Navigating the Tokophobia Healing Journey: From Naming the Fear to Making Calm Choices
Release Date: 07/08/2025
Tik-Tokophobia
What happens when your deepest fear hijacks your most important connections? In this honest and revealing episode of Tik-Tokophobia, Alexia and JJ get real about the ways tokophobia—the severe fear of pregnancy and childbirth—can quietly sabotage both romantic and platonic relationships. From silent avoidance to heartbreak, and from stalled intimacy to friendship breakdowns, this episode shines a compassionate (but bold) light on where reproductive anxiety actually starts pulling the strings in our personal lives. Packed with lived experience and practical insight—not just...
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On this candid episode of Tik-Tokophobia, JJ and Alexia sit down with renowned phobia specialist Christopher Paul Jones (Harley Street, “Face Your Fears” author) for an eye-opening deep dive into what really differentiates fear, phobia, and anxiety — especially when it comes to tokophobia, the often-misunderstood and rarely named terror of pregnancy and childbirth. Together, they break down the myths, name the hidden patterns, and shine a light on why the ‘fear of the fear’ might be the real root so many professionals (and sufferers) overlook. Christopher brings years of clinical and...
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Tokophobia Healing Journey — What Real Tokophobia Recovery Really Looks Like Struggling with the fear of pregnancy, birth, or motherhood? You’re not alone, and you’re definitely not crazy. In this episode of Tik-Tokophobia, Alexia and JJ dig deep into what the healing journey from tokophobia actually looks like — from the messy first steps to the tough questions nobody wants to ask, all the way to a place of clarity and real choice. Expect honesty, hope, and plenty of “me too!” moments. Key Discussion Points: What sets tokophobia apart from “normal” birth anxiety, and...
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This episode of Tik-Tokophobia is a truly groundbreaking one. Alexia and JJ make history by naming two central — but until now, unnamed — experiences of living with tokophobia and Reproductive Anxiety Disorder (RAD). If you’ve ever struggled to find the words to describe what it’s actually like to face the gut-punch of a pregnancy test, or the collapse that can follow, you’ll find this conversation both validating and empowering. Drawing on personal stories, client experiences, and a touch of Douglas Adams-inspired word-creation, this episode is about reclaiming language — and with...
info_outlineTik-Tokophobia
This episode of Tik-Tokophobia is a truly groundbreaking one. Alexia and JJ make history by naming two central — but until now, unnamed — experiences of living with tokophobia and Reproductive Anxiety Disorder (RAD). If you’ve ever struggled to find the words to describe what it’s actually like to face the gut-punch of a pregnancy test, or the collapse that can follow, you’ll find this conversation both validating and empowering. Drawing on personal stories, client experiences, and a touch of Douglas Adams-inspired word-creation, this episode is about reclaiming language — and with...
info_outlineTik-Tokophobia
This episode of Tik-Tokophobia is a truly groundbreaking one. Alexia and JJ make history by naming two central — but until now, unnamed — experiences of living with tokophobia and Reproductive Anxiety Disorder (RAD). If you’ve ever struggled to find the words to describe what it’s actually like to face the gut-punch of a pregnancy test, or the collapse that can follow, you’ll find this conversation both validating and empowering. Drawing on personal stories, client experiences, and a touch of Douglas Adams-inspired word-creation, this episode is about reclaiming language — and with...
info_outlineTik-Tokophobia
Is the fear of pregnancy and childbirth taking over your life — or leaving you feeling completely alone and broken? In this episode of Tik-Tokophobia, Alexia sits down with Ramona, a mental health therapist, to lay bare what it’s really like to live with tokophobia and find healing on the other side. Ramona unpacks her decade-long journey from silent panic and relationship doubts to finally discovering that her fear has a name— and that overcoming it is possible. Together, they dissect why traditional therapy often falls flat, how body image and control weave through reproductive...
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In this groundbreaking episode of Tik-Tokophobia, Alexia and JJ introduce a term you’ve probably never heard before — Reproductive Anxiety Disorder (RAD). Going far beyond the usual discussions of tokophobia, this episode digs deep into the world of persistent, visceral anxiety around anything related to reproduction. Alexia and JJ shine a fierce light on why so many women’s experiences are mislabelled, misunderstood, or flat-out ignored — and why having the right language matters. If you’ve ever felt a hidden panic about pregnancy, birth, or even just being around babies, this...
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Are you ready to go deeper into the real reasons behind tokophobia? In this honest and eye-opening episode, Alexia and JJ confront one of the most overlooked (and misunderstood) realities for those living with a fear of pregnancy and birth: the trauma of your own birth. Forget everything you’ve been told about where anxiety “comes from”— because this one starts sooner, and runs deeper, than most of us ever realise. Whether you know your own birth story or not, this episode unpacks why the experience of being born is often the hidden driver behind lifelong tokophobia —...
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In this powerful episode of Tik-Tokophobia, cohost JJ Stenhouse steps into the guest seat and shares her personal journey with tokophobia—the overwhelming fear of pregnancy and childbirth. Only recognising her tokophobia at age 68, JJ reveals how this hidden anxiety wove itself through her life, shaping her relationships, creativity, and even her sense of self. The conversation explores the life-altering impact of unrecognised reproductive trauma, the challenges of healing, and what truly shifts when you finally put a name to your fear. Key discussion points: Recognising tokophobia late in...
info_outlineTokophobia Healing Journey — What Real Tokophobia Recovery Really Looks Like
Struggling with the fear of pregnancy, birth, or motherhood? You’re not alone, and you’re definitely not crazy.
In this episode of Tik-Tokophobia, Alexia and JJ dig deep into what the healing journey from tokophobia actually looks like — from the messy first steps to the tough questions nobody wants to ask, all the way to a place of clarity and real choice. Expect honesty, hope, and plenty of “me too!” moments.
Key Discussion Points:
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What sets tokophobia apart from “normal” birth anxiety, and why naming it is the first — and often hardest — step.
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The different starts of the healing journey: figuring out if your fear is tokophobia, what triggers it, and how self-awareness unfolds for each person.
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The impact of “the ticking clock”: societal, partner, and self-pressure to have children, and how this shapes women’s decision-making.
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How tokophobia shows up in relationships: the strain it places on intimacy, sex, and even decisions about staying together.
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Stages of the healing process: confronting pregnancy, birth, decisions around trying to conceive, and even the aftermath (including managing disappointment, relief, or ambivalence).
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Radical honesty about choices: why making decisions about motherhood from a place of fear is so common, and what it takes to move beyond fear into genuine choice.
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Tokophobia beyond childbirth: exploring how unhealed reproductive fear can limit your creativity, visibility, and overall wellbeing — even after menopause.
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Why professionals get it wrong: how the lack of medical and therapeutic understanding leaves women unsupported, along with resources to help advocate for yourself.
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Useful tools and resources: practical steps, including the tokophobia assessment, the Reproductive Anxiety Disorder white paper, and finding therapists trained to help.
Who This Episode Is For:
If you…
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Feel anxious — even panicked — at the thought of pregnancy or birth
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Are stuck between your own fears and what your partner, family, or society expects of you
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Have put off deciding about children because something deeper holds you back
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Worry you’ll regret your choices or feel you can’t access your true feelings
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Wish you could know what your fear even is, let alone how to heal it
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Are looking for honest, proof-it-works stories and real solutions — not shallow advice
…then this episode is for you. We’re here to show you that healing is possible, support is real, and you absolutely deserve a future that isn’t dictated by fear.
For resources and further support, visit us at the Tik-Tokophobia website for assessments, white papers, and practitioner info. Your clarity starts here.