This episode talks in detail about rape.

"I've actually been really scared to talk about these things," Paige told Renée as she started to tell her story and lose her breath. Paige had a relatively happy childhood and an appropriately "boy crazy" adolescence. Unfortunately, her first boyfriend was so abusive and controlling that, until recently, she kept the details of the five-year relationship buried far away from her consciousness. Now a happily married, 32 year-old mother of three, Paige finds herself suddenly overcome by the trauma - memories, feelings, all of it -- and she has come to the show hoping Renée can help her stabilize. Her story is intense and it was hard for her to tell it, but her bravery is stunning. Renée helps Paige understand her intense symptoms and new triggers, and by the end Paige not only has her breath back, but she also has hope and a plan.

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"It's an abusive relationship sometimes," Chad told Renée. He wasn't talking about his love life - he was talking about his job. Chad, who brings equal parts strength and sensitivity to the conversation (not to mention a seriously soothing voice), works as a 911 Dispatcher, and, as he explains, he often wants out but just can't leave. This relationship with his job is a big part of the reason Chad has come to the show; he is hoping Renée can help him let go of the stress he carries not only because his job is inherently stressful, but also because he puts so much pressure on himself. Having a job that demands hypervigilance makes it extra tricky to manage stress, but Renée is up for the challenge. She and Chad sort out the intersections of his childhood trauma and his current stress situation and develop a solid plan for salvaging his nervous system. As it turns out, this is a little more complicated than work stress, and Chad uncovers new layers and makes new connections right up until the very end of the conversation. But before they get into it, Renée has a story to tell. So much so that the intro is long enough to be its own episode. And we thought about making it an entirely separate episode. Instead, we are giving you one big juicy one. Muah!

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Jess was raised in the Mormon church and was a perfectly happy child - until she was sexually assaulted by two neighbors at 11 years old. Even at that young age, she had the self-possession to report the incident, only to be told by the church that the assault was her fault. This was the origin of Jess's "bad picker," as she calls it; she found herself drawn to abusive relationships before extricating herself from the church and its dogma. The journey from oppression to autonomy was dynamic and deeply difficult, and, Jess is ready to share the whole story. She has done a lot of healing work already, and her strength and smarts shine at every turn. Still, despite her remarkable resilience, she continues to struggle with the symptoms of CPTSD, and she comes to the show hoping Renée can provide the elusive layer of healing that will finally free her. Renée can, but not before Jess takes us through a ton of trauma twists and turns. Religion, relationships, suicide, sexuality, body image, babies, and more: all leading up to a beautifully happy ending.

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Chris had a happy childhood. He has an aspirational marriage. He loves his job. So what the hell is he doing on the show? Well, Chris had a happy childhood, but his brother did not, and this difference has strained their relationship to near estrangement - and that is what Chris is doing on the show. Not only does he want help navigating the conflict with his brother, but he also wants to protect the relationships he has with his brother's kids - without betraying his own boundaries. Fortunately for Chris, Renée loves few things more than analyzing messy family dynamics and talking about B-B-B-B-B-Boundaries. They dig in deep and get it all sorted. Plus, Renée answers a juicy listener question in the intro. Siblings, spirituality, personality disorders, energetic boundaries, near death experiences: this one has a little something for everyone!

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"I remember dieting a lot," Tatiana explained to Renée about her childhood, recalling that her mother regularly told her "You'd look prettier if you lost twenty pounds." Her mother's constant criticism corrupted not only Tatiana's relationship with food but also her relationships in general - with herself, with partners, with her body. Tatiana is startlingly wise for her age; her insight, intelligence, and vulnerability make her story even more compelling, and the content is compelling enough on its own: mothers, eating disorders, body image, alcohol, adderall, abandonment, codependency, boundaries, depression, medication, love bombing, and that's not all. Tatiana has a specific question for Renée that doesn't emerge until more than halfway through their conversation: Why is her body rejecting her current partner? And this is where things get extra juicy. Renée helps Tatiana sort out the many layers of her current experience, and by the end Tatiana has a cohesive and empowered narrative, new hope, and a plan.

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Hey everyone; this is Renée. The first thing you need to know about this week's episode is that it's not a real episode. It's a long-form placeholder. There was a bit of a disaster with tonight's episode (hint: the disaster's name starts with R and hosts the show), and you know there is no way I was going to skip a week of content without at least letting you know what's going on. So this was intended to be a brief explanation, but as usual I kept talking. If you are looking for the engaging guests, informative content, and quick thinking you're used to from me, come back next week, or pick any other week for that matter. I promise to deliver. All bets are off this week, as I publicly reckon with my perfectionism and arrogance. Cool.

But no one can say I have skipped a week. 106, baby. ;)

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"Well now you've made it much more complicated!" Jesus told Renée when she offered an explanation for his social isolation. Indeed, Jesus came on the show hoping to promote his comedy and have a quick conversation - but you know Renée can't let him off that easily. Instead, she took Jesus on a deep dive into his history of self-proclaimed "not caring." He didn't care about school, he doesn't care about socializing, and he doesn't care about not caring. What's going on? Well, Jesus didn't really care about that, either, until Renée stumbled onto some juicy details. As it turns out, there is, a concrete explanation for some of Jesus's avoidant relationship behaviors - and the longer they talked, the more Renée found. They cover friendships, cheating, dopamine, oxytocin, and more - and at the end, they do finally talk about comedy. It's a fun kickoff for Season 3!

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"I can't move past it," Kimberly explained to Renée, referring to the loss of her closest friendship. The loss of the friendship was complicated by the loss of a baby, and now Kimberly finds herself dealing with what she can best describe as "survivor's guilt." When she and Renée dug into the situation, it became clear that Kimberly is still, years after the friendship fracture, in deep pain - and as they dug even deeper, they found that there is lot more going on than just this break-up. Kimberly is brave and vulnerable and smart, and she makes it easy for Renée to sort it out. They talk mean girls, friendship trauma, grief, and more. Plus, Renée teaches a new strategy for dealing with social anxiety in the intro. It's a juicy episode with which to wrap up Season 2!

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