Welcome back to Taste of Truth Tuesdays, where we maintain our curiosity, embrace skepticism, and never stop asking what’s really going on beneath the surface.
Last week, in The Deluded Brain, I set the stage for today’s conversation by exploring why control feels safe, certainty feels holy, and complexity feels threatening. If you missed it, go back and give it a listen — it’s short, sharp, and sets the context beautifully.
Today, we’re unpacking the deep neurological and emotional roots of Complex PTSD — and why healing isn’t just about mindset shifts, talk therapy, or being more “resilient.”
We explore:
The critical differences between PTSD and Complex PTSD — and how each impacts the brain and body
Why CPTSD isn’t just a fear response, but a full-body survival adaptation that reshapes your identity
What it means to heal from the bottom up — and why insight alone won’t cut it
How books and language can validate our experience — without replacing the need for somatic work
The push-pull of relational safety: why CPTSD makes connection feel risky, even when we crave it
And how trauma affects the Default Mode Network — making healing feel like rediscovering who you really are
Last season, we dove deep into Pete Walker’s From Surviving to Thriving, exploring how childhood neglect, emotional abuse, and developmental trauma shape adult behavior.
But today? We’re going deeper. Through the lens of neuroscience.What if your brain and body are actually doing their best to protect you — through adaptations wired by Complex PTSD?
My guest today is Cody Isabel, a neuroscience researcher and writer whose work is shifting trauma conversations in powerful ways. He holds a degree in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience, has training in Internal Family Systems psychotherapy, and specializes in Psychoneuroimmunology — the study of how your thoughts, brain, and immune system all interact.
His Substack article “PTSD & Complex PTSD Are NOT the Same Thing” is one of the clearest, most validating reads I’ve come across — and it forms the backbone of today’s discussion.
So, if you’ve ever felt stuck, shut down, reactive, misunderstood, or like your nervous system has a mind of its own… Click PLAY!
LINKS
About - The Mind, Brain, Body Digest
The Top 5 Childhood Core Wounds in Overachievers 🧠
No Bad Parts | IFS Institute | Schwartz
Transcending Trauma Healing Complex PTSD with Internal Family Systems Therapy
🆕🆕This collection includes books that have deeply influenced my thinking, challenged my assumptions, and shaped my content. Book Recommendations
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I recently sat down with Balance Banter to share a very personal part of my story — my unexpected entry into religion during the pandemic, what pulled me in, what made me question, and how I began to deconstruct without losing my curiosity. We talk faith, control, community, and what it really means to rebuild your worldview from the ground up. If you’ve ever felt like you’re standing at the crossroads of belief and disillusionment, this one’s for you.
