The Adult Chair Podcast with Michelle Chalfant

I get this question all the time: "how to do I get (fill in the blank loved-one here) to get into their Adult Chair?!" I get it. You're doing all this fantastic work on yourself, you're sitting in your emotions and learning to move with them, not in spite of them. You're doing all the great things that you need to do to live authentically yourself … now why won't other people get on this train with you?

Great question. And I'm going to take on exactly that this week on the show — I hope you join me!

Sponsor: This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for our recommended book for the week: Conversations with God (Book 1) by by Neale Donald Walsh of Enlightened Relationships by Eckhard Tolle!

Links & Notes

• Register now for The Adult Chair Level 1 — Nashville, April 28-29, 2018

Annie Waugh is an integrative therapist and dear friend and she's joining me on the show today to talk about an area of particular expertise: Essential Oils! I love oils and cherish everything Annie has taught me — and I can't wait for her to share some of these great lessons with you all today. We tackle depression and grief and hormone balance and so much more! So grab your diffuser and settle in for some terrific and practical instruction on integrating essential oils into your healing journey!

Sponsor: This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for our recommended book for the week: The Healing Power of Essential Oils: Soothe Inflammation, Boost Mood, Prevent Autoimmunity, and Feel Great in Every Way by Eric Zielinski, D.C.!

Links & Notes

• Learn More about Annie Waugh
• Register now for The Adult Chair Level 1 — Nashville, April 28-29, 2018

Shannon Thomas sits down in the adult chair with me today to talk about narcissism, gaslighting, and other forms of abuse and emotional trauma that can plague our relationships. This is a wide-ranging interview thanks to YOU! So many of the questions Shannon takes on this week come from your responses in our Facebook private group — far more than we could cover in one sitting! So, consider this a start, and know that I'll have Shannon back soon to keep this conversation moving.

Sponsor: This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for my recommended book for the week: _Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse_by our very own Shannon Thomas!

About Shannon Thomas, LCSW Shannon Thomas, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social work supervisor, the owner and lead therapist of an award-winning private practice counseling agency in North Texas and best-selling author of 'Healing From Hidden Abuse'. In 'Healing From Hidden Abuse', Shannon bridges the gap between pop culture and clinical advice and also outlines her 'Six Stages of Healing' model. Her passion is helping people overcome life challenges and seeing abuse survivors living to their fullest potential. Shannon approaches her work from the lens of a therapist and as a fellow survivor of psychological abuse.

Links & Notes

• Find Shannon at Southlake Counseling
• ShannonThomas.com
• Shannon Thomas on Facebook
• Shannon Thomas on Instagram
• Shannon Thomas on Twitter

Go ahead and say it out loud right now: "It's all about me!" My clients have a lot of trouble saying it, as if it gets stuck in their throats. But being able to say that it's all about you isn't selfish, it's ownership! It's your charge that you are taking responsibility for your own emotions, feelings, desires. You're going to look after yourself first, and thus open the door to being able to be an even better, whole support for those closest to you! All that and more on this week's show!

This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for my recommended book for the week: Edgar Cayce on Mastering Your Spiritual Growth by Kevin J. Todeschi!

Plus, listen all the way through to the end this week. Remember Pete Wright? Producer of this very show? Well, he has a new podcast and he's released a trailer that I've included at the end of the show this week. It's called "What's that Smell: A sometimes-funny podcast about humans and their anxieties." I know so many people that feel such shame about their own anxieties and Pete and his partner are doing a wonderful job sharing the things that cause them anxiety and modeling how we can all be better about laughing together as we own our own stuff! I've listened to the first few episodes and they range from off-the-wall to downright sensitive. Give it a shot! Find it in iTunes here, or their website at RashPixel.FM.

Karen Gelstein is another of my favorite people. She's a therapist based out of New York City and when you hear what she has to say on love addiction, love avoidance, narcissism in the show this week you're definitely going to want to learn more about her work. We're of the same mind, and I think you'll find in this show that her perspectives absolutely cement the critical importance of inner child work in healing from this emotional space. It's terrific!

Links & Notes

• Karen Gelstein on PsychologyToday.com

This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for my recommended book for the week: Healing Your Attachment Wounds by Dianne Poole Heller!

This week on the show I'm thrilled to welcome one of my precious clients and author of one of my very favorite quotes on healing, "soothing cannot be outsourced." Susan introduces us to her journey of discovery in the Adult Chair which encompasses so many of the elements of struggle that so many face: loss of family, grief, reconciliation, all milestones on a path to discovery and love of self. Thank you so much to Susan for her willingness to join me for this conversation and sharing her own journey!

Links & Notes

This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for my recommended book for the week: The Power of the Heart: Finding Your True Purpose in Life by Baptist de Pape.

What an amazing milestone! Never in a million years would I have imagined the love and grace I've discovered in the audience of this podcast. Thank you so much for everything you've done to make the journey to episode 100 so special. And now, let's get started on our journey to episode 200 with a conversation on self-love!

I have ten tools you can use to drive your own journey to self-love, each part of a practice I use with my clients to help recenter and find joy inside themselves. I love each step on this journey and I believe you will, too. Remember: it's a practice! Be patient, and let's journey!

This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and learn and love through reading. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/theadultchair. From there, search for my recommended book for the week: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay!

One of the most cherished, empowering, and attractive experiences in a relationship comes when both partners are strong in the belief of their own worthiness in the world. This meditation serves as a reminder of that strength and beauty: You Are Worthy.

Let us journey.

Carrying around feelings of blame, shame, anger, sadness, or apathy from un-forgiveness can be incredibly heavy on us. This forgiveness meditation will help you to gain a new perspective with the person or event that has made you feel stuck and unable to move on. During this meditation, we cut cords, relieving us of the heavy burden we have been carrying and let go of the energy of the pain. In the end, we find ourselves transformed, lighter, and ready to move on.

Let us journey.

Many of us grow up learning to please others, to give up our personal space to ensure others are ok before ourselves. We violate our personal space and drop our boundaries in order to not offend others, maybe we walk on eggshells, attempting to keep the peace, forgetting we are betraying ourselves in the process. This meditation is to teach others how we want to be treated. It's a meditation that re-programs our misbeliefs about ourselves and helps us to learn how to improve our sense of self and how to set boundaries.