Rewired -Triumph Over Trauma

Paula Walters and Kerri Walker wanted to introduce themselves to their new audience. This is Kerri Walker talking about herself, her history, and her excitement in taking this new journey with Paula!

Paula and Kerri discuss the biology of trauma, chemicals and hormones affected and how it can make us feel, think, react, and behave!

In this episode, I introduce my friend and colleague Kerri Walker.  We have a conversation about how childhood trauma can change the way your brain wires itself.  We talk about how children raised in homes with abuse, trauma, and neglect often get wired for protection and the long-term impacts of that into adulthood.  There are differences in children who are raised in loving homes versus those who are raised in homes with trauma, neglect, and abuse.  Below you can see Kerri Walkers' Bio and her contact links.  My name is Kerri and I'm a Certified Trauma and Resiliency Life Coach, a Certified Trauma Support Specialist, and Advocate. I am also the Owner/CEO of Invisible Wounds: Healing from Trauma, which includes a weekly podcast, website, YouTube channel, and social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I am a writer, speaker and content creator and am passionate about helping others overcome the impacts of trauma. I've worked with survivors of Intimate Partner Violence for over 12 years and with those who have Traumatic Brain Injury for 8 years. I work collaboratively with brilliant and wonderful professionals and groups around the world in this field! We work to promote research, provide education, training, and develop programs, tools and protocols for any organization, system, or group and to help those who've experienced Intimate Partner Violence and Traumatic Brain Injury personally. I am a survivor of both, and I have lots of lived experience with trauma, beginning from my earliest childhood memories onward. I started my podcast, websites, and YouTube channel as a way of connecting different shared experiences we may have with trauma, and steps we can take in order to heal, build resiliency, and grow! I can relate my story to others and talk to them about what has worked for me in recovering from a lifetime of trauma, brain injury, and adversity. Using a Trauma-Informed Care approach, I provide real world, relatable, and easy to use exercises in each podcast episode. Listeners can have tools to use to help them become more grounded, relaxed, and gain understanding around how trauma has impacted them and how they can heal one step at a time. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzQ1NzgxNS8?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEirKggrT-AhVyh-4BHWVuDHYQ9sEGegQIARAC https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMzV7oNVzLJpxFKjfvcaFDA https://invisiblewoundshealingfromtrauma.com/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/domestic-violence-tbi_n_7488168 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/invisible-wounds-healing-from-trauma/id1669069096

It takes a long time to find who you are when you are raised living in fear and just trying to survive.  I have started and stopped podcasting several times over the last two years.  2023 was a huge year for me.  I had a year of reflection and rest.  I have traveled all over the Country speaking and training which has opened my eyes so much to what my purpose is.  I have spoken to advocates, judges, law enforcement, nurses, child welfare workers, church groups, politicians, prosecutors, first responders, and the list goes on.  My journey has been relevant in all groups that I have spoken to.  I have learned that the gaps in the medical and legal system's understanding of the invisible injuries of trauma are systemic and they need to be addressed.  I have become passionate about changing the conversations from what is wrong with them to what has happened to them.  It is in understanding trauma that we can each come along with survivors to better help them heal and live lives where they break cycles of violence.   This is my relaunch episode sharing a little bit about what to expect in this podcast.  

As a survivor of abuse and trauma, I have learned that survivors are not set up for success.  I have often felt like you can't win as a survivor.  I've rarely felt like there were safe places to talk about what happened to me.  I was often met with shame and blame.  I didn't know how messed up my childhood was till I realized how messed up my childhood really was if that makes any sense.   As I started to realize there were a lot of things about me that needed to be changed, I started having a lot of complex medical problems.   It was through that medical mayhem that I realized how broken the system was and how judgemental a large number of people were against domestic violence survivors.  I went to doctor after doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with me.  With each doctor I went to, I was given more and more medical diagnoses and medicines.  The more doctors I went to, it seems the less serious doctors took me.   It was when I was at rock bottom and contemplating suicide that I found hope.  I grasped at a final straw and went to Minnesota to see a functional neurologist.  I came back from a week-long intensive a completely different person and full of hope.  I learned that all of those medical providers were part of the reason I was so sick.  I learned so much out there about reaching wellness.  It was then that I became hungry to learn more and to continue this amazing new healing I had found.   I have spent the last 4 years researching and researching to find one place that helps survivors like me to understand how trauma impacted them and to help them reset themselves so they can move on past the trauma.  Guess what, there isn't a place.  I wanted to use this podcast as a way to share my experiences as a trauma survivor.  I believe this is my calling from God and my way to help others know that there is hope.

As a survivor of multiple forms of abuse starting at the earliest memories of my life, I have dealt with the impacts of trauma on my physical and mental health.  I have gone to dozens of doctors across multiple states and until 2021, no one really put it all together.  As I have tried to work on recovery, I have realized that the system is not set up for the benefit of the survivors.  Each part of the recovery has its own path and that very much made me feel like I was told different things by different providers.  I found healing when I found a doctor who dealt with and educated me about what was going on inside of me.  It was through addressing the root and addressing everything at one time collectively that I was able to really get a hold of recovery.  I am now living a journey to healing, love, peace, and joy.  This is just the pilot episode touching on all the things to come in this weekly podcast of a lifelong journey to triumphing over trauma and living the best life possible.  

In this episode, I talk with one of my functional neurologists as I head to Minnesota for treatment the week of November 14th, 2022.  Dr. Erik Reis DC, DACNB, CBIS, and Dr. Michael Hennes help me navigate brain injury recovery after being misdiagnosed for over 13 years.  After working with Dr. Reis over the last year and a half, I have learned there is so much more to wellness than I thought.  We talk about my symptoms and why Dr. Ries focused on the areas of recovery he did for me.  We talk about nutrition, vision, and the "3 friends".   If you would like to get in contact with Dr. Reis you can reach him by email at drreis@theneuralconnection.com or Dr. Hennes at drhennes@theneuralconnection.com.  You can learn more about The Neural Connection at https://theneuralconnection.com/

After launching Rewired a year and a half ago, I had a lot of life get in the way.  Sometimes God puts you in a place of waiting because He needs to work on you a little bit more before He lets you move forward.  I have found a new purpose and passion with my story.  It felt like I was trying to weave in and out of lanes between domestic violence, child abuse, near-fatal strangulation, and sexual assault.  When I went to visit Dr. Erik Reis at The Neural Connection, the trajectory of my life changed.  After a week of intensive with Erik, I felt like a completely different person and all of my symptoms were virtually gone.  As much as I appreciated the treatment I received, I absolutely loved the education and awareness I received from my doctor.  I now have this different outlook on my recovery and my focus is now driven toward total body wellness.   Take a listen to the relaunch and what is coming in the months ahead.