It’s Not Your Fault: Why Childhood Trauma Shapes You With Alex Howard

Episode Highlights With Alex

• His personal story and how he got into the trauma healing work he does now
• The definition of trauma and how he defines it to help people understand it
• How small childhood experiences can shift how we relate to ourselves and our emotions
• The core emotional needs of children and what happens when they aren’t met
• Core emotional needs: boundaries, safety, and love 
• What a maladaptive stress response is, how it happens, and what to do about it
• Trauma is like an ECHO (events, context, homeostatic shift, and outcome)
• How to help your nervous system feel safe again
• Self love comes down to how we are in relationship with ourselves and how we are in relationship with our feelings and emotions
• It often isn’t a question of if our parents loved us but if they were skilled at meeting our particular need for love in the way we needed
• His advice for ways to make sure our children feel how much we love them and that our core needs are being met

Resources We Mention

• It’s Not Your Fault: Why Childhood Trauma Shapes You and How to Break Free by Alex Howard
• Alex Howard - website
• Trauma Conference
• Book: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay