S E13: Lost Time, Found Compassion: Healing My Teenage Self
About this episode
Hunter talks to three strangers about their transformative childhood experiences and the impact on their adult lives.
Hunter talks to three strangers who had moments in their youth that changed the shape of their lives going forwards. Even though they’re adults now, they still feel their young selves inside. Meet this weeks strangers: - Mia shares how being called “weird” and told she couldn’t sing deeply hurt her as a child, especially as a quirky, ADHD kid who once went to school dressed as a clown. She describes a traumatic recess incident where popular kids staged a fake breakup to humiliate her, chasing her and throwing papers, which shattered her sense of safety but later fueled her compassion and artistic philosophy of creating non‑judgmental, welcoming spaces. She talks about processing these memories through EMDR therapy, learning that childhood experiences lodge in the body and that working through them can be painful but ultimately liberating. Mia reflects on how bullying made her abandon her authentic, “weird” self to fit in as a teen, leading to a sense of “lost time” and a long journey back to self‑trust and self‑expression. - Jon recalls being a disruptive class clown in ninth grade and having a teacher physically slam him against a wall and call him a “loser” who…
People in this episode
Host: Hunter
Guests: Mia, Jon, Johnny
More episodes of Stories from a Stranger
- S E18: Loving Yourself: Stories of Identity and Healing
- S E17: Fathers: The Wounds, The Love, The Legacy
- S E16: Learning to Belong: Immigrant Childhoods, Family Sacrifice, and Self-Discovery
- S E15: Falling in Love is Beyond My Control
- S E14: Still Thinking About Them: Stories of Love, Loss, and Legacy
- S E12: Breaking the Cycle: Kids of Addicts Finding Healing and Hope
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