Elsplend Realities

What happens when you’re doing well on the outside, but something inside you still feels disconnected? Sometimes the exhaustion isn’t caused by the work itself, but by the constant effort of performing, holding everything together, and becoming who we think we need to be.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Kurt Bush, a certified Internal Family Systems practitioner, trauma-informed coach, and co-founder of Brimstone Coaching Group, explores the journey from survival and performance toward greater self-awareness and wholeness. We unpack the hidden cost of “faking it till you make it,” the identities we build around achievement and dependability, the quiet struggles leaders often carry, and the role of encounter and reflection in creating meaningful transformation. This conversation offers a grounded reminder that success is not only about how well we perform—it’s also about whether we feel connected to who we are while doing it.

What if the exhaustion you feel after work isn’t only about how much you’re doing—but about how much you’re carrying? Sometimes the hardest part of work isn’t the workload itself, but the emotions, expectations, urgency, and dysfunction we absorb until they begin to follow us home.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Katie Jean Hadiaris, a Workplace Wellness Coach, strategist, and founder of Work Is Not Family, explores what happens when work begins to affect more than our productivity. Drawing from more than 15 years in corporate environments and her own experience navigating an emotionally unsafe workplace, Katie shares insights into nervous-system responses, burnout, emotional absorption, conditioning, boundaries, high-performance culture, and the subtle ways workplace stress can shape our sense of safety and identity. This conversation offers a grounded reminder that protecting your energy isn’t about caring less—it’s about learning what belongs to you, what doesn’t, and giving yourself permission to come back to your own life.

What happens when the values you hold personally begin to collide with the realities of your work? For many professionals, the challenge isn’t simply succeeding—it’s learning how to lead, make decisions, and navigate difficult situations without losing sight of what they believe.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Brett Billups, an experienced HR executive and author of Biblical HR, shares a thoughtful perspective shaped by decades of leadership across major organizations, including Fortune 100 companies. We explore the deeper purpose of work, bringing faith and values into everyday leadership, navigating workplace conflict and difficult decisions, practicing discernment, handling organizational pressure, and staying grounded when workplace culture doesn’t always reflect your convictions. This conversation offers a practical reminder that integrity isn’t separate from our professional lives—it is revealed in how we choose to show up, lead, and respond when the decisions become difficult.

Why can you be doing everything “right” and still feel like something is missing? Sometimes the answer isn’t doing more—it’s recognizing what no longer fits, unlearning patterns that keep us stuck, and creating space for a more sustainable way forward.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Keri Doan, the voice behind Waiting on West, shares insights shaped by more than 15 years of working behind the scenes with businesses, as well as her own journey through burnout, people-pleasing, over-functioning, and the constant rebuilding that comes with being a military spouse. We explore what happens when productivity becomes tied to self-worth, how to recognize the patterns that keep us overwhelmed, finding your authentic voice in a noisy world, building visibility without losing yourself, setting healthier boundaries, and creating systems that support your life rather than drain it. This conversation offers a grounded reminder that sometimes the path to clarity isn’t adding more—it’s letting go of what was never truly yours to carry.

What if the path forward isn’t always about finding something new, but about returning to something within you that has been waiting to be noticed? In moments of disconnection, the answers may not come from doing more, searching further, or fixing ourselves—but from becoming present enough to listen again.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Martha Wright, a medicine woman, energy practitioner, and guide, explores the deeper experience of reconnecting with ourselves, our bodies, our intuition, and our sense of personal agency. Drawing from shamanic practices, somatic awareness, psychology, coaching, and grief-tending traditions, Martha shares a perspective on healing that embraces both depth and lightness. We explore disconnection, embodied awareness, pain, grief, intuition, presence, personal agency, and the courage to face what we often avoid. This conversation offers a gentle reminder that healing doesn’t always begin with finding another answer—it can begin with coming back to yourself.

What if the financial patterns we keep trying to fix aren’t really about money at all? Sometimes, the decisions we repeat, the habits we struggle to change, and the frustration we feel are connected to much older stories—shaped by early experiences, identity, beliefs, and wounds we may not even realize we carry.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Doug Lynam shares a fascinating journey from Marine Corps Officer Candidate School to two decades as a Benedictine monk, and ultimately to becoming a financial advisor, business coach, and bestselling author. Drawing from his experiences with human behavior, the Enneagram, and what he describes as “sacred wounds,” Doug explores the deeper psychology behind our relationship with money. We unpack financial shame, personality patterns, self-awareness, repetitive cycles, and the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. This conversation offers a powerful reminder that lasting change can begin not with more control or judgment, but with a deeper understanding of the stories shaping how we choose.

What happens when someone is given the freedom to tell their story without being corrected, redirected, or told what it should mean? Sometimes, being truly heard can become the beginning of connection, confidence, healing, and a completely different relationship with our own voice.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Kate Markland, former physiotherapist, children’s author, and creator of StoryQuest™️, shares the deeply personal journey that inspired her work. After navigating a court-ordered separation from her son, Kate discovered the transformative power of giving a child space to become the hero of their own story. We explore listening, voice, childhood expression, creativity, resilience, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves. Kate’s journey offers a powerful reminder that sometimes people don’t need more correction or direction—they simply need the space to speak, imagine, and know that their voice matters.

What happens when a life that looks normal from the outside carries experiences that have remained hidden for years? Sometimes, the hardest part of healing is not only confronting what happened, but finding the language, courage, and self-trust to finally acknowledge it.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Dr. Patricia Grenelle, a retired forensic psychologist with more than four decades of experience, shares the deeply personal story behind her memoir, We Were a Nice Normal Family. Drawing from both professional insight and lived experience, Patricia explores childhood trauma, silence, narcissistic family dynamics, the difficulty of validating our own experiences, and what it means to reclaim personal power. This conversation offers a compassionate reflection on breaking the silence, understanding the stories we carry, and taking the first gentle steps toward healing and finding your voice.

What if you were never meant to fit neatly into just one lane? What if the tension between being practical and creative, structured and spontaneous, strategic and imaginative isn’t something to resolve—but something to embrace?

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Kate Hendrickson, a leadership consultant and author with more than two decades of experience across multiple industries, shares a deeply personal perspective on navigating complexity, reinvention, and the many dimensions of identity. From rebuilding her life after Hurricane Katrina to moving between leadership consulting, family life, and creative writing, Kate explores what it means to evolve without abandoning parts of yourself along the way. Together, we explore uncertainty, alignment, priorities, bold change, creativity, humor, and the pressure to balance everything perfectly. This conversation offers a refreshing reminder that wholeness may not come from choosing one version of yourself—but from giving yourself permission to become more fully who you are.

Why do we sometimes react more strongly than the moment seems to deserve? A small comment can trigger anger, silence, people-pleasing, or a familiar need to over-function—and later leave us wondering why we responded that way. Often, these reactions are connected to patterns we’ve carried for years, but awareness can create the space to choose something different.

In this episode of Elsplend Realities, Anutza Bellissimo, a behavioral skills coach, certified anger management specialist, and founder of the Stress & Anger Management Institute, explores the patterns that quietly influence how we show up in work, relationships, and everyday life. We unpack stress, anger, people-pleasing, over-functioning, boundaries, emotional triggers, conflict, and the challenge of expressing ourselves honestly without shutting down or becoming reactive. This conversation offers a practical reminder that our patterns may have a history, but they don’t have to determine our future—and meaningful change can begin with simply noticing, understanding, and choosing differently.