Trauma recovery can feel confusing, lonely, and expensive. Many people know something is “off” in their body or relationships, but they do not always have the language for it yet. Others have tried talking therapy and left feeling unheard, stuck, or like they are doing healing “wrong”.
In this episode of Riding the Trauma Train, Lydia is joined by Jana, founder of Recovery Trauma Limited, a UK-based trauma recovery platform in development. Jana’s mission is to make trauma healing more accessible and affordable for anyone who needs support, anywhere in the world. Together, Lydia and Jana explore why recovery is not one-size-fits-all, why awareness matters, and how creative and body-based tools can support healing alongside therapy.
Gentle content note: This blog includes discussion of childhood trauma, grief, PTSD and complex PTSD, suicidal thoughts (non-graphic), and a brief mention of violent loss. Please read in a way that feels safe for you, and pause or step away if needed.
Why Jana Created Recovery Trauma Limited
Jana shares that her decision to build Recovery Trauma Limited came from lived experience. Like many survivors, she carried trauma for years before realising how deeply it shaped her nervous system, relationships, and sense of safety in the world.
When her PTSD symptoms intensified, she went looking for support online. What she found did not feel trauma-specific enough. For Jana, talking alone was not addressing the deeper layers of what was happening inside her.
That gap became part of her “why”. Jana wanted to create a platform that brings multiple approaches together, so people can explore what actually helps them, rather than forcing themselves into a single model of healing.
Healing Starts With Awareness (and It Can Be a Tender First Step)
A big theme in this conversation is awareness. Jana describes awareness as the point where healing begins, because it helps people connect the dots between what they have lived through and how they cope today.
This matters because trauma responses can look like “personality”, “overreacting”, “being too sensitive”, or “being dramatic”, especially if you grew up in environments where your emotions were dismissed. Many people learn to shut down, isolate, lash out, or people-please without realising these are often nervous system strategies, not character flaws.
Awareness can sound simple, but it is not always easy. It takes courage to look at patterns and admit, gently, “Something happened to me” and “Something in me is trying to protect me”.
PTSD vs Complex PTSD: A Simple Explanation
Lydia and Jana discuss a topic many listeners are curious about: the difference between PTSD and complex PTSD.
Jana explains it like this:
- PTSD is often linked to a single traumatic event, such as an accident, an assault, or witnessing something terrifying.
- Complex PTSD is more commonly linked to trauma that happens repeatedly over time, especially in relationships or caregiving environments, such as ongoing abuse, neglect, or living in chronic fear.
One important point Jana highlights is that support matters. Two people can go through very hard experiences, but outcomes can differ depending on whether they had safety, love, and stable support around them afterwards.
This is not about comparing pain. It is about understanding why some trauma leaves deeper, more layered effects, and why recovery can require more than one approach.
Why We Repeat Patterns (Even When They Hurt)
Another core part of the episode is the idea of repeated patterns and trauma bonds.
If you have ever asked yourself, “Why do I keep ending up in the same kind of relationship?” you are not alone. Jana explains that trauma can pull us towards what is familiar, even when it is harmful. If chaos, unpredictability, criticism, or emotional distance were part of early life, your system may have learned to treat those dynamics as “normal”.
This does not mean you are choosing pain on purpose. It often means parts of you are still searching for repair, safety, or love in the only way they know how.
Lydia and Jana also touch on self-responsibility in a compassionate way. Not in a blaming way, but in an empowering way. Awareness helps you notice patterns, and noticing patterns gives you choice.
Inner Child Healing and the Power of Creative Tools
Jana speaks about inner child healing as one of the most impactful parts of her recovery, especially in the context of complex trauma.
What she describes is not about “being childish” or reliving the past for the sake of it. It is about recognising that some parts of you may still carry the fear, shame, grief, or loneliness of earlier experiences, and those parts can get activated in the present.
Jana also explains why creativity can matter in healing. Sometimes words cannot reach what the body and nervous system are holding. Visual prompts, drawing, imagery, and other creative approaches can help people access emotions, younger parts, and needs that have been frozen or numbed.
This is one reason recovery is not one-size-fits-all. For some people, talk therapy is a powerful start. For others, combining therapy with creative or body-based approaches can be what finally helps things shift.
Blending Modalities: Why More Than One Tool Can Help
Recovery Trauma Limited is being built around the idea that healing often needs a toolkit, not a single answer.
Jana talks about bringing together approaches such as:
- DBT-style skills (grounding and emotional regulation tools)
- Mindfulness practices
- Music and art therapy
- Inner child work
- Movement-based practices like yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates
- Elements that support nervous system regulation and safety in the body
The key point is choice. What helps you at one stage of healing might not be what helps later. Having options can reduce the pressure of “finding the one perfect method” and instead support experimentation with care.
Healing Is Not Linear, and That Does Not Mean You Are Failing
Both Lydia and Jana emphasise something many trauma survivors need to hear again and again: healing is not linear.
You can do lots of inner work and still have days where you feel triggered, dysregulated, or like you are back at the beginning. That does not erase progress. It often means your system is meeting something tender.
Jana talks about building in checkpoints and feedback as part of the platform’s future. That matters because healing is not just about taking in information. It is also about noticing what changes, what feels supportive, what feels too much, and what needs adjusting.
Recovery is a relationship with yourself, not a race to a finish line.
Accessibility and Affordability: Why This Mission Matters
A powerful part of the conversation is the reality of access. In the UK, many people face long waiting lists for specialist support, and private therapy is often too expensive. Online therapy can help, but it can still feel out of reach financially, and not every platform is trauma-specific.
Jana wants Recovery Trauma Limited to be affordable, accessible, and designed with sensitivity. She also speaks about wanting safe structures in place, especially when providing trauma-related education and group spaces. Trauma recovery requires care, boundaries, privacy, and appropriate support options.
Ultimately, this mission is about making sure fewer people feel alone, stuck, or priced out of help.
The Conductor’s Question: What Jana Would Tell Her Younger Self
Lydia asks Jana her signature question, “If you could sit next to the version of you who first boarded the trauma train on your healing journey, what would you say to her now?”
Jana’s answer is simple and deeply powerful:
“It was not your fault. Forgiveness is for yourself. And before you can forgive you have to release the anger.”
If you needed to hear that today, you are not alone.
A Gentle Next Step If This Resonated
If this conversation brought something up for you, here are a few supportive, low-pressure next steps:
- Notice what stood out most and write it down in one sentence
- Choose one tiny act of grounding (slow exhale, warm drink, feet on the floor)
- Consider what tool you might want to explore next: talking support, creative work, movement, or a structured skill like DBT-style grounding
- Reach out to someone safe if you are feeling wobbly
This content is not a substitute for therapy or crisis support, but it can be a starting point for understanding yourself with more compassion.
Connect with Jana and Recovery Trauma Limited
- Instagram: @recoverytraumaLTD
Connect with Lydia:
- Instagram: @ridingthetraumatrain | @right.track.wellbeing
- Email: lydia@info.ridingthetraumatrain.co.uk
If You Are Struggling Right Now
If you need immediate support, reach out to someone safe or a professional.
- UK: Samaritans 116 123 (24/7)
- UK: Text SHOUT to 85258
- Outside the UK: contact your local crisis line or emergency services.