Cycle Breaker and Change Maker with Renata Ortega

North York Women's Shelter is a 40-bed emergency shelter supporting families from across the GTA who have experienced gender-based violence. Not only do they provide a safe place to stay, their families also have access to a culturally relevant food program serving three meals a day, transitional housing support to assist with the transition out of shelter to safe, stable accommodation, and wraparound supports tailored to ever...

Today we have a very special guest on the Cycle Breaker and Change Maker Podcast, our guest is Ellen Campbell.  Ellen is the CEO & Founder of the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness (Abuse Hurts).  

Ellen is a childhood abuse survivor who used her recovery to create hope for others.  Ellen also held the first National Conference for Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse and through Abuse Hurts also began designing programs for childre...

In Episode 9, I introduced the idea that abuse is not always visible. That what happens behind closed doors can be completely at odds with the images we present to the outside world. And that’s what I want to explore with you today: the hidden pain, the internalized fear, and the façade that many of us learned to wear in order to survive.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to todays episode! I would love to hear from you and to...

Today, we’re going deeper into a topic that so many of you reached out to me about—anticipatory fear, also known as anticipatory anxiety.

If you’ve ever found yourself bracing for something bad—even when nothing bad has happened yet—you’re not alone. In fact, you’re not broken. You’re likely responding to something very old, something that once tried to protect you.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever lost sleep over “what ifs,” an...

The Diagnosis Doesn’t End the Story

If you’ve ever lived through a life-altering diagnosis—or supported someone who has—you know that the moment you hear the words from a doctor is both the beginning and the end.

It’s the end of how things used to be. And the beginning of living life with new terms, new fears, new rules.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to todays episode! I would love to hear from you and to rece...

Today’s episode is a little different—but it’s one I believe is critical.

We're talking about something many of us don’t realize until it’s too late: the financial and societal cost of unresolved trauma. And yes, I mean real dollars. But also the cost in lost potential, strained relationships, and the weight so many of us silently carry.

This is not just a personal issue—it’s a societal one. One we cannot afford to ignore.

Suppor...

A trigger is not just a strong reaction. It’s a sudden surge of emotion or physical response that seems disproportionate to the moment—but perfectly logical when you look at your past. Triggers often come from unresolved trauma. They are your nervous system sounding an alarm, not because you're weak, but because you’ve been through something that taught your body to brace for impact.

Triggers can be people, places, sounds, smel...

Episode Description:

In this powerful episode of Cycle Breaker & Change Maker, Renata Ortega sits down with registered psychotherapist and coach Nisrine Maktabi for a deeply personal and healing conversation on what it means to break cycles—especially those rooted in patriarchy, war, displacement, and intergenerational trauma.

Together, they explore the invisible patterns that shape our nervous systems, the lasting impact of atta...

In Episode 4, I introduced the idea of letting go—specifically, letting go of relationships that are no longer healthy or aligned. Today, we’re diving deeper.

Letting go isn’t a one-time action. It’s a process, a practice, and for many of us—a profound act of self-liberation.

And if the mere thought of letting go of someone brings up guilt, fear, or anxiety—you are not alone. That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today.

Suppor...

Hello, and welcome back to the Cycle Breaker and Change Maker Podcast. I’m Renata Ortega, and if you’ve made it here today, I want you to take a moment to acknowledge your courage. Today’s topic is one that touches so many of us in ways that aren’t always obvious until we start to look inward. We’re diving deeper into a topic we began in Episode 3—abandonment.

This episode comes with a gentle caution—if abandonment is something you’...

In episode 2, I introduced the concept of the negative relationship cycle—how we often find ourselves in harmful or unbalanced relationships without even realizing we’re repeating a pattern we never chose in the first place.

Today, we’re going to go deeper. This episode is for anyone who’s ever thought, “Why does this keep happening to me?” or “Why do I keep ending up with people who hurt me, drain me, or make me question my worth?”

...

Andrea Page founded FITMOM in April 2000, one year after her first son was born. The birth of FITMOM was the result of her own personal struggle to overcome severe postpartum depression in her first year as a mom. She found exercise to be the key to her survival and wanted to help support other new moms on their journey to health and wellness in their postpartum years.

Throughout her career, Andrea has been deemed an International e...

Annalisa Vicente is a wife and proud mother of two amazing boys. She is an early childhood educator, motherhood coach, and best-selling author. Annalisa is a passionate maternal mental health advocate. She is determined to break the stigma around mental illness by normalizing vulnerability. Her journey has been deeply enriched by her work with children with diverse needs and their families, teaching her the profound impact of resil...

Today’s episode is deeply personal and something I believe many of us quietly struggle with. We’re going to talk about letting go of relationships — without guilt — even if you love the person and even if society, culture, or your upbringing tells you that you shouldn’t.

Let me start by saying this: this is not an easy thing to do. In fact, it’s one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn and, honestly, continue to practice. We’re ...

 Episode 31 Title: Breaking the Cycle of Self-Harm Caused by Trauma 

Before we begin today’s episode, I want to give a gentle content warning. We’ll be talking about self-harm and eating disorders—topics that can be very sensitive and triggering for some listeners. Please take care of yourself while listening. If at any point you need to pause or come back later, that’s okay. Do what feels right for you. 

This space is about compassi...

Episode 30 | Breaking Free from Negative Generational Cycles – A Three-Step Process 

A few weeks ago I polled my audience asking if hearing more about my personal story or if hearing about how to break free from negative generational cycles would be more helpful, and due to an overwhelming result I will be focusing today’s episode on how to break free.  Thank you to everyone who voted!

Generational cycles—whether it’s unhealthy relat...

Episode 29: Understanding the Flop Response to Trauma

Hello and welcome back to the podcast. If you’ve been following along, you know that we are diving deep into the Five F’s of Trauma Response. In the last episodes, we explored Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn—how they develop, how they show up in daily life, and what we can do to manage them. Today, we’re moving on to the final response: Flop.

The flop response is one of the least ...

Episode 28: Understanding the Fawn Response to Trauma

Hello and welcome back to the podcast. If you’ve been following along, you know that we are diving deep into the Five F’s of Trauma Response. In the last episodes, we explored Fight, Flight, and Freeze—how they develop, how they show up in daily life, and what we can do to manage them. Today, we’re moving on to the fourth response: Fawn.

The fawn response is often overlooked becau...

Episode 27: Understanding the Freeze Response to Trauma

Hello and welcome back to the Cycle Breaker and Change Maker podcast. If you’ve been following along, you know that we are diving deep into the Five F’s of Trauma Response. In the last episodes, we explored the Fight and Flight responses—how they develop, how they show up in daily life, and what we can do to manage them. Today, we’re moving on to the third response: Freeze.

The ...