⚠️ Content Warning: This episode discusses addiction, overdose, and incarceration.

Breanna’s story is one of survival, resilience, and redemption.

In this powerful and honest conversation, she shares what it was like growing up surrounded by addiction, surviving childhood sexual trauma, and eventually finding herself in the same cycle she swore she would never repeat.

Her rock bottom came when she found her mom overdosing on the bathroom floor — a moment that changed everything.

Breanna opens up about:
• Growing up in a family of addicts
• Childhood trauma and its long-term impact
• Drug court, jail time, and relapse
• The moment things finally shifted
• What recovery really looks like
• And why, when I asked her to describe her life today in one word… she said “Beautiful.”

This episode is raw. It’s real. And it’s proof that your story doesn’t have to end where it started.

✨ “Addiction is giving up everything for one thing. Recovery is giving up one thing for everything.”

If this conversation resonates with you, please share it with someone who may need to hear it.

—

🎧 Listen on Spotify
📺 Watch on YouTube

#AuntieMelMel #LifeUnfiltered #AddictionRecovery #BreakingTheCycle #TraumaHealing #SoberJourney #RecoveryIsPossible #PodcastLife #MentalHealthMatters #FromRockBottom #WomenInRecovery #HealingOutLoud

What if your brain already knows how to heal — it just needs the right support?

In Episode 15 of Auntie Mel Mel: Life Unfiltered, I sit down with Laura Wheeler to break down EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and how bilateral stimulation helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they no longer feel like they’re happening in the present.

We talk about:
• What EMDR actually is (in real-life terms — no confusing therapy jargon)
• How trauma gets “stuck” in the brain and body
• Why some memories feel like they’re still happening years later
• What an EMDR session looks like
• Who can benefit from this type of therapy
• The biggest myths about EMDR

This conversation is hopeful, educational, and empowering. If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or like your nervous system won’t calm down — this episode is for you.

Healing doesn’t mean forgetting. It means your body no longer has to stay in survival mode.

Laura’s links and resources are included below.

https://www.ccficounseling.com/about

As always — take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and be gentle with yourself. 💛

#AuntieMelMel
#LauraWheeler
#EMDR
#TraumaHealing
#MentalHealth
#Healing
#PersonalGrowth
#TherapyTalk

WWAMMD Episode 2 is here — and the wheel is spinning again.

Joined by returning guest Karyn Ward, we answer anonymous, listener-submitted questions in real time. Nothing is off limits.

This episode explores relationship compatibility, intimacy and emotional chemistry, information overload and anxiety, rock bottom moments, and how to know when to stay or walk away.

Honest. Personal. Unfiltered.

Submit your anonymous questions for future episodes at:
[email protected]

#WWAMMD #AuntieMelMel #LifeUnfiltered #RelationshipTalk #MentalHealthMatters #PodcastCommunity #UnfilteredConversations #AnxietyTalk #RealLifeRealTalk #WomenSupportingWomen

Content Warning:
This episode includes discussion of domestic violence, marital rape, sexual abuse, and adoption-related trauma. While we avoid graphic detail, some content may be difficult for listeners. Please listen at your own pace.

In Episode 14 of Auntie Mel Mel: Life Unfiltered, I sit down with sisters Cassidy and Chrystyna for a powerful and honest conversation about adoption, domestic violence, marital rape, survival, and advocacy.

We talk about how abandonment wounds can shape relationships, the red flags people often miss, what abuse really looks like from the inside, and why leaving is never as simple as it sounds. Most importantly, we talk about finding your voice and turning survival into purpose.

This conversation is detailed, real, and rooted in hope.

If you or someone you know needs support:

National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.)
📞 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
🌐 www.thehotline.org

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (U.S.)
📞 Call or text 988
🌐 www.988lifeline.org

If you are outside the U.S., please contact your local crisis support services.

You are not alone.

#AuntieMelMel
#LifeUnfiltered
#DomesticViolenceAwareness
#EndTheSilence
#SurvivorToAdvocate
#HealingJourney
#BreakTheCycle
#AdoptionStory
#SpeakU

After years of struggling with depression, anxiety, and feelings of unworthiness, Ben chose to question everything he had been conditioned to believe about himself and the world.

Instead of continuing down a path that felt emotionally empty, he stepped away — living in a tent in the forest, hitchhiking across Europe, organizing a nomadic horseback journey through Mongolia, and volunteering in eco-communities across continents.

Through radical simplicity and self-inquiry, Ben began rebuilding his sense of identity, worth, and peace.

This episode dives into mental health, unlearning societal conditioning, redefining success, and the courage it takes to choose your own path.

#AuntieMelMel
#LifeUnfiltered
#Episode13
#UnlearningTheWorld
#MentalHealthJourney
#SelfDiscovery
#NomadicLife
#OffGridLiving
#PersonalGrowth

Content Warning:This episode discusses pregnancy loss in detail and includes strong language, emotional storytelling, and raw descriptions of grief. Please listen when you feel emotionally safe and supported.

This is my why.

In this deeply personal solo episode, I share the story behind Auntie Mel Mel Life Unfiltered — and the truth about losing our 8 sweetpea babies.

I didn’t plan to get as emotional as I did… but once I started talking, it all came pouring out. The grief. The anger. The confusion. The love. The strength it took to keep going. And the reason this podcast even exists.

For nine years, I’ve carried these losses in different ways — quietly, loudly, spiritually, painfully. In this episode, I open up about our pregnancy losses, what they did to me, what they did to us, and how they shaped the woman you hear on this mic today.

This is real.

This is raw.

This is unfiltered.

If you’ve experienced pregnancy loss, infertility, or grief of any kind — I see you. You are not alone.

This episode is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been.

And it’s the truest.

🤍

#PregnancyLoss
#MiscarriageAwareness
#InfantLossAwareness
#SweetpeaBabies
#MyWhy
#GriefJourney
#HealingOutLoud
#YouAreNotAlone
#WomenSupportingWomen
#InfertilityAwareness
#LossMama
#BreakingTheSilence
#RawAndReal
#UnfilteredTruth
#PodcastLife
#SoloEpisode
#AuntieMelMel
#AuntieMelMelLifeUnfiltered
#PodcastForWomen
#RealLifeStories

Episode 11 is about listening — really listening — to the body.

In this conversation, I sit down with artist and art therapist Lesley Andrew to talk about healing, creativity, nervous system regulation, and redefining success.

Lesley shares her personal journey navigating multiple gynecological surgeries, including a hysterectomy, and how those experiences reshaped her relationship with her body. We also explore her climb up Mount Kilimanjaro — where changing landscapes, a Sherpa singing beside her, and an unexpected spiritual moment created a powerful shift in perspective.

Even though she doesn’t consider herself very religious, Lesley describes feeling deeply connected to something greater than herself on that mountain.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Learning to listen before the body forces you to slow down
• Art therapy as a tool for mental health
• Creativity as nervous system support
• Letting go of perfectionism
• Why the journey matters more than the summit

If you’ve ever pushed through exhaustion, ignored your body’s signals, or told yourself you’re “not creative,” this episode is for you.

—

🌿 Connect with Lesley Andrew:

Website:
www.lesleyandrew.com

Instagram:
www.instagram.com/lesley_andrew_art.therapist/

FREE “ART HEALS” Workbook:
www.lesleyandrew.com/f/lesley-s-newsletter

Creative Healing Kickstart Mini Course:
www.lesleyandrew.com/courses/creative-healing-kickstart

—

If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needs the reminder to slow down and tune inward. And don’t forget to follow Auntie Mel Mel: Life Unfiltered so you never miss an episode.

🖤 Content note: This episode discusses child loss, grief, and trauma. Please take care while listening.In Episode 10 of Auntie Mel Mel Life Unfiltered, Mel sits down with Jason, the creator of Letters to Zachary, a grief community born from unimaginable loss and transformed into connection, vulnerability, and purpose.

Jason is a father who spent 12 years as a stay-at-home dad and medical caregiver to his two children with complex needs. After the sudden and unexpected passing of his son Zachary, Jason chose to grieve out loud—creating Letters to Zachary as a raw, unfiltered space where men can feel safe being vulnerable, grieving parents can feel seen, and women can better understand how men process loss.

This conversation explores grief from a father’s perspective, the emotional weight men are often expected to carry silently, the realities of caregiving loss, and how vulnerability can become a lifeline—not just for healing, but for connection.

This episode is honest, heavy at times, and incredibly important. If you’ve experienced loss, love someone who is grieving, or believe men deserve space to feel, this conversation is for you.

🌐 Website: https://letterstozachary.com/
📘 Coloring Book (created in honor of Zachary): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DC5GSFZK

#Episode10
#LettersToZachary
#GriefSupport
#ChildLossAwareness
#GrievingParents
#MenAndGrief
#Fatherhood
#MentalHealthAwareness
#GriefJourney
#HealingThroughGrief
#CaregiverGrief
#VulnerabilityIsStrength
#YouAreNotAlone
#LifeUnfilteredPodcast

In this episode, I’m joined by Victoria, a somatic and mindfulness coach and co-founder of the Healing Arts Center. We talk about healing from the inside out, nervous system regulation, burnout, trauma, and what it really means to reconnect with your body in a gentle, supportive way.

Victoria shares her journey into somatic work, how mindfulness and body-based practices can support healing during major life transitions, and simple tools listeners can begin using right away. This conversation is grounded, insightful, and a reminder that healing isn’t about fixing yourself — it’s about learning to feel safe within yourself again.

🎧 Audio note: During the first ~18 minutes, my audio is very quiet and slightly robotic due to a headset issue, while Victoria’s audio sounds great. You may want to turn your volume up or skip ahead. Around the 18-minute mark, my audio returns to full volume and sounds clear for the remainder of the episode.

🔗 Learn more about Healing Arts Center:
https://www.healingartsvb.com/

#AuntieMelMel
#LifeUnfiltered
#SomaticHealing
#Mindfulness
#NervousSystemRegulation
#HolisticHealing
#HealingJourney
#TraumaInformed
#BurnoutRecovery
#WellnessPodcast
#MentalHealthMatters

Content Warning:This episode includes discussion of pregnancy loss, adoption, and foster care themes. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode of Auntie Mel Mel: Life Unfiltered, I sit down with Megan Jones to talk about her journey into motherhood through adoption.

This is a conversation about love, resilience, and finding your way forward when life doesn’t unfold the way you expected. Megan shares her story in her own words — reflecting on motherhood, hope, and the unexpected steps that led her to becoming a mom.

Whether you’re navigating your own path to parenthood, considering adoption, or simply listening with an open heart, this episode is honest, gentle, and deeply human.

Grab a cozy drink and join us.

#AuntieMelMel

#LifeUnfiltered

#PodcastEpisode

#AdoptionJourney

#MotherhoodUnfiltered

#DifferentPathsToMotherhood

#ChosenFamily

#HopeAndHealing