When the Operating Room Broke Her...

When the Operating Room Broke Her: And Built Something New

Love and Trauma the Real Deal by Danielle Sebastian
S1 · E20
Apr 10, 2025
53:56

Episode notes

What if the wine you’re using to “wind down” is actually keeping you stuck in survival mode? That’s the question I didn’t know I needed answered—until I sat down with Kathryn Traff, neuroscience expert, bestselling author, and founder of Kathryn Traff Coaching. In this raw, eye-opening conversation, we pulled back the curtain on something so many high-functioning women silently struggle with: using alcohol to cope. Kathryn’s background is nothing short of incredible. For over 20 years, she worked alongside top neurosurgeons at places like the Mayo Clinic and Stanford, supporting some of the most high-stakes, high-pressure brain and spine procedures in the world. But behind the mask and the scrubs, she was emotionally exhausted, carrying the trauma of what she witnessed in the operating room and the pressure to hold it all together. Like many of us, she turned to alcohol. Not to party—but to survive. A glass of wine here, a ritual there… until it became a habit that affected her health, her clarity, and her connection to herself.

Watch Full Episode on YouTube: When the Operating Room Broke Her: And Built Something New

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