In episode #7 we are honored to sit down with community member and healthcare provider, Kelly Condefer. You may never get this much authenticity from your own doctor, but you will in this episode!

She tells about her experience of seeking happiness in achievement and her life-long battle with depression. With humor and humility she shares what she found at the top of "the ladder" of success and what it took to break through this myth and mindset.

We unpack the cultural and familial beliefs and values that build a false mindset of acquiring happiness and how growing up this way caused her deepest wound.  The wound of not belonging.  Hear how she walked through her own dark night of the soul and came to know "happiness is within you, you can't acquire it." 

Dr. Condefer also shares her wellness practices that have allowed her to re-train her nervous system.  She says, "The cold water has trained my nervous system to relax into the discomfort, and accept that it's there."

A story filled with inspiration, and hope that could leave you pondering your own path to happiness and who knows, even considering a cold plunge!! 

She leaves us with several powerful questions as prompts for our own path to Wellness & Wisdom:

 1. Can you embody a feeling that you want to have in your life? 

2. Feel, in your body, what it means to be well?

3. Do you know what your deepest wound is and can you be with it?

Bio: 

Kelly has been a practicing neurologist in Wenatchee for the past 15 years.  She is fascinated by the mysteries of the nervous system and the challenges she helps her patients face in dealing with neurological conditions.  One of her greatest joys is making heartfelt connections with her patients, and she has a strong interest in helping people understand the connection between experienced traumas and functional neurological disorders.  When not serving as a doctor, she is a dedicated animal lover and plant cultivator, and lives with her partner Neal and scrappy pup Scout (AKA Pupcup), and sweet kitties Nellie and Fitzpatrick.

Resources:

1. Book "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle, 2004.

2. Teresa of Avila, The golden palace

3. The “Ice Man,” or Wim Hof Method

Part II of II in this Series! If you've missed Part I, please go back and listen to that in Episode-5 when we first met Juan Pablo Suarez.

Today you will hear us deepen the conversation we began in Part I.  Juan Pablo shares with us how part of his journey to Wellness was realizing the dream of becoming a father. He shares his "domino effect" and how it all came into place. Highlighting how mental and emotional health can impact our physical health and beyond, we celebrate this deeply inspiring conversation with a funny and insightful young man in our community. 

We discuss how Juan Pablo found freedom in his life by saying "no" and how it allows him more space to know and accept himself more fully.

He unpacks what it means to care for himself and for others and the importance of keeping his agenda and unsolicited advice out of it. His learning around knowing what is his to fix and what is not, is such a powerful lesson for us all! 

Beyond and through it all, Juan Pablo has learned in his young 31-years the power of story.  He wholeheartedly believes that if he doesn't share his story, then it will be told incorrectly by the world at large. His passion is to share his life so that others will share theirs and through the process, for people to connect & learn from their mistakes.  He says, "we don't have a straight way to go through life, but we gotta go!"

Don't forget to connect with Juan Pablo by checking out his resources!

Resources: 1. Book- "Entre los rotos / Among the Broken" by Premio Mauricio Achar 2019. 2. Juan Pablo’s passion project: La Voc de mi Emocion presents, "Al borde del colapso" Find out more & follow on TikTok!

Spanish:

Hoy nos escucharán profundizar en la conversación que iniciamos en la Parte I. Juan Pablo nos cuenta cómo parte de su camino hacia el bienestar fue hacer realidad su sueño de ser padre. Comparte su "efecto dominó" y cómo todo se concretó. Destacando cómo la salud mental y emocional puede impactar nuestra salud física y más allá, celebramos esta conversación profundamente inspiradora con un joven divertido y perspicaz de nuestra comunidad.

Hablamos de cómo Juan Pablo encontró libertad en su vida al decir "no" y cómo esto le permite más espacio para conocerse y aceptarse más plenamente.

Nos explica lo que significa cuidar de sí mismo y de los demás, y la importancia de mantener sus intereses personales y los consejos no solicitados al margen. Su aprendizaje sobre qué debe arreglar y qué no es una lección poderosa para todos nosotros.

Más allá de todo esto, Juan Pablo ha aprendido a sus 31 años el poder de las historias. Cree firmemente que si no comparte su historia, el mundo la contará incorrectamente. Su pasión es compartir su vida para que otros compartan la suya y, a través del proceso, conectar con otros y aprender de sus errores. Dice: «No tenemos un camino recto por la vida, ¡pero tenemos que recorrerlo!».

¡No olvides conectar con Juan Pablo consultando sus recursos!

Recursos:

-Libro que le cambió la vida: Entre los rotos (Premio Mauricio Achar 2019). Disponible en cualquier tienda de libros.

-El proyecto de pasión de Juan Pablo: La Voz de mi Emoción presenta "Al borde del colapso". ¡Descubre más siguiéndolo en TikTok!

This interview takes place in 2 parts: Part I is here & Part II coming soon!

Today we hear from community member Juan Pablo Suarez.  He shares about learning to live in the present moment and how living in the past or in the future keeps us from being happy.  

We talk about what it means to live an authentic life. He says, “One day I woke up and decided to be myself.”

Juan Pablo also shares about the deep impact suicide and death has had in his life.  We unpack the family pattern of how work was non-negotiable and about pushing past your limits. He believes these patterns contributed to the early deaths of his uncle, his grandmother and his father. His wish is not to repeat their mistakes. 

Juan Pablo works at Rural People's Voice where he is a community organizer. He says if I can share and open myself to others, maybe I can inspire others to express themselves. He wants people to know, it’s okay not to be okay and there is strength is owning your emotions. He is creating a platform to help people share their stories.  He is currently collecting letters of people’s stories for this project called, “Al borde del collapso." 

Resources: 1. Book- "Entre los rotos / Among the Broken" by Premio Mauricio Achar 2019. 2. Juan Pablo’s passion project: La Voc de mi Emocion presents, "Al borde del colapso" Find out more & follow on TikTok!

Spanish: En el episodio 5, exploramos el Bienestar y la Sabiduría a través de relaciones fallidas, errores familiares y lo que significa ser vulnerable.

Esta entrevista consta de dos partes: ¡La Parte I ya está aquí y la Parte II próximamente! Hoy escuchamos a Juan Pablo Suárez, vecino y miembro de la comunidad. Nos habla sobre aprender a vivir el presente y cómo vivir en el pasado o preocuparse por el futuro nos impide ser felices. Dice: "Cuando siempre deseamos algo más para ser felices, no disfrutamos de lo que tenemos y no vivimos el presente". Hablamos de lo que significa vivir una vida auténtica. Dice: "Un día me desperté y decidí ser yo mismo". Este pensamiento lo infundió en valentía. Dijo que después de esto, todo en su vida comenzó a cambiar. Sabía que tenía que actuar para estar más presente. Juan Pablo también habla sobre el profundo impacto que el suicidio y la muerte han tenido en su vida. Analizamos el patrón familiar de cómo el trabajo era innegociable y sobre superar los límites. Nunca aprender a descansar. Cree que estos patrones contribuyeron a la muerte prematura de su tío, su abuela y su padre. Su deseo es no repetir sus errores. Juan Pablo aprendió a sentir y, en los momentos difíciles, se dio cuenta de que expresar sus sentimientos (incluso cuando son vulnerables) lo hacía más vivo y conectado con su yo auténtico. Juan Pablo dijo que ir a terapia para comprenderse mejor realmente lo cambió todo.

Juan Pablo es un joven emprendedor. Dijo: "Descubrí que me gusta mucho intentar ayudar a la gente y, en el proceso, me ayudo a mí mismo". Si puedo compartir historias y abrirme a los demás, tal vez pueda inspirar a otros a expresarse. Al final, quiere que la gente sepa que está bien no estar bien. Y que la fuerza reside en mostrar las emociones.

Juan Pablo trabaja en Rural People's Voice, donde es organizador comunitario. Lleva sus perspectivas de vida a su comunidad creando una plataforma para ayudar a las personas a compartir sus emociones e historias. Actualmente recopila cartas (escritas a mano) con historias para su proyecto "Al borde del colapso". ¡Síguelo en TikTok!

Recursos:

-Libro que le cambió la vida: Entre los rotos (Premio Mauricio Achar 2019). Disponible en cualquier tienda de libros.

-El proyecto de pasión de Juan Pablo: La Voz de mi Emoción presenta "Al borde del colapso". ¡Descubre más siguiéndolo en TikTok!

"My heart believed I was a mistake."  

Join us as we sit down with Linda Congdon, longtime Wenatchee resident, to learn about the inspiration for her first book, "Planted by Love." 

We hear first-hand, how she transforms this false belief, of being a mistake, and ultimately finds her way home to a loving heart.  For herself and for the biological parents she never knew.

At 38 years old, Linda heard the voice of God say to her, “you have a natural father, you think of it as a closed book, but it’s an open book to me.” This is where her journey began, thirty two years ago.  

We talk about how Linda worked with the Washington state agency, Washington Adoption Reunion Movement (WARM) to find her birth mother. How after about a year and a half waiting to hear news, one day she received a call from the agency, saying, “we found your birth mother, she will be calling you in about 20-minutes.” Hear how she reacted to the news and what happens when they meet a few months later.

We unpack the process of forgiveness. The way it deepens self-awareness and helps us find the keys to unlock our own loving heart. You’ll also find out how to reframe feelings of brokenness to points of growth & maturity and how this helped Linda heal her relationship to self. 

Linda says, "I lived a lot of my life, not very alive, and deeply disconnected." She discovers through her personal journey to finding her birth parents that she is in fact loved and connected. It was only then she could release the rejection and abandonment, connected to her true heart---open and wanting more. 

Resources:

1. Washington Adoption Reunion Movement - https://warmsearch.org

2. Linda's Book, "Planted by Love" - On Amazon

3. Reach out to Linda: [email protected].

In today’s episode we sit down with friend and neighbor Scott Kreiter. He shares his story about helping his mom remain independent to the last moment--to choose death with dignity. (And no he didn’t kill anyone!) 

Scott calls himself a neanderthal, not someone who is a deep thinker, but honestly we decided this show proves him wrong! With humor and depth he walks us through the stark reality of having your mom call you at 6 am the day after Christmas and say, "today's the day."

Scott was helping his mom end her life as she wished and well let’s just say, nothing ever goes quite as planned.  Learn about the roadblocks and moving goalposts of helping a parent with terminal illness and how to successfully access Washington State’s “Death With Dignity Act.” Specifically how he and his family worked with End of Life Washington to make it happen. (see resource below)

We also discuss lessons learned on guilt, regret and "shoulds" and how a Saturday Night Live skit helped Scott let go of these unhealthy habits. 

Hang on until the end when Scott reads his carefully constructed, "How to Stay Young" checklist, created by he and his wife Amy. These are his wise gems to share with the world as he incredulously retorts when I ask him about wisdom, "I'm too young to be wise, I'm only 55!"

Spoiler alert: there’s also some cussing, Willie Nelson and day-drinking in this one!

Scott works as a Project Manager in hydropower recreation, archaeology, and construction management, along with a potpourri of other things that don't really go together. He is an expert at none of these things. Scott's interests are in pretty much anything outdoors (biking, hiking, kayaking), having cocktails with friends, and traveling to the Caribbean. But at his core he is a homebody, with his true happy place being at home with family and whatever friends happen to drop by. Scott and his wife, Amy, are also the owners and managers of  what they jokingly call "The Divorce Ranch"...but that's a story for another day. 

Resources:

1. End of Life Washington, non-profit that helps people navigate the process of utilizing the Death With Dignity Act. 

2. Topic Related Podcast: "When Death is Scheduled" on Grief Out Loud

Dorrinda and I sat down with community member, Ana Gonzalez, who tells about living with severe childhood mental health issues and how she came out the other side.  

Ana was raised in a Mexican household, facing significant barriers of poverty, trauma and cultural assimilation at a young age.  An experience that profoundly impacted her path to healing and instilled a deep belief in the power of boundaries and forgiveness--- two of her essential tools for growth & learning. 

She also highlights the challenges of single parenthood and the mental focus, intentionality and support that helped her get through AND seed her dreams. We discuss the value of emotional and mental health for children, the challenges that block it; including cultural beliefs, stigmas, and lack of community-based resources.  

With vulnerability, humility and courage Ana shows us how this early experience, shaped her career, her mindset and has fueled her path today for living a good life. A life where she cares for her own mental health and all those she serves in our community.

Ana is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and National Board-Certified Counselor with over a decade of experience in social services. With a unique blend of clinical expertise, cultural insight, and personal connection to first responders, Ana brings a compassionate, real-world perspective to conversations about mental wellness, fueling her passion for helping others heal—both on and off duty.

Mental Health Resources: 

1. Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Text or call "988" 

2. A school-based national program where struggling students confide in their peers. Locally, the Eastmont school district uses this model and has multiple schools where the program is active.  

https://hopesquad.com/

3. One of Ana's local resources to share specifically for first responders in crisis.

 https://code4nw.org/

WARNING: graphic language around suicide loss in this episode

Join us as we talk with friend and healthcare provider, Chandra Villano, for a richly engaging and awe-inspiring story of surviving suicide loss and near death experience.  Hear how these events profoundly shaped her life and her personal path to wellness.  

She explains how her "... deep dive into drugs, alcohol and sex" was a direct numbing response to her traumatic loss.  With humility and clarity she walks us into her story. To hear how she woke up to a life worth living.  Chandra has vast lived experience and sparks us with some tried and true gems for living well.

There's vulnerability, authenticity, and grit here friends, tune in to hear how these traits shaped one woman's path to wellness.

Helpful Links:

-To connect or read more about what Chandra does in today's world check her out here: https://drvillano.com/

-If you, or someone you know is having a mental health crisis or thoughts of suicide please call or text 988, or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

-Bastyr University is a Naturopathic University in the Seattle area: https://bastyr.edu/