From Control to Connection: How to Stop Surviving and Start Healing

In the latest episode of Love and Trauma: The Real Deal, I had the honor of sitting down with Heather Hanson—also known as the Gut Health Paramedic. She's a best-selling author, speaker, and wellness expert who’s helped countless women overcome chronic symptoms like fatigue, bloating, brain fog, and weight gain. But in this conversation, she shared a side of her story most people have never heard.

Heather opened up—for the first time ever—about how her childhood trauma shaped the very coping mechanisms that helped her survive, but eventually started to sabotage her health and relationships. Her story is one that so many of us can relate to: high-functioning on the outside, emotionally exhausted on the inside.

And let me tell you, this conversation is raw, real, and ridiculously powerful.

💡 The Real Deal: My 3 Biggest Takeaways from Heather’s Story

1. Control Isn’t the Enemy—Until It Is

Heather talked about how her need to control everything helped her navigate a chaotic childhood. But in adulthood, that control turned into perfectionism, rigidity, and emotional distance. What once felt protective became toxic—and she didn’t even realize it until her health began to spiral.

2. Withdrawing Isn’t Rejection—It’s Regulation

This one hit close to home. Heather described how she struggled to let her husband help her because she learned early on that trusting others wasn’t safe. That self-sufficiency became a barrier to intimacy. Her journey back to connection started by softening that wall—slowly, intentionally—and learning how to co-regulate instead of isolate.

3. The Body Always Keeps the Score

From thyroid issues to digestive problems and eventually a full hysterectomy at 25, Heather’s story is a powerful reminder that emotional pain will eventually show up in the body. The moment she started facing her trauma—not just talking about it, but truly releasing it—was the moment her healing began. Breathwork, energy release, and mindset work were just a few of the tools that helped her transform from the inside out.

🎥 Don’t Miss This Episode

If you’ve ever felt confused by your partner’s behavior…
If you’re constantly doing everything for everyone else…
If you’re tired of being strong all the time but don’t know how to stop…

👉 This episode will give you insight, hope, and tools to begin your own healing process.

Heather’s story proves that you don’t have to keep surviving. You can start living—connected, supported, and free.

🎥 Watch now on Love and Trauma: The Real Deal