In this episode of Just Like Nana, host Amie (Elizabeth) Penny Sayler is joined by psychologist and educator Annie Brook to discuss how the nervous system stores trauma, and what we can do to release those chemicals and emotions and ground back into our bodies.
Together they explore pre-cognitive memories and how we can metabolize emotional distress.
About Annie
Annie Brook is a psychologist, educator, and author whose work focuses on trauma healing, birth imprint therapy, and applied neuroplasticity. Through The Brook Institute she teaches practical body mind tools that help therapists, parents, and individuals heal early developmental trauma and build healthier relationships. For more information visit https://anniebrook.com.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- While the mind can analyze trauma, the nervous system is what stores it. Healing requires moving into the felt sense to release energy that talk therapy alone often cannot reach.
- How experiences from the womb and birth—moments before we have language—create foundational blueprints in our bodies. Recognizing these early imprints can be helpful in understanding unexplained adult anxiety or shut-down.
- How to identify when your system has entered a freeze or existential shock state. Annie explains how dissociation serves as a survival mechanism and provides tools to safely bring your awareness back into your body.
- How to use sensory feedback and somatic techniques to finish incomplete trauma responses. Whether it’s reclaiming a birth push or moving through ancestral grief, these tools help your body understand that the danger is in the past.
- To develop a compassionate witness within yourself. By replacing self-attack thinking with curious body awareness, you create the internal safety necessary for deep integration and personal growth.
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Annie Brook
Instagram: @anniebrooktherapy
Website: https://www.anniebrook.com
Connect with the Show
- Website: justlikenana.com
- Share Your Story: If you have a family story or trauma you’re exploring, reach out via our website for a chance to be interviewed.
Connect with Just Like Nana's Website.
A proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.
Theme music by Carter Penny.
