The Shadows We Cast
The Shadows We Cast
Podcast Description
Welcome to The Shadows We Cast—a podcast about the legacies we inherit, the stories we carry, and the light we create in the process.Hosted by mental health advocate, writer, and speaker Jenn St. John, this series opens the door to raw and real conversations about living through, loving through, and learning from mental health challenges.In this short preview, Jenn shares what listeners can expect each week: deeply personal stories, journal readings, candid interviews with guests ranging from family members to public figures, and a commitment to unmasking mental health—one brave conversation at a time.If you've ever felt like you were navigating the dark without a map, this podcast is here to say: you're not alone. Let’s talk about the shadows—and the adaptability that rises from them.New episodes drop every Tuesday.Host & Producer: Jenn St JohnEditor: Andrew SchillerWebsite: www.jennstjohn.caFollow along:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn.st.johnLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-st-john-25b137257/BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jennstjohn.bsky.socialIf this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes related to mental health, personal stories, and resilience, focusing on topics like childhood experiences with mental illness, coping strategies, and the impact of mental health on family dynamics, with episodes such as 'Growing Up with a Mentally Ill Parent' showcasing sibling conversations around their shared childhood.
Welcome to The Shadows We Cast—a podcast about the legacies we inherit, the stories we carry, and the light we create in the process.
Hosted by mental health advocate, writer, and speaker Jenn St. John, this series opens the door to raw and real conversations about living through, loving through, and learning from mental health challenges.
In this short preview, Jenn shares what listeners can expect each week: deeply personal stories, journal readings, candid interviews with guests ranging from family members to public figures, and a commitment to unmasking mental health—one brave conversation at a time.
If you’ve ever felt like you were navigating the dark without a map, this podcast is here to say: you’re not alone. Let’s talk about the shadows—and the adaptability that rises from them.
New episodes drop every Tuesday.
Host & Producer: Jenn St John
Editor: Andrew Schiller
Website: www.jennstjohn.ca
Follow along:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn.st.john
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-st-john-25b137257/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jennstjohn.bsky.social
If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.
Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.
In this episode of The Shadows We Cast, I sit down with Christina Orfanakos, MSW, RSW—Registered Social Worker and founder of Grace North Therapy—for a conversation about attachment, survival patterns, and what it really means to begin feeling safe again.
Some patterns don’t start with us.
They start in the environments we learned to survive in.
We talk about the ways early experiences—especially those shaped by silence, unpredictability, or emotional disconnection—can shape how we move through the world as adults.
How hyper-independence, people-pleasing, over-functioning, and even success can all be rooted in adaptations we learned long before we had language for them.
And how those same patterns that once protected us…
can quietly keep us stuck.
Christina brings both professional insight and deep compassion to this conversation, grounded in her work with women and mothers navigating overwhelm, burnout, and disconnection. Her approach is rooted in attachment theory and the belief that meaningful change happens when we feel seen, understood, and supported.
We also explore:
- how attachment patterns are formed—and how they show up in adulthood
- the difference between empathy and caretaking
- why awareness is the first step, but not the only one
- how to begin reconnecting with your body and nervous system
- and what it looks like to gently shift patterns that no longer serve you
This is a conversation about understanding—not fixing.
About compassion—for the parts of you that learned to survive.
And about the possibility of something different.
About Christina:
Christina Orfanakos is a Registered Social Worker and the founder of Grace North Therapy. She works with women and mothers navigating overwhelm, burnout, and disconnection, with a focus on attachment, emotional regulation, and reconnecting to self.
Connect with Christina:
Instagram: @gracenorththerapy
Website: gracenorththerapy.com
LinkedIn: Christina Orfanakos, MSW, RSW
Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John
Editor: Andrew Schiller
Website:www.jennstjohn.ca
Follow along:
Instagram: @jenn_stjohn
LinkedIn: Jenn St John
If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.
Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.
Disclaimer
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