Not Ideal, But We're Going With It.

Join us this week for the second installment of our Coping Skills miniseries! Do you ever feel at a loss when your boundaries get crossed, unsure of how to appropriately communicate your thoughts or feelings? Or maybe you feel like you use your assertive voice TOO forcefully and end up alienating or hurting the people with whom you're trying to foster healthy relationships? Well, this episode is for you! Listen in as we cover how to use your assertive voice, how to identify WHEN to use it, and how to honor yourself in a world where everyone has different values. We hope you enjoy listening, and we'll see you next year!

Join us this week for the start of our new miniseries, "Coping Skills!" In this series of episodes, we walk through several different aspects of healthy coping. This week, we cover Core Values, which are the key to determining what your healthy boundaries are. Have you ever wondered why something bothers you and not others? Well, you're about to find out! Stay tuned for more Coping Skills in the coming weeks!

Join us this week as we discuss (and argue) over how to navigate your relationships - both with yourself and others - in the aftermath of trauma. Vulnerability should increase as trust increases, but that can be hard for people with trauma! If that's not interesting enough, there's also a special guest appearance from a certain lawn-chores-obsessed husband.

Join us this week as we interview another guest STAR, Damien Linnane: an abuse survivor, ex-convict, world renowned artist, PhD candidate, and social activist. As an autistic trauma survivor, Damien walks us through his life story and how he got from prison to being a powerful voice for the vulnerable.

Join us this week as we launch our newest season. Hear about what we've been up to and what's coming next. This year we will have even more interviews, laughs, and episodes (hopefully) than last year.

Join us this week as we discuss narcissism, the common confusion around the term, and how it compares to confidence. You'll also get to hear Kim and Anna yell at each other a bit. Thanks for listening!

Join us this week as we hear from another guest STAR! Sophie, Anna's Australian friend who has been recently diagnosed with ADHD, gives us an inside look into what it's like to be an adult woman discovering, grappling with, and adjusting to the reality of this condition. It doesn't sound easy, but we are inspired after hearing from her and we think you will be, too!

That's right: we're back. After another unplanned hiatus, we invite you to join us this week as we discuss ADHD and it's interactions with trauma, it's impact on women, and more! We even take an online test to dive deeper into some of the more common symptoms! And that's not all… tune in NEXT EPISODE to meet one of Anna's friends recently diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Thanks for listening!

Join us this week for our Season 4 comeback episode! You thought we ran out of steam? Correct. But only for a few months. Now, we're back and better than ever, and we've got things to SAY! Tune in to this episode for a recap on what we've been up to and a preview for what's in store for Season 4! Thanks for joining us!

Join us this week as we talk about what it's like to reach out for a person in the middle of a traumatic event. What effect does it have when you reach out and find your person there? What about when you don't? If you can bear Anna's incomprehensibly bad story-telling technique, you might just find out.

Join us this week as we cover when and how to speak up for yourself during therapy, a setting that often has an unintended silencing effect on trauma survivors. We also cover (partially in a bad Australian accent) how COVID restrictions and intermittent isolation can affect those with already-isolating chronic disabilities. Don't worry, though: even with all these hard topics, there's still a LOT of laughter, and in this episode, there's even a competition where you can win international CANDY! Good luck!!!

Join us this week as we sit down with Dr. Mark Talbot and hear his stories of chronic suffering and loss, along with his thoughts on how to best endure the storms of heartache we all experience. Dr. Talbot shares about his book, "When The Stars Disappear," and wields his knowledge of philosophy and theology to share insight behind one of the biggest questions in life: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Therapy can be one of the most helpful things in trauma recovery! But if it's not done in a way that is sensitive to your trauma, it also has the potential to hurt. Join us this week as we talk about how the power dynamic of therapy and other types of health care can be triggering to trauma survivors. We share our views on being trauma-informed and we also laugh a lot at the incredulity of our lives. Woohoo!

Join us this week as we hear from special guest STAR Casey Lee on losing her unborn child through ectopic pregnancy. As Casey walks us through her trauma narrative of love, loss, and recovery, she shares her insights on surviving pregnancy loss and the support that helped her most. This struggle affects so many women worldwide; it’s definitely an episode you won’t want to miss.

We're back with Season 3 of the podcast! Join Kim, Anna, and their returning special guest AUNT DEBBIE (!!!) to hear about the fitness challenge that they found online and completed together! Enjoy us cutting one another off, arguing about what is interesting, and trying our best to stay connected despite the isolating effects of COVID and trauma. We can't wait to dive into Season 3 with all of you! YAY!

Join us this week as we conclude Season 2 and take a look at perfectionism and PTSD! Anna and Kim tackle tough questions like whether or not everyone is TRULY unique and how to get your money back when you are outside the return window. We also dive into disappointing others and staying true to yourself as well as how unconditional acceptance can help you stay grounded.

Join us this week for a Not Ideal Thanksgiving Special Episode! We cover topics such as how many syllables the word ham has, how to live through a building evacuation (hint: the answer is frozen yogurt), and how to stay connected during the holidays while physically separated from family.

Join us this week as we interview the hosts of Our Journal Podcast! Molo and Neo are from South Africa and they talk with us about their mother/daughter relationship and so much more! Molo also runs a non-profit organization called InspireZA which seeks to increase child literacy in South Africa. They also share about The MINA Foundation which is an organization seeking to end period poverty - find out more in this episode!

Join us this week for another special guest STAR episode (because all of our guests are shining stars) with Miss Angie! Tune in for testimony about people pleasing, bullying, and how we get stuck using short-term fixes for emotional pain. Our key message is this: people pleasing is a trap that can result in losing YOU! Enjoy this lively discussion about keeping people safe without losing yourself in the process.

Tune into this episode if you’re in need of some genuine, belly-laughing fun! Kim and Anna RACE to discuss their most recent, and AMAZING, impulse decision while also reading some of our favorite reviews that YOU GUYS have left for our podcast on iTunes! If you’ve ever left a review for us, definitely have a listen — we may have shouted you out! We also discuss a cinnamon roll adventure for our fellow foodie followers and give new meaning to the phrase "That's A Wrap!" You won't believe it either.

Join us this week as Anna spends too long trying to explain the exact dimensions of her favorite Australian dessert before Kim finally cuts her off with a first hand account of a recent trauma flashback. But there’s a twist: Anna and Kim somehow had the SAME trauma flashback at the exact same time from 10,000 miles away! Tune in to find out how that happens PLUS find out why self compassion and selfishness are definitely NOT the same thing - or are they? Listen to find out!

Join Kim and Anna this week as they discuss how they’re staying in touch during COVID-19. We talk dating apps, letters dipped in gravy, care packages and more! This is more a conversational episode than a trauma walk-through, so if you’re in the mood for some girl talk, this is the episode for you!

Join us this week as we get real with one of the lesser known side effects of having a chronic illness: guilt. How would you respond if your chronically ill loved one came to you in tears for the hundredth time because she feels unbearably guilty for all the pain and sorrow her illness has caused YOU? Maybe she can handle her own pain, but causing you heartache is just too much for her to bear. How do you move on from that? How do you support her in her illness while not adding to her guilt and grief? How do you make her know that it isn’t her fault? Is that even possible? Come along with us this week to find out. Hint: this is a sad episode that we mask with lots of coping-mechanism-type jokes.

Join us this week as we talk about Tilly the Talking Christmas Tree, the Name Game and how to deal with differing opinions in a culture that promotes shame.

Contrary to popular belief, trauma isn’t always experienced as a single, physical event. Trauma can also occur in the context of relationships, and it sometimes results in complex traumatic stress. Our special guest, Rachel, has an extraordinary experience of attachment trauma to share. Join us this week to hear her agonizing journey to and through the trauma of marital unfaithfulness. Trigger Warning: this episode contains triggering content regarding infidelity, divorce and self harm. Please listen with caution.

Join us this week for a special anti-boredom episode designed specifically to help us all through this trying time of quarantines and isolation. Keen to hear us try our hand at sound effects while telling a story about how Anna got hit with a footy ball? Tune in for these things and more — we’re comin’ at ya with fun facts, our fave jokes, and cute stories all to help YOU not fall asleep again at 1pm after your daily lunch of string cheese and potato chips.

Do PTSD symptoms ever go away? How can a person build lasting resilience? How do we find the right therapist for trauma recovery? Join us this week as we ask the CEO of the Arizona Trauma Institute, Dr. Robert Rhoton (or Bob, as we call him) these questions and more! Bob specializes in trauma recovery in families and he trains counselors nationwide. Tune in as we get to know Bob and tap into his wisdom on trauma treatment and recovery.

Join us this week as we talk cinnamon crunch muffins, hospital floors, and how we’re surviving in quarantine with severe introverts for husbands. Anna gets tested for coronavirus and nearly catches regular pneumonia in the process - Kim does her best to fix the issue by being very worried from afar.

Join us this week as Kim and Anna talk trauma conference, hamsters and Parmesan cheese. PLEASE NOTE: Due to the Coronavirus - we have cancelled our Meet & Greet that we mention in this podcast. Please see our Facebook page @notidealpodcast for details.

Join us this week for an interview with award winning author and speaker Dr. Karen Swallow Prior! In 2018, Karen was walking across a city road when she was struck by a bus. Tune in to hear what was helpful, hurtful, and downright incredible about her recovery. Plus, since Anna and Kim are easily excitable when it comes to pets, you'll hear all about Dr. Prior's two dogs and over-achieving chickens. We made sure to get you guys the full scoop. Thanks for listening!

WE HAVE NEWS!! Anna is coming to the USA!! Listen here to learn all about it. Also in this episode: we find a new listener in an OBGYN office, a new famous person becomes our friend, and a piglet gets stuck in a claw machine.

Join us this week for our first full episode of Season 2 as we interview Denise. Denise and her husband have both served in the United States military. Find out what it’s like to be married to a spouse with PTSD, what you can do to help and support them best — and how to not lose yourself in the process.

We are back for another season of "Not Ideal, But We're Going With It!" In Season 2, we’re planning to bring you more special guests, brand new topics of discussion, and lots of laughs and cringeworthy stories as always! We are so glad YOU are listening so THANK YOU!

!!!We made contact with the man himself!!! Join us this week ONLY if you have heard our prior shoutouts to Matthias Schoenaerts, our mutual celebrity favorite. Otherwise, this episode will makes no sense. Matthias - we love you! Thanks for noticing us.

Tune in this week as we discuss making the choice to live a full life despite chronic health issues like anxiety and pain! It can be hard, but it’s so important not to let those things define your every choice.

Have you ever wondered why people who have been traumatized react differently to certain situations than other people? Join us for some real talk this week as Kim and Anna discuss how their anxiety processes have changed since their traumatic experiences. Spoiler alert: Kim literally chokes on her own nervousness at one point.

Join us this week for the rest of Kim’s car accident story! Plus, you get a free side dish of regrettable diet choices, a pink eye coincidence that belongs on X-files, and insider tips on reconnecting with changed bodies.

Tune in this week to hear our opinion on “Faith Healing,” the idea that you can control your health based on how much faith you have. Warning: we get mad.

This week’s episode details what it’s like to be in a massive head-in collision and live to tell the tale. Join us as we talk about flashbacks, grieving our own bodies, and being yanked out of a crumpled car.

This week, we interview our first special guest: Debbie Patton! Join us as we hear about her long and traumatic journey of repeated loss and heartbreak. Have tissues nearby before you press play - this was a hard one for all of us.

In this episode, we regale you with stories of our practitioners getting a talking, organs getting stabbed, and finally ending Anna’s hospital chronicles. For now. Not for people who fear needles, sarcasm or the word "stinker.”

In this episode we share a story we have NEVER TOLD BEFORE - involving Anna, a chair, and the chaos that followed. PLUS we discover what was causing her intense pain and begin moving toward a solution. Join us!

Join us as our story takes a sudden turn back to the hospital where we frighten and confuse everyone, including ourselves. Listen to a part of Anna's story that we’ve never talked about until THIS EPISODE, and see how staying connected helps us move through these memories - together! We are so glad you are on this journey with us!

In this episode we laugh our way through reflections on our anxiety and trauma responses that include (but certainly aren’t limited to) screaming at well-meaning nurses. We also share one of our "secret weapon" coping strategies and most importantly, we finish another episode in the journey! So glad you are with us!

In this episode we force you to endure Kim's virus voice and Anna's back going out while we try to give an intelligent explanation of Anterior Scoliosis Correction Surgery (note to listeners: we failed miserably - google it!). Anna describes what it was like to wake up from surgery without any pain relief, and Kim faithfully interrupts her at every turn. Still no interviews (STOP PRESSURING US!) but we do succeed at posting yet another episode! (Please send praise). Thanks for joining us!

In this episode we respond to some good listener feedback and then immediately talk ourselves out of changing anything. Also, to make sure our listeners feel prioritized, we completely fail to provide the interview we promised in episode three (thank you for loving us unconditionally). We do cover important topics like what rainbow sprinkles are made of, how to win at those claw machines and the steps leading up to Anna's experimental surgery. Thanks for joining us!

In our third episode we conclude (almost) the story about Anna's second surgery. Discover new ways to mispronounce words, redirect conversations and talk over one another with multiple "butt-tingle" warnings and Anna's first (and second) near death experiences. We've only just begun this journey through multiple traumas and we are so glad you are along for the ride. Enjoy!

In this our second episode, we finish the story of Anna's first surgery while she was overseas in Australia. We also find a new word to argue over, a new type of ear plug and countless new ways to interrupt each other. Jump in and enjoy the messiness! So glad you are with us on this journey.

In our very first episode, we begin talking through Anna's first surgery that occurred while she was overseas in Australia. "Butt tingle" warnings, mother-daughter interrupting, and oversharing abound! Enjoy!

A mother daughter podcast about trauma, chronic pain and more. This podcast contain sensitive content which some may find disturbing. Information shared here should not be construed as medical advice. If you or someone you love needs help with trauma, chronic pain or anything else we discuss here, please seek out a medical professional. All resources and testimonies shared are for entertainment purposes only. All content represents the personal opinions of Kim, Anna, and any special guests, and does not necessarily reflect the positions of any organizations we are connected to.