HopeMakers: Disrupting the legacy of trauma.
Trauma doesn't just harm those who experience it directly—it ripples outward, shaping behaviours, fuelling violence, and creating new victims. But what if we could interrupt that cycle?
In season one of Hopemakers, we celebrated the extraordinary resilience of individuals who transformed their trauma and adversity into purpose—powerful stories of survival, healing, and hope that proved change is possible.
Now, in season two (coming in 2026) we're expanding our mission. Hosted by Dr Erica Bowen, a registered practitioner forensic psychologist, chartered coaching psychologist, somatic trauma-informed coach and trauma-informed practice consultant, Hopemakers now bridges the personal with the systemic, bringing together three vital perspectives: the lived experiences of survivors who've broken cycles of harm, the cutting-edge research of academics working to reduce violent crime perpetration, and the practical insights of those pioneering trauma-informed approaches in communities and organisations.
Through a somatic lens—understanding how trauma lives in our bodies and shapes our actions—we examine both sides of trauma's devastating cycle: how it wounds us, and how unhealed trauma can lead to harm. Each conversation explores the profound connections between individual healing and violence prevention, offering evidence-based insights alongside deeply human stories.
This isn't just another podcast about trauma recovery. It's about understanding that healing personal wounds and preventing collective harm are two sides of the same coin. By disrupting trauma's legacy at every level—individual, systemic, and intergenerational—we create safer, more compassionate communities for everyone.
Whether you're here for the transformative survivor stories that launched season one, or you're ready to explore the research and practice that can prevent violence before it happens, Hopemakers offers thought leadership, evidence, and above all, hope that change is possible.
Because when we stop trauma in its tracks, we don't just heal individuals—we transform entire legacies.
Subscribe to HopeMakers wherever you listen to podcasts, and discover your own path to hope.
HopeMakers: Disrupting the legacy of trauma.
Episode 8: Breaking the Pattern: How Crisis Transformed My Perfectionism into Purpose with Heather Rider
In this deeply relatable episode, host Erica Bowen speaks with Heather Rider, an anxiety specialist and coach, about her decade-long struggle with high-functioning anxiety—a condition she didn't even realise she had whilst appearing outwardly calm and achieving remarkable success in her career.
Heather shares her experience of being an ultra-high achiever who spent hours perfecting even simple emails, constantly replaying past conversations in her mind, and creating elaborate contingency plans for every possible future scenario. Whilst colleagues praised her calm demeanour and exceptional work, internally she felt like a "hot mess," mentally exhausted from the constant background dialogue of perfectionism and worry.
The conversation explores how this relentless drive for perfection affected her relationships, particularly with her daughters, leading to cycles of screaming and remorse that she desperately wanted to break but didn't know how to change. Heather explains how the mind can operate on multiple layers, keeping us perpetually in the past or future rather than present—a pattern that took a severe physical crisis to finally break.
The turning point came when her body completely gave out through a severe autoimmune reaction, manifesting in dramatic skin problems (including skin sloughing off in sheets), brain fog so severe she couldn't retain simple information in meetings, and digestive issues. This year-long healing journey became, paradoxically, "the best thing that happened" to her, as focusing on physical healing brought unexpected emotional transformation.
Heather discusses her evolution into someone whose external presentation finally matched her internal experience, and how this journey led to her current work helping other high-achieving women break free from anxiety. She introduces powerful concepts including "little-t traumas" versus "big-T traumas," explaining how seemingly small childhood experiences can create calcified limiting beliefs that play out throughout our lives.
The episode's core message centres on a profound shift in perspective: moving from "why is this happening to me?" to "how is this designed for my benefit?" Heather explains how viewing challenging experiences as lessons designed for our growth transforms us from victims to empowered individuals capable of change.
Key Takeaways:
- High-functioning anxiety often goes unrecognised because sufferers appear calm and successful externally
- Sometimes we need things to break down completely before we can build them up properly
- The power of curiosity over judgement: asking "I wonder why I'm doing that?" instead of self-criticism
- Small steps create profound change: when you do something different, you become someone different
- Patterns that repeat are opportunities to learn the lesson we haven't yet grasped
- Looking for the lesson in difficult experiences transforms suffering into growth