🎙️ Episode 3: From Survival to Healing: Understanding the Adaptations That Shape Our Lives

Why do we respond to stress the way we do?

What if the behaviors we've spent years trying to "fix" were actually the very strategies that once helped us survive?

In this powerful episode of Inherited, host Jessica Sanchez sits down with Barb Varcl Smith, Trauma Recovery Educator, founder of Your Steps Counselling, and creator of The Ascendance Method. Together, they explore how childhood experiences shape our survival adaptations and continue to influence our mental health, relationships, parenting, and overall well-being throughout life.

Rather than asking, "What's wrong with me?", Barb invites us to ask a more compassionate question:

"How did I adapt to survive?"

This simple but profound shift replaces shame with self-understanding and creates space for lasting healing.

In This Episode

✔️ How childhood experiences shape adult behaviors

✔️ Understanding survival adaptations instead of self-blame

✔️ The connection between trauma, relationships, and parenting

✔️ Breaking generational cycles with compassion and awareness

✔️ Restoring balance between mind, body, and spirit

✔️ Supporting neurodiverse individuals and families through a trauma-informed lens

✔️ Building resilience and creating healthier legacies for future generations

Why This Conversation Matters

Barb shares how understanding our natural human adaptations empowers us to move beyond survival mode, reconnect with our authentic selves, and create meaningful change—not only for ourselves but for generations to come.

Whether you're on your own healing journey, raising children, supporting loved ones, or working in mental health, education, healthcare, or caregiving, this conversation offers practical insight, compassion, and hope.

About Our Guest

Barb Varcl Smith is a Trauma Recovery Educator and the founder of Your Steps Counselling. She is the creator of The Ascendance Method, an educational approach to trauma recovery that helps people understand how childhood experiences shape survival adaptations that influence mental health, relationships, parenting, and lifelong well-being.

Her work empowers individuals to replace shame with self-understanding, restore balance between mind, body, and spirit, and break generational cycles of trauma.

Connect with Barb Varcl Smith

🌐 Website: https://your-steps.co.uk

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbsvarclova/

About Inherited

Inherited is hosted by Jessica Sanchez, Founder & CEO of Daughters of Both Suns & Dr. Valencia Henry VQS Access Health

Inherited explores the stories, trauma, resilience, healing, and hope passed from one generation to the next. Through honest conversations with experts, survivors, advocates, and changemakers, the podcast helps listeners better understand what we inherit—and how we can build healthier legacies for ourselves, our families, and future generations.

Subscribe & Connect

🎧 Follow Inherited on your favorite podcast platform.

💙 Learn more about Daughters of Both Suns and our mission to expand access to culturally responsive mental health care and community healing.

🌐 https://www.daughtersofbothsuns.org

Episode 2: The Abuse Nobody Could See: Surviving Coercive Control Behind Closed Doors

What happens when abuse leaves no bruises?

In Episode 2 of Inherited, host Jessica Sanchez sits down with Christine Dillard—Fortune 500 Director, MBA, author, survivor, and advocate—for an honest conversation about coercive control, gaslighting, and psychological abuse.

From the outside, Christine's life appeared successful. She had a thriving career, advanced education, and what looked like a healthy marriage. Behind closed doors, however, she was experiencing years of manipulation, emotional abuse, and coercive control that slowly caused her to question her own reality.

In this episode, Christine courageously shares her journey from surviving invisible abuse to becoming a powerful advocate for education and systemic change.

Together, we discuss: • What coercive control really is • The warning signs of emotional and psychological abuse • How gaslighting impacts self-worth and decision-making • Why survivors often struggle to leave abusive relationships • Healing after emotional abuse • Breaking the silence to help future survivors

Christine is the author of The Truth She Showed Me, a memoir that sheds light on the hidden realities of coercive control inside a high-functioning marriage. Through her writing and advocacy, she is helping survivors recognize abuse, reclaim their voices, and inspire meaningful change.

Content Advisory: This episode discusses emotional abuse, coercive control, gaslighting, trauma, and mental health. Please take care while listening.

About Our Guest

Christine Dillard is a Fortune 500 Director, MBA, author, survivor, and advocate. Her work focuses on raising awareness about coercive control and psychological abuse while empowering survivors through education, storytelling, and advocacy. Since publishing The Truth She Showed Me, she has appeared on numerous podcasts sharing her journey and advocating for greater awareness and judicial reform.

Connect with Christine

📖 The Truth She Showed Me

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thetruthsheshowedme

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetruthsheshowedme

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/14iCRuWPw52/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinedillard

Inherited is hosted by Jessica Sanchez, Founder & CEO of Daughters of Both Suns. Each episode explores the stories, trauma, resilience, and healing we inherit—and how we can break unhealthy cycles to create a legacy of hope for future generations.

What if the survival patterns shaping your life today began long before you were born?

In the premiere episode of Inherited, hosts Jessica Sanchez and Dr. Valencia Henry sit down with Tasch Rogers, founder of the Unshackled Podcast & Program, CEO of TTT Life Coaching, former paramedic, trauma survivor, and transformational coach.

After surviving a life-changing attempted murder while working as a paramedic, Tasch faced PTSD, depression, and a long road to healing. Along the way, she discovered that the deepest wounds weren't only from one traumatic event—they were rooted in unresolved childhood experiences and generational patterns that had shaped her life for decades.

Together, we explore:

• What childhood trauma really looks like—even when it isn't obvious • How survival patterns become our emotional blueprint • The connection between childhood experiences and adult relationships • PTSD, healing, and rebuilding after trauma • Breaking generational cycles without shame • How awareness creates the opportunity for lasting healing

This conversation reminds us that while we may inherit pain, we also have the power to create a different legacy.

About Our Guest

Tasch Rogers is the founder of the Unshackled Podcast & Program and CEO of TTT Life Coaching. Following a 30-year career as a paramedic, she now helps individuals understand their emotional blueprint, heal generational trauma, and break unhealthy patterns through coaching, education, and her podcast.

Connect with Tasch Rogers

🌐 Website: https://www.taschrogers.com/products/courses/unschackled

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taschrogersofficial

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unshackledwithTasch

🔗 Linktree: https://tr.ee/cfWh8m2pVY

Connect with Inherited

🌐 Website: https://inheritedpodcast.online

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInheritedPodcast

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinheritedpodcast

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inheritedpodcast

Hosted by Jessica Sanchez, Founder & CEO of Daughters of Both Suns, and Dr. Valencia Henry, Founder of VQS Access Health.

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who may need this conversation. Together, we can break cycles, promote healing, and build a healthier legacy.