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Dissociated
Dissociated — Breaking Silence. Building Joy.
There was a time when silence was survival. But silence doesn’t last forever.
Host Sheryl Brown survived fifteen years of childhood sexual abuse by her adoptive father. Decades later, when her niece came forward about the same man, Sheryl finally found her voice.
In this deeply personal and hopeful podcast, she shares her journey from trauma to truth — and the light she discovered through the cracks.
Each episode blends intimate storytelling with conversations from survivors, therapists, and authors, exploring what it means to heal, to reclaim your power, and to build joy after pain.
Because the cracks in our stories aren’t where we break.
They’re where the light gets in.
Dissociated
S1 | E6 | When Dissociation Became Survival
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, the abuse reaches its most relentless form. Access expands. Protection thins. Fear no longer comes in spikes — it becomes constant.
This is the season when summer stopped being a break and became exposure. When responsibility became a trap. When survival stopped feeling temporary and started feeling permanent.
And this is where something inside me changed.
At the height of it, my mind and body chose dissociation. Not as a strategy I selected, but as a survival response I didn’t yet understand. I learned how to leave without leaving. How to disappear and still function. How to endure what felt unendurable.
I also share a present-day truth: his death, my indifference, and the complicated grief I carry for the children we were raised alongside.
This episode explores the severity of prolonged abuse, the cost of surviving it, and the powerful intelligence of a body determined to stay alive.
Content warning: This episode discusses escalating abuse and dissociation as a trauma response.
CREDITS: Created, hosted, and produced by Sheryl.
Website: dissociatedpod.com
RESOURCES
Immediate Support
- National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-4673 Website: https://www.rainn.org
- Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 Website: https://www.crisistextline.org
- Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 Website: https://988lifeline.org
Therapy & Trauma Support
- Psychology Today Therapist Finder: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapist
- Therapy Den — Inclusive Therapist Directory: https://www.therapyden.com
- EMDR International Association: https://www.emdria.org
- Trauma-Focused CBT: https://tfcbt.org
Organizations & Survivor Communities
- RAINN: https://www.rainn.org
- 1in6 (for male-identifying survivors): https://1in6.org
- Pandora’s Project: https://pandys.org
- End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI): https://evawintl.org
