You Can Be Okay: Medical Trauma, Avoidance, and the Path Forward with Dr. Jim Jackson

About this episode

In this episode, Sarah Stasica discusses medical trauma and its impacts with Dr. Jim Jackson, exploring avoidance, acceptance, and the path to healing.

Medical trauma is real. Millions of people are living with it. And most of them don't even have a name for it yet. In this episode, Sarah sits down with Dr. Jim Jackson, neuropsychologist at Vanderbilt University and author of Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma , for a deeply human conversation about what medical trauma actually looks like, why avoidance is so much more dangerous than we realize, and why you don't have to be symptom-free to live a meaningful life. Dr. Jackson has spent over 25 years working with ICU survivors, long COVID patients, and people navigating the aftermath of life-altering medical experiences. He brings both clinical expertise and his own lived experience with OCD to a conversation that is honest, warm, and genuinely hopeful. In this episode, you'll hear: Why medical trauma is "hiding in plain sight" and what it costs people to not have a name for it How avoidance quietly shrinks your world (and what actually helps you move through it) What acceptance and commitment therapy offers people who can't imagine returning to medical care The "beach ball in the pool" approach to distressing symptoms Why shame keeps people stuck, and…

People in this episode

Host: Sarah Stasica

Guest: Dr. Jim Jackson

Topics covered

• medical trauma
• avoidance
• acceptance and commitment therapy
• post-traumatic growth
• mental health
• ICU survivors
• long COVID

Keywords

• medical trauma
• avoidance
• ICU survivors
• long COVID
• mental health
• acceptance and commitment therapy
• post-traumatic growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vanderbilt University

Books & works: Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma

More episodes of Medical Trauma Support

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• When Doctors Don't Believe You: One Woman's Journey Through Medical Gaslighting and Finding Her Way to Healing · May 22, 2026 · 41 min
• From Misdiagnosed and Dismissed to Reclaiming Her Voice: Deborah Weed's Medical Trauma Story · April 24, 2026 · 33 min
• When the System That's Supposed to Help You Causes Harm: Medical Trauma, Endometriosis, and Healing · April 10, 2026 · 55 min
• “I’m Proud of You for Coming In Today”: How Compassion Changes Healthcare · March 27, 2026 · 56 min
• From Clinician to Patient: A Nurse Practitioner’s Journey Through Medical Trauma · March 13, 2026 · 1h 9m