Ep 43 | Break the Trauma Loop: Renew Your Mind, Transform Your Life

Why do you keep ending up in the same trauma patterns even though you're praying, trying, and doing everything you know to do?

What if the problem isn't your effort... but the thoughts you've never stopped to question?

In this episode, we're diving into one of the most overlooked keys to trauma healing: your thought life. Jemese LaChel LCSW shares why Scripture tells us to take every thought captive, how trauma creates "stuck points" that quietly shape your beliefs, and a simple biblical exercise to help you identify the lies keeping you trapped so you can replace them with God's truth.

If you've been feeling stuck in fear, shame, anxiety, people pleasing, emotional shutdown, or repeating the same relationship patterns, this episode will give you practical, faith based tools to start renewing your mind and walking in the freedom Jesus paid for.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why your thoughts shape your emotions, behaviors, and healing
• How trauma based beliefs keep you stuck
• A simple four question exercise to uncover the lies you've been believing
• What the Bible says about renewing your mind as a pathway to transformation
• How to begin replacing trauma with truth

Free Resource: DM @jemeselachel with the phrase  "Taking Thoughts Captive" on Instagram or Facebook, and I'll send you a free worksheet that walks you through this process step by step.

If this episode helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels stuck, and leave a review so more women can find faith-based trauma healing support.

💁🏾‍♀️NEW HERE?  Jemese is a Christian trauma therapist, women's mentor and Spirit-filled host of A New Creation Podcast. Through Christ-centered conversations and inspiring testimonies, Jemese guides women through trauma healing, deeper faith, and freedom in Jesus Christ so they can form better relationships with God, self and others. 

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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not therapy, counseling, or medical advice, and no therapist-client relationship is formed by listening. If you are experiencing mental health, medical, or spiritual concerns, please seek support from a licensed professional or appropriate local services.

Transcript

Feeling Stuck In Trauma Loops

Speaker 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of A New Creation Podcast. This episode is something you definitely want to listen to if you have been feeling very stuck in a place of circling around the same mountain of your trauma, feeling like you're never getting any headway, and it is causing you to feel super stuck. I don't know if you can relate to that feeling of just the overwhelm and the anticipation, even of having to deal with the impact of trauma again. This can look like your husband is irritated with you once again because for whatever reason you are not able to engage in intimacy the way that you desire. You shut him down. It can look like the anticipation of really wanting to have a good time in a social setting, but you are so guarded. I don't know how it's showing up for you. It shows up in a variety of ways, but you know the feeling of being stuck. And if that's you, this episode is gonna be very empowering. Hey, welcome back to a new creation podcast with Jemese LaChel. I'm a faith-based trauma therapist pointing you toward Victory in Christ, one Jesus story at a time. You're in the right place if you're done feeling stuck and you're ready to form better relationships with God, yourself, and others. So pull up a seat to the table since you belong here. Let's go.

Opening Prayer For Protection

Speaker 1:28

Before we begin, I would love to open up this episode with prayer. So let's do that now. Gracious and heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for another opportunity to be in your midst. We thank you for your sweet presence, your sweet Holy Spirit. We thank you for the Lord Jesus, Lord, and we thank you for truth. You are the spirit of all truth, Lord God, and we just pray for that spirit of truth to pour out through this episode. God, I ask that you would surround the listener with a shield. Surround the listener with a shield right now, that this time would be safeguarded. I ask that you would open the listener's eyes to see what it is you need her to see, open her ears to she to hear what you need her to hear, Lord Jesus. And we just thank you in advance for everything that you're gonna do through this episode in the powerful and the maculous in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We pray. Amen. Today

Renewing The Mind Brings Change

Speaker 2:20

we're gonna tackle your thought life. We're gonna tackle the thought life, we're gonna tackle the things that you're thinking about, trauma, the things that you're thinking about, your situation, even the things you're thinking about, the way that you're feeling stuck right now. There's a reason why you're listening to my work and this podcast, and it's because you know that you feel stuck and you don't want to feel like that anymore. Somewhere deep down, you know that there is a way out of this, and let's talk about it. So, we're gonna first tackle this in the area of the mind because science has shown that so much of what we are experiencing is a result of what we're thinking. This is science, and not just that, it is also scripture. So, I'm gonna take you right to the word and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. When you meditate on this scripture, what you realize is that the renewing of the mind is the key to the transformation that you want. So if you're feeling stuck, the scriptures are telling us that we're not going to be conformed to the pattern of this world and the way that the world thinks about things, we're going to allow our minds to be renewed. That renewal of the mind brings the transformation. Part of that transformation is beginning to understand what is the good will of God, what is the acceptable will of God, and what is the perfect will of God for your life. So, this episode, I want to challenge you to think about what you're thinking about.

Philippians 4:8 And Biblical Meditation

Speaker 3:52

Let's look at Philippians chapter 4, verse 8. That says in the NKJV, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Meditate on these things, not the worldly form of meditation, which is an emptying of the mind. Very new age. No, this is a biblical form of meditation, which is uttering the word of God over and over and over again, silently chewing on the word of God over, filling yourself with the Lord, the the word of God, filling yourself with his word, eastern uh meditation and things that's about emptying the mind. And we shouldn't, we we should not engage in that form of meditation. What we do as believers, we fill our mind, and so this is telling you if you want to if you want to take control of your thought life, you're gonna meditate on these specific types of thoughts, these specific types of things. You're gonna fill your mind with these specific types of thoughts, thoughts that are true, thoughts that are noble, thoughts that are just, thoughts that are pure, thoughts that are lovely, thoughts that are of good report, thoughts that are virtuous, praiseworthy, etc. etc. The word of God does tell us that there is a specific way that we should be thinking. And to that end, it is imperative that we as the believer think about what we're thinking about. If you don't stop to think about what you're thinking, you're going to go the entire rest of your life repeating this trauma loop and staying stuck in this uh cycle of trauma and wondering why your life is not improving, wondering why your marriage is still suffering, wondering why you can't seem to get this monkey of trauma off of your back. A lot of it is rooted in the thought life. If you can change the way that you're thinking, if you could take your thoughts and hold it up to the light of Christ and His Word and examine it, you're going to be able to gain so much headway. Because our thought life is one of the enemy's favorite places to attack. If the enemy can attack you in your thought life and get you to think that those uh maladaptive thoughts that you're having are actually yours, you stay stuck. I

How Trauma Thoughts Shape Behavior

Speaker 6:23

was having a conversation with someone not too long ago about just how stuck she was feeling. This was not a client, it was actually just somebody I know personally, and I was like, you know, the thoughts that you're thinking, I was just explaining this concept how the way that we think can really impact our life. And if you don't stop to examine it, you stay stuck. And I got such pushback because, you know, this person was like, Well, Jamise, I don't have time to think about what I'm thinking about, I'm just so busy all the time, and began to give me all these excuses why it couldn't be done. And instantly I recognize the nervous system of that person being triggered to the place of self-preservation because challenging the thought life felt like too much work. And maybe that's you today. Maybe you feel like this is too difficult, that you don't have time. But I want you to recognize that if you're having thoughts like that, these are the very thoughts that are keeping you stuck in trauma. If you don't do something different, nothing is going to change. You have to get to the point where you are willing. I've heard I've heard it said like this: you got to be desperate for deliverance. If you're comfortable and complacent and cozy, there's no reason for you to try to change your life. You have to get to the place where you are uncomfortable living out these toxic patterns that you know are destroying your marriage, you know they're destroying your life, and more than that, they're destroying your impact. You came here to make a wave here on the earth. The Lord created you for good works from before the foundations of this very earth, he created you for a purpose. But trauma comes along and it hijacks your nervous system, and now you live in this prison of self-protection. If you want to stop doing that, I want to teach you how. And it's gonna be just as simple as thinking about what you're thinking about. This is scripture. The Bible tells us to take every single thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. It says every thought, not just the thoughts that are bad, not just the thoughts that we think are good or bad. It says every single thought. So that means that we even biblically have to be thoughtful, yes, about what it is that you're thinking. You have to think about what you're thinking about. And maybe that's because the Lord knew that so much of our life and our experience is gonna ride out on the way that we're thinking. It matters what you think because your thoughts dictate your belief. If you have a thought about something, it dictates your belief. When you have that belief, it dictates your actions. A perfect example of this would be that if you think that intimacy is nasty or is linked to pain, then what you're gonna believe when your husband wants to be intimate with you, you're going to immediately shut down, your nervous system is gonna be triggered because that thought dictates this belief. Because you believe that you're gonna push your husband away, you're gonna shut down, you're gonna say, I can't do this. And it leads to this spiral of consequences where now you feel very guilty, and it's just it's a it's a loop, it's a loop that you feel stuck in, and it becomes easier to just you know sweep it under the rug and pick up the next day and say, you know what, and just keep going. But if you do that long enough, it becomes an ingrained pattern that is keeping you from growth, and so how you break this down is beginning to take every thought captive by thinking about what you're thinking about, thinking about what you're thinking

Four Questions To Find The Truth

Speaker 10:04

about. I want to walk you through a very simple practical application of what it actually looks like to take your thoughts captive. And so I want you to consider a thought that you're having. Maybe this is a thought that is creating a lot of difficulty for you in your life. In my therapy work, we sometimes call this stuck points because these are the thoughts that are creating more rigidness, they're very rigid thoughts that you may be having after trauma. They may be thoughts like it's all my fault, and maybe thoughts like if I had tried harder, I wouldn't have gotten hurt. It may be thoughts like all men are bad, it may be thoughts like whatever. I want you to stop and pray right now and ask the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what is a stuck point or a thought or even a lie that you have been believing. Identify that. Once you have that thought, you'll write that down, maybe even pull out the notes on your phone while you're listening and write down the answer to that question. What is the lie or the thought that you've been having? I want you to then ask, when did you first start believing this? When did you first start believing that all men are bad? When did you first start believing that healing is a journey? Come on now, let's break this one down. This deserves its own podcast episode for real, because I hear it over and over and over again. Healing is a journey, it just takes time, and I'm telling you that 90% of the time when women say that, you're saying that, and it's almost giving you like a subtle permission slip to let things stay the way that they are, because the reality is that healing does not take time, healing takes Jesus, it takes one touch from him. He may choose to heal you in an instant, but you keep saying it takes time, or he may decide that because of what you've been through, it's gonna take a process and he's gonna walk you through that process, but you have to take off the control. You are telling yourself healing is a journey when actually healing is Jesus, okay? So let's work through that one even. If that's the thought or the lie that you're believing that healing is a journey, healing takes time, it's gonna take a long time for you to get better. But when did you first start believing that? That's question number two. When did you first start believing that? The next thing that you're gonna ask is question number three. Who told you this? And I would say this as a prayer, Father God, please show me the source. Where did this come in? Was it a belief I picked up from society? Was it a belief that I just picked up my own self? Was it the voice of the enemy? Who told me this? Who said it was true that healing takes time? And then finally, the fourth thing is you're gonna write the truth. What is the truth? And you're gonna pray out the you're gonna pray out, Lord, please give me wisdom. What is the truth? And then, if at all possible, find a Bible verse to support that truth. And once you get that Bible verse, you're gonna start declaring it. This is a simple way to walk through the process of taking your thoughts captive. Um, scripturally, you can certainly just go to Philippians 4.8. Let me see if I can't find it. So I want to read it out one more time out of my Bible. Philippians 4.8. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, you can just hold it up to the light of scripture and say, you know, is the thought true? Is the thought noble? Is the thought just? And you can just go down all these things in Philippians 8. If you don't want to do the that four-question process, I would encourage you to do both. The method that you use does not matter so much, it matters just that you press in and that you do it. Because as you do this work and as you allow your mind to be renewed by the truth, which is the word of God, and what the word of God has to say about you, you're gonna find that those stuck points, those sticky thoughts, those rigid thoughts, those thoughts that you're having that are keeping trauma living in your nervous system, they're going to lighten up and dismantle. The Lord is going to give you inner healing in those areas. You have to think about what you're thinking about. If you need

Free Worksheet Offer And Closing Prayer

Speaker 14:31

help with this, I want you to DM me the word taking thoughts captive. DM me on Instagram or Facebook or wherever you find me. DM me the phrase taking thoughts captive, and I will send you a free PDF worksheet to help you walk through this process because it really is transformational. You don't have to spend a lifetime on a healing journey. You can be healed today. It takes Jesus, and it just takes a little bit of attention. Healing does not take time, it takes attention, it takes Jesus. Let's pray. Gracious and heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for your wisdom. I thank you for the listener. I thank you for her heart. I thank you for the love of God directed towards her. And I thank you, Lord Jesus, for her story. I thank you that this is not the end of her story. Trauma is not the end, but you being the author and finisher of her faith, Lord God, you're writing her story right now. I thank you for that, Lord Jesus. I thank you that healing is her portion, God. And I just pray right now for a healing text from the Lord and those places in her thought life that have been so stuck and that have been keeping her trapped, Lord Jesus. I pray uh the word of God over her that whom the Son sets free is free indeed, God. I declare freedom for her mind, I declare freedom for her heart, Lord Jesus, and I just thank you so much. I ask that you would guide her and to deeper healing as you choose to let that process happen, God. It is in your powerful name that we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for hanging out with me for another episode. I can't wait to catch up to you in the next one. We'll talk soon.