Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
Feelings You Can Trust — Episode 19: Rewriting Your Inner World: From Overthinking to Awareness
In this episode, we’re circling back to Step 1 of the Feelings You Can Trust Framework: Getting Out of Survival Mode. Today’s focus?
Rumination.
Why we do it, where it comes from, and how understanding your own thought patterns can help you step into a safer, more empowered internal world.
Together, we explore generational influences, trauma, social conditioning, the science behind rumination, and practical ways to interrupt repetitive thoughts—so you can finally breathe, observe, and move toward a life you feel safe in.
This episode is especially for the woman who’s ready to build emotional clarity, soften survival instincts, and create a mindset that supports her healing… not her fear.
⏱️ Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome back + holiday break update
01:13 – Grad school burnout + cultural immersion paper
03:48 – Winter semester updates & upcoming practicum
05:24 – What I'm reading (and not reading)
06:17 – Book club update: Black Girls Love Smut
07:51 – Colleen Hoover thoughts + movie adaptations
09:35 – The Bone King obsession
10:26 – Listener Letters (how to submit yours)
12:04 – Framework refresher: The 5 Steps
12:51 – Today’s topic: Getting out of survival mode
13:47 – Understanding thought patterns as a “character trait”
14:59 – How parents shape our thinking
17:02 – Generational trauma & big T trauma explained
22:07 – Seeking awareness without blame
23:22 – Trauma’s impact on how we think
24:00 – What rumination is + how it forms
25:05 – NIH research on rumination
26:21 – Narrow focus vs. broadened awareness
27:53 – The difference between processing and getting stuck
28:48 – Fear, immobility, and survival mode
29:50 – Why awareness is the first step out of survival
31:04 – Mindfulness + vagus nerve breathing
33:39 – Anxiety, presence, and self-observation
34:09 – The emotional relationship to your thoughts
35:29 – How to alchemize rumination into empowerment
36:57 – Changing perspective vs. changing circumstances
37:26 – Worrying is not always a choice
38:10 – Final encouragement + closing thoughts
⚠️ Disclaimer:
I am not a licensed therapist. Everything shared on this podcast is based on personal experience, research, and my own perspectives. Nothing in this episode should be considered medical, clinical, or legal advice. Please seek support from a licensed mental health professional for guidance specific to your situation.
Resources:
Black Girls Love Smut:
bookclubs.com/join-a-book-club/club/black-girls-love-smut
Rumination Tools:
Studies Referenced:
Michl, L. C., McLaughlin, K. A., Shepherd, K., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2013).Rumination as a mechanism linking stressful life events to symptoms of depression and anxiety: Longitudinal evidence in early adolescents and adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(2), 339–352. doi.org/10.1037/a0031994
Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2013). Assessing treatments used to reduce rumination and/or worry: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(8), 996–1009. doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.08.004
Feelings You Can Trust — Episode 19: Rewriting Your Inner World: From Overthinking to Awareness
In this episode, we’re circling back to Step 1 of the Feelings You Can Trust Framework: Getting Out of Survival Mode. Today’s focus?
Rumination.
Why we do it, where it comes from, and how understanding your own thought patterns can help you step into a safer, more empowered internal world.
Together, we explore generational influences, trauma, social conditioning, the science behind rumination, and practical ways to interrupt repetitive thoughts—so you can finally breathe, observe, and move toward a life you feel safe in.
This episode is especially for the woman who’s ready to build emotional clarity, soften survival instincts, and create a mindset that supports her healing… not her fear.
⏱️ Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome back + holiday break update
01:13 – Grad school burnout + cultural immersion paper
03:48 – Winter semester updates & upcoming practicum
05:24 – What I'm reading (and not reading)
06:17 – Book club update: Black Girls Love Smut
07:51 – Colleen Hoover thoughts + movie adaptations
09:35 – The Bone King obsession
10:26 – Listener Letters (how to submit yours)
12:04 – Framework refresher: The 5 Steps
12:51 – Today’s topic: Getting out of survival mode
13:47 – Understanding thought patterns as a “character trait”
14:59 – How parents shape our thinking
17:02 – Generational trauma & big T trauma explained
22:07 – Seeking awareness without blame
23:22 – Trauma’s impact on how we think
24:00 – What rumination is + how it forms
25:05 – NIH research on rumination
26:21 – Narrow focus vs. broadened awareness
27:53 – The difference between processing and getting stuck
28:48 – Fear, immobility, and survival mode
29:50 – Why awareness is the first step out of survival
31:04 – Mindfulness + vagus nerve breathing
33:39 – Anxiety, presence, and self-observation
34:09 – The emotional relationship to your thoughts
35:29 – How to alchemize rumination into empowerment
36:57 – Changing perspective vs. changing circumstances
37:26 – Worrying is not always a choice
38:10 – Final encouragement + closing thoughts
⚠️ Disclaimer:
I am not a licensed therapist. Everything shared on this podcast is based on personal experience, research, and my own perspectives. Nothing in this episode should be considered medical, clinical, or legal advice. Please seek support from a licensed mental health professional for guidance specific to your situation.
Resources:
Black Girls Love Smut:
bookclubs.com/join-a-book-club/club/black-girls-love-smut
Rumination Tools:
Studies Referenced:
Michl, L. C., McLaughlin, K. A., Shepherd, K., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2013).Rumination as a mechanism linking stressful life events to symptoms of depression and anxiety: Longitudinal evidence in early adolescents and adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(2), 339–352. doi.org/10.1037/a0031994
Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2013). Assessing treatments used to reduce rumination and/or worry: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(8), 996–1009. doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.08.004
