One Year In....Behind the Mic & Beyond the Mask

It’s hard to believe... but it’s been ONE full year since the Growing Tall Poppies podcast began. 🌱

What started as a passion project to explore post-traumatic growth and share powerful stories of transformation has now become a sanctuary for not only survivors of trauma… but also for the helpers, healers, and holding-it-all-together professionals who tune in each week.

In this very special anniversary episode, I’m pausing to reflect on:

• The key lessons I’ve learned from a year of deep, vulnerable conversations
• The surprising way the podcast has evolved—and the new direction we’re leaning into
• A loving nudge to therapists, coaches, health, and helping professionals who are giving so much… while quietly burning out
• Why it’s OK to want more—more support, more joy, more wholeness—and how to begin reclaiming it

We’ll also revisit the mission behind Growing Tall Poppies and what it truly means to grow tall in a world that often asks you to stay small.

💛 Whether you’ve been here since episode one or just found us recently—thank you. Your courage, your stories, and your quiet resilience are what make this community so special.

This episode is for you. Especially if you’re exhausted. Especially if you’re still showing up.

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If you’ve found value in this episode, consider leaving a review—it helps more listeners find their way to this space. 💛

And if you're a helping professional who’s ready to move from surviving to thriving... stick around. This next year is just for you.

If this episode resonates with you then I'd love for you to hit SUBSCRIBE so you can keep updated with each new episode as soon as it's released and we'd be most grateful if you would give us a RATING as well. You can also find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drnatgreen/ or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DrNatalieGreen

Intro and Outro music: Inspired Ambient by Playsound.

Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be deemed or treated as psychological treatment or to replace the need for psychological treatment.

Transcript

Dr Nat Green: 0:01

Welcome to the Growing Tall Poppies Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Nat Green, and I'm so excited to have you join me as we discuss what it means to navigate your way through post-traumatic growth and not just survive, but to thrive after trauma. Through our podcast, we will explore ways for you to create a life filled with greater purpose, self-awareness, and a deep inner peace. Through integrating the many years of knowledge and professional experience, as well as the wisdom of those who have experienced trauma firsthand. We'll combine psychology accelerated approaches. Coaching and personal experience to assist you, to learn, to grow and to thrive. I hope to empower you to create deeper awareness and understanding and stronger connections with yourself and with others, whilst also paving the way for those who have experienced trauma and adversity to reduce their suffering and become the very best versions of themselves. In order to thrive. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode. Hello, beautiful listeners and fellow Tall poppies. I'm your host, Dr. Nat Green, and I wanted to welcome you to a very special episode of Growing Tall Poppies. Today is a really special day for me. As it marks one year since releasing the very first episode of this podcast, and honestly, I'm still wrapping my head around that one year ago, I sat in front of my mic, heart pounding, wondering if anyone would even listen. I had no idea where this journey would take me. I just knew that I had a calling deep in my gut. To create a space for stories that often go untold stories of growth, of transformation and rising from the ashes of trauma. I was wondering if there was a space for the kind of stories I wanted to tell, the kind of conversations that I knew were missing in the healing space, and here we are. Fast forward 12 months later. With a library full of honest, brave, inspiring conversations and a beautiful community who really get it, who continues to blow me away with your strength, your vulnerability, and your heart, who know what it means to break open, to feel lost, to carry invisible weight, and yet still choose to rise. I didn't realize that I wasn't just launching a podcast. I was starting a movement. So from the bottom of my heart to every single one of you, thank you. Whether you've listened to every episode or this is your very first one, please know how deeply grateful I am that you're here. When I began Growing Tall Poppies, I had one mission to give voice to the often invisible experiences of trauma, of healing, and of post-traumatic growth, to tell the truth of what happens after the chaos. When the world thinks you're fine, but you're still putting your pieces back together behind closed doors, and to celebrate the resilience, the tenderness, and the strength of those who keep showing up even when it's hard, despite. When it's hard and when that absolute chaos settles. Over the past year, I've had the privilege of sitting with people who have endured the unimaginable and yet still found a way to heal, to grow. To love again and to step into something even more authentic than who they were before, and that's the biggest takeaway for me. Healing isn't about returning to who you were before the trauma. It's about redefining who you are now acknowledging. That it's about becoming someone wiser, more grounded, more you on the other side of everything you've been through. And that's the heart of post-traumatic growth. It's what every story on this podcast has shown me in one way or another. So whether we're talking about grief, significant loss, chronic pain. Chronic health conditions, cancer diagnoses, identity loss, relationship breakdowns, trauma and abuse, or even rediscovering joy. After the fog lifts, every single guest has reminded me that we are unbelievably resilient when we choose to grow through. What we go through. Every guest I've had on this show has taught me something. Every message, every download, every share has affirmed that this work matters. This work absolutely matters. It matters to so many people out in the world. The biggest thing I've learned this past year is probably that healing isn't linear, and most definitely it's not a solo mission. And that brings me back to this podcast name Growing Tall Poppies here in Australia especially. We are all too familiar with the tall poppy syndrome. This cultural idea that when someone stands tall in their truth or dares to shine, they should be cut down. I know this happens in other countries around the world. It's why we now have listeners from so many countries, 41 countries around the world, so you get it too. And you know exactly what it is like to be a tall poppy. What if we redefine that? What if being a growing tall poppy meant rising up anyway despite everything? What if it meant standing tall in your story, your scars, your strength, and not ever apologizing for how brightly you choose to bloom? That is what this podcast is about. It's not about perfection. It's not about fixing yourself. It's about embracing your wholeness. Even the messy bits, absolutely the messy bits, and allowing yourself to grow. To grow tall in a world that may have tried to keep you small. To be a growing tall poppy is to rise. Despite everything that tried to keep you down, it's to refuse to shrink so that others feel comfortable. It's to reclaim your story, your voice, and your worth, even when you've been conditioned to doubt it. But I also wanna be real about what that journey often looks like. It's messy. It is lonely at times. It takes immense courage to keep growing when no one sees your roots, only your petals. And here's where I wanna shift gears a little, because over the past few months, some things become more and more clear to me that there's another group of tall poppies who've been quietly tuning in. Helping professionals, therapists, coaches, allied health workers, counselors, and healers, people who spend their lives showing up for others with full hearts and empty cups. I see you. You are the ones holding space for trauma, witnessing pain, absorbing grief, and still going home to your own families, your own histories, your own quiet ache. You are the ones who say, I'm fine when I know you're not. Who feel guilt for wanting more. Because you've made a life out of giving, and today I want to speak directly to you, it's okay to struggle if you've been feeling burnt out, disillusioned, or just plain, exhausted. If you've been questioning whether what you're doing still lights you up, if you've been wondering when it's your turn to heal, to grow to thrive, please hear this. It's okay to acknowledge your struggle. It's okay to want more for yourself, and it's. Absolutely okay to be the one who needs support, even when you are the one everyone else leans on. In fact, because you are the one everyone else leans on, it's necessary because you cannot pour from an empty cup forever. You cannot hold space for transformation if you are denying your own. More than that, you deserve to thrive too. One of the things I've noticed, particularly in this past year, is how hesitant helping professionals artists share their personal stories. The guests we've had on the podcast in this first year have been nothing short of amazing sharing their stories. Their learnings in all their vulnerabilities opening up their hearts for all of us, and we know that these have moved all of our listeners and meant so much along the way. There's this unspoken belief that vulnerability equals weakness or that our struggles disqualify us from the work we're born to do. But that could not be further from the truth. In my experience, the most powerful therapists, coaches, and practitioners that I know are the ones who've been through the fire and know the path out, not because they read it in a textbook, but because they've lived it. That's not a liability, that's a gift. It's time we stop hiding that your story is part of your power and sharing it appropriately, ethically, and honestly creates more connection, not less, and it gives hope. So as we step into year two of growing tall poppies, I'm feeling such a strong pull to create more space for you. The helpers, the healers, the quiet warriors who are ready to stop surviving and start thriving. Yes, this podcast will still hold space for those who've lived through trauma and are seeking post-traumatic growth, but it will also lean into the needs of the people who support that growth in others, because too often your wellbeing gets left out of the conversation. We'll explore what it means to be an authentic and fully embodied practitioner. We'll talk about burnout, identity boundaries, nervous system healing, and how to reconnect with your purpose. We will have more conversations that are raw, real, and revolutionary. More stories from people like you who've come out the other side of trauma, but still sometimes feel stuck in the space between surviving and truly thriving. More tools, more reflections, and more guidance on how to navigate that space, because I know all too well how disorienting it can feel. And most importantly, we'll honor the whole human behind the professional title because you are so much more than the role you play. So if you are listening today. And you feel like I'm speaking directly to you and your heart, please know that I am. You are not alone in this, there's a quiet revolution happening among helping professionals, a shift from martyrdom to meaning, from burnout to balance, and going on to thriving. And I want growing tall poppies to be a sanctuary for that shift. This podcast isn't just a project anymore. It's become a movement, a place where you can be seen, heard, and reminded that your healing matters too. So to every guest, every listener, every supporter, and every quiet observer. Thank you. To everyone who's listened, shared an episode, sent a message, cried, laughed, or nodded along silently, I see you. I feel your presence and your support has made this possible. Your stories have made this podcast come alive. You've allowed me to build something deeply meaningful. You've reminded me why storytelling is sacred, why holding space is truly a privilege, and your courage to keep showing up even on the hard days reminds me why I started this in the first place and why growth is worth fighting for, even when it's slow, and yes, even when it's silent. So as we move into this next season of the podcast, I hope you'll stay with me. Or if you're new here, welcome. You belong. You absolutely belong to this community, and together we'll keep growing, keep rising, and keep redefining what it means to be a tall poppy in a world where we are often misunderstood. So here's to another year of healing, growing, and blooming one brave story at a time with all my love and absolute gratitude from the bottom of my heart. Bye for now. Thank you for joining me in this episode of Growing Tall Poppies. It is my deepest hope that today's episode may have inspired and empowered you to step fully into your post-traumatic growth, so that you can have absolute clarity around who you are, what matters the most to you, and to assist you to release your negative emotions. And regulate your nervous system so you can fully thrive. New episodes are published every Tuesday, and I hope you'll continue to join us as we explore both the strategies and the personal qualities required to fully live a life of post-traumatic growth and to thrive. So if it feels aligned to you and really resonates. Then I invite you to hit Subscribe and it would mean the world to us if you could share this episode with others who you feel may benefit too. You may also find me on Instagram at Growing Tall Poppies and Facebook, Dr. Natalie Green. Remember, every moment is an opportunity to look for the lessons. And to learn and increase your ability to live the life you desire and deserve. So for now, stay connected. Stay inspired. Stand tall like the tall poppy you are, and keep shining your light brightly in the world. Bye for now.