Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss

By Ashleigh Butterss

Behind the Smile is a mental health, recovery and personal growth podcast hosted by TEDx speaker and coach Ash Butterss. Exploring alcohol, addiction, sobriety, trauma and emotional wellbeing, it reve... more

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How many episodes does Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss have?

The podcast currently has 193 episodes available.

Best of Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss

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Number 1: Ep 190. Feeling Lost? The Daily Spiritual Practice That Brings You Back to Yourself, with Ash Butterss
Fresh from running her retreat in Bali, Ash is back with another solo episode exploring why so many of us feel disconnected from ourselves, and how a simple daily spiritual practice can help us step off the hamster wheel and come back to what truly matters. Inspired from the practices she was sharing on retreat, Ash shares what sadhana really means, the difference between filling your life with more things to do and creating practices that genuinely support you, and how meditation, pranayama, breathwork, yoga and stillness can become part of your everyday life. Ash also takes you behind the scenes of the retreat, from temple visits and Agni Hotra to kirtan, floating sound healing, sauna, cold plunges and the power of sisterhood. She reflects on how sobriety and recovery opened the door to a life she once could not have imagined, and why she now considers facilitating retreats her dream job. This episode is for anyone who feels exhausted from constantly doing, achieving or performing, yet still feels as though something is missing. You do not need to attend a retreat or completely overhaul your life to begin. Transformation can start with ten quiet minutes, one honest question or a single practice that brings you back to yourself each day. Ash also shares details of her upcoming retreats in Bali, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, including the newly announced A Sacred Return retreat in 2027. Join Ash’s community newsletter! Click the link here to join. Upcoming Workshops: The Renewal Ritual | September 13th | Buy Tickets Here Follow and connect with Ash on: ⁠Instagram⁠ @ashbutterss TikTok @behindthesmilewithashb Website⁠ www.ashbutterss.com Watch Ash’s TEDx Talk here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 30, 202632min
Number 2: Ep 193. Why It’s Never Too Late to Heal, with Tully Johns
My guest this week is Tully Johns, a Melbourne based health coach who spent close to fifteen years working as a zookeeper before turning to helping people. For most of three decades, Tully carried the effects of childhood sexual abuse without a name for it, showing up instead as depression, anxiety, and eventually a PTSD diagnosis. It was only in his forties, after his brother came forward with his own memories and pursued a case against their father, that Tully began to understand what he himself had survived. In this conversation, Tully shares what it was like to process decades of trauma later in life, the stretch of days he could not get out of bed that became his turning point, and the small, unglamorous practices that slowly rebuilt his life from the ground up. He and Ash talk about connection, letting people in, and what it means to parent well after having none of that modelled for you. This is a tender and deeply honest conversation about healing on your own timeline and choosing, every day, not to be defined by what happened to you. Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse, please listen with care. Support services have been included in the episode show notes. Episode chapters: 00:00 Introducing Tully Johns 06:33 The Photo: Hiding Behind the Smile 07:00 Discovering the Abuse: A Four Year Old's Burden 14:11 His Brother's Case and the Public Fallout 18:13 Forty Years to Process What Happened 26:03 Finding Escape and Purpose Through Animals 32:05 The Catabasis: Hitting a Wall as a Stay at Home Dad 36:17 The Fake Smile That Started the Rebuild 38:16 One Word Journaling and Small Daily Wins 40:58 Movement as Medicine 45:57 Self Compassion Alongside Discipline 49:06 Reparenting the Four Year Old Within 53:01 Why Connection Changes Everything 01:00:40 Three Non-Negotiables for a Happy, Authentic Life Connect with Tully using the links below: Rebuild Body & Mind with Tully: https://www.skool.com/rebuild-with-tully-5411/abouttullyjohns.comRecovering From Childhood Trauma - How I got my life back: https://youtu.be/r0BwXJvU59QInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tullyjohns/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581593417290Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tullyjohns Support Services If this episode has brought anything up for you, support is available: Blue Knot Helpline provides specialist support for adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse. Call 1300 657 380.1800RESPECT provides free, confidential counselling and support for anyone impacted by sexual violence. Call 1800 737 732 or text 0458 737 732, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Bravehearts provides information and support relating specifically to child sexual abuse. Call 1800 272 831, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm AEST.Lifeline provides crisis support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 13 11 14. Join Ash’s community newsletter! Click the link here to join. Upcoming Retreats The Embodied Woman One Day Retreat | October 25th | Find Out More A Sacred Return | Bali | August 16 - 20, 2027 Email [email protected] for more information Follow and connect with Ash on: ⁠Instagram⁠ @ashbutterss TikTok @behindthesmilewithashb Website⁠ www.ashbutterss.com Watch Ash’s TEDx Talk here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 20, 20261h 5min
Number 3: Ep 192. From “Certified Insane” to 32 Years of Recovery, with Suzi Raleigh
My guest this week is Suzi Raleigh, a recovery advocate and budding author who is now 32 years sober. Suzi started drinking at 13, was misdiagnosed for years with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and survived multiple psychiatric hospitalisations and several near death experiences before her father encouraged her to try 12 Step Recovery in 1993. She has not had a drink since. In this conversation, Suzi shares what it was like to live with a loneliness she calls the ache, the moment her drinking finally stopped being explained away by mental illness, and how discovering codependency twelve years into sobriety changed the entire trajectory of her recovery. She and Ash explore what it really means to be a recovering rescuer, the boundaries work that continues decades in, and the unique approach Suzi now teaches through her upcoming book, naming, taming and nurturing the different inner personalities that drive addiction and codependency. It is a warm, funny and wise conversation about what it looks like to keep growing long after the drinking stops. Episode chapters: 00:00 Introducing Suzi Raleigh 06:09 The Photo: Hiding Behind the Smile 07:25 Growing Up in a Pub and the First Drink at Thirteen 10:19 The Ache: Naming the Loneliness Underneath 12:04 The First Hospitalisation and Years of Misdiagnosis 23:04 Her Father's Suggestion and the First AA Meeting 25:01 What the First Twelve Months of Sobriety Looked Like 27:06 Becoming a Recovering Rescuer 28:48 Discovering Codependency at Twelve Years Sober 30:11 High Functioning Codependency and the Auto-Fix Reflex 37:21 Marrying a Man Twenty Years Sober and Growing Together 42:57 Naming the Inner Characters: Suzy the Floozy and Beyond 01:00:39 Reclaiming Little Tootie and Becoming Her Own Best Friend 01:05:25 Three Non-Negotiables for a Happy, Authentic Life You can connect with Suzi on her Tik Tok or reach out via email - [email protected] Join Ash’s community newsletter! Click the link here to join. Upcoming Retreats The Embodied Woman One Day Retreat | October 25th | Find Out More A Sacred Return | Bali | August 16 - 20, 2027 Email [email protected] for more information Follow and connect with Ash on: ⁠Instagram⁠ @ashbutterss TikTok @behindthesmilewithashb Website⁠ www.ashbutterss.com Watch Ash’s TEDx Talk here! Support Services If this conversation has brought anything up for you, please know you don’t have to go through it alone. Support is always available. You can reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 for mental health support and guidance, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 for free counselling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 13, 20261h 9min
Number 4: Ep 191. Why Nothing External Will Ever Fill The Internal Void, with Katrina Loewe
My guest this week is Katrina Loewe, a mum of three boys who lived 47 years in internal chaos before a spiritual awakening turned her life around. On the outside, Katrina had everything, a beautiful family, a beautiful home, and a life many would envy. On the inside, she was drowning in perfectionism, shame she had carried since her teens, and a growing disconnection from herself that eventually led her through four hospitalisations in the space of nine and a half weeks. Katrina shares what it was like to hit a point where nothing external could fix her anymore, the moment she finally reached out for real help, and how meditation, connection, and a complete willingness to change gave her a life she had never known was possible. She talks openly about perfectionism, people pleasing, the shame of being away from her children while seeking treatment, and what it means to finally feel at peace in your own life. This is a moving conversation about what transformation can look like when it has nothing to do with rock bottom in the traditional sense, and everything to do with finally coming home to yourself. Episode chapters: 00:00 Introducing Katrina Loewe 05:14 The Photo: Hiding Behind the Smile 08:52 A Wholesome Childhood and the First Signs of Not Fitting In 13:14 A Difficult Family Holiday and Years of Carrying Shame 26:20 Becoming a Stepmum, IVF, and Chasing "I'll Be Happy When" 30:52 Suffocating Behind a Perfect Life 33:22 Losing Her Father and the Grief She Never Processed 36:43 The Trip Around Australia and the Start of the Unravelling 38:04 When Drinking Crept In 40:53 Four Hospitals in Nine and a Half Weeks 46:13 The Instagram Post That Changed Everything 51:20 What Her Relationship with Alcohol Looks Like Today 57:19 Releasing the Shame and Living Without Apology 01:00:16 Three Non-Negotiables for a Happy, Authentic Life Join Ash’s community newsletter! Click the link here to join. Upcoming Workshops: The Renewal Ritual | September 13th | Buy Tickets Here Upcoming Retreats: The Embodied Woman | Gold Coast | April 21 - 25, 2027 A Sacred Return | Bali | August 16 - 20, 2027 Email [email protected] for more details! Follow and connect with Ash on: ⁠Instagram⁠ @ashbutterss TikTok @behindthesmilewithashb Website⁠ www.ashbutterss.com Watch Ash’s TEDx Talk here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 06, 20261h 17min
Number 5: Ep 188. The Unexpected Gift of Trauma and Pathway to Post-Traumatic Growth, with Dr. Edith Shiro
My guest this week is Dr. Edith Shiro, a clinical psychologist and author who has spent more than three decades working with trauma survivors, refugees, and communities navigating profound adversity. She is also the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and Syrian refugees, and that lived experience sits at the heart of everything she does. In this conversation, Dr. Shiro and Ash explore what trauma really means, how it shows up in perfectionism, people pleasing, dissociation, and addiction, and why so many people move through life not realising they are carrying wounds at all. Dr. Shiro also touches on her five-stage framework for post-traumatic growth, including the science behind why spirituality changes the brain and how individuals can transform their pain into purpose. We will all experience trauma in some form. This conversation is about what you choose to do with it, and whether you allow it to define you. Episode chapters: 00:22 Introducing Dr. Edith Shiro 02:03 What Trauma Really Means 03:35 Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze and Fawn 06:32 Minimizing Trauma: When You Don't Think You Qualify 07:56 Micro Traumas and How They Accumulate Over Time 10:22 Dissociation: The Protective Tool That Keeps Us Stuck 13:25 The Invisible Armor and the Emptiness Underneath 17:41 The Universal Wounds: Shame, Rejection, and Not Belonging 20:53 The Unexpected Gift of Trauma: The Book and the Title 23:06 Why Two People Can Experience the Same Trauma So Differently 27:47 Intergenerational Trauma and the Science of Epigenetics 29:29 Becoming the Intergenerational Alchemist 30:52 Radical Acceptance: The Hardest and Most Essential First Step 31:43 The Parallel Between Stage One and Step One 36:21 Why We Lie: Fear, Shame, and the Double Life 39:10 Why Spirituality Is Essential for Post-Traumatic Growth 41:45 Turning Pain into Purpose 45:55 Dr. Edith's Own Spiritual Practice 49:25 There Is Hope and There Is a Way Out Connect with Dr. Edith below: Instagram Website Linkedin The Unexpected Gift of Trauma: The Path to Posttraumatic Growth by Dr. Edith Shiro Join Ash’s community newsletter! Click the link here to join. Upcoming Workshops: The Renewal Ritual | September 13th | Buy Tickets Here Follow and connect with Ash on: ⁠Instagram⁠ @ashbutterss TikTok @behindthesmilewithashb Website⁠ www.ashbutterss.com Watch Ash’s TEDx Talk here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 16, 202651min