Adult Child Unlearning Worthlessness: Spiritual Trauma, Repressed Identity & Inner Child Work w/ Nate Postlethwait
Jul 2, 2025
Nate Postlethwait, a trauma educator and writer who survived childhood sexual abuse and conversion therapy, guides the conversation. He explores repressed identity and the grief and rage that come with reclaiming yourself. He discusses religious trauma and spiritual bypassing. He talks about nervous system collapse, somatic recovery, and the role of community in healing.
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When Success Crashed Into A Nervous System Collapse
- Nate hit a terrifying CPTSD bottom at age 30 when his mind and body stopped syncing and he hid at home for 10 months, quitting his job as a VP in real estate.
- He slept two hours, watched TV as distraction, shopped at 2 AM, and friends fell away while religious therapy blamed him and worsened his shame.
Hidden Childhood Abuse That Went Unnamed For Decades
- Nate experienced sexual abuse from about age five through 14 and lacked language or intervention growing up in the 1980s Deep South.
- He later kept school photos showing a haunted child face and only fully recognized the abuse's significance around age 30.
Conversion Therapy Framed As Spiritual Fix Not Trauma Care
- At 18 Nate entered Christian conversion therapy aimed at making him straight while treating his sexuality, not the trauma causing it.
- He was told his same-sex attraction stemmed from abuse or parent wounds, so therapy focused on repentance and repair rather than trauma healing.
