Today we’re exploring tragic optimism with Suzanne Degges-White, (PhD, LCPC, LPC, LMHC, NCC) professor and chair of the Counselling and Higher Education department at Northern Illinois University.  

In addition to her work at Northern Illinois University, Suzanne is a licensed counsellor and an academic researcher, with a strong focus on women’s relationships, developmental transitions, and the topic we dive into today – Tragic Optimism. 

Wellness culture is forever telling us to ‘think positively', that ‘we are what we think’, to adopt a ‘good vibes only’ mindset (you know the drill), but in times when clearly all is not well, this incessant pressure to look on the bright side can often cause more harm than good. 

You might have heard the term ‘toxic positivity.’ Well today, we’re going to be looking at the flipside – Tragic Optimism.  

Suzanne has spent her career researching these topics and this conversation shines a light on some of the key insights she’s uncovered along the way. Expect to learn: 

• The difference between toxic positivity and tragic optimism 
• How we can lean into discomfort rather than denying its existence 
• How we can harness tragic optimism to live happier, healthier lives 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/contributors/suzanne-degges-white-phd#:~:text=Suzanne%20Degges%2DWhite%2C%20PhD%2C,individuals%20and%20families%20facing%20transitions. 

After a comically long hiatus... we're back!

My guest on today’s show is Olga Rhodes, a food relationship coach specialising in eating disorder recovery, with a particular focus on Binge Eating Disorder (BED), a mental illness that despite its prevalence, continues to be relatively misunderstood.

Binge Eating Disorder affects around 2% of the population and accounts for nearly half of all eating disorders, making it the most common food-related disorder - it was officially recognised by the DSM5 in 2013.

After a 10 year struggle with her own food addiction, which involved a repetitive cycle of restrictive dieting followed by binging episodes, Olga finally broke the cycle and left her career in finance to share her learnings about BED and support other sufferers in their recovery from BED. Her mission is "to help you heal from within yourself, that is to overcome your struggles through the power of holistic healing".

Olga holds a Masters in Biomedical Science from the University of Aberdeen and has trained with the Kresser Institute; as well as with the Dr Dorie training academy in Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy. 

Today, we’ll be demystifying, and (hopefully), destigmatising binge eating disorder, looking at how to recognise the warning signs and be able to differentiate between the occasional Sunday blowout and a diagnosable eating disorder.

Olga will also be giving us a peek into her food freedom mastery program, which provides a useful framework in building a healthy relationship with food.

Check her out: 

IG: olgas_wellness

www.olgaswellness.com

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heal-from-within/id1618921517

My guest on today’s show is founder, creative director and social media sensation Jeff van de Zandt.

Jeff is the Co-owner and Director of Workshop Creative, a marketing agency specialising in musical theatre, with a portfolio featuring School of Rock, Hamilton and Moulin Rouge to name a few. 

You might also recognise him as the guy behind the hilarious Tik Tok videos, with a niche for turning routine pandemic press conferences into content gold. 

Jeff shot to fame in 2020 after his infamous Scott Morrison video went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. He continued to create content throughout Melbourne's countless lockdowns, sharing hundreds of videos and providing the much needed reprieve sought by many at that time. 

As his popularity continues to rise, Jeff is a man in demand – being sought after for brand collaborations by the likes of Amazon, Google, Instagram, Opera Australia and Pepsi. 

In this episode, I’ll be finding out how Jeff manages to balance all of this and what boundaries he has in place as the lines blur between his professional and personal life. 

We’ll also be getting to know the human behind the screen, finding out how he navigates the peaks and troughs of life as an influencer, unpacking what he really thinks about social media and seeking to understand how, if at all, he manages to maintain a healthy relationship with it.  

Jeff is a real delight of a human who offers candid insight into a domain that so many of us struggle with - social media. I know you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 

Tik Tok: @jzandt

Instagram: @jjzandt / @itisntwork

*Trigger warning* this episode contains conversations about medical trauma and medical gaslighting which may be triggering to some listeners. 

Joining me today from Washington DC is writer and musician, Sarah Ramey.

Ramey is the author behind The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, her darkly funny 2020 memoir about her decades-long battle with an invisible illness.

She also goes by the name of Wolf Larsen, her musical alias.

At the age of 21, Sarah started experiencing mysterious symptoms following a botched medical procedure. Debilitating pain, incapacitating exhaustion and brain fog were just a few of the symptoms that dominated her existence from that point on.

Her pursuit of a diagnosis led her to seek the help of over 150 doctors and specialists, the majority of whom could not find a cause and dismissed her condition as psychological, suggesting that it was all in her head and prescribing a cocktail of antibiotics and anti-depressants.

“It became clear that mine was not a psychological condition." Said Ramey, "It was a problem in the psyche of the doctors—the programmed assumptions, unconscious bias, prejudice against this type of patient, particularly against women.”

After years of mistreatment and prolonged suffering, made worse by the incessant gas lighting that accompanied her search for a diagnosis, Sarah had a breakthrough in 2012 when a female physician took her case seriously. Soon after, Ramey discovered functional medicine and found a doctor who gave her a long-awaited diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome and POTS.

Although shocking, Sarah learnt that her experience was not unique as she uncovered a whole community of people who had experienced the same mistreatment at the hands of those who they placed most trust in. This was a both tragic and unifying revelation, and one which galvanised her into creating a community of women with mysterious illnesses, or WOMIs as she calls them.

Sarah went on to speak to hundreds of WOMIs, and began to piece together stories, research and conversations, all of which have contributed to the masterpiece that is, 'The Lady’s Handbook for her Mysterious Illness".

Released in 2020, The lady’s handbook is Sarah’s refreshingly honest account of these events. Her humour, sincerity and tenacity translate into a read that had me laughing, crying and cringing simultaneously. It delivers hope, without sugar coating and has done the world a service by bringing illnesses that are often accompanied by air quotations into the spotlight.  

Sarah is also a song writer and musician who goes by the name of Wolf Larsen, her 2011 album ‘quiet at the kitchen door’ features a series of haunting, poetic vocals accompanied by soulful strings.

Today we’ll be discussing the world of mysterious illnesses, unpacking why this realm is still so elusive and highlighting the importance of patient self-advocacy when seeking a diagnosis for lesser understood conditions.

https://www.sarahmarieramey.com/

https://www.wolflarsenmusic.com/

The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness: A Memoir: Ramey, Sarah: 9780307741943: Amazon.com: Books

@sarahmarieramey

Today's guest is Nick Miller, an artist and teacher living in Melbourne.

In 2010 at the age of 19, Nick was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a rare disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells, causing a deficiency of all blood cell types.

The condition left Nick unable to fight infection, resulting in an ongoing course of treatment including a lower grade dose of chemotherapy and the ongoing administration of immunosuppressant drugs. After 4 years on this course of treatment, Nick’s condition began to decline again, severely impacting his quality of life and forcing him to decide whether to take the risk of having a bone marrow transplant.

“It's a strange thing having to choose and essentially gamble on your life.” 

Nick made the call to proceed with the transplant, which thankfully was successful. 

In 2019, Nick set out to create something to acknowledge his journey, curating an entire exhibition around his battle with aplastic anaemia. He used thousands of old medication wrappers to create a work of art which has been displayed in galleries across Melbourne.

Fast-forward a few years and Nick has continued to flourish, with few lasting physical effects from the condition, and even running a marathon in the last year.

In this conversation, Nick and I chat about the evolution of his outlook on health and Being throughout his journey, how he remained optimistic in the face of adversity and the importance of goal-setting (and the occasional party!) for healing.

@nmillerart

My guest this week is Portland-based film-producer, Kimberly Warner. In 2015 Kimberly was struck down with a mysterious illness, which was much later diagnosed as rare neurological disorder Mal de Débarquement Syndrome, or MDDS. MDDS is an incurable vestibular condition which manifests as a sensation of constant rocking, bobbing and swaying as though on a boat. After years of isolation and desperately chasing a fix, Kimberly founded Unfixed Media Productions in 2019 to share stories of those living with chronic or rare conditions and highlight how adversity can complete us and broaden our definition of what it means to live a “good life.” In this utterly raw yet enlightening conversation, Kimberly and I discuss what it means to be unfixed in a society obsessed with perfection and how to regain a sense of self after receiving a life-altering diagnosis. We also unpack 'inspiration porn'. She is a beautiful soul on a beautiful mission - go check her out. website: www.unfixedmedia.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/UnfixedCommunity Podcast: https://unfixedmedia.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfixed_film/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/unfixed_film Press: https://unfixedmedia.com/press-1 Personal website: www.kimberlywarner.com

When the idea of this podcast came to fruition, there were a few people who came to mind immediately - Dr. Moyez Jiwa is one of them. Dr. Moyez Jiwa is a family physician working in Australia. He is author of the book The Art of Doctoring and Editor-in-Chief of the Health Design podcast. Moyez believes that doctors can heal even when it is not possible to cure, saying "Life is not fair. So it is OK to feel cheated, frustrated and disappointed. But in the end the best companions are those who nurture us when we are broken. It is a privilege to be that person who shares those intimate moments when you are not at your best because we earn the right to witness the moment your magnificent spirit unfolds it’s wings." In addition to practicing medicine, writing books and hosting the Health Design Podcast, Professor Moyez Jiwa is associate dean and professor of Health Innovation at the Melbourne Clinical School, University of Notre Dame and has recently developed a Course in Clinical Confidence to prepare doctors for the real world. Today we'll be talking about the imperative for compassion in Western medicine, taking a look at the current healthcare landscape and importantly, discussing what we can do to maximise our chances of good health in a Covid-normal world.

https://theartofdoctoring.com/

https://soundcloud.com/user-499494424

https://www.journalofhealthdesign.com/

Today, Grace McGeehan joins me all the way from London. Grace is a clinical hypnotherapist, yoga instructor, podcaster and advocate for making you feel enough, just as you are.

After studying Psychology at the University of Exeter, Grace’s fascination with the human mind took her on a journey to Costa Rica where she undertook a 200 hour yoga teacher training.

This journey turned out to be one of the most pivotal decisions Grace has made as she came to realise the mental, physical and emotional benefits that yoga has to offer. She has since completed over 300 hours of advanced teacher trainings around the world and it has become her purpose to share these benefits with as many people as she can.

More recently, Grace qualified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist, after training in Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) at the Marisa Peer School.

With an approach combining principles of hypnosis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), meditation and yoga, Grace has crafted a unique series of programmes which have supported hundreds of clients in their own wellbeing journeys.

Today, we’ll be discussing how tapping into our subconscious through hypnosis can help to uncover the root cause of our problems, how yoga can help us achieve mental and physical balance, and delving in to why it is that our generation struggles with feeling enough.

To find out more about Grace: 

https://gracemcgeehan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/gracemcgeehan/

First cab off the rank (and the unwitting human who agreed to be my guinea pig!), is the wonderful polyvagal-informed, holistic therapist, Michelle Sacchetti. With a particular interest in the role that stress plays on the mind, body and nervous system, Michelle has honed her craft around helping others achieve their potential by harnessing their body’s innate healing intelligence. She offers workshops which support clients to understand their emotional roadmaps and that help them get to know and reshape their nervous system, and also offers supplementary therapeutic services such as focusing, lymphatic drainage and reiki. Today, we’ll be delving into a psychotherapeutic process called focusing, a modality which provides a framework for us to be able to listen to our body's inner knowing, and ultimately live a more authentic life. Focusing also serves as a useful tool to help us navigate times of uncertainty and better manage the highs and lows of life. Which it’s fair to say we’ve had our fair share of recently.

https://www.flowingenerqi.com.au/

https://www.instagram.com/michelle.sacchetti.wellbeing/