It’s never been safe to be a woman in this world, especially if you’re an outspoken or successful one. For generations, we’ve carried the trauma of the war against our bodies, minds, spirits, and then some. Yet, the more we as women succeed and break glass ceilings, our nervous system perceives it as a threat and goes into hyper-vigilant mode.
We experience it whenever we reach a new level of business success and decide to self-sabotage. My guest Dr. Valerie Rein calls this invisible threat hanging around the backdrop of our lives “patriarchy stress disorder.” In this episode, she and I define what it is and how to understand it so you can break out of patriarchal prison and begin burnout-proofing your business and your life.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
13:33 – Dr. Valerie discusses the health scare that triggered her realization of this disorder as a real thing challenging women.
17:28 – What is patriarchy stress disorder, and how did Dr. Valerie connect the dots?
22:57 – Dr. Valerie reveals why traditional talk therapy doesn’t have the tools for healing trauma.
25:58 – How does the transmission of intergenerational trauma happen? A study involving cherry blossoms and mice illustrates it well.
29:45 – Discover the reason why we women sabotage ourselves and struggle in getting to the next level.
31:58 – Dr. Valerie and I uncover a startling trend in the self-help space for women entrepreneurs in recent years.
36:05 – This core wound of patriarchy sets us up for a battle we can’t win. There’s only one way to get off the hamster wheel.
40:21 – Dr. Valerie tells a story of one of her clients that shows the magic that can happen when you rewire your nervous system.
44:09 – How can you tell when your defense mechanisms no longer serve you? Dr. Valerie unearths signs of trauma adaptations that may surprise you.
50:28 – Learn even more client stories that reveal the benefits of healing trauma and rewiring the nervous system.
52:45 – Where does Dr. Valerie recommend people start to make an internal shift away from the hustle?
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