I cannot give you more time. But, I can show you the doorway back to you. I can guide you through some of the common traps. And show you the steps. I can help you reclaim who you were put on this earth to be. And teach you how to start to notice the messages, beliefs, habits, programming loops and strategies that are no longer consistent with who you are at your highest and best. I can challenge you to think differently about what you have been told is true about being human. And I can hold spac...
Dec 04, 2020•11 min•Ep. 55
Physical. Emotional. Mental. Spiritual. These are the 4 centers of energy that directly influence our daily capacity to do all the things we want to do. What if I told you that you have the innate ability, not only to recover from the stress of your day to day life, but also to increase your resilience and expand your capacity for the future. This episode walks you through how your energy centers directly influence your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being and also how, with awar...
Nov 19, 2020•13 min•Ep. 54
Election day is here and the possibilities are open-ended. With big decisions being made that will affect our lives as a whole, intentional self-care and coping strategies will help us more than ever to adapt to the changing circumstances. The effect trauma can have on our lives is evident in our work, our relationships, and deep within ourselves. As overwhelming as #2020 has been, there are things you can do to support your nervous system, mitigate your trauma reaction, and restore your equilib...
Nov 03, 2020•18 min•Ep. 53
I flirted with burnout a couple of weeks ago, but I recognized it and was able to walk myself back from the ledge. In order to avoid (or recover) from burnout, we need to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms, choose to save ourselves, and invest in intentional recovery practices at least(!) until we start to feel like ourselves again. If we want to stay well, we need to integrate recovery into our daily lives. Listen here to learn more about how to recognize burnout before you become a fr...
Oct 22, 2020•15 min•Ep. 52
What do you not want to miss? We often get a huge dose of perspective when we lose someone or something we love. Or when we get a serious or possibly terminal diagnosis. When we are reminded that no moment is guaranteed. One of the elements of living in alignment with our own well-being is to be very clear on what matters most to us. This is your reminder. And your permission.
Sep 24, 2020•7 min•Ep. 51
EPISODE 50!! In this episode I go deeper into the 1st step of the 6 steps for stress recovery and burnout prevention I have been using with clients and in my own life. Without our Why as an anchor, guidepost, measuring stick and North Star, we become a hamster on a hamster wheel . . . charging forward at full speed but getting nowhere . . .until we exhaust ourselves and collapse. But when we do the work to ground ourselves and stay connected to our Why, all of the other decisions become easier, ...
Sep 11, 2020•16 min•Ep. 50
You feel overwhelmed, anxious, stressed and chronically depleted. Constant change and uncertainty is wearing you thin. You want to feel better, but you don't know how. And you certainly don't have the energy to do it alone. Guess what?! You don't have to! In this episode I outline the 6 steps I regularly use to touch base with myself and recalibrate my stress recovery in order to feel calmer, more relaxed, rested and to stay well despite all that 2020, and life in general, keeping throwing our w...
Aug 28, 2020•15 min•Ep. 49
Not too long ago my filter came off. And (this time) I couldn’t blame it on fatigue. I was in a SAFE space. And the space of that relationship made all the difference. Safe places to be seen, in all of our beauty and our mess, are critical to well-being (and any trauma-healing journey).
Aug 13, 2020•11 min•Ep. 48
In this episode I reflect on the pressure we put on ourselves (and often on others) for certain moments or experiences to be “special” or “perfect”. And the more tightly we hold on to our own construct, the more likely we are to miss out. Because life, and people, are messy. On the other hand, if we give ourselves permission to lean into what “is,” we will find gifts, and stories, in the mess.
Aug 03, 2020•12 min•Ep. 47
Watching the newness of everything through a puppy’s eyes and in contrast to the pain that is boiling over in our world right now, I am reminded that one of the ways in which we have learned to deflect and disassociate from the pain of other humans is by rationalizing all of the ways they “deserved” what happened to them. How can we start to look at the world, and each other, with new eyes full of compassion and with true empathy?
Jul 16, 2020•12 min•Ep. 46
In Episode 43 of the podcast, I began to make the case for why workplaces should be thinking about the impact of trauma on their workforce--which ultimately translates to their organization’s profits and well-being--and why I think trauma informed workplaces are (should be) the future of work. In this episode I explore the elements of a trauma informed workplace as established by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration)....
Jul 03, 2020•14 min•Ep. 44
The product of transformation is beautiful. The journey is messy and hard. In this episode I share observations about the process of transformation and tips for supporting yourself through the journey.
Jun 23, 2020•11 min•Ep. 45
I recorded this episode when we were already living with the impact of a global pandemic, but before the death of George Floyd. Before the effects of trauma--the impact of centuries of both overt and covert violence against people of color in this country--rose to a boiling point. More than ever before perhaps, employers and leaders are challenged to know what to do, how to respond, and how to care for their employees--the people who bring their very human lives and human scars to the workplace ...
Jun 11, 2020•12 min•Ep. 43
We have not been taught to recognize the impact of trauma on our individual and collective well-being. This episode explores how trauma can translate into individual behaviors. You might be surprised what you learn.
Jun 08, 2020•11 min•Ep. 42
What your people need right now, and by “people” I mean your teams, organizations, families and friends, is for you to show up as the highest and best version of yourself; someone who is grounded, non-reactive, transparent, consistent, and kind. In this episode I share tips for leading through crisis--through the lens of a few things to watch out for--so that can show up well for your people in the face of uncertainty and extraordinary stress.
May 07, 2020•18 min•Ep. 41
Some of us are not on the front lines of the COVID19 battle right now, but as therapist Aundi Kolber writes in her book Try Softer “many of us, at some point or another, have had experiences that felt so overwhelming or threatening to our nervous systems that our brains encoded that information on a spectrum from disturbing to outright traumatic.” Trauma is recoverable with intention, resources and support. In this episode I share some of my experience living with and learning to thrive with PTS...
Apr 23, 2020•17 min•Ep. 40
You can't sleep. Maybe your chest is pounding. Or you were on the phone with your boss or client and couldn't find the right words. In the midst of a global pandemic, our fight or flight response is on overdrive, and that response, intended to help us escape a sabre toothed tiger, shunts our performance to our breathing function and our critical organs. This same fight or flight response means our executive functions (context, decision-making, perspective, impulse control) are short-circuited. L...
Apr 10, 2020•19 min•Ep. 39
Setting and holding clear boundaries allows us to support our well-being and the well-being of those around us. When I reflect on my own crash and burn, I can see clearly that my lack of boundaries led me to push myself to my ultimate limits, until my only option, as I understood it, was to throw grenades into certain areas of my life and relationships. I couldn’t survive that way anymore. And I was not the only casualty. This episode explores lessons I have learned (and continue to learn) about...
Mar 31, 2020•13 min•Ep. 37
The world has changed dramatically. Everything is uncertain. We have choices. Our choices will influence the outcome, not only of this global pandemic but of the world we will live in in the future.
Mar 24, 2020•11 min•Ep. 38
Individuals, teams and organizations who operate within clear boundaries are more likely to thrive. Maybe you know how to use boundaries at work, but need a refresher. Maybe you never considered boundaries at work as an option for you or your team. In any case, this podcast explores 5 tips for implementing boundaries at work. Give one of these tips a try and let me know how it goes!
Feb 27, 2020•16 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Sometimes we get exactly what we asked for. And sometimes we have to live through things we didn't know how to live through to get to the other side. From the time I was no longer able to work in 2015, I have known I was exorcising some of my demons and fears around money even as I lived through the most harrowing financial journey of my life. This episode reflects back on that journey, and what I know now that I didn't know then. Brene Brown says that if we do not own our story, it will own us....
Feb 13, 2020•18 min•Season 1Ep. 35
We may be conditioned to believe that life is an upward trajectory. And that if it isn’t, we are doing it wrong. But that construct just isn’t true. Often life feels like two steps forward and one step back. Throughout our lives, in the face of setbacks and detours and full stops, we have the opportunity to choose to begin again. But that isn't the same thing as starting over. We may not be where we thought we would be, or where we used to be, but there is a really good chance that there is a ne...
Jan 31, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Toward the end of 2018, more than half of all employees were going to leave vacation time on the table at the end of the year. In fact only 23% of employees were using up all of their vacation time. And 10% weren’t using any time at all. We aren’t taking our vacations for a variety of reasons . . . But research shows that taking time away from the stresses of work and daily life can improve our health, motivation, relationships, job performance, and perspective and give us the break we need to r...
Jan 16, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 33
It is easy to get caught up in all of the goals, resolutions, "to dos" and the big aspirations a new year can bring. I know I have. But what about all of the things we need to hold space for in our lives? The things that represent our values and priorities. The things that help us show up as our best self? The things that help us stay well so that we actually have the capacity to "perform" and to make our dreams a reality? What will you hold space for in 2020?
Jan 02, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Do you struggle to find peace in stillness? There was a time when I was completely unable to be still without becoming overwhelmed with anxiety. I missed being present in my life and with my little people. And living on anxiety and adrenaline for years cost me my health. Ironically perhaps, or as wake-up calls tend to do, my journey through severe mental illness taught me the beauty of stillness. In this episode I encourage you to practice stillness too.
Dec 15, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Self-care seems to have become synonymous with acts of indulgence. But the truth is, that self-care doesn't have to cost a thing. A quick recap: chronic stress leads to chronic inflammation which leads to chronic disease. If we do not learn to mitigate stress in our lives through recovery activities, then we are not giving our bodies the chance to recover from the onslaught of stressors we face every day. SO, consider self-care a lifeline of sorts. This episode explores 4 acts of self-care that ...
Dec 05, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Are we there yet? Am I there yet??? This healing and becoming more human business is hard work. And sometimes, we wonder if we can't just be DONE already! Like, really. Why can't life be easier?!?! This episode explores dynamic of healing as I have come to understand it, and teases a healing journey I am about to embark on by choice. Because I can. And because my path to becoming more fully myself, more fully human, and more integrated with my body and soul is not yet done....
Nov 14, 2019•11 min•Season 1Ep. 29
A significant part of my healing journey has been learning to listen to my body, to heed its signals, and to take more gentle care of my body in response to its messages. For those of us who are used to demanding that our bodies show up the way we want them to, having our bodies start to struggle to meet those demands can be fearful and unnerving. We fear that we are broken. That we are going to feel bad forever, and that all is lost. I am learning to reframe this fear for myself, and I hope thi...
Nov 02, 2019•10 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Self-compassion is a critical component of self-care and resilience. And yet, many of us struggle to speak kindly to ourselves in the face of our perceived mistakes and shortcomings. In this episode, I explore how we can intercede on our own behalf to build our resilience through self-compassion, and to extend grace to ourselves through the seasons of our lives.
Oct 17, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Instead of living our lives on autopilot (or entrenched in long-held beliefs, habits and behaviors that no longer serve us), we can choose a different path. On a short vacation with my family, I had the opportunity to practice choosing to be present instead of defaulting to "productivity" or disappearing into my Instagram feed. My reflections on the experience are in this episode.
Oct 03, 2019•9 min•Season 1Ep. 26
