When Your Kid Wants To Punch A Wall, Hand Them The Monster Instead

What if the moment your life wobbled was the invitation you’ve been postponing? That’s where Jennifer Ginty found herself — after years of “not yet,” the closure of her beloved boutique pushed her to say “right now” to healing complex PTSD and major depressive disorder. We sit down with Jen to unpack how she built a care team, returned to hospitalization to map helpful modalities, and rediscovered group therapy as a powerful, validating community rather than a public reckoning.

Jen also shares the origin story of My Moody Monster, a rugged, Velcro-limbed plush designed to channel anger and anxiety into safe, physical release for kids and adults. We walk through real-life scenarios: a sibling clash, an overwhelmed parent, a tense work call, veteran or LEO with post-traumatic stress. The monster becomes a cue for co-regulation, a bridge to conversation, and a tool for repair — rip to discharge, rebuild to reconnect, reflect to plan next time. New Normal Big Life (NNBL) listeners listeners get 15% off their entire order on http://www.mymoodymonster.com

Use the code POD15

For families searching for practical emotional regulation, this is both inventive and accessible. Along the way, we talk trauma science, why big feelings change body chemistry, and how consistent, body-first strategies often work better than lectures. If this conversation helped you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick star rating & review — it’s the best way to support our work and help more people find practical healing tools.

LIFEWAVE
Boost your body’s innate powers and live better and younger with LifeWave phototherapy products!

BeRootedIn
Magnesium Cream

The Health Ranger Store
The best price on US-based lab-tested supplements and superfoods. Shop now with my affiliate link.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Chapters

• 0:00 From Survival To “Not Yet”
• 2:45 Introducing Jen And Her Mission
• 4:50 Court Aftermath And Hidden Traumas
• 7:10 The Breaking Point And Building A Care Team
• 10:35 Group Therapy Then Versus Now
• 12:45 Nature Note: Fall Adventures And Mood
• 15:15 Why Trauma Sticks And Neurobiology
• 16:30 Creating My Moody Monster
• 19:00 How Kids And Adults Use Moody
• 22:45 Coaching A Child Through Big Feelings
• 25:55 Sponsor: Ready Hour Outdoors Nutrition
• 27:10 Moody As Everyday Regulation Tool

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

So by the time my abuser went to prison, I was in college and I just wanted to live that life. I wanted to live the quote normal college life. I wanted to be free of my trauma. And so I said not yet to my story, to my trauma, to my healing journey. I said not yet after college because I was going into a career. And then not yet because I was getting married. And finally, not yet. I was having children. And I didn't want to take away from those two beautiful boy souls that I had had to focus on me.

SPEAKER_00: 0:47

Hi, friends. Welcome to the New Normal Big Life podcast. We bring you natural news and stories about nature that we hope will inspire you to get outside in an adventure, along with a step-by-step plan to help you practice what you've learned and create your own new normal and live the biggest life you can dream. I'm your host, Antoinette Lee, the Wellness Warrior. Today on the New Normal Big Life podcast, we're talking with an expert in complex PTSD and major depressive disorder about an innovative, kid-friendly tool that allows families to talk about emotions and communication. Meet the creator of My Moody Monster, Jennifer Ginti. Jen is the host of a mental health podcast about the moments that spark change. After being featured on multiple mental health and parenting podcasts, Jen had a powerful realization. Her story of pushing away the hard work of facing her trauma was just one journey. And there are countless other journeys out there, each just as important and impactful. This is what inspired Jen to create When Not Yet Becomes Right Now, a podcast in space for exploring the many different paths we take in life. Let's meet our guest, Jen Gendi. Hi Jen. Welcome to New Normal Big Life Podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 2:01

Oh, thank you so much, Antoinette, for having me on. I'm so excited for our conversation.

SPEAKER_00: 2:06

So am I. And you know, I find that the people who are the most helpful are those that have gone through solving the problem for themselves that they're solving for other people. Tell us about your backstory and how you got into the work that you were doing.

SPEAKER_01: 2:24

Sure. So I am a uh single mom and I live with complex PTSD and major depressive disorder from childhood trauma. I lived with my abuser, who was my father throughout my childhood. And I lived with two older brothers, and we were all abused by our abuser. And when I was 14, my middle brother uh decided to tell a trusted adult about what was happening in our family. And, you know, life kind of blew up in a different way than when our abuser was taken from our home. And I think a lot of people think when an abuser is gone, that that's just kind of the end of it for kids, that they're, you know, now they're away from their abuser, no more abuse, everything should be okay. But there are a lot of different little uh traumas that kids go through afterwards. And for me, it was specifically in uh the court system. Uh, we were we were asked to uh be a part of a criminal, uh criminal trial with my abuser. And you know, they they kind of wanted us to go along with their story, with what they wanted to do, instead of really taking our experience. So it got really hard and and it got very uh tiring to deal with these people who, like the DA, who wanted us to bend to their will and to not listen to our own experience. I wanted them to have all of me. And finally, after years and years of pushing through, my brain told me right now, right now is when you have to do this journey. It's time to get on the journey and to take care of myself.

SPEAKER_00: 4:22

Wow, that's such a powerful story. Thank you so much for sharing. And when not yet became right now, what did that look like for you? What happened in your life? What happened in your head? What happened in your body?

SPEAKER_01: 4:38

Yes, yes, this was the important part of it, that right now moment. Uh, I was I was having to close my boutique that I had in my town. Uh, I had to go into bankruptcy, and I felt like a very important part of myself was gone. Uh, you know, kind of like an identification of myself had left because I had had to step away from being the shop owner that people love to come to talk to and visit and get advice from, and you know, fit in jeans. That was what my boutique was really all about was fitting women in jeans. And I loved it, but I couldn't hold on to it. And so I lost an identity in that time. So that's when I started getting the brain fog, getting the uh, you know, feel the tiredness feeling, not being able to communicate well with people, and not having great relationships. And that is that moment that my brain said to me, now, right now you have to do this. You have to go on this journey. And because I had gone through the uh years after my abuse in therapy, and I had at one point gone into hospitalization, I knew that I had to put together a team. A team of trusted professionals that were going to be able to help me. And first of all, I knew I needed an individual therapist. And I also knew that I should go back into hospitalization. I, you know, I knew that that was going to be something that could help me to get on track, to figure out what therapy modalities I might be able to use that will help me get through the diagnoses I had, the complex PTSD and the major depressive disorder. So that were that was really the biggest two steps. After hospitalization, I uh I got into groups, therapeutic groups. And that was something that was very different from me. Because when I was a kid and I was made to go into group therapy, I hated it. Absolutely hated it. Like, why would a teenager want to sit with a bunch of other teenagers and talk about awful stuff? Right. So as an adult, going into group therapy was an eye-opener for me because I was able to have a community surrounding me of people who understood what I was going through and probably had gone through similar things as me. And I found it to be really important in uh this current healing journey.

SPEAKER_00: 7:37

Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I want to introduce you to the adventure sports lifestyle with what I call a micro story about an adventure that I've had. The adventure sports lifestyle and my deep connection to nature is essential to my good health. So here's the story. It's fall, y'all. Do not allow yourself to start staying inside. Fall is not the time, nor is winter, to forget about the health benefits of being outside in nature. So I know it's getting darker early and it's cold, and you're starting to think, well, I'm going to hibernate like a bear, just go to work and school, and pretty much just stay indoors until spring comes. But that's a fast way to start experiencing seasonal affective disorder or sad. If you want to keep the winter blues away, continue to get outside and adventure. So lace up your walking shoes, go for a walk in a corn maze or a pumpkin patch, or even just in your community doing urban trekking, a suburban park, or getting into the backcountry if that's accessible to you. I hope this inspires you to get outside and adventure alone with friends, family, or people that you love the most. And thinking back about your time in group therapy as a teenager versus as an adult, what do you think was the difference? Was it just being a teenager and not wanting to bear your soul to in the public uh way, or was it something else?

SPEAKER_01: 9:18

I think it was as a teenager, I just didn't want to look at my trauma. I didn't want to be reminded of it over and over and over. I just wanted to let it go. And as you know, there's really no way of letting go of this trauma and just living the you know simple, quote, normal life that people want to live. It sticks with you. It stays with you, it changes your body chemistry, it changes the neurons in your brain. So there really is no way to run and hide from this trauma.

SPEAKER_00: 9:54

So tell us about your uh my moody monster and how people use it. How did you develop it? And where can we get it is the most important question.

SPEAKER_01: 10:07

Yes. So Moody actually came out of group therapy for me. I was in a therapeutic group and I was talking about how I was so frustrated with my diagnoses, with you know, the emotions, the big feelings that I was constantly having with my PTSD. And I said, I wish I had a monster that I could just rip apart, throw across the room, drown in water, whatever I needed to do to get this out, right? And people in the group were like, Yeah, you should have that. So I was like, huh, hmm, let's see, what can I do about this? And I'm not a seamstress, I'm not a tailor in any way, but I went home and I started work on this kind of ragtag plush monster, and I made their arms, legs, and head of Velcro so that I could rip them apart and get all that frustration out. The very first doll's name was PTSD Pete. So I named them for, you know, for what I specifically needed them for. And as I was using Pete, I realized that it really was helping me a lot with just those moments where it's just too much and you need to emotionally regulate and find something to help you to get that out. And many times people need a physical outlet. And sometimes people will go for a run, they'll, you know, use weights, or they'll do something that with their body that helps them to release that energy. And for me, Pete was doing the trick.

SPEAKER_00: 11:46

My Moody Monster seems like it's a great kid-friendly tool to help them manage, communicate, deal with their emotions. But I can also see how an adult might want to use it also. Can you talk about how different age groups might use my moody monster?

SPEAKER_01: 12:08

Yes. So I wish I had Moody for my kids, especially my oldest. He went through a lot of behavioral issues, and we used to call him the Tasmanian devil, because he would just let all of this frustration out physically and kind of make a mess of things. And afterwards, he'd go through a shame spiral. Like he was a bad boy for doing what he did, getting out all of this frustration in this physical way. So when I started thinking of Moody as a tool for children, I realized it would be perfect for these little cavemen kids who have all of this emotion. I called my sons little cavemen. And they they can use this in a safe way with their adults, with their caregivers to better cope and then be able to maybe not so much talk about it, but understand that they have a safe space with their family to be able to talk about their emotions.

SPEAKER_00: 13:13

Can you tell us how or demonstrate how someone might use it? You can make up a scenario and maybe show us um how to interact with the doll as how a parent might coach their child with using it and also how an adult might use it. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 13:34

So let's say that you have you have two kids, you have an older and younger child, and that younger child is really getting on the older child's nerves, maybe taking their toys. Maybe they broke something that was the older child's like favorite thing. And that older child has so much inside them that is boiling up because they just want to release the anger on the person that's doing the breaking, doing the bothering. But with Moody, they have a chance to grab onto this buddy that they can really get that frustration frustration out with by ripping them apart. The best part about Moody with tearing them apart is that I worked for years on finding the stickiest velcro I could possibly find. So Moody is actually pretty difficult to rip apart. So for a child, it takes so much energy to rip each part of Moody off of their body that they're releasing this tension that's building up in their core and letting it just explode with Moody. And also recognizing that this is what Moody is there for. This is their purpose, is to be that buddy to get all of that anger out, all that just mad, mad energy. So what Moody also does is that they show the parent, okay, so my child is using Moody right now. I need to get into a mindset where I can help my child. And I always tell parents, we have to build our own emotions toolbox, right? These, you know, coping skills that we can use for ourselves because we didn't, we didn't really learn that when we were kids. For me, I mean, I'm Gen X, and I know for a fact that emotions were not something to show. They were something to push down and battle through and you know, never really talk about them. So for parents, Moody signals, okay, I have to get into the right frame of mind so that I can help my child. And then finally, when the child is ready, you can put Moody back together again, together, so that you can talk about what was that big thing that was bothering you? What can we do next time to help you better cope with the big feelings that you were having? So it's a really great communication tool for the entire family.

SPEAKER_00: 16:23

When you're planning an adventure camping, rafting, RV, or mountaineering, you'll need quality food with sufficient vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to fuel your adventure. My partner Ready Hour is here to help you ahead of time. Ready Hour has a long history of providing calorie-rich, reliable, and delicious nourishment for life's unexpected situations and adventures. They're part of a family of companies that have served millions of people like you for decades. My family and I use Ready Hour products for camping, mountaineering, and disaster preparedness for five years now. They're not just reliable, they're also your affordable option too. Long-term storable food shouldn't break the bank. That's why they have great sales and payment options for you. It's your bridge to safety and survival when you're on an adventure. So make your next decision, your smartest decision. Be ready for adventure tomorrow today. Trust Ready Hour. Ready to shop? Use my affiliate link in the show description. I love a lot of things about my moody monster. I work with children in adventure camp, and I notice that there are some children who really have a hard time regulating their emotions. And when they feel overwhelmed, sometimes they want to hit someone. Being able to use that energy, refocus that energy on Moody in a way that is helpful and not harmful or destructive sounds genius. I really love that idea.

SPEAKER_01: 18:35

I use Moody during Zoom calls, during, you know, just everyday things that may go wrong. I just rip them apart. And knowing that that's what Moody, I created Moody for, helps me to let go of maybe a little bit of shame that I'm feeling these feelings and that I am getting, I'm feeling a bit out of control, right? Moody's there for that. So let's use them for exactly what I created them for. So can we see Moody in action? Oh, yes, absolutely. So that this is Moody. So you can really hear the the Velcro, right? It's a really great sensory tool. You know, and just get all of this out. You know, throw their body parts around, punch their belly. That's okay. We can use Moody for that. And I've created a coloring book that goes along with them to talk about that. Hey, I'm here to do it. You're not hurting me. Let's get this out together and figure it out together.

SPEAKER_00: 19:45

And where can we find Moody?

SPEAKER_01: 19:48

Moody is on the well, I have the website, My Moody Monster, and I'm on all the socials as My Moody Monster. And so at YouTube, I have a bunch of different like lessons. I have Moody story time for kids. We read uh books about big feelings, about you know, different groups of people. Like during Autism Awareness Month, I read books all about autistic children or autistic people in history. And you know, just teaching kids that emotions are valid. All of them are. It's just how we use, you know, we use our bodies and our minds to better cope with them.

SPEAKER_00: 20:31

I love this so much. You also have another way that you help people who are working through complex PTSD, and it's through your podcasts. We've not yet becomes right now.

SPEAKER_01: 20:43

Yes, yes. So that goes back to my history of holding off on my healing journey. And I was going on mental health podcasts and parenting podcasts, and I realized that I was telling this story over and over, and realizing with the people that I was talking to, they also had similar journeys. So I thought, you know what? I think what I really want to do is share those life journeys that people have and to tell people out there that they're not alone. That's really the major, you know, thought process in the podcast was if I can help one person feel less alone, then I've done my job.

SPEAKER_00: 21:27

That's so you're so right about that in in terms of feeling like you're the only one who's going through this, especially because of social media. Social media is a platform that allows people to show the best times of their life. Although people do go on social media to have a meltdown and tell their followers all the things that are going wrong in their life. But we so often see people at their best, and it looks like everyone's having more fun and a better life than than you are, especially if you're going through something difficult at the time. So I love that you have this space where people can go and see. I'm not the only one who's suffering. I'm not the only one who's got challenges right now.

SPEAKER_01: 22:11

Yeah, yeah. I think it's really important that we have a community. I find podcasting to be a beautiful community. I've met so many people along the way who have become dear friends, who I've gone to for for help at times and been there to help those that I, you know, I've met and just really enjoy being a part of that community.

SPEAKER_00: 22:36

Oh, I can agree with you there. My podcast community is so beautiful. I actually every morning, some of my listeners will go to my account on X and say good morning to me and read my post and get information and reshare it. And it just is such a beautiful, welcoming community. I I love it too. So I'm glad that you have that as well. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01: 23:01

And you are doing such a wonderful um thing for people as well. Uh, New Normal Big Life is an incredible podcast, and I really enjoy listening to you.

SPEAKER_00: 23:12

Oh, thank you so much, Jen. I'm so excited to share my moody monster. And for listeners, you can find links in the show description. What else do you want to leave listeners with, Jen?

SPEAKER_01: 23:24

Yes, I would love to tell people that a healing journey is uh a roller coaster ride, and there really is no beginning or end to it. You go through the ups and the downs, and you you can realize through that that there are ways that you can cope, but there are also days that you need to give yourself grace. We need to tell ourselves that we don't constantly have to be uh running around doing all we can possibly do. We can also take that time to sit back, to give ourselves that grace and understand that there are days that are going to be a little better than others. And ultimately, you're going on this healing journey for a very long time. I don't really see ends to healing journeys. I see, you know, if somebody asks me where are you at in your healing journey, I say I'm in the middle of it. And 10 years from now, I will probably say in the middle of it. So definitely give yourself grace.

SPEAKER_00: 24:32

That's a beautiful insight to end with. Thank you so much for joining me here in the Northwoods Cabin. Thank you so much for having me. Until next time, friends, I'm Anfinitely your wellness warrior here at the New Normal Big Life Podcast. I hope one day to see you on the river, in the backcountry, or in the horse bind living your best life. Struggling with health problems or seeking natural health solutions, we've got you covered. Don't miss our latest podcast episodes, exclusive blog posts, and free ebooks packed with life-changing wellness tips. Be sure to help others find this great information by leaving us a star rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts. Magnesium, an unsung hero, fuels over 300 bodily reactions from heart health to stress relief. Magnesium expert Natalie Girado, founder of Rooted In, found freedom from anxiety, insomnia, and pain through topical magnesium. It transformed my life, she says, inspiring her mission to share this mineral's power. Cardiologist Dr. Jack Wolfson calls magnesium essential for heart health, helping regulate rhythm, blood sugar, and reduce inflammation. Up to 80% of people may be deficient facing issues like depression, migraines, insomnia, or muscle cramps. For women over 40, magnesium eases menopause symptoms, boosts energy, and supports bones. Choosing the correct type of magnesium matters. Real stories, Natalie's in mind, highlight its impact. After interviewing magnesium expert Natalie Girato, I became a customer. I was already a magnesium fan, having been told by two cardiologists to take magnesium for a minor heart arrhythmia. Natalie explains it best in the Magnesium, the Mineral Transforming Lives episode of New Normal Big Life, number four in Alternative Health on Apple Podcasts. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Fast forward after the interview, I bought the Rooted Inn bundle for sleep, tranquility, and pain relief. As a spine injury survivor with several other health challenges, I'm in constant pain. However, I don't take any pain medication. Rooted in is now one more source that nature provided to give our bodies what it needs when it needs it. You can find magnesium in natural bodies of water like lakes and rivers and in soil. But modern farming practices have stripped magnesium out of the soil and our food. That's why today, Rooted In's rest, relief, and tranquility are part of our afternoon and nightly sleep routine. My guy who did two tours kicking indoors in a rock with the Marines now has no trouble falling asleep. I no longer have to take melatonin before bedtime to fall asleep. So after I became a customer and saw how well these products work, I applied to become an affiliate. Click my affiliate link in the episode description to shop now.