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 | E7 | The First Boundary
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, I revisit the season after dissociation became my survival strategy and share a layer I hadn’t spoken about before — the moment I stopped only enduring and started pleading.
I talk about trying to protect my siblings, parsing language for safety, and the quiet shift that happened when I realized fear didn’t belong to me alone. I share what it looked like to leave home without truly escaping, how self-sufficiency became my shield, and how trauma quietly shaped my understanding of love, safety, and authority in early adulthood.
This episode explores boundary setting after childhood sexual abuse, the cost of silence in marriage, and the complicated space between survival and autonomy. It’s about holding a line for the first time — not perfectly, not loudly — but clearly.
And it’s about the awareness that follows.
Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse and boundary violations. There are no graphic details, but listener discretion is advised.
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
