Trauma Healing for Christian Women - Regulate Emotions, Intrusive Thoughts, Nervous System, Anxiousness, Overthinking, EMDR
Do you love God deeply but still feel anxious, overwhelmed, or unable to experience the peace you know He promises? Have people you trusted—relationships you valued, or even places that should have been safe—left you feeling deeply wounded, guarded, and unsure who you can trust anymore, including yourself or even God? Have you tried to pray the pain away, do all the right things, push through it, avoid it, or outthink it, yet still feel something unsettled deep inside? Do you wish you could calm your mind and emotions, reset your nervous system, and finally experience peace with yourself and with God again? I'm so glad you're here. In this podcast, I'll help you make sense of what you've been feeling and why it's been so hard to get unstuck. We'll explore how painful experiences can affect your mind, body, and nervous system—and why the reactions you've been having actually make sense. You don't have to figure this out alone. In each episode, I'll come alongside you, sharing insights from evidence-based, trauma-informed psychology thoughtfully integrated with the truth of the Christian faith. Together, we'll bring clarity to what you're experiencing, normalize the struggles you may have been quietly carrying, and explore practical ways to move toward the peace, emotional safety, and deeper connection with God that your heart longs for. Hi, I'm Michelle. I'm a wife, a mom, a dog mom, and a lifelong Christian, having been saved at the age of five, but that's also around the time when anxiety took root inside me. As I grew older, intrusive and ruminating thoughts, OCD behaviors, nervousness, and even panic attacks interrupted my peace and kept my mind and body on high alert. I tried thinking better thoughts, focusing on Bible verses, casting down the lies of the enemy, praying harder, and even tried traditional talk therapy, but I couldn't get past the feeling that I was spiritually failing or had somehow made God mad. However, after years of internal struggle, I eventually realized the problem wasn't that something was wrong with me or with my faith. The deeper issue was unaddressed trauma in my nervous system. You see, many of us can carry a tremendous amount of emotional, mental, relational, and even physical pain for a long time—until our bodies simply can't hold it anymore. The ways we learn to survive hard experiences often help us get through them, but they aren't always the same things that lead us into healing. And most of the time, we can't simply think our way out of it or pray our way through it alone. True healing often requires gently processing what our nervous systems have been carrying. The beautiful part is that God designed our bodies with the capacity to heal. He created our minds and nervous systems with remarkable resilience, and over time, both science and Scripture have revealed wisdom that helps us participate in that healing process. After becoming a licensed professional counselor and a trauma-informed, certified EMDR therapist—and after experiencing profound healing myself through excellent trauma therapy—I want you to know something very clearly: there is real hope for healing. And that hope is available to you, too. Now, I have the privilege of helping Christian women just like you to find compassion and grace for themselves and as we work toward meaningful healing by helping you understand how your past experiences have shaped your present struggles, while also equipping you with practical tools and actionable steps to move forward with greater peace, clarity, and emotional safety in an environment where you are finally safe to be seen and heard just as you are, no shame, no guilt, just healing. If you are ready to finally understand what's happening inside you and to break free from the deep wounds that have been holding you back, I'm ready to help. So, grab your favorite beverage, a box of tissues, and kick your self-criticism to the curb. It's time to pay attention to what you and your nervous system need to heal. If you're ready to honor the beautiful creation you are, embrace God's truth about you and how He designed your nervous system to care for you, and learn practical ways to pay attention to your needs so you can heal and finally experience peace, let's get started. Next Steps: Go to Michelle's Private Counseling Practice Website (for those in Pennsylvania or willing to travel to PA for the duration of therapy): https://www.abundantfreedomcounseling.com/ e-mail Michelle: michelle@abundantfreedomcounseling.com This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The content shared reflects personal opinions and general information and should not be considered therapy or a therapeutic relationship of any kind. If you are experiencing emotional distress or mental health concerns, please seek out professional care from a qualified mental health professional, and if you are in crisis, please go to your nearest emergency room, or contact your local police department or crisis intervention team in your area. Copyright 2026 [Abundant Freedom Counseling, LLC]
Episodes
Have you ever wondered why you can know you're safe in your mind… but your body still feels anxious, overwhelmed, exhausted, or on edge?
What if some of the things you or others have called weakness, overreacting, or "being too emotional" are actually signs that your nervous system has been trying to protect you?
Could it be that your anxiety, emotional exhaustion, peop...
Are you ready to get past the hurts of things like CPTSD, Trauma, and Difficult Relationships but find yourself stuck?
Is it a struggle to make progress because you can't seem to get over the mental and emotional blocks inside you?
If so, today's episode can explain why you may be falling under something called "learned helplessness."
Listen in to understand why you feel that way and how the door to freedom really is open to yo...
Have you ever felt plagued and disgusted by intrusive thoughts? Have anxiety attacks caused you horrible symptoms? Or, have grief and loss symptoms got you down? It's hard when our experiences in our own minds and bodies isn't pleasant or what we want. Yet, today, I'm going to share with you how to pull out the golden nuggets of wisdom that can help you find and experience more peace.
READY for REAL HEALING?
Have you been look...
Are you tired of anxiety symptoms running the show in your life?
Do you long to reduce anxiousness and try to do that by avoiding it or pushing it away?
And would you just love to relieve the emotional stress already?
Today I'm going to give you three tips that really do work to help anxiety to loosen up.
Listen in.
READY for RE...
Have you tried Christian counseling, but find that you can't get very far in just one hour each week and long to go deeper?
Or, do you wish therapy to heal from your grief symptoms, emotional hurt, negative thoughts or anxiety symptoms could be faster?
Well, today I'm going to tell you about what a therapeutic intensive with me is like.
So if yo...
Have you heard EMDR and it sounds like just an alphabet soup of letters that gets tossed around? Have you wondered what EMDR therapy might be? Would you like to find out if emdr-based Christian counseling could be a good fit for you as you work to heal from traumatic experiences or emotional pain?
Well, in this episode, I've give you the deets as they say, the low down skinny on what EMD...
Have you ever considered what you are carrying that you can let go of to gain some more mental space, emotional peace, freedom, and clarity? If you are wondering how to break free from being overwhelmed, are unable to relax, or are holding stress that doesn't belong to you, today's episode will give you a start toward letting go and feeling lighter with 4 Things You Can Let Go of So You Can Breathe Easier.
READY for REAL HEALING?
...
Do you long for healing and mental and emotional freedom? Do you wish you could skip the journey and just be at the destination of inner peace already? It all starts with one next step to make it reality. That's what we're talking about in today's episode.
READY for REAL HEALING?
Have you been looking for a Trauma-Informed Therapist who is also a Christian? Do you want to honor your faith even in your therapy? Would you love t...
Have you been looking for a Trauma-Informed Therapist who is also a Christian? Do you want to honor your faith even in your therapy? Would you love to incorporate deep healing in a way that aligns with God's Word and the evidence-based treatments for trauma healing?
I can help you with all of that. If you would like to work with me, you can schedule a free 15 minute consultation call with me so that we can get to know each oth...
Have you been looking for a Trauma-Informed Therapist who is also a Christian? Do you want to honor your faith even in your therapy? Would you love to incorporate deep healing in a way that aligns with God's Word and the evidence-based treatments for trauma healing?
I can help you with all of that. If you would like to work with me, you can schedule a free 15 minute consultation call with me so that we can get to know each oth...
Do you feel like your anxiousness is out to get you? Anxiety often gets a bad rap, but it's not completely unhelpful or bad. If you would like to learn how to make friends with your nervous system so that you can live more peacefully in thoughts, emotions, and your body and spirit, today's episode will offer you practical tips you can use right now!
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free reso...
When you have experienced hard things, it is easy for your nervous system to get triggered into feeling unsafe again. This doesn't have to be a permanent experience of distress and frustration. In today's episode, I share 4 things you can do to start to take the edge off of the experience of stuckness.
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide t...
Do you feel overly responsible for other people's actions, feelings, thoughts, and emotions? If you find yourself sacrificing what is good for you to keep other people's reactions at bay or neglect your own needs, wants, and self to try to keep the peace, you may be engaging in a trauma response called self-abandonment. This leads to burn out, stress, and guilt whenever you stop the protective but self-dismissing behavior. If yo...
Do you ever feel like there is a real way you feel deep inside and a way you think you "should or shouldn't" feel that drives your actions on the outside? If you have strong feelings but feel that they are too much or wrong for a Christian woman to have, listen in. You don't have to suck it up, ignore yourself, or throw yourself under the bus.
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. ...
Wonder why you people please, over explain, or shut down? Here's what's going on and how to help yourself with it.
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide that gently explains how healing happens in the body and why you're not failing.
Free Trauma Healing Resource Guide
WORK WITH MICHELLE CROYLE, LPC:
Therapy is a great resource, but sometimes, it's not enough. In today's episode, Michelle talks about some of the differences that make EMDR trauma therapy more effective than standard talk therapy.
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide that gently explains how healing happens in the body and why you're not failing.
Have you found yourself fine one minute and completely blindsided by your reactions the next? Today, Michelle shares 1 huge way to tell if you have unresolved trauma hiding in your nervous system.
Listen in!
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide that gently explains how healing happens in the body and why you're not failing.
Have you ever struggled with thoughts you don't want, don't believe in, and wish would go away and leave you alone but the more you try to stop thinking them the worse the looping thought gets? Today, Michelle shares her tip for how to deal with intrusive thoughts with God's help. Listen in!
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide that gentl...
How many Christian women think trauma healing happens and how it actually does happen are often not the same thing. Today, Michelle shares how to look at healing so that you can be encouraged rather than feel defeated. Listen in!
FREE RESOURCE:
If this episode resonated, you might be interested in my free resource. I created a free, faith-honoring guide that gently explains how healing happens in the body and why you're not f...
If you are tired of beating yourself up inside for trying harder and harder to make traction toward your emotional and mental freedom but feel like you are simply going in circles and feeling defeated, you may be asking yourself, "What is Wrong with Me?"
However, the problem isn't you! The problem is that you are asking yourself the wrong question, and assuming that the problem is somehow you. This leads to shame, frustration, a...
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