EP 129| Featuring: Isabella Estes

Host's Note - if you'd like to watch this interview, check out the YouTube video.
SPECIAL EVENT - Understanding the Nervous System Workshop

This episode features our guest, Isabella Estes, who was raised in a cult until she y.  In the years since, she has been on a road to healing and is now an author.  Her new book “I Am No Longer” details more about this story and ultimately, how that disfellowshipping allowed her to live her best and most free life today. 

TOPICS COVERED:

- Their Journey –  Isabella's journey through the Jehovah's Witnesses community was filled with challenges, starting with a secret relationship that led to a traumatic experience with the judicial committee. The interrogation-style meetings conducted by the elders, coupled with the shame and guilt from the weaponization of religion, left her feeling isolated and traumatized. Disfellowshipping worsened her pain, as she was ostracized by the community she had known her whole life.
- Why extremist doctrines end up feeling like constant fear, hypervigiliance
- As a child - what it feels like to know that your life was going to be a sacrifice
- Exploring the journey out of religious trauma
- The disfellowship process within certain religious organizations.
- The emotional toll of being shunned by one's community and family after leaving a restrictive religious group
- The importance of seeking professional help and finding validation through specialized resources
- The resilience and courage it takes to break free from oppressive religious environments
- Recognizing the need to deconstruct harmful beliefs and patterns learned from religious indoctrination
- Rebuilding a life based on authenticity and self-discovery

GUEST RESOURCE RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Lloyd Evan’s YouTube Channel 
2. Lloyd Evan’s Interview of Dr. Darrel Ray
3. Journey Free recovery organization
4. Learning the vocabulary and being able to name and identify the things she had been through
5. Marlene Winell resources and book “Leaving the Fold”
6. Joining a support group and having a life coach (Emily)

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT OUR GUEST:
1.  IG
2. Her Book, “I A