Welcome to Season 3 of Love. Transform. Evolve. This season is all about evolution. We're expanding the lens beyond caregiving, and taking a closer look at the full human experience behind it. And that begins with a topic that affects us all: stress.

We've all been told to "reduce our stress levels", but when you're dealing with deadlines, dependents, and the daily chaos of modern life, that advice can feel vague at best, and downright laughable at worst.

So, what does managing stress ACTUALLY look like in the real world?

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Rebecca Heiss, a Stress Physiologist, keynote speaker, and author who's on a mission to help people rewire their stress response. Through her T-minus3 method, Dr. Heiss shows us how we can interrupt negative patterns, retrain our brains, and start using stress to fuel growth instead of burnout.

If you've ever had questions about the science of stress, the power of mindset, and the tools we can all use to feel more in control, even when life feels anything but normal, then this is the space for you.

Like what you heard from Dr. Rebecca Heiss? Get a copy of her book, Instinct: How Our Biology Hijacks Our Happiness (And How to Fix It) or pre-order a copy of her upcoming book Springboard: Transform Stress to Work For You.

Season one was all about love. Season two was about transformation.

Welcome to season three of Love. Transform. Evolve. It's time for your evolution!

Join host Cynthia Iorio for the third season of this immensely popular podcast. New episodes drop every Wednesday starting May 7th.

Caring for someone else in their time of need is a tremendously transformative experience. Whether your caregiving journey lasts a few weeks, a few months, a few years, or even a lifetime, the person that you are on the other side of it is different from the person who became a caregiver. Like a modest caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly, the process can be scary, painful, and uncomfortable, but ultimately, beautiful.

Joining us to discuss transformation on the season finale of Love. Transform. Evolve. Is Anna Czarnecki, who you heard from in a previous episode, as she talks about what it was like to suddenly become a caregiver after her parents were involved in a serious car accident.

We're also joined by retired teacher Maria Fornasier, who has been caring for her aging mother for several years now.

And, we hear once again from Shari Reinhart, a ghostwriter and developmental editor to aspiring authors who are working on their memoirs and business books. She's also the host of an amazing podcast, The Metamorphosis Monologues, which is extremely relevant, given the context of this particular episode.

Transitioning from caregiver back into your old life can feel uneasy and unsettling. Whether your caregiving experience was prolonged or brief, slipping back into your old life can feel like slipping into a pair of shoes that don't fit quite right anymore. So, how do you ease through the transition from caregiver to "regular" person?

Brian Sutherland, who you heard from in previous episodes this season, is a product manager who was a caregiver for both his parents, and spoke about what that transition was like for him, after his mother passed away.

If your caregiving journey has come to an end, and you're looking for additional support and/or resources, here are a few that can be very helpful at this stage:

https://mygrief.ca/

https://caregivergrief.com/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/how-to-grow-hope/202304/6-things-caregivers-should-know-about-their-grief

Caregivers are often thrust into the caregiving role with zero advance warning, leaving little time to prepare or adjust to their new reality. Thankfully, there are many technological advancements that are making things just a little bit easier for caregivers and for the people they're caring for.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Cindy Sim, the CEO and co-founder of Team CarePal, an app that transforms the caregiving experience through partnerships with care associations across the country and by increasing family collaboration, curating resources, and supporting caregivers' mental health. One of Team CarePal's long-term goals is to predict and prevent caregiver burnout, through machine learning.

We also touch base with Carmi Levy, CTV's tech analyst, to discuss a variety of tools available to caregivers both in Canada and the United States.

For more on Team CarePal, click here.

For more on Uber Caregiver, click here.

For more on PyxHealth, click here.

Are you able to recognize the warning signs of burnout? Whether you're caring for a loved one, recently finished your caregiving journey, or are even just going through a busy season in your life, burnout is a very real issue threatening the overall well-being of the adult population. Understanding what burnout looks like for YOU, and taking action before the situation escalates, is paramount.

On this week's episode of Love. Transform. Evolve. we're joined by Cindy Jordan, the founder and CEO of Pyx Health, which combines easy-to-use technology, timely human connection, and science-based programming to improve loneliness at scale.

We also speak with Claire Webster, the founder of the Dementia Education Program at McGill University. Both guests this week offer concrete tips and tricks for both recognizing and coping with burnout.

Whether you're a caregiver or the person receiving care, it can feel like the healthcare system is managing you, as opposed to the other way around. Navigating the various specialists, subsidies, care protocols and systems can be extremely overwhelming for anyone, but especially for regular people who aren't well-versed in the healthcare network's existing infrastructure.

This week, we're joined by three incredible people to discuss navigating and managing these systems:

Claire Webster is the founder of the Dementia Education Program at McGill University, and in addition to being a caregiver for her own mother, has also had to navigate the healthcare system for her own care.

Mark Stolow is the CEO of People Before Patients, an organization that aims to inspire a developmental leap from health care to Human Care. Mark likens the healthcare ecosystem to a forest, highlighting the absurdity of the fact that the system requires caregivers to also be advocates for their loved ones.

And finally, we're joined once again by Brian Sutherland, a project manager and former caregiver whom you heard from in episode one of this season. Based in the United States, Brian shares what it's like navigating health and social services south of the border, compared to how things work in Canada.

For more information on services available in your area:

https://www.aarp.org/

https://www.caregiving.org/

https://canadiancaregiving.org/

https://shorturl.at/kZhF3

Being a caregiver can be a tremendously isolating and lonely experience. Whether you're caring for a loved one struggling with mental illness, or taking care of an aging parent, loneliness has a way of creeping up and forcing its way in, no matter how organized or self-aware you may be.

On this week's episode of Love. Transform. Evolve. We're joined by Anna Czarnecki, who is a caregiver to her husband, who suffers from mental illness. Anna's husband has always been upfront with her about his mental health, which has in turn enabled her to be more introspective about her own.

We're also joined by Cindy Jordan, the founder and CEO of Pyx Health. Cindy's stepdaughter Riley struggled with loneliness, and ultimately lost her life. Cindy went on to found Pyx Health, which combines easy-to-use technology, timely human connection, and science-based programming to improve loneliness at scale.

Do you ever feel like you're walking on a tightrope, trying to balance everything, worrying that one single misstep could cause you to fall? This isn't an uncommon feeling for caregivers, who are tasked with overseeing and managing the care of a loved one. In this week's episode of Love. Transform. Evolve. we explore the challenges that come with the caregiving balancing act.

To help us on this journey of self-discovery, we welcome back Grant Bruno, an Indigenous PhD candidate in pediatric medical sciences at the University of Alberta, and a father of four. Two of his children are on the autism spectrum, which has informed his PhD research, which aims to redefine autism from a nehiyaw lens. For more information on Grant's research, click here.

We're also joined by Shari Reinhart, a ghostwriter and developmental editor to aspiring authors who are working on their memoirs and business books. She's also the host of an amazing podcast, The Metamorphosis Monologues, which is definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

We're back!

Season two of Love. Transform. Evolve. aims to shift the conversation about caregiving to highlight the transformative experience that so many caregivers have after caring for a loved one.

In this first episode, we speak with two incredible men who are changing the face of caregiving, and breaking the stigma that so often comes with this unique yet challenging role.

Brian Sutherland is a product manager who was a caregiver for both his parents, and speaks about what it was like being a male caregiver, in what has traditionally been considered a female role.

I'm also joined by Grant Bruno, an Indigenous PhD candidate in pediatric medical sciences at the University of Alberta, and a father of four. Two of his children are on the autism spectrum, which has informed his PhD research, which aims to redefine autism from a nehiyaw lens. For more information on Grant's research, click here.