{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Reframing the Question: Why I Stopped Asking What's Wrong With Me?","description":"Reframing the Question: I Stopped Asking \u201cWhat\u2019s Wrong With Me?\u201d For years, I asked questions that already assumed something was wrong with me. Why was this so hard? Why couldn\u2019t I remember? Why did my brain and body respond the way they did? Why couldn\u2019t I just make myself do things that seemed so simple for everyone else? Over time, I began learning to ask different questions. Instead of only asking, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with me?\u201d I began asking, \u201cWhat happened to me?\u201d Eventually, that became an even deeper question: \u201cWhat happened inside me because of what happened to me?\u201d And now I\u2019m learning to ask one more: \u201cWhat do I want to do with that understanding?\u201d In this episode of The Courageous Journey, I talk about what changed when I stopped beginning with judgment and started approaching my own struggles with curiosity. I share how years of unexplained physical, neurological, memory, and emotional symptoms led me to create explanations about myself that were often far less compassionate than the truth. We also explore why this matters far beyond my own story. A patient may not simply be \u201cdifficult\u201d\u2014they may be having difficulty. A survivor\u2019s decision may be influenced by circumstances we cannot see from the outside. A witness struggling with chronology may need another question before we make assumptions about credibility. And someone struggling to follow instructions may be experiencing cognitive overload. But this conversation is not about explaining every behavior through trauma. Curiosity isn\u2019t diagnosis. Trauma, brain injury, fear, cognitive load, medical issues, exhaustion, environmental barriers, or financial barriers may matter\u2014or none of them may explain the behavior at all. Sometimes boundaries and accountability are still necessary. For me, understanding has become less about finding an excuse and more about finding somewhere to begin. My past can explain pieces of who I became without determining who I have to remain. This episode also marks the beginning of the next season of The Courageous Journey, as I share where we\u2019re headed through the rest of 2026 and invite you to come along as I write, build professional education, speak, learn, continue my own rehabilitation, and keep asking better questions. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 \u2014 Welcome: Reframing the Question Why I stopped asking \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with me?\u201d and began asking different questions. 02:05 \u2014 The Questions We Ask Matter How the way we frame a question can determine where we go looking for the answer. 04:19 \u2014 When No One Could Explain What Was Happening Years of physical, neurological, memory, and emotional symptoms\u2014and what happened when I began creating my own explanations. 06:49 \u2014 Turning Symptoms Into Character Flaws Why unexplained struggles can become labels like weak, anxious, difficult, lazy, or broken. 08:15 \u2014 Reframing \u201cWhat\u2019s Wrong With Me?\u201d Moving from judgment toward curiosity and asking, \u201cWhat happened to me?\u201d 10:28 \u2014 What Happened Inside Me? Why knowing what happened wasn\u2019t enough\u2014and how questions about the brain, nervous system, memory, processing, brain injury, and strangulation began connecting the pieces. 13:09 \u2014 Being Difficult vs. Having Difficulty How I began reframing my own frustration with memory, processing, overwhelm, technology, and learning new things. 17:13 \u2014 Curiosity Isn\u2019t Diagnosis Why becoming trauma-informed should not mean automatically explaining every behavior with trauma. 19:11 \u2014 Understanding Has to Lead Somewhere Responsibility, growth, brain rehabilitation, writing, speaking, learning, and challenging myself in new ways. 22:37 \u2014 Where The Courageous Journey Is Going Next The thread connecting the work and the themes we\u2019ll explore through September, October, November, and December. 24:48 \u2014 The Different Perspectives I\u2019ll Bring Paramedic. Professional. Survivor. Educator. Student of my own brain. And sometimes simply a person living the journey. 25:40 \u2014 Finding My Lane Why I spent years trying to figure out where I belonged\u2014and what changed when I finally recognized how the pieces fit together. 28:05 \u2014 What Question Are You Asking? An invitation to identify a question you keep asking and consider whether a better question might lead somewhere different. A QUESTION TO CARRY WITH YOU What is one area of your life\u2014or one person you work with\u2014where you may have been asking the same question over and over? What might change if you asked: What might be happening underneath this? What don\u2019t I understand yet? What might be making this difficult? What information am I missing? Now that I understand more, what do I want to do with that understanding? Sometimes changing the question changes everything. Healing begins with understanding. #TheCourageousJourney #TraumaInformed #BrainInjuryAwareness #HumanBehavior #HealingJourney #TraumaRecovery #BrainHealth #NervousSystem #DomesticViolenceAwareness #BrainAware #SurvivorVoices #PaulaWalters ","author_name":"The Courageous Journey","author_url":"https:\/\/thecourageoussurvivor.com\/","html":"