Speak LOUD

Today I’m talking with Stacey Dash, an accomplished actress, author, and healthy-living advocate. Stacey is a mother who has navigated many waters, overcoming obstacles to raise her children and remain in the film and TV industry. She recently celebrated 5 years clean and is here to speak loud about balancing family, health, and careers while holding onto your vision in life. 

Focusing on the Future 

Stacey believes that the future is more important than the past. “The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror,” she says, but still details how her childhood affected her life. Both of her parents were addicted to drugs, and Stacy grew up angry as a result of her dysfunctional childhood. 

At age 8, Stacey knew she wanted to be an actress after acting in her first play. An actress was able to escape the life they were living, she realized, and be someone else. She landed her first job at 18 after leaving home, but still struggled with self-worth all the way into adulthood. It wasn’t until her son was born, after Stacey grappled with the decision of abortion, that she says her life began. 

Battling Opioid Addiction

In her adult life, Stacey struggled with an addiction to opioids, after being prescribed them for pain management. Everything that happened to her, she believed happened for a reason. At the time, opioids allowed Stacey’s brain to ‘slow down’ enough so that she could function. 

No one in Stacey’s life knew about her struggle with drugs, aside from her sister. She accomplished many things, including contributing to Fox News for 2 years, writing a book, and being a good mother. But after collapsing in pain because of organ shutdown, Stacey spent a month in the hospital and was told that she would die if she did any drugs again. After being released, she was suddenly on a plane to Utah to go to rehab. Addiction, as Stacey explains, is not a choice. It’s a disease, and a painful one, and getting clean is one of the hardest things to do. 

Never Too Late to Dream 

When it came to being a mother, Stacey considered what she had wanted as a little girl, and worked to give those things to her children. She had wanted to feel loved and safe and knew she had to give that life to her kids. “It ends with me,” she said, deciding that her future generations would not know abuse, instability, or loss.

Stacey hopes that listeners come away from this episode with a greater sense of empathy and understanding. She is not a victim of her past or her circumstances. Even now, after being five years clean, she’s pursuing a passion project of interior design. Her goal is to create sanctuaries for people, both in-home and in worship, even if it means starting from the ground up. Stacey hopes that listeners know, “It’s never too soon and it’s never too late.” Whatever their vision is, it is still possible.

Listen in to hear more about Stacey’s upcoming book, how her relationship with God empowers her through her struggles, and how she’s found patience and endurance in adversity.

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Today I’m talking with Carl Bowcut from Orem, UT. Carl has degrees in both Psychology and Education and was an educator in the LDS church for 33 years. He’s a father of 6 and a grandfather to 14 and is here to share information about his and his family’s experience with balancing the brain using Cereset.

Exploring Treatments for Depression and Anxiety

Carl believes in speaking loud about mental illness. His wife has shown him that even high functioning individuals from stable backgrounds can suffer from anxiety or depression. Her questions of “Am I good enough?” and “Can I do this well enough?” have opened his eyes to mental illness, a topic that was much less talked about when they were growing up. 

Carl always remained supportive of his wife, but in his words, “Spouses are terrible therapists.” Despite having the constant support of her husband and family, Carl’s wife knew that there was still something missing in her journey with depression and anxiety. Many people suffering emotionally and mentally may assume the problem is only with them, but that’s not the case. 

Using Cereset for Sleep, PTSD, and Depression

One day, while watching a podcast on YouTube, Carl’s wife came across a testimonial from a celebrity whose family member used something called “brain echo” while experiencing depression and anxiety after addiction. Lee Gerdes, the developer of Cereset, developed a process that converts electromagnetic brain waves into sound waves and that play back to you in real-time. Hearing itself, according to Cereset, allows the brain to correct itself. 

Carl, his wife, and their oldest son all tried Cereset, a 4-5 day process of 1.5-hour sessions. After the sessions, Carl’s wife came out a different person. She describes her experience with her ‘new brain’ “like the center part of me used to be fractured… and it’s been lined up.” Profoundly impressed with the process, Carl and his wife began developing the franchise in Utah, where there are now three locations for Cereset. 

The Process of Cereset

Carl explains that the process begins with a baseline scan of the client’s brain, focusing on 2 main lobes: the frontal and temporal lobes, which are the emotion center and stress response centers of the brain. This gives a sense of how healthy the brain’s responses to stress and emotion are so that a comparison can be made after treatment. 

The treatment takes 4-5 days, with an hour-and-a-half session each day. This allows the brain to create the necessary neural pathways to treat itself. The process itself is painless: clients just have to sit with their eyes closed and listen. Many often fall asleep during the session. Afterward, Carl always makes sure to keep in touch with clients to see how they’re doing post-treatment. The answer is almost always a resounding, “Amazing.” 

Listen in to learn more about Carl’s personal experience with Cereset, how right and left brain imbalances affect emotion, and the difference between sound wave frequencies and Cereset. 

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Today I’m talking with Denise Dixon from Atlanta, GA. Denise is a life coach with a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, author of several workbooks and journals (with an upcoming book about surviving breakups), and a mother. Denise believes in the power of speaking loud about what we’re experiencing in life so that others don’t feel so isolated. 

The Struggle to Understand Mental Health 

To Denise, mental health is deeply personal. Therapy is valuable, but it’s important to find the right fit. Denise was a serial therapist hopper, and as a high functioning person, she struggled to find someone who was able to see through her to what she felt was truly wrong. Eventually, Denise found out she had depersonalization disorder, finally giving her the name for what she was feeling. 

Denise pursued her Master’s in order to figure out herself, but in the process realized she had a gift for identifying issues in others. “Trauma knows trauma,” she says, and she decided to put those skills to use. From her own experience, Denise believes in looking at things from the client’s perspective. 

Transitioning from Therapist to Lifecoach

After getting her Master’s, Denise planned to be a traditional therapist, but life had other plans. That particular career path didn’t fall into place, but she also knew that the type of conversations she loved having with people were conversations she wouldn’t have in a traditional setting. Denise enjoyed that space of accountability and made the natural transition from therapist to life coach. 

Denise offers in-person and virtual coaching, along with workshops, classes, and retreats. As a life coach, she doesn’t simply give her clients a pat on the back or a high five. “My rates are too high for that,” she says. As a life coach, she’s an excavator, pulling out things in life that aren’t needed, so that her clients can meet their goals. Denise feels that this is truly her life’s work, and has had clients leaving who tell her that they’ve met someone who is doing what they’re meant to do. 

Reclaiming Childhood With Her Children

As a mother, Denise is breaking the cycle with her own children, now 26 and 17-years-old. She loves that they’re able to have the childhood that she didn’t, and is able to experience that childhood with them. She taught them early on that what happens in their heads is important, and that they should do what makes them happy, not what others expect from them. 

Denise had to learn how to trust as a parent. She believes that kids aren’t a possession, and parents don’t own them. They’re a gift, and even if she does her very best, she can’t control everything, so she focuses on raising human beings that can navigate the world on their own. Even in her absence, she knows she’s doing her best and gaining as many lessons as she’s teaching. 

Listen in to hear about Denise’s methods for living with depersonalization, conversations to have with trauma survivors, and more about her upcoming book about her own survival story. 

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Roger is a Seattle native and has joined the life of a nomadic traveler for an adult gap year. He decided to take a year off to travel to find and fulfill how he wanted to live his life. Currently, he is in Italy and is a writer, fellow podcaster, and adventurer; and he loves to cross-off items from his bucket list. 

Roger is keen on spreading the message about the importance of finding your self-worth focused on who you are as a person. This decision came about after a heart attack during quarantine, which gave him the chance to reflect on his life "and put a reset in."

Finding your self-worth is a process of looking at the 168 hours in a week and seeing if the hours we spend in our activities reflect and share our value as a person. "There's almost a societal pressure that you're expected to find self-worth in your job." In addition, many people in society have accepted that certain professions are underpaid, overworked, and devalued - all of which have been accepted in our social fabric.

As a teacher, he was often told that he was doing this job for the kids. "At some level, it's extremely abusive." Selling your labor is OK, but it should never be acceptable to give away your worth or value in exchange for money.

The remaining 70 hours a week that you have to utilize after sleep and work needs to be time spent doing activities for what you can be known. After his heart attack, he decided to be the person known for how to cross off items on a bucket list. "What I really want to be known for is how I live my life and who I integrate into that space with."

Listen in to discover how he came up with his bucket list of activities that brought him joy, how he is maximizing what he can do for himself using his own labor, and why he has refused to live up to other's expectations of how he can live his life with a regular 9 to 5 job.

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Today I’m celebrating the 100th episode of the Speak Loud Podcast! I’m recapping some of my favorite episodes so far, and what I’ve learned in 100 episodes. 

Thank you to everyone who has reached out and sent messages about how they’ve resonated with the podcast. This show is for you, after all, so I always love hearing your feedback and ideas. 

The Speak Loud Podcast is about sharing a message of hope, but we all have to get through the dark parts to reach the light. I’ve learned how to use my past not as a crutch, but as a stepping stone for my future. After 22 years, my book Throwaway Girl is out this fall, and in that memoir, I cover details from Episode 1 in my own story of triumph and hope. 

Some of my favorite episodes have been with friends or people in my close circles. In “Speak Up and Speak Loud Against Abuse”, my talk with my aunt opened my eyes to generational trauma in my family. Scott Clover, my dear friend, and somatic healer helps clients remove emotional blockages and connect to their authentic energy in “Intuitive Trauma Healing.”

Another one of my favorite episodes was “Why Resilience Matters with Em Capito.” Em was my first TedX speaker, and resilience is one of my favorite words. Resilience is about turning adversity into strength and triumphing over a challenge, which is the message I want to share on the Speak Loud Podcast. 

Many episodes have been deep-dives into the brain and body after trauma. “How Trauma Affects the Brain with Joe Dennis” is one of the most listened-to episodes, where Joe brings valuable insight from his career as a clinician. “How To Use Creativity to Heal from Trauma with Lauri Schoenfeld” has excellent information for finding a different outlet for your healing. In “Exploring the Complexities of Trauma”, Michelle Binion, certified mental health clinician, enlightens us on why we work the way we do after trauma. 

I’ve had great guests whose stories are full of light and hope. Rena Romano, in her episode “Overcoming Shame After Sexual Abuse,” shares how she’s become a “sur-thriver” and found endless possibilities in life. If you want an uplifting episode, check out “Giving Sunshine with Jason Clawson.” Jason is a clinical therapist and father whose movement “Giving Sunshine” sends therapeutic care packages to families struggling with grief, illness, and other struggles. 

Thank you for tuning in and for continuing to believe in the Speak Loud message. As always, you are worthy, you are enough, and keep on shining your light. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today, I’m joined by Shannon Earley, a fellow podcaster who produces her show called Mama’s Need Love. She is the mother of two children and has been married to her “bestie” for 12 years. Shannon is a Christian and has a passion for reminding other mommas how important and beautiful they are. In addition, she reminds abuse survivors that although you’ve been through abuse, you can still be deeply loved.

Remember That You’re a Beautiful Creation

Shannon is here to remind us that, as women, and especially mommas, we are all beautiful creations! Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that we are loved and amazing because of our abusive history. However, Shannon reminds us that we are unique human beings inside, no matter what abuse we have endured!

Escaping One Abusive Situation to Fall Into Another Abusive Setting

Shannon was sexually abused by an older teen for six years. Never having told her parents, she moved out at the age of 19 with an older man who continued the abuse for more than two years until she finally left the relationship. 

Many of the emotional trauma Shannon suffered still lives with her today. In her late 30s, Shannon experiences traumatic setbacks and triggers which remind her of specific instances of abuse. This primarily affects her when she is intimate with her husband, and her past history of abuse comes up during special moments.

Listen in to hear more about what she needed to learn to adapt to her Autistic children, how she drew on her strength to get through her abusive family life growing up, and how Shannon is reversing the cycle of abuse and taking care of her family by creating a loving environment for them.

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Lauri Schoenfeld, a writer, speaker, and mother of 3. She hosts her own podcast, “The Enlightenment Podcast” and has recently released her novel, “Little Owl.” Lauri is a returning guest here to speak loud about embracing your inner weirdo. 

We often leave traumatic situations with traits and quirks that others may not have. When Lauri was younger, her best friends were her Barbie dolls--but when she was 12, her parents decided to throw them all away. After this, Lauri struggled to connect with wonder and curiosity, and for many years tried to be who she thought she was supposed to be rather than who she wanted to be.

Lauri says not to judge yourself for traits you have as a result of trauma. Instead, lean into them with curiosity. The differences, in her opinion, are what make us fascinating as human beings. The curiosity of understanding why we are the way we are without judging should be embraced with ourselves and with others. 

As an adult, Lauri used to refuse to show she was hurting. She kept a bandaid on but eventually had to ask herself what she hadn't been doing. The answer to that was, she hadn’t been loving herself and investigating what was hurting her. She had to rip off the bandaid and look under the surface, which is what inspired her book, “Little Owl.” 

The book was a journey of walking through her trauma. Doing so can be difficult, but Lauri engaged with her inner Nancy Drew and found a way to investigate her past in a wondrous, playful way. She was curious about what events had shaped her and what made her who she is today. 

Growing up, Lauri had a special connection to music. As a teenager, whenever she was angry, she had a go-to playlist that she would put on while driving as fast as she could through backroads. She created a safe space for herself to scream and be angry when it wasn’t allowed in the house. 

As an adult, Lauri has found different ways to cope, not only for herself but for her children, too. She still turns on her angry music, but now puts that rage into a punching bag. Her children all have different ways of engaging with anger that she engages in, whether that’s going on a run, having a punching bag session, or smashing plates and using the pieces to create something beautiful. Lauri’s made a point to invite anger and rage into her home--without directing it at each other. 

Listen in to hear more about dealing with abandonment, reflecting on unhealthy behaviors as an adult, and the process of writing a book and building a website. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Mark Smith, a “curator of the bigger vision within” and a podcast host from, “The Process Podcast.” Mark is a self-described “work in progress who believes success is limitless,” with the desire to share his life journey in a way that resonates with everyone--personally and professionally. 

Change is okay, Mark believes. This concept has always resonated with him, but became his passion in 2018, when he started writing a series he called, “Process”. After losing his father to cancer, going through a divorce, and a career change, Mark had to ask himself how to embrace change rather than wallow in what was. 

Mark’s grandfather once said, “All storms don’t come to hurt you, some storms come to clear your path.” Mark believes that change comes to push down a cleared path, one where we can move to the next level in life. Without change, we would never reach what we’re truly meant for. 

“It can be hard at first, messy in the middle, but rewarding in the end.” This is how Mark has chosen to approach change. When it comes to adapting to change, he’s collected a few key tools. First, he has to look at the bigger picture--or attempt to, at least--and embrace that what happened, happened. From there, he asked, what is this teaching me? What messages were there all along? 

After his father died, Mark went through all stages of change--difficulty, messiness, and eventual reward. He lost jobs, ended up divorced, and spent years asking his father why he had done this to his son. Eventually, he was able to look back and embrace the lessons that his father’s passing taught him: enjoy and embrace life, live without regrets, and let your loved ones know you love them. 

Mark created “The Process” podcast when he was told his job position at the time was going to be eliminated. He had to decide what he wanted his core message to be, and found three components: he had to believe that this story had the potential to change someone’s life, that his story was worthy of sharing, and that someone out there would resonate with it. 

Since he first started writing, he has completed six messages and hopes to publish a book with number ten, reaching more than 100,000 people. He loves that he’s able to offer people a blueprint when they might need it. If everyone he interacts with ends up bitter or better because of him, Mark chooses to make that person ‘better.’ 

Listen in to hear more about Mark’s ongoing projects, what empowers him on a daily basis, and his five-year plan for the future. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Cindy Wallace, author and mental health therapist, who is here for her first podcast to speak loud about healing from PTSD. Cindy has a bachelor’s in English and Creative Writing, as well as a master’s in Social Work, and as a writer has had more than 15 published articles and award-winning prose. 

Cindy describes that trauma often cuts life into a clean ‘before’ and ‘after.’ She was 16 when she was kidnapped and abused over 24 hours, while no one knew she was gone. When she returned home, she was “catatonic,” and felt she was watching someone else live her life through a lens. 

Her brain kept telling her to survive, and Cindy did so by pretending she was someone else. She was eventually diagnosed with severe dissociation and chronic PTSD but had blocked the trauma out completely. She had no idea why she had changed or what had happened to her for another 15 years. 

At 31, Cindy’s trauma resurfaced while writing a story for creative fiction, resulting in a psychotic break and a 2-week admittance to in-patient. From there, she put in an incredible amount of work to rebuild. Cindy was determined to keep moving and doing things with her life. She has three kids, and at the time, they were her driving force to persevere. While recovering, Cindy learned to use mindfulness as a way to get through the day. “All you have to do is put one foot on the floor,” Cindy told herself, continuing like that throughout the day. Everything went one step at a time. 

At first, Cindy rejected the “everything happens for a reason” narrative. She constantly questioned what happened to her, and why. Eventually, she realized that she created her own reason, and decided on a career that gave her purpose. She has been a therapist for 6 years now after completing her master’s in social work.

Cindy explains how she processes everything through writing, and over the past year has finished writing her book on her journey. Some of the scenes took months to write, as she had to revisit everything that happened to her. When the pandemic hit, she experienced another breakdown, but this time found a community within the pandemic who supported her. 

Cindy’s journey has been an amazing one, but she notes that trauma is often not as ‘big’ as many people think. “Trauma is defined as anything that surpasses your ability to cope,” she tells listeners. Cindy hopes people know that they’re never too far gone and that they can start healing from where they are right now. 

Listen in to hear more about Cindy’s healing journey, her experience as a therapist, Ayahuasca retreats, and other healing modalities. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**

Today I’m joined by Jason Clawson, a clinical therapist and father of two boys, and co-creator of “Giving Sunshine”, which sends therapeutic care packages to families or individuals struggling with grief, terminal disease, and more. Since the death of his wife three years ago, Jason has started to look at life differently and is here to speak loud about finding hope after tragedy.

From an early age, Jason was drawn to support others in difficult situations. His natural inclination led him to a residential treatment center shortly after college, where he was able to give support and encouragement to others daily. 

Jason’s career in therapy felt like the natural progression of his life. He’s gravitated towards helping people with addiction, as well as trauma and grief. He values being more than just a sounding board for his clients, but being someone who will walk the path with them. 

Three years ago, Jason’s wife passed away from stage 4 colon cancer. At the time, it felt impossible to calm down with so many fears and uncertainties. During treatment, a doctor told him, “Cancer has a way of enhancing your life,” and while he refused the notion at first, those words have stuck with him.

Jason recalls how, after the funeral, he felt incredibly alone. He continued to work for 9 months until he realized that he needed an intervention. So, he set one up, texting more than a dozen people to invite them to his house to help. People want to help, he says, but often don’t know how. 3 weeks later, Jason quit his job to spend the whole summer with his boys. “We need to make some happy memories so that we can be happier again,” he told them. 

Jason’s idea for sunshine boxes came as a result of a lemonade stand with his kids and a basket of yellow things that his wife received while in treatment. In raising money to create and send out boxes, Jason was able to not only help others through pain but watch his sons do the same. The boxes come with fun yellow things to bring happiness, as well as therapeutic tools to help in difficult times.

Jason and his partner have sent the sunshine boxes to 21 states, and hope to do all 50. “This is what my wife would want to do,” Jason says, and details how he’s able to keep his wife in his life every day. The “Giving Sunshine” kickstarter is now live, and Jason has many plans for spreading sunshine in the near future. 

Listen in for advice on counseling loved ones, how to find resources for therapy, and the story of the Giving Sunshine movement. 

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***Disclaimer: All content found on Speak Loud Podcast, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Speak Loud Podcast website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice. Information on this podcast and guest comments, opinions, and content are solely for educational and entertainment purposes. Use of this information is at your own risk.**