EP045 Post Traumatic Growth with Bill Gasiamis
24th September 2026
What if recovery is not about getting your old life back?
In this episode of Akasha Talks, Lance speaks with Bill Gasiamis, host of the Recovery After Stroke Podcast and author of Your World Doesn't Have to Stay This Small, about post-traumatic growth and what can become possible after life changes in ways you never asked for.
After experiencing three brain bleeds, brain surgery, and having to relearn how to walk, Bill began searching for ways to navigate not only the physical effects of stroke, but the emotional, relational and identity changes that followed. That search eventually became the Recovery After Stroke Podcast, two books, and a much broader exploration of what it means to grow through trauma.
Lance and Bill explore the five domains of post-traumatic growth, the fantasy of wanting to rewind life to how it was before, reconstruction rather than restoration, grief for the life you expected to have, changing relationships, identity, setbacks, curiosity, and the importance of recognising progress even when recovery is far from complete.
They also look at the stories we tell about trauma, the difference between focusing on what has been lost and asking what is possible now, and why sometimes the next step does not need to be dramatic. It simply needs to move you a little closer to where you want to go.
Bill describes himself as "fully healed with a few caveats", a perspective that captures much of this conversation. Healing does not necessarily mean returning to the body, life or identity you had before. It can mean learning how to live fully while some of the effects are still there.
In the conversation, we explore:
Bill's stroke story and the origins of Recovery After Stroke Podcast.
Why post-traumatic growth offers a different frame from focusing only on PTSD
The five areas of post-traumatic growth: appreciation for life, relationships, new possibilities, personal strength and spiritual change
The rewind fantasy, and why so many people secretly want their old life back
Reconstruction rather than restoration
Grieving the life you expected while becoming curious about the life that may now be possible
Why minimising trauma by saying "other people had it worse" can keep people stuck
How relationships change when the person you are becoming no longer fits the life you previously lived
Recognising growth before you feel completely recovered
Why recovery is rarely linear, and how arbitrary timelines can turn ordinary setbacks into a feeling of failure
Turning down the noise and returning to the fundamentals
Curiosity as one of the most useful tools for finding the next step
The difference between being free from the trauma and being free from every consequence of it
Why healing can still be real even when there are caveats
Find Bill Gasiamis
Recovery After Stroke:
RecoveryAfterStroke.com
Instagram:
instagram.com/recoveryafterstroke
YouTube:
Recovery After Stroke Podcast
Bill's books
Your World Doesn't Have to Stay This Small
Grab a copy here
The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened
Grab a copy here
Thanks for listening
Lance
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