces three interconnected origins of body image distress - and how each one surfaces in dating, long-term relationships, desire, and sexual intimacy. In this episode, we explore: How culture teaches us to objectify our bodies - and what that costs us in intimacyWhy body image is deeply relational, not just personalThe link between insecure attachment and body dissatisfactionHow early caregiving, maternal desire, and physical attunement shape embodimentWhy body shame often intensifies after relational rupture or emotional distanceHow body shame interferes with desire, pleasure, and erotic alivenessThe difference between being seen physically and being known psychologicallyKey Insight: Body image is often the place where unresolvable relational conflict gets played out. When it doesn’t feel safe to be fully yourself in relationship, the body often becomes the scapegoat. Books referenced in this episode: The Wisdom of Your Body - Hillary McBrideUnder the Skin - Alessandra LemmaPlaying and Reality - D.W. WinnicottThe Bell Jar - Sylvia PlathWork and talks by Esther PerelTake a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    30 min

  8. FEB 20

    Beyond Body Image: The Hidden Forces Behind How You See Yourself : Episode 1

    🎧 Episode 1: Your Body Image Isn’t About Your Body - It’s a Language Welcome to the first episode of Mind The Body. I’m your host, Yvette Vuaran, psychodynamic psychotherapist and EMDR therapist specialising in body image, attachment, and trauma. In this episode, I explore why body image struggles are rarely about appearance. Instead, they often reflect early relationships, unprocessed trauma, and the ways we learned to disconnect from ourselves in order to feel safe and accepted. Rather than treating the body as something to fix, this conversation invites you to understand body image as a language - one that communicates emotional truth when words can’t. This episode also examines how the careers we choose often aren’t random. Many of us unconsciously gravitate toward work environments that echo early relational patterns - shaping how we use our bodies, appearance, and identity to belong or gain approval. In this episode, we explore: Why body image is a language, not a problem to solveHow treating the body as an object deepens disconnectionThe concept of the ‘false body’ and how it developsWhy healing isn’t about loving your body, but listening to itA simple question to begin rebuilding trust with your bodyFree Resource If you’re ready to begin gently rebuilding trust with your body, download the 7 Day Body Trust Reset - a series of short daily audio practices designed to help you reconnect with safety and compassion. Books referenced in this episode: Under the Skin - Alessandra LemmaPlaying and Reality - D.W. WinnicottBodies - Susie OrbachFat Is a Feminist Issue - Susie OrbachFalse Bodies, True Selves - Nicole SchnackenbergTake a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    19 min
  9. Mind the Body Podcast Trailer

    SEASON 1 TRAILER

    Mind the Body Podcast Trailer

    If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body — unsure how to bridge the gap between what you think and what you feel — this podcast is for you. Hosted by psychodynamic psychotherapist and EMDR therapist Yvette Vuaran, Mind the Body explores how trauma, body image, and relationships shape our sense of self — and how healing the divide between mind and body helps us feel more at home within ourselves. Together, we’ll explore how the body remembers, how the mind protects, and how understanding that connection can change the way we live and love. Take a breath, settle in — it’s time to mind the body. Disclaimer This podcast is for education and inspiration and is not a substitute for therapy or medical advice. Take a breath, stay curious, and explore what it truly means to Mind The Body. Join the Community Subscribe or follow the show so you never miss an episode.Share this episode with a friend who’s exploring body image healing, the mind–body connection, emotional healing, and the patterns that shape how we see ourselves.Connect or learn more: www.yvettevuaran.com Sign up for my Mind The Body NewsletterFollow @mindthebodypodcast @yvettevuaran

    1 min

Trailer

About

Mind the Body is a podcast about the space between how we think, feel, and live in our bodies — and how trauma, culture, and relationships shape the way we experience the world. Hosted by psychodynamic psychotherapist and EMDR therapist Yvette Vuaran, the show unpacks how the body remembers, how the mind protects, and how understanding that connection can change the way we live and love.

Information

  • Creator
    Yvette Vuaran
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mind the Body Podcast
  • Show Website
    Mind the Body Podcast