Trauma & Disassociation | Surviving Sexual Assault & Child Abuse w/ Kristi Morris Artwork

Beat The Mental Health Out Of It! | A Mental Health Podcast On Lived Experiences & Dark Humor

If you live with mental illness—or love someone who does—and you’re tired of sugar-coated wellness talk, this show is for you.

Beat The Mental Health Out Of It! blends dark humor with real recovery so you feel seen, steadied, and a little lighter. We tell it like it is, so you don't have to.

You’ll get:

Lived-experience truth from “The DEFECTIVE Schizoaffective” (host) + grounded insight from "IndyPocket" (co-host and music therapist).
Edgy, stigma-smashing and often, controversial conversations about life with mental illness mixed with social commentary, relationships and messy real-world coping as it relates to mental health.
Some challenging takeaways you can ponder after each episode—along with laughs that punch up, down, left, right... EVERYWHERE.

Perfect for: people juggling therapy, meds, and everyday chaos who want honest talk, gallows humor, zero judgment and acceptance for who they are.

Guests include survivors, clinicians and everything in between... Any human being who is willing to share their story with our listeners.

Content notes are provided when necessary.

We (the hosts) are NOT providing professional mental health services. We are simply sharing our lived experiences and our perspectives on these topics while offering support to this community.

If you are in the U.S. and you need help, call or text 988 (24/7) and seek professional psychiatric care immediately.

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Beat The Mental Health Out Of It! | A Mental Health Podcast On Lived Experiences & Dark Humor

Trauma & Disassociation | Surviving Sexual Assault & Child Abuse w/ Kristi Morris

August 25, 2025 • Nicholas Wichman - Mental Health Advocate • Season 1 • Episode 21

In this episode, we delve into how sexual assault, childhood abuse, and early dissociation shape trust, identity, and coping mechanisms in trauma recovery—a survivor’s poignant story shared by Kristi Morris.

Join us for a candid discussion on the importance of language and validation in healing, and learn how finding safety is essential in navigating the aftermath of trauma. This is Part 1 of a 2-Part series.

Content note: sexual assault; childhood abuse; dissociation; explicit language.

If you’re struggling, please reach out to the following resources (U.S.): Call/Text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7) or contact RAINN at 800-656-HOPE.

In this episode, Kristi shares her journey through an unsafe home environment and the mistrust toward men that developed. She discusses how she used dissociation as a survival strategy and how immersing into a fantasy world provided an escape.

We cover:

• Unhealthy home dynamics and caretaking burdens experienced before age 15

• Dissociation as a survival mechanism and steps toward grounding

• Using a fantasy world as a protective escape

• The critical role of language and validation in the trauma recovery process

• Resilience: how to face the past without erasing it

Hosts/Guest: The DEFECTIVE Schizoaffective (Nick) • IndyPocket (Tony) • Guest: Kristi Morris

Guest links:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kristimorris5

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kmorris6983

IndyPocket (Tony) links:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indypocket
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indypocket
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@absolutezen

If this helped, share it with someone who needs to feel less alone, join our Discord "The Struggle Bus" (link below)—and FOLLOW us, so you don’t miss next week's episode with Kristi!

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Send us an email at beatthementalhealthoutofit@gmail.com

We’re a candid mental health podcast with lived experience—schizoaffective disorder, trauma recovery, coping skills, and dark humor that fights stigma!

Join Our Discord — “The Struggle Bus” - https://discord.gg/emFXKuWKNA

HOST / SOCIALS

The DEFECTIVE Schizoaffective (Nick)