Malisa Hepner (she/her)

Malisa joined Momma on January 12, 2026 for a live Q&A via Twitch and YouTube to talk about Trauma, Resilience, Healing & Self-compassion

About Malisa

Malisa Hepner is a therapist, podcast host, and public speaker who helps people quiet the noise of trauma, reconnect with themselves, and embody the light. She’s the host of Emotionally Unavailable and one of the hosts of Unquiet Soul, two shows that open space for deep, real, and transformative conversations. Malisa is also the creator of healing workbooks like Safe to Be Seen and The Beauty of Imperfection: Good Is Enough. Drawing on both her professional expertise and her lived experience as a survivor of complex PTSD, she’s passionate about helping people move beyond overthinking, perfectionism, and fear of visibility to live more grounded, authentic, and joyful lives.

Socials / Links for Guest Connection

• Website - https://empoweredwithmalisahepner.org/

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558789720560

• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/malisa.hepner/?hl=en

• Threads - https://www.threads.net/@malisa.hepner

• LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/Mdhepner

References / Things Mentioned During the Stream

• True Crime Fascination: Bailey Sarian Channel, Laci Peterson Case, Watts Family Murders, Gabby Petito Murder

• Book Recommendation: Finding Peace: A Workbook on Healing from Loss, Neglect, Rejection, Abandonment, Betrayal, and Abuse by Troy Love

• Favorite Poems: Desiderata, The Road Not Taken, Deep in My Feels Poem Excerpt

Episode Summary

If you've ever been called resilient when what you really needed was a hand, this episode is for you.

Malisa Hepner has lived a lot of life. Foster care, addiction in her family, incarceration, profound loss... and she went beyond surviving to build a career helping others navigate the same kind of pain. As a therapist, speaker and podcast host, Malisa brings both clinical expertise and raw personal honesty to everything she does, including this conversation on Even Tacos Fall Apart.

We dig into what resilience actually means, because it's not about bouncing back fast or being "God's strongest soldier." Malisa talks candidly about how she used to resent that word, how it felt like people watching her drown while cheering her on. Her reframe of the word is powerful: resilience is the ability to show up authentically, find meaning in the mess and know that nothing outside of you changes your worth as a person.

Self-compassion gets a real, practical look here too. Malisa walks through how it started for her as a single decision... a decree, really... to stop tearing herself apart and start treating herself like someone worth caring for. She talks about the body-based tools she uses when grief or anxiety gets loud, how to get out of your head and into your heart in about 90 seconds, and why your brain is genuinely lying to you most of the time it feels like catastrophe.

One of the most powerful threads in this episode is vulnerability. Malisa was told by a trusted friend that she was emotionally unavailable, and she was furious! ...until she realized the friend was right. She had been retelling her trauma like it happened to someone else, using humor as armor, and calling it healing. That moment became the foundation of her podcast, Emotionally Unavailable, and a whole new chapter in her own growth.

This episode was recorded just one month after Malisa lost her son to an accidental overdose. She shows up anyway, in real time, and shares what grief is teaching her about trust, connection and asking for help. It is one of the most honest conversations we have had on this show.

If you are navigating trauma recovery, complex PTSD, perfectionism or just trying to figure out how to be a little kinder to yourself, this conversation could help.