LIGHTING THE SHADOWS

JoAnna is an author, poet, mind-body coach, and a dear friend of mine. JoAnna shares her story with what she terms as “living someone else's dream,” leading to an unfulfilled life, but she shares how she finds her way to self-acceptance and fulfillment through connecting to and understanding God's love. JoAnna and I discuss a shared core belief in this episode: that complete healing comes from the connection to love. It was wonderful to learn more about JoAnna's life and several incredible lessons she has learned along the way.

Sam Becker is a Confidence and Mindset Coach for entrepreneurs in need of positive guidance and perspective in their business and their personal lives. Sam talks openly about his story with crippling anxiety, how he utilized alcohol to try and cope with the anxiety, and how his battle with anxiety seemed to worsen over time until his breaking-point when he decided to truly bring things into the light and determine what he needed to do to heal from the anxiety he was experiencing. Sam shares various tools that have helped him manage his anxiety and live the life he's desired to live. I loved hearing Sam's perspective and really appreciated his openness and willingness to share his story with us on the show.

This episode is all about delving into what it means to be "highly sensitive," a quality that an estimated 20% of the population possess. Linda Binns, an accomplished energy coach, describes her life as a highly sensitive person and certain challenges that highly sensitive people commonly share. She describes what she has learned through her journey of self-awareness and self-acceptance and how being a highly sensitive person can truly become a gift. This episode is an excellent one to listen to for anyone who relates to being a highly sensitive person, or for someone who has a relationship with a highly sensitive person and hopes to better understand them.

Jocelyn Bellows, a life coach, author, and podcast and TV show host, talks about her journey towards self-discovery following her divorce. Jocelyn talks about how she found herself unhappy and lost in life, knowing that she needed to make a change. She talks about how she filed for divorce, then delved into inner work and changing her thoughts and perspectives about herself and her life. Jocelyn describes how she finds purpose in life; she shares tools and direction that are applicable to all people wanting to discover and love themselves more deeply. We also discuss several helpful relationship and communication tips.

Is it possible to decide your own destiny? Guest Kyle Spyrides talks about how he learned to do so after experiencing child and adolescent abuse and trauma, intense grief, and other unique challenges. Kyle talks about how he literally learned how to heal his heart when he nearly lost his life to a virus on his heart. Kyle is now working on writing a self-help memoir titled “Decide Your Destiny”. He's passionate about helping others find hope and perseverance through challenges and to take back control of their lives after suffering through any kind of challenge, mental or physical. Kyle's kindness, compassion, wisdom, and determination to make a positive difference in the world really come across in this episode. I'm so grateful to him for taking the time to share his incredible and inspiring story with us!

In this episode, guest Hannah Bennett speaks openly about her personal experience with debilitating ADHD. Hannah and I both talk about our experiences around battling suicidal thoughts and our thoughts on suicide after struggling with suicidal ideation. This episode is very heavy and it contains many personal thoughts and opinions that should not be taken as professional advice. However, Hannah hopes that by sharing her story with honesty and openness, she can help destigmatize mental illness and encourage others to seek resources and help as early as possible. I'm so grateful for Hannah and her courage and willingness to share such a vulnerable part of her life story with listeners. She is a true warrior and I'm grateful to know her and share her words with you!

Carlyn Neek talks all about ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She does a fantastic job explaining what ACT is and how to effectively apply it. She explains the importance of tuning in to what is individually valued most and making conscious actions towards those values. She shares how to understand what those values are and become more aware of them.

In this episode, I explore my personal observations and opinions around the topic of mental health diagnoses, and why I believe caution should be applied when seeking after a mental health diagnosis. I share my personal experience with watching my sister receive her diagnoses and feeling the need to seek after a diagnosis myself in the midst of depression and anxiety. As always, this episode is not meant to replace any professional help, but I hope to provide insight and encourage people to question if seeking out a diagnosis is helpful in their individual circumstances.

Annette describes the holistic approach she utilizes with her clients as a Feminine Liberation Coach. She talks about the practice of embodiment and how allowing the body to feel and express emotions that have been suppressed helps people to heal from trauma, understand and love themselves more deeply, and connect with their inner child. 

Guest Sandy Woznicki is a stress and anxiety coach who works primarily with career-driven women and working moms that want to master their stress and anxiety. In this episode, Sandy shares her personal story of suffering from years of high anxiety and how her experience led her to the work she does today. Sandy talks about so many helpful tools to utilize when facing stress and anxiety in life, including the importance of focusing on breathing; how our emotions are physical manifestations of our thoughts; how to create the habit of positive self-talk; what to do if panic attacks show up; and so much more! I loved this conversation and I know it's so relatable right now during such a stressful time for the world. I hope it can reach others who are suffering from stress and anxiety as well.

In this episode, guest Kristy Martin beautifully shares her experience with going from a full-time ER nurse to a stay-at-home mom of 5 boys and how she lost her sense of self in the midst of change. She talks about how alcohol became her crutch and how she was able to overcome her addiction to alcohol and focus on self-care to stay sober and grow through her shadows. I have loved getting to know Kristy and I'm so grateful for her willingness to share her incredible story of struggle, growth, and hope.

Guest Cameron Alldredge, who is on the path to earning a phD in Clinical Psychology, shares what he has learned from his studies about shame. Cameron shares what shame might look and feel like for people and how to combat shame and replace it with healthy guilt. Cameron talks about the importance of emotional awareness and how people can gain emotional intelligence. He also shares some excellent parenting advice. I learned so much for Cameron through this conversation and I'm so excited to share it with you!

In this episode, I talk about the importance of feeling and accepting all the emotions that come in life: the good and the hard, the easy-to-feel and the consuming and confusing. I share a poem I wrote to my mom about how I have learned from her gifts and talents as well as her imperfections and challenges. I share a song I wrote for my mom in 2015 about her own miscarriage and losing my sister. I talk about how faith in the big picture has helped me face my challenges and accepting ALL of my emotions has helped me battle perfectionism. 

This past Thursday, my family unfortunately experienced the loss of our developing baby. I was nearly 10 weeks pregnant and we were all hopeful and excited to welcome another baby into the family. After debating on whether or not I wanted to share this news only with family or publicly, I thought about how many women experience miscarriage and how it is so often not talked about. I thought about how many parents might blame themselves for their losses, just like I found myself doing. I decided to conduct some research on the topic of miscarriage: what causes miscarriage and the feelings people feel around miscarriage. What I learned has brought me much peace and I wanted to share that information with others. I end this episode with a letter that I wrote to "My Lost Little Love." I hope that this episode can reach parents who have experienced miscarriage or infertility to help them know they are not alone, and to encourage them to feel all the emotions that come with the heartbreak of miscarriage. *Disclaimer: My research is not all-conclusive. I would encourage those wanting to know more on the subject to conduct their own research, specifically researching peer-reviewed/scholarly articles and research papers.

Keith Greer explores the concept of trust and how trust impacts relationships and mental health. He differentiates between therapy and coaching; explains and expands upon how quickly we determine a threat and what that does to the human brain; talks about why people in relationships might find it difficult to build trust and connection; explains the need for in-person conversation and connection; and much more. I was fascinated by Keith's knowledge and wisdom around trust and relationships and I found myself inspired, uplifted, and well informed after listening to Keith during this episode. I know his words are well worth the listen, and I hope you feel inspired through this episode as well! Happy listening!

Ashley talks about her work as a Marriage and Family Therapist, specializing in intimacy. She talks about her journey to becoming an MFT with a focus in sexuality and how she was able to understand that sexuality and spirituality are meant to be connected, not separate. She lists principles of healthy intimacy, explores the connection between a healthy sex life and mental health, and shares tools to help create a stronger intimate connection with your partner.

As we all know, healthy relationships can truly benefit mental and emotional health. But when relationships become close, conflict is bound to arise. What is a healthy way to approach conversations that can often be heated and emotional with conflicting points of view? In this episode, I share one of my favorite tips I received through therapy called "Intentional Dialogue." I talk about each of the four steps and then provide a real-life example of Intentional Dialogue in action with special guest (who is extra special because he is also my husband), Trevor Laursen. Working on implementing Intentional Dialogue has been life-changing for me, and I hope you find it helpful as well! As always, thank you so much for tuning in to Lighting the Shadows!

What is EMDR therapy and how is it utilized? How can someone know if they would benefit from EMDR therapy, and how can a person find an invested and certified EMDR therapist? As an LCSW specializing in EMDR therapy, Matt Denhalter answers these questions and more on this episode.

With Thanksgiving celebrations occurring this week, I wanted to include a special episode on gratitude. I talk about what gratitude mean to me personally and how has striving for an "attitude of gratitude" helped me gain a different perspective around my life and my challenges. In this episode, I also share a poem I wrote, a song written and sung by my sweet angel sister, and a song that I wrote and sung. I hope this episode helps to offer a different perspective of gratitude and inspire hope, grace, and perseverance. Happy Holidays!

In this episode, Lauren Fratto describes her experience with anorexia and body dysmorphia while training to become a professional ballerina. Lauren talks about contributing factors to her negative view of her body, how her view of herself has evolved over time and through motherhood, and tools that have helped her gain a more positive view of her body.

In this episode, I share my experience with body image and a very personal experience I had that helped change my view of my body shortly after my sister passed away. I hope that these experiences help inspire hopeful change towards body acceptance, compassion, and appreciation of life. Life brings rain, and rain can bring us down sometimes, but rain is essential for growth in the gift of life. May we learn to accept rain and perceive it for the life-giving source it is. May we choose to dance in the rain.

In this episode, Kristy discusses the efficacy of antidepressants, the stigma of antidepressants, the known risks of taking SSRIs while pregnant, among other important topics surrounding antidepressants.  I was impressed with how well Kristy prepared for this interview.  I learned so much from her and only wished I had this conversation earlier when I was trying to decide whether or not I should start an antidepressant.  

Depression is a word we commonly hear in today's society, but do we have enough in-depth conversations about what depression looks and feels like?  Although depression is a different experience for each person who has faced its' confusing and often consuming battles, there are some similarities.  In this episode, I tackle the question "What is depression?" in attempt to spread awareness, help those who are suffering know that they are not alone, and encourage sufferers to take action towards improvement and change.  Please believe me, depression is a liar.    

What is this podcast all about?  What is my story as your host, and what does lighting the shadows mean to me?

Lighting The Shadows is a podcast all about mental health. I hope to shed light on the dark shadows of mental battles and bring hope to those who are struggling.