E 377: Silence Was My First Language: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma & Addiction with Rich Dunning

Adult Child of Dysfunction · Oct 2, 2026 · 38m · transcript

What happens when silence becomes your first survival skill?

Rich Dunning spent much of his childhood learning that staying quiet could keep him safe. Growing up surrounded by violence, poverty, instability, food insecurity and addiction, Rich learned how to survive long before he ever had the chance to simply be a child.

At just seven years old, alcohol entered his life. By 16, Rich was homeless, secretly sleeping in an abandoned train station while continuing to attend school, play baseball and maintain the appearance that everything was okay.

But surviving childhood didn't mean those…