Light from the Rabbit Hole

Today’s episode features a conversation with one of our very favorite people! Amy Stark is a Transformational Specialist who uses EFT Tapping to release limiting beliefs and trauma to help her clients embody the best version of themselves. As you’ll hear, she’s absolutely incredible.

Our conversation is anchored in Dawn’s recent encounter with a real-life angel, which leads the three of us to dig into what compassion truly means. A few highlights from our conversation include:

• The real impact of overwhelm on ourselves and others
• The science behind trauma being held in our bodies
• What trauma really is
• 3 things that overwhelm the body
• What real angel work looks like
• Why trauma survivors are warriors

The resounding message we hope you hear is to “be the person you wish others were for you when you needed it.” If we all led with this heart, our world would be a different place!

What is EFT tapping? Have you heard of tapping? If you have, do you think it’s super woo-woo or does it spark curiosity? We’re here to help break it all down, and share our personal experiences with tapping.

In all honesty, EFT is one of our favorite mental wellness tools, and we’re thrilled to help you explore this incredible tool in your life. Here’s a few highlights of what we cover in the episode:

• What is tapping?
• How can it help or create change?
• We both share our candid experiences with tapping and the transformation it created
• How you can explore tapping in your own life, and share with your kids

So pull up a chair, press play and let’s have some fun together!

Have you ever bought someone a coffee in the line behind you? Has anyone returned that favor? Feeling good about doing something nice for someone releases massive amounts of dopamine into our brains and besides…it feels amazing for all parties involved! Let’s chat about some random acts of kindness and wait till the end to hear our listener’s challenge! Join us in this fun, lighthearted but impactful discussion!

So pull up a chair, press play and let’s have some fun together!

Do you believe that you can turn an idea into a reality or do you think that mindset is “woo-woo”? Do we have limiting beliefs or do we know how to co-create to make our beliefs become reality? Being a believer of “it’s not if but when” might feel like a new belief system for you and that’s why this episode has popped up in your feed!

Have you ever done a vision board, penciled your desires in a journal or written down your work goals? If you have, then you are a manifester and you just didn’t know it! Asking for what you want and what you desire, then handing it over and allowing things to unfold the way they intended is a beautiful practice and it costs you nothing, so try it!

Listen closely to the end of the episode for a fun exercise you can try while listening and don’t forget to send us your manifestation stories, we’d love to hear them!

In today’s episode, we connect with Sheena Compton, to learn her story of living with OCD and mental health struggles. Sheena is a bright light of inspiration, and truth about what it really looks and feels like to seek mental wellness. A few highlights of our conversation include:

· How she’s transformed her mental health struggles into her superpowers

· Understanding the difference between considering suicide and a longing to not exist

· Empowering the power of self-care knowing it’s never selfish

· Discovering tools for shifting her mindset each day

· How you can support a loved one who’s struggling with mental wellness

Her beautiful reminder at the end, which is the message we all need to hear, is worth staying tuned for. So pull up a chair, press play and let’s be together!

Continue the conversation!

In honor of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Awareness month, Kris shares her candid journey alongside her daughter who has OCD. This conversation shares Kris’ story of discovering, supporting, and treating her daughter’s OCD. Kris opens up about the honest truths she wishes she’d known years ago, in hopes of supporting others in navigating the journey with more awareness, grace & compassion.

Are you a believer in “things happen for a reason?” Have you ever had a moment where you think to yourself, I was just thinking about that and it happens? OR I was just thinking about someone and they show up either over the phone or in person? Do you “ask for signs” and they appear? Or are you on the other side of the camp where you believe more in the rational mindset and that there is no such thing as fate or serendipity moments? Wherever you reside, you’ll enjoy this fun convo of our experiences.

In this episode, we reference two episodes where Kris and Dr. Ro’s path’s crossed that are a must-listen. Episodes #11 “Brain Based Treatments; Lighting the Mental Health World on Fire” (Season 1) and #4 (Season 2) “Destigmatizing Mental Health”.

Keep listening till the end to hear a great idea from Kris that we want you to participate in! So pull up a chair, press play and let’s have some fun together!

What are the myths and misconceptions around the label of introvert and extrovert? Do you get frustrated being labeled as one or the other, especially if you don’t think it’s accurate? Better yet, how do you recharge your battery if you are an extrovert? If you are an introvert are you intimidated or even irritated by an extrovert? Can we put the judgment and separateness aside and really dig into this topic? Perhaps this conversation may get you thinking a bit more about who we really are or better yet, who we are not.

So pull up a chair, press play and let’s have some fun together!

Have you ever wondered why your relationships change so much over time? Or do you often wonder how you can capture that initial “honeymoon” feeling again? Does it cause you to think something might be “wrong” since it’s changed so much? Join us in a riveting, yet comical discussion about how our relationships start and how they evolve over time. Kris and I open up about our personal stories and how we have changed to adapt to the metamorphosis of a relationship.

So pull up a chair, press play and let’s have some fun together!

Welcome to the first episode of the new and improved Light From The Rabbit Hole podcast! As I continue on my journey of mental wellness, my best friend and fellow podcaster/empowerment coach, Kris Rice, joins the podcast as my new partner and co-host! In this episode, we describe the new format and why we were both called to jump in together on this new adventure. The episodes will be 20-30 minutes so you can take us with you on your walk or your road trip. Enjoy shorter, lighter yet still very meaningful & educational discussions.

Light from the Rabbit Hole will cover three key pillars with engaging topics under each pillar:

· Mental Health/Wellness

· Spirituality

· Mindset

At the end of each episode, Kris and I will pull an Oprah moment and share “our favorite things”.

So pull up a chair, press play and let’s have some fun together!

Continue the conversation!

If you’ve ever been body shamed or felt like losing weight was the answer to everything, or even if you're not the one struggling with body image, this is an important conversation to hear. Dawn speaks with her good friend Shoshana Gordon about the importance of words and finding a healthy balance between calories in and calories out.

The story of her journey from using food as comfort and begging to go to “fat camp” to becoming a gym rat, obsessed with calorie counting, contains so many relatable nuggets of wisdom. She’ll tell us some of the things you should and shouldn’t say about a person’s weight and if it’s beneficial to keep track of weight and calories while you practice loving yourself and owning the body you have.

Shoshana Gordon is a personal trainer with a master’s in social work who specializes in addictions such as eating disorders and substance abuse. Her mission is to reframe the idea of body image in society to help people find happiness using the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of exercise.

Robyn Jennings returns to continue the conversation from our first season around her struggle with mental wellness and maintaining a healthy relationship with food. She acknowledges that the intrusive obsessive thoughts about her body and weight continue to plague her, but it’s being aware of her disease, every hour of every day, that’s saving her.

We discuss the powerful tool of mindfulness and the different ways to use it, keeping in mind that tools are no good unless you have awareness and more importantly, the desire to live a healthier life. Robyn continues to work to strengthen her ability to recognize when stress is stirring up old habits and goes into action with a remedy which usually includes pausing . . . to simply take a deep breath.

Good friends (and hand-twins), Robyn and Dawn, reveal some deeply personal stories, including the one about when they went wine tasting and had a little too much wine, which triggered them both and allowed them to openly evaluate their relationship with alcohol. This episode is about the mountains you can climb when you decide to wake up and stop judging yourself.

Jen Slatosch was an open book when Dawn first met her working at Dawn’s apartment complex. Feeling trapped in a toxic job and in recovery, but discovering light through yoga and meditation, you know that got Dawn’s attention and their friendship has blossomed ever since. In this episode, the new friends will dig into the reasons Jen turned to alcohol at an early age and drank until she blacked out. You’ll hear how she’s fighting to get her power back.

They discuss some of the fundamental characteristics of addicts, such as having a tendency to catastrophize everything, taking everything to the extreme and seeing herself as the most important person in every situation. She’ll advise us on what we can do if we have a friend working a program and how being aware of an unraveling moment is key.

Jen’s working hard to stay accountable to herself, honor her emotions and let them pass. She’s passionately working her recovery program and understanding that her story may help someone else struggling with sobriety. She says, “Don’t jump on the ship and let it carry you away!”

You probably don’t know anyone with a sex or love addiction, right? It’s a topic that nobody talks about, but Hollywood working actress, Brianne Davis, is talking about it with us in this episode. She is the author of the 4 time Best-Selling novel, Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex and Love Addict, and is speaking out about this secret addiction that can bring shame and guilt to a person’s life even beyond what most addictions can handle.

She’ll dispel myths like, not all people with sex and love addiction have been abused or come from broken families. Or like, sex and love addiction meetings are a great place to pick up dates. These people learn how to create boundaries and Brianne goes to 14 meetings a week which she calls a “massage for your soul.”

She’s come a long way from the days when she was manipulating and trying to control others in order to fulfill her fantasies for not just sex, but also romance. She’ll talk about the important realization that at the end of her life, it’s only her love for herself that will matter, so she married herself. She’ll tell us what it’s like to do the work to give yourself worth and find a way to connect to sexuality in a healthy way.

Learn more about Brianne Davis:

This episode was a painful realization of the true heartbreak of addiction and mental illness and it still continues to hit home for us.  Relapse is a common part of the recovery process.  Boredom and isolation could easily be listed as the number one reason for relapse by many individuals in early recovery. Any and all down time prior to recovery was usually used getting their substance, using their substance, and recovering from their substance.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), relapse statistics show that 40-60% of people relapse after completing treatment.  Common triggers for relapse are fear, resentment, boredom, and unrealistic expectations. Stress, exhaustion, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Revisiting people, places, or things that used to lead to drug use.

In this week’s episode, Dawn interviews not only a dear friend but an amazing entrepreneur who created an online holistic health coaching platform called Deconstructing Wellness. It’s a place where “high achieving mamas can empower and prioritize their own needs and wellness so they can show up even stronger for those they love”.  She discusses why she started this company and how her own personal experiences created the urgency to start this company to support women and specifically moms.  Kris talks about her recent breakthrough in her business that made her realize clearly why she started this journey of health coaching. She shares her own personal story of her daughter’s struggle with mental health and how she and her husband had to quickly pivot to meet her needs, hire an occupational therapist to uncover the specific disorder and how to support her own self-care as a mom.  She shares tools and tips to help other moms to recognize some of the warning signs to watch for, how to support those you love in their mental health journey and how to show up for yourself so that you have enough left in your tank to be your very best as a mom, wife and friend. The reality is that as parents we are all in this together…learning, growing, making mistakes, finding solutions, asking for support.  We can’t do it alone and we shouldn’t have to. There are so many resources out there for whatever level of advocating you are doing for your children. Her company is a beautiful representation of holistic coaching for the moms that need support and balance in their life whether they have a child with mental illness or not.

On today’s episode, Dawn interviews Reverend Doctor Natalie Vail who is a double board Acupuncturist, Ordained Spiritualist Minister, Certified Psychic-Medium, Reiki Master, Herbalist, Feng Shui Consultant and initiated Shamanic Priestess with more than 30 years of experience as a Healer. Based in San Diego, she works with clients worldwide.  As an integrated Practitioner, her personal mission is to share ancient wisdom and hold a sacred space for people to heal their deepest wounds through compassion and courage.  We discuss her unique gifts from when she was speaking with dead people and spirits from the age of 4, to her own traumatic story during adolescence of living with a severely mentally ill father where she and her siblings endured a dysfunctional and violent upbringing.  This created the need for her to find her own healing journey of trauma recovery.  On this path, she continued to cultivate her healing gifts as an empath and intuitive. She became an Acupuncturist, Feng Shui consultant and Reiki Master so that she could use all the tools of healing combined with her psychic ability to help those who are looking for trauma recovery with transformation with deep healing from past traumas.  We discuss all of this as well as Epigenetics which could be a topic all by itself on a separate podcast.  This was an informative, uplifting and unique podcast that will stretch your limiting beliefs.  It’s amazing to know there are true healers like Rev. Dr. Natalie in this world and we are lucky to have them called into our lives. 

In this episode, Dawn interviews two rising stars within the LGBTQ+ community that are not afraid to be raw, authentic, bold, empowered and their successful podcast “Coming Out Happy” is taking the world by storm.  Their episodes are amazing, they tackle real life issues and give unbelievable advice and support from their own experiences and from the certified life coach training that Dani has worked so hard to achieve.  On their Podcast, online community and on their YouTube videos, Certified Life Coach and Author of the book called Coming Out Happy, Dani Max and her life partner Keely Lou discuss their experiences being LGBTQ+, struggles, triumphs, coming out at work and dating within the community.  They have also created this unbelievable and fast growing private online community where they have created master classes, targeted content and programs that support the community specifically between the ages of 18-35 years old to understand that self-love and acceptance are the foundation of happiness.

Dawn interviews a special guest on today’s episode that knows her and her sons story better than anyone…her husband Ryan.  He gives his perspective of loving both Cole and Dawn from the sidelines while also being an active participant in supporting Cole’s growth and development from the time when he entered Cole’s life at the age of 8 years old.  Together, Dawn and Ryan share what they learned, what they missed, what they didn’t know, how they could have navigated through the challenging times differently and what they did right…in the best interest of their son.  Ryan discusses how difficult it can be to watch from the sidelines in support of not only the addict who is suffering from mental illness but knowing how to support his wife in the process.  The life that they have lived together for many years trying to understand mental illness and to support Cole, is a beautiful story of resilience, patience and compassion.

Dawn revisits one of her favorite guests, Amy Stark of Stark Transformation, for a 2nd podcast which is a virtual EFT tapping session.  

Dawn interviews a well-known trail blazer within the pediatric mental health space, named Dr. Roseann Capana Hodge on this weeks’ ground breaking episode! 

Dawn shares a painful personal story of her families experience with grooming and trafficking while speaking to the Founder and Executive Director, Max Dispositi of the North County LGBTQ Center in San Diego.  Max will outline the warning signs and educates on prevention of human trafficking.  If you don’t think there is a national crisis of trafficking in our country, you need to tune in and hear the truth.

Dawn digs into an extraordinary story of resilience and acceptance as she interviews an amazing transgender man, Paul Kan, a corporate executive that lived under cover for many years until he embraced his true authentic self.  He coaches executives to empower their leaders to become the very best version of themselves by being transparent and authentic. His story is moving and brought Dawn to tears.