I had an interesting and insightful conversation with Catherine Schwikert. We talk about how your triumphs and traumas affect your health and body, the power of using your intuition, and how she felt a deeper calling in her 40s. She discusses her idea of pragmatic compassion and how we can practice it in our lives to heal our bodies and souls. Catherine also shares some wisdom about how to better work in partnership with medical professionals.

Catherine Schweikert was born in Texas and raised on military bases until the age of 10. Her family settled in California when her parents divorced. She was abused by an older family member, and at that time she discovered that her older sister was actually her mother. 

She struggled with her identity and her place in the world for many years and eventually found her solace in books, education, and her insatiable quest for healing. 

Catherine has been practicing medicine as a physician assistant for the last 20 years in both emergency departments and urgent care. She is currently working on her PhD in applied psychophysiology to better understand trauma and the human body response to it and how it relates to physiological illness. 

She blogs at pragmaticcompassion.org and is currently in the final editing processes of her first nonfiction book. The book describes her personal experiences and how she rose from the confusion of a traumatic childhood to heal and share her compassionate pragmatic methods to help others heal. 

Catherine does not discuss any abuse in this episode. If you have suffered any kind of trauma, including generational trauma, I hope that you will find some hope in this episode, even if just the tiniest glimmer. I know that often resources feel scarce, but I encourage you to check out Catherine’s blog for some additional support.

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