The Trauma Of Disconnection

What Nadiya Hussein's Story Teaches Us About Authentic Living

I’m Nahid — somatic movement educator, author of Soothe, and guide for people holding themselves together by habit, not choice. They call me the nervous system whisperer, but this isn’t about child’s pose and slow breaths. It’s about rewiring the part of you that still thinks tension is a requirement for success.

Through The Soothe Programme, I help high-functioning, system-saturated women finally feel safe inside their own bodies, without needing to quit their lives or escape to Bali.

For paid subscribers, I’ve dropped a somatic audio class to calm your system.

I am going to try out my first Substack LIVE with Melissa Hemsley on Thursday 24th July at 3pm for all paid subscribers. Not yet a member? It’s time to sign up!

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Hello, hope this newsletter finds you well. Have you watched the Nadiya Hussein interview on We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson yet? It was jaw-dropping.

There are so many points that have stayed with me, particularly because they resonate so deeply with my work at the intersection of science, somatic movement, and identity.

The sheer volume of background abuse and threats Nadiya received from the moment she appeared on Bake Off was staggering. She had to have panic buttons installed in her house. This wasn't her first encounter with cruelty, she'd already endured bullying at school so severe that she would wet the bed and considered suicide a viable option at just ten years old. The trauma was layered, generational, and profound.

Her relationship with her parents, who were survivors themselves, painted a picture of a family focused purely on survival. There were no dreams of the future; life was about getting by in the here and now. She never had the space to discuss her feelings or share her dreams. The message she lived with was simple: you just had to get on with it. When she wasn't allowed to pursue university, her silent protest, stopping speaking and eating with them, spoke volumes about a young woman desperate to be heard. Marriage became her only escape from the rigid rules of family life.

I don't blame her parents. They were traditional folk carrying trauma as part of their lived experience. But in this age, the limitation of Nadiya's choices still shocks me.

What strikes me even more is how this pattern continues in her professional life, the treatment of women in TV who speak up versus the long careers men are allowed to have despite their abusive behaviours. It seems to take an unstoppable force, an unignorable volume of complaints, to force action finally.

Then there's the question of personal brand versus authentic values. Nadiya revealed how someone's public persona can't be aligned with their true values, how you can't voice your opinions about the real world or your real experience. So what are we being sold? We constantly hear about living as our "authentic self," but how authentic are we truly allowed to be?

To not be able to speak about our realities on platforms and in the world - is deeply traumatising. When we can't give voice to the voiceless or our own fears, it creates massive cognitive dissonance. We're asked to perform authenticity while simultaneously being policed on what we can and cannot say.

This is where my work becomes essential. I'm fascinated by the conflict our world creates between our inner values and our outward presentation. It's this very conflict that causes us to squash down who we really are.

I often work with clients who have public profiles and are projecting a version of themselves to the world. When that version doesn't fully align with who they are, it takes a profound mental and physical toll.

The trauma of this disconnection - between who we are and who we're allowed to be - lives in our bodies. It shows up as anxiety, depression, chronic illness, and a persistent sense that something is fundamentally wrong.

Because something is.

When we can't speak our truth, when we can't align our actions with our values, when we're forced to perform a version of ourselves that feels hollow, our nervous systems rebel.

I hadn't listened to this podcast before, but I love honest conversations about what it takes to live a truly authentic life - on a human level, in business, and the public eye. These are the conversations we need more of: raw, honest, and unflinching in their examination of what it costs us to live divided lives and sharing the experience of being fully human.

Nadiya's story is a mirror for all of us. It asks us to consider:

Where are we silencing ourselves?

Where are we performing rather than being?

And most importantly, what would it look like to close the gap between who we are and who the world sees? If you want some help to live your life more authentically by letting go of old baggage, drop me a message.

I am full of admiration of her for speaking her truth and for being such an awesome role model for us all.

Have you watched it yet? What did you take away from it?

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A few things

🌀 Undo anxiety in 30 days.
The Soothe Anxiety: 30-Day Somatic Release is open now.
£97. Start today, not someday. Book here.

📍Soothe Day Retreat → 20th September 2025
Click here to exhale inside a body-led reset.

🌿 The Soothe Weekend in Kent → 10–12 October 2025
Message me “weekend” for details. You’ll know if it’s yours.

Stay human,

Nahid x