https://em-braceyourfreedom.thementalwellbeingcompany.com/

Embrace Your Freedom, Manchester (2025)

11/12/2025

Children do not need to witness domestic abuse directly to be deeply affected by it.
Living in an environment of fear, unpredictability or emotional tension places the nervous system under chronic stress.

When a child’s body learns that the world is unsafe, their brain prioritises survival over learning. This can show up as difficulties with emotional regulation, concentration, sleep, behaviour and relationships.

Through a trauma-informed lens, we understand that these are not signs of defiance or weakness. They are adaptive responses from a nervous system trying to protect the child.

With safety, consistency and attuned adult support, children’s nervous systems can begin to settle and reorganise. Healing and growth are possible when understanding replaces judgement.

This is why trauma-informed practice is so essential for anyone supporting children. 🤍

10/12/2025

The cycle of narcissistic abuse is built on chemical highs and lows… the exact pattern the brain becomes addicted to over time.

It often begins with love bombing:
intensity, connection, excitement, feeling chosen 😍
Your brain releases dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin.
This creates a powerful emotional “hook.”

Then comes devaluation:
criticism, distance, unpredictability 💔
Your nervous system enters threat mode.
Cortisol rises. You become hyper-focused on “fixing things.”

Next is discard:
silence, withdrawal, rejection 💔
The sudden loss of the “high” triggers a chemical crash. Very similar to withdrawal.
This is why it hurts so deeply and feels so destabilising.

And then… hoovering:
They reappear. The dopamine hits again.
Your body feels relief and the bond strengthens.

This isn’t about being weak.
It’s about your brain trying to survive a pattern of fear → relief → fear → relief 😔

On average, people return to an abusive partner around 7 times before leaving for good. Not because they want the abuse but because the trauma bond is a physiological, emotional and psychological trap.

Understanding this cycle is not about blaming yourself.
It’s about removing shame so you can finally move toward safety and healing 🤍

10/12/2025

The words we use with children shape the way their brains grow. 🧠🤍

When we consistently notice effort, not just outcomes, we help children to build:
✨ Resilience
✨ Motivation
✨ Confidence
✨ Emotional safety

Instead of learning, “I’m only valued when I get it right,”
they learn, “I’m valued for trying.”

This is a core part of positive psychology in childhood: supporting children to develop a healthy relationship with challenge, mistakes and growth.

Small language shifts.
Big nervous system impact. 🌱

09/12/2025

Trauma doesn’t just live in our memories…
It lives in the nervous system. 🤍

For those who have experienced domestic abuse, the body often stays in a state of protection long after the danger has passed. This can look like:
• Hypervigilance
• Shutdown
• Anxiety
• Emotional overwhelm
• Fatigue

These are not weaknesses.
They are intelligent survival responses from a nervous system that learned how to keep someone safe.

When we understand trauma through the body and brain, we stop asking, “What’s wrong with you?”
And instead ask, “What happened to you?”

This is the heart of trauma-informed practice.
Safety before change.
Compassion before judgement.
Understanding before expectation.

If you support others through your work, your family, or your community, this knowledge truly matters. 🫶

08/12/2025

This one is a big ouch 😩 but such an important truth…
Your nervous system doesn’t crave the narcissist… it craves the familiar 🥹🤍

When you grow up around inconsistency, emotional unpredictability, emotional neglect or unmet needs, your body learns to stay in survival mode.
It becomes wired for high alert, not peace.
So when calm finally arrives… it can feel BORING, unsafe or even wrong 🙈
And when chaos shows up in human form… it feels familiar 🫶🏼💔

This is why trauma bonds are so powerful.
Your brain gets hooked on the dopamine (the highs) and cortisol (the stress).
It’s not weakness. It’s neurobiology 😴🧠
Your body is trying to protect you with the only patterns it knows.

Nothing about that makes you broken.
It means your nervous system needs safety, not shame 🤍
And the most beautiful part?
What’s learned can be unlearned 💗

If this made something click for you, I see you 😘

08/12/2025

A calm space isn’t about being quiet…
It’s about being safe. 🤍

When a child’s nervous system feels safe, their brain can:
🧠 Think clearly
💬 Communicate needs
📚 Access learning
🤍 Build connection

But when an environment feels loud, unpredictable or overwhelming, the brain can slip into survival mode and learning simply can’t come first.

This is why trauma-informed spaces matter so much.
Not perfect spaces.
Just safe enough ones. 🌿

Sometimes that safety looks like a cosy corner.
Sometimes it’s consistent routines.
Sometimes it’s just one calm, trusted adult.
And all of it counts.

What small change could you make this week to support emotional safety? 💛

07/12/2025

🤍 A little business update from me 🤍

My work now has two clear parts, and this page will continue to be a mixture of both 🤍 To keep things clearer, I’ve created two dedicated Instagram spaces ✨

✨ One is for my CPD-accredited workshops & educationeducation.uk
https://www.instagram.com/embrace.education.uk?igsh=YWtlMWh1OTc0OWZs&utm_source=qr

✨ And one is for my 1:1 narcissistic abuse recovery & coachingcoach
https://www.instagram.com/em_braceyourfreedom.coach?igsh=MTQzMjVzd2s0ZDM4NA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

If you’d like to support me, I’d be so grateful if you followed whichever page feels most aligned for you (or both!) 🤍

Thank you always for the constant love and encouragement. It honestly means the world 💗

05/12/2025

Working with a domestic abuse charity will always feel deeply meaningful to me, both professionally and personally 🤍
To support the people who support survivors, through trauma-informed, CPD-accredited training, is truly at the heart of why I do this work.

With 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men experiencing domestic abuse in their lifetime, the need for informed, compassionate, safe support has never been greater.

Thank you AIM Northwest for trusting me to deliver Physiology of Domestic Abuse and Mental Health First Aid training to your incredible team. It was an absolute privilege 🫶🏼

If you’re an organisation working within domestic abuse, safeguarding, or survivor support and would like to explore training, my inbox is always open 🤍

04/12/2025

✨ I GRADUATED!!! ✨
Tonight I attended my online graduation from the School of Trauma-Informed Positive Psychology… and honestly, I’m absolutely buzzing! 🎓💛

What blows my mind is that this time last year, I was simply searching for podcasts on how to overcome narcissistic abuse. I stumbled across Caroline Strawson’s podcast… and the rest is history.

For the first time, I felt seen. I realised she had a school… and in that moment, something clicked. I decided I wasn’t just going to heal…
I was going to heal AND train at the same time, so I could one day help others do the same. 🫶🏼

Fast forward to today, and I’m officially:
🌿 ICF & CPD-Accredited Somatic Trauma-Informed Coach
💛 ICF & CPD-Accredited Trauma-Informed Positive Psychology Practitioner
🧠 CPD-Accredited Narcissistic Abuse Specialist

This year has been HUGE. I’ve pushed myself more than ever, learned so much about trauma, the nervous system, psychology… and myself. I’ve achieved more than I ever imagined… not just in certifications, but in confidence, purpose and clarity.

If you told me a year ago that I’d be here… running my own business, supporting clients, delivering CPD-accredited workshops, and graduating, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you.

Here’s to growth, healing, and turning your pain into your power.
2026… I’m ready for you ✨🫶🏼

04/12/2025

5 Things the Narcissist HATES
…and understanding these can be game-changing when you’re healing 👇🏼

1️⃣ Accountability: They’ll twist, blame and project to avoid it. When you see the truth clearly, their control starts to crumble.
2️⃣ Boundaries : Your “no” is your power. Their issue with your boundaries isn’t your problem.
3️⃣ Your healing: When you regulate, learn, grow and reconnect to yourself… their manipulation stops landing.
4️⃣ Being ignored: Your silence shows you’re no longer emotionally available to feed their ego.
5️⃣ Losing supply: When you finally detach? That’s when you take your freedom back.

✨ None of this is a reflection of your worth.
It’s a reflection of their insecurity, their fear of losing control, and the wounds they refuse to face.

If this resonates, you’re not alone… and your healing is already rewiring everything. 🫶🏼

03/12/2025

Ever notice how quickly we label a child’s behaviour as “naughty,” “defiant,” or “attention-seeking”? But here’s the truth… behaviour is never the problem. It’s the clue.

When you’re trauma-informed, you begin to see what’s underneath the behaviour:
🧠 dysregulation
💔 unmet needs
🔥 overwhelm
😔 past experiences
🫣 a nervous system stuck in survival

Children don’t wake up and choose chaos.
They don’t choose to shout, refuse, or melt down for fun.
Their behaviour is simply the language their body uses when words are too hard.

And this is exactly why my work centres around trauma-informed practice and positive psychology. Because when we understand the why, everything changes.

🌿 We respond instead of react.
🌿 We create emotional safety instead of fear.
🌿 We build connection instead of conflict.
🌿 And we support children to move from surviving to actually thriving.

If you’re a parent, teacher, nursery practitioner, social worker, youth worker, sports coach, honestly anyone who supports children… try looking at behaviour as a message instead of a problem.
You might be surprised by what you discover 🫶🏼✨

If you want a calmer, more connected way of supporting children, this is exactly what we explore in my CPD-accredited workshops.

01/12/2025

It’s the 1st of December today. A fresh month… but also a week I’ve been quietly preparing my heart for. 🥹

On Wednesday my mum is having her hip replacement. For many people this might feel like a routine operation but for our family, it carries a different meaning. My grandad had the same procedure many years ago, and although every journey is different… our bodies remember that we didn’t get the ending we hoped for. 💔

And that’s exactly why trauma-informed understanding is so important. Because when you’re trauma-informed, you learn that:
✨ people’s triggers are different
✨ people’s thoughts are different
✨ and our sense of safety, or danger, can be shaped by what our body remembers, not just what our mind thinks

Being trauma-informed doesn’t mean living in fear. It means leading with compassion. It helps us notice the quieter parts of someone’s experience. The things they might not say out loud… but still deeply feel. 💗

I’m not sharing this for sympathy. I’m sharing it because this matters. Because there will always be people who look “fine” on the outside… while quietly navigating memories underneath the surface. 🫶🏼

And to my mum, because I know you’ll read this, I love you, and I’m so proud of your strength. This week is another chapter we’ll walk through together. 🤍

Here’s to a December where we listen deeper, respond softer… and honour the parts of the story that are still healing. ✨

Embrace Your Freedom

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