Archive FM

Taboo Talk with Sarah

Episode 10 Turning the Tables on Trauma: A Conversation with Jacqui Wilkinson

🎧 Episode Summary: What happens when your past tries to define your future? In this powerful episode of Taboo Talk with Sarah, I sit down with Jacqui Wilkinson—a Royal Air Force Wing Commander, hypnotherapist, fitness coach, and author of Turning the Tables on Trauma—to explore how childhood trauma shapes our leadership, self-worth, and relationships. Jacqui shares her deeply personal journey of surviving childhood abuse, understanding the generational patterns that keep trauma cycling, and breaking free to create a life of strength, leadership, and healing. She opens up about the role of achievement as a coping mechanism, the importance of trauma-informed leadership, and how she was able to stop generational trauma in its tracks—ensuring that her children never inherited the pain of her past. This episode is a raw, eye-opening conversation about resilience, breaking free from limiting beliefs, and choosing to rewrite your story. If you’ve ever struggled with self-worth, felt the weight of past trauma, or wondered if healing was truly possible—this one’s for you. 💜 Your past does not have to define you. It's how you rise from it that does.
Broadcast on:
24 Mar 2025

đź“Ś Key Takeaways:

✔️ Breaking Generational Trauma – How Jacqui stopped the cycle and ensured her children were raised differently

✔️ Super-Achievement as a Coping Mechanism – Why many high-achievers push themselves to extremes

✔️ Trauma-Informed Leadership – How understanding trauma makes us better leaders, parents, and partners

✔️ Rewiring the Brain for Healing – The neuroscience behind overcoming childhood adversity

✔️ The Power of Owning Your Story – Why sharing your truth helps dissolve shame

đź’¬ Standout Quotes:

🗣️ "Who would I be without my achievements? I thought I’d be no one. That’s how little I valued myself." – Jacqui Wilkinson

🗣️ "You don’t have to pass down what happened to you. You get to decide what kind of parent, leader, and person you want to be."

🗣️ "Trauma doesn’t just disappear—it hides in plain sight. Leadership means seeing the unseen and helping others rise."

⏳ Key Moments in the Episode:

⏱ 00:00 – Welcome & Introduction to Jacqui Wilkinson

⏱ 05:30 – Growing up in a dysfunctional home: The 9 ACEs that shaped Jacqui’s childhood

⏱ 12:45 – Using achievement as a coping mechanism: The endless chase for self-worth

⏱ 18:10 – The pivotal moment: Breaking free from survival mode

⏱ 22:35 – The impact of trauma on leadership: Why we need trauma-informed leaders

⏱ 28:50 – Healing & parenting: How Jacqui ensured her children never inherited her trauma

⏱ 33:20 – The power of sharing your story: How speaking out dissolves shame

⏱ 40:49 – Why kindness and connection can change lives: The story of a soldier she helped

⏱ 50:19 – Final thoughts: "Your past does not define you—it’s how you rise from it that does."

🌟 Notable Mentions:

✔️ Turning the Tables on Trauma – Jacqui’s book (All profits go to Access Counseling, supporting survivors of abuse)

✔️ Access Counseling – The organization that helped Jacqui start her healing journey

✔️ Los Angeles Tribune Women’s Journal – Co-founded by Jacqui, dedicated to empowering women

✔️ Mental Health Support Resources:

📞 Lifeline Australia – 13 11 14 | Lifeline Online Chat

📞 Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636 | Beyond Blue Online Chat

📞 Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467 | Suicide Callback Online

📢 Call to Action:

💜 If this episode spoke to you, please share it. Share it with a friend, a family member—someone who needs to hear that healing is possible.

💬 Let’s keep this conversation going. What’s one takeaway from today’s episode? Drop a comment or DM me on social media!

📖 Want to support Jacqui’s mission? Buy her book, Turning the Tables on Trauma, and know that every purchase supports survivors of abuse.

🎧 Don’t forget to subscribe! Leave a review and share this episode with someone who needs to know: they are not alone.

🎧 Episode Summary: What happens when your past tries to define your future? In this powerful episode of Taboo Talk with Sarah, I sit down with Jacqui Wilkinson—a Royal Air Force Wing Commander, hypnotherapist, fitness coach, and author of Turning the Tables on Trauma—to explore how childhood trauma shapes our leadership, self-worth, and relationships. Jacqui shares her deeply personal journey of surviving childhood abuse, understanding the generational patterns that keep trauma cycling, and breaking free to create a life of strength, leadership, and healing. She opens up about the role of achievement as a coping mechanism, the importance of trauma-informed leadership, and how she was able to stop generational trauma in its tracks—ensuring that her children never inherited the pain of her past. This episode is a raw, eye-opening conversation about resilience, breaking free from limiting beliefs, and choosing to rewrite your story. If you’ve ever struggled with self-worth, felt the weight of past trauma, or wondered if healing was truly possible—this one’s for you. 💜 Your past does not have to define you. It's how you rise from it that does.