Understanding the Story Beneath the Stress
What if your anxiety isn’t random?
What if the worry that keeps circling your mind has a history?
In this episode of Wellness in Every Season, I sit down with Joan K. Peters, author of Untangling: A Memoir of Psychoanalysis, to explore what it means to think psychoanalytically — not as a therapist, but as someone who lived it.
Joan shares how recurring night terrors in her twenties led her into psychoanalysis, where she uncovered buried childhood trauma surrounding her father’s death, emotional abandonment, and generational survival patterns.
This conversation is not about blame.
It’s about curiosity.
It’s about asking:
We talk about:
Joan’s story reminds us that stress is rarely about the present moment. Often, it’s an echo.
And when we trace the echo back, something untangles.
About Joan
Joan K. Peters earned her Ph.D. in comparative literature from The University of Chicago and is professor emeritus of literature and writing at California State University at Channel Islands. She lives in Ojai with her husband, her dogs, and her chickens.
Learn more at:
UntanglingJoan.com
If This Episode Resonated…
If you notice repeating emotional patterns…
If certain fears feel larger than the moment calls for…
If you sense your body reacting before your mind understands why…
That may be your invitation to gently ask:
What’s underneath this?
And you don’t have to answer it alone.
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