💡 ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Kayla Licari spent fifteen years making six figures as a physician assistant before she walked away. She says it saved her marriage, her health, and her relationship with her three kids.
In this episode, Kayla and Natalie get into what complex PTSD actually looks like day to day. It doesn't always show up as trauma flashbacks. Sometimes it's anxiety, people-pleasing, an inner critic that never shuts off, or chronic pain that never fully resolves. Kayla explains how it forms in early childhood, long before anyone's old enough to remember, and why it's tangled up in so many chronic illnesses that get treated as purely physical.
They also talk about marriage. Kayla and her husband had to learn they were speaking two completely different emotional languages, and rebuilding trust meant a lot of ruptures and a lot of repair. Kayla shares how their kids have responded to watching their parents mess up in real time and own it out loud.
🔹 Somatic exercises playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWdxbsYN5kBDoKA3WUOZM5WvhDBtTeGBR&si=zXJmKoMdplNiwZRC
🔹 Bilateral beats playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ROcdCaBQ9EqR4WYOAEeOM?si=KmvxPzTKSf-oa3qZdPOjYg&pi=wXmd2S4jTcqmp
🔹 Be Magnetic (code KAYLA4434 for 15% off): https://tobemagnetic.com/whats-the-pathway
🔹 "When the Body Says No" by Dr. Gabor Maté: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470923350?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
🔹 Kayla on Instagram: @kayla.licari
🎯 KEY TAKEAWAYS
🔹 Complex PTSD isn't recognized in the DSM, but Kayla says it's at the root of many chronic illnesses treated as purely physical
🔹 Symptoms often look like anxiety, people-pleasing, and a harsh inner critic rather than classic trauma flashbacks
🔹 Most of the patterning happens between ages zero and seven, before conscious memory forms
🔹 Rebuilding a marriage after this kind of realization takes repeated rupture and repair, not one big conversation
🔹 Saying no, even to small things, is one of the most effective starting points for nervous system regulation
🔹 Kids benefit from watching parents mess up and repair it out loud, not from parents pretending to have it together
TOPICS
HEALING & SELF-TRUST
RELATIONSHIPS
LIFE TRANSITIONS
I📄
Read the Full Transcript
Prefer to read? The complete episode transcript is available here.
