Crappy to Happy

By Cass DunnSociety & Culture Health & Fitness Mental Health Education Self-Improvement Relationships

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Crappy to Happy episodes

October 20Transforming after Trauma with Dr Edith Shiro
Why do some people go through trauma and come out the other side better for it?

Dr Edith Shiro has been asking that question since she was a child. One set of her grandparents survived the Holocaust, the other walked from Syria to Israel with six children, and she grew up in a community of immigrants in Venezuela where she watched people respond to upheaval in very different ways. Some stayed stuck in survival mode. Others went well beyond recovering, starting organisations and communities and finding a whole new appreciation for life.

That curiosity became her life's work. Edith is now a clinical psychologist in Miami with more than 25 years working in trauma, and in her book The Unexpected Gift of Trauma she maps out a five-stage process of post-traumatic growth that anyone can move through. We talk about what trauma actually is (her definition is broader than you might expect) and why being resilient can sometimes get in the way of growing. We also get into whether you have to hit rock bottom before anything shifts, and why the people you choose to confide in make such a difference.

Edith doesn't pretend any of this is easy. Most people only start this process because they've run out of other options. But it's such a hopeful message, especially if you're in the middle of something hard right now. As I said in the last episode, never let a good crisis go to waste.

What you'll learn:
The three groups of people Edith noticed growing up, and what set the third group apart
A broader definition of trauma that explains why two people can go through the same event and respond so differently
How resilience can sometimes keep you from growing (and what it takes to go further)
Why not being believed can hurt more than the event itself, and how to choose who you confide in
Dr Edith's five stages of post-traumatic growth
When finding a new purpose after a crisis is growth, and when it's a way of avoiding the pain
How beliefs born from family trauma get passed down, and how you can choose which ones to keep

Resources mentioned:

The Unexpected Gift of Trauma by Dr Edith Shiro (available in Australia and the UK)
The Unexpected Gift of Trauma workbook, with activities, meditations and videos for each stage
Dr Edith's self-paced post-traumatic growth certification for mental health professionals
Edith's website: https://www.dredithshiro.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.edithshiro
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.edithshiro
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min
October 07Never let a good crisis go to waste
When a crisis turns your world upside down, what do you do? Last week we talked about how to make a big decision. This week I'm talking about when the decision gets made for you. You lose the job or the relationship or the house, or you get a diagnosis you didn't see coming, and suddenly the change you never asked for is here and completely out of your control.

One of my favourite quotes is 'never let a good crisis go to waste'. I'm not asking you to look for a silver lining while you're in the thick of it. But a crisis can also be a rare opportunity to re-examine everything and decide what you want to rebuild, and it's the moment you find out how much of your personal growth work holds up under pressure.

I'm sharing what you can do to give yourself the best chance of coming out of this situation stronger. If you're going through something hard right now, or looking back on it, I hope this gives you something to hold on to.

What you'll learn
Why you can feel relieved and devastated at the same time, and both are valid
What a crisis reveals about how far you've really come
How fight, flight, freeze and fawn show up when things fall apart
The attitudes researchers have linked to growth after adversity
What changes in your body and mood when you see stress as a good thing
Why your mood in a crisis makes a lousy fortune teller
The questions to ask yourself about what to rebuild from the rubble

Resources mentioned
Last week's episode on making a big decision when you're overthinking it: https://crappytohappypod.com/s18e1
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

If you enjoyed this episode, hit follow wherever you listen so you never miss one. If you know someone going through something hard, please share it with them. And I'd love it if you left a five-star rating and review. ⭐️
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 min
September 29Stuck on a big life decision? Advice to help you decide
Stuck on a big life decision? Let’s talk about the psychology of decision making. Whether you're weighing up a job, relationship, starting a business or buying a house, big decisions have a way of keeping you stuck on the fence. In this episode I'm explaining why your pros and cons list is no help, and how your predictions of how happy you'll be depending on what you decide are wildly unreliable, and why we usually default to the status quo even if it makes us miserable rather than take a risk on the unknown.

If you're going around in circles on whether to make a change or take the plunge, tune in to hear which information you should discard and what to pay attention to if you want to come to a decision that gives you the best chance of satisfaction in the long term.

What you'll learn:

Why change feels so hard, even when you want it
The reason your pros and cons list is not helping you at all
The science of predicting how you'll feel in the future (and how much we underestimate our own resilience)
what happened when 22,000 people let a coin toss decide for them
The decision making formula that is most likely to get you closer to an outcome you'll be happy with.
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 min
June 08Are you afraid to be content?
It's nice to feel content, peaceful and satisfied with life. But how long do you let yourself feel any of those things before you get twitchy?

Let's talk about why you might find it so challenging to allow yourself to feel content. It might be guilt, or a fear that you'll get complacent, a history of struggle that makes peace feel foreign to you, or a core belief that you're not worthy or deserving of ease.

Takeaways:

The difference between contentment and happiness
How our conditioning to strive and achieve makes rest feel like a threat
Why your brain might resist pleasant feelings
Why joy and peace can feel uncomfortable when you try to access them
The worthiness blocks that keep you from feeling okay with your own life
How waiting for the worst robs you of joy
Why cultivating contentment from the inside is the only version that lasts

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 min
May 28Feeling Meh? How to Get Out of a Rut.
If you’re feeling a little bored and uninspired, I get it. I noticed recently that after 9 years of podcasting, ideas were not flowing and creativity felt like a chore. (This is normal of course.) But after spending two days out of the office at The Podcast Show last week, I’ve discovered renewed enthusiasm.

I realised that getting out of my bubble was exactly what I needed, so I’m sharing some ideas that might help you tap into some of that inspiration and spark up your interest and energy again. Whether you work for yourself, work from home, or just spend a lot of time alone at a laptop, there is some science that can point us in the right direction. I’m sharing some of that science, some practical ideas, and things that have helped me personally.

What you'll learn

What's happening in your brain when you're in a rut - and why pushing harder often makes it worse
Why getting out of your usual environment does more than change the scenery (there's actual neuroscience here)
How to engineer novel experiences without booking a flight (by all means, feel free to also book a flight)
Why being around people who can help is the first thing we cut when when we're busy - and why that's a mistake
Simple ways to shift your workspace and change your energy
Why your brain generates better ideas when it has space to breathe - and how to give it that
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 min
April 14A Wearable for Deep Sleep, Mental Strength & Cognitive Health with Ariel Garten
If you've ever wondered whether your sleep tracker is actually accurate, or whether meditation is doing anything measurable in your brain, this episode is for you. Ariel Garten is the co-founder of Muse, the brain-sensing headband, and she's back on the show with a significant update on how the technology has evolved. The Muse Athena contains an entirely new technology called fNIRS that tracks real-time blood flow and oxygen delivery to your prefrontal cortex.

We get into why wrist-based devices like Oura and Apple Watch can only ever estimate your sleep stages - because they're guessing from heart rate and movement, not brainwave data, whereas the Muse measures deep sleep at 94% accuracy compared to a clinical sleep lab. It's Deep Sleep Boost feature uses barely-audible pink noise pulses to increase the amount of time you spend in deep, restorative slow-wave sleep. We also go into ADHD territory. Both Ariel and I are diagnosed, and we talk about what neurofeedback and meditation training can do for focus, executive function, and the near-constant urge to abandon tasks halfway through.

What you'll learn
Why wrist-based sleep trackers can't accurately measure deep sleep, and how EEG-based tracking changes the picture
What deep sleep actually does for your brain and body - and why it matters for memory, cognitive function, and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's
How the Deep Sleep Boost feature uses tiny pink noise pulses synced to your delta waves to deepen your sleep (and why your bed partner won't even hear it)
What your alpha peak frequency is, why it tends to decline with age, and how you can track and potentially maintain it through neurofeedback
What fNIRS technology is and why training your prefrontal cortex to demand more oxygen could be important for long-term brain health
How Muse's neurofeedback and meditation tools can support focus, attention, and executive function - and what this means if you have ADHD
The full range of content in the Muse app, including over 500 guided sessions covering sleep, stress, relationships, focus, and more
How the app's AI assistant, ENSO, can help you interpret your data, track trends over time, and find the right tools for your goals
Resources mentioned

Muse headband:
www.choosemuse.com/
(enter code cassdunn at checkout for 15% off)

Previous episode with Ariel Garten (2019)
https://www.crappytohappypod.com/wearable-technology-for-your-brain-with-ariel-garten/

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
44 min
April 01How to Deal with Difficult People
Working title was “How to Deal with Ar5eholes” but I thought Apple might ban me.

After being evicted from our rental in the UK, I had to sell our house in Australia from the other side of the world. I did not expect the amount of conflict and tension I would have to manage (uncooperative tenants, RE agents not communicating and a selling agent in London applying pressure to meet an impossible deadline).

Let’s just say I was not always my best self. 😐 I reacted emotionally, sent emails I shouldn’t have, and felt like I couldn’t trust anybody.

Somewhere in the middle of it, while I was walking my dogs, where most of my better thinking happens, I realised there are useful lessons here, and they’ll be worth sharing once I’m through to the other side.

Well, I’m through to the other side! The house is sold. And I’m sharing five things that helped me navigate a high-conflict period without losing my mind or my values in the process. These are my go-to strategies for dealing with difficult people, managing your own emotional reactivity, and staying true to who you want to be, even when other people are being complete dicks.

What you’ll learn in this episode:
The one question to ask yourself first when you’re angry at someone else
How everyone -including the most difficult person in your life right now - is just trying to get their own needs met (and how understanding this can shift the whole dynamic)
Why email and text are the worst ways to communicate when there’s tension
How to hold your ground assertively and firmly without compromising your values and adding fuel to the fire
The woo woo things I do when I feel powerless and why it’s so helpful even if you don’t think it works

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
25 min
March 11Reclaiming Sexual Pleasure in Midlife with Dr Maria Sophocles
If sex has slowly disappeared from your life - or started to feel like something you dread rather than look forward to - and you're not sure whether to blame your hormones, your relationship, your exhaustion, or just yourself, this episode is going to help.

My guest is Dr Maria Sophocles, a board-certified OB/GYN and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner who has spent 30 years working with women on the clinical frontline of this exact problem. She's the author of the brand new book The Bedroom Gap, and the creator of a TED Talk on midlife sex that has now been watched over a million times.

Maria coined the term "the bedroom gap" to describe the very real and very unspoken difference in sexual expectations and abilities between men and women in midlife. It's not just about low libido, but the physical changes happening in your body that nobody explains to you, the cultural messaging that tells women their discomfort doesn't matter, a medical system that created Viagra in 1998 but left women largely without equivalent solutions, and the shame that keeps so many of us from even raising the subject with our doctors.

In this conversation, Maria breaks down the physiology of what oestrogen loss actually does to your vagina, your bladder, and your capacity for arousal . We talk about vaginal oestrogen, why it's safe for virtually every woman on the planet, and why so many women never get offered it; and what to say to your doctor when sexual symptoms aren't being addressed.

In this episode, you'll learn:
What "the bedroom gap" actually is and why it tends to widen so dramatically during perimenopause and menopause
What oestrogen loss is really doing to your body - and why pain and dryness during sex are physiological, not a personal failing
Why vaginal oestrogen is considered safe for virtually every woman but is still widely under-prescribed
Why your HRT patch or gel alone is often not enough for sexual and bladder symptoms, and what to ask for instead
How Viagra, despite being a genuine breakthrough for some couples, also made the bedroom gap worse for a great many women
What the new FDA approval for female sexual desire actually means - and why it matters that it took this long
The real story on testosterone for women, why it's approved in Australia but not the US or UK, and what it can do
How porn has become the default sex educator for an entire generation, and the resources Maria actually recommends instead
What to say when you want to start a conversation about sex with a long-term partner, a doctor, or your adult daughter
Resources mentioned:
The Bedroom Gap by Dr Maria Sophocles - mariasophoclesmd.com/book/
Dr Maria Sophocles' TED Talk: "What happens to sex in midlife? A look at the bedroom gap" - ted.com/speakers/maria_sophocles
OMGYES (sex education resource) - omgyes.com
Erica Lust TED Talk on female-forward adult content - search "Erica Lust TED Athens"
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
Dr Maria Sophocles on Instagram: @MariaSophoclesMD
Dr Maria Sophocles on LinkedIn

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min
February 04Lessons I've Learned Since Being Evicted
We got evicted. The subsequent upheaval has revealed a lot to me about how my own nervous system patterns show up, especially when things feel uncertain or out of control. While my situation is personal, this experience is universal so in this ep, I'm sharing why our default stress response is often to push through, people please, overwork, or avoid decisions, even if we destroy ourselves in the process.

Many of the behaviours we criticise ourselves for are actually safety strategies that we learned early to protect us when we feel emotionally unsafe. I break down the different nervous system stress responses and explain how they show up in everyday life, work, and relationships.

Most importantly, I share why self awareness alone isn’t enough to create change, and why working with your nervous system, rather than against it, is essential if you want to feel calmer, more grounded, and more in control of your choices. What you’ll learn:
How your nervous system prioritises safety over logic and long term goals
The four main stress responses and how they show up in daily life
Why pushing through discomfort often keeps you stuck
How people pleasing, overworking, avoidance, and perfectionism develop
Why insight doesn’t automatically translate into behaviour change
What it actually takes to make decisions from a calmer, more regulated place
If you’ve ever wondered why you keep repeating patterns you’re very aware of, this episode will help you understand what’s really driving them, and where to begin if you want something to change.

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 min
January 15Letting Go and Starting Again with Tiffiny Hall
Tiff Hall has been part of Crappy to Happy since the very beginning, and she's a woman who knows reinvention better than most. She spent a decade building a powerful, values-driven fitness brand, showing up through pregnancies, injuries, illness, body changes and enormous personal pressure. And then she made a decision that surprised many people, selling TXO to 28 by Sam Wood and stepping out of her CEO role.

This is an honest conversation about identity, grief, relief, and the courage it takes to choose a new chapter even when the old one has been successful. We talk about the emotional impact of walking away from something you've poured your heart into, the backlash and disappointment from a community you genuinely love, and what happens when your capacity, your body, and your priorities shift.

Tiff shares how motherhood changed her, why stepping back is not giving up, and how returning to her roots as a trainer has reconnected her to what she loves most. We also talk about comparison, social media pressure, running an online business as a woman, and what it means to grow in a way that is sustainable rather than impressive.

What you’ll learn:
What really goes on emotionally when you sell a business you built yourself
Why stepping back can feel like grief and freedom at the same time
How motherhood, injury, and illness reshaped Tiff’s relationship with fitness
The hidden pressure of running a values-led business in a highly visible industry
Why being too accessible and too generous can clash with business sustainability
How comparison and social media exposure affect mental health
Why choosing less can sometimes give you more
If you’re in a season of questioning, scaling back, or reimagining what success looks like for you, you'll want to listen to this one.

Train with Tiff on 28 by Sam Wood
https://28bysamwood.com/

Follow Tiff on IG
www.instagram.com/tiffhall_xo

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: [email protected]
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
51 min