In this short, informal podcast episode, the host (Simon Benn of the Thriving Adoptees project) reflects on trauma and how it can be approached with humor and community. He references Dr. Susanna McFarlane’s mention of the book The Body Keeps the Score, then pivots to the idea of laughing about trauma as a way to lift people up. He shares a insight from a rugby‑player podcast about continual cellular renewal, using it as a metaphor for hope that trauma’s physical imprint can be refreshed. The host argues that what truly sustains trauma is belief—how we think about ourselves and our past—so changing those beliefs can change our world. He introduces the “Adoptees United” concept, a collective of adoptees coming together to explore and reframe trauma, and promotes a free event called “Whole: Healing My Primal Wound” on January 3, inviting listeners to sign up, contact him via email, or comment on social media. The episode ends with a call for feedback on the new short‑format video series.
Chapters
Hello everybody. Hi. Um, so I'm trying a new format this afternoon. I tried this this morning and it didn't work at all, so hopefully this time it is working. So trauma, trauma FC 1, adoptees united 3. Uh, what's this all about? Well, yesterday I was talking to, uh, Dr. Susanna McFarlane down in Australia, and 9 o'clock our time yesterday morning, so earlier, earlier start than usual for me. And she mentioned this book, and that I've heard, I've heard the book, I think I'll read it sometime, The Body Keeps the Score, The Body Keeps the Score. And, you know, like, so it's a score to be settled, you know, that was the first kind of thought to me. But then I also thought, well, score and football and World Cup, and yeah, England aren't doing so well, so we need a bit of a laugh. But what if we could laugh about trauma? What if we could laugh about trauma? There's not— who's doing that? Nobody's doing that. It's all so serious and that takes us down, right? It takes us down. What if we could lift ourselves up? And what if we could come together? That was the idea with the Adoptees United team, that we could come together to explore the trauma and see that trauma isn't actually who we are, to separate how we feel from how we are, to separate what's gone on in the past to who we truly are. And yeah, come together, be united in that. And I was listening to— So is there any reason for humor whatsoever? Is there any reason for openness? Trauma. Well, it strikes me, listening to another podcast this morning with the English Rugby Union star of the, of the 2000s, Jonny Wilkinson, he explained that the cells of the body renew all the time. So if we looked at the cells in our body 10 years ago compared to what they were 10 years ago, they are completely different, or almost completely different. So the body may keep the score, but me now, I'm 55, my cells are probably, probably completely different. And, and if my cells have— if my cells are different then, um, the fact that the body keeps the score doesn't matter anymore, does it? Because the cells are new. Um, so a reason for— a reason for hope. And but, but, but, but yeah, what, what keeps our trauma in place if, if the body cells have been renewed? What keeps what what keeps the the belief? What keeps the trauma going in in my head, right? And and it it it it's my beliefs. It's got to be like believing how we how we believe what we believe about ourselves, what we believe about our trauma shapes our. Our world. That's what the Thriving Adoptees podcast is kind of all about, isn't it? It's, um, having those insights that change our world, that change our belief, and coming together as adoptees united to share what we've learned that's helped us heal, helped us move on. So, uh, if you like the idea of what I'm talking about, then I'd encourage you to look in the, the link below. And, um, I'm running an event on January 3rd next year, and it's called Whole: Healing My Primal Wound. Um, have a look at that event, and if it sounds like it's up your street— it's a free event— then sign up and I'll, and I'll see you there. And stay tuned for more of these, uh, more of these short, short videos. It's a new format. Let me know what you think of them, simon@thrivingadoptees.com, or put some comments underneath on, on the social. This is supposed to be being streamed across all my channels. Whether it is or not, I haven't got a clue. As I say, it didn't work this morning. Fingers crossed I clicked the right buttons this afternoon. So see you again very soon. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
