Dear Sunny

Tessa is joined by Harmony Fulton, a Cincinnati transplant with an unwavering passion for health and happiness. Harmony is more than just your average yoga and spin instructor; she's a beacon of positivity and wellness in her community. From her early days teaching step aerobics in college to co-owning the beloved restaurant, Gooder Goods, Harmony's journey has been as vibrant as her name suggests. Embracing change and the pursuit of harmony, she found her calling among Arizona's majestic mountains, a transformative experience she credits to a chance encounter with a stranger. Changing her birth name to Harmony in 2003, she embodies the ideals of balance, kindness, and growth, inspiring those around her to strive for their best selves. Her commitment to health extends to her belief in nourishing both body and soul, fostering connections with her clients and community alike and creating meaningful experiences that uplift and transform lives.

Tessa and Harmony discuss:

• The story behind the name Harmony and why she decided to change it in 2003
• Her personal journey through health and healing and the many places listening to her intuition has led her
• The importance of lifestyle choices and striving to know more about ourselves
• The impact of personal relationships
• Overcoming personal challenges (such as business closures and breast cancer) and what they’ve taught her
• The magnetic power in movement and music 
• How she has become a mentor and beacon of hope to so many
• Resilience, gratitude, and self-discovery

Connect with Harmony:

https://www.instagram.com/hugharmony/

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

Tessa is joined by author and advocate Kimberly Blackburn. Kimberly shares her story of abuse, deceit, and trauma - how it all began and how she broke the cycle. After stifling her voice and story for years and years, the Universe said ‘it’s time’ by seating her on a plan next to a woman who worked for a major publishing company. Her story spilled out which led her on a new chapter of healing and helping others do the same. In her book, Dirty Love, Kimberly dives into the double life led by her (now ex) husband, $94 million in stolen money, the FBI investigation and how she finally broke free from an abusive relationship.

Tessa and Kimberly discuss:

• The loss of her mother at a young age and how she stifled her own grief
• How her abusive and toxic relationship began
• How a lavish lifestyle can factor into the cycle of abuse 
• Mental health awareness
• Kimberly’s inspiration in telling her story
• How she protects her children and what she hopes they will take away from her past
• The best things you can do or say to help someone that you think is in an abusive relationship
• And more

Connect with Kimberly:

www.instagram.com/kj_blackburn

http://www.amazon.com/author/kimberlyblackburn

https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Love-Kimberly-Blackburn/dp/B0BBY56RNV

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

This week Tessa shares the story of how she ended up in jail on Valentines Day several years ago. This experience was also the first time she heard the word narcissist and taught her several lessons - jail isn’t always like the movies, we are capable of a lot more than we think (especially when our feet are to the flames), family is everything, and you have so much to be grateful for. To round out the episode, Tessa has her mom, Val, on to share her side of the experience, how it bonded them and her own life learnings!

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

This week Tessa is joined by the founders of Girls Mentorship, Jill and Mary. Back in August of 2020, Jill and Mary had a moment of reflection wondering “what would our younger selves have achieved if they had the personal growth tools we have now?” Everywhere they looked, they saw young girls grappling with confidence issues, battling negative self-talk, wrestling with poor self-image, and navigating the tricky waters of anxiety and depression. It struck a chord. It was a realization that even with the passage of time, many things remained unchanged. Girls were still missing the vital skills to rise above these challenges. That pivotal moment led to a decision: they wanted to be the beacon of change and they made it happen through founding Girls Mentorship. With a mission to enrich young girls with the social-emotional learning skills, guiding them towards realizing the brightest, most confident versions of themselves, Jill and Mary strive to bring out the best in others and themselves, and to make a lasting positive impact in the world through their actions and values.

Tessa, Jill and Mary discuss:

• The challenges and influences faced by young girls today
• The impact of social media on young, developing brains
• The importance of open communication with trusted adults
• The power in learning to take personal responsibility
• Creating lasting impact and things adults can do in daily interactions with children to make a difference
• Why it’s important for parents to understand and address their children's feelings, particularly during the vulnerable stages of adolescence
• And more

Connect with Jill and Mary:

www.girlsmentorship.com

https://www.instagram.com/girlsmentorship/

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

This week Tessa is joined by Lindsey Schwartz of Powerhouse Women. Lindsey is an entrepreneur, investor, top podcast host, and the founder of Powerhouse Women where she is fiercely committed to supporting other women through mentorship, group events, and community building. She mentors women and girls of all ages—from high achieving entrepreneurs to high school students. After seeing numerous women in her life stop short of pursuing their own entrepreneurial dreams because of fear and self-doubt, she saw the need for more honest conversations about the ups & downs of entrepreneurship in order to show women that they don’t have to have it all together to get started. 

Tessa and Lindsey discuss:

• How she went from selling carpet to writing a book
• The moment she realized the American Midwest dream was not her dream
• Her experience with network marketing and what she took away from it
• The catalyst for her book, Powerhouse Women
• Learning how to call herself out on her own BS
• Recognizing the importance of each season, going deep in one season in order to reap rewards and abundance in another
• The power that can come from sitting in stillness
• And more

Connect with Lindsey:

www.instagram.com/llindseyschwartz

www.instagram.com/powerhouse_women

www.powerhousewomenevent.com

www.powerhousewomen.co

Powerhouse Women Podcast

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

In this episode, I’m joined by clothing and style analyst, Risa Kostis. When Risa set out to create a styling business, she had no idea that it would revolve way more around the people than the articles of clothing or the latest handbag trends. Risa’s true purpose in life is to help women build confidence through her ability to authentically coach them on how to dress and the work she does through not only her style consulting but also her product line, is all done with an overarching theme in mind..."How can I help women in their day-to-day lives look and feel more confident, so they can face the day and know their own strength?" Risa and I discuss her own personal journey through several challenging and traumatic events in her life to come out on the other side happier, healthier, and stronger than ever. 

Together, we discuss:

• The traumatic car accident that left her needing several facial reconstructive surgeries
• Navigating a traumatic brain injury and brain health at a time where such topics were not normalized or talked much about
• Grasping her own emotions and healing during a rapidly changing period of life (going from high school into college)
• People pleasing and rooting her acceptance and value in how other people viewed her
• Why she made the conscious choice to be single and independent
• Her history in dating addicts
• Calling off her wedding and then jumping into into a toxic relationship
• The power of listening to her gut and intuition
• Her choice to give up alcohol and the benefits she’s seen
• What she’s discovered in prioritizing her health and wellness over the past year

Connect with Risa:

https://www.instagram.com/risakostis/

https://risakostis.com/

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

This week on Dear Sunny I’m joined by Licensed Professional Counselor and Life Coach Irene Jacobs to discuss the complex topic of trauma bonds in toxic relationships. Irene has over 15 years of experience as a therapist serving couples, families, and individuals and specializes in sex addiction, love addiction, relationship and intimacy issues, anxiety, depression, complex trauma, addiction, chemical dependency, victims of domestic sex trafficking, human trafficking, torture survivors, self-harm, personality disorders, disordered eating, and dual diagnoses. She works with her clients through relational and somatic approaches.

Together, we discuss:

• The insidious nature of trauma bonds and how they keep individuals trapped in harmful situations
• Manipulation tactics used by perpetrators to create dependency
• The cycle of love bombing, conflict, and the elusive honeymoon phase that perpetuates within trauma bonds
• Hurdles that individuals face when trying to leave such relationships
• Suggestions on how friends and family can support their loved ones that may be in toxic relationships
• The importance of education, therapy, and building strong support systems when breaking free from trauma bonds and toxic relationships
• And more

Connect with Irene Jacobs:

https://ezracounseling.com/irene-jacobs/

https://www.instagram.com/ezracounseling

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

This week on Dear Sunny, I share a captivating conversation with Carly Gilleland. Carly is an inspiring storyteller and founder of The Good Vibe Media as well as a mother, daughter, sister, and community builder just to name a few of her titles. After graduating from CSU Long Beach in 2011 with a degree in Film and Media Studies and Minors in Marketing and Journalism, Carly knew she wanted to build a business telling stories that inspire -  but her own story wasn’t full of sunshine and positivity upon graduating. Since then, she’s spent years doing the inner work required to break down patterns, get uncomfortable and reach a new level of self-awareness that’s empowered her to make positive changes in her own life and many others.

Carly and I discuss:

• Carly’s experiences growing up as the oldest child and the first grandchild in her family and how these early roles shaped her perspective on responsibility and leadership
• Having a sibling with special needs and how it guided her journey into storytelling and film making at a young age, making her first documentary at the age of 15
• Family dynamics and challenges: Carly discusses her family dynamics, being a child of divorce and the the impact of her dad's suicide
• How family tragedy gave her an increased sense of awareness on mental health and empathy for others
• Becoming a mother, young and unexpectedly: Carly shares her experience of getting pregnant with her daughter during her last semester of college at the age of 22 and the unique challenges and opportunities that were presented
• Breaking patterns: the significance of accountability and having uncomfortable conversations with people who would challenge her and other tools that fostered her personal growth.

Storytelling through video has been a passion of Carly’s since the first video she produced in high school about her special needs sister. Seeing the impact the video had on her classmates gave her the drive to create a career telling stories that motivate, inspire and shed light on different perspectives. This is the foundation of her video production agency she started in 2016, the good vibe media. In the last decade, she and her team have produced high quality video for over 500 clients in a variety of industries. In 2021, her team set a goal to raise $100k in 60 days to start the build out of their dream studios. They surpassed their goal in July 2021, and officially opened the doors to the good vibe studios May 2022. More info can be found here: thegoodvibestudios.com & thegoodvibemedia.com

Connect with Carly: 

https://thegoodvibemedia.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thegoodvibemedia

https://www.instagram.com/carlygilleland/

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

This week I’m hosting my first guest! She’s a mentor, mother, wife, friend, entrepreneur, mindset coach, spin instructor, podcast host and walking living breathing ray of sunshine, Brittny King. Brittny helps high achieving women lean into their careers, work less, play more, and celebrate success along the way. She herself has felt stuck, uninspired, and devitalized but through self-reflection and inner work has made it to the other side. Now, she’s here to remind others of their own worth and potential and guide them to becoming the most fulfilled versions of themselves. 

In this episode we discuss:

• Perfectionism: what it means and what it can look like to be a perfectionist
• How to start understanding and recognizing patterns within oneself
• Imposter syndrome
• The relationship between shame, fear, procrastination and perfectionism
• The importance of holding boundaries
• How to be a high achiever while also letting go of perfectionism tendencies
• Finding balance and harmony between our body and nervous system 

Mentioned in this episode:

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

Connect with Brittny King:

www.brittnyking.com

https://www.instagram.com/brittnyking_/

https://www.brittnyking.com/podcast

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

Welcome back to the Dear Sunny Podcast! 

In this episode Tessa is sharing all about the dark world of toxic relationships as well as how to recognize, understand, and begin to heal from them. She dives deeper into her personal journey with toxic relationships in hopes that if you are or have experienced a toxic relationship(s) you can hopefully feel less alone and be positively impacted in your own healing and recovery.

Tessa candidly discusses:

• The signs, symptoms and not-so-subtle red flags of a toxic relationship
• The cyclical pattern that most toxic relationships follow: The repetitive nature of toxic dynamics and why it can be so difficult to break free
• Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)
• The profound impact of narcissistic behavior on victims and strategies to reclaim your life
• Traits that make people more vulnerable: Exploring the qualities that may make some individuals more susceptible to toxic relationships
• Codependency, manipulation, and trauma bonds: The complex interplays that often keep people trapped in toxic cycles
• Her “3 Stages of Healing”: Surviving, Transformation, and Thriving

Mentioned in this episode:

Why Can't I Just Leave: A Guide to Waking Up and Walking Out of a Pathological Love Relationship by Kristen Milstead PH.D.

How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed: Journal for Grief by Megan Devine 

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

Connect with Tessa on Instagram @tessakahoun and join a community that helps lift one another up through honest storytelling and connection!