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Down With My Demons: The Shadow Work Path
Down With My Demons is a podcast for people who are ready to stop spiritually bypassing, turn toward their pain, and build a more honest relationship with themselves.
Together, we explore shadow work: all the parts of us we’ve hidden, exiled, or learned to be ashamed of. Through storytelling, depth psychology, trauma-informed insight, and intimate conversations with guests, we look at the raw, uncomfortable material of being human: grief, rage, desire, shame, longing, burnout, and everything in between.
This is a space where:
- No parts are bad parts – every emotion and pattern is seen as meaningful and workable.
- We connect dots between your personal story and larger systems (family, culture, capitalism, patriarchy, colonization).
- Nervous system + soul work meet – we talk about the brain, body, and psyche, and how to actually integrate change instead of just talking about it.
- Big topics are named out loud – complex trauma, addiction, pleasure, power, money, sex, spirituality, and the collective grief of living in uncertain times.
I’m Chloe Lionheart – a doctoral candidate in clinical depth psychology, therapist, researcher, and longtime befriender of my own shadows. I don’t come as a guru, but as a fellow human who’s been cracked open and is still learning. Expect real talk, tenderness, and basking in raw humanness.
If you’re:
- tired of self-help that skips over the hard parts,
- craving language for what you feel but can’t quite name,
- longing for companionship on the path of becoming…
…then this show is for you.
Come sit by the fire, bring your demons, and let’s find out what they’ve been trying to tell you about the life you actually deserve to live.
Down With My Demons: The Shadow Work Path
PTSD and C-PTSD: Understanding Chronic Trauma
Today we're talking about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and C-PTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder). With so much to unpack, we discuss what these two things are, the differences, neurological factors, somatic sensations, how they show up in our day to day or in our development, what impact they have on our relationships, and how to navigate these depths while living a life full of wonder. Please subscribe, share, and review if you feel called. See you in there!
https://www.downwithmydemons.com/
To connect with Chloe Lionheart:
Email: chloe@downwithmydemons.com
RESOURCES:
"What makes complex ptsd different"
https://www.brainline.org/article/what-makes-complex-ptsd-different-typical-ptsd-and-how-begin-healing-process
Dr. Gabor Mate on Trauma: https://drgabormate.com/trauma/
Neuro-information:
Amygdala: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8228195/#:~:text=The%20amygdala%20participates%20in%20the,of%20the%20fight%2Dor%2Dflight
Hippocampus: https://www.osmosis.org/answers/hippocampus#:~:text=The%20hippocampus%20is%20involved%20in,to%20the%20objects%20around%20them.
Autonomic Nervous System: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539845/#:~:text=The%20autonomic%20nervous%20system%20is,sympathetic%2C%20parasympathetic%2C%20and%20enteric.
Limbic System:
https://www.webmd.com/brain/limbic-system-what-to-know#:~:text=The%20primary%20limbic%20system%20function,and%20its%20sphere%20of%20influence.
Soul Retrieval:
https://kripalu.org/resources/soul-retrieval
Active Imagination: Confrontation with the Unconscious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRVlWEwmbfQ
Mentions:
Dysthymia:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/dysthymia#:~:text=What%20is%20dysthymia%3F,of%20major%20depression%20at%20times.
Somatic Practice:
One hand on heart and one below the belly. Feet hips width apart. Slowly rock side to side and close your eyes and breathe.
Practice for relationships:
- “I have this narrative ___________________, would you please confirm or deny it?”
- “Would you like me to just listen or offer solutions?”
- “Do you have space at the moment to talk?"