Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever noticed yourself sabotaging a peaceful moment or pulling away when things feel too good? Your nervous system might be hitting what I call a "joy threshold" – that point where feeling good becomes uncomfortable, even threatening.

This deeply personal exploration unpacks why so many of us, especially those who've experienced trauma or lived in survival mode, find joy suspicious and unsafe. When your body has been wired to anticipate danger, the softening that joy requires can trigger all kinds of protective responses. You might start arguments, return to old habits, or simply numb out—not because you're failing, but because your system is saying, "this unfamiliar feeling might not be safe."

Through gentle, body-based approaches, we explore practical ways to expand your capacity for joy. The guided mindfulness practice invites you to notice what happens when you allow good feelings to stay a little longer without bracing for their disappearance. We examine powerful reflection prompts that help identify your patterns around joy, including the stories your body tells about whether happiness can be trusted. This episode offers liberation from the belief that withholding joy somehow protects you from disappointment.

The work of emotional sobriety isn't just about managing difficult feelings—it's equally about learning to stay present with good ones. If you find yourself walking the tender line between deep self-awareness and the longing to actually enjoy your life again, this episode provides both validation and a pathway forward. You are allowed to feel good, not because you've earned it through suffering, but simply because you exist. Learn more www.liftoneself.com

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever felt the burning desire to write, yet find yourself frozen by self-doubt and fear of rejection? This episode takes you on a deeply vulnerable journey into the heart of creative expression with book coach Lisa Tener, who brings her wealth of experience from helping hundreds of authors transform their writing blocks into flowing creativity.

Lisa opens by sharing her remarkable path from MIT graduate to published author and book coach, revealing how a personal health crisis led her to rediscover the healing power of writing. With over a dozen years teaching at Harvard Medical School's publishing course and multiple award-winning books to her name, Lisa brings both credibility and compassion to the creative process.

What unfolds is nothing short of magical as Lisa guides our host through a powerful visualization to connect with her creative muse. The process reveals how childhood messages about our abilities create lasting barriers to creative expression—barriers that can be gently dismantled through mindfulness and self-compassion. You'll witness firsthand how confronting the vulnerable parts of ourselves that fear criticism can lead to profound creative breakthroughs.

Beyond the emotional journey, this episode delivers practical wisdom for writers at every stage. Learn how to structure feedback requests from beta readers, recognize the difference between helpful editors and harmful critics, and understand why trying to please everyone ultimately dilutes your authentic voice. Lisa's insight that "great writing moves us emotionally—it's transformative, it's cathartic" redefines success beyond technical perfection.

Whether you're struggling with a book manuscript, seeking to unleash your creative potential, or simply curious about the intersection of mindfulness and creativity, this conversation offers both inspiration and actionable techniques. Connect with your own creative source through breathwork, visualization, and the courage to trust your unique voice. Your creative muse is waiting—are you ready to meet it?

Find Lisa Tener here: https://www.lisatener.com/

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

That silent scroll through your ex's profile at 2 AM? It's not just curiosity – it's your nervous system seeking a hit of familiar pain. Welcome to a raw exploration of the hidden trauma patterns lurking beneath our seemingly innocent social media habits.

When we catch ourselves "just checking" someone's Instagram story after choosing not to attend an event, or clicking through profiles that trigger our deepest insecurities, we're not merely gathering information. We're often reopening wounds that were trying to heal, creating what I call a "self-soothing trauma loop." This episode dives deep into why we sometimes unconsciously seek controllable pain rather than unpredictable joy, and how comparison rarely empowers us to see possibilities – instead, it whispers "look how small you are."

This conversation isn't about shame or judgment. It's about bringing awareness to these patterns so we can interrupt them with compassion. I guide listeners through a mindful moment to reconnect with themselves, share personal insights about breaking these digital trauma loops, and introduce the concept of emotional sobriety – the ability to feel our emotions without being ruled by them. Because true healing isn't proving you've recovered by repeatedly exposing yourself to what hurt you; it's building new neural pathways that prioritize presence over pain.

Ready to transform your relationship with social media and your emotions? The Emotional Sobriety Workshop might be exactly what you need. Find the link in the show notes or visit liftoneselfcom to learn more about breaking these cycles together.

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Ever wonder why you keep hitting the same emotional walls despite years of personal growth work? Trauma specialist Tammy Cox reveals the missing piece that's keeping you stuck in patterns you can't seem to break.

"Trauma is just a high state of negative emotion," Tammy explains, cutting through the buzzwords to offer a refreshingly simple understanding of how early life experiences shape our adult personalities. The real breakthrough comes when she illuminates why intellectual understanding alone never creates lasting change—our bodies hold emotional charges that must be felt to be released.

What makes this conversation particularly powerful is Tammy's blend of compassionate wisdom and practical techniques. She walks us through why emotions we label as "negative" are actually valuable messengers and teachers. Most surprisingly, she reveals it only takes 90 seconds to fully process an emotion when we stop resisting it—yet most of us have spent decades building sophisticated defense mechanisms to avoid those 90 seconds.

Throughout our dialogue, we explore why relationships trigger our deepest wounds, how to recognize when the "two-year-old you" is running the show, and why befriending your anger might be the most spiritual thing you can do. Tammy also shares the origin story behind her podcast "Behind the Veil: Anonymous Transformations," where she guides people through healing their deepest wounds in real-time.

Ready to move beyond the self-help plateau and experience genuine emotional freedom? This episode offers both the understanding and practical guidance to help you stop thinking your feelings and start transforming your life by actually feeling them. The path to becoming whole isn't about getting rid of parts of yourself—it's about bringing compassion to all the protective mechanisms that have kept you safe until now.

Connect with Tammy here https://reclaimurmarriage.com/4-pillar-optin

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us a text

When childhood wounds tell us we're "not good enough" to write, how do we move past them to create meaningful work? In this vulnerable episode, I surrender to the process as book coach Lisa Tenner guides me through meeting my creative muse—the shadowy but powerful part of myself that's been waiting to be integrated.

Lisa shares her remarkable journey from MIT programmer to healing her chronic fatigue syndrome through writing, ultimately becoming a book coach who's helped hundreds bring their books to life. With over a dozen years on the faculty of Harvard Medical School's publishing course, she brings both technical expertise and spiritual depth to the creative process.

As we dive into a guided visualization, I confront the painful messages from my past about being "stupid" and discouraged from writing. What emerges is profound—my muse appears as a dark, shadowy entity representing the feminine creative void, waiting to merge through my solar plexus. The emotional breakthrough reveals how much I've been seeking external validation rather than trusting my innate abilities.

Lisa offers practical wisdom for writers alongside the spiritual exploration. She explains how to get helpful feedback from beta readers, why finding the right editor matters, and why authentic writing naturally attracts your ideal readers while repelling others. "If you're not repelling people," she notes, "you're probably not being authentic enough."

The conversation culminates with a thought-provoking discussion about creativity in the age of AI. Lisa advocates for human connection, embodiment, and nature as our true creative sources, warning that technology might disconnect us from the deeply transformative aspects of creative expression.

Whether you're writing a book, creating art, or simply looking to express yourself more authentically, this episode offers both practical guidance and soul-nourishing inspiration. Connect with Lisa at LisaTenner.com and explore her award-winning books that help writers get into creative flow.

Find Lisa Tenner here: https://www.lisatener.com/

Support the show

💛 Support the Show

If you’ve been moved by this episode and want to support the work, you can do so here:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself

Your support helps me keep sharing honest conversations, healing tools, and reminders that we are not alone.

Remember, the strongest thing you can do for yourself is to ask for help.
Please help us grow by subscribing to and sharing the Lift OneSelf podcast with others.
The podcast intends to dissolve the stigmas around Mental Health and create healing spaces.
I appreciate you, the listener, for tuning in and my guest for sharing.

Our website
LiftOneself.com
email: [email protected]

Find more conversations on our Social Media pages
www.facebook.com/liftoneself
www.instagram.com/liftoneself

Want to be a guest on the Lift OneSelf podcast message here on Podmatch:
https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/liftoneself

Music by:

Opening music Prazkhanal
Opening music SoulProdMusic
Meditation music Saavane

Send us Fan Mail

What would your pain say if it finally felt safe enough to speak? This question anchors a deeply intimate exploration into the hidden language of our bodies and the protective nature of our suffering. 

We've been conditioned to push away discomfort, to reframe our pain into something more acceptable, or to fix it as quickly as possible. But this episode invites you into a radical alternative – creating space to sit beside your pain without agenda, without the pressure to perform or improve. Through a gentle guided meditation and vulnerable insights, we explore how the tightening in your shoulders, the knot in your stomach, and the flinching at loud voices aren't random sensations but messengers carrying important information about your unmet needs.

The journey toward emotional sobriety begins when we recognize that pain doesn't exist to punish us. It exists to protect something valuable within us – perhaps old grief that never found expression, memories we've never spoken aloud, or the wounded part that fears abandonment. When we learn to witness what's real inside without numbing or running, our exiled pain transforms from tormentor to guide, pointing us toward forgotten boundaries and the truth of who we are beneath our coping mechanisms.

This episode offers a simple but powerful journaling practice to help you begin this conversation with your body's wisdom. If you're ready to go deeper into this work, the Emotional Sobriety Workshop mentioned provides a soft place to land and begin again. Remember to be gentle with yourself in this process – healing isn't linear, but your return home to yourself matters profoundly.

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

When was the last time you truly felt your body from the inside out? Not just noticing an ache or pain, but deeply sensing your physical existence?

For many of us, living primarily in our thoughts has disconnected us from crucial information our bodies are constantly trying to communicate. Karen Statner, clinical somatic educator and author, joins us to explore the revolutionary practice of clinical somatics—a method developed by philosopher Thomas Hanna that creates freedom through intentional movement.

Karen illuminates the profound connection between our physical tension patterns and emotional states, explaining how our nervous system doesn't differentiate between body and mind, but operates as one integrated system. "We cannot change anything that we cannot feel," Karen shares, revealing how our bodies hold emotional patterns in specific muscular configurations. These patterns, whether from acute trauma or repetitive stress, become unconscious habits our nervous system maintains until we consciously release them. The result? Chronic tension, pain, disconnection, and a limited capacity to experience life fully.

The beautiful revelation in this conversation is that no matter how long you've been stuck in specific patterns, change is always possible through the magic of neuroplasticity. Rather than approaching ourselves as problems to be fixed, clinical somatics offers a gentler path—becoming aware of tension, intentionally engaging it, and mindfully releasing it through a process similar to how animals naturally stretch.

By reconnecting with our bodily sensations and learning to release chronic tension, we don't just improve physical comfort—we unlock emotional freedom, better relationships, and deeper connection to our authentic needs. This isn't about quick fixes but sustainable transformation that ripples outward, affecting not just ourselves but everyone around us.

Ready to experience this for yourself? Karen guides us through a simple yet powerful three-step practice that demonstrates how effortlessly we can begin releasing tension and coming home to ourselves. What might change in your life if you could feel more, move freely, and live with greater presence?

Listen, practice, and discover the wisdom your body has been waiting to share.

Resources:

• Karen's website: https://www.somatichabit.co.uk/
• Free class: https://www.somatichabit.co.uk/freeclass/

If this episode is hitting home and you're tired of running the same patterns, I work 1:1 with high-functioning professionals to recalibrate their nervous systems.

Book a free 20-minute clarity call: liftoneself.com/session

Or grab my free somatic practice guide to start today: liftoneself.com/freegift

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Easter weekend is meant to be a time of peace, family, and renewal. Yet this year, many Canadians are feeling an unusual kind of pressure, as advance voting falls on Good Friday. Long lines across the country reveal a troubling paradox: we’re being asked to make important decisions while in a stressed state—called to action during a time traditionally meant for stillness.

This episode isn’t about politics, parties, or platforms.
 It’s about your nervous system.
 It’s about reclaiming your ability to choose from presence, not fear.

When anxiety runs high—whether from inflation, global unrest, or uncertainty—it’s tempting to vote quickly. To latch onto whoever sounds strongest. To seek the person who promises to extinguish the nearest fire.

But there’s a profound difference between voting from clarity and voting from panic.

Discernment isn’t about distrust.
 It’s about slowing down long enough to ask:

• Why did that message hit so hard?
• What’s behind the polish?
• What’s my body feeling right now?

Because even the most well-intentioned leaders get shaped by the system they enter.
 That’s not cynicism—it’s reality.

Before you let a headline or scroll-session decide for you, take a breath.
 Not everything demands urgency.
 Ask yourself:
 What kind of Canada do I want to wake up in?
 What does stability look like for me and my family?

There may not be perfect candidates.
 But there is a more grounded version of you.
 And your vote matters most when it’s made from that place.

Let your nervous system lead—not the chaos of the world.

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever felt caught in that impossible space where your body screams for rest while your mind refuses to slow down? That tension between physical exhaustion and mental momentum is where we dive deep in this raw, intimate conversation about the courage it takes to pause in a world that glorifies burnout.

We explore why rest feels so threatening to many of us—how survival patterns from our past have conditioned our nervous systems to equate stillness with danger or unworthiness. Together, we unpack the cultural messaging that has taught us to view exhaustion as a badge of honor rather than a warning sign from our bodies. Through a guided breathing practice, we create space to actually feel what's happening in our bodies instead of rushing past the discomfort.

The heart of our discussion centers on a powerful truth: momentum doesn't disappear when you pause—it's simply waiting for you to return refreshed and resourced. Rest isn't something you need to earn through productivity; it's a fundamental human need that requires no justification. When we resist the urge to keep pushing and instead choose intentional stillness, we often discover that our most profound insights and clarity emerge precisely in those quiet moments. If you're struggling with burnout or the endless cycle of proving your worth through productivity, this episode offers both validation and practical tools to begin shifting that pattern. Join our Emotional Sobriety Workshop to continue this important work of finding balance between drive and restoration.
Join here 

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Shattering taboos and exposing medical blind spots, this deeply personal exploration of perimenopause and menopause reveals truths that will validate the experiences of countless women struggling in silence.

Amita Sharma, founder of Nourish Doc, shares a shocking revelation from her research interviewing thousands of experts worldwide: OB-GYNs receive virtually no education about perimenopause in medical school, with just eight hours devoted to menopause during fifteen years of studying female physiology. No wonder so many women find themselves misdiagnosed with depression or anxiety when their hormones begin shifting.

The conversation delves into the profound physical transformations that receive little attention in mainstream discussions. "Your gut microbiome changes, your brain changes," Sharma explains. "You are fundamentally a different person." These changes extend far beyond hot flashes, affecting everything from cognitive function to weight distribution, yet most women navigate this territory without maps or guides.

Most powerfully, Sharma courageously shares her personal awakening during perimenopause – how decades of emotional suppression and people-pleasing suddenly demanded expression. "I was angry at myself for not allowing myself to express, for trying to please other people and not myself," she reveals. This emotional reckoning, while challenging, ultimately led to greater authenticity and self-compassion.

The discussion illuminates how these transitions often spark relationship difficulties, with data suggesting 60% of women experience partnership challenges during this time. Difficult but necessary conversations about changing libido, emotional needs, and personal boundaries emerge as women reconnect with their authentic voices.

Ready to understand your body's transitions with greater clarity and compassion? Visit nourishdoc.com to explore expert-driven resources designed specifically for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. Your journey deserves validation, support, and the wisdom of others who truly understand.

Support the show

 READY TO GO DEEPER?
🔥 Emotional Sobriety Workshop – Full nervous system regulation practices and tools to help you live in a feeling body that thinks. Click Here

📞 1:1 Sessions – Work directly on your specific patterns. I specialize assisting those ready to move from managing actually living.
Book

🎁 Free Somatic Practice Guide – Start regulating your nervous system today: Click Here

📅 Free 20-Minute Clarity Call

💛 SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this conversation opened something in you a breath, a tear, a recognition you can support this work here: 👉  buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself
Your support keeps these honest, healing-centered conversations alive .

🎥 PREFER VIDEO? YouTube: @LiftOneSelf

📬 STAY CONNECTED

• Website: LiftOneself.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @liftoneself
• Facebook: facebook.com/liftoneself

Remember: The strongest thing you can do is ask for help. You're not alone.