Jamal grew up believing isolation was strength. After being abused by a respected male figure and repeatedly misunderstood in therapy, trust became a threat rather than a human need. In this episode, we explore how childhood sexual abuse rewires the brain to equate closeness with danger—especially in Black men raised to be silent, self-sufficient, and unbreakable. We unpack why independence can be a trauma response, not maturity, and how healing begins with safe proximity, cultural resonance, and nervous system recalibration—not forced vulnerability.

This isn't a conversation about “opening up.” It's about learning to exist around people without preparing for harm.

With you in this, Coach Thomas Edward Break My Abuse Code™ | www.BetterMaleSurvivors.com

Ready to give it a try:

Life by Your Design

Darren spent decades sculpting a nearly perfect body, but no amount of muscle erased the shame imprinted during childhood sexual abuse. In this episode, we explore how trauma rewires the brain’s interoception system, how gym culture can reinforce unresolved wounds, and how healing requires inhabiting the body rather than managing it.

This is not a story of fitness. It’s a story of finally coming home to your body.

With you in this, Coach Thomas Break My Abuse Code™ | www.BetterMaleSurvivors.com

Ready to give it a try:

Life by Your Design

Nighttime wasn’t rest for Diego—it was danger. As a child, he was sexually abused during overnight stays with family, and his body learned that darkness meant vulnerability. Decades later, he couldn’t sleep, woke with panic attacks, kept lights on, and stayed awake until sunrise “just in case.”

In this episode, we explore how nighttime trauma rewires the brain, suppresses REM sleep, reverses cortisol cycles, and creates lifelong insomnia. We walk through how Diego reclaimed safety in the dark—not by forcing sleep, but by teaching his nervous system that night no longer equals danger.

If nighttime is where your past returns, this episode is for you.

With you in this, Coach Thomas Break My Abuse Code™ | www.BetterMaleSurvivors.com

Ready to give it try:

Life by Your Design