What to Watch When You're Healing: The Ultimate Streaming List for Women on a Healing Journey (Netflix, Hulu & YouTube)

by Poppy | The Sound Body Blog

Ok so real talk — there are days when the last thing you have energy for is another journaling prompt or another self-help audiobook playing in the background while you lay horizontal and stare at the ceiling. Sometimes you just need to watch something. Something that sees you. Something that makes you feel less alone in the whole messy, beautiful, ugly, complicated process of healing.

I've been on this path for a long time. Like, the kind of healing that doesn't happen in a 30-day program or after one good therapy session. I'm talking about the layered stuff — chronic illness (hi, endometriosis and MCAS, my unwanted life roommates), rebuilding my identity as a solo mama and cycle breaker, unraveling the relationship patterns I didn't even know I had until they were causing me damage, and slowly learning that my body wasn't my enemy even when it felt like it was trying to destroy me from the inside out.

During the flare days, the grief seasons, the "I don't even know who I am outside of survival mode" chapters? I watched things. A lot of things. And some of them genuinely moved something in me.

So I made you a list. A real one, not just whatever algorithm served me up. Split by platform so you know exactly where to find it, and broken into categories so you can pick based on where you actually are today — because healing isn't linear and some days you need a cry and some days you need to watch a woman burn everything down and rebuild.

Let's go.

🎬 NETFLIX

For the Woman Healing from Relationship Trauma & Emotional Abuse

Maid (2021) — Limited Series

If you've ever been in a relationship that slowly made you question your reality, your worth, and your right to leave — this one is for you. Margaret Qualley is absolutely devastatingly good as Alex, a young mom who escapes an emotionally abusive relationship with almost nothing. What makes this show different from the usual "abuse survivor" narrative is how it shows the system failing her at every turn, and how invisible emotional abuse is to the people around her. I watched this during a time when I was doing my own excavation work around generational patterns and co-dependent survival strategies, and it cracked something open in me. Trigger warning for coercive control, poverty, and moments of real despair — but there's an undercurrent of resilience that runs through every episode.

Tell Me Lies (2022) — Series (also on Hulu, see below)

This one is on Hulu, but it's so culturally significant for women untangling trauma bonds that I'm mentioning it in both sections. If you have ever been completely addicted to someone who was not good for you and you couldn't figure out why you couldn't leave — watch this show. It is uncomortable in the best way.

Unorthodox (2020) — Limited Series

A young Hasidic woman in Brooklyn flees an arranged marriage and arrives in Berlin with nothing but herself. This is quiet and devastating and hopeful all at once. For women who are shedding a version of themselves that was never really theirs — a religious identity, a family role, a marriage, a community — this one lands different. She is building herself from absolute scratch. It's beautifully shot and the performance is extraordinary.

Pieces of a Woman (2020) — Film

This is not an easy watch. Let me be clear about that upfront. It follows a woman processing grief after a traumatic birth experience, and the way it captures how trauma fragments a person's relationships, sense of self, and even their body — it's uncomfortably accurate. The film depicts how tragedy affects different people differently, showing that there's no "right" way to grieve and healing doesn't follow a timeline. For anyone healing from medical trauma, pregnancy loss, or the kind of grief that people around you don't quite understand — this film sees you.

Eat, Pray, Love (2010) — Film

(back on Netflix as of May 2026!) Yes, I know. It's a classic. And yes, it came back to Netflix this spring so it counts. Look, you can critique its privilege and I will not argue with you — but there's a reason women keep returning to this film. Beyond its picturesque settings, there's a deeper narrative about vulnerability and the courage it takes to step away from what is familiar in pursuit of something greater. Sometimes you just need to watch someone blow up their safe little life and go find themselves. Permission granted.

Headspace Guide to Meditation (2021) — Docuseries

Ok this one is a little different but hear me out. When your nervous system is absolutely fried — and if you have endo, MCAS, or any chronic illness you know exactly what I mean — sometimes you can't even sit with a hard show. This animated docuseries on Netflix walks you through meditation techniques in a genuinely gentle, accessible way. It's become a go-to recommendation in my community for flare days when you need something that nourishes you without demanding anything from you.

Afflicted (2018) — Docuseries

For my chronic illness warriors specifically. This docuseries follows the lives of several people with mysterious chronic health disorders as they bounce from one treatment to the next in their search for healing. Fair warning: it drew criticism from its subjects for being edited in a way that made their disorders look psychosomatic (the biggest stigma we chronically ill women fight against constantly), so go in with that awareness. But the subjects are open and vulnerable and if you've ever felt gaslit by the medical system — and statistically, if you're a woman with chronic illness, you have — you will recognize yourself in this.

For the Woman Craving Strength & Survival Stories

Queen's Gambit (2020) — Limited Series

Beth Harmon is a woman rising in a world built against her, managing addiction, grief, and a complicated relationship with her own genius. It's not marketed as a "healing" story, but it absolutely is one. She keeps going. She keeps choosing herself. The whole series is a masterclass in what it looks like to be wildly imperfect and still become something extraordinary.

My Unorthodox Life (2021–2022) — Reality Series

Julia Haart left an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and rebuilt her entire identity and life from the ground up. It's messy and real and her kids are complicated and she is too. But watching someone reconstruct a self after leaving a rigid, all-consuming identity behind? Deeply resonant for anyone healing from high-control environments — whether that's religion, a relationship, a family system, or a belief about who you're supposed to be.

🟢 HULU

For the Woman Healing from Toxic Love & Trauma Bonds

Tell Me Lies (2022–present) — Series

OK I need to talk about this show. Tell Me Lies follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy and Stephen meet at college, they are at that formative age when seemingly mundane choices lead the way to irrevocable consequences. What this show does brilliantly is show you how a trauma bond forms — slowly, incrementally, in ways that feel like love but are really about control and chemistry and unmet childhood wounds. It is uncomfortable because it is true. Season 3 premiered in early 2026, so there's a lot to binge. Trigger warning: manipulation, gaslighting, obsession — but also? The most validating TV I've seen for anyone who's ever wondered "why couldn't I just leave?"

Alice, Darling (2022) — Film

Anna Kendrick plays a woman in a psychologically abusive relationship, and this film shows exactly how emotional and mental abuse operates — the way it isolates you, the way it changes how you think, the way you barely notice it happening until you're completely hollowed out. This film shows some of the impacts and dynamics of emotional and mental abuse in ways that are hard to understand unless you've witnessed it or experienced it, and sometimes witnencing it isn't even enough. Quiet, precise, and important.

Night Bitch (2024) — Film

For the mothers. The exhausted, depleted, identity-lost mothers who gave everything and are slowly losing themselves. This one is wild and surreal and darkly funny and deeply, deeply cathartic for anyone who has lost themselves in caregiving. It is not a "healing" film exactly — it's more like a scream into the void that finally gets heard. Sometimes that's the medicine.

Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge (2024) — Documentary

This documentary chronicles the life and career of Diane Von Furstenberg, showcasing her journey and her empowering message of independence and strength for women. It's an hour and a half of watching a woman who has been knocked down many times decide, over and over, that she belongs at the table. Great for a day when you need to be reminded what is possible.

The Deep End (2022) — Docuseries (on Hulu via Freeform)

This one I include with intention and a caveat. The docu-series covers spiritual influencer Teal Swan's upbringing, her history of chronic physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, her rise to fame, and covers allegations of her being a cult leader. It's a nuanced look at how someone who has been through genuine trauma can also become someone who causes harm. For women who have been in high-control spiritual communities or have complicated feelings about "wellness" spaces — it's thought provoking. Just go in with your critical thinking hat firmly on.

For the Woman Healing from Her Own Story

Jacinta (2021) — Documentary

Streaming on Hulu, Jacinta holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. It follows a mother and daughter navigating addiction and incarceration together. It's heartbreaking and humane and doesn't flinch from showing the cycles that get passed down — generational patterns, trauma, the desperate love that exists even inside a really broken situation. For cycle breakers and anyone doing intergenerational healing work, this one matters.

Aftershock (2022) — Documentary

Also streaming on Hulu with a 100% critics score, this documentary focuses on Black maternal mortality in America and the activism that emerged from two devastating losses. If you've experienced medical trauma, dismissal by the healthcare system, or are part of communities that have historically been failed by medicine — this is a powerful, enraging, ultimately galvanizing watch.

📺 YOUTUBE

YouTube doesn't get nearly enough credit as a healing resource, but honestly? Some of the most transformative content I've consumed has lived there. And if you're like me — managing chronic illness on a budget while also trying to grow a business and raise a human — free and accessible matters.

Channels Worth Your Time

Dr. Nicole LePera (The Holistic Psychologist)

She basically built the "self-healer" movement and her YouTube is full of practical, psychologically grounded content on childhood trauma, nervous system regulation, and reparenting yourself. Her videos on schema, emotional flashbacks, and the inner child work are genuinely good. Not fluffy, not preachy — just clear and useful.

Patrick Teahan LICSW

If you grew up in a dysfunctional family system and are doing the work of untangling that — Patrick's channel is invaluable. He focuses specifically on adult children of alcoholics and dysfunctional families. His videos on "normies vs. trauma-formatted" behavior absolutely rewired how I saw some of my own patterns.

Eckhart Tolle

For the moments when you need to get out of your head and back into your body, Tolle's YouTube channel has hours of content on presence, stillness, and the ego. Not everyone's thing, but if you're in a spiritually curious season and just need someone to talk you down off the mental hamster wheel — he's good for that.

Crappy Childhood Fairy

Her real name is Anna Runkle, and her channel is specifically for adults healing from CPTSD. She is not a therapist — she's a survivor — and her content is practical and specific and non-shaming. Great for understanding why you react the way you do in relationships, and what you can actually do about it.

The Chronic Illness Diaries / Chronic Illness YouTube Community

Search this space. There are dozens of creators — many of them women — documenting their lives with endo, MCAS, POTS, Lyme, lupus, and more. Some of my most healing moments have been watching someone else name exactly what I've been experiencing. That kind of witness is medicine. Specific channels worth searching: chronicallyjaquie, chronically jaquie, Alysa Cummings (MCAS), The Unchargeables.

A note on watching while healing

You know your nervous system better than I do. Some of these shows are going to hit different depending on where you are in your healing arc. The same show that felt impossible two years ago might be the exact thing you need now. And some of them might need to go on the "not yet" list.

Trust that. Your body knows.

If you want more resources for navigating chronic illness, nervous system recovery, or the kind of healing that goes deeper than a detox smoothie — you're in the right place. Poke around the blog, sign up for the list, and know that you are so not alone in this.

You're doing the hard thing. That matters.

— Poppy 🌺