In this episode, we explore: • Why high-conflict co-parenting is uniquely dysregulatingfor autistic women • How ASD nervous systems respond to unpredictability and coparenting conflict • Why your body may feel constantly “on alert” after narcissistic abuse • Hypervigilance, overthinking, fawning, and emotional exhaustion • The impact of high-conflict coparenting on sleep, sensory overwhelm, executive functioning, your parenting bandwidth, and your work capacity. • Why autistic women often mask, ...
Jun 15, 2026•20 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Your nervous system has been trained to stay on high alert. That's what's familiar. And so being calm feels unsafe. Over time, and it's an integral part of PTSD or CPTSD recovery , you can train your nervous system to enjoy those moments of calm. They're actually what will make you more impactful in family court , and they're an integral part of narcissistic abuse recovery . When navigating narcissistic abuse, prolonged post-separation abuse and legal abuse , you may be carrying CPTSD or PTSD. A...
Jun 01, 2026•8 min
We've been trained to explain ourselves. Either through a toxic abusive relationship, through a lifetime of living with autism and being misunderstood, or by walking the journey of raising a child with autism and/or PDA. It's taking energy away from what matters: your mental health, and your kids. When people are committed to misunderstanding you, consciously or not, share what you have to share and keep it moving. In this episode Faustina reflects on her journey with all of the above and explai...
May 17, 2026•10 min
In this short episode, we’re talking about something that keeps many survivors stuck: closure. We’re often told we need: an apology accountability understanding a “clean ending” But in high-conflict dynamics — and especially after narcissistic abuse — that closure often never comes. And waiting for it can keep you: emotionally attached mentally replaying the past stuck in a loop of “maybe one day they’ll get it” • Why closure is often unavailable after narcissistic abuse - the self-verification ...
May 04, 2026•13 min
How do you get anything done when you're a PDA adult? When everything feels like a demand, from responding to an email from your lawyer to the simple fact your body says it's time to get a sip of water? Just like the autistic burnout meditation I created for myself,these are affirmations I recorded for myself and that are having quite the impact on getting stuff done in my life. Stuff that society expects, that "normal" people do, that my body expects of me, etc. I now do things because I WANT...
Apr 27, 2026•12 min
You don't win in court by being right, nor by feeling strongly about things. You increase your odds of protecting the kids from harm by becoming regulated, consistent, strategic, coachable, and impossible to trigger and bait. This is the Season Finale for Season 2. In the context of legal abuse and post-separation abuse at the hands of a coparent that displays narcissistic patterns of behavior, family court and custody battles require a particular strategy. While several well-known influencers i...
Apr 20, 2026•36 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Grief After Narcissistic Abuse: Mourning What Was Lost Grief is what happens when you stop fighting reality — andfinally allow yourself to feel what it cost you. For a survivor of narcissistic abuse , those lossescan be significant, complex, and often invisible to others. Welcome back to Season 2 of Light in the Battle — a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse, where we become clearer, calmer, and spiritually and legally harder to mess with. Emotional Detachment as a Tactica...
Apr 13, 2026•27 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Let’s now learn to let go of what we cannot control, so we can fully focus on what we can. For a survivor of narcissistic abuse, this can feel counterintuitive. And yet it’s a crucial step in performing better in family court. Welcome back to Season 2 of Light in the Battle — a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse, where we become clearer, calmer, and spiritually and legally harder to mess with. This season is a journey from the trauma bond to emotional freedom . So far, we...
Apr 06, 2026•34 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Gratitude is often misunderstood, especially for an autistic survivor of narcissistic abuse . Emotional Detachment as a Tactical Advantage for FamilyCourt — Season 2 Welcome back to Season 2 of Light in the Battle — a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse, where we become clearer, calmer, and spiritually and legally harder to mess with. This season is a journey from the trauma bond toemotional freedom . So far, we’ve covered trauma recovery through understanding the trauma b...
Mar 30, 2026•42 min•Season 2Ep. 13
This is a low-demand reflexion for women in autistic burnout. We’re not going to try and address our stress, tiredness, or overwhelm as there are a lot of resources about this online. We’re also not going to control our breathing or our body. Zero demands over here. We’re going to address the underserved segment of autistic women in burnout, especially autistic single mothers - that deep, full-body shutdown that feels like our nervous system has nothing left to give, our executive functioning ha...
Mar 23, 2026•10 min
Community support can provide something that individual trauma recovery work alone cannot: shared understanding, validation, and co-regulation. Episode — Fellowship & Mentorship in Narcissistic Abuse Recovery — Podcasthon Emotional Detachment as a Tactical Advantage for Family Court — Season 2 Welcome back to Season 2 of Light in the Battle — a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse, where we become clearer, calmer, and spiritually and legally harder to mess with. This se...
Mar 16, 2026•43 min•Season 2Ep. 12
I want to do something a little different in this episode. If you’ve been listening to Season 2 from the beginning, you probably already feel that there’s a progression. We didn’t just randomly move from trauma bonds to EMDR to forgiveness to codependency. There’s a reason the season unfolds the way it does. And if you’re newer here — if you found this podcast somewhere in the middle — you might not realize that Season 2 was intentionally built as a roadmap, for autistic women healing from narci...
Mar 09, 2026•26 min•Season 2Ep. 11
How do you actually break free from codependency? Welcome back to Season 2 of Light in the Battle — a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse, where we become clearer, calmer, and spiritually and legally harder to mess with. This is Part 3 of the Codependency mini-series, within Season 2. If you’re new to this topic, start with: Episode 20 — Codependent traits and behaviors Episode 21 — The link between autism and codependency In this episode, we focus on something hopeful and...
Mar 02, 2026•30 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Let's continue our deep dive into codependency — why autistic women are particularly vulnerable to codependency, before we think about ways out of codependency. This entire Season is a journey towards emotional detachment, because detaching is essential not only for healing, but for protecting our children and showing up as the stable, credible parent in family court. One of the hardest truths I had to learn is that legal advice doesn’t land when emotions are running high . As long as survivors ...
Feb 23, 2026•23 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Let's begin a deep dive into codependency — what it actually is, in preparation for why autistic women are particularly vulnerable to it next week - and why emotional detachment is essential not only for healing, but for protecting our children and showing up as the stable, credible parent in family court. One of the hardest truths I had to learn is that legal advice doesn’t land when emotions are running high . As long as survivors show up dysregulated — in emails, texts, reports, or in court —...
Feb 16, 2026•23 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Forgiveness is a tactical advantage. Once you're out of an abusive relationship, whether that's with a family member, a toxic work environment, etc, once you've handled your addiction to chaos so you don't go back, and you've found the right therapy for you in case you carry PTSD, next step is to think about Forgiveness. The 6 Items we think about when it comes to forgiveness, in this episode, are: What forgiveness is and what it is not Forgive and Forget, really??? Forgiveness as a way of letti...
Feb 09, 2026•18 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Welcome back to Season 2 of Light in the Battle , a podcast for autistic women healing from narcissistic abuse — and a spacewhere we become clearer, calmer, and spiritually and legally harder to mess with. In this episode, I share the 10 most significant ways EMDR therapy changed my life , from parenting and unmasking my autism, to emotional detachment, femininity, and finally performing better in family court. What I learned the hard way is this: Legal advice doesn’t land when emotions are runn...
Feb 02, 2026•29 min•Season 2Ep. 6
PTSD and CPTSD are common in survivors of narcissistic abuse and in their recovery. We find ourselves going into fight, flight, freeze or fawn. This is not helpful in parenting, let alone solo parenting with an ASD brain. It's also not helpful during the months leading up to a court hearing, and during the hearing itself. The nervous system has adapted to keep us safe, but once the chronic threat is gone, nervous system recovery means learning to let go of these maladaptive responses. So we look...
Jan 26, 2026•13 min•Season 2Ep. 5
This Episode I'm positioning as a "break" in the middle of Season 2, "Emotional Detachment as a Tactical Advantage for Family Court" which covers trauma recovery, CPTSD, forgiveness, gratitude, the trauma bond , etc. Maybe it's my autism but I feel the need to explain myself :) Why I'm here, whom I'm speaking to and what I can do for you. I'm Faustina , I'm a single mom on the spectrum raising a PDA child, healing from narcissistic abuse and winning in court despite confusing dynamics. I'm doing...
Jan 19, 2026•7 min
We now need to bring the cortisol, adrenaline, dopamine levels back to normal. In this final episode about breaking the addiction to chaos, Faustina goes over 6 steps that worked for her, when she DECIDED to LEARN to enjoy peace. With compassion and understanding, with humour and Catholic faith, with small action steps that are easy to implement, she describes what has worked for her to bring the levels of the neurochemicals back to healthy levels and thereby, heal the trauma bond. Chaos and dan...
Jan 12, 2026•15 min•Season 2Ep. 4
"Why didn't she leave", you ask. "Why does she keep dating the same types of men over and over? When will she learn? " Sounds familiar? Don't we just love that judgment coming from uneducated, well-meaning people who are not familiar with the concept of trauma bonding. Well... It's biology. Childhood trauma and/or narcissistic abuse can create a true addiction in the brain. A trauma bond. This Episode is the logical next step in our Chaos Addiction Mini-Series, after Episode 15 A and Episode 15B...
Jan 05, 2026•12 min•Season 2Ep. 3
"Why does this keep happening to me?" "Why do I keep attracting narcissists?" You choose to stop. With 6 ASD-friendly practical tips that Faustina used repeatedly in her journey of taming peace after years of running on adrenaline and cortisol, we can slowly familiarize ourselves with our new life. Whether that's getting out of domestic violence, healing from narcissistic abuse, or winning a custody battle in family court, there's going to be a point where things will stop being a constant threa...
Dec 29, 2025•13 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Through the story of winning a custody battle, despite what felt like years of legal intimidation and harassment, Faustina shows an example of what addiction to chaos looks and feels like. Winning in family court after many years of feeling unseen and misunderstood by a legal system that isn’t trauma-informed, completely stunned her like a deer in the headlights. We discuss the fact that calm can feel threatening, that trauma wires your nervous system to seek more chaos, why peace showing up abr...
Dec 22, 2025•13 min•Season 2Ep. 1
After gaslighting, rebuilding your intuition and body signals is the foundation for helping your child feel emotionally safe. In this episode, we talk about what gaslighting is, how to heal from gaslighting, staying honest with your overwhelm, and modeling emotional safety for sensitive or neurodivergent kids. Faustina shares relatable, personal stories and real-life examples of learning to feel the emotions again, and humbly using those to model emotional intelligence to a sensitive child. If t...
Dec 15, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Staying present isn’t easy when your nervous system is already overloaded. It's easier to dissociate. In this episode, Faustina talks about what “being present” actually means for trauma survivors and neurodivergent single parents, why overwhelm shuts down connection, and how to stay grounded with an autistic child even when your body or your mind want to escape. Practical, realistic tools for single moms — no perfection required. I do want to give credit to a major player in the ASD space, Orio...
Dec 08, 2025•10 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Breaking generational trauma for future generations is hard — especially when you’re parenting a neurodivergent child without a roadmap. It's little things you have to notice, to catch, and to do differently - one day at a time. In this episode, we talk about how childhood trauma shows up in your parenting, why your nervous system reacts before your thoughts do, and how small, imperfect moments of awareness can break the cycle. Generational trauma doesn't have to be passed down to your bloodline...
Dec 01, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 12
How do you handle a meltdown when you're overstimulated already? How do you help your child calm down when you’re not calm yourself? In this episode, Faustina shares small, realistic ways to co-regulate while healing — grounding tips for overstimulation, honest scripts for connection, and a reminder that repair matters more than perfection. This can be particularly difficult for autistic single mothers as there is no other adult to fall back on when we are not regulated. If you liked this episod...
Nov 24, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 11
When your mind knows you’re safe but your body doesn’t, parenting can feel overwhelming. This episode explains what trauma-triggered overwhelm actually is, and offers practical steps to calm your nervous system in real time — without pretending or forcing it. This can be particularly challenging for single mothers. If you liked this episode, you’ll also enjoy Episode 9: The Court Date You Can’t Stop Thinking About. More here about trauma with The Trauma Therapist Podcast. For trauma therapy, ple...
Nov 18, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Custody battles and co-parenting conflict activate the nervous system in a deep, physical way. This episode shares grounded ways to work to break free from anxiety when you can’t stop thinking about a court hearing — without denying the reality of what’s at stake: the money side, the custody, the amount of contact that you'll have to maintain with your ex, how much control each parent has, and your child's safety. Faustina shares how in her experience, all that anxiety about the legal battle did...
Nov 14, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Many mothers escape because their nervous system is overwhelmed, not because they lack strength. This episode explores the difference between rest that nourishes us and escape that numbs us — and offers simple, doable ways to create calm in small moments throughout the day. As single mothers dealing with neurodivergence, trauma, and a lot of coparenting conflict, escaping can be the norm. It's just too much, on most days. Let's look at ways we can rest instead. If you liked this episode, you’ll ...
Nov 07, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 8
