Why Do I Always Feel The Need To Hide Who I Really Am?

Episode 29: Why Do I Feel the Need to Hide Who I Really Am? Trauma, Authenticity & the Fear of Being Seen
In this heartfelt episode of The Trauma Queen, Jessica Ella is joined by the wise and wonderful Bella Reynolds—midlife mindset coach, Aaruka® Therapy graduate, and unofficial “auntie” to Jess—for a powerful, healing conversation on what keeps us from showing up as our true selves.

Together, they explore a listener’s soul-deep question: “Why do I feel the need to hide who I really am?” The answer, as Jess and Bella uncover, is almost always rooted in trauma.

From early emotional wounds, fear of rejection, and masking to survive, many of us learned that love, belonging, and safety were only available if we conformed. Hiding becomes a trauma response, and authenticity starts to feel dangerous instead of freeing.

🌿 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How childhood trauma and survival mechanisms shape your identity

• Why showing up as your real self often triggers fear of abandonment or judgment

• How societal conditioning teaches women to shrink, silence, or sweeten their truth

• The power of small, embodied steps to reclaim who you were before the world told you to be someone else

• Why befriending discomfort is a key part of the healing process

• Bella’s courageous story of moving through mental health burnout to rediscover her truth and purpose

Jess and Bella remind us that you don’t become your authentic self all at once—you remember her, one brave step at a time. This episode is a permission slip to be who you are underneath the mask, especially when it feels like the scariest thing to do.

💫 Ready to reclaim your truth and stop hiding behind old trauma patterns? Start here: https://linktr.ee/jessellaainsworth