Found Family Podcast

For more than 25 years, Dr. Alison J Kay has practiced as a mind-body energy healer, founding the Vibrational UPgrade™ System, and working in yoga, meditation, chi gong, energy medicine, mind-body fitness, longevity, and holistic health with a specialization in the chakra system. Considered one of the leading experts in her field, she has taught around the world and has written three books: the award winning “What if There’s Nothing Wrong?”, Vibrational UPgrade: A Conspiracy For Your Bliss: Easing Humanity’s Evolutionary Transition”, “Reasonable Dragons: How to Activate the Field of Possibilities Where Logical Magic Is the New Normal” and her latest masterpiece, “The Dragon Master Creatrix: Conversations with a Female Spiritual Teacher for these New Times”

Today, Dr. Alison helps answer:

1. What is your personal definition of the word courage?
   
2. How can someone “find” courage? Where does it come from / how it is obtained?
   
3. Can you share with us what living a life of courage could look like?
   
4. Let’s talk more about what we mean when we say “allow” yourself everything you desire… can you explain?
   
5. What if someone listening right now doesn’t know what they desire? Where do they start? Who could they turn to?
   
6. What are some practical steps our found family can take starting today?

Please join me in supporting Dr. Alison by checking out her website, book, and a bonus page!

Website: https://www.alisonjkay.com

Dragon Master Creatrix short link on amazon:

An Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, certified mindfulness teacher, and survivor of childhood abuse, Dr. Gazelle knows resilience inside out and would love to help the Found Family Podcast listeners learn more about how to build theirs. As one of the leading physician coaches in this country, she has coached over 500 physicians and has been featured on such diverse media as Bloomberg Businessweek, Medical Economics, the Physician Leadership Journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, CNN, and ABC News.

Her book, Everyday Resilience. A Practical Guide to Build Inner Strength and Weather Life’s Challenges came out in August 2020.

Today Dr. Gazelle helps us answer:

1. What is Imposter Syndrome?
   
2. How does Imposter Syndrome feel like?
   
3. Is Imposter Syndrome something that you can self-diagnose?
   
4. Why is it so damaging to our self-esteem?
   
5. How can we overcome it?

Click the link below to access the first chapter of Dr. Gazelle's book for FREE :) 

A behaviorist and avid athlete, Fallon started her coaching business in 2019. After returning home from living abroad in Prague, she was motivated to return & give back to those involved in the sport that led her to massive internal physical & mental alignment, crew. She believes every man & woman deserves to live life invigorated through a sound body & mind so that they can crush every goal and become the strongest version of themselves. Fallon is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, rowing coach and accomplished rower with a first place finish at the 2019 Masters National Championships.

Here are the questions that Fallon helps answer for us today!

1. Can you share with us what it means to become the strongest version of ourselves, and how you’ve become the strongest version of yourself?
   
2. I love how you’ve shared how "pulling your own weight" sets you up for success. Can you explain what this means?
   
3. What are the 3 pillars to self-heal?
   
4. How can we use these pillars to self-heal?
   
5. What are ways that we can begin self-healing today?

Please go show Fallon love & support on her Instagram & TikTok!

Gena was born in New Zealand where her roots run deep but now lives in Australia where she is able to blossom and grow. She is a wife, momma of 3, and business owner. She specializes in Energy healing and Guidance readings but her true calling is to help others tap into their inner power for their own healing experience. She had been that person that struggled in the past due to traumatic events out of her control. She looked high and low for help and answers but it wasn't until she started to go deeper into herself, listen to her body and intuition that she was able to understand that this wasn’t something someone else could fix for her. It was then that she realized it was inside of her all along, and this was the start of TRUE healing.

Here are the questions that Gena answers for us today:

1. What led you to get into energy healing?
   
2. How did you learn how to tap into your inner power?
   
3. Can you share with us more about sexual trauma and some of the effects for adults?
   
4. How can our listeners begin their own healing journey?
   
5. Which chakras are affected by sexual trauma?
   
6. Can you share more with us about these chakras and how to heal them to heal sexual trauma?

Laurie is BACK on Found Family Podcast!

Laurie is a former federal probation officer with a Master in Justice, a degree in Cultural Anthropology and a certified Life Coach. She is originally from California but has been an expat for 14 years. Through her works, she shows you how you are your first home through her Higher Self Letter Writing technique and customized guided visualizations +affirmations

Here are some of the very important questions that Laurie helps answer for us:

1. What is PTSD?
   
2. What does PTSD do to a person?
   
3. What are the signs and symptoms?
   
4. How did you discover that you have PTSD?
   
5. What has been your experience living with PTSD?
   
   1. What helps you cope and manage?
      
6. Can PTSD ever go away?
   

Show Laurie your love & support!

Laurie's website: www.lifecoachlaurie.com

Introducing Found Family Podcast's FIRST EVER Book Club Soul Chat With The Author!

Hope Atlas writes her story through poetry, original quotes and memoirs. Her writing focuses on mental health, addiction and grief. She has a master’s degree in reading education from Syracuse University. She has worked in literacy programs with children and adults. For many years Hope worked as a bereavement volunteer. Most recently, she has been involved in community outreach programs. She has a personal growth blog in Medium Magazine and writes in their Mental Health community as well. Her writing has been published in online literary journals. Her first book, My Upside-Down world is a personal growth journal encouraging self-awareness through writing.

Questions that Hope helps answer for us today:

1. When did you first start journaling? What does journaling mean to you?
   
2. You’ve shared with me that your book, My Upside-Down World, includes unique quotes and writing prompts for journaling. Tell us a little bit more about these quotes and prompts!
   
3. What is your book intended to help others obtain?
   
4. What can self-awareness do for us? / What does it mean to have self-awareness?
   
5. How can we develop our self-awareness? And how can journaling help us become more self-aware?
   
6. Are there other self care practices you use? How do you practice self care for your personal growth?

Please show Hope some of your love and support!

As a Family Therapist for over 20 years, Jodi shows people how to create Practical Miracles even in the most difficult times. As an inspirational speaker, she helps Generation Z and their parents find their Diamond Confidence, teaching usable tools to push past fear, connect with their personal agency and expand their consciousness. As an anxiety-survivor, she totally gets

it. As a mom of teens, she double-dog gets it. Through her TEDxWilmington talk, “Calm Anxious Kids,” and her bestselling book, You 1, Anxiety 0, Jodi is changing the way we understand the current mental health crisis. Look for her newest book, Anxiety...I’m So Done With You: A Teen’s Guide to Ditching Toxic Stress and Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness, coming out in July 2020.

Questions:

1. What are some of the most important things for emotional wellness, especially now as we are physically distancing?
   
2. How can we cope with anxiety and stress during COVID-19, especially the moms who are listening right now who might be experiencing even more anxiety and stress?
   
3. What can we do to release fear, increase confidence, and find purpose during times of uncertainty?
   
4. Let’s chat more about your upcoming book, “Anxiety...I’m So Done With You: A Teen’s Guide to Ditching Toxic Stress and Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness”.
   

Please show Jodi your love and support!  

Dr. Teralyn Sell is a Psychotherapist, Brain Health Expert and co-creator of the world’s first and only mental health and addiction recovery supplement line, Pro Recovery Rx. For over 20 years, Dr. Teralyn has helped career-driven women overwhelmed by anxiety and panic attacks eliminate their symptoms and get off of medication completely using natural approaches that balances brain chemistry while permanently changing behavior. Dr. Teralyn is NOT a believer in throwing a prescription at the problem – which seems to be the blanket “solution” to stress, anxiety and depression in our current society. She encourages a holistic approach to overall wellness, which results in lasting change, a healthier state of being, and a happier you.

Questions that Dr. Teralyn helps answer for us today:

1. What are a few ways that we can improve our mental health without medication?
   
2. Can nutrition change how we look at addiction recovery?
   
3. What are a few ways that natural supplements can improve mental health?
   
4. How can we keep trauma from ruining our lives and mental health?
   
5. Is nutrition the future of mental health?
   

Yes, as I was reflecting on what life was like / is like living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder I realized that there are just as many pros as there are cons. Trust me, this was just ask shocking to me, too. Today, as part of mental health awareness month, I wanted to highlight the pros. Below is a list of my reflections for both sides:

Cons:

• It made me feel trapped and fearful
  
• It made me have a broken record in my brain replaying negative thoughts
  
• It made me sabotage relationships
  
• It made me ruminate
  
• It gave me intrusive thoughts that made me question my sanity
  
• It made me obsessed with religion and trying to be the perfect Christian
  
• It made me crave assurance
  
• It’s kept me stuck within my business
  
• It made me experience some of the worst panic attacks of my life
  

Pros:

• It’s made me a more empathetic person
  
• It’s made me more introspective
  
• It helped keep me out of trouble
  
• It’s made me have more resilience
  
• It’s turned me into a fighter
  
• It’s made me ask myself lots of questions to gain awareness & ultimately confidence
  
• It’s made me be more truthful
  
• It’s helped me stick with my workouts because they’re real time and I am holding myself more accountable not to miss a day
  
• It’s made me more prepared to cope with things like COVID-19, periods of time filled with uncertainty

Laurie is a certified Life Coach and was formerly a federal probation officer with a Master in Justice and a degree in Cultural Anthropology. She is originally from California but has been an expat for 14 years. Through her Higher Self Letter Writing technique and customized guided visualizations and affirmations, Laurie shows you how you are your first home. 

May is mental health awareness month. As many of us either know or have known a narcissist, this is a very important topic that I can't wait to share with you all! Today, Laurie and I dive deeper into understanding narcissistic personalities. But you might be asking, what is a narcissist? 

You will learn:

• Some of the signs of narcissists
• What it's like living with a narcissistic parent, family member, or partner
• The best ways to communicate with a narcissist
• How we can cope and show ourselves love

Initially, narcissistic abuse starts with 'small jab' comments. Over time, they grow and behavior changes. You might experience passive aggressiveness and/or the silent treatment. Narcissists are like mind ninjas!

As Laurie shares, "they will start to diminish your self-esteem...and you don't really feel it straight away." You might think, as Laurie also shared, "what's wrong with me...?" 

Mental abuse is still abuse. Please remember that your emotions and thoughts are valid and that there is NOTHING wrong with you. Narcissists prey on those who are empathetic and use it against them. Remember your inner power and use this episode to empower you to show yourself compassion, acceptance, and love

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Show Laurie your love & support! 

You want it so badly. The fit body, a partner in crime, to be InstaFamous and have the most glamorous feed, or to finally have the guts to start that business you've always dreamed of. You spend so much time future tripping - focusing on these things (and then some)... things that you don't have right now. So you get frustrated, you get angry, and you get discouraged.

How many hours a day do you spend future tripping?

How much energy do you consume every day saying mean things to yourself?

Stop searching for external things, soul sister. You will literally exhaust yourself mentally and physically to the point of panic attacks, increased anxiety, and depression. It's scary to search inward, but it's the answer. You gotta spend time with you first.

Before you listen to this episode, take 30 seconds to look at your reflection, either in a mirror or on your phone. Look at yourself in the eyes, smile, and say out loud, "I love you and I'm here for you. You're a resilient, strong, and incredible woman. I'm ready to meet you and I'm ready to become besties again."

1. Reflect on things that you're grateful for

2. Identify which human need you're trying to satisfy

3. Understand your self-love language

4. Cut yourself some slack, you're doing the best you can

5. Set boundaries for yourself

What are you waiting for? You have this power, too.

So go out there and live your most fulfilled life!

Katy was a successful securities lawyer for over 14 years working at the SEC and on Capital Hill, where she received accolades for her work. Her demanding job and strong focus in global corporate work showed Katy that unlocking human potential is key for people to live their best lives and excel personally and professionally. She used this wisdom to reinvent her life and develop a road map for others to reduce stress and increase self-confidence.

Click the link below to keep listening!

Reframing to see the good that OCD has brought:

Lara put it this way: “Having OCD has made me a more intense, sensitive, and compassionate human being. I have been humbled by my disorder. It has built character even while tearing at my soul, my heart, and my self-esteem. It has enabled me to fight harder, to strive for the good and the truth inside of me. It has made me less critical and judge mental of others who suffer in their lives.”

How to Revalue:

1. Realize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive urge are not important and that you can deal with them. You’re in sense, devaluing those silly thoughts.
2. Anticipate and Accept
   Anticipate that the obsessive thought will occur hundreds of time a day and do not be surprised by them, even if they are violent and extremely upsetting.
   Accept that your problem is a treatable medical condition.... accept that it exists despite yourself, not because of yourself
   
3. Use progressive time delays that gradually increase longer than 15 minutes by breaking the task into manageable bits, reassessing the situation while you are still anxious
4. Practice - over stress the importance of learning to make self-supportive statements as a regular part of doing the Four Steps.
5. Victim to victor - As Karen in the book says, “get a loving buddy, a friend, or a family member to help you and encourage you. Get your life back. Your future is in your hands now.”

Recap:

Relabeling - “It’s all right, it’s just OCD”

Reattribute - it to a brain glitch

Refocus - on a constructive, enjoyable behavior

Revaluing - the meaning of your thoughts and urges

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This episode goes out to anyone who's been told to "just get over it" or "just think positive" but never told HOW.

Welcome to the 6th episode of "Notes To Self", a segment of Found Family Podcast. "Notes To Self" are literally notes that I've written to myself on the Notes app on my iPhone where I admit my worst fears, talk about my triggers, and word vomit limiting beliefs. I also share life-changing revelations on my recovery journey. Get ready to REAL talk, girl. Coz s*ht's about to get real!

Notes To Self on 1/28/2017:
"Focusing on the good things in your life and focusing on what you do have are the only keys to feeling happy. Find the good in everything, it changes your mood! Just freaked out about my finances, my job, my lack of a relationship. I never had all 3 areas a question mark in my head. By focusing on the future good and by acknowledging that this is temporary and that there are still good positive things going on right now, completely lifted the burden off my shoulders"


Lessons you'll learn today:
HOW to shift your mindset by,

1. Remembering it's temporary
2. You might not understand what you're going through right now but it'll make sense later
3. What you focus on you will think about
4. Asking yourself different questions, such as "What IS something that is good in this situation?" or "Who can I talk to right now?" or "Which resource can I turn to for guidance?"
5. Giving yourself X amount of time to FREAK OUT and then refocus

How can journaling help us? What does journaling mean to you? What is the most effective way to journal?

Marni and I deep dive into the role journaling has in our lives and, I gotta say, after this soul chat, I am rededicating myself to journaling!

What we'll learn today:

• The interconnectedness between thoughts and feelings
• Examples of triggers and how they affect the body
• Ways that we can best manage triggers
• Self-awareness exercises - how we can take inventory of our feelings and emotions
• Understanding our basic human needs and how to make them work for us to manage anxiety

Calling all CREATIVES! This podcast is for you...

How has anxiety and depression hindered your creativity?

In what ways can artists tap deeper into their creativity and keep creating?

CHEERS to one of my favorite topics! Celine helps answer all of these questions and more!

Celine is an author, coach, trainer and podcaster passionate about creativity and wellbeing. She studied Physics until the master level, but decided ultimately that she wanted to work in the creative sector. In 2012, she moved to London, where she started working in the theatre industry, alongside writing. She published several short stories in magazines, she produced a short film and she recently completed her first sci-fi young adult novel. Now, she helps other creatives reach their potential and live a happy life. The Part-Time Artist is her first non-fiction book, and she is currently working on her second book "Happy, Not Tortured".

What you'll learn today:

- how we can examine our "mental health diet"

- understanding what exactly our "mental health diet" is

- how we can change our habits

- breakthroughs to help you reach your fullest potential 

- steps you can take today to live a happier life 

- ways to break through "creativity blocks" and keep creating!

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Please show your love and support! Follow Celine on Twitter and check out her website AND books!

What is your advice for someone who feels stuck living with social anxiety?

Is recovery possible?

What helped you gain confidence? And what continues to help you gain confidence?

Savannah helps us answer ALL of these questions and so much more in today's episode. Savannah Shea Blake is a Confidence Coach and Birth Doula at EarthandWater.co who helps women unleash their inner warrior goddesses through chakras and mindset so that they can conquer the battles of life, feel more supported in their ventures and love who they are.

Lessons we learn today:

• Becoming aware of how diet and things around us can contribute to anxiety
• Gaining clarity on mindset shifting 
• Steps to gain confidence, including steps you can take today!
• Learning how to build your support system

Savannah and I are THROWING DOWN A CHALLENGE
Starting Monday, January 6th, we're hosting a 1 week Confidence Challenge for you after you listen to this episode. This way, you will learn HOW to gain confidence and WHAT steps you can take today to make this happen.

THE CHALLENGE:

Day 1 : Power poses

Day 2 : Compliment yourself

Day 3 : Affirmations

Day 4 : Pop

Day 5 :  Say yes

The word HOLIDAY can be a trigger for many of us.  As the holidays are approaching, how can our listeners prepare for this time of year?

• How do you know whether or not you’re properly prepared?
• What are some examples to prepare?
• Let’s talk about no-contact. Does it really work?
• What if the person who is causing you the most stress is a parent or sibling?

Dr. Deb and I dive deeper into ALL of these questions AND MORE!

Dr. Deb Lindh (Dr. Deb) is a PTSD Survivor-Warrior, Amazon Best Selling Author, Award-Winning Scholar Practitioner, and founder of the global Twitter Chat #PTSDandBeyond and the podcast PTSD and Beyond which were both launched to provide advocacy, support, and resources as well as hope, inspiration, education, and empowerment to everyone affected by and with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While earning her doctorate, Dr. Deb focused her studies and committed to helping herself overcome the many symptoms of PTSD - all without medication; using herself as the guinea pig and experiment all the while acting as the researcher, scientist, innovator, and client.

The result is Dr. Deb created evidence-based interventions, practical techniques, and a company, Mindful Effect, where she teaches these techniques and interventions for people to develop skills and be self-reliant in managing PTSD.

As we're getting ready for the holidays, this is a soul chat you WON'T WANT TO MISS!

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PLEASE go show Dr. Deb some LOVE! She can be found...everywhere! So take your pick at your favorite social media platform and Dr. Deb will be there to help support you!