Drop The Shades

Drop The Shades

By Joseph Elisha, M.D.Society & Culture
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Drop The Shades episodes

  • Healing the Inner Child with Mike Oglesbee | #12

    Pain can either define you or refine you and this conversation shows exactly how to transform it into strength.

    In this deeply moving episode of Drop The Shades, host Joseph Elisha sits down with coach, clinical hypnotherapist, and NLP practitioner Mike Oglesbee to unpack trauma, anxiety, suicidal ideation, estrangement, self-love, and the hidden gifts inside suffering. Mike shares his raw personal journey from a troubled childhood and years of inner turmoil to building a life devoted to helping others heal.

    Together, they explore how childhood trauma shapes adulthood, why anxiety is rooted in fear and control, how hypnotherapy works on the subconscious mind, and what it truly means to set boundaries from a place of self-love. This is a conversation about healing, surrender, resilience, and becoming the person you were always meant to be.

    Key themes in this episode:

    • How trauma can stunt emotional growth

    • Why anxiety is future-based thinking

    • The role of self-love and boundaries in healing

    • Turning suffering into purpose and meaning

    • Rewiring the subconscious through hypnotherapy and NLP

    If you’ve ever struggled with anxiety, identity, trauma, or finding meaning in difficult experiences, this episode will leave you feeling seen, challenged, and inspired.


    54 min
  • She Healed From the Inside Out | #11

    What if the key to your energy, mental clarity, recovery, and even emotional health starts in your gut?

    On this episode of Drop The Shades, Joseph Elisha sits down with nutrition coach, integrative wellness consultant, and ultra endurance athlete Lauren Callahan to unpack the surprising connection between gut health, mental health, performance, and personal growth. After struggling for years to complete a marathon despite doing “everything right,” Lauren discovered that healing her gut completely transformed both her physical and emotional well-being.

    From fiber-first nutrition and fermented foods to ultra marathons, meditation, recovery, and bioactive peptides, this conversation dives deep into what it really means to optimize your health from the inside out.

    In this episode:

    • Why fiber may be more important than protein for most people

    • The gut health connection to anxiety, mood, sleep, and clarity

    • How Lauren went from failed marathons to Ironmans and 100-mile races

    • Practical ways busy families can eat healthier without overwhelm

    • The mindset shift from limitation to possibility

    If you’ve ever wondered how much better your body and mind could actually feel, this episode will challenge the way you think about health, performance, and everyday living.


    1 hr 10 min
  • Your Brain Is Lying to You | #10

    What if most of the thoughts in your head simply are not true?

    In this reflective solo episode of Drop The Shades, host Joseph Elisha explores the quiet but powerful realization that our minds are master storytellers and not always reliable narrators. From late night cosmic worries to everyday anxieties about work, family, and the future, Joseph unpacks how our brains constantly create stories designed for survival rather than truth.

    By learning to question those stories, we can step out of the noise and reconnect with the only place life actually happens: the present moment.

    Key themes in this episode:

    - Why your thoughts are not the same as facts

    - The three biggest lies your brain tells you

    - How worry and mental time travel keep you stuck


    If you have ever felt trapped in your own head, this conversation is a reminder that you are not your thoughts. When you learn to observe the stories instead of believing them, something powerful happens. You return to the present, to your breath, and to the quiet space where clarity and peace begin.

    9 min
  • What Big Pharma Won’t Tell You | #9

    What if the answers to better health have been hiding in plain sight all along?

    In this eye-opening episode of Drop The Shades, host Joseph Elisha sits down with actuary, corporate executive, and health advocate Emma Tekstra to challenge the modern healthcare model and explore what true wellness really looks like. From helping Fortune 500 companies redesign benefits programs to healing her son after an autism and ADHD diagnosis, Emma shares the personal journey that transformed her mission.

    They dive into preventive health, the gut-brain connection, pharmaceuticals, stress, autoimmune disease, and why employers may hold more power than governments when it comes to changing health outcomes.

    Inside this episode:

    • How Emma helped her son thrive beyond his diagnosis

    • Why stress, food, and lifestyle may be driving chronic illness

    • What employers can do to lower costs and improve lives

    • The hidden connection between gut health and mental health

    If you're ready to question the system and take ownership of your health, this conversation is for you.


    1 hr 10 min
  • Your Intuition Is Your First Sense | #8

    What if the voice you’ve been ignoring is the one you should trust most?

    In this episode of Drop The Shades, Joseph Elisha sits down with Lenka Schulze to explore intuition as more than a gut feeling. She reframes it as our first sense, one that guides everything from survival instincts to deeper life decisions, relationships, and purpose. Through powerful insights and real-life examples, Lenka shares how intuition can be developed, trusted, and used to navigate a noisy, chaotic world.

    Key themes and takeaways:

    - Why intuition is your first sense, not your sixth

    - How stress blocks intuition and calm unlocks it

    - The difference between survival intuition and higher awareness


    If you’ve ever second-guessed yourself, this conversation will help you reconnect with the part of you that already knows the way.


    52 min
  • Your Brain’s Three Biggest Lies | #7

    What if the thoughts in your head are not telling you the truth?

    In this reflective solo episode of Drop The Shades, host Joseph Elisha explores the nonstop noise of the human mind and why so many of our thoughts are misleading, exaggerated, or completely imagined. After a humorous real life moment sparks deeper reflection, Joseph breaks down how our brains create stories that pull us away from clarity, peace, and the present moment.

    By learning to question those mental narratives, we can stop letting fear, worry, and past regrets run the show.

    In this episode, Joseph explores:

    - Why thinking something does not make it true

    - The illusion that worrying gives us control

    - How the mind constantly drags us into the past or future


    When you learn to observe your thoughts instead of believing them, you begin to reclaim your calm, your focus, and your power.

    Take a breath, slow down, and drop the shades. Your peace might be closer than you think. 🎙️


    9 min
  • From Abuse to Healing Others | #5

    What if the deepest trauma in your life became the reason you could heal others?

    Dr. Robert Bleck shares his harrowing story of enduring years of physical and emotional abuse as a child and how that pain shaped his path to becoming a therapist and professor. Through decades of work, he developed Source Completion Therapy, a process designed to help people finally release the trauma they’ve carried for years.

    In this conversation, he breaks down how unresolved pain turns into addiction, anxiety, and destructive patterns, and how confronting the source can lead to real, lasting healing.

    In this episode, you’ll learn:

    Why trauma doesn’t disappear and where it actually goes

    How pain turns into addictions, anxiety, and toxic patterns

    The 3-phase process to truly heal and reclaim your life

    If you’ve ever wondered whether real healing is possible, this episode might change how you see your past.

    1 hr 3 min
  • Pause to Heal Your Body | #4

    What if the key to healing isn’t doing more, but slowing down?

    In this episode of Drop The Shades, Dr. Emily shares her journey from years of autoimmune disease and medication to finding true healing through functional medicine and lifestyle change. In this conversation with Joseph Elisha, she breaks down how stress, inflammation, and everyday habits silently shape our health and how small, intentional shifts can completely transform it.


    In this episode, you’ll learn:
    - Why stress is one of the biggest hidden drivers of chronic illness
    - How small daily habits create massive long term health changes
    - The power of “pausing” to activate your body’s natural healing


    If you’ve been running on empty and searching for real answers, this episode is your invitation to slow down, tune in, and start healing from within.

    51 min
  • The Beauty Of Your Broken Pieces | #3

    What if the cracks in your life are the very thing that makes you valuable?

    In this reflective episode of Drop The Shades, Joseph Elisha explores the Japanese philosophy of kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Through this powerful metaphor, he reframes pain, failure, and hardship as essential parts of the human story rather than flaws to hide.

    Instead of chasing perfection, Joseph invites listeners to see their scars, struggles, and setbacks as proof of resilience and growth.

    In this episode you will hear about: • Why our culture’s obsession with perfection keeps us stuck • The meaning behind the Japanese philosophies of kintsugi and wabi sabi • How embracing your “cracks” can transform shame into strength

    If you have ever felt broken, this conversation offers a new perspective. Your story, your scars, and your healing may be the gold that makes you whole.

    7 min
  • Beyond Identity: Healing Through Community | #2

    What if recovery is not about willpower, but about belonging?

    In this powerful episode of Drop the Shades, host Joseph Elisha sits down with Beck Gee, CEO of Breathe Life Healing Centers in Los Angeles, to explore a journey shaped by addiction, secrecy, gender identity, faith, and ultimately, profound self-acceptance. From growing up in an alcoholic home to navigating sobriety, depression, and coming out as trans later in life, Beck shares how community became the lifeline that made healing possible.

    Together, they unpack the layers of trauma, the cost of hiding, the courage it takes to live authentically, and the transformative role of collective support in long term recovery.


    Key themes include:

    - The hidden impact of childhood trauma and family secrecy

    - Addiction as both escape and connection

    - Gender identity, faith, and the fear of losing community

    - Why healing happens through belonging, not isolation


    1 hr 9 min

About Drop The Shades

From the publisher's feed

The world is loud. Drop The Shades is the pause. Hosted by anesthesiologist Joseph Elisha, M.D., this podcast explores how to lower the noise, regulate your nervous system, and create calm in the…