Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide
Traditional career development not working for you as a trauma survivor? Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide reimagines professional success with your healing journey in mind. Join trauma survivor turned trauma-informed career coach, Cyndi Bennett, MBA, M.Ed., for strategies that actually work for trauma survivors seeking career growth. Subscribe for weekly tips on building a career that honors your healing journey.
Episodes
56 episodes
Why A Narcissist Coworker Feels So Familiar To You | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 56
Ever met a coworker who felt unsettlingly familiar? There's a reason for that. In this episode, Cyndi Bennett gets personal about what happened after the workplace blowup in Episode 50 — and why her coworker's behavior felt like som...
When Leaving Was the Only Way Forward with Jenny Gardner | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep. 55
In this episode, Cyndi Bennett sits down with Resilient Career Academy member Jenny Gardner, a 30-year social work veteran who reached her breaking point and made the brave decision to choose herself. This is a candid, heartfelt conversation ab...
What Nobody Warned Me About Building a Business After Trauma | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 54
Nobody warned me that building my own business wouldn't automatically feel safe. 💙If you left the traditional workplace to build something of your own — or you're planning to — this episode is for you. Cyndi Bennett names the four specif...
What I Found When I Finally Looked at What Wasn't Working Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide, Episode 53
Are you building your career or business the way YOU actually want to? 🔍Cyndi Bennett gets radically honest about the audit she'd been avoiding — and what she found when she finally looked. If you've ever stayed too busy to ask whether w...
I Don't Know What I Want — And That's Not Your Fault | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 52
"I don't know what I want" — What if that's not a flaw, but a survival response? 💙If you've ever gone completely blank when someone asks what you want to do with your life, this episode is for you. Cyndi Bennett gets deeply person...
Narcissism in the Workplace with Kimberly Weeks | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 51
Have you ever walked into a work meeting and suddenly felt like a child again — shrinking, people-pleasing, or reacting in ways that surprised even you? You're not imagining it. Narcissistic workplace dynamics can mirror the family systems many...
When Work Gets Ugly: Righting Your Emotional Ship as a Trauma Survivor | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 50
Have you ever been triggered at work so badly you couldn't function? 😔 You're not alone.In this raw, real, and deeply personal episode, trauma-informed career coach Cyndi Bennett takes you behind the scenes of a workplace blowup —...
Turning "Failure" Into Fuel: What Your Setbacks Are Actually Telling You | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 49
When something goes wrong in your career, your nervous system doesn't just feel setback — it feels proof.When something goes wrong in your career, your nervous system doesn't just feel setback — it feels proof. Proof that you're not eno...
Why I Quit the Program Everyone Said Would Work | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 48
Did you follow a program perfectly… and still fail? You're not alone. 💔In this raw and honest episode, trauma-informed career coach Cyndi Bennett shares the story of how she invested thousands of dollars into a business coaching p...
Why Saying "NO" Feels Dangerous (And What It's Really Telling You) | Trauma & Career Ep. 47
Does your chest tighten the moment you think about saying no? Do you automatically say yes — even when your body is screaming the opposite? You're not weak. You're not dramatic. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do.
When Building Your Business Becomes the New Trigger | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 46
You left the workplace because it was too triggering to survive. So why does building your business feel just as dysregulating? For a lot of trauma survivors, entrepreneurship isn't a passion project — it's an exit...
Coming Out as a DID System at Work | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 45
What happens when a trauma-informed career coach comes out publicly as a DID system — and what it means for everyone navigating their career while healing?In this raw, unscripted episode, Cyndi shares three big life updates: coming out ...
Trauma-Informed Leadership for Front-Line Workers | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 44
Front-line workers—healthcare providers, emergency responders, therapists and counselors, social workers, teachers, and service workers—face unique challenges that leadership models often weren't designed to address. When you're constantly expo...
Trauma-Informed Leadership: Nervous System Leadership | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 43
She'd been through every leadership program. She could articulate leadership principles beautifully. Her evaluations were excellent. So why did her team still seem anxious? Why did people hesitate before speaking in meetings?Because trad...
Leading as a Trauma Survivor: Insights From Both Sides | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 42
"Just create psychological safety by telling your team it's okay to make mistakes!" Everyone nodded. I felt my stomach tighten. Because I remembered being that employee - the one whose manager said all the right things, then subtly punished eve...
Trauma Informed Leadership: Team Recovery from Toxic Leadership | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 41
Three months after the toxic executive left, Maya had hired an excellent replacement and implemented new policies. So why were her strongest performers resigning? Why was the team angrier than ever?Because she didn't understand the real...
Trauma Informed Leadership: Recognizing High Performer Burnout | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 40
Sarah arrives at 7 AM every morning, stays past 7 PM most nights, and delivers ahead of schedule. Marcus stays calm during every crisis. Both are high performers. Both are also quietly struggling with trauma responses that masquerade as profess...
The Role of Peer Support in Professional Spaces w/ Jade Miller | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 39
Ever wondered what makes peer support different from therapy—and why it matters for your career? In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Jade Miller, a peer support worker specializing in dissociative experiences, to explore how peer rel...
2026 Word of the Year: Collaboration | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 38
What happens when you stop protecting your progress and start sharing it? This episode explores the powerful shift from building community to co-creating through collaboration—and why this matters deeply for trauma survivors navigating career d...
When the World Celebrates and You Clock In | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 37
If you're heading into work while everyone else is opening presents or sitting down to holiday meals, this episode is for you. We're talking about the invisible weight shift workers carry during the holidays—and why it's completely valid whethe...
Why Performance Reviews Trigger Trauma Responses | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 36
Traditional performance management wasn't designed for the 61% of employees who've experienced trauma. In this episode, we explore why annual reviews, feedback sandwiches, and stretch goals often backfire with trauma survivors - and what trauma...
Decision Paralysis or Trauma Response? | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 35
Are you stuck on a business decision, unable to tell if you're being strategic or if your nervous system is activated? In this episode, we explore how to distinguish between strategic thinking and trauma responses that disguise themselves as du...
Taking a Career Break for the Holidays Permission Granted | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 34
If you're exhausted just thinking about the holidays while everyone else seems to be celebrating... this one's for you.In this episode of Your Trauma Wise Career Guide, I'm giving you explicit permission to take a career break during th...
Redefining Success: A Trauma-Informed Approach | Your Trauma-Wise Career Guide Ep 33
What if the success you're chasing was never designed for someone like you?During one of my recent open houses, someone asked me: "How do you define success?" It's such a simple question, but the answer is anything but simple—especially...
When Workplace Relationships Break Rupture & Repair | Your Trauma Wise Career Guide Ep 32
It took you six months to believe your coworker was safe. It took six seconds for your nervous system to decide they weren't.Building professional trust when you carry trauma isn't casual—it's architecture. The patient, anxious work of ...