Shadowing Practice: Trust issues are driving us crazy - Learn English Speaking with Video
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51 sentences
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Today, I want to talk about trust issues, why they make you so tired,
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and also a few things that have helped me let go a little.
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First of all, living with trust issues is honestly exhausting.
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From the outside, it doesn't look like much.
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You seem a bit quiet, a bit careful, but on the inside,
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the noise in your head never really stops every word every look
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and even every pause in a conversation you think about it again
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and again and
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when someone is nice to you instead of just enjoying it you start wondering what they really want from you
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so now i think the hardest part is that it doesn't come from nowhere.
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Most people with trust issues weren't born this way.
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At some point, someone they trusted hurt them, maybe more than once.
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As a result, their brain learned a lesson.
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Don't get too comfortable or you'll get hurt again.
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So in a way, all
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that overthinking it just your mind trying to protect you the thing is it doesn't know
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when to stop and that's where the real problem starts
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when your guard is always up it keeps the good people out to you know for example
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when someone is kind and you immediately think they're hiding something you never really get to enjoy
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that kindness you know in the end you keep everyone at the same distance both the people who hurt you
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and the people who never would personally i think that's why it feels
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so suffocating sure you're safe but at the same time you're kind of alone in there
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i'm being honest so what has actually helped to be clear i am definitely not fully healed yet
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but a few small things have really made a difference for me the first one is telling facts apart from stories.
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Let's say a friend replies late.
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The fact is simple.
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She replied late.
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Everything else, like she's mad, she's bored of me, she's hiding something.
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It's just a story my brain made up in about two seconds, you know?
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Once I notice that, the panic gets a little smaller
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and second i try to ask instead of guessing something as simple as hey are we good
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of course it feels outward especially the first few times however one clear answer is
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so much easier to carry than a hundred what ifs you know
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and third i let trust grow slowly one small step at a time after all
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you don't have to give someone your whole heart on day one
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you know instead let them show up in small ways maybe
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they keep a little promise maybe they remember something you said weeks ago over time those moments add up
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and your brain slowly learns that not everyone is out to hurt you
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that being said having your guard up isn't always a bad thing
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in fact boundaries are healthy
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and being careful about who you let in is quite smart to me
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it's really about balance you still protect yourself
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but you also stop pushing away the people who never did anything wrong you know on top of
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that if it ever feels like too much to handle on your own talking to someone you trust
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or even a professional can really help and there's nothing weak about
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that you know so yeah living with trust issues is exhausting believe me i know
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that feeling really well but
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if you saw yourself in this video i hope you hear this part the way you feel makes sense
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and little by little with the right people it's okay to let
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that guard down even if it's just for a moment
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so i hope you like this video hope to see you next week goodbye
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Trust issues are driving us crazy”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: trust, hurt, issues, guard, brain. This video has 51 sentences and 633 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:36. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| nowhere adverb | /ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/ | In no place. |
| goodbye | /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ | Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing. |
| panic noun | /ˈpænɪk/ | Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare. |
| boundary noun | /ˈbaʊndɹi/ | The dividing line or location between two areas. |
| heal verb | /ˈhiːl/ | To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure. |
| kindness noun | /ˈkaɪnd.nəs/ | The state of being kind. |
| pause noun | /pɔːz/ | A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation. |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| outward adjective | /ˈaʊt.wɚd/ | Outer; located towards the outside. |
| overthink verb | To think or analyze too much. | |
| suffocate verb | /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ | To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| add up verb | To take the sum of; to total. |
| push away verb | To apply a force to (an entity) such that it moves to a more distant position. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have helped · has actually helped · have really made |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who hurt · people who never |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | weren't born · being said |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as doesn't, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like exhaust, lesson, nowhere.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.