Many of the patterns we carry through life begin long before we have the language to understand them.
The way we respond to stress.
How safe we feel in relationships.
Whether we turn inward, people-please, overwork, shut down, or struggle to trust ourselves or others.
In Episode 22 of Mind Your Being, psychologist Mark Baxter shared a thoughtful and compassionate conversation about how early experiences shape our nervous system, our coping mechanisms, and our mental health.
One of the most powerful ideas from the episode was this:
Many of our behaviours began as adaptations.
What we often label as “bad habits,” emotional struggles, or difficult patterns may once have been ways of surviving overwhelming experiences, difficult environments, or emotional disconnection. As Mark explained, our nervous system learns early how to protect us — and those protective strategies can stay with us well into adulthood.
The conversation explored how conditions like PTSD and depression are often misunderstood. PTSD is not simply about what happened to someone, but how overwhelming experiences become “stuck” in the nervous system and continue to affect the body, emotions, beliefs, and relationships long after the event has passed.
Mark described how people with PTSD may experience hypervigilance, emotional numbness, intrusive memories, difficulty trusting others, and even physical health effects from prolonged stress activation. Depression too can leave people feeling disconnected from joy, hope, meaning, and themselves.
But woven throughout the episode was something equally important: hope.
Mark spoke about emerging treatments, including MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression, which are now legally available in tightly regulated clinical settings in Australia for some eligible patients. He explained that these therapies are not “magic cures,” but therapeutic tools that may help people access emotions, memories, and perspectives that can be difficult to reach in ordinary states of consciousness.
Importantly, the conversation continually returned to self-acceptance.
“We talk a lot about change,” Mark said, “but just as important… is acceptance.”
That idea deeply resonated throughout the discussion. Healing is not about blaming ourselves for our struggles, nor is it about trying to erase every difficult part of who we are. Sometimes healing begins with understanding why certain patterns developed in the first place — and meeting ourselves with greater compassion.
Cass also shared her own reflections on opening up publicly about OCD, and how even small moments of honesty can help move us toward greater self-acceptance.
The episode is ultimately a reminder that mental health is deeply human.
We are shaped by our experiences, but we are not permanently defined by them.
With awareness, support, connection, and compassion, people can learn new ways of relating to themselves, their emotions, and the world around them.
🎧 Episode 22: Early Experiences, PTSD & Depression: Emerging Paths to Healing | Mark Baxter is available now at mindyourbeing.com.au, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever you listen.