Answers Network

10-21-19 Answers for the Family Interview with Diane Price Susan McCollum
Host: Allen Cardoza
http://answersforthefamily.com

Stress, whether an unconscious undercurrent in your life or a rampage of emotions, can make you sick if you don’t manage it. You want to tame the tension in your life, but you don’t know-how. Write Your Stress Away is the place to start. The book introduces you to the revolutionary Write To Be Well four-step method proven to bring relief from stress and optimize your health, simply by writing. The book describes the research behind the method, instructs how to use it, includes compelling true-life stories from Write to Be Well users, and arms you with a unique tool to combat stress now and into the future.

Everyday stress poses major health risks and is considered to be linked to the six leading causes of death in the United States. But as the authors found through their work and the research on the subject, writing heals. There is a direct correlation between writing and reduced recurrences of certain cancers, lower blood pressure for those with hypertension, strengthened immune function, and better blood glucose management for those living with diabetes.

Based on these findings and others, the four-step method found in these pages guides you in naming your stress, affirming a future aligned with your values, creating SMART goals, committing to an action plan, and achieving your desired lifestyle. Thanks to the ease and flexibility of this proven approach, the Write To Be Well method can be tailored to meet your unique needs. Once you learn the four basic steps, you decide how much time you want to spend writing–just a few minutes or a few hours. Learning how to reduce your stress is the first step toward a brighter, healthier future. So, grab a pen!

ABOUT DIANE PRICE & SUSAN MCCOLLUM

Diane Price brings her sense of adventure and personal dedication to living life to its fullest with optimal health and wellness to her work.

“Writing things down” became a way of life for Diane at a young age. Intuitively, journal writing became a mainstay for me in navigating the emotional waters of my life while facing the inevitable everyday challenges as well as being diagnosed with cancer over 20 years ago.

In her work as an integrative health coach, she partners with clients to enhance their health, clarify goals and values, develop an action plan for making lifestyle changes using their own inherent character strengths to reach personal goals, and provide the essential support for lasting change.

Susan Ives McCollum, LPC, is a licensed psychotherapist in the Washington, D.C. area and co-creator of Write To Be Well and thegetwellproject.com.

In her one-on-one work with clients, Sue has always incorporated journal writing, gratitude logs, and goal setting in her healing work. She believes writing deepens self-awareness and fosters resilience.

She has seen the transformational power of writing not only in individual work but also in her writing groups and with women around the world.

In 2011, Sue was presented with a “Soroptimist Ruby Award” in recognition of her outstanding work to improve the lives of other women.

10-14-19 Answers for the Family Interview with Michael Matthews
Host: Allen Cardoza
https://bit.ly/2pkW7fp

Losing fat and building lean muscle isn’t as complicated as the fitness industry wants you to believe.

Imagine…just 12 weeks from now…being constantly complimented on how you look and asked what the heck you’re doing to see such startling improvements in your physique. Imagine enjoying the added benefits of high energy levels, fewer aches and pains, better spirits, and knowing that you’re getting healthier every day. Imagine looking in the mirror and thinking “I’m glad I did” and not “I wish I had.”

The bottom line is you CAN achieve that “Hollywood babe body” without having your life revolve around it. In Michael Matthew’s latest book: Thinner Leaner Stronger The Simple Science of Building The Ultimate Female Body, you will find the exact formula of exercise and eating that makes losing 10 to 15 pounds of fat while building lean, sexy muscle a breeze.

10-07-19 Answers for the Family Interview with Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Host: Allen Cardoza and Co-Hosts: Lee and Ellen Wheeler

Your relationship with your partner is foundational to your life and well-being. Whether you are currently in a long-term relationship, just beginning what could be one, or wanting to ensure you don’t repeat old patterns in your next one, Kaizen For Couples will prove to be the step-by-step guide to unfolding love, trust and emotional intimacy in healthy ways that you have been searching for.

According the author the book and founder of Kaizen for Couples Program, Dr. Rhoberta Shaler, through self-reflection and honest communication couples can transform complex relationship issues into small, doable steps that lead to dramatic positive changes. Results include:

Stopping the emotional bleeding so your relationship can develop emotional intimacy
Engaging normally again, without the constant drama
Seeing your relationship with empathy and understanding
Reclaiming the sense of wonder and delight that seems so forgotten
Experiencing mutually respect and honoring each other’s evolution and growth
Reigniting the spark that brought you both, together
Even if things feel distant, rocky, broke, or hopeless right now, Dr. Shaler shares that by embracing a refresh new approach that Kraizen for Couples offers, it is possible to build or rebuild blame-free, game-free, and non-manipulative relationships.

ABOUT RHOBERTA SHALER, PHd

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, The Relationship Help Doctor, offers urgent and ongoing care for relationships in crisis through consulting, speaking, video, and podcasting. She particularly focuses her expertise on the partners, ex’s, adult children, and co-workers of the relentlessly difficult, disturbing people she calls Hijackals®. Dr. Shaler makes it easy for you to talk with her through Zoom video conferencing worldwide.

Working with people struggling with life, death, and relationship for over thirty years in Canada and the United States, Dr. Shaler has brought hope, comfort, strength, new direction, and success to countless people who honestly believed it was impossible. Even the United States Marines have used her services!

9-30-19 Answers for the Family interview with Rachel Kove Seth Hall
Host: Allen Cardoza & Co-Host: Denise Klein
During the interview, Rachel Kove and Seth Hall will be discussing how the life coaches at Transformational Solutions help coach their clients on how to have effective communication skills. How unhealthy relationship dynamics can turn into shame, which is at the root of many addictions.

If individuals can learn to actively listen in order to understand one another, rather than listen just to respond, a healthy dynamic can be restored. People need to feel seen and heard in their exchanges with one another. How this takes place is when one feels validated, valued, and safe to express themselves. Feeling safe to communicate is essential for someone to openly and honestly share their thoughts and feelings. How one can effectively do this is what will be discussed during the interview.

9-23-19 Answers for the Family Interview with Kathy Burns
Host: Allen Cardoza

An incredible story of a woman’s cross-country journey to escape an abusive past. Think Wild, but on a horse.

When Kathy decides to leave her abusive marriage, she is 59 years old. She feels completely stuck with her husband hiding his assets from the court, angry children, and impossible rental prices. There is something, though, that makes her feel at least halfway sane: riding horses. So, with a truck and horse trailer paid for with money borrowed from her dad, Kathy decides to hit the road. She plans to ride in every state in the US mainland and names her journey SHLEP: Soul-searching, Home-seeking, Liberating Equestrian, Party.

On her 13-month (mostly solo) healing adventure, she confronts physical hurdles and emotional demons. She experiences the death of both her parents, re-bonding with her sister, and making peace with her three children. She meets like-minded women with similar stories who help her, and in turn, are inspired by her. Perhaps most importantly, Kathy renews her relationship with God and strengthens her faith.

Told in straightforward, personable writing awash with outdoorsy adventure, SHLEP is about a woman remaking herself and her whole life, and gaining a deeper confidence than she has ever known.

ABOUT KATHY BURNS

Kathy majored in painting at Philadelphia College of Art. She entered the printing industry as a paste-up artist, making her way to sales in New York City. In 2004 she bought her first horse, Dreamy, and riding became her passion. In 2012, at the age of 59, Kathy left an abusive marriage and set off on healing journey which she calls SHLEP (Soul-searching, Home-seeking, Liberating Equestrian, Praise) – camping, riding, and blogging in 43 states. The mother of three children in their 20s, Kathy lives in Tehachapi, CA with her beloved horses, dog and cats.

9-16-19 - Answer for the Family Interview with Julie Brown Yau
Host: Allen Cardoza & Co-Host: Denise Klein

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places,’ Ernest Hemingway wrote. In The Body Awareness Workbook for Trauma, Julie Brown Yau provides practical advice based in solid science on how the broken places can become stronger, and how they can heal. This book should be read widely—for who hasn’t experienced psychological or physical trauma in our tumultuous world?”—Larry Dossey, MD, author of One Mind.

There is a piercing epidemic of trauma in the world today. Every few days there are reports of another tragedy, of more lives lost to gun violence, loved ones and family homes lost to floods, hurricanes, or fires. Women have come to speak openly about the trauma of sexual assault, and we are finally talking openly about the trauma inflicted on people of color, on transgender people, and immigrants. But now that this trauma is out in the open, how do we heal?
For years, we’ve understood the connection between trauma and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. But somatic psychology has recently shown that our bodies hold on to trauma, and trauma can manifest in physical symptoms, such as pain, hormone imbalance, sexual dysfunction, and addiction. In addition, we now know that developmental trauma—trauma that emerges when basic childhood needs are not met—can result in profound emotional stress and lead to serious diseases.

Building on this knowledge, this cutting-edge guide offers simple skills for connecting and calming your body, balancing your emotions, and rewiring old patterns of reactivity for better self-regulation. The mind-body approach in this book is designed to guide you away from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma and toward posttraumatic growth. Using these exercises, you’ll learn how to reconnect and relate to your body—and yourself as a whole—in a new and healthy way.

Dr. Julie Brown Yau presents us with a challenge, “If you’re ready to move past your trauma and rediscover your body’s innate capacity for healing, growth, vitality, and joy, this unique guide will help light the way.”

ABOUT JULIE BROWN YAU, PHd

Julie Brown Yau, PhD, is a psychologist with more than thirty years of experience in somatic and spiritual traditions. Her unique approach blends clinical experience, psychology, physical and subtle body energies, and spiritual perspectives in discussing and healing trauma. She is director of education and program development at Compassionate Care ALS, where she incorporates her knowledge of somatic depth psychology, grief counseling, and contemplative practices to work with individuals and families facing catastrophic illness and death. Julie is an author, speaker, and has a private practice in Laguna Beach CA. She works on skype worldwide, specifically with developmental trauma.

9-9-19 Answers for the Family Interview with Dr John McMichael
Host: Allen Cardoza & Co-Host: Dr. John DeWitt

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons, describes a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a blow to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue.

The trauma to society is that about 1.7 million cases of TBI occur in the U.S. every year, and approximately 5.3 million people live with a disability caused by TBI in the U.S. alone.

Enter oSLO, Oxidized SLO, is an oxidized variation of a genetically engineered clone of streptolysin-O (SLO), the bacterial toxin which causes strep throat pain. Oxidation of SLO renders it non-toxic and in so doing, changes both the structure and function of the molecule.

oSLO’s targeted treatment is for chronic traumatic brain injury (cTBI), potentially reversing many of the cognition, motor, memory, mood, and personality deficits that define this condition. oSLO functions as a biological signal molecule that helps restore normal cellular communication and downregulate inflammation.

Research conducted by Beech Tree Labs has shown that oSLO regulates genes associated with inflammation, scarring, healing and it addresses many of the obstacles that have blocked the successful development of other cTBI drug candidates. A biological drug candidate like oSLO is robust, however, as it simultaneously down-regulates genes that cause inflammation as well as up-regulates other genes that are anti-inflammatory in function.

In a mouse study of acute traumatic brain injury conducted at Harvard Medical School, oSLO reduced gliosis (a proliferation of cells leading to scarring) in the treatment group. The study also demonstrated that oSLO helped restore memories in concussed mice to approximately the same level as non-concussed mice at the end of a multi-day treatment and testing period.

Join us as John Michael, President of Resolys Bio, the creator of oSLO shares how physicians at Brown University have been the first to apply the technology treat approximately 25 patients with cTBI over the last 3+ years. The results, oSLO has proven completely safe for every patient and reversed the condition in 90% of those treated. One patient sums up this miracle by saying, “It gave me my life back!”

ABOUT JOHN MCMICHAEL, PhD

Dr. John M0cMichael, Co-Chairman & Chief Scientific Officer of Resolys Bio, a privately-held pharmaceutical company formed by B0eech Tree Labs, Inc. of which he is also Founder and CEO.

McMichael developed the world’s first live-virus fish vaccines for use in fish populations, and is an Alzheimer’s disease pioneer, ha0ving licensed 30+ patents to Elan Corp. plc, to support their Alzheimer’s initiative. He now holds more than 100 pa0tents with twice that pending worldwide. His experience also includes:

Among his 0.many outstanding credits are having served as: Professor of Biology and Health Sciences, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; General Manager for ImmunoTherapeutics, where he licensed a veterinary anti-inflammatory product to Eudomonics, Inc., which launched and continues to sell the product; Vice President of Molecular Rx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on products for managing inflammatory responses; Founder and President of Milkhaus Laboratory, Inc., a company now focused on botanical agents for nutraceutical use; and Founder and President of The Institute for Therapeutic Discovery, a not-for-profit organization focusing on the interplay between biochemistry and biophysics in the course and management of health and disease.

8-26-19 Answers for the Family Interview with Kari O'Driscoll
Guest Host: Britten Devereux
Co-Hosts: Rob Danson & Erin Thompson

Kari O’Driscoll’s new book, One Teenager at a Time, is a social-emotional education manual for middle and high school educators. The curriculum contained in this book is innovative, creative, and draws on the most current research in education, mindfulness, and adolescent brain development.

One Teenager at a Time will add a vital piece to the growth and development of middle and high school students as it offers them “soft skills” they will need as they navigate higher education and the workforce. One Teenager at a Time offers no Right/Wrong solutions and instead helps adolescents explore their own values and beliefs in a shared space that allows for an honest exchange of ideas. Content areas include Compassion, Mindfulness, Self-Worth, Positive Mindset, and Dealing with Stress, Anxiety, and Fear.

Each lesson addresses more than one of the CASEL guidelines for social-emotional health, with an appendix mapping the specific skills to each lesson. Educators will find the lessons flexible in that there is no specific progression or required format. They can be delivered in one sitting or across several smaller time periods such as homeroom or advisory periods.

Kari offers her journey of motherhood and her expertise as a context for deploying these smart strategies with the ultimate goal of developing kind, resilient and good human beings.

ABOUT KARI O’DRISCOLL - ( http://www.theselfproject.com )

Kari O’Driscoll is a child of the 70s and a Pacific Northwest native. She has been described as a “tree-hugging, granola eating idealist” and takes it as a compliment. She writes about social justice, parenting, mindfulness, food, and her family (with their permission).

After completing degrees in Biology and Philosophy from Pacific University in Oregon, she went on to work in various healthcare settings before realizing writing was the most compelling activity she could imagine doing.

She founded The SELF Project in 2015 to share her adolescent social-emotional health curriculum with educators and parents. Kari also writes on her personal blog at http://www.the-writing-life.blogspot.com and her work has appeared online in multiple outlets.

TODAY’S SPECIAL GUEST HOST :

Britten Devereux (https://damoreca.com) is a clinician, healthcare administrator and writer. Managing 6 addiction and mental health facilities, Britten noticed the big gap in clinical services for addiction. This led to opening a second company, Space Before Change. While she continues her work as CEO of D’Amore Healthcare (https://damoreca.com), Britten is creating more ways for life-saving services to be delivered. She revitalizes some of the industry’s old and demeaning ways of getting things done by studying outcomes, then raising the bar.

OUR CO-HOSTS:
Rob Danson is the Head of Marketing and Communications for Food on Foot ( https://foodonfoot.org ) , a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the homeless of Los Angeles with food, full-time employment, and permanent housing. Food on Foot volunteers distribute food and clothing to approximately 150 people on any Sunday in Hollywood from 3:00 to 5:00pm. Food on Foot’s jobs and housing program helps homeless people earn their way off the streets with an empowering life-skills education, a full-time job, and their own fully furnished apartment. 85% of Food on Foot graduates are still fully employed and living off the streets one year later. Visit www.foodonfoot.org for more info.

Erin Thompson ( https://.homeful.la) is currently the Special Projects Manager and Board Liaison for the Inner City Law Center in Skid Row within Los Angeles, where she’s responsible for Homeful. LA, a website her team created to connect the people of Los Angeles with opportunities to advocate, donate and volunteer towards ending homelessness.

8-19 19 Answers for the Family Interview with Lama Palden Drolma
Host: Allen Cardoza and Co-Host: Mercedes Samudo

“‘Love on Every Breath’ is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist a meditation that combines breath, awareness, imagination, and an energetic transformation process,” writes author Lama Palden Drolma, who has been practicing Tonglen meditation for over forty years and teaching it for over thirty. “The meditation brings all these components together in a powerful way in order to open our hearts, to reveal and cultivate our kindness, love, compassion, and wisdom.”

In the standard Tonglen, the meditator simply breathes in the suffering of others and then breathes out love and compassion to them, but this approach does not always work well for Westerners, who often find it difficult to get past the ego’s roadblocks. That is why Lama Palden prefers to teach the more user-friendly “Love on Every Breath” variation to Westerners, which comes from the Shangpa lineage of two enlightened women.

The complete “Love on Every Breath” meditation consists of eight steps and is done as a sitting practice that takes forty-five minutes to an hour from start to finish, but the practice is highly adaptable and can be done “on-the-spot” in daily life as well as on the cushion. Lama Palden provides instructions for both in Love on Every Breath. She also provides a “non-Buddhist” variation for people from other traditions that can be easily adapted for the non-religious or for those of different religions.

“The On-the-Spot method is highly adaptable and can be used in any moment when you see suffering, whether it is in the grocery store, in traffic, or at a dance concert,” writes Lama Palden. “Healing our own wounding and suffering with love gives us the capacity to be present with and truly love others. As we heal, our innate goodness, our innate wisdom, and love, comes into the forefront of our consciousness and infuses our speech and actions.”

ABOUT LAMA PALDEN DROLMA

Lama Palden Drolma is the author of Love on Every Breath. A licensed psychotherapist, spiritual teacher, and coach, she has studied Buddhism in the Himalayas with some of the most preeminent Tibetan masters of the twentieth century. Following a traditional three-year retreat under his guidance, Kalu Rinpoche authorized her to become one of the first Western lamas. She subsequently founded the Sukhasiddhi Foundation, a Tibetan Buddhist teaching center in Fairfax, California.

8-12-19 Interview with Dr. Dayna Lee Baggley
Host: Allen Cardoza & Co--Host: Vee Desai Gomez

Salad instead of steak? Working out? Skipping that second or glass of wine? Healthy habits are THE WORST.

In our interview, Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, author of Healthy Habits Suck, describes the science of why we want the things we want (junk food), crave the things we crave (sugar), and dislike the things we dislike (exercise).

If you’re someone who gets up every morning and can’t wait for your run, considers eating sweet potatoes a splurge, and sets aside thirty minutes before work to meditate—this book isn’t for you. If you’re someone who thinks about getting up to go for a run but goes back to sleep, regrets last night’s dinner of fast food, and can barely get to work on time—let alone meditate—then this book will help you find the motivation you’ve been looking for to live your healthiest life, even when you don’t want to!

In this not-to-be-missed interview, Dayna shares how her funny, in-your-face guide, isn’t another book filled with instructions on how to “enjoy” exercise, or tips for making broccoli and kale taste as good as donuts and ice cream. What you will find are solid skills to help you actually do the healthy things you know you should be doing. Using these skills—based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and neuroscience—you’ll learn to find the motivation you’re really craving to adopt healthy habits, even if they do suck. Discover with us Dayna’s unique prescription on how to accept self-criticism, develop self-compassion, and live a more meaningful life.

ABOUT DAYNA LEE-BAGGLEY, PhD

Dayna Lee-Baggley, PhD, exercises regularly and rarely enjoys it. She is a regular runner who competes in 10K races and never gets a runner’s high. She drinks green smoothies and hates vegetables. Every time her kid asks her to go do some physical activity (biking, swimming, etc.) she thinks ‘crap, I don’t want to do that,’ and she does it anyway.

Dayna is also a registered clinical psychologist, who specializes in health. She holds an assistant professor appointment in the department of family medicine, and cross appointments in the departments of surgery, and psychology and neuroscience at Dalhousie University; and an adjunct professor appointment in the department of industrial and organizational psychology at Saint Mary’s University. She works as a clinical health psychologist at the Nova Scotia Health Authority for the multi-organ transplant program.

She is director of the Centre for Behaviour Change, which conducts research and training in chronic disease management. She is an internationally recognized trainer in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). She is president of the Atlantic chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), and vice chair of the Halifax Chapter of the Canadian Obesity Network. She was the recipient of the 2017 Women of Excellence Award for her contributions to health, sport, and wellness (Canadian Progress Club Halifax Cornwallis). Her areas of expertise include facilitating health behavior change, managing and treating obesity, adapting to chronic health conditions, professional resiliency/burnout prevention in health care providers, and healthy workplaces