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.

  1. 15h ago

    Plato's New Cave - AI and Body Image : Episode 26

    🎧 Episode 26: Plato's New Cave - AI and Body Image What happens when the online images we encounter every day become so familiar that we stop questioning whether they're real? What if the greatest challenge of AI isn't simply that it changes how we look, but that it changes what we come to trust? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore Plato's famous Allegory of the Cave through the lens of body image, attachment theory and psychoanalysis, asking what happens when algorithms become the shadows that shape our relationship with ourselves. Drawing on the work of Plato, Donald Winnicott and Alessandra Lemma, I explore why healing isn't about finding a better image of ourselves, but about reclaiming a relationship with our bodies from the inside out.  In this episode, you'll learn: How Plato's Cave offers a powerful way of understanding body image in the age of AI.Why the AI beauty ideal is reshaping what we experience as beautiful, normal and true.Why being given an image of yourself is different from discovering who you are.How Donald Winnicott's concept of the transitional object helps explain how we build a relationship with both our body and the world around us.How healing begins through interoception, lived experience and reconnecting with your body.Key Takeaway: Learning to experience your body for yourself is the beginning of a different kind of relationship. It begins when you stop chasing the image you've been given and start the journey home to your body. Whether you're interested in psychology, body image, attachment, AI, philosophy or psychotherapy, this episode offers a different way of thinking about technology, identity and what it means to come 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

  2. Jul 24

    Rupture and Repair - The Cornerstone of Secure Love : Episode 25

    🎧 Episode 25: Rupture and Repair – The Cornerstone of Secure Love Why do some relationships survive the hardest moments and become stronger, while others slowly unravel through misunderstandings that seem almost insignificant? What if the strength of a relationship isn't measured by the absence of rupture, but by what happens after it? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore one of the most important findings in attachment research: that secure relationships are not built by avoiding rupture, but by learning how to repair it. Drawing on attachment theory, psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, and decades of relationship research, we explore why moments of disconnection are inevitable - and how they become the very experiences through which trust, security, and lasting intimacy are built. In this episode, you'll learn: Why rupture is not the opposite of connection, but the mechanism through which secure attachment develops.What Ed Tronick's groundbreaking infant research teaches us about lifelong relationships.The difference between confrontation ruptures and withdrawal ruptures.Why saying "sorry" isn't always the same as genuine repair.How attachment patterns influence the way we respond to rupture.What research from Jeremy Safran, Chris Muran, and John Gottman reveals about repairing relationships.Why secure relationships aren't conflict-free - they're relationships that know how to find their way back to one another.Takeaway: If moments of disconnection leave you questioning your relationships, this episode offers a different perspective. Ruptures don't have to signal the end of connection. When approached with openness, curiosity, and repair, they can become the very experiences that deepen trust and create more secure love. Resources - Free Download: The 7 Day Body Trust Reset Click here to download your free 7 day guide to help you reconnect with your body through small, practical daily practices. References: Gottman, J. (2011). The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples. W. W. Norton. As reviewed in Greenspun, W. (2013). The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples [Review]. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 30(2), 356–362. Miller-Bottome, M., Talia, A., Eubanks, C., Safran, J. D., & Muran, J. C. (2019). Secure in-session attachment predicts rupture resolution: Negotiating a secure base. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 36(2), 132–138. Safran, J. D., Muran, J. C., & Shaker, A. (2014). Research on therapeutic impasses and ruptures in the therapeutic alliance. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 50(1–2), 211–232. Tronick, E. Z., & Gianino, A. F. Jr. (1986). The transmission of maternal disturbance to the infant. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1986, 5–11. Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The theory of the parent-infant relationship (1960). In The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment. International Universities Press. 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

  3. Jul 17

    Loved, But Can't Feel It? Attachment Insecurity and Dissociation : Episode 24

    🎧 Episode 24: Loved, But Can't Feel It? Attachment Insecurity and Dissociation What happens when someone tells you they love you, and you know they mean it, but you simply can't feel it? Or when someone leaves the room and, despite knowing they'll return, it feels as though they've disappeared completely? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore two often-overlooked patterns that emerge from attachment trauma and dissociation: Why love can be present but fail to register emotionally.Why absence can feel like abandonment, even in secure relationships.Drawing on philosophy, attachment theory, psychoanalysis, and contemporary trauma research, we look at how the body learns to protect itself - and how those protective responses can continue long after the original danger has passed. In this episode, you'll learn: Why dissociation is often an intelligent survival response rather than a disorder.The difference between not feeling love when it's present and not being able to hold onto love when someone is absent.How early caregiving shapes our ability to experience safety and connection.The concepts of psychic skin, the skin ego, and the protective shell.What object constancy is, and why it matters in adult relationships.Giovanni Liotti's theory linking trauma, dissociation, and disorganised attachment.Why healing happens not just through insight, but through reconnecting with the body.Takeaway: If you've ever wondered why you understand that you're loved but struggle to feel it, or why separation feels far more overwhelming than it seems to others, this episode offers a compassionate framework for understanding why. Resources - Free download: The 7 Day Body Trust Reset – A free 7-day guide to help you reconnect with your body through small, practical daily practices. References: Anzieu, D. (2016). The Skin-Ego: A New Translation (N. Segal, Trans.). Routledge. Bafna, A. R., Hurley, J., Nair, T. K., Moore, M. T., & Brumariu, L. E. (2026). Childhood adversity, perceived disorganised caregiving and dissociative symptoms in emerging adulthood. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Bick, E. (1968). The experience of the skin in early object relations. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 49:484-486. Claxton, G. (2015). Intelligence in the Flesh. Yale University Press. Liotti, G. (2004). Trauma, dissociation, and disorganized attachment: Three strands of a single braid. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(4), 472–486. Mahler, M. S., Pine, F., & Bergman, A. (1975). The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant. Routledge. Nietzsche, F. (1883/1961). Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Tustin, F. (1990). The Protective Shell in Children and Adults. Routledge. Winnicott, D. W. (1958). The Capacity to Be Alone. International Journal of Psychoanalysis ,39:416-420. 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

  4. Jul 10

    Lost Boys - Why So Many Young Men Are at War With Their Bodies : Episode 23

    🎧 Episode 23: Lost Boys - Why So Many Young Men Are at War With Their Bodies Why are so many young men struggling to feel at home in themselves? Why are increasing numbers turning to the gym, self-optimisation, or the online world in search of confidence, identity, and belonging? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore the growing crisis in male body image through the lens of psychoanalysis, attachment theory, and developmental psychology. Drawing on the work of Alessandra Lemma, Donald Winnicott, Angela Connolly, Jean Knox, and Peter Fonagy, I examine why so many young men become disconnected from their bodies, and why shame so often finds expression through appearance. Ultimately, this episode explores why so many young men feel lost, how the search for identity becomes expressed through the body, and what it takes to truly feel at home in yourself. In This Episode: The psychology of the "Lost Boy" and why so many young men feel left behindHow shame, body image, and identity become deeply intertwinedAngela Connolly's concept of the false body-self and what it reveals about male body imageHow social media and online masculinity shape embodiment and belongingWhat helps young men feel at home in themselvesA Question to Sit With: When you're trying to change your body, what are you hoping your body will change for you? References:   Connolly, A. M. (2013). Out of the body: Embodiment and its vicissitudes. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 58(5), 636–656. Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E., & Target, M. (2002). Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the self. New York: Other Press. Knox, J. (2011). Self-agency in psychotherapy: Attachment, autonomy and intimacy. New York & London: W. W. Norton. Lane-Godfrey, G. (2026, June). Homeward Bound. Men's Health. Lemma, A. (2010). An order of pure decision: Growing up in a virtual world and the adolescent's experience of being-in-a-body. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 58(4), 691–714. Movember Institute. (2025). Young Men, Masculinity Influencers and Mental Health. Office for National Statistics. (2025). Families and households in the UK: 2025. Winnicott, D. W. (1958). Collected papers: Through paediatrics to psychoanalysis. London: Tavistock Publications. 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

  5. Jul 3

    The Hypervisible and The Unseen - Algorithms, Body Image and the Fragile Self : Episode 22

    🎧 Episode 22: The Hypervisible and the Unseen - Algorithms, Body Image, and the Fragile Self What happens when we become more visible than ever before, yet feel increasingly unseen? And why does the digital world so often leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves rather than more understood? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore the psychological impact of algorithms, AI, and social media through the lens of psychoanalysis, attachment theory, and body image. Inspired by a recent seminar by psychoanalyst Alessandra Lemma, I examine how our relationship with technology is reshaping not only the way we see ourselves, but the very development of the self itself. Drawing on the work of Alessandra Lemma, Donald Winnicott, Esther Bick, contemporary research on AI and adolescent mental health, and my own BTA Triangle framework (Body Image, Trauma, and Attachment), I explore why body image is ultimately not about appearance, but about recognition, embodiment, and the experience of feeling real. Ultimately, this episode asks what happens when the algorithm becomes our primary mirror, why visibility is not the same as being known, and how healing requires us to move from surveillance back into relationship. In This Episode: What Alessandra Lemma means by "hypervisible disappearance"The difference between being seen and simply being watchedHow algorithms become a false psychological container for the fragile selfWhy AI functions as a "psychic prosthesis" for unmet attachment needsHow body image disturbance reflects a crisis of embodiment rather than appearanceWhy labels, metrics and online validation cannot replace genuine self-understandingHow healing begins through relationships that restore curiosity, embodiment, and the experience of being truly knownA Question to Sit With: When you reach for your phone, are you searching to be visible -or are you longing to feel truly seen? Free Resource: If this episode resonated with you and you'd like to begin rebuilding trust with your body, download my Free 7-Day Body Trust Reset  References: Bick, E. (1968). The experience of the skin in early object relations. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49, 484–486. Lemma, A. (2009). Being seen or being watched? A psychoanalytic perspective on body dysmorphia. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 90(4), 753–771. Lemma, A. (2023). Psychotechnical Becomings: Psychoanalysis, Identity, Desire, and Mourning in the Age of AI and Digital Mediation. Routledge. Lemma, A. (2026, June 18). From Scrolling to Working Through: Adolescence, Algorithms and the Search for Coherence. Brent Centre Seminar, Dean's Yard, London. McBain, R. K., Cantor, J. H., Breslau, J., et al. (2026). AI chatbot use and disclosure for mental health among US adolescents and young adults. JAMA Pediatrics. Published online June 1, 2026. Winnicott, D. W. (1971). Playing and Reality. Tavistock. 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

  6. Jun 26

    Glass Skin - Cosmeticorexia, Looksmaxxing and the Face We're Really Looking For : Episode 21

    🎧 Episode 21: Glass Skin - Cosmeticorexia, Looksmaxxing, and the Face We're Really Looking For Why are children as young as eight becoming obsessed with perfect skin? And what are we really looking for when we can't stop trying to improve our faces? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore the emerging phenomena of cosmeticorexia and looksmaxxing through the lenses of psychoanalysis, attachment theory, and body image. Building on last week's discussion of glass skin as the aesthetic of the screen, I examine how AI-generated beauty ideals are reshaping our relationship with our own faces, and why the pursuit of perfection often reflects much older emotional wounds. Drawing on the work of Alessandra Lemma, Donald Winnicott, contemporary research on body dysmorphic disorder, and my own BTA Triangle framework (Body Image, Trauma, and Attachment), I explore why body image struggles are rarely just about appearance. Instead, they often reveal our deepest longing to feel seen, accepted, and loved. Ultimately, this episode asks what happens when the mirror becomes a place of endless self-surveillance rather than self-recognition, and why healing begins not by changing the face, but by changing the relationship we have with ourselves and with others. In This Episode: Why glass skin has become the beauty ideal of the AI ageWhat cosmeticorexia and looksmaxxing reveal about attachment, trauma, and belongingHow AI-generated beauty standards are reshaping body imageThe role of Winnicott's "mother as mirror" and Lemma's work on body dysmorphic disorderWhy our wish to perfect the face is often a longing to be truly seenHow secure relationships - not cosmetic perfection - offer the possibility of healingA Question to Sit With: When you look in the mirror, are you searching for a better face - or for the experience of feeling seen, accepted, and loved? References: BBC News. (2026). Cosmeticorexia: How girls are falling down a skincare rabbit hole. De Souza, R. (2026, May 27). Interview on Peston. ITV. King, V., Gerisch, B., & Schreiber, J. (2020). "...to really have everything completely perfect": On the psychodynamics of contemporary forms of body optimization. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 37(2), 148–157. Lemma, A. (2009). Being seen or being watched? A psychoanalytic perspective on body dysmorphia. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 90(4), 753–771. Vuaran, Y. (2024, November 26). Looksmaxxing and neurodiversity: A psychodynamic perspective. LinkedIn. Winnicott, D. W. (1971). Playing and Reality. Routledge. 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

  7. Jun 19

    Loving What Can't Leave You - AI Companions, Attachment Hunger, and the Body We Are Forgetting : Episode 20

    🎧 Episode 20: Loving What Can't Leave You - AI Companions, Attachment Hunger, and the Body We Are Forgetting What happens when the thing that understands you best has no body of its own? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore the growing phenomenon of AI companionship through the lenses of attachment theory, psychoanalytic thinking, and body image. Beginning with attachment hunger and limerence, I examine why AI relationships can feel so compelling, why they offer relief from some of the deepest anxieties of human connection, and what may be lost when intimacy becomes increasingly detached from the body. Drawing on the film Her, alongside the work of Donald Winnicott, Alessandra Lemma, Todd Essig, and contemporary conversations led by Esther Perel, I consider what AI companionship reveals about our longing to be known, our discomfort with vulnerability, and our cultural desire to transcend the limitations of being human.  Ultimately, this episode asks what becomes of love, grief, and healing when connection no longer requires the risks of embodied relationship. In This Episode: Why AI companionship speaks so powerfully to attachment hungerWhat the film Her reveals about intimacy, grief, and the longing to be understoodThe fantasy of connection without vulnerability, loss, or bodily presenceHow grief, mourning, and real healing require human limitationWhy embodied relationships remain essential to love and connectionA Question to Sit With: What parts of being human - vulnerable, dependent, imperfect, embodied - might we risk losing if we begin to prefer connection that asks nothing of us in return? References: Amodei, D. (2026, May 19, 2026). The co-founders of Claude AI tell Oprah about the impact artificial intelligence has on your life. The Oprah Podcast. Essig, T. (2025). Psychoanalytic AI activism: Creatively and critically engaging the future. The American Psychoanalyst, 59 (1), 18–23. Jonze, S. (Director). (2013). Her [Film]. Annapurna Pictures. Lemma, A. (2026). Psychotechnical Becomings: Psychoanalysis, Identity, Desire, and Mourning in the Age of AI and Digital Mediation. Routledge. Perel, E. (2026, May 26, 2026). Oprah and renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel on what we really want in a relationship. The Oprah Podcast. Winnicott, D. W. (1953). Transitional objects and transitional phenomena: A study of the first not-me possession. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 34, 89–97. 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

  8. Jun 12

    Limerence, Attachment and the Other We Create : Episode 19

    🎧 Episode 19: Limerence, Attachment, and the Other We Create What happens when longing becomes more real than the person it is attached to? In this episode of Mind the Body, I explore the psychology of limerence - the intense, consuming experience of longing for another person who often remains emotionally unavailable, uncertain, or just out of reach. Drawing on attachment theory, psychoanalytic thinking, and Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott, I examine why limerence can feel so powerful, why it is rarely about the other person alone. Together, we explore how early attachment experiences shape our expectations of love, how the mind constructs an internal version of the other, and why healing requires more than understanding. Beneath limerence lies something deeper: grief, longing, and the possibility of creating a new experience of connection. In This Episode: What limerence is and why it can feel so consumingHow attachment patterns shape romantic longingThe internal world we create around the people we desireWhy insight alone cannot resolve limerenceThe relationship between longing, grief, and healingWhat it means to turn from fantasy toward realityA Question to Sit With: What might my longing be trying to tell me about the kind of love, care, or recognition I needed long before this person appeared? References: Chefetz, R., Soffer-Dudek, N., & Somer, E. (2023). When Daydreaming Becomes Maladaptive: Phenomenological and Psychoanalytic Perspectives. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 37, 319–338. Sperling, M. B. (1988). Phenomenology and Developmental Origins of Desperate Love. Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 11(4), 741–761. Tennov, D. (1979). Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love. Stein and Day. Verhulst, J. (1984). Limerence: Notes on the Nature and Function of Passionate Love. Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 7(1), 115–138. Winnicott, D. W. (1974). Fear of Breakdown. International Review of Psycho-Analysis, 1, 103–107. 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

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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
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mind the Body Podcast
  • Show Website
    Mind the Body Podcast