245 How Adverse Childhood Experiences Shape Aging and Affect Health with Wendy B. Correa
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Release Date: 01/16/2026
245 How Adverse Childhood Experiences Shape Aging and Affect Health with Wendy B. Correa
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Early life trauma can leave lasting imprints on the brain, body, and emotional health well into later life, but healing is possible at any age. In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with memoirist and wellness practitioner, Wendy Correa about adverse childhood experiences, intergenerational trauma, and the profound healing power of self-awareness and creative expression. Wendy shares how writing her memoir, My Pretty Baby, became both a personal reckoning and a path to liberation. This conversation explores how movement, mindfulness,...
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244 Panic, Anxiety and the Aging Brain: A Trauma-Informed Approach with Dr. Nicole Cain
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Chronic stress and anxiety are not just emotional experiences; they can quietly accelerate biological aging and undermine brain health. In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with integrative mental health expert Dr. Nicole Cain about how anxiety, panic, trauma, and unresolved stress shape the nervous system across the lifespan. Dr. Cain explains the critical differences between fear, anxiety, and panic, and how symptoms often serve as meaningful signals rather than disorders to suppress. This rich conversation offers science-backed, compassionate...
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243 Movement as Longevity Medicine; How Fascia and the Brain Shape Aging with Dr. Edythe Heus
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What if the way you move could directly influence how well you age? In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch is joined by movement specialist and chiropractor Dr. Edythe Heus to explore how intentional, brain-engaged movement can become one of the most powerful tools for longevity. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Dr. Heus explains how subtle changes in movement reorganize fascia, enhance balance, sharpen cognition, and reduce fall risk. This conversation reframes exercise not as punishment, but as a playful, intelligent practice that supports...
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242 Welcome 2026. Healthspan Extension Starts Here: Your Epigenetic Path to Aging Well with Dr. Gillian Lockitch
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Many people believe that memory loss, physical decline, and loss of independence are inevitable parts of aging. But what if that belief is wrong? In this first Growing Older Living Younger episode of 2026, Dr. Gillian Lockitch challenges the outdated narrative that aging automatically means decline. Drawing on decades of medical expertise, cutting-edge epigenetic science, and her own lived experience, Dr. Lockitch explains why growing older is inevitable—but aging poorly is not. This episode introduces the concept of healthspan—the years of life lived with clarity, mobility, independence,...
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241 Resilience: Transforming Obstacles into Opportunities with Dr. Gillian Lockitch
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
In this deeply personal solo episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch shares a powerful story of resilience—one that unfolds unexpectedly as she prepares to celebrate turning 80 through dance, vitality, and joy. What began as a year of celebration was abruptly reshaped by a diagnosis of persistent atrial fibrillation, forcing Dr. Lockitch to confront physical limitations, uncertainty, and the temporary loss of a defining passion. Rather than framing this episode as a story of illness, she reframes it as a story of adaptation, courage, and transformation—and what it truly means to grow older...
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240 From Hot Flashes to Harmony: Reclaim Vitality through Nutrition and Lifestyle Changes with Alison Bladh
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Gillian Lockitch talks with Alison Bladh about navigating menopause and midlife with confidence, vitality, and grace. Alison shares over 35 years of experience helping women transform their health, beauty, and mindset through evidence-based nutrition, lifestyle, and self-care. Learn how small, realistic changes can rebalance hormones, improve sleep, manage weight, and restore radiant skin and energy—so you can age youthfully and thrive through every life stage. Alison Bladh is an award-winning nutritional therapist and aesthetician...
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239 Midlife Transformation: Ironman Playbook for Endurance, Longevity and Healthy Aging with Jeffrey Weiss
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Can you build healthspan in your 50s, 60s and beyond? In our episode 239 conversation, Jeff Weiss says yes—and he’s got the miles to prove it. After his first 10K at 48, Jeff progressed to marathons, ultramarathons, and Ironman triathlons, discovering how structured training within smart guardrails, and the right mindset can unlock cardiovascular fitness, strength, confidence, and cognitive resilience in midlife. We explore practical ways to get started (and keep going), how to balance discomfort vs. danger, and why setting “big, hairy, audacious goals” fuels transformation far beyond...
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238 Perimenopause to Second Spring: Hormones, Hugs and Healthspan with Carla Wainwright
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Coach and educator Carla Wainwright joins Dr. Gillian in episode 238 to reframe midlife (about 40–65) as a gateway rather than a decline. Drawing on science and somatic wisdom, Carla explains how shifting sex hormones affect metabolism, sleep, stress tolerance, and body composition—and why nervous‑system regulation, metabolic basics, and pleasure practices are foundational for healthspan. You’ll learn simple micro‑resets (breath, grounding, nature time), how to stack small rituals, and why cultivating daily moments of joy/connection boosts oxytocin and nitric oxide—two...
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237 Healthy Aging Made Practical: Mind, Environment, Diet, Activity, Community with Scott Fulton
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
In Episode 237, in conversation with Dr. Gillian Lockitch, Scott Fulton reframes “successful aging” as more years, more moments, more money. He unpacks his MEDAC model—Mind, Environment, Diet, Activity, Community—and shows how small, practical tweaks compound: design homes for longevity, manage toxin exposure sensibly, eat for quality/variety/fiber, move all day (not just “exercise”), train balance, and build supportive community. They also explore simple ways to measure what matters and why stepping outside your comfort zone is a powerful aging tool. Scott Fulton is...
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236 Bamboozled by "Evidence": Go Beyond Guidelines, Read the Studies and Question Dogma with Dr. Joseph Jacko
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Are we being bamboozled by “evidence”? In episode 236 of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Joseph Jacko explains how pharmaceutic and other corporate funding skews what we are told, why absolute risk matters more than splashy headline statistics, and how a deeper understanding of hormones and our metabolism, the microbiome –brain connection, and regenerative tools can help you build real health and extend your healthspan,—not just live with and manage disease. We pull back the curtain on how corporate interests and publication bias can distort...
info_outlineEarly life trauma can leave lasting imprints on the brain, body, and emotional health well into later life, but healing is possible at any age. In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with memoirist and wellness practitioner, Wendy Correa about adverse childhood experiences, intergenerational trauma, and the profound healing power of self-awareness and creative expression. Wendy shares how writing her memoir, My Pretty Baby, became both a personal reckoning and a path to liberation. This conversation explores how movement, mindfulness, storytelling, and truth-telling can rewire resilience, restore joy, and help us age with purpose rather than pain.
Wendy Correa is a writer, yoga practitioner, hiker, and licensed massage therapist with a background spanning film, television, radio, and music production in Los Angeles and Aspen. She holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and theater arts and is now based in Denver, Colorado. Her debut memoir, My Pretty Baby: Seeking Truth and Finding Healing, chronicles her journey of healing from childhood trauma through embodiment, creativity, and mindfulness, demonstrating that it is never too late to reclaim vitality and joy.
Episode Timeline
00:00 – Welcome and framing the conversation - Dr. Gillian Lockitch introduces the episode’s focus on healing adverse childhood experiences and rewiring resilience later in life.
04:56 – The origin of the title My Pretty Baby - Wendy explains how a seemingly small childhood moment revealed a foundational family wound.
06:30 – Why publish a memoir at 69 - Choosing motherhood, life experience, and readiness over urgency and timing.
10:38 – Memory, trauma, and vivid recall - Why traumatic experiences are often remembered with intense clarity.
11:52 – Sense memory and embodied recall - How acting training and sensory awareness unlocked unprocessed grief and anger.
16:03 – Unacknowledged grief and lifelong impact - The consequences of losing a parent in childhood without emotional support.
19:17 – Emotional memory versus happy memory - Why fear-based experiences often imprint more deeply than joy.
21:37 – Understanding the ACE Study -An overview of adverse childhood experiences and their long-term health effects.
22:02 – Trauma, biology, and the nervous system
How early stress reshapes the brain, immune system, and stress response.
24:45 – Healing modalities that restore resilience
Yoga, meditation, sobriety, psychotherapy, creativity, and chosen community.
27:12 – Transformative encounters and human kindness
Stories of meaningful interactions that reinforced worth and belonging.
30:18 – Finding a publisher and reclaiming voice
How women-centered publishing empowered Wendy to share her truth.
34:45 – Becoming a cycle breaker
Why healing personal trauma can ripple outward to families and society.
Resources & Links Mentioned
My Pretty Baby: Seeking Truth and Finding Healing is her debut book. For more information, visit www.wendybcorrea.com.
Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences
Call to Action
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Explore your personal roadmap to healing, resilience, and longer healthspan by connecting with Dr. Gillian Lockitch at askdrgill@gmail.com