Episode #62. When movement doesn’t feel safe: trauma and the hidden impact on exercise with Dr Susanna Petche
Why can movement feel so hard for some of us - even when we want to do it?
This week on the Make Movement Matter podcast, Dr. Susanna Petche joins me to explore how trauma can disconnect us from our bodies, dampen intuition, and make exercise feel unsafe.
Susanna shares her powerful story of breaking down as a high-functioning GP, being diagnosed with complex PTSD, and how she’s learning to reclaim movement in a safe, empowering way.
Together, we discuss the links between dissociation, hypervigilance, and healing, and why joy, curiosity and safety matter far more than discipline or willpower.
Chapters
01:00 Susanna’s Personal Journey with Trauma
06:00 Understanding Trauma: Beyond the Stereotypes
12:00 The Body’s Response to Trauma
18:00 Trauma, Movement, and Exercise
25:00 Recognising and Rebuilding Safety
32:00 Practical Tips for Healing and Movement
38:00 Finding Joy in Movement: Drumming and More
42:00 Choosing the Right Support to help you exercise
47:00 Final Thoughts & How to Connect with Susanna
About this week’s guest:
Dr. Susanna Petche
Dr. Susanna Petche is on a mission to change the way we understand and respond to trauma. As a GP with over 25 years of experience, she founded Trauma-Sense and created the groundbreaking C-Sense methodology, a unique integration of neuroscience, functional medicine, and coaching. Her work equips professionals, workplaces, and individuals with the tools to recognise and address trauma’s hidden impact, ensuring safer, more effective care.
Having witnessed how unresolved trauma drives physical and mental health issues often missed in conventional medicine, Dr. Petche developed programmes that blend science, practical tools, and compassion. Her flagship Trauma-Sense training, Level 1 Becoming Trauma-Aware and Level 2 Becoming Trauma-Informed, is described as “life-changing”, empowering practitioners to hold trauma-sensitive conversations and avoid burnout while supporting true healing.
In October 2025, she will take the TEDx stage to speak about the importance of acknowledging trauma: a vital conversation for both personal and societal wellbeing. A sought-after speaker, she has shared stages with Dr. Gabor Maté, Dr. Stephen Porges, and Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, and has worked with organisations including the Royal College of Surgeons. Her work is transforming the way health, care, and culture approach trauma—bringing about lasting change.
Connect Here:
Website: https://www.trauma-sense.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsusannapetche/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-susanna-petche/
Love the show? Here’s how to show your support
If you enjoy this podcast, please support the show and help me to keep making the podcast, please contribute by Buying Me a Coffee...or Tea! Thank you
More about your host, Wendy
Wendy (51) founded Reclaim Movement after a running injury at 40 turned into 4 years of chronic pain. In her search for answers and to reclaim her own movement again she discovered natural movement. The philosophy of training real life practical movements to be able to keep using them as we age, coupled with the benefit of using strengthening and mobilising whole-body movement patterns that are underused in today’s modern world made her realise she had found a way to move for life.
Wendy’s aim is to help people embrace a movement-rich life, at any age, to improve mobility, strength and confidence to keep moving well and doing the things they love for as long as they want.
MovNat Level 1 certified & Functional Range Conditioning certified, she coaches online group classes live & by replay in the Reclaim Movement membership as well as online and in-person private coaching in Oxford.
Find out more about Reclaim Movement:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/reclaim.movement
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@reclaim.movement
Facebook: https://facebook.com/reclaim.movement
FREE E-BOOK - 'Making the Ground your Friend for Life!'
NEWSLETTER: Sign up for the monthly(ish) newsletter, 'Just.Move'
RECLAIM MOVEMENT MEMBERSHIP - FREE 7-DAY TRIAL or £9.99 for 3-DAY Full Access: includes LIVE (& by replay) natural movement classes, all replays, mini movement videos, tutorials, community support, movement prompts, and regular motivation. Take a sneak peek at what's inside.
