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Is the Act of Oblation suited to allFirst let us distinguish the Act of Oblation in its perfect form as achieved by St. Thérèse. We say perfect because her offering clearly bore the mark of a vow of perpetual oblation. We are confronted with a new form of pledge to perfect Love, a pledge that will never be withdrawn and that undertakes especially to console the Heart of God.As opposed to this perfect and entire oblation we can imagine an offering which does not assume the maximum intensity and constancy of love. The soul will maintain such an offering according to its generosity and according to the grace of God which it may at first even disregard, later bravely correcting itself. Understood in this way, the Act of Oblation may be permitted to may souls and even to every soul, including the habitually sinful, from the moment that it is of goodwill. Naturally, it is taken for granted that such a soul is delicate enough to wish to console and compensate the Heart of God. This intention however is secondary, the essential thing being to desire to love and please God. St. Thérèse places these terms on the same level as “to console the Heart of Our Lord.” Therefore even the weak and imperfect will find a great means of spiritual progress in the Act of Oblation and in the relationship which it establishes between the soul should not be discouraged by their weakness, so let them listen to their holy Patroness: “My very weakness makes me dare to offer myself, O Jesus, as victim to Thy love.” And again, “The more weak and wretched we are, the better material do we make for His consuming and transfiguring fire. The simple desire to be a victim suffices, but we must consent to remain always poor and helpless, and here lies the difficulty. . . Let us love our littleness, let us be content to have no joy; then we shall be truly poor in spirit, and Jesus will come to seek us, however far off we may be. Then He will transform us into flames of love.”https://fsspx.asia/en/news/st-thereses-act-oblation-29945

Journalist Lizzie O'Leary spent decades asking sharp questions for a living. Then the words started disappearing. Brain fog. Surprising rage. A head full of buzzing bees.Lizzie, who hosts Slate's What Next: TBD podcast, was diagnosed with ADHD at 50 after perimenopause made her ADHD symptoms too powerful to push aside. Lizzie talks about emotional regulation challenges that hurt her career, sensory sensitivity she'd written off as quirks, and what she wishes she'd known when she was younger.For more on this topicListen: How menopause and hormones impact ADHD symptoms in womenRead: ADHD and emotions: What you need to knowWatch: Psychotherapist explains ADHD mood swings and emotional regulationFor a transcript and more resources, visit ADHD Aha! on Understood.org. You can also email us at adhdaha@understood.org. Understood is a nonprofit where millions of people who are navigating neurodivergence find clear guidance, practical tools, and people who get it. To help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/podcast-donate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Crying After Stroke: What Bobby Chaggar’s Recovery Taught Him About Grief and Strength The night his stroke happened, Ramandeep “Bobby” Chaggar didn’t feel what he expected to feel. No pins and needles. No dramatic collapse. Just a left arm that wouldn’t answer him anymore.  He limped to the kitchen anyway, poured a glass of water, and brought one back for his wife because that’s what you do, even when your body has just stopped taking instructions from half of itself. It wasn’t until the ambulance service ran him through the BFAST test over the phone that the word “stroke” entered the room. A right ischaemic pontine stroke, in December 2023. He was, by his own account, in the best health of his life at the time: no blood pressure issues, no diabetes, cycling a hundred kilometres most weekends. Growing Up Believing a Stroke Meant You Were Gone Bobby grew up in an era and a family where a stroke wasn’t something you researched; it was something you heard about secondhand. “That particular cousin’s father’s grandfather had a stroke, and he’s gone,” is how the news used to travel. Nobody around him distinguished a stroke in the brain from a stroke in the heart. There was no internet to check, only the flat, final verdict that passed between relatives: he’s done for.  It’s a belief he carried into his own stroke, even as his medical training Bobby spent years as a veterinary surgeon in India before qualifying in Australia told him something else was happening. That veterinary background is exactly why he recognised what was going on in his own body faster than most people would. It didn’t make the belief disappear. It just meant he was fighting it from the inside while everyone around him was still catching up. Why His Arm Seemed to Move Then Stopped In those first disorienting hours, Bobby was convinced his arm had started moving again. He filmed it and sent the video to his sister as proof, he thought, that he was already turning a corner. By morning, the movement was gone. “It was like a bad dream,” he says. “I was like, what was that?”  What he was seeing wasn’t recovery. Doctors later explained that in the earliest hours after a stroke, the body can still fire off remnant spinal reflexes old movement patterns held in the spinal cord that can briefly activate on their own, independent of the brain damage that’s actually occurred. It’s a strange, almost cruel mechanism: the body offering a flicker of hope before the real work of recovery has even started. The Physio Who Promised Him He’d Walk Again Bobby spent 45 days in rehabilitation at Parkville, six months in a wheelchair overall, and credits one moment above almost everything else: his first physiotherapist he calls her Hannah sitting on the floor, moving his foot, and telling him he would walk again. It mattered enough that his book was originally going to be titled Walking with Hannah, before privacy considerations changed the plan. His son, who narrates the audiobook, still opens the acknowledgements by thanking her directly. Learning to Cry Again This is the part of Bobby’s story that speaks most directly to what so many stroke survivors go through and rarely say out loud. In his culture, and in his family, showing emotion, especially for the men expected to be providers and caretakers, wasn’t really an option. When his father died in 1997, he was told to be strong for his mother and sister. When his mother died in 2013, he was told the same thing again. “I’ve been told that stroke is a part of grief, and you should not suppress your feelings.” It took his brother-in-law showing up every day to help him with basic care showering, dressing, the things that felt hardest to accept before something shifted. His own psychologist eventually gave him the instruction that reframed everything: put on your own life jacket first, before you try to save anyone else. It’s advice Bobby now extends to every caregiver he talks to: the person supporting a stroke survivor needs their own support too, or they burn out trying to hold everything together. He isn’t alone in this. Bill has spoken openly on the podcast about his own experience with unexpected, involuntary crying after a neurological injury, and how much energy goes into reassuring the people around you that the tears don’t mean something is wrong. For Bobby, permission to cry didn’t erase the culture he was raised in. It just meant he stopped fighting it. A New Normal, On His Own Terms Bobby’s recovery is full of small, deliberate acts of reclaiming identity. He got his first tattoo not long after his stroke, partly, he says, because people notice ink before they notice a limp. He’s spent years slowly making peace with not tying a turban the way he used to, calling himself, with real affection, a recovering “turbanator.” He built his own incline-and-decline walking circuit near his home and quietly upped the difficulty every fortnight, the same instinct that now has him choosing stairs over the lift at the allied health course he’s completing. Running, he says flatly, is overrated. He can’t do it anymore, and he’s decided that’s fine. It’s the same acceptance that let him and his family move to Perth just one month after his stroke, and then move back again when isolation made the recovery harder than the geography ever was.  None of it looks like the version of recovery he grew up believing in, the one where a stroke simply meant a story was over. Bobby’s version has a motorbike with a sidecar he now rides himself, a book he wrote one voice note at a time because typing with one hand wasn’t fast enough, and a fairly simple message for anyone who asked him to just think positively: some things are still hard, and that’s allowed to be true at the same time as everything else.  If you’re navigating your own recovery or supporting someone who is, Bill’s book, The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened (recoveryafterstroke.com/book), walks through ten practical tools for rebuilding after a stroke. And if trauma has made your world feel smaller than it used to be, Bill’s newest book, Your World Doesn’t Have to Stay This Small, is written for exactly that.  If this episode helped you, you can support the show directly at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Bobby Chaggar: Learning to Cry After Stroke (Interview) He was taught a stroke meant you were gone. Bobby Chaggar’s story proves otherwise and shows why crying after a stroke is nothing to hide. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 02:00 Life Before the Stroke 09:28 Rehabilitation Journey 12:00 Crying After Stroke 14:52 Reflections on Recovery and Growth 26:33 The Promise of Recovery and Writing a Book 29:37 Cultural Identity and Personal Beliefs 37:28 Relocation and Its Challenges 41:44 The Importance of Caregiver Self-Care 44:10 Adjusting to a New Normal 51:09 The Journey of Riding Again 57:09 Bobby’s Journey of Unlearning and Grief Transcript: Introduction – Crying after stroke Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (00:00) I realized that I was having a stroke. because it was not their usual pins and needles and there was no sensation. I couldn’t move my arm. I managed to limp. I went all the way to the kitchen. I trudged a little to the kitchen. I had a glass of water, brought a glass for my wife. in the hospital, I thought my arm started moving. And the doctors, and when I got up in the morning, it was like a bad dream. No, it was not moving again. So I was like, what was that? Bill Gasiamis (00:19) Welcome back to Recovery After Stroke. I’m Bill Gasiamis and today I’m talking with Bobby Chaggar, a veterinary surgeon originally from India, now living in Melbourne, who survived a right ischemic pontain stroke in December 2023. Bobby’s story covers a lot of ground, the cultural belief he grew up with, that a stroke simply meant you were gone. The strange confusion of a spinal reflex that made his arm move before it didn’t. Physiotherapist whose promise changed the course of recovery and what it actually took for him as a man raised to be the strong one to let himself cry. Before we get into it, if trauma has made your world feel smaller than it used to be, my new book, Your World Doesn’t Have to Stay This Small, is exactly what it’s about. Search for it on Amazon or tap the link in the show notes to grab your copy today. And one more thing, this show exists because listeners decide it’s worth keeping going. There’s no other funding behind it. If an episode like this one has ever helped you or helped someone you love, even a few dollars a month on Patreon is what keeps these conversations free for the next person who finds themselves Googling this stuff alone at two in the morning, scared, looking for someone who’s actually been through it. That’s all. patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke.. A small amount every month makes a massive difference. But now let’s get into it. Here’s my conversation with Bobby. Bill Gasiamis (01:56) Bobby Chaggar. Welcome to the podcast. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (01:58) Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Bill. Life Before the Stroke Bill Gasiamis (02:00) So you grew up in a house with 22 dogs, three cats and a trilingual parrot as well, right? So what’s the situation there? You’re living with pets. Were you important in your family or Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (02:10) Ha ha. Bill Gasiamis (02:11) did the animals come first? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (02:14) the animals definitely did come first. my mother was also a teacher, but she decided to stay at home and be a stay you know, stay a worker from home mom for for the for the kids. And my parents never used to say no to any patient. So they used to admit everything and anything. And in India also it’s quite common to rehome pets and a lot of times they don’t get proper homes. So we used to say yes to everything. So I I specifically remember this number because my mom had fallen and broken her shoulder once while walking in Labrador. So that day we counted the animals and we said, okay, no, after this, no more. That’s it. And the parrot was trilingual because the kids would play with him, so he wouldn’t know nursery rhymes, he would know the whistles, and then my grandmom’s dialect was Punjabi, so he could he could swear in Punjabi, and he could swear in Hindi because my mom was Hindi. So that’s why trilingual. Bill Gasiamis (03:08) I love that. That’s an awesome way to grow up. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (03:09) Yep. Yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (03:12) Tell me about this bike though. So this Royal Enfield motorbike, what was the deal with that? Why was it coming to Australia? Why was it a big deal on that day? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (03:22) it was gifted to me by it was restored and gifted to me by my wife on my fortieth. And this time on my fiftieth, the guy who had restored it, he’s a friend of mine, he decided to build this sidecar and ship it to me. And it’s a vintage, it’s a nineteen seventy three. So I’ve literally grown up on motorcycles, drive riding them, and I was quite excited about the whole thing. And I was so excited because my son’s school was only five minutes away. So I was always looking forward that I’m gonna drop him off in school in the sidecar. It’s gonna be such a big thing for him. So it was quite cool. So that’s the reason we were expecting it. It took almost two months for it to come via ship. And you know, once a ship leaves the country, there’s no way of live tracking it. There they must must be ways for the guys who are doing it, but for the clients, they have no way. They have no clue. They just talk to the customer care. And you have no idea what’s happening. And suddenly one day it just pops up and they say, Yeah, it’s in customs. Here you go and you have to do this, this and this and come and pick it up. So that’s the excitement. Bill Gasiamis (04:23) So you get that phone call and that’s it. You’re on the bikes here. We’re going to go and get it. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (04:26) Yep, yep, yep. We were just looking forward for the bike. Yep. Bill Gasiamis (04:29) I love it. In your book, you wrote about your culture that when somebody Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (04:34) Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (04:35) has a stroke, most people believe that you’re gone, right? And it seems like you also believe that where does a belief like that come from? And what did you do in the first few hours? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (04:47) You know the first because it’s it’s it’s not I mean in the era I’ve grown up there was not a lot of internet. They were only encyclopedias. So getting information was a little challenge. So as as kids when we were growing up, we were just here that that particular cousin’s father’s grandfather had a stroke and he’s gone. That particular person’s family member has has had a stroke and he’s done for. So you know a few things like that. But there are families who’ve been through stroke. Now I’ve realized and also met them. So they know stroke one could recover from the stroke and one also forgets about it over time. I’ve heard that. But mostly the thought process was because it was not too kind of a disease. And we also did not know what is a stroke in the heart. Some would someone would say he had a stroke in the heart, someone would say he had a stroke in the brain. So we had no idea what that meant. We could just as kids, as growing up people, we just knew that he had a stroke and he’s done for, he’s gone. That’s one. And because of my medical background, my veterinary background, I realized that I was having a stroke. because it was not their usual pins and needles and there was no sensation. I couldn’t move my arm. I managed to limp. I went all the way to the kitchen. I trudged a little to the kitchen. I had a glass of water, brought a glass for my wife. And I’ve also realized, learnt from doctors here that there are remnant spinal reflexes which work for some time. So those reflexes help you I think, navigate the initial few hours. It’s just that’s how we are made. Because I, you know, in the hospital, I thought my arm started moving. And the doctors, and when I got up in the morning, it was like a bad dream. No, it was not moving again. So I was like, what was that? And I have a video of that. I was sending it to my sister. Look, my arm is started to move. Wow, I’m so happy. So they told me that was just a part of the spinal reflex. So maybe that’s what made me go to the kitchen and back. So we called the Ambos and they did the BFAST test. It was FAST initially, but now the acronym has changed to BFAST. so they did that over the phone and they confirmed it was a stroke. And they were they said they’ll be at my place in two minutes. And then we made the second phone call to my brother in law who works with neurointerventional surgeons all over Australia. He’s also vet by education. So I thought he might be the best person to give me advice. And he always used to share his stories of patients, aneurysms, brain things, strokes. So I thought that, you know, he he will fix me, man. So we called Bill Gasiamis (07:10) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (07:11) him and he said, Come straight to Royal Melbourne and th that’s where I was. And and the Amus asked me, he they said, Your catchment is northern, but where do you want to go? I said, Please take me to Northern because my brother’s gonna be there. So they drove me to Royal Melbourne and that’s where my journey started. Yep. Bill Gasiamis (07:27) Yeah. My journey started at the Austin hospital, ended up at the Royal Melbourne as well. And I had my surgery there and I learned to walk again at the Royal Melbourne hospital and at their Parkville facility where the rehab was done. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (07:42) Yeah, that’s where I was. Yep. Bill Gasiamis (07:43) Yeah, good experience. Really helpful. So you are also a vet. Okay. A surgeon as well. Are all Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (07:52) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (07:53) vets surgeons? Do they all operate on animals? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (07:56) So in primitive times, the veterin surgery education is made around five types of animals, which is a canine, which is dogs, that that species, filine, which is cats, equines, which is horses, bovines, which is cattle, and one animal from wildlife, and one random fish, including birds. So we have to compare them in all aspects. So when we technically pass out, or rather I would say, When we used to technically pass out in those years, we were supposed to take take care of everything surgeries, medicine, prevention for all these species throughout. And obviously it was a it was a big experience learning practically as we went. Because when my father became a vet, my my grandparents were like, I don’t know whether anybody’s gonna get married to him or not. They they got worried. It was looked so down upon though that profession, you know. So he bought clamor to it. He showed everybody that passion. Can happen. It can happen in bed science also. In India. It must be good in other countries, but that’s all I know about India. Only the rich class had the dogs. The Britishers, they’re the people who were connected to the Britishers when they had gone, when they had left the country. Only that rich class was able to afford dogs because you know it was a poor country. So that’s where he started. Yep, yep. Yep. And now you have specializations Bill Gasiamis (09:05) Yeah, understood. Understood. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (09:08) on around everything. Now you can be a surgeon, you can be a bone surgeon. There’s a friend of mine, he’s a he’s a animal onko oncologist. So things like that. Yep. Bill Gasiamis (09:17) amazing how far things have come. So Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (09:19) yes, definitely. Yeah. Rehabilitation Journey Bill Gasiamis (09:20) the fact that you were kind of a surgeon, even if it was in veterinary surgery, Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (09:28) Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (09:30) does that kind of medical knowledge that you have make it harder to face what you’re going through? Do you apply those kind of medical skills onto your own condition? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (09:42) I would say it definitely helps in doing research and digging out evidence based study because that’s how we’ve been trained, right? So we have to we have been trained to look for specific information in a specific way. So I thought I think that is what probably helps a little bit extra when someone is from that background. So most of the medical jargon we understand because it’s same. Every all animals are same, mostly, except the ruminants which have four stomachs. So Bill Gasiamis (10:06) Mm-hmm. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (10:07) so So the single stomach animals are mostly similar, and how the physiology of the body works, how the brain works, how the conduction works, all the diseases, they have things like MS, they have things like diabetes. We used to treat them all the time. So yeah, yes, it helps. It does. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (10:22) Yeah, that’s fascinating. I love it. so give me a little bit of an idea of you’ve gone to hospital. you realize that your arm is moving and now it’s no longer moving. And then how long were you in hospital for? And what was that, experience like what, what was your hospital stay like? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (10:43) I remember I was very emotional. Even now I’m very emotional. If I talk about nice things, I end up crying sometimes. Or I laugh more, I cry more. But I was really worried at that point. I didn’t know what’s gonna happen. My cousins used to call me, my friends used to call me, doctors used to go past and they would tell me that you’ll be fine, man. And you know, that was you’ll be fine was was kind of unbelievable because nothing’s moving. I mean I I don’t know how that’s gonna happen. Bill Gasiamis (11:09) your left side your whole left side was gone. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (11:11) Yeah, I was on the wheelchair for about six months and I was in the same rehab as you just mentioned at Parkwell for 45 days. Bill Gasiamis (11:18) Hmm. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (11:18) And if we must have been to the chapel, which is just behind the Parkville camp campus. So I used to go there every day. My son used to wheel me there. Yeah. So it was it was quite overwhelming for me because I didn’t know what was going on. I had heard that there are these injections which which are given within the golden period. Crying After Stroke And they can just reverse the stroke instantly. But I did not know the concept. So those injections basically work and dissolve the clot which is in the brain. But if if if the stroke is of a bleeder’s type, it can also kill the person. So we were waiting for the MRI. We are waiting for the MRI when’s that gonna happen. And it was unfortunately a Saturday night, Sunday morning. So everything were lined up. You know how the systems are in Melbourne. So all the emergency patients who are dying are first, people who are not dying are second, people who just Got normal things, they’re third. So things like that. So probably that took a little while. So I had my MRI on Monday. So I was in the hospital till Monday. I just had nurses coming in assessing me if I could stand, if I could step forward, step backwards. I mean, obviously they were doing my cognition tests and everything. I got tested for a drug which was is which is called clopedrogel, I think. that is the one which dissolves clots. So they give that as an oral thing to you and they test the blood in the body that whether it responds to that or not. So they are ready for it. As soon as they have the result, they just shoot you with injections. But it was unfortunate that I got diagnosed only in about twenty four hours. And then they moved me to the rehab. I was lucky to get a room and this amazing partner in my room, and that’s that’s when my rehab started. Bill Gasiamis (12:47) What was the cause of the stroke? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (12:48) Nobody knows. I was pr absolutely healthy. I don’t have blood pressure. I don’t have diabetes. I don’t have anything with I was cycling hundred kilometers on the weekend. I was walking my dog twice a day. I was very, very active. Even now I’m very active. I was I was when I was in rehab, obviously I started eating I was eating the same and I was obviously not exercising. So my weight went up to 120 kilos, for example, because my activity was so high. People were literally telling me that you’re eating like a Labrador, man. What happened? What’s happening? I was just like this. And the food in Royal Melbourne rehab is really good. They come to you with a menu and they ask you what you want. And so I was ordering everything I loved. So and I was hearing in one of your podcasts before, it it was literally like that. I had the I’ve had the best time of life in the last two years. Different realization, it’s changed me, and I’ve just had the best time. I always liked exercising. I’ve exercised Bill Gasiamis (13:39) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (13:42) exercised so much at the last two years, it’s not even funny. I think he must be listening that I want to exercise. He said, Okay, go for it, man. Bill Gasiamis (13:51) You got to, you, you sounds like you were given, this like massive learning opportunity, but also a scary learning opportunity. Things were really difficult. at one point, but things have kind of progressed. Well, things are going well and that’s awesome. you’ve taken it, you’ve taken it away where this is an opportunity to grow, to learn, to try new things. but what was it like on your on the day that you noticed some movement, like in rehab, I think was that on day 28 or something like that, there was a little bit of, first Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (14:26) I think it was twenty five it was I think. Bill Gasiamis (14:28) voluntary voluntary movement first, first, yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (14:30) Yeah, correct, correct. I still have that video. I remember there was this friend of mine who used to come to the hospital and she used to massage my arm. So that is also called I think it’s called passive passive stretching. And she would really press my arm and she will caught cause me pain. And I’ve been told that I’ve got a good pain threshold. Maybe that’s because of my martial arts training when I was younger. Reflections on Recovery and Growth Bill Gasiamis (14:52) Okay. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (14:53) So she used to press my arm and it was really painful. And I remember my roommate, he he had a problem with his arm, and they had to give him Botox injections to paralyze those muscles. So he could move and the muscles could be pain free. So that’s a that’s a routine thing which they do. So Botox is basically bottleneum toxin, which causes paralysis. and they give it in the muscle which is spas spas which is spasming for the person and it it releases the muscle and they feel better. So I was fortunate that she was there and I remember after her Three, four weeks of massaging my hand, and my wife used to be sitting beside my bed and she used to be pressing on my left leg, I remember. So that particular day I could see my foot move a little like this, b which I could. So that was that was a big one for me. I just cried and I didn’t know what to what to expect. my God. Yep. Bill Gasiamis (15:41) tears of relief. Yeah. that is all often a very good sign. And then, a lot of people kind of built from that. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (15:52) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (15:53) but were you, were you near the diabetic ward as well? Were you watching people, have amputations walking out after a few days and getting down about that, that they, why are they getting out so quick? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (16:06) So, you know, the the building which is opposite to the rehab facility on Parkville Road on the other side is the diabetic ward. Bill Gasiamis (16:11) Yep. Right. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (16:13) So those patients after their surgeries, after their treatments are shifted into rehab. And I could see that these guys are coming in and because initially I was a little curious that what’s happening here. This guy, you know, he’s he’s got an amputation and he’s just gone. After three days, four days, they would go away. So then they would new new patients come in, they would learn how to walk, then three, four, five days they’ll go away again. So I had no clue what was going on. But then over time I realized there was a diabetic ward. So those were guys was ob obviously coming in because of their neuropathies. They’ve lost some limbs. Some people were lucky, they only lost fingers, some people unlucky, they lost legs, arms sometimes. But it can be it can be quite challenging for them also, you know, certainly because it’s too quick. I I think stroke is still slow. It gets you ready, it gets you going, but it’s it’s slow paced. And now I’m an expert, I know what is gonna work. So I’m still completing three years in December. So With an exercise, I I know the stress and I know the difficulty and and and I can feel it. I can feel it that this will work. So in their in their case they don’t have time. They just lose a limb and they just have to learn in three, four days. Fortunately their brain is okay, so they are more you know, neuroplastic, I would say, but as compared to us. Bill Gasiamis (17:17) So was playing on your mind a little bit, seeing this difference in the way people were rehabilitating after an amputation compared to a stroke survivor. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (17:26) Yes, hundred percent. And considering that one of my family people, my uncles, cousins, far cousin, he had passed on because of this particular problem. And it because of the way the medicines and the medical system is in India, so I saw that he ha also had to be his one of his toes had to be amputated. and he had a neuropathy and then he lost his foot and he eventually died because of kidney problems. So this does happen in diabetic patients, very common. So it I kept thinking of those those days, you know, when I would I would hear of him, we would go and visit him in hospital. So it’s very different. They are Bill Gasiamis (18:02) Hmm. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (18:03) more conservative, they try to save the limb. Here they are more aggressive. They say that we if there’s a the there’s gangrene here, we want to cut from here and we want to make sure that you’re safe. Your life is safe. So they they are more aggressive here. Over there, they say, We’ll try to save this, we’ll try to save this, we’ll try to save this. So it’s it’s different. We have Bill Gasiamis (18:18) Yeah. So I’m to make a few huge assumptions. You’re a male, you’re Indian and your culture probably makes it difficult to accept care, especially when it comes to physical care. you know, being treated as stroke survivor in a rehabilitation hospital, when your left side’s not working means that people have to shower you and, help you at the bathroom and all that kind of stuff. What was that like for you? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (18:47) It was hard. Then that was another time when I was really crying. Maybe it happens to everyone, you know. I’m not special. But I I was I was quite emotional and it took me a couple of days to get used to my brother in law coming in, and he said, I’ll do it for you, man. And he’s he’s a champ. And he would come every day. So it’s in our culture, it’s it’s I think it’s maybe egoistic or maybe it’s how we are. That the elder people or the boys are more looked from a perspective of as providers and caretakers. So I remember when my father passed on in 97, I was told that be strong for your mom, be strong for your sister. And then when my mom passed on in 2013, I was told the same thing: be strong for your sister. But there was one of my friends, one of my uncles, who told me that, you know, you need to do something, you need to have a couple of drinks, go to a corner and just cry it out, man. It’s important. So now I know that grief is important. and I was I’ve been told that stroke is a part of a grief and you should not suppress your feelings. Like I can do with that box of tissues right now. I can go all out. No problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (19:50) Yeah, man. I’m the same. was just talking about my situation a few days ago. This happened to me in 2013. Brain surgery was in 2014 and I cry all the time. It’s not really like it’s strange. Have you heard of the super pseudo bulb affect? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (20:06) Which one is that? No, so no, I’ve Bill Gasiamis (20:07) It’s a condition. It’s a condition where people who with neurological injuries tend to cry, or laugh Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (20:14) More. Bill Gasiamis (20:15) more and out of the blue suddenly. And often at the beginning, it’s a very difficult to control. And then later it gets better. But then for me, I, you know, a couple of years ago, I was told to go and do a presentation for the Royal Melbourne hospital neurosciences, gala ball to, to tell them what stroke, sorry, what neurosurgery meant to me, you know, like, I’m only standing there because of neurosurgery without it, I wouldn’t be standing there. My surgeon was in the room. It was 400 people in the room. And I got up and I didn’t make it to the front lectern before I started crying. And then when I got up to say the speech, I was holding on to the lectern, just waiting for the crying to stop just so that I can start the speech. And then through the speech, I had to stop a couple of times. Now I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t sad. was, I was excited, but the 400 people and the, situation talking about me, my family, et cetera, and having to describe what neurosurgery meant to me made it impossible to get through that speech. I got through it, but it was, Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (21:16) Yep, yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (21:20) but it was interesting to go through that, you know, 13 years, you know, 12, 13 years later, like it was, yeah, crazy. So, Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (21:25) Two thirty news, huh? So Bill Gasiamis (21:28) It’s not uncommon, very, very common. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (21:30) So tell me something, is it easy for you to have a poker face? Bill Gasiamis (21:34) If the, not in a, not in a situation where I have to talk about something that’s emotional, that’s about me, my experience. And if my family involved, forget about it. can’t stay out kind of the poker face. No way. Yeah. But I can in a poker game when we’re trying to take somebody else’s money. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (21:52) I think same, same. So it’s similar. I can I can cry on animations also. And my son says that he’s crying, you it’s on animation also. It’s a good movie. Good movie story. And that’s you’re done. Bill Gasiamis (21:59) Yeah. Yeah, I used to cry with the cat tripping over or something Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (22:05) Ha ha ha. Bill Gasiamis (22:06) silly, know, crazy stuff. And my wife would be going, what are you crying about now? I don’t know. I’m just crying. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (22:12) Short short. Bill Gasiamis (22:15) And the difficult part is not me. It’s the people around me thinking that I’m sad or thinking that there’s something wrong. And that’s reeducating them so that they know that’s not what’s happening. what’s today today we’re recording on Saturday on Thursday night. I was in Melbourne at Marvel stadium. there was an electronic dance music festival, 60,000 people in a stadium for a DJ. It Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (22:39) wow. Bill Gasiamis (22:39) was a most amazing electronic dance laser show. It was sensational. Now my wife didn’t see because it was too dark and she was focusing on the show, but you know, I had about three or four moments where I cried. But it wasn’t big cries, it was just tears and excitement and something else happening that made me cry. And I was moved by the fact that I was A, at the event, B, it was such an amazing event that all the people there were having a great time. Like, it was moving rather than sad or upsetting or, Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (23:14) I understand. Bill Gasiamis (23:16) and telling, kind of trying to bring people into understanding that that’s what’s happening. That was the hard part because you know, we’re from a Greek family. They see you cry. Everything’s terrible. Everything’s bad. You know, they don’t know. They don’t know how to deal with it. You know, so you’ve got to reeducate people. That was the hardest part of that experience for me. That’s all it was. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (23:37) No, because I keep thinking that since I was always in sales and I enjoyed my sales, I don’t know if that’s gonna settle down ever with me, my emotions. Bill Gasiamis (23:47) will, it will settle down and then sometimes it will just come out of nowhere and you won’t, you wouldn’t have expected it. Yeah. It changes for a lot of people. remember interviewing one gentleman. can’t remember his name now. And on the, on his wedding day, he told me that he was almost dehydrated from crying so much, you know, and he needed to continue, continue his fluids so that he doesn’t dehydrate. It was. We laughed about it like you and I are laughing. Cause that’s he’s got to that stage where it’s like, wow, you know, it is what it is. Like no big deal. He was totally moved by the fact that he was a alive, able to be at the wedding, get married to the person that he loved. and then, and then later on they had a kid and it was down all downhill again from there, you know, more tears, more crazy stuff. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (24:33) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (24:34) It’s, it’s, it’s involuntary. And I think it’s actually very helpful for me. It’s helpful to just get it out. Like what your mate said, you know, just go into the corner and have a cry, get it out, and this whole thing, you know, our culture is the same and many cultures are the same. It’s like, you know, the men are not supposed to show emotion. You’re supposed to toughen up, you know, be stronger for everybody else. And nobody checks in with you to say, you know, okay, how are you doing now? That’s That’s just how it is. Many cultures are like that. So who’s Hannah? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (25:05) So Hannah was my first physio who was, you know, it’s it was quite moving for me from that perspective as well. Because I I always thank and thank my stars that I got unwell in Australia. Because there are so many systems here which help younger people like NDIS and got all kinds of help. And and the medical is top-notch. The medicine is top-notch. The first day that I remember they took me to the physio room. I had this pretty girl. I c we couldn’t see them because you know it was post COVID so everybody was still using masks. But I could just see the eyes. And she was so beautiful. So she sat on the floor and she was moving my foot. So it was quite moving for me, even now. Sorry for that. Bill Gasiamis (25:41) Yeah. Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (25:42) So that was Hannah. Initially, my book was supposed to be called Walking with Hannah. So, but one of my advisors told me that look, if the book becomes really popular, then she is gonna benefit more. Change the name, man. Change it. And there are different privacy laws in Australia. So just to make sure that you are around the privacy laws, don’t put anybody’s name on it. Bill Gasiamis (26:03) Like you’re on the ground. She’s moving your leg or your foot and she makes you a promise that you would walk again. Now that’s a pretty big deal to hear that from somebody who’s in the rehabilitation space trying to help you to recover. And I think at the same time, that’s kind of when you had the realization that you should write a book. how did that come about? What was the, why did that carry so much weight that situation? The Promise of Recovery and Writing a Book Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (26:33) Should I be ready with our tissues? Have you had people who really, really break down badly on a show? Is it okay? Bill Gasiamis (26:39) Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah, it’s okay. And yes, they have. Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (26:43) So I think in that situation For me, only that one promise coming from a physio was a big deal. I wanted to share with my friends, I wanted to share with my clients. I’ve got a lot of good people in my book, and vice versa. So I I wanted to share with all of them what I’m going through. So I was constantly taking pictures, recording voice notes. I was not so good at typing because you know I just had gone from two hands to one hand. So I just couldn’t type. So I was I was doing a lot of voice to text notes, I was writing notes, I was taking pictures, I was taking videos. We are very audiovisual. I am very audiovisual rather. So I was really doing a lot. And then I also have a habit of listening to audiobooks. And I was doing prayers and I was listening to audiobooks. I don’t even remember what book I was listening to. maybe I think it was Andrea Gossi the one. I was listening to that one. Moving story. Good story. So I thought, hey, why why don’t why can’t I convert all this what I’m writing into a book? So and I had ample time. So I thought Bill Gasiamis (27:41) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (27:42) I was like, yeah, let’s do it. It was not it was not a business model. It was not Bill Gasiamis (27:45) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (27:45) something which will actually make money. There was no thought around it. I just Bill Gasiamis (27:48) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (27:48) wanted to write a book. I was just emotionally wanted to write a book. I was just compulsive. I wanted to write a book. That’s it. Done. Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (27:55) I love it. I know that I know that feeling like same same here when I wrote the first book, Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (28:01) Yes go. Bill Gasiamis (28:01) the unexpected way this joke became the best thing that happened. It was like, I’ve learned all of this stuff. And I kind of don’t want to forget it. I want to have it in one space. I want to capture the moment as well. Like it’s like a time in history, a snapshot Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (28:14) Yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (28:14) of history, you know, that book. And if I can just put everything in a book, then I could well, I could have a book, but then if people want to buy it and it helps them. then that would be a bonus. So it was the idea was about that. And then, of course, when you have a book, you may as well have the best book, and you may as well sell as many copies as possible. Well, what’s the point of having a book otherwise, you know, you want to make sure that it gets sold. So I really relate to what you’re saying about that. My book idea came in hospital as well. So no, the podcast came in hospital as well. I was getting wheeled transferred from the Royal Melbourne. to Parkville and I was waiting in the transit lounge and that is when I had the idea to start the podcast, but I was never going to do it. I don’t think I was going to do it. A friend of mine put the idea in my head later on again. And because of that, the podcast emerged. I had the idea, he reinforced it. And then I went ahead and did it. And the book again was an idea from another friend. You’ve learned all this stuff, know, you know, how, are you going to do with it? You how are you going to… tell other people about it. The podcast was one way and then the book was another way. And of course, then it’s not just about me, it’s about other people as well. Now, if I understood correctly, are you from the religion, the Sikh religion? Did you seek right? Cultural Identity and Personal Beliefs Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (29:37) Yes, I’ve yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (29:40) And in the religion turban is quite important. How was that? How is dealing with that situation where your left side doesn’t work and the use or the need to have a turban on your head, do you kind of deal with that? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (29:57) So I’ve been through times in my life when I was without a turban for a couple of months because I had a ac I had a small unfortunate accident with my Jeep. So I had to cut off a little bit of hair, so I just didn’t bother p going back to the turban initially. So and and I was I’m not very religious, religious. So And I was very proud of my turban because people used to tell me that your turban looks fantastic, man. You’re the best looking Sikh we’ve we’ve seen around, you know. So I was quite proud of it. And I was I used to feel on top of the world with my turban. So every every trip of mine, every travel of mine, I had to pack a couple of turbans and and I’m I think I am O C D. So I used to match it with my shirt. Sometimes I used to match it with my ties. It should should be the same color. Sometimes I’ll match it with my jeans. So you know it was it was quite a task. Every time I’m traveling. But I loved it. Having said that, I decided that my son is not gonna be a turbanator. I called myself a turbanator because of the same reason. I said that’s one thing less to take care of. It’s not that I don’t w want him to be a Sikh. He he realizes he’s a Sikh. He’s a good Sikh. He does what I do in the Sikh Sikh temple as well, which is serve. But from a religious perspective, he’s okay. He you don’t have to have a turban on your head to be that religion. You know, you can be a good person from that religion perspective also. So I was very proud of it and not being able to do it initially was a big blow to my ego or my you know image in my own brain. I lost I lost my identity, I I thought, and and my my prayer consisted of that that you know I hope I can go back to tying a turban. Even you can see I still don’t dye a turban. A lot of my friends tell me that I look good like this. The man bun suits me. But you know, I’m like, okay, go with the flow. Well, let’s see, let’s see. Bill Gasiamis (31:37) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (31:38) Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (31:39) so it’s challenging for people, right? Like if somebody is wearing a turban for their entire lives, then they have a stroke and then they can wear a turban because they can’t tie a turban. Then you can understand why that would be impactful in another way, you know, to their identity, to, their beliefs, to all the things that are associated to a turban. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (32:00) You know, it was it was more like a shame. It was more like Bill Gasiamis (32:03) Uh-huh. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (32:03) a shame of an uncovered head, nothing on the Bill Gasiamis (32:06) Uh-huh. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (32:06) head. Because whenever my father would get up in the morning, he’ll make sure that he just wraps around a cloth around his head. When I would whenever I would get up in the morning, I’ll put something on my head, then I’ll go out. So, you know, we had a smaller version, we had a bigger version, which was a formal more formal thing. So we were always used to having something on the head. So it’s what which was more shame shameful, you know? Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (32:25) Yeah. Is it personal shame or is it or back in the day was a shame within the community from other people? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (32:33) I think we were we were brought up both ways. So personal shame number one, and a lot of times when we had gone to temples with a cap on my head, for example, some elder would come up to me and they were this is a very conservative community also in those times. You know, they would tell Why you wearing a cap? Just take it off. If you like wearing a cap, you can just cut your hair. Or if you know, Sikhs and smoking don’t go together. So it’s not that the religion says that you can’t smoke. Since they are warriors, they’re supposed to be a warrior race. It was just said that you don’t do any kind of bad thing to your body, just take care of yourself, be healthy. So if if if someone saw a Sikh smoking in public, they will definitely go up to them and tell them that if you are a Sikh, why you smoking, man? You should cut your hair. Just take it easy. So things like Bill Gasiamis (33:10) Uh-huh. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (33:10) that. It was a very conservative society and it was a taboo. Smoking was a taboo, for example. So that’s how we grew up. So that’s the turban part. But I was I was more more spiritual and I was just more Personally ashamed of not being able to do it. Bill Gasiamis (33:23) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (33:24) But I think it’s it’s it’s worked well. So I’m I’m kind of in a in a gray area now. You know, I’ve come back to hair. So I I will I will I’m open to tying it again. I want to do it, but I’m not rushing it. I know it’ll Bill Gasiamis (33:34) Yeah. Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (33:36) happen. It’ll happen one day, 100%. But I’m not Bill Gasiamis (33:38) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (33:39) too eager. Yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (33:40) a lot of stroke survivors get tattoos. Did you get a few? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (33:43) yes. This one for example And it’s got my son’s name here. is it? It’s here. That’s Raj, Raj, yeah, that’s his name. So Bill Gasiamis (33:55) Uh-huh. Is that the impact that arm that, the arm that was impacted by the stroke? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (34:00) It’s it’s very funny you asked that because you know we were not very pro tattoo. I mean, to to risk due respect to everybody who’s got a tattoo. It’s not it’s nothing negative. But we we were not very inclined to color our bodies in any r any way, right? When we grew up. So, but but there’s a friend of mine who was visiting me in hospital. He had a few, and he was in New Zealand for a long time. So he was he had that Kiwi influence, he had a Kiwi wife. my first nurse who sat with me and she told me that, you know, you’ll be fine. And she held my hand. So she had a few. So maybe that had my had an effect. And then my brother in law said, he said, just don’t worry, man. When he’s when he saw me upset, he just told me, he You don’t have to be upset, you’re alive. Just just get okay, get a few tattoos, just travel around the world, do that. So, you know, that was that’s just got stuck in me. That okay, I want to do this. So I did it. Got it done. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (34:52) Was it like also, I Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (34:54) Mm. Bill Gasiamis (34:54) think you mentioned in your book, it was like a bit of a protection. Is this some, is was a way to change the conversation? what other role did it serve? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (35:03) So, you know, at that point I got it done specifically at that point because of the same reason. So I wanted to get it done, but I didn’t know when. So I just thought of it. I remember one day I was walking past someone and he was coming to that table and he sat down and people asked him about his tattoo, which is that which he had on his leg. So I was like, hey. So people are just noticing that. He’s such a gorgeous looking guy, man. He’s well dressed and look at his specks, what he’s wearing. Look at the car, he’s come in. So he was quite polished. So and still he had tattoos. So the it broke the s the usual stereotype, you know? Everything that’s stereotypical. So I thought, yeah, I think this is the right time for me if I want to do it, because people will not notice my little limp. Because I was still limping and I was in a bad way for for at least a year. I was quite negative in my mind. I mean, and especially when I was 120 kilos, I don’t know what to do about do about it because I could not exercise, I could not cycle. Just didn’t know what to do about it. And I could not fast at that time because I I was having so many medicines morning and evening. So it it would call a cause acidity. So I was quite negative end of the spectrum. But that’s the time when I realized when I then I thought that I don’t care about anybody else. I am just doing this, man. So I looked up a few people and this lovely girl who used to come to drive for me, she took me around we were in Perth at that time. So she took me around my house and we went we visited a few places and then there was this lovely gentleman who was coming to Perth and he was apparently from Melbourne. So that was my turning point. So this happened in December. I booked him for for my appointment for for my tattoo in Perth. But then he told me that he he said, look, if you want to move back, if you are moving back eventually, because I had that in my mind. I wanted to move back. So he said if you’re moving back, I’m based out of Melbourne, just come to me there. So that’s when it happened. That was my new year gift to myself. And everybody was so, you know, amazed with my the the thing which I had done on one leg. And they were like, Wow, that’s a good one. Man, where do you do it? I was like, there’s a special guy who does this. So I was just end up talking of that and not of anything else. I was so happy. I think, Bill Gasiamis (37:00) I love it. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (37:00) yeah, that helped that helped in my recovery for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Relocation and Its Challenges Bill Gasiamis (37:02) Great distraction, great distraction. Yeah. That’s a great idea. So one of the things my wife says to me every so often, she says, we should go live in a different location for a little bit, know, try the beach or whatever. And I’m thinking, well, you know, that sounds like a great idea. But in my immediately in my mind and in my body, I tense up and I just find that thinking about moving. emptying a house, filling another house, doing all that stuff just fills me with like dread. And I don’t know why it’s her idea is a great idea, but I just feel kind of comfortable or whatever. But I wouldn’t think of moving. You moved your family back to Perth. And what was that like? Because. I can’t imagine leaving Melbourne and going to Perth and packing up the whole family, the whole house and all that kind of stuff and doing that. Not because I can’t do them. I can’t live in another location because I can’t do all the work that comes with that before and all the work after. It feels like it’s going to take up way too much of my attention, time, energy. What was the move like for you? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (38:10) So imagine if you can say that ten, fifteen years into your stroke after recovering so much. So for for even that far recovery is difficult for them. So doing it one year into the stroke, or I would say one month into the stroke and moving everybody lock, stock, and barrel. I think that was the silliest idea I had. But my family supported me and we did it together and we did it. But it was pretty lonely for me. I was pretty lonely. We had no friends, we had no support system there. Although we were in a very good place, we were very central as compared to the country here. Because we were st always struggling to get physios in, OTs in. So it was, you know, a constant struggle. So over there we were central, so everything was okay, we’ll do this. It was just bang on. And I spent a good time just learning I mean, getting myself stronger, walking every day in the morning. So that was the positive. But I was quite negative, in here. Physically I was positive, but mentally I was quite I was a goner. Bill Gasiamis (39:03) Isolated, Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (39:03) But Bill Gasiamis (39:04) you isolated yourself Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (39:06) Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (39:07) unwittingly. Like you didn’t expect that that would happen. Is it just something that happened later? You, realized later. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (39:14) And plus, you know, I my my job, I my job questioned me that why should we not terminate your thing? Because we don’t have much in Perth. So if even if you become okay, why should we not Not let you come back. I mean, so we had the discussion and they almost fired me, but they were happy to take me back when I was back in Melbourne, but they still let go of me. So I don’t know where what happened. I don’t have a job. Bill Gasiamis (39:36) Yeah. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (39:36) So yep. So I think that was a very silly decision. But that whole year I spent like that in December, I moved for my son’s holidays to my sister’s house in Melbourne. She’s also in Melbourne, and we were there for about two months. she’s in the Bay side. So after spending that quality time with family and people who were familiar, I had friends visiting me, I had people visiting me, I had so many doctors, I had these doctors’ support system from RMH. supportive stride strides workshop, which was happening, things like that. So it was it just helped me recover. And I thought that this is it, man, that this is what I should do. And and then I was, you know, I was still talking to my psychologist over the phone, and she in the book by mistake, I I just wrote a he. I think I missed the S because of this bloody autocorrect. She told me that look, you need to wear your seat your life jacket first. You know, that was one statement. Ha ha. made me calculate and rethink. So that’s when we decided, okay, let’s come back. So twice, twice in here. Yep, Bill Gasiamis (40:38) Well then. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (40:39) yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (40:40) You need to wear your life jacket first. That’s Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (40:42) Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (40:44) such an amazing statement. And also, it’s really important for caregivers to remember that that they need to wear their own life jacket first. Because caregivers go through this with their loved ones, whoever they’re caring for that had a stroke, and they put themselves second. And then they suffer, they suffer because they haven’t got time to themselves because they get on well. And often with people who are very kind of motivated to help their loved one. Often they end up becoming sick and passing away before the stroke survivor. So everyone needs to put on their life raft, their own life jacket first. Once they’re stable and everything is okay, then they need to assess what they can do for the other person. I love that. Such a profound statement. I can see why it moved you so much. Often stroke survivors also complain, not complain, but they mention when somebody says, just think positively. what was it like for you to hear that? Just think positively Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (41:43) Okay. The Importance of Caregiver Self-Care Bill Gasiamis (41:44) statement. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (41:44) I think my an analyzing people was out of the window. I was not analyz analysing anyone. I’m I’m not even judgmental as a person. So I don’t easily judge. I trust people at the first instance. Sorry. So it was quite common to hear that all the time. And I wouldn’t even tell anybody that I’ve had a stroke. I wouldn’t tell them. I will just talk to them. I will try to hide my walk. I don’t know, I was a little shameful. I don’t know why. For example, I’m reskilling to be an allied health assistant at the moment in Boxhill Institute. So it took me about six months before I disclosed to my class that, you know, I walk funny sometimes because of my stroke. Because I just didn’t want to tell anybody. I was a little apprehensive. And when I warmed up when everybody got to know me and I was I’m like probably the friendliest in the class. So everybody likes me. So then I told everybody, they’re friends. I said this is this is what has happened, that’s my book. Please read it. See if it helps someone. And I don’t know if this book is gonna actually help someone or not. I don’t know if there’s no scientific information in that. There’s no medical information. But what is gonna help in that book, I’m not sure. But the idea was just if even it can help one person. Bill Gasiamis (42:46) Yeah, that’s the thing. That’s interesting. I put podcast episodes out all the time. I I’ve got no idea which part will help, but somebody will reach out and they’ll pick an obscure part of the podcast episode. I’ll say that really helped me hearing that really helped me. And I was like, okay. Cool. We’ve, we’ve, we’ve achieved our outcome. It helped you. I’m happy that it helped you. And because everyone is in a different position and they’re looking for different types of information and you know, what’s, the timeline that they’re in in their recovery, whether it’s emotional, mental or physical is unique to them. So that one word might be overlooked by you and me, but then somebody else goes, that’s just the word I needed to hear. And that’s why 400 episodes of the podcast are really good because there’s something in at least one of those episodes for everybody, you know, so it will, it will help. It will make it so that people maybe even if they just realized that they can write a book, maybe if they realize that they could just share their story, that’s all, that’s good enough. Adjusting to a New Normal So, how about this whole new normal statement? Now some people are told that they have to adjust to their new normal. And I kind of, I see why people say that it helps with acceptance in some situations when you have to let go of how you went about the past, how you did your life previously. when you were more physically able-bodied or more cognitively able. So how did you handle the new normal comment statement? Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (44:20) I obviously didn’t like it initially. But then, you know, the whole religious part and how we’ve been brought up, it’s with a lot of acceptance. So which is, I think, important for a child sitting next to someone who’s a nobody, or for a child who’s sitting next to someone who’s super duper rich. Maybe he’s a prime minister of the country, but they are sitting on the same level and having food, for example, on the floor. Someone who’s sitting next to you who’s who cleans houses on the floor. They’re humans. So I think that probably got me ready for the acceptance. I mean, that that primed me for the level of expect acceptance we had. I had to work less towards accepting things. and yeah, for example, I can’t run at the moment. But then what I say to people about that, that it’s overrated, I don’t care. You know, for example, so that’s it. That’s my acceptance. That’s what I do. Make a joke of it, man. That’s it. You can’t do it, you can’t do it. What do you do? Bill Gasiamis (45:11) Dude, it is overrated. That’s the I’m going to use that now as well. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (45:16) Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (45:18) In a couple of weeks, I’m going to go and spend some time away with a friend of mine. I’ve got a really amazing friend. We grew up together. He used to work at the Royal Melbourne hospital when I was there. He was a radiographer and he would come and see me when I was admitted. He would do my scans. Amazing. Like I’ve known this guy my entire life since I was about four years old. And we’re going to go and spend eight days just away from the whole family, the wives, everybody. We’re just going to go to Hawaii for a little bit. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (45:46) Are you going running? Bill Gasiamis (45:46) He said to me, I wake up in the morning and I go for a run. I said, fantastic. I’m going to wake up in the morning and go for a walk. You go for a run. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (45:52) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (45:53) I’m not running. I can’t run. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (45:55) You can run either, huh? Yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (45:56) Not anymore. No. My left leg, my left leg goes down a little bit differently from my right leg. And because I have proprioception issues and the feeling is not correct, I never know when it’s exactly in the right position. And I risk injuring my knee because sometimes I can overextend, hyper extend. And, and Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (46:15) Yep, yep, yep, yep. I know exactly what he’s saying, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (46:17) I’m really concerned. And also my ankle, I’m not comfortable with my the foot going down and my ankle being solid. So I don’t want to run. I can run across the road to make sure that I’m safe and there’s no car coming too fast or injuring me, but I’m not running two kilometers or a marathon or anything like that. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar (46:37) I think walking is better. Yep, yep, yep. Bill Gasiamis (46:38) Yeah, I have to think about it too much as well. And it makes it more fatiguing, more exhausting. Ramandeep (bobby) chaggar

You already proved this once, and now you're standing at a decision your own track record didn't predict. This episode is for the founder who knows the direction before anyone around them catches up to it. Full show notes, transcript, and chapters at sheilabotelho.com/632.✍️ Sheila's Notes - The reflections I write only here. For your Expansion Season.

What if the most powerful skill in wealth management has nothing to do with finance — and AI can never learn it?In this episode of Insight Is Capital, host Pierre Daillie sits down with Edmund Chien, Behavioural Finance Expert and Coach at Flow Cap Advisory, whose unconventional path — from Ryerson's theatre school to a $70-million book of business — reveals why 93% of what happens in a client meeting is invisible to artificial intelligence. Edmund unpacks the 7-38-55 rule (7% words, 38% tone, 55% body language), shares unforgettable stories about reading the room under pressure, and makes a compelling case that improv comedy is the most underrated professional development tool in financial services today.Chapters0:00 — Introduction: The question advisors are getting wrong about AI 1:37 — Edmund Chien: From theatre school to a $70M book of business 4:02 — The 7-38-55 rule: Why only 7% of communication is words 7:49 — The crossed-arms client: Reading body language to save the meeting 13:22 — Always be opening: Replacing the old sales playbook 15:30 — Behavioural finance and the limbic system: Why pitching too soon backfires 19:47 — Pop culture as rapport: Speaking the language of your client's generation 27:01 — The German client story: How punctuality closed a million-dollar account 34:46 — Introverts vs. extroverts in client-facing finance 40:03 — Myers-Briggs and knowing your own strengths 43:23 — Family office and multigenerational wealth: The highest expression of behavioural finance 49:00 — Why improv training belongs in every advisor's development plan 53:35 — Final advice: Start at Second City, budget for failure, grow for life#BehaviouralFinance #WealthManagement #FinancialAdvisor #AIandFinance #ClientRelationships #EmotionalIntelligence #ImprovForBusiness #SoftSkills #BodyLanguage #HighNetWorth #FamilyOffice #FinancialServices #AdvisorLife #738Rule #InsightIsCapital #AdvisorAnalyst #SalesSkills #MindsetMatters #FinanceLeadership #HumanConnection

ADHD Awareness Month 2026: What Actually Helps? This October, I'm putting community, real experiences and practical support at the heart of ADHD Awareness Month. There are live conversations and ways for you to share what actually helps in your own life. ⁠⁠Visit the Events page⁠⁠ to see what's happening and get involved. Understood.org's The ADHD Channel for Women features three shows hosted by three different hosts, unpacking a different side of life with ADHD. They cover everything from sex, dating, and relationships to deep dives into where neurodivergence meets the biggest news stories, like how a newly discovered gene variant could change the way we treat ADHD. There's also an ADHD coach who answers listeners' questions. Check out The ADHD Channel for Women ⁠here This episode from The ADHD Channel for Women is called 'I've never felt like a good woman...' You'll hear a complex conversation about ADHD, femininity, gender, and why talking about the hard stuff is important. Cate sits down with Rae Jacobson, host of Understood.org's Hyperfocus podcast, journalist, and a producer on this show. They talk about something they've both struggled to name: the collision between ADHD, femininity, and gender expression. They dig into what it felt like to watch other girls “get it.” The tidiness. The calm. The effortlessness. All things that executive dysfunction made feel out of reach.  They talk about the pressure to be nurturing, organized, and endlessly available — and what happens when your brain doesn't cooperate with any of it. And they look at the research on outcomes for women and girls with ADHD." This week's episode is sponsored by Understood.org, the leading nonprofit dedicated to empowering the millions of people with learning and thinking differences, such as ADHD and dyslexia. For all things ADHD Women's Wellbeing, including the podcast, resources and events, head here: www.adhdwomenswellbeing.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We remember Israel's first and only female prime minister for the failures of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. October 7th made me reconsider what leadership looks like when every option is terrible.

Life Can Only Be Understood Backwards, But Can Only Be Lived Going ForwardSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AuDHDer Cate Osborn (Catieosaurus) interviews Adam Reid about idea overload... relevant whether or not you're a creative professional or writer like Adam! Thanks to The ADHD Channel for Women from Understood.org for letting me post this episode. You can find all of their episodes here. (And Sep 22 2026 they put out an episode on ADHD & PMDD, which is a thing people ask me about a lot!)AuDHD Flourishing resources:Transcript Doc (often a few weeks behind, but we do catch up!)Mattia's NewsletterLike Your Brain community space (Patreon/Discord) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Presenting your prices is where so much of your hard work can quietly come undone: one hedging line at the bottom of a proposal or in a conversation, and the whole thing wobbles. This week, to close the pricing series, I'd love to show you exactly how I communicated my prices. The page a client read before they ever reached a number, the single sentence I used for the number itself, and the small, excruciating thing I learned to do the moment after I'd said it. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER: ◼️ The four little hedges many of us tuck into the pricing sentence, and how they invite a discount ◼️ Why the first page a client reads should never be the price, or a list of what they're getting ◼️ Why an itemised quote hands the client a pen to challenge you ◼️ How to write the number itself, in a single sentence, with nothing tucked in beside it ◼️ The three seconds of quiet that do more than any justification ever could RESOURCES MENTIONED: The Bright Line: Application Pricing series: 160: How To Price When You Are Not The Cheapest Pricing series: 159: How To Price What Comes Easily Pricing Series: 158: How To Price Creative Work This week's  Blog Post Subscribe: Weekly newsletter Website: www.philippacraddock.com Instagram: @philippacraddock Email: hello@philippacraddock.com  SHARE YOUR INSIGHTS: Will you try it this week, presenting your price as one plain sentence, then holding the three seconds of quiet? I'd especially love to hear from anyone who manages the silence, because it really is the hardest part. Reply to the Thursday newsletter or send me a DM on Instagram. I read every one personally. NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: My weekly newsletter is where I think out loud. It's where you'll find my behind-the-scenes thinking, where I share the tools I'm currently trying/using, where new resources are shared first and where the conversations happen that often form future episodes. I'd love you to join the many creative business owners already benefitting and joining the conversations.

Kink isn't required to get something real out of a power dynamic. And for ADHD brains, it might be more than you'd expectSex and relationship coach Amanda Dames — The Kink Consultant — joins the show to talk about power dynamics and what dominance and submission can actually offer neurodivergent relationships once the stigma gets stripped away. Amanda and Cate start with the basics: what a power dynamic is, why it's a negotiated role-play and not a real transfer of power, and how submission can function as agency rather than its opposite. From there, the conversation moves into what this looks like day to day — including a partner who quietly set household rules that ended up calming years of ADHD-driven chaos. And then into harder territory: the difference between structure that helps and control that doesn't, how to tell the two apart, and what aftercare (a kink community staple) can offer any couple, kinky or not, after a hard moment.For more on this topicWatch: Kink, BDSM, and ADHD | Sorry, I Missed ThisWatch: Why neurodivergent women can't stop reading smut and romantasy | Sorry, I Missed ThisWatch: Why good sex can make your ADHD brain spiral | Sorry, I Missed ThisFor a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood is a nonprofit where millions of people who are navigating neurodivergence find clear guidance, practical tools, and people who get it. To help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/podcast-donate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kink isn't required to get something real out of a power dynamic. And for ADHD brains, it might be more than you'd expectSex and relationship coach Amanda Dames — The Kink Consultant — joins the show to talk about power dynamics and what dominance and submission can actually offer neurodivergent relationships once the stigma gets stripped away. Amanda and Cate start with the basics: what a power dynamic is, why it's a negotiated role-play and not a real transfer of power, and how submission can function as agency rather than its opposite. From there, the conversation moves into what this looks like day to day — including a partner who quietly set household rules that ended up calming years of ADHD-driven chaos. And then into harder territory: the difference between structure that helps and control that doesn't, how to tell the two apart, and what aftercare (a kink community staple) can offer any couple, kinky or not, after a hard moment.For more on this topicWatch: Kink, BDSM, and ADHD | Sorry, I Missed ThisWatch: Why neurodivergent women can't stop reading smut and romantasy | Sorry, I Missed ThisWatch: Why good sex can make your ADHD brain spiral | Sorry, I Missed ThisFor a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood is a nonprofit where millions of people who are navigating neurodivergence find clear guidance, practical tools, and people who get it. To help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/podcast-donate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

By the time your ideal client asks for a proposal, how much of their decision has already been made?Probably more than most agency owners realize.CMOs are paying attention long before they formally enter the market for an agency. They're looking for signs that a potential partner understands their business, can move quickly, and won't add more risk to an already high-pressure role.So, what makes a small agency feel like the right choice?Christian Banach, founder of Next Big Win, and I dug into that question. He has spent more than 20 years helping agencies win new business, and his CMO Journey interview series keeps him in regular conversation with senior marketing leaders.In this episode, we get into:Why CMOs treat hiring an agency as a risk decisionWhat a specialist signals before the first callWhat CMOs are still outsourcing, and what's moving in-houseWhere to look for early signs a company may need supportWhat to send a CMO once you've spotted a signalHow thought leadership keeps you visible while timing sorts itself outKnowing which CMOs to reach out to, and what to say when you do. This episode covers both.Show Notes:-The Next Big Win: thenextbigwin.comGet the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep162Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Play No Games is a space for real conversations and perspective. Each episode blends authenticity and insight creating room for laughter, clarity, and growth as we unpack what's happening in culture and in ourselves._____________________________

What happens when you stop trying to control everything? Maa Gyaan Suveera explains how to let go, trust life and stay calm, without giving up on your work or family.Stressed about the future, bills, boss and things you can't control? In this episode of Something Bigger, Rodrigo Canelas sits with Maa Gyaan Suveera, a teacher of Indian philosophy and Vedanta, on the banks of the Ganga. They talk about surrender, the flow of life, Maya Jaal, gratitude, and a simple morning and evening practice you can start today.What you'll learn- Why you feel stressed even when life is fine- How to surrender without giving up or sitting idle- Why we try to control the future, and how to plan without over-planning- What Maya Jaal really means, and why bills, EMIs and family feel so real- How gratitude dissolves ego- A simple morning routine: lamp, breathwork and your own prayer- An evening practice: review your day, seek forgiveness and sleep in gratitude- The "middle path" for people with real responsibilitiesTimestamps0:00 Cold open1:00 The best podcast studio in the world1:35 Shanti mantra3:24 Feeling watched by an unseen power6:12 Surrender: where we left off7:15 The boat and paddle: when to act, when to let go10:28 Three types of people and the flow of life13:14 Your presence isn't even required15:48 Swim in the Ganga or sit on the bank16:25 Why we try to control life17:43 Plan the outline, don't paint the colours20:02 What flow of life means for a working person in Mumbai or Delhi21:05 Maya Jaal explained: the invisible net23:00 How to stay in the flow while playing your role25:29 The flow lets you fulfil your responsibilities27:54 How gratitude dissolves ego31:54 The curd (dahi) lesson: when to plan, when to let go33:19 How do I know when to plan and when to let go?34:49 Why a daily routine matters36:00 Any faith, same flow of life37:36 How preparation makes the day graceful39:05 Morning upasana: light a lamp40:53 Breathwork and pranayama42:27 Write your own prayer44:10 Head on the ground: surrendering the ego45:01 Evening practice: review your day and seek forgiveness47:46 Sleep in gratitude48:40 Rodrigo's own morning routine50:06 Don't overplan: the boat seat lesson51:29 Navigating unrealistic deadlines at work with ease53:17 The middle path for people with responsibilities54:22 Catch yourself controlling, and relax55:35 Step back from the controlling system57:06 Key takeawaysIf you've been trying to control every outcome, constantly planning the future, or struggling to let go, this conversation offers a different way to look at life, surrender, and trust.Watch the full conversation and ask yourself: what happens when you stop trying to control the flow of life?#FlowOfLife #Surrender #MaaGyaanSuveera #LetGo #Spirituality

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Some weeks you can handle anything. Then, seemingly overnight, everything feels impossible. Your mood. Your focus. Your patience with yourself. If that shift keeps landing the same week of your cycle, it might not just be PMS.In this episode, Dr. J — a licensed psychologist who works with people with ADHD — breaks down premenstrual dysphoric disorder. PMDD, a diagnosis recognized in the DSM-5-TR, goes well beyond typical PMS and shows up disproportionately in women with ADHD. Research suggests that 31–46% of women with ADHD also meet criteria for PMDD. And the overlap isn't a coincidence. Both ADHD and PMDD are tied to dopamine regulation and sensitivity to hormonal shifts.Dr. J walks through what actually separates PMDD from PMS and why it so often goes undiagnosed. She also looks at what's happening in the brain during the luteal phase — including why your ADHD symptoms, and even your medication, can feel different that week. And she offers practical, evidence-based strategies to make PMDD more manageable, like:Symptom trackingAdjusting diet and exerciseTalking to your provider about medication timingPlanning your schedule around your cyclePlus building the kind of self-compassion that makes hard weeks survivable instead of shameful.If you've ever felt like you lose yourself for a week every month, this one's for you.For more on this topic Listen: ADHD and hormones Read: A guide to hormones and ADHD Watch: PMDD: Why women with ADHD are 4x more likely to struggle | HyperfocusFor a transcript and more resources, visit The ADHD Channel for Women on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood is a nonprofit where millions of people who are navigating neurodivergence find clear guidance, practical tools, and people who get it. To help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/podcast-donate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

“Abuse: What to Do When Someone Tells You” by Rick Thomas (Life Over Coffee, 2026) is a biblical counseling guide for the person someone confides in — pastor, counselor, or friend — not for survivors themselves (Thomas's companion book, Victimized, is for them). Using a composite case study named Marlene, it covers what to do in that first raw hour, how to listen well, how to believe someone while still gently investigating, and where churches tend to overcorrect or underreact. Thomas writes from a biblical-counseling perspective, grounded in Galatians 6:1–2 and Proverbs 18:17, while making clear his critiques of church responses are never doubt that abuse is real.

What an incredible pivot. Support the show and follow us here Twitter, Insta, Apple, Amazon, Spotify and the Edge! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shawn Welty had worked in mental health for nearly 20 years — in schools, community mental health, trauma care, substance abuse, and more. But when he finally received specialized training in OCD and ERP, he started looking at his old work differently. Suddenly, he could recognize symptoms in former clients that he hadn't known to look for at the time.It was a reminder that years of experience don't automatically make someone an OCD specialist. Now, Shawn gets to approach those same kinds of cases with tools he wishes he'd had years ago, and help people get the specialized treatment he didn't even know how to provide earlier in his career.If you're ready to deepen your ERP skills and work somewhere specialized OCD treatment is the focus — not an afterthought — explore joining the team at NOCD: https://learn.nocd.com/therapist_careersFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1K Phew recently released his album What's Understood 3 which features a cast of rappers including Lecrae, nobigdyl., KB and more! He sits down with NayNay from Weekdays with NayNay to discuss the album, content strategies, and more!

1K Phew recently released his album What's Understood 3 which features a cast of rappers including Lecrae, nobigdyl., KB and more! He sits down with NayNay from Weekdays with NayNay to discuss the album, content strategies, and more!

What if you could reach the top without leaving your health, your relationships, and yourself behind to get there? In this episode, Ariana Hall, executive coach to CEO founders, shares how a three-year-old asking for violin lessons led to a professional singing career in front of a million audience members, and eventually to coaching leaders of billion dollar companies. Ariana's path ran from art school to a conservatory program to world tours backing Rod Stewart and Adam Lambert. Then a career she never planned started chasing her. This conversation traces the long line of teachers who made that possible, beginning with a violin teacher who told her mother never to interrupt her daydreaming. [00:04:02] What She Does and Who She Serves Executive coach for CEO founders Believes you do not have to lose your sanity, health, and relationships to succeed Learned that lesson experientially before turning it into her work [00:05:02] The Unexpected Route Here Studied performing arts, theater, and music at an art school as a kid Went on to a conservatory program in college and became a songwriter Sang for roughly one million audience members over her professional career Backed Rod Stewart, Adam Lambert, and Engelbert Humperdinck [00:06:59] The Hospital Room in Laughlin Ended up in an emergency room at 24 with a kidney infection from touring dehydration Was given morphine without explanation and lost an entire day Missed a show and assumed she had lost her touring job A boyfriend broke up with her by phone in the same window [00:08:29] The Voice She Heard Reached deep to figure out where she had miscalculated Heard a clear voice say she was here to empower the voices of others It scared her because as a singer she did not want to empower her competition She later learned the phenomenon is called clairaudience [00:09:03] Standing at the Piano Years later, between voice students, she realized the words had come true Understood that focusing fully on this could become something significant The very next session was not a voice lesson but a voice activation She began working underneath the vocal problems rather than only on technique [00:10:17] From Voice Lessons to Executive Coaching Built an internal almanac of how self-expression works across people Moved into public speaking coaching in her thirties Clients were CEO founders who needed to speak well about their businesses They started asking for help with dating, marriage, kids, and direct reports [00:11:30] The Career That Chased Her She kept insisting she was just a singer while people kept hiring her Eventually turned toward it and accepted this was her career Realized she had amassed enough material that it was no longer public speaking [00:12:00] What Her Coaching Actually Covers Focuses on emotional intelligence rather than strictly business coaching Works on how leaders navigate their primary and key relationships Most clients are eight and nine figure business owners, some ten figure Currently works with a founder running a billion dollar company [00:13:30] The Inside and the Outside High-Fiving Her orientation is making sure a person's inner and outer life line up Much harder to achieve than it sounds She experienced the opposite while touring, successful but depressed Clients often arrive stuck despite appearing to have everything [00:15:50] What Impact Really Means to Her Defines impact as understanding your effect on others and being responsible for it Discovered that music could shift the emotional and physical state of thousands Realized that effect is powerful but short-lived, often gone within 24 hours Wanted to find something more lasting to do with the same skills [00:17:29] Giving the Tools to the Person With the Biggest Reach Asked who is positioned to make the biggest impact imaginable Took ten years to identify exactly what she is doing now Developed the underlying skills over roughly 20,000 hours Modern CEOs cannot wing it; messaging, culture, and hires all have to align [00:20:01] Client Impact: Craig Clemens Co-founder of Golden Hippo, a billion dollar company Came to her before that success as a single guy wanting to be more interesting They worked together about five and a half years and transformed every key area He told her he would tell his future children they would not exist without her [00:22:45] The First Relationship: Mrs. McClung At three years old Ariana asked her mother for violin lessons Mrs. McClung taught her the Suzuki method and how to make sense of vibration When her mother mentioned constant daydreaming, Mrs. McClung called it a sign of genius She told her mother never to interrupt it, which changed how Ariana was raised [00:24:44] The Teacher Who Spotted the Singing At about 11, a teacher told her mother she had real vocal talent Her mother started looking at art schools Ariana auditioned and got into the Palm Beach County School of the Arts She credits her mother for being available to hear all of it [00:25:32] Rachel LeBon and the First Day of Class Rachel had toured professionally before becoming a professor at University of Miami She opened the very first class by asking who would like to sing a song Ariana volunteered while the rest of the room stayed silent Rachel then told them a singer must be able to sing any time, anywhere, in front of anyone [00:27:42] The Call That Sounded Like a Prank A music director called offering her a world tour with Engelbert Humperdinck She thought it was fake and waited days before calling back They were leaving in six days and asked her to pick the other backup singer She gave the job to her best friend and toured about 250 shows a year for two and a half years [00:28:37] Lise Maria and Learning Who She Really Is Went to a small apartment in Santa Monica every week for a year and a half Never missed a single week and cried through nearly all of them Learned there are different parts of the self and how they connect Says the work went further to the core than therapy could reach [00:29:45] Joel and Moving Through the World Powerfully Worked with a mentor named Joel for about a decade Learned how humans think and operate across emotions, psyche, and personality Gained the ability to handle herself in any situation She credits him with the poise she carries now [00:34:36] You Make Your Teachers Proud Someone once told her that phrase and she asked where it came from She understands it as a Native American expression Whoever showed you how to do something well, you are making them proud There is only so far an ego can carry itself; guidance is necessary [00:35:30] Dawn Cartwright and Human Intimacy Dawn is an expert in human intimacy who is still alive and teaching Her work closed the remaining gaps in Ariana's understanding Ariana now coaches couples and individuals through intimacy issues Every one of her teachers loved her in a way that left a beautiful mark [00:37:44] Final Word: Highlighting the People Behind the Superstar She gives a great deal and is often not glorified for it She is the behind-the-scenes person who helps the superstar get there She was the superstar in her former career and understands the pressure She appreciates a show that highlights people who helped others   KEY QUOTES "I believe that you don't have to lose your sanity, your health, and your relationships in order to be successful." - Ariana Hall "Impact is understanding the effect you have on another, or many others, and being responsible for that, and that's not something a lot of people pay attention to." - Ariana Hall "I would not be the person that I am and help these leaders at the level I'm helping them if I hadn't been touched by each of those people along my path." - Ariana Hall CONNECT WITH ARIANA HALL Website: https://www.arianahall.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arianahall Email: ariana@arianahall.com   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

Send us Fan MailChildren who struggle in school are often labeled lazy, defiant, or unwilling to learn. Zakiya White explains why those judgments frequently overlook the real barriers children are facing.As Academic Supervisor at A Kid's Place of Tampa Bay, Zakiya helps children in foster care navigate interrupted schooling, trauma, learning gaps, teacher relationships, and the uncertainty surrounding their futures. She shares how her own childhood difficulty with reading inspired her to become an educator—and why one patient reading coach transformed her fear into determination.Zakiya also reveals why relationships form the foundation of learning. For some children, emotional safety and trust must come before academic progress can begin. Instead of lowering expectations, she sets a different high bar for every child based on their individual needs and circumstances.This conversation challenges misconceptions about foster children, examines how trauma appears in the classroom, and shows why education can become something permanent in a life filled with change.Top Three Highlights

What if the biggest problem facing teachers right now isn't a lack of technology — but the sheer volume of it?Teachers are surrounded by apps, platforms, dashboards, metrics, and digital tools. But more technology doesn't automatically mean more support. Sometimes, it just means more to manage.Welcome back to The Education Evolution — and you're listening to Hall Pass to the Real World.In this episode of Tech Evolution, we're pulling back the curtain on what technology actually looks like inside a live classroom. Because teaching isn't a checklist. It's a constantly changing environment where teachers are making decisions in real time, responding to individual students, and trying to balance the needs of an entire classroom at once.Mr. Jihad reflects on his own experience teaching second grade literacy and special education, including the late-night preparation, the pressure to anticipate every possible student need, and the reality of watching a student get stuck while knowing that giving them more time could mean leaving someone else behind.So what would happen if technology could actually carry that context forward?We explore NISA, a relational AI platform designed for educators and instructional coaches, and what it looks like when technology is built around the reality of the classroom rather than asking teachers to constantly start from scratch.From personalized pre-teach podcasts to real-time classroom reflections and context-aware coaching, the goal isn't to replace teacher intuition or human connection. It's to reduce the cognitive load that comes with trying to remember, document, analyze, and act on everything happening throughout the school day.Because your classroom isn't generic.Your students aren't a template.And maybe the future of education technology isn't about giving teachers more tools — but building tools that actually understand the work teachers are already doing.This is not a conversation about technology replacing teachers. It's a conversation about what technology can look like when it is designed to support the human relationship at the center of the classroom.

Jim Leitch could intubate a patient in the middle of the night — alone, short-staffed, smiling — and feel completely calm. Ask him to follow a pasta recipe? That's where things got hard: Everyday tasks and executive function challenges.Jim is a former critical care respiratory therapist and current VP who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. In this episode, he talks about the exhausting gap between knowing where you want to go and not being able to get started, growing up with perfectionism and a fear of mistakes, and how he quietly created pressure-cooker situations just to get things done. Also: a Christmas pageant in second grade that left a mark he's never forgotten.For more on this topicListen: ADHD and the fear of failureRead: ADHD and perfectionismWatch: Executive dysfunction explained: Why ADHD makes everything so hardFor a transcript and more resources, visit ADHD Aha! on Understood.org. You can also email us at adhdaha@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

#PBT #UnderstoodNot #MarkBut They Understood Not | Mark 9:32 | Associate Pastor Micah RiceRecorded September 13, 2026

Gospel People | Week 7 | Formed By the Story | Pastor Tyler Sollie | Life Center Tacoma It is THE STORY OF GOD One UNIFIED STORY that leads us to JESUS Luke 24;27;44-45 (CSB) The story was always leading to JESUS Scripture is meant to be OPENED, UNDERSTOOD, and LIVED Nehemiah 8:1-3, 7b-12 (CSB) Scripture FORMS us and SENDS us 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (CSB)

In this episode, a complex conversation about ADHD, femininity, gender, and why talking about the hard stuff is important.Cate sits down with Rae Jacobson, host of Understood.org's Hyperfocus podcast, journalist, and a producer on this show. They talk about something they've both struggled to name: the collision between ADHD, femininity, and gender expression. They dig into what it felt like to watch other girls “get it.” The tidiness. The calm. The effortlessness. All things that executive dysfunction made feel out of reach. They talk about the pressure to be nurturing, organized, and endlessly available — and what happens when your brain doesn't cooperate with any of it. And they look at the research on outcomes for women and girls with ADHD.For more on this topicWatch: The “devastating” findings of a decades-long ADHD studyWatch: Head, heart, hormones: Why women's ADHD care should treat the whole person For a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at sorryimissedthis@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tired of ADHD strategies that don't work? Start with my this training: Stop Trying to “Fix” Your ADHD. You're Not Broken: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/sign-up_____Dr. Ann Bennett has spent more than 20 years studying what helps people learn, adapt, and thrive. So when she decided to look at what ADHD podcasts were actually doing for women, she was not expecting the results to be THIS strong.Dr. Bennett leads Applied Research & Evaluation at Understood.org and identifies as disabled, autistic, and AuDHD. In a first-of-its-kind study with Torrens University Australia, she and her research partner looked at how podcasts hosted by and for women with ADHD affect self-perception, health literacy, relationships, and hope for the future.What they found was bigger than “podcasts are helpful.”Women were moving from “something is wrong with me” to “I am a woman with ADHD, and I can navigate this.” About 85 to 86 percent reported a stronger sense of hope for their future, and the benefits showed up across every dimension of thriving the researchers measured.In this episode, Tracy and Ann talk about why lived experience matters as much as credentials, why being talked with feels different from being talked at, what clinicians could learn from podcasts, and why hearing another woman say “me too” can genuinely change the way you see yourself.Resources:Website: https://www.understood.org/en/people/ann-m-bennettLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-annbennettTEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=noZM8CRmrBoPodcast Study: https://www.understood.org/en/research-and-surveys/the-power-of-podcasts-how-podcasts-are-supporting-women-with-adhdSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Explore more from me:

In this episode, a complex conversation about ADHD, femininity, gender, and why talking about the hard stuff is important.Cate sits down with Rae Jacobson, host of Understood.org's Hyperfocus podcast, journalist, and a producer on this show. They talk about something they've both struggled to name: the collision between ADHD, femininity, and gender expression. They dig into what it felt like to watch other girls “get it.” The tidiness. The calm. The effortlessness. All things that executive dysfunction made feel out of reach. They talk about the pressure to be nurturing, organized, and endlessly available — and what happens when your brain doesn't cooperate with any of it. And they look at the research on outcomes for women and girls with ADHD.For more on this topicWatch: The “devastating” findings of a decades-long ADHD studyWatch: Head, heart, hormones: Why women's ADHD care should treat the whole person For a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at sorryimissedthis@understood.org. Understood is a nonprofit where millions of people who are navigating neurodivergence find clear guidance, practical tools, and people who get it. To help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/podcast-donate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you've been seeing AuDHD everywhere online and wondering if it might describe you, you've come to the right place. What does it actually mean to have both ADHD and autism? Dr. J breaks down where these two conditions overlap, where they diverge, and why so many people are recognizing themselves in this label for the first time. We cover shared traits, what AuDHD can feel like day to day, and how to know when it's time to talk to a professional about diagnosis.For more on this topicRead: What is AuDHD?Watch: ADHD and justice sensitivity: Why you can't just “let it go”For a transcript and more resources, visit The ADHD Channel for Women on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Once I understood the difference between insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity, everything clicked. Not just about diabetes - about why chronic disease is exploding, why autoimmune conditions are rising, and why the food systems most of us rely on are working against us instead of for us.Graham and I dig into what insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity actually mean, how they affect blood sugar management on a daily basis, and why understanding the difference between the two is one of the most important things any person with T1D can do for their long-term health.From there the conversation shifts into one of our most spirited debates yet - the pursuit of perfection in diabetes. Graham believes striving for perfection breeds confidence and control. I believe it's one of the fastest roads to diabetes burnout. We're both right. And we're both wrong. And the conversation that happens in between is one of the most honest and useful things we've talked about in a long time.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga. What Women Still Fight For. We women have to fight for so much: being seen, heard, understood, listened to, recognized, and acknowledged. Despite progress, we are still taking a stand to transform women's rights, to overcome barriers to the freedom of voice, opinions, and expression. Little Human to Big Human. Maybe like me you wonder if there was a thru-line of advocacy between who you were as a Little Human Girl and who you are today as a Big Human Woman. What if the courage to speak up, to speak out, to say what you mean and mean what you say was always there? What It Takes. Maybe it's a matter of time, confronting your story, upending your upbringing, and challenging yourself to be a testament to truth. Or a situation that demands a response. Women whose pioneering work laid a foundation for future feminist thought, greater autonomy and independence shared a commitment: I may be one among many but I can draw many to me like fillings to a magnet and together we will do the work that's calling to be done. Click HERE for 36 examples of women who took a stand Devil Within. I was a strong-willed handful as a child. Today we might say I was spirited; but back then I was told “A dimple in the chin means a devil within.” I still have a dimple in my chin. That never left me. What I had to unlearn was a voice that society, religion, patriarchy, and education quieted down. Who am I? The courage to be one's self begins with digging down into the soil of that self. Who am I? What treasure trove of skills, experiences, wisdom, and more can I uncover? And when I uncover the story of myself how do I bestow permission on me to be that self? For a long overdue lesson in courage I turned to Virginia Woolf who knows well the “supreme difficulty of being oneself.” "Let us simmer over our incalculable cauldron, our enthralling confusion, our hotch-potch of impulses, our perpetual miracle — for the soul throws up wonders every second. Movement and change are the essence of our being; rigidity is death; conformity is death: let us say what comes into our heads, repeat ourselves, contradict ourselves, fling out the wildest nonsense, and follow the most fantastic fancies without caring what the world does or thinks or says. For nothing matters except life.” ~ Virginia Woolf Story Prompt: Turn back the pages of time, find that chapter when you were bright and shining, alive and curious, energetic, perceptive, or outspoken. Who is the Little Human Girl that used to be you? Where is she now? Write that story and share it out loud! Thank you for listening. I'm glad to have you here. You're invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, Subscribe & Spread this episode with a generous 5-star review & comment—it helps us all—& join us next time! AND! Stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website during reconstruction, email me [info@quartermoonstoryarts.net] to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as Quarter Moon Story Arts on Substack while I renovate that site, too. Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts Music: Entering Erdenheim by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. Enjoy my work? Share & attribute it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Your smartwatch tracks your steps and your pulse. Soon, devices like it could track your brainwaves, and even tell if the wearer is neurodivergent. Brain-monitoring wearables that purport to help with focus, sleep, and even ADHD are already being sold online. This is called “neurotechnology,” and it's a fast-moving market with almost zero regulation. Stephen Damianos of the Neurorights Foundation joins us to unpack the potential promise — and dangers — of this emerging technology. We discuss the unique risks it poses for neurodivergent people, and why your brain data might be the most valuable, and least protected, information you own. For more on this topic Explore: The Neurorights Foundation Watch: Is “ring of fire” ADHD real? For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When people with ADHD struggle to start, return to, or finish a task, their inaction is frequently mislabeled as laziness, poor motivation, or chronic procrastination. In reality, the obstacle is rarely about logistics or effort. It stems from the emotional pre-work required just to get to the starting line. Brendan Mahan, an ADHD coach, speaker, host of the ADHD Essentials podcast, and author of Overcoming the Wall of Awful, joins Emily to talk about the emotional barriers that turn ordinary demands into overwhelming roadblocks. TAKEAWAYS Task paralysis is driven primarily by emotional labor and accumulated negative memories rather than simple executive dysfunction or laziness. The emotional work required to face an anxiety-provoking task is invisible from the outside, which often cause those around you to mistake genuine freeze states for willful procrastination. Smashing through emotional barriers using eleventh-hour panic and anger damages internal self-esteem and strains personal relationships. Putting a door in an emotional barrier involves shifting short-term states using external scaffolding such as body doubling, high-interest music, or novel environments. Climbing an emotional barrier requires a balance of active cognitive processing and passive mind-wandering to allow the brain's default mode network to metabolize stress. Healthy accountability separates functional impairments from moral worth by treating ADHD symptoms with the same matter-of-fact compassion as an asthma flare-up or chronic physical condition. Mental health clinicians: Telling a child about a new diagnosis can feel like navigating a minefield, but it doesn't have to. We're hosting a training with Dr. Liz Angoff, called Explaining a Diagnosis to Kids in a Neurodiversity-Affirming Way, on Friday, September 11th from 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern. The course is worth 1.5 continuing education hours, and is approved through both the APA and NBCC. You'll learn how to replace pathologizing jargon with empowering, neurodiversity-affirming language that builds self-advocacy and resilience. Register for this course today. We're getting closer to our annual, free Creating Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools Crash Course. Our a panel of experts will talk all about how to approach the new school year and set our neurodivergent students up for success. The event is Tuesday, September 22 at 7:30 PM Eastern, and again, it is free to register and attend. Here's a link to register and join us! Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., M.S. is an ADHD coach, speaker, and educator dedicated to helping neurodivergent individuals better understand and manage the challenges of ADHD. He is the author of Overcoming the Wall of Awful™ and the host of the popular ADHD Essentials Podcast, where he shares practical strategies and insights for navigating life with ADHD. As a neurodivergent professional, Brendan brings both lived experience and professional expertise to his work with individuals, families, schools, and organizations. He serves on the board of the Men's ADHD Support Group, is the Director of Professional Resources for Calmer Con Boston, and previously served on the planning committee for the International Conference on ADHD. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, LinkedIn, Understood, How to ADHD, Verywell Mind, and ADDitude Magazine. BACKGROUND READING Overcoming the Wall of Awful, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Twitter/X The Neurodiversity Podcast is on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and you're invited to join our Facebook Group. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com If you'd like members of your organization, school district, or company to know more about the subjects discussed on our podcast, Emily Kircher-Morris provides keynote addresses, workshops, and training sessions worldwide, in-person or virtually. You can choose from a list of established presentations, or work with Emily to develop a custom talk to fit your unique situation. To learn more, visit our website. Thank you for supporting neurodivergent people.

Your next donor may never visit your website!Peter Byrnes, CEO of Fundraise Up, is joining me to explain agentic giving and the shift he sees happening RIGHT now from discovery, to recommendation, to delegation. Donors are already asking AI tools where they should give, and soon they may be asking those same tools to actually make the donation for them. We get into what nonprofits need to do now to become easier for AI to find, understand, and trust, including why consistency across your website, annual reports, financial information, and outside sources matters more than ever. We also talk about Fundraise Up's free Agentic Giving Readiness Assessment, how to audit what AI is already saying about your organization, and why the goal isn't to panic — it's to prepare.Resources & LinksCheck out the Fundraise Up Agentic Giving Readiness Assessment.Connect with Peter on LinkedIn.Learn more about Peec.ai. This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  With the Monthly Giving Builder, you can generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!Let's Connect!Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.Want to book Dana as a speaker for your event? Click here!

You finally understand something about yourself. Something that took months of therapy to even name. And now you need someone else to get it too.This week we're talking about that longing, where it comes from, why it can feel so urgent with certain people, and what happens in your body when the conversation doesn't go the way you hoped. We'll cover emotional flashbacks, the fight flight freeze fawn response, and the difference between being understood and being agreed with. Plus, what's actually yours to hold onto when someone doesn't meet you where you're at.This episode is for anyone who has ever tried to explain their trauma response to a friend, a partner, or a family member and walked away feeling more alone instead of less.Thanks for listening to The Complex Trauma Podcast!Be sure to follow, share and give us a review on your favorite podcast platform.Follow on Instagram: @sarahherstichlcsw Follow on TikTok: @sarahherstichlcswLearn more about EMDR & trauma therapy in Pennsylvania with Reclaim TherapyThis podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.Remember, I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Nothing in this podcast is meant to replace actual therapy or treatment. If you're in crisis or things feel really unsafe right now, please reach out to someone. You can call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, text them, or head to your nearest ER.The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organizations or institutions. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.

What if the reason you or your child can't “just do the thing” is not laziness, but a Wall of Awful built from repeated frustration, shame, anxiety, and failure? Brendan Mahan breaks down the hidden emotional barrier behind procrastination, avoidance, and shutdown - and shows how to actually get through it without burning out. Debbie Reber welcomes Brendan back to unpack his new book, Overcoming the Wall of Awful: Why It's Hard to Get Things Done with ADHD, Autism and Anxiety, and How to Do Them Anyway. Together they make this deceptively simple metaphor concrete, useful, and surprisingly validating for parents, educators, clinicians, and anyone who has ever stared at a task and felt their brain go sideways. About Brendan Mahan  Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., MS., is the author of Overcoming the Wall of Awful™, and host of the ADHD Essentials Podcast. A sought-after speaker, and neurodivergent person himself, Brendan helps organizations and individuals manage neurodiverse challenges through education, collaborative problem-solving, compassion, and accountability.  He is on the board of the Men's ADHD Support Group, Director of Professional Resources for Calmer Con Boston, and a former committee member of the International Conference on ADHD. He has featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, LinkedIn, Understood, How to ADHD, VeryWell Mind, and ADDitude. Things you'll learn from this episode  How the Wall of Awful creates an emotional barrier that can make starting or completing tasks feel impossible Why anxiety and adrenaline can sometimes help us climb the Wall of Awful while also taking a toll How creating “doors” in the Wall can provide quicker paths to regulation and getting unstuck Why making tasks interesting, meaningful, or connected to personal values can reduce avoidance How rejection sensitive dysphoria can add another layer to the Wall of Awful and how parents can support kids through it Why having shared language and practical tools for talking about Walls of Awful can help kids better understand and navigate their experience Resources mentioned Brendan Mahan's website Overcoming the Wall of Awful: Why It's Hard to Get Things Done with ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety (and How to Do Them Anyway) by Brendan Mahan The Wall of Awful Brendan's ADHD Essentials Community on Facebook ADHD Essentials on Instagram Brendan Mahan on LinkedIn ADHD Essentials on Blue Sky ADHD Essentials on X Jessica McCabe How to ADHD YouTube channel Wall of Awful on How to ADHD (YouTube videos) The Anti-Planner: How to Get Sh*t Done When You Don't Feel Like It - Undated ADHD Planner Alternative for Adults, Women & Teens, 100+ Productivity Strategies for Focus & Procrastination by Dani Donovan Dani Donovan's website Dr. William Dodson   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former boss once described their first meeting this way: “She showed up late and disheveled, and I hired her anyway.” That's Sabrina Caluori in a nutshell. Sabrina is the chief marketing officer at Chief, the largest private network for ambitious women. Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, she describes herself as a contradiction: “High achieving and a hot mess in equal measure” — a leader who can hold an entire company's strategy in her head but can't manage her own calendar. Sabrina shares what it's like to be gifted with ADHD — twice exceptional — and how that experience bonds her to her 2e child. She gets into ADHD burnout, self-doubt, and how the things she once considered character flaws turned out to make her exceptional at reading people and leading teams. For more on this topic Listen: Twice exceptional: Raising a gifted son with ADHD (Emily's story) Read: ADHD and burnout Watch: The ADHD burnout cycle For a transcript and more resources, visit ADHD Aha! on Understood.org. You can also email us at adhdaha@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When any Muslim worships, from anywhere in the world, they orientate themselves towards Mecca. Whether in a mosque, at home, or outdoors, this act of orientation is a prerequisite of prayer. So much so, in fact, that it is easy to take this for granted, without wondering how this came about, and what Muslim—and non-Muslim—scholars thought about it over the centuries. In this episode, we explore the origins, implications and debates about qibla, or sacred orientation, from the verses of the Quran through the inter-religious dialogues of the medieval period and the evidence of early mosque architecture. Nile Green talks to Ari M. Gordon, author of Sacred Orientation in Late Antiquity and Early Islam (Routledge, 2026).

Parables are often challenging to interpret and today we look at Matthew 13 which contains the densest chapter on parables in the Bible. We'll talk about how to interpret parables and also see what our Lord tells us about the nature and message of the Kingdom. Join Us! Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

We recorded our first-ever live show in front of a studio audience! Emmy Award–winning writer, director, and producer Adam Reid, co-creator of “Tiny Chef,” joined Cate to talk about ADHD creativity: what works, what doesn't, when to dig in, when to let things go, and why finishing things isn't always the point. Adam talked candidly about being diagnosed with ADHD at 45, after years of building an Emmy-winning creative career without knowing why his brain worked the way it did. And he and Cate shared how they make it work (or not) as neurodivergent creators. Check it out! For more on this topic Read: ADHD and creativity Watch: Cate answers your burning ADHD questions For a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at sorryimissedthis@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We recorded our first-ever live show in front of a studio audience! Emmy Award–winning writer, director, and producer Adam Reid, co-creator of “Tiny Chef,” joined Cate to talk about ADHD creativity: what works, what doesn't, when to dig in, when to let things go, and why finishing things isn't always the point. Adam talked candidly about being diagnosed with ADHD at 45, after years of building an Emmy-winning creative career without knowing why his brain worked the way it did. And he and Cate shared how they make it work (or not) as neurodivergent creators. Check it out! For more on this topic  Read: ADHD and creativity Watch: Cate answers your burning ADHD questions For a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at sorryimissedthis@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Your student has an IEP all the way through high school. Then they graduate — and it doesn't go with them. Dr. Toby Tomlinson Baker was diagnosed with a learning disability in 1987, attended six different schools between kindergarten and twelfth grade, and was told by her guidance counselors not to bother applying to college. She has a PhD. In this episode she explains what actually changes the day a student walks off a high school campus, why the accommodations you fought for don't automatically transfer, and how to teach a student to ask for what they need before anyone makes them. In this episode, you'll learn: - What legally changes when a student moves from high school to college — and why a university can say no - Why self-advocacy is a skill you teach, not a personality trait a student either has or doesn't - What Dr. Baker found when she interviewed college professors about disability law for her dissertation - Why the accommodation that helps one student usually helps the whole class - The one thing that predicts whether a struggling student turns a corner Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e972  If this episode helped you think differently about a student, share it with a teacher who needs it. SPONSORED: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this episode. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. Show Sponsor: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this podcast episode. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. Ellis pulls from a knowledge base on content from trusted partners like CAST, CASEL, Understood and others, and gives you evidence-aligned ideas for students who are struggling with learning, behavior, or the emotional side of school (but not clinical advice). If you've got a student (or two) who you can't stop thinking about, try it and see what it brings you. No personally identifiable student information is collected, and it is a much better place to start than "brainstorming" with your general-purpose AI chat tool. Try Ellis today: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/ellis

Most teachers reaching for AI to help with a struggling student are reaching for the wrong kind of AI. General-purpose chat tools pull from the open internet, they were never trained on whether the information is accurate, and they should be nowhere near a student's personally identifiable information. Natalie Tamburello, a learning disability and education equity advocate at Children's Health Council, walks through what a teacher-facing AI built on vetted research actually looks like — and why she thinks that is where the real classroom wins are right now. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why "just ask ChatGPT" falls short when a student is struggling with behavior, learning, or the emotional side of school - What RAG (retrieval augmented generation) is, and how pulling from a curated library of vetted nonprofit resources changes the answer you get - Why the first question a good tool asks you is "what are this student's strengths?" - How to describe a student situation without putting personally identifiable information into any AI - The clear line between a classroom strategy and clinical advice — and what a teacher-facing tool should refuse to do Ellis is a free tool for K-12 educators from Children's Health Council. It pulls from a knowledge base of content from trusted partners like CAST, CASEL, Understood and others, it gives you information rather than clinical advice, and it does not collect personally identifiable student information. Today's show was sponsored by Ellis. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. https://www.askellis.org/  Full show notes, links, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e971  Share this one with the teacher down the hall who is still thinking about that one student.

From the outside, Susie Owens looked like she was gliding. Straight-A student, entrepreneur, devoted mom — and exhausted in ways nobody could see. When you're an ADHD high achiever, masking is a whole job. Susie spent years in therapy for anxiety, quietly holding it together. A second child tipped the scales. Through her ADHD diagnosis, she learned that her struggles weren't a reflection of who she was as a person or as a mom. It was just ADHD.  For more on this topic Listen: Emotional regulation, and yelling, as a mom with ADHD (Patricia Sung's story)  Read: Mental load: The invisible weight women with ADHD carry Watch: Renowned ADHD expert on how to juggle ADHD and motherhood For a transcript and more resources, visit ADHD Aha! on Understood.org. You can also email us at adhdaha@understood.org. As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Boundaries are not a heavy conversation you need a degree to have. They are small, repeated moments — and the right words handed to a child before they need them. Ashley Bendiksen, author of A Kids Book About Boundaries, shows teachers what to say. Ashley Bendiksen is a national speaker and abuse prevention advocate who spent years talking to teens about dating violence. Then she moved earlier. Her book for children ages five to nine teaches the skill underneath all of it: knowing you have a choice, and having the words to say so. In this conversation she shows what that looks like in an elementary classroom — the two-option choice, the "I don't like that" script, the pause to ask "did we ask first?" — none of which requires adding anything to your lesson plan. We also talk about your boundaries, because teaching is high-burnout work and we are modeling something for kids either way. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why boundaries are emotional and social, not just physical - The micro-moments that teach boundaries without a new lesson - A role-play activity you can run this week - What to say to the student who always decides what everyone plays - Why "let's all just get along" can send the wrong message - One small boundary to set for yourself this week Show notes and full transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e970  Show Sponsor: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this podcast episode. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. Ellis pulls from a knowledge base on content from trusted partners like CAST, CASEL, Understood and others, and gives you evidence-aligned ideas for students who are struggling with learning, behavior, or the emotional side of school (but not clinical advice). If you've got a student (or two) who you can't stop thinking about, try it and see what it brings you. No personally identifiable student information is collected, and it is a much better place to start than "brainstorming" with your general-purpose AI chat tool. Try Ellis today: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/ellis  ★ If this show helps you, leave a rating or review wherever you're listening. It is the single thing that helps another teacher find us.

It's easy to view academic difficulties and mental health challenges as two separate issues when a child struggles. However, the emotional toll of an unaddressed learning difference often leads to chronic anxiety, low self-esteem, and a loss of motivation. Dr. Karen Wilson is a pediatric neuropsychologist and the host of the Diverse Thinking-Different Learning Podcast, and she joins Emily this week to talk about the deep overlap between learning differences and emotional well-being. TAKEAWAYS Learning differences and mental health challenges are deeply connected, with neurodivergent kids experiencing higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general population. Kids notice and internalize daily academic struggles long before an official diagnosis, often assuming their difficulties are signs of personal flaws rather than a neurodivergent profile. Chronic academic often undermines motivation by breaking the expected relationship between hard work and successful outcomes. Evaluating whether anxiety or an executive functioning difference came first requires building a clear developmental timeline through family and academic histories. Complex tasks like writing demand a high executive functioning load, requiring students to juggle task initiation, working memory, organization, and emotional regulation all at once. Long-term independence often requires pairing classroom accommodations with explicit skill building and self-advocacy training, so students can understand themselves and self-advocate. The Neurodiversity Podcast Advocacy & Support Group is ready for you! Join us now. Dr. Karen Wilson is a pediatric neuropsychologist specializing in the intersection of learning, mental health, and identity in children and adolescents who learn and think differently. With over 20 years of clinical, academic, and research experience, including faculty and training roles at UCLA, she brings deep expertise in neurodevelopment, executive functioning, and comprehensive assessment across diverse populations. Dr. Wilson's work is grounded in a neurodiversity-affirming, equity-focused approach that considers how social, cultural, and systemic factors shape the identification and support of neurodivergent learners. She is the host of the Diverse Thinking · Different Learning podcast and an expert with Understood.org, where she translates complex neuropsychological concepts into practical strategies. Her work helps families, educators, and organizations move beyond labels to better understand and support the whole child. BACKGROUND READING Diverse Thinking Different Learning Podcast, Instagram, LinkedIn The Neurodiversity Podcast is on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and you're invited to join our Facebook Group. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com If you'd like members of your organization, school district, or company to know more about the subjects discussed on our podcast, Emily Kircher-Morris provides keynote addresses, workshops, and training sessions worldwide, in-person or virtually. You can choose from a list of established presentations, or work with Emily to develop a custom talk to fit your unique situation. To learn more, visit our website.