Why do we get nervous when things start to feel really good? Why does the mind often sabotage moments of Joy or bliss? Joy is a wonderful, expansive state and can also be overwhelming or even terrifying - as Brene Brown says "When we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy can be foreboding". We're not talking about happiness or excitement that stems from external circumstances, here we're talking about the kind of joy that can be heartbreaking or knock you off your feet. This episode is all about how we can increase our capacity for Joy regardless of the context of our everyday lives. Feeling joy is a risk, it takes courage. Let's dive in!

What you’ll learn in this episode:

Links:

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

1:1 breathwork Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Resources: 

https://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/dr-brene-brown-on-joy-its-terrifying-video

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13588356-daring-greatly

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

“Don't shrink the power of your cultures and ancestors to fit into oppressive systems” - Elmina Bell

Have you been curious about ancestral healing but unsure how to engage? Most of us have been disconnected from our ancestors through colonialism, but that doesn’t mean we can’t access the wisdom that lives on through us. This week I had the huge privilege of getting to talk with Elmina Bell of Mulema Alchemy.

In this episode, we talk about re-thinking psychiatric diagnoses from a holistic indigenous perspective. We discuss practical ways to engage with our ancestors. We talk about colonial oppression, racism and how we’re each called to do the work of dismantling oppression in different ways according to our unique gifts and calling, how we can re-center spirit in mental health work, de-center whiteness in astrology and how to prepare for the upcoming eclipse season in sidereal Libra.

Elmina Bell (she/they) hails from Indigenous African parents from the Indigenous Bantu Sawa/Subu peoples of coastal, southwest Cameroon in Central Africa, and the Ewe peoples of Togo West Africa and was born and raised in the United States. Elmina is multiply neurodivergent/neuroexpansive person who centers Indigenous holistic psychologies and cosmologies for improved mental health, community building, and for the dismantling of oppressive colonial capitalistic societal systems that are at the root of health and housing disparities. Their work as a trained trauma-informed peer support facilitator, crisis counselor, tropical and sidereal astrologer, sound healer, and medium, is guided by Mulema Alchemy. Mulema means heart in the  Indigenous Sawa languages of her parents and she believes in the transformative, alchemical power of the heart.

https://mulemaalchemy.wordpress.com/about-mulema-alchemy/ 

Links:

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Love in the Depths, a symposium held by Depth Psychologists of Color in honor of ancestor bell hooks Saturday October 22nd 10am-12:30 PST

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bell-hooks-love-in-the-depths-registration-382331161797 

Hye Won Hye: A Roundtable Decolonizing and Re-Indigenizing Mars Themes by Sankofa Rising Indigenous Astro-Saturday November 12th from 1-4pm EST

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hye-won-hye-a-roundtable-decolonizing-and-re-indigenizing-mars-themes-tickets-437466844107

NOTE FROM ELMINA: Sidereal Astrology actually gave me an opportunity to look at ways I can develop roots and foundational astral interpretations that can be applicable regardless of climate while honoring locality. There’s something foundational in Sidereal that works closely with constellations that were used long ago and shares similarities with fixed stars which is the type of astrology that all indigenous societies used. I talk about this more through Sankofa Rising Indigenous Astro, a community and podcast with Black/POC astrologers using Indigenous cosmologies, healing justice, and decolonial approaches. 

Find more at : https://www.instagram.com/sankofarising_indigenousastro/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

It's common to utilize breathing techniques to help with anxiety, slow down the mind, or support relaxation, but breathwork can also be incredibly potent for trauma healing. Holotropic Breathwork is an amazing modality that utilizes breath, embodiment, gentle altered states of consciousness, and emotional expression to create the conditions for any deeply embodied pain that we've held in for years or decades to be released and integrated. 

In this episode you'll learn:

Links:

Book a Breathwork Session: https://www.jazminerussell.com/breathwork-sessions

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Research:

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Mystical experiences are more common than we may think, but we live in a world that views them as strange, pathological, or only available to a “special” select few. I believe we all have the capacity to tap into the divine and see beyond the veil, if we desire, and that connecting deeply to the world around us through our lived mysticism is a foundational part of healing work. In this episode I’ll tell you how I discovered I was a “witch” or mystic, what precognition as a kid feels like, and how I ground my spiritual practice in my lived experiences without taking it all too seriously.

Links: 

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Inner Child work is a practice of getting in touch with your subconscious feelings, beliefs, and wounding that may have been stuffed down since childhood. In inner child work, we have the opportunity to re-learn healthy attachment, develop deeper self-trust, notice and resolve “self-sabotaging” patterns, learn how to hold space for intense emotions and re-parent ourselves.

There’s a lot of information out there on inner child work, so I wanted to give you a primer on some basic “ground rules” I set for myself that make inner child work a bit more gentle and effective, as well as 5 core practices/resources I love.

You’ll learn:

Links:

Resources: 

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

The "fertile void" is the concept that moments in life marked by massive transitions, emptiness, lostness, and confusion can also be moments of pure magic and possibility. In fact, feeling confused in areas of life can be a really healthy and wonderful sign that there's so much more waiting for us. We need moments of rest, visioning, and recalibration in order to move forward in integrity. In this episode I discuss lessons I've learned from engaging in "the fertile void" and how to navigate lostness and confusion. 

Links: 

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

1:1 Breathwork Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Resources: 

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Anger is one of the most misunderstood and repressed emotions. There are many ways we dishonor our anger culturally and societally, yet there is so much power and wisdom in our anger when we learn ways to express it without causing harm or violence. Here are a few mistakes I’ve made in the process of learning to honor my anger and what I do now to listen to it.

Resources: 

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Links:

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Healing from childhood sexual abuse is far more complex than healing somatically. Often we must confront challenging family dynamics, betrayal, attachment wounds, abandonment, rage, grief, self-blame, guilt, and so much more. In this episode, I talk about the biggest lessons I've learned in healing from childhood trauma. 

You’ll learn:

Links: 

Research:

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Is there such a thing as healthy distraction when it comes to processing emotions? How do we know if we need a break from healing work? How do we know when to dive in and when to distract from uncomfortable emotions? How do we build capacity and safety in the body so we can engage with pain and emotional processing sustainably? I like to use a framework that emerged from my own healing process to answer these tough questions, especially when it comes to dealing with fear, anxiety, and overwhelm. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

Links

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Breathwork Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Our emotions are vital, and yet we have deep set cultural myths that often prevent us from feeling, expressing, and releasing our emotions. What if the path to healing wasn't learning to "control" or "manage" our emotions, but instead learn to expand our capacity to feel intensity without betraying our self-trust?

In this episode you’ll learn:

Links:

Research:

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.