Sharing Your Pain Heals You and Others

To say that I am honoured to have this guest on the show would be an understatement. This story is one that is deeply tragic but unfortunately not uncommon. Yet, through the darkness, he shined his light and made it to the other side, brighter than ever. This is Theo Fleury’s Hard Beautiful Journey. 

“Pain is great motivator for change and in the pain, you’ll find a purpose for the pain.”

The Theo you know as the 2002 Olympic Gold medalist or winner of the Stanley Cup 1989 is not the Theo behind closed doors. Behind these accolades was a person with trauma and abuse. Both of his parents suffered from addiction and at the age of 15 Theo left his home to escape the torment, only to be met with more.

His “coach” promised him a one-way ticket to the NHL, but for the next 2.5 years, all that came was sexual abuse. Theo buried the abuse deep inside him and used alcohol and drugs to cope with the pain. This eventually led to him getting kicked out of the NHL. On September 18th, 2005, Theo surrendered and became sober. He vowed to get his story out there in the hope of helping at least one person. 

“After my abuser left my life I took over the abuse and I abused myself”

Timestamps:

[00:01:22] Introduction to Theo Fleury 

[00:04:19] Background on Theo

[00:06:41] Burying a secret

[00:09:17] Sept 18^th 2005

[00:12:17] Creating a space for healing 

[00:15:40] Part of the process includes surrender

[00:19:00] Healing is a 3-step process

[00:25:24] Hanging out with the homeless

[00:28:57] Surrounded by enablers 

[00:32:04] Learning compassion through conversation 

[00:36:10] The Victor Walk 

[00:42:20] Podcast interview with John

[00:44:12] Ways to get people to use their voice 

[00:49:30] Words of encouragement to those experiencing a traumatic event

[00:54:33] Which Céline Dion song do you recommend? Exercising to Céline Dion

[00:58:35] Expressing gratitude 

[01:03:44] Outro 

Theo’s Books

• Playing With Fire
• Conversations with a Rattlesnake: Raw and Honest Reflections on Healing and Trauma

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Thanks for listening,

Tiff