What began as a marriage marked by love bombing, manipulation, and emotional volatility escalated into a custody battle rooted in coercive control, deception, and credible allegations of sexual harm. Indee describes years of psychological abuse, isolation, and intimidation, including being physically restrained, gaslit, and threatened into silence. As she attempted to leave, the abuse intensified, evolving into legal retaliation, false narratives, and a calculated effort to maintain power through the family court system. The unraveling of her ex-husband’s lies revealed a disturbing pattern of predatory behavior that family members had long concealed, leaving Indee to fight alone to protect her child.

This episode exposes how coercive control does not end when a relationship does, but often resurfaces through custody disputes, institutional failures, and court-sanctioned access to children. Indee shares the psychological toll of trauma bonding, suicidal crisis, and complex PTSD, alongside the exhausting reality of self-representation in court while facing a manipulative abuser. Her story underscores the dangers of dismissing survivor testimony, the consequences of silence within families, and the urgent need for trauma-informed custody decisions.

Indee’s Links:

https://www.instagram.com/simplyindee

https://www.tiktok.com/@indeefields

Resources:

National Domestic Violence Hotline

800-799-7233

Text BEGIN to 88788

SAMHSA’s National Helpline (mental health and/or substance use)

1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Crisis Text Line

741741

Beyond the Monsters’ Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters/

https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topics: Coercive control, Custody abuse, Narcissistic abuse, Parental alienation, Family court trauma

If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:

https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact beyondthemonsters@gmail.com for any business inquiries!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Buchanan never imagined that a career rooted in service would lead her into one of the most extreme survival situations imaginable. A former schoolteacher turned humanitarian aid worker, she was kidnapped while working in Somalia and held captive for 93 days in the desert. What began as a mission driven by responsibility, purpose, and service became a fight for survival involving armed captors, ransom negotiations, physical illness, psychological terror, and the constant uncertainty of whether she would live to see another day. Her story exposes the hidden risks faced by humanitarian workers, the failures of institutional duty of care, and the devastating consequences of ignoring intuition.

What ultimately carried Jessica through captivity was not blind optimism or belief alone, but a disciplined inner survival strategy. Drawing from spirituality, memory, ritual, and mental control, she created structure where none existed and meaning where despair could have taken over. Her rescue by U.S. special operations forces marked the end of captivity but not the end of the trauma. Returning home meant rebuilding identity, navigating PTSD, motherhood after survival, betrayal by systems meant to protect her, and the long process of surviving survival.

Jessica’s Links:

https://www.instagram.com/jessicacbuchanan

https://linktr.ee/jessbuchanan

https://www.jessbuchanan.com

Her Book “Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six”:

https://a.co/d/2oFjqwH

Beyond the Monsters’ Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters/

https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topics: Humanitarian worker kidnapping, Surviving captivity and hostage trauma, PTSD after extreme trauma, Intuition and survival psychology, Life after survival trauma

If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:

https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact beyondthemonsters@gmail.com for any business inquiries!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick experienced childhood sexual abuse that began when he was around five years old by his first best friend. This was a case of peer-on-peer sexual abuse, a form of childhood sexual assault that is often misunderstood, minimized, or overlooked despite its long-term psychological impact. At that age, he did not have the developmental ability to consent, understand, or stop what was happening, while fear, confusion, and secrecy became his primary survival responses. What occurred was not experimentation, but abuse, shaped by power, confusion, and trust violations that a child cannot navigate.

As he grew older, the unresolved effects of childhood sexual abuse surfaced through anger, addiction, and struggles with trust and identity. Living with a lifelong degenerative hearing loss and tinnitus added another layer of isolation and difference during critical developmental years. Healing did not begin until adulthood, when sobriety, therapy, and accountability allowed him to accurately name what happened and confront its impact without allowing it to define him. By speaking openly, he helps illuminate how early sexual trauma and unaddressed disability can shape a life, and how breaking secrecy can be a meaningful step toward reclaiming agency.

Nick’s Links:

https://linktr.ee/nickmiddaugh

www.nickmiddaugh.com

Character Is Destiny

nickmiddaugh.substack.com

Nick’s essay he read an excerpt from:

https://open.substack.com/pub/nickmiddaugh/p/005-violation-the-forge-opens?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Beyond the Monsters’ Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters/

https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topics: childhood sexual abuse (CSA), addiction & alcoholism, mental health, degenerative hearing loss & tinnitus

If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:

https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact beyondthemonsters@gmail.com for any business inquiries!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.