Happy To Be Here

Happy To Be Here

By Vivian NunezHealth & FitnessMental Health
Download on the App Store

Happy To Be Here episodes

  • Healthy Eating Tips For Summer Meals, Hormone Health, And Sustainable Nutrition (A Conversation With Sarah Becker, MS, RD)

    Sarah Becker holds a Masters in Nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian. She's also a warm presence in what can often be complicated conversations around food. Throughout the conversation, we talk about how to listen to your body, especially as seasons change, and how to eat to support your joy, health, and wellness. She offers tips on how to create better habits around mealtime and how to grocery shop.


    TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorder mentioned from 33:30-36:50 — Full question: How do you introduce new foods when you have a history of disordered eating?


    EPISODE BREAKDOWN

    1:30 — Meet Sarah

    4 — Day to day as a Registered Dietitian

    6:30 — How TikTok is influencing questions and trends around nutrition

    9:30 — What are healthy habits when eating?

    17 — Tips for how to start creating sustainable habits around food

    20 — Parasite cleanses explained

    22 — Why eating habits change in the summertime

    26 — How food can support your physical health

    32 — Tips for grocery shopping

    33:30-36:50 — TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorder mention — Full question: How do you introduce new foods when you have a history of disordered eating?

    37 — Eating to support our hormone health

    44 min
  • How An Anti-Anxiety Notebook Can Support Your Mental Health

    Varshil Patel is the co-founder of Therapy Notebooks, a wellness company dedicated to creating tools that help people manage their anxiety, trauma, or day-to-day stressors. In our conversation we talk through how anyone can use these notebooks to support their mental health, how Therapy Notebooks got started, and so much more. 


    EPISODE BREAKDOWN 

    • :30 — Meet Varshil and Therapy Notebooks 
    • 1:45 — Why the number of pages matters 
    • 4:27 — How therapy notebooks ensure self-care won’t be your full time job 
    • 5:15 — When to use a Therapy Notebooks
    • 6:30 — How do experts craft Therapy Notebooks 
    • 8:30 — The inspiration behind Therapy Notebooks 
    • 13 — Practical tips from Therapy Notebooks 
    • 16 — What does your wellness routine look like? 
    • 21 — Which Therapy Notebooks to pick up first 
      • 24 min
    • The Perfect Book For Explaining Grief To Your Inner Child Or Actual Child (A Conversation With Molly B. Burnham)

      Molly B. Burnham is the author of The Infinite Questions of Dottie Bing, a middle grade book that succeeds at explaining the grief journey to kids and adults alike. In our conversation, Molly will walk us through how Dottie (the main character) explains her anxiety and grief, where Molly drew inspiration for the story, and so much more. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month I think it’s important to start where we are and nothing says that more than going back to middle grade and speaking to our inner child or actual children. 


      EPISODE GUIDE

      • :50 — Meet Molly 
      • 2:45 — Meet The Infinite Questions of Dottie Bing 
      • 4:45 — Using writing to explore how grief brings relationships together 
      • 7:30 — The power of humor to cope with big feelings 
      • 12 – Writing for children and their big feelings 
      • 16 — Explaining anxiety to children (and adults) 
      • 24 — How to write and talk to kids about grief and anxiety 
      • 34 — Fluctuating between sadness and happiness 
      • 37 — Encouraging grandfathers to be more engaged 
      • 40 — How curiosity and noticing the world can help your healing process
        • 45 min
      • Where To Start If You Need Mental Health Support (A Conversation with Mental Health America)

        Mental Health America started Mental Health Awareness Month back in 1949. Since then the state of mental health awareness has shifted and the conversations are easier to come across. This week I’m joined by Dr. America, Chief Social Impact Officer of Mental Health America. Throughout our conversation she answers questions like, “What should I look for in a therapist?” “What are warm hotlines?” And more! 


        1:04 — Meet Dr. America, Chief Social Impact Officer Mental Health America 

        2:17 — How has social media changed how we talk about mental health? 

        4 — Tips for curating mental health social media content 

        8 — Dr. America on MHA’s new book - Where To Start? 

        12 — You don’t have to have all the answers to take care of your mental health

        15:30 — What are warm hotlines? 

        17 — Cultivating your mental health toolkit 

        21 — How to identify where you need support 

        24 — How to help the kids/teens in your life manage their mental health 

        29 — The importance of normalizing mental health 

        38 min
      • Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Q+A: Post Pill Syndrome, Gut Health, Inflammation, And More (A Conversation with Carolyn Brown)

        Carolyn Brown is an RD with a focus in holistic and integrative nutrition. She also happens to be the co-founder of Indigo Wellness — her fellow co-founder is Sarah Swanberg, who unpacked acupuncture for us just a few episodes ago. In this conversation Carolyn answers all of my questions around gut health, how to support your body no matter what stage of life you’re in, what happens to your body once you come off the birth control pill, and so much more. 


        EPISODE BREAKDOWN

        • 1:08 — Meet Carolyn 
        • 2:30 — An expert’s take on hormone health, gut health, and nutrition 
        • 5:45 — How to start paying attention to your body triggers
        • 8:30 — How to have your nutrition support who you are today
        • 11 — Attainable and sustainable wellness tips 
        • 13:50 — Indigo Wellness’ Week of Wellness unpacked 
        • 16 — How your relationships impact your wellness 
        • 18 — Carolyn explains your nervous system
        • 21 — Blood sugar regulation and eating regular meals 
        • 22 — How the birth control pill and hormone health can impact inflammation in your body 
        • 27 — What should we stop doing to support our body? 
        • 28:15 — Post pill syndrome - what happens after coming off the birth control pill 
        • 33 — What is constipation? What is a good poop? 
        • 38 — How Carolyn resets herself 
          • 48 min
        • CPR 101: The $10 Wellness Product That Can Save Lives (A Conversation with Founder Felicia Jackson)

          It’s hard to know how you will react during a life-death situation. Felicia Jackson, inventor and CEO of CPRWrap, felt that fear firsthand when her youngest child needed CPR. Inspired by her own life experience, the nurse and entrepreneur created CPRWrap — a less than $10 bib with step-by-step instructions on how to perform CPR on anyone who needs it. In this episode, we discuss the inspiration behind CPRWrap, how to get CPR certified, and the importance of knowing what to do before practicing CPR.


          EPISODE BREAKDOWN 

          • 1:18 — Meet Felicia Jackson and CPRWrap
          • 2:45 — CPRWrap for adults and kids 
          • 3:31 — What inspired you to start CPRWrap? 
          • 7:15 — Deciding to price CPRWrap for $10 
          • 10:30 — How Felicia is building her startup 
          • 15 — What is CPR? How do you become CPR certified? 
          • 19 — CPR for dogs 


            • 25 min
          • From Sober Curious To Women Without Kids (A Conversation With Ruby Warrington)

            Ruby Warrington coined the phrase “sober curious” and is now back with a new book, Women Without Kids. In our conversation, we talk about what it means to be sober curious, how curiosity can help us redefine our relationship with alcohol and motherhood, and how to navigate the real feelings that surface when you decide not to have kids at all.


            :57 — Meet Ruby Warrington 

            1:48 — Thread between Sober Curious and Women Without Kids 

            6:33 — Getting to the true essence of how you feel about motherhood

            12 — Coining “Sober Curious” 

            14 — Staying curious around motherhood 

            19 — The power of women changing their mind 

            23 — The guilt of choosing your own path 

            25 — How to talk to your community about motherhood openly 

            34 — Motherhood through the generations 

            38 — Human life spans expanding and its impact on motherhood 

            42 — Legacy when you choose not to have kids 

            45 — Statistics around motherhood 

            51 min
          • My Acupuncturist Answers Questions On Acupuncture's Benefits, Anxiety, Magnesium, And More

            This week I'm joined by Dr. Sarah Swanberg, a Doctor of Acupuncture, the co-founder of Indigo Wellness, and also my personal acupuncturist. We talk through my acupuncture journey and how it's impacted my anxiety, gut health, and hormone health so far. Plus, Sarah answers questions like — how do I pick the right acupuncturist? and how does acupuncture help move you from flight-and-fight mode and into rest-and-digest?

            If you're CT-local, Sarah's Indigo Wellness has two locations, one in Stamford and one in Westport.

            You can also get Sarah's book — A Patient’s Guide To Acupuncture — anywhere books are sold!


            Episode breakdown:

            • :31 - Meet Dr. Sarah Swanberg 
            • 5:30 — How and where do feelings manifest in your body? 
            • 6:45 – What are the benefits of the acupuncture intake form? 
            • 8 — What happens when Qi is stuck? 
            • 12:16 — How can acupuncture impact your period or menstrual conditions like PCOS and fertility? 
            • 17 — What can someone expect from their first acupuncture appointment? 
            • 21 — Do acupuncture needles hurt? 
            • 22:30 — What are Non Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) and acunaps? 
            • 24 — How can acupuncture move someone from fight and flight to rest and digest?  
            • 27 — How do I know if acupuncture will help me? 
            • 33 — How do you find the right acupuncturist for you? 
            • 36 — What is Qi in acupuncture? 
            • 40 — What are the benefits of magnesium? 
              • 49 min
            • Afraid of Solo Traveling? Advice From A Therapist And Travel App Founder

              Dr. Sarah Oreck and Out Of Office Co-Founder Coabi Kastan answer all of my traveling solo questions. I talk to Dr. Oreck about how you can navigate the fear, anxiety, and guilt of spending money traveling at all, but especially traveling alone. Then Coabi tells us how the app she co-founded, Out Of Office, helps you map out your itinerary.

              Dr. Sarah Oreck

              • 1:45 – Meet Dr. Sarah Oreck
              • 2:19 — What if I didn’t grow up traveling?
              • 2:45 — What about traveling alone?
              • 4:30 — How do you cope with the fear of traveling and spending money?
              • 5:30 — How can solo dates help you travel alone one day?
              • 7 — How do you let go of limiting beliefs around traveling?
              • 10 — How to manage the guilt that your loved ones can’t travel too?
              • 13:20 – Tips to keep in mind when solo traveling


                • Out Of Office - Coabi Kastan

                • 18:26 — Meet Coabi Kastan
                • 18:52 — What is Out Of Office?
                • 20 — How do you stay safe while traveling?
                • 23 — How does the OOO algorithm work?
                • 25 — What are first steps if someone is looking to travel?
                  • 28 min

                About Happy To Be Here

                From the publisher's feed

                Happy To Be Here Podcast: a wellbeing podcast with interviews, tips, and book recs on how to be nicer to yourself