Today I'm chatting with Shannon Sauer, a fellow co-author in Reclaiming Mental Health and someone who spent close to two decades navigating what gets called anxiety before she found her way back to herself.

Shannon and I get into her chapter and the long arc that shaped it. She talks about being a sensitive, intuitive kid who felt most at home in nature, and how that connection faded as the world took over with jobs, motherhood, and the pressure to always be doing more. We talk honestly about the pharmaceutical road she went down, starting with antidepressants prescribed during postpartum while her father was dying, and the hard reality of how difficult those medications can be to come off of. She shares what brain zaps actually feel like, the years it took to finally grieve, and the experience in 2018 that got labeled a breakdown but felt much more like a spiritual awakening she didn't have language for yet.

A big part of our conversation lives in the gap between Western medical labels and lived spiritual experience, and how the two don't always fit. Shannon opens up about her plant medicine journey, how ayahuasca became a catalyst after years of inner work had already prepared the ground, and what it's meant to come off her medications and actually feel joy again. We also talk about the quieter numbing habits that are easy to miss, the importance of who you sit with if you ever explore this path, and the farm in Costa Rica she and her husband just bought.

Connect with Shannon:
Instagram: shansauer
Reclaiming Mental Health: https://a.co/d/06r2cm9D
Costa Rica wellness center: lamatriztica

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:56 Childhood Connection to Nature

05:59 Mental Health Journey and Plant Medicine

08:57 Anxiety and Self-Criticism

11:59 Pharmaceuticals and Their Impact

15:02 Spiritual Awakening and Healing

18:07 Navigating Quetiapine and Its Effects

21:00 Understanding Spiritual Awakening

23:55 Holistic Approaches and New Perspectives

29:19 The Intersection of Mental Health and Spirituality

31:59 Understanding Dissonance and Alignment

34:38 Awakening to Clarity and Intuition

40:06 Exploring Plant Medicine Journeys

46:58 Connecting with Nature and the Self

49:26 Exploring the Nature of God and Spirituality

52:51 Technology, Nature, and Spiritual Connection

55:05 Plant Medicine Journeys and Personal Growth

01:01:13 The Importance of Safe Plant Medicine Practices

01:02:37 Transformation Through Spiritual Awakening

Today I'm chatting with Jen Morin, a co-author in Reclaiming Mental Health and a contributor to Sovereign Volume 1, who now builds workbooks and affirmation decks to help people reprogram the patterns that keep them stuck.

Jen and I get into her mental health journey, the years inside the system, the medications that never fit, and the COVID crash that became a full reset. We talk about why she no longer accepts diagnoses as identity, how symptoms are really patterns, and what it takes to notice them, write them down, and slowly choose something different. We also dig into discernment, the power of writing by hand, and where hope actually comes from.

Connect with Jen:
Instagram: awake_anddreaming
Reclaiming Mental Health: https://a.co/d/02oVIius

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul
Website: ogsoul.ca

Today I'm chatting with Hayley Musgreave, who I first crossed paths with back in high school in Fort Saskatchewan and then reconnected with years later through a coaching program. She's a farmer in northern Alberta now, with cattle, mini donkeys, and a grain and hay operation, and she's been a steady light every time we connect. We share some similar threads in our mental health journeys, and that's a lot of what we get into here.

Hayley opens up about growing up feeling like the black sheep, the shame she carried as a kid, and the ADHD she only understood later. She shares about being diagnosed with bipolar in her 20s after a breakdown, the two episodes she went through, and what it was like to be handed a heavy load of medication and a sense that this was just how life was going to be, with no real light to look toward. We compare notes on what mania actually felt like from the inside, including the grandiose thinking and the racing mind, and we sit with how strangely real it all feels in the moment.

From there she talks about her Graves' disease diagnosis, how its symptoms mirrored mania, and the path she took to heal it through changing her diet, prayer, and a refusal to accept the outcome she'd been told to expect. We get into her faith and gratitude practice, the tools she leans on now like grounding, sleep, and music, and where she's landed today: not identifying as bipolar, but as someone who came through two breakdowns and kept going.

At the heart of this one is the reminder that you can walk through the fire and come out the other side. We share our stories so that the younger versions of ourselves, and anyone in the thick of it now, can see that there's hope to be had.

Connect with Hayley:

Instagram: @thehayleydawn

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Nerves

02:53 Journey into Farming and Mental Health

06:00 Childhood and Early Mental Health Struggles

12:00 Bipolar Diagnosis and Its Impact

18:00 Navigating Mania and Breakdown Experiences

24:05 Healing Journey and Personal Growth

29:56 Graves' Disease and Its Effects

30:30 Healing Through Diet and Faith

32:15 Managing Mental Health and Medication

33:45 Current Well-being and Self-Identification

34:51 The Role of Faith in Healing

35:10 Prayer and Gratitude Practices

39:41 The Power of Sleep and Mental Health

42:56 Marriage and Support Systems

45:43 Navigating Relationships and Personal Growth

50:48 Resilience and Grit in Life

52:06 Finding Peace in the Journey

55:30 Tools for Mental and Emotional Well-being

57:11 Mutual Admiration and Future Aspirations

Today I'm chatting with Shannon Skelton, a co-author alongside me in Reclaiming Mental Health. We'd never actually sat down and talked before this, so it was a first, and she turned out to be a light, joyful person to spend an hour with.

Shannon's chapter is called "A Walk Down Mania Lane," and it's about a manic episode brought on by a pharmaceutical. We get into the whole chain of events, what the mania was actually like, and the bigger questions it raised for both of us. I felt drawn to get curious with her here because of my own experiences with what's been called mania and psychosis, and there were some interesting parallels between our stories.

We talk about the manic episode that came from a medication, starting with a severe reaction to one drug and then a dose of prednisone that was too high, too fast. Shannon also shares about living with Crohn's disease since she was 16, being told more than once she would never have children, and going on to have two. We get into why she stopped taking a diagnosis at face value, including the seven years she spent being told it was Crohn's before her liver shut down, and we sit with the bigger questions around mental health labels, stigma, and the case for doctors asking what a patient's life actually looks like outside the office. She also talks about what she carried out the other side of all of it: more confidence, more willing to use her voice, and a habit of saying yes.

At the heart of this one is awareness. Shannon shares her story so that someone going through the same thing might recognize it sooner, and so that more of us start asking better questions about the medications we're put on.

Reclaiming Mental Health

Connect with Shannon:

@shannon_shining_through
@skeltoncrew

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

04:19 Personal Journey with Mental Health

07:14 The Impact of Pilates on Life

10:14 Exploring the Chapter: A Walk Down Mania Lane

13:15 The Experience with Hydroxychloroquine

16:24 The Prednisone Dilemma

19:22 Navigating Medication Reactions

24:23 Navigating the Unknown: Initial Reactions to Prednisone

25:23 Personality Changes: The Impact of Medication

26:50 Obsessions and Relationships: The Effects of Mania

28:01 Time Distortion: Losing Track of Reality

30:04 Bizarre Behavior: Chasing Strangers and Consequences

32:06 Recognizing the Problem: The Turning Point

34:09 Challenging Medical Assumptions: The Journey with Crohn's Disease

36:15 Manifesting Dreams: Overcoming Medical Limitations

38:56 Current Health: Managing Joint Issues and Hormonal Changes

42:32 Growth Through Adversity: Finding Confidence in Recovery

46:24 Exploring Boundaries and Connections

47:37 The Complexity of Mania and Mental Health

50:01 Finding Humor in Dark Times

51:07 The Journey of Healing and Forgiveness

52:35 Communication and Understanding in Family Dynamics

54:32 The Writing Process and Personal Reflection

56:31 The Impact of Medication on Mental Health

59:07 Advocacy and the Importance of Patient Voices

01:06:53 Hope and Change in the Healthcare System

Today I'm chatting with Anthony Goodwin, one half of the duo who taught me Improv 100 through Grindstone Theatre and someone whose work sits at the intersection of therapy and improv. Anthony is an Australian-born clinical counsellor and improv instructor. He's the founder of Still Listening, his private therapy practice.

We talk about the full-circle way improv and therapy ended up holding hands in Anthony's life. Anthony shares how the same tools he uses in the therapy room, presence, co-regulation, meeting the world as it is, are the same ones that come alive on the improv stage, and how that overlap led him to develop experimental improv therapy workshops where players give voice to someone else's stuckness. We get into the concept of aiming to be average and we touch on the broader truth that adults need spaces to play together, and how rare and necessary that has become.

Reference

The Grindstone Comedy

Improvise Freely by Patti Stiles

Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone

Connect with Anthony:

Relational Therapy with Anthony Goodwin

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Anthony Goodwin

02:55 Journey from Australia to Edmonton

06:09 The Intersection of Therapy and Improv

09:03 The Philosophy of Improv

11:56 The Role of Discomfort in Improv

15:02 Aiming for Average in Performance

18:05 Challenging Societal Norms

20:54 The Nature of Improv and Authenticity

24:07 Improv as Therapy

26:30 Creating Safe Spaces for Healing

28:08 Exploring Improv Therapy Frameworks

29:47 Navigating Vulnerability in Therapy

33:01 The Impact of Improv on Therapeutic Practices

35:57 Emerging Models of Therapy

39:54 The Need for Alternative Therapeutic Approaches

43:03 Integrating Body and Mind in Healing

50:02 The Joy of Play in Adult Life

Today I'm chatting with Carey Abma, a co-author in Reclaiming Mental Health. Carey opens up about a chapter of her life she never expected to write, both literally and figuratively, and what it took to start choosing love over fear.

We get into the breakdown that became her breaking open at the start of 2020, the years of self-abandonment that led there, and what it actually looked like to sit alone in her condo and meet herself for the first time. Carey shares the journey to becoming a mom, including the unimaginable gift of her sister offering to carry her daughter Coen, and the unexpected plot twist of meeting her partner Jason four days after a positive pregnancy test on Christmas morning.

We talk about parenting from a more rooted place, the values work that changed how she makes decisions, and her launch into entrepreneurship with Estate Solutions with Care, a business shaped by personal loss and the literal meaning of her name.

Connect with Carey:
Instagram: @thecareyabma
Publication: Reclaiming Mental Health

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and First Impressions

03:04 The Journey of Writing and Publishing

05:50 Exploring Self-Love and Personal Growth

11:58 The Breakdown of 2020: A Turning Point

21:02 Life After the Breakdown: Transformation and New Beginnings

29:44 Navigating New Beginnings

31:05 Personal Growth Through Parenthood

34:00 The Importance of Values

36:24 Embracing Change and Challenges

39:03 The Journey of Motherhood

41:11 Writing for Future Generations

46:06 Claiming Strength and Identity

49:46 Building a Business with Heart

Today I'm sharing a conversation I had with Richard Okwii and Adacet John Peter, the executive director and managing director of Murphy Charitable Foundation Uganda, a nonprofit working to support vulnerable children and communities in the northeastern region of Uganda through education, mentorship, and empowerment.

I first came across Murphy Charitable Foundation through their Pen Pal program, where I've been corresponding with two pen pals in Uganda. That experience changed me in ways I'm still processing. So getting to sit down with Richard and John Peter and hear the story behind the foundation firsthand felt very special.

Richard lost his father at one month old and was raised by his grandparents in poverty. It was their voices, their mentorship, and their insistence that education was the key that planted the seed for everything Murphy Charitable Foundation has become. That seed became a dream at age seven, and in 2018 it became an organization. What they've built since then is extraordinary.

We talk about the Pen Pal program, which now connects over 3,000 children in Uganda with international friends, and the philosophy behind it: hope restoration and mindset first, before anything else. We get into the Learning Lab launching in Bukedia district this summer, the Motivational Movie Project bringing film screenings to communities without electricity, the Kind Loans program offering zero percent interest loans to women entrepreneurs, and the Cancer Awareness program reaching communities with little to no access to health information.

One of the most powerful aspects of this conversation is what John Peter shares about how they run their programs with or without a grant, because the work of changing a mindset doesn't require funding. It requires belief. And these two have that in extraordinary supply.

Learn about Murphy Charitable Organization Uganda and see how you can get involved: Murphy Charitable Foundation Uganda - Home

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Today I'm chatting with Lindsay Hayes, a former public school educator turned nature-based learning facilitator who has spent the last several years doing deep personal work and how that understanding has reshaped her approach to parenting, healing, and working with children.

Lindsay and I met through our shared experience writing in Sovereign Volume 2, and this conversation goes to some really tender places. We talk about what it means to move through a victim mindset without bypassing it, how our bodies eventually demand the attention our minds have been avoiding, and why Lindsay left the public education system to create something entirely different on her acreage. She's working with kids from all backgrounds and what she's witnessing out there in nature is transformational.

We also get into generational healing in a way that felt very alive for me. Lindsay writes about her mom in her upcoming chapter in Motherhood Expanded, and what she shares about releasing blame while still honoring the impact of her early experiences is something I think a lot of us need to hear. There's so much in this conversation about planting seeds you may never see harvested.

Connect with Lindsay Hayes:

Instagram: @linsayhayes2.0

Motherhood Expanded: https://a.co/d/03Fm0ZWG

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Shared Experiences

03:00 The Writing Journey: Sovereign Volume 2

05:57 Motherhood and Personal Growth

09:08 Understanding Childhood and Attachment

11:52 Shifting from Victimhood to Empowerment

15:05 The Impact of Parenting on Personal Healing

18:12 Nature-Based Learning and Education

20:55 Transformational Experiences with Children

24:07 Conclusion and Future Aspirations

25:18 Exploring Diverse Learning Environments

30:39 Motherhood and Healing Through Writing

36:29 Breaking Generational Patterns

41:08 The Impact of Personal Healing on Parenting

48:30 Navigating Systems and Self-Reflection

Today I'm chatting with Linsay Doyle, a Feng Shui practitioner and founder of Reclamation by Linsay, who has spent the better part of 14 years burning herself down and rebuilding, on her own terms.

Linsay's shares about her journey since 2011 when she was at her heaviest weight, deeply disconnected from herself and living a life that wasn't hers. Linsay shares what followed: leaving an eight-year relationship the same weekend her boyfriend asked her parents for permission to propose, loading up her car and leaving, moving into an apartment by the Edmonton River Valley, signing up for a half marathon on a whim, and losing nearly 100 pounds in just over a year. Through finally making choices that were actually hers.

We go a lot of places in this one, including:

The courage it takes to evolve out of relationships and friendships, and why that grief is as real as any other kind

Masculine and feminine energy, why she believes women have been burning themselves out holding the entire container, and what she's actually not willing to settle for.

The work she's building through Reclamation by Linsay, where Feng Shui meets self-ownership and your junk drawer might just tell her everything she needs to know about you.

And her relationship with God, why she doesn't claim a religion, and why Jesus is her homeboy.

I love a great spicy chat with Linsay and this convo is no exception.

Connect with Linsay:

Instagram: @iamlinsaydoyle

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage

03:41 Linsay's Journey of Transformation

06:29 Awakening and Making Choices

08:57 Breaking Free from Relationships

11:34 The Impact of External Pressures

14:05 Finding Strength in Independence

17:05 Physical Transformation and Weight Loss

19:25 Running Towards a New Life

22:07 Reflecting on Achievements and Future Self

25:10 Navigating Life's Pivots

27:52 Building Resilience Through Life's Trials

30:47 The Balance of Self-Care and Growth

33:33 Understanding the Duality of Experience

37:56 Exploring Masculine and Feminine Energies

41:44 The Impact of Societal Conditioning on Relationships

45:28 The Journey of Self-Discovery in Relationships

52:28 Divine Timing and Personal Growth

53:37 The Journey of Self-Reclamation

55:53 Building a New System: Reclamation by Linsay

57:45 Transforming Spaces: The Power of Feng Shui

59:23 Internal and External Reclamation

01:00:50 Shared Connections and Unique Stories

01:02:41 Claiming Your Lane: Individual Paths

01:04:21 Exploring God and Spirituality

01:10:43 Embodiment of Jesus: Actions Over Words

Today I'm chatting with Nicole Murphy, a friend, collaborator, and my co-creator of the Creative Project Studio. Nicole is a media producer, event creator, and someone who has spent over a decade helping people bring their creative projects to life.

This conversation went deep fast. We talk about Nicole's winding path from being called "dancing girl" in elementary school to art school, film school, and eventually building a community rooted in creativity and connection. We get into the creative cycle she's mapped out, inspiration through to feedback, and why so many creatives get stuck somewhere in the middle. We talk about what happened when she left her serving job, gave up her apartment, and traveled to the literal other side of the world with a carry-on and a backpack. Mauritius, Thailand, Vietnam, across Canada.

We spend a lot of time on what it means to get back in rooms with people, why play isn't a luxury, and how isolation became normalized in ways we're only starting to see clearly. Nicole shares honestly about image management, faith, money fears, and the spiritual warfare she sees playing out in creative people's lives.

This one is about remembering that creativity isn't extra. It's essential.

Connect with Nicole Murphy:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolesmurphy/
Creatives Project Studio: https://www.skool.com/creative-project-studio/about

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dee_ogsoul/

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Evolution of Collaboration

03:09 Nicole's Journey in the Creative Space

06:57 Understanding the Creative Cycle

09:55 The Importance of Human Connection

12:42 Navigating Fear and Connection Post-Pandemic

18:28 Embracing Adventure and Growth

24:15 Wealth of Experience and Perspective

25:33 Navigating Uncomfortable Conversations

29:05 The Impact of Online vs. In-Person Interactions

31:17 The Call for In-Person Connection

33:35 Mental Health and the Digital Age

36:19 Creativity and Relationships

41:04 The Necessity of Play and Connection

49:41 The Power of Play in Life

51:49 Navigating the Corporate Culture Shift

53:46 Creativity vs. Conformity in Education

57:55 The Journey of Self-Discovery and Authenticity

01:00:59 The Role of Community in Personal Growth

01:03:44 Embracing Creative Expression and Connection