106 | Matilda, Magical Thinking and Me

“Once upon a time,” Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book Matilda started, “there was a little girl who was trapped.”

I wasn’t a child when Matilda came out. But a few years later, I had children, and when my children watched the movie version on VHS, I sat with them. I didn’t watch with them. Those opening lines caught me—I couldn’t watch. But when I recently rewatched Matilda on Netflix—just me, Netflix, and Matilda—I heard and saw her in a new way for the very first time.

In this episode, I discuss what I learned from recently watching Matilda. I describe what “magical thinking” is and its function as a response to trauma. I also explore the film’s themes about the impacts of trauma.

“Magical thinking is a coping mechanism often associated with trauma; it’s not bad nor good, but a response. For me, and in my assertion for Matilda, magical thinking was there to take control—to be in power.” - Karen Goldfinger Baker

Where High Achievers Get Through Shit - TOGETHER

 Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Trauma Hiders Club ‘The Podcast’ with Karen Goldfinger Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | Amazon Music