**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode covers sensitive subject matter and is not suitable for all listeners. If this topic could be a trigger for you, listen to this episode with a friend, a sibling, a loved one or a parent so you can talk about any emotions that come up for you. The contents of this episode are not intended to replace therapy and should not be taken as such. If you need immediate help, please call the crisis hotline listed below in our resources.
In this week’s episode, I sit down with Laura Morris, our bonus episode to close out our self-harm series.
Laura is a mom to a soon to be 13-year-old, and survivor of many mental health illnesses, including self-harm, suicide and disordered eating.
Laura shares about her cult-like religious upbringing after being given up for adoption. She takes us through her journey, which started at the tender age of five.
Listen in as we talk about:
How her cult-like religious upbringing sparked disassociation with her body
Her 10 year long battle with an eating disorder
How her desire to feel heard and understood spiraled into suicide attempts and continued self-harm
The birth of her daughter at 19 and the moment she felt a sense of self worth
How she used her pain and transformed it into hope, built a business, and created a life she loves
Susan E. Casey, MSW, MFA, is an author, a licensed mental health clinician, a certified bereavement group facilitator, a certified life coach and a podcaster. Throughout the past 29 years, Susan has worked in hospice, in-patient, and home-based settings with teens and adults, and taught numerous courses to executive leaders and clinicians.
Currently, Susan works for a measurement-based care organization, providing clinical coaching to therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists countrywide to improve mental health outcomes for youth and adults.
Susan’s blog on her website, susanecasey.com, chronicles her grieving process following the death of her younger brother. Her fiction has won numerous awards, including first place in the PEN/Nob Hill Literary Contest and Green Writer’s National Literary Contest. Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Grief is her first work of nonfiction published on February 14, 2020 by Library Tales Publishing. Both Susan’s professional and creative work have been guided by her deep belief that every individual has purpose and inherent strengths and deserves the opportunity to reach their own unique potential. Please be sure to check Susan's podcast, L.E.A.P https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/trailer-welcome-to-the-l-e-a-p-podcast-with-susan-e-casey/id1573809035?i=1000526765528
Susan lives in Maine with her husband Steve and miniature aussidoodle Rocky
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