Dealing and Feeling with Kathy Redwine

We are all dealing with a little more anxiety these days. Fear and uncertainty of our health, our job, and even the changes coming from day-to-day. 

Kathy is joined by the irreverent and always entertaining Gina Trimarco, co-host of the Women Your Mother Warned You About podcast to help kick off a series on anxiety. To help educate and have real conversations about just what true anxiety means. How it can affect us, affect our kids, what can trigger it, how to live better with it and so much more. 

We live in a polarized country, and a conflict-filled world. But today on the show, Kathy welcomes a life-long friend who brings a world view to living more harmoniously together, no matter our differences. 

Sahmil Idriss is the CEO of Search For Common Ground. Their organization works to move populations from an adversarial approach to cooperating solutions and community building. This happens on an even smaller scale when we strive to listen and better understand those with different views than us. 

Plus! Hear a beautiful conversation from an 8-year-old about being a champion for those that are different from us. 

A lot of progress has been made in the past decade in respect to the acceptance and support of the LGBTQ+ community. But there is still a long way to go, and children growing up finding their way in a straight world, sometimes need a helping hand or listening ear.

That's where today's guest comes in. Kathy welcomes O'Neal Atkinson, Deputy Director of Time Out Youth Center in Charlotte, NC. They have a delightful and engaging conversation about the center's role in helping LGBTQ+ youth through, advocacy, leadership development, social opportunities, counseling and more. They also discuss the use of preferred pronouns and language of respect for people in the community. 

Plus! O'Neal talks about resources for parents and families who want to gain more understanding and connect with other parents who have similar stories. 

Find out more about Time Out Youth here

As adults, we know that death and loss is a part of life, but for children it can be a difficult concept to understand. Today Kathy is joined by her friend Kiley Thiel, grief and loss expert, and part of the organization KinderMourn. 

Kathy and Kiley discuss a range of traditional types of loss, including the death of a loved one, a friend and suicide. But they also discuss dealing with the loss of normalcy in the time of Coronavirus. They explain how our built in responses are hindered by the precautions we need to take, and explore alternative ways to cope.

PLUS! Kiley tells us about resources and excellent reading materials that can help us support our kids and their understanding of this difficult topic.  

Find out more about KinderMourn here

Visit dealingandfeeling.com to find out more about Kathy and upcoming episodes

Today's guest, may just have the most well-rounded look at raising kids and all the issues that come along with it, than any guest before. Elizabeth Initrieri is a teacher, councilor and mother of three children in middle and high school. 

Kathy and Liz have an engaging conversation about a whole range of topics that parents have to deal with and discuss with their children. From divorce, sex, gender issues, and social media - to the importance of listening, empathy, avoiding comparisons, and creating confidence. Lots to learn in this amazing episode!

In 2014, Liz Dyer had a dream that she could start a private Facebook group for moms of LGBTQ kids and those moms would end up helping to make the world a kinder, safer, more loving place for all LGBTQ people to live. Today that dream is a reality and filled with hundreds of members. She founded the Mama Bears organization to continue her work. Today she shares her journey from blogger to Bear and how to revolutionize the conversation around identity and sexuality with your kids. 

The Mama Bears Organization supports, educates and empowers families with LGBTQ members and the LGBTQ community by providing private online communities for members to connect, ask questions and find resources. Find out more at realmamabears.org.

What do Will Smith, Simone Biles, Bill Gates and Albert Einstein all have in common (besides being famous)? They were all diagnosed with ADHD. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. ADHD often begins in childhood and can persist into adulthood.

In this episode, Kathy discusses her own thoughts on dealing with and discussing feelings around the disorder within families. She also combats some common myths around the disorder. 

ICYMI: Kathy interviewed ADHD expert Yafa Crane Luria in the previous episode.

Yafa Crane Luria has been and continues to be a visionary and innovator in the field of ADHD since 1984. She joins Kathy today for a discussion of her daily work with families with members who have ADHD, her own personal experience with it and her no yelling, no begging, no nagging philosophy of dealing with ADHD.

Visit Yafa's website blockedtobrilliant.com to learn more about her and how's she's helping ADHD families who have tried nearly everything and are still frustrated and confused by their child’s or teen’s Blocked but Brilliant brain.

On this episode, we're talking about "talking about things." Kathy shares insights on developing practical healthy communication skills that lead to more productive interactions with our children. Human communication is rarely perfect, if ever. How do we guard against having unrealistic expectations of our children's communication skills? Kathy shares a template for clearly communicating our emotions between parents and kids OR between parents. 

PLUS, when is the last time you asked for help? When is the last time your child asked for help? Communicating our need for help is critical to developing new skills. Too often shame gets in the way. Kathy helps get the conversation started so that everyone can get the help they deserve. 

Did you know that your body physically manifests feelings before we even recognize we're having them? How cool is that?! In this episode, Kathy gives you some tools to do the vital work of recognizing the physical cues associated with four major feelings: happy, sad, mad and worry. No matter what feelings you or your child is having, we're forced to deal with them. Kathy gives you some tips and strategies for dealing with them in ways that are healthy not harmful.