EQ Unlocked: Allowing Emotional Intelligence to Change Your Life

In this episode Matthew Stevens explores the hard work of ownership: facing the harm we caused, accepting responsibility without shame, and using emotional intelligence to make better choices. He shares personal stories about realizing when his unregulated responses hurt others, the steps he took to confront that truth, and how forgiveness of self opened a path to repair.The episode offers practical reflections and questions to help listeners identify patterns, take accountability in the moment, and begin making things right through actions rather than explanations.

Matthew F. Stevens shares how a lifetime shaped by trauma became his identity and how a simple instruction—"take care of yourself"—gave him permission to begin healing. He describes the survival behaviors that once protected him, how they later limited his life, and the moment he began to choose himself.
The episode explores awareness of the nervous system, shifting from survival to intentional self-care, and practical questions for listeners to reflect on patterns that no longer serve them. It’s an invitation to practice small daily acts of care and to reframe self-care as responsibility, not indulgence.
 
Website: https://matthewfstevens.comEQ Unlocked Hub: https://matthewfstevens.com/eq-unlockedRequest a Conversation: https://matthewfstevens.com/contact

There was a time when my reactions kept me alive — but they were also keeping me stuck.
In this episode of EQ Unlocked, I explore how survival responses can quietly turn into identity, shaping how we think, relate, parent, lead, and love. I share personal moments where hypervigilance, emotional reactivity, and control felt necessary — and how emotional intelligence helped me recognize when protection had turned into self-sabotage.
This episode isn’t about blame.It’s about awareness.And about learning who you are without survival running the show.
Listeners are invited to reflect, take a free assessment at NALS.online, and consider simple steps toward living with more presence and choice.
 
Website: https://matthewfstevens.comEQ Unlocked Hub: https://matthewfstevens.com/eq-unlockedRequest a Conversation: https://matthewfstevens.com/contact

This episode is a moment of clarity. I know who I am now and this is where we're going. 
For years, I’ve shared my voice publicly—through social media, books, and past podcasts—often speaking honestly, but from a place shaped by hurt, pain, and unresolved trauma. That content was real, and it mattered. But it wasn’t the full picture.
What changed wasn’t time. It was intention.
I came to realize that I was still living in survival mode—and that if I truly wanted to help others develop emotional intelligence, I had to invest deeply in my own growth first. That meant stepping back, doing the work, and spending significant time, energy, and resources on understanding myself, regulating my nervous system, and finding peace.
In this episode, I reflect on the difference between speaking from pain and speaking from clarity. I talk openly about past content that was rooted in trauma, not with shame or embarrassment, but with honesty and responsibility. Growth doesn’t erase the past—it reframes it.
If you’ve ever looked back at an older version of yourself and felt discomfort, this conversation is for you. Past mistakes don’t equal failure. They’re often proof that growth is happening.
This episode isn’t about taking anything back.It’s about showing what growth actually looks like.
 
Website: https://matthewfstevens.comEQ Unlocked Hub: https://matthewfstevens.com/eq-unlockedRequest a Conversation: https://matthewfstevens.com/contact

This episode is for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse and still carries its impact in their body, relationships, or sense of self. You don’t need to relive anything to listen, and you don’t need to be “healed” to belong here.
I talk honestly about why survivors’ reactions make sense, how trauma shapes the nervous system, and how healing isn’t about forcing strength or forgiveness—it’s about restoring safety and choice at your own pace.
If this conversation brings something up for you, that doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. It means your body remembers. You’re allowed to pause, take breaks, and move through this in the way that feels safest for you.
You were never weak. And you don’t have to carry this alone.

In this episode of EQ Unlocked, Matthew F. Stevens explores why emotional intelligence always begins with awareness—not control, perfection, or performance. He breaks down what self-awareness really is, how trauma can make it feel unsafe to notice our own thoughts and feelings, and why gentle curiosity is more powerful than self-criticism. This episode offers practical, trauma-informed steps to build awareness in everyday life, relationships, family, and work.

Before the core episodes of EQ Unlocked begin, this precursor provides essential clinical and experiential context for the conversations ahead. Matthew F. Stevens explains the trauma-informed lens of the podcast, the role of emotional intelligence and the nervous system, and how lived experience and clinical understanding intersect. This episode sets expectations for safe listening, thoughtful reflection, and growth without pressure, blame, or urgency.