#452. How To Live With The Worst Things That Ever Happened To You | Stephanie Foo

We’ve all had difficult, and sometimes horrible things happen to us. 

While some people may be luckier than others, it’s rare that anyone goes unscathed. This episode is part of our Mental Health Reboot series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month. 

In this episode, Stephanie Foo shares her story of being diagnosed with complex PTSD and how she learned to process her trauma and live with her past. The result of her journey is a new book called What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma. 

Stephanie Foo is a journalist and radio producer. Her previous work includes This American Life, The Cut, Reply All, and 99% Invisible. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times and Vox. 

In this conversation we talk about: 

• The various therapies, meditation styles, and wellness modalities Stephanie explored to help process her trauma
• What actually worked for her, and how it might be relevant to other survivors
• Shame, gratitude, and self-love
• Her transformative work with Dr. Jacob Ham, who will be featured in another episode this week. 

Content Warnings: Discussions of trauma and abuse, references to addiction and mental health challenges. Explicit language. 

(Photo Credit: Bryan Derballa)

Where to find Stephanie Foo online: 

Website: stephaniefoo.me/

Social Media:

• Twitter: @imontheradio
• Instagram: @foofoofoo

Book Mentioned:

• What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Jacob Ham
• Center for Child Trauma and Resilience at Mount Sinai 
• Evelyn Tribole
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• #323. How (and Why) to Hug Your Inner Dragons | Richard Schwartz (TPH episode) 

Additional Resources:

• Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install