In this episode of Your Traitor Within, Jessica Anne Pressler sits down with Kiki Mullican, a certified neuroscience coach with an undergraduate degree in psychology and more than 20 years of experience in mental health, human services, suicide prevention, case management, and community support. Kiki’s work focuses on childhood conditioning, toxic family systems, scapegoating, trauma patterns, and the ways early experiences shape adult relationships, identity, and survival strategies. Kiki shares how her fascination with psychology began as a child in the library, reading books she hoped would help her understand and fix the painful dynamics inside her family. She and Jessica discuss what happens when a child becomes the one trying to save everyone, why knowledge alone cannot change people who are not ready to change, and how family systems can turn the person naming the dysfunction into the problem. Together, Jessica and Kiki explore scapegoating, parentification, addiction, toxic family roles, chronic illness, agoraphobia, OCD, trauma bonds, cognitive dissonance, and the long process of learning that survival patterns are not personality flaws. Kiki speaks openly about growing up in a frightening family system, becoming the family scapegoat, trying to “fix” her mother, and later recognizing how familiar patterns continued to show up in relationships, health, self-perception, and her ability to feel safe in the world. The conversation also goes deeply into agoraphobia and the misconceptions around what it actually looks like. Kiki explains that for her, agoraphobia is not simply a fear of leaving the house. It is often a fear of people, judgment, being watched, being misunderstood, and being attacked for visible and invisible limitations. She shares how healing has happened through tiny exposures, setbacks, support, and learning to celebrate progress even when it does not look perfect from the outside. Jessica and Kiki also discuss suicide prevention, the importance of small moments of human connection, and why hearing “you are not crazy, you are not alone, and it really did happen” can become one of the first steps toward healing. Kiki’s current work through The Trauma Drama Mama helps people recognize trauma patterns, understand toxic family systems, and find language for experiences they may have spent years believing were only happening to them. This episode is for anyone who grew up feeling like the problem, spent years trying to earn love or fix a family system, or is learning now that self-awareness is only the beginning. Healing also requires support, community, repetition, and the courage to keep going even when it feels impossible. About Kiki Mullican: Kiki Mullican has an undergraduate degree in psychology and more than 20 years of experience working in mental health, human services, and community support roles. Her background includes work as a counselor, case manager, suicide prevention instructor, and volunteer VP of Operations for a Baltimore-based nonprofit serving individuals experiencing homelessness, addiction, and re-entry challenges after incarceration. She is also a certified neuroscience coach and a proud U.S. Army veteran. Her work bridges psychology concepts with lived experience, making complex emotional dynamics accessible and understandable for everyday people. Connect with Kiki Mullican: Instagram, Threads, and TikTok: @the.trauma.drama.mama Facebook: Facebook.com/thetraumadramamama Listen to Your Traitor Within: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-traitor-within/id1797804404 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JessicaAnnePressler If this episode brings up thoughts of suicide or immediate safety concerns, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Support the show
