The Big Silence

Stanford grad Melinda Gong is the founder of Sol Health, a teletherapy company offering sessions starting at $30 — five to six times more affordable than private practice. Melinda lost her brother Tony to suicide at nineteen and channeled that grief into one of the most promising mental health startups in the country. In this episode, she joins Karena to talk about the loneliness epidemic, why 57% of therapists-in-training quit before they're licensed, her journey with EMDR, and why she believes therapy should be free for every person in America.
What if the love, healing, and connection you've been searching for has been waiting for you to ask for help first?
Melinda Gong proves that grief doesn't have to be the end of the story… it can be the very beginning of your purpose.
(02:47) Soul Health & Why Affordable Therapy Isn't a Luxury — It's a Right
Why the mental health system has a supply problem, not just a demand problem and how Sol Health is solving it from the inside out
The massive gap between what therapists need to earn and what patients can afford and why closing it changes everything
Why access alone isn't enough: the difference between having a therapist and having a quality therapist
(06:15) Before Tony and After Tony: How Loss Became Her Life's Mission
Melinda's story of losing her brother Tony to his mental health battle and the gut feeling she had the morning she got the call
How growing up in a household where mental health was never discussed compounded Tony's suffering and her own
(10:08) We Are the Anxious Generation — And Here's Why
Why Melinda believes tech and AI have created a "veneer of connection" that is quietly eroding our ability to sit in real relationships
How algorithmic sameness is atrophying our muscle for social discomfort and why that matters deeply for mental health
The role of physical vitality, movement, and social belonging in a full-stack approach to mental wellness
(18:24) Grief, EMDR & the Healing That Actually Worked
She stopped drinking, stopped partying, and asked herself: how do I turn this into something meaningful?
Why three months of EMDR did more for her than two years of CBT and what that means for how we think about therapy
(43:15) Building Soul From Scratch at 21 With No Idea What They Were Doing
How Soul Health was born in Stanford's Startup Garage
Why Melinda calls their early days "hobby lobbying an arts and crafts project" and why naivete turned out to be her greatest strength

To learn more about The Big Silence and Sol Health partnership visit: solhealth.co/thebigsilence

Guest Resources
Visit Sol Health: solhealth.co (https://www.solhealth.co/)
Follow Sol Health on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/solhealth.co/)
If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:
Connect with The Big Silence Community
Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/audiobook)
Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection (https://thebigsilence.com/collections/shop-all)
Subscribe on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaL3RrbvDLuTTGFN4VYzEpw)
Donate to The Big Silence Foundation (https://thebigsilence.com/donate)
The Big Silence Resource Guide (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/resources)
Find exclusive offers from our supporters (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/our-podcast-partners)
Show Resources:
VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/radiate-rise-2026-summer-challenge)
THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-silence/id1607181597)
TONE IT DOWN PODCAST (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/tone-it-down-podcast)
Tone It Up App (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/tone-it-up-app)
Tone It Up YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@toneitup/featured)
Tone It Up Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/toneitup/?hl=en)
Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!
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Case Kenny is the host of New Minds on SiriusXM, author of Bold of You: How to Thrive as Your Most Vibrant, Weird and Real Self, and one of the most-shared wellness voices on social media. In this episode, he joins Karena Dawn to talk about how he traded a high-earning ad sales career for a life built on vulnerability and journaling, why mindfulness doesn't have to be mystical, his practical take on modern relationships and the "dependency paradox," and the simple mindset shift that turns two competing truths into a source of genuine joy.

Case Kenny shows that you don't need a rock-bottom story to start over. Sometimes you just need to get honest about who you've been performing for.

(00:00) From Ad Sales to Mindfulness: the Shift That Started It All

• Why Case felt like he was "copying and pasting" different versions of himself in his twenties and why that frustrated him enough to change
• How launching a solo podcast at 29 became his most practical mindfulness practice
• The real definition of mindfulness he lives by: not just listening to yourself, but learning to talk to yourself

(11:11) Love, Independence & the Dependency Paradox

• The psychology concept from child development that Case believes should reshape how adults think about romantic relationships
• Why the point of a relationship is to amplify joy you've already built, not to create it for you
• How to stop self-sabotaging when independence is mistaken for distance

(21:11) The Case for Being Intentionally Cringe

• Why Case, a self-described introvert, leads dance music meditation events in public, and why that discomfort is the whole point
• The "beautiful mess effect": the research-backed reason we love vulnerability in others but punish it in ourselves
• How he writes in "golden retriever language" and why stripping away therapy-speak actually helps more people

(28:36) Bold of You — Reclaiming Your Identity from Other People's Labels

• Why "too dramatic," "too sensitive," and "too much" are other people's limits, not your identity
• The mindset shift behind his book: being stubborn about who you are is a bold act
• His daily writing practice, guided journaling events, and why community journaling is far more powerful than it sounds

• Follow Case on Instagram
• Visit his website 
• Check out Case's work
• Listen to New Mindset, Who Dis?

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation
• The Big Silence Resource Guide
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST
• Tone It Up App
• Tone It Up YouTube
• Tone It Up Instagram

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

In Episode 200, host Karena Dawn pauses to celebrate five years of The Big Silence and over six million people reached through the podcast's mental health mission. She opens up about growing up with a mother diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, surviving teenage suicidal ideation, and why she built a foundation dedicated to making mental health support accessible to everyone. Karena shares five concrete tools for protecting your peace, including morning routines, boundary-setting, movement, sunlight, and therapy, along with the stats that remind us why this conversation cannot stop.

It starts with one person raising their hand and saying they're not okay. Five years in, that simple act is still the most powerful thing we can do for each other.

(01:37) Five Years, Six Million People: The Big Silence by the Numbers

• The podcast has reached over six million people through episodes, live events, and global awareness campaigns
• Ninety-six thousand people directly supported through mental health tools and the Therapy for All program
• Over one hundred thousand participants in the free seven-day mindset reset
• Why Karena finally stopped keeping her mother's diagnosis a secret

(05:14) The Origin Story: Growing Up with a Mentally Ill Parent

• Karena's mother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in the nineties, before anyone was talking about mental health
• What it meant to grow up without language, resources, or anyone to talk to
• Her own decade of darkness and how she became a teenage suicide survivor
• The two statistics that still drive every episode: someone dies by suicide every 11 minutes, and it takes 11 years for the average person to ask for help

(09:22) Five Things to Protect Your Peace

• Walk it off or dance it off: how movement clears anxious morning energy before it spirals
• Sunlight and red light therapy as accessible tools for depression and anxiety
• Why the first boundary you set is always the hardest, and what happens when you hold it
• The joy list: building a personal go-to for when you're in a slump
• Therapy is not just for crisis moments; it is maintenance for your mind

Thanks for the support from our partners, including: 

If you’re struggling with your mental health, someone is waiting to help: 

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation
• The Big Silence Resource Guide
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST
• Tone It Up App
• Tone It Up YouTube
• Tone It Up Instagram

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

Kathryn Nicolai is the creator of Nothing Much Happens, a bedtime story podcast with over 200 million downloads, a former yoga and meditation studio owner with 20 years of teaching experience, and the author of two books. In this episode, she joins Karena Dawn to explore the real relationship between sleep and mental health, why trying to fall asleep actually makes it harder, the ancient power of storytelling as a nervous system tool, and how to build a nighttime ritual that feels like self-care rather than another thing to optimize.

Your body already knows how to sleep. The real work is learning to remove whatever is blocking it.

(01:37) The Bedtime Story That Became a Career

• Why Kathryn started telling herself stories at age 4 and never stopped
• The unexpected training ground that shaped everything she does now
• The middle-of-the-night moment that launched the podcast
• Why she is still not running out of things to write about after 400 episodes

(08:41) Sleep, Mental Health, and the Loop Nobody Talks About

• The research finding that flips the sleep-depression relationship on its head
• Why the thing most people do to fall asleep is making it worse
• What your brain is actually doing when the room goes quiet
• The ancient reason why silence at night can feel unsettling

(18:03) A Ritual That Feels Like Self-Love

• The nightly routine Kathryn swears by and it has nothing to do with optimization
• Her take on melatonin and sleep aids
• Why making your bedtime ritual pleasurable is the whole point
• The phone-in-the-bedroom debate and where she actually lands

Thanks for the support from our partners, including:

• Visit her website
• Listen to the podcast: Nothing Much Happens: Bedtime Stories to Help You Sleep
• Follow her on Instagram
• Buy the Book: Nothing Much Happens

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation
• The Big Silence Resource Guide
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST
• Tone It Up App
• Tone It Up YouTube
• Tone It Up Instagram

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

Best-selling author, keynote speaker, and Golden Gate Bridge suicide attempt survivor Kevin Hines joins Karena Dawn to talk about bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, and the daily practices that keep him mentally well. Kevin opens up about the traumatic childhood that shaped his mental health, the instant regret he felt leaving the bridge rail, the sea lion and Coast Guard boat that saved his life, and the 15-year fight to install life-saving nets at the Golden Gate Bridge. He also shares the four words that have kept him alive through 25 years of suicidal ideation, and the science-backed wellness routines that support his brain health every single day.

Kevin Hines proves that healing is not a destination but a daily practice, and that the simple words "I need help now" can make all the difference.

(02:57) Born Into Crisis

• From abject poverty and neglect to a loving adoptive home, Kevin's path to the Hines family was anything but linear
• Why his gut health, brain chemistry, and mental illness were shaped before he could even speak
• The moment at 17 when his mind began to break, and why no one around him knew

(13:11) The Words That Keep Him Here

• The mantra Kevin returns to every time suicidal thoughts arise, and why it works
• Four simple words he has taught thousands of people to say in their darkest moments
• Why sharing your pain with even one person creates real, physiological relief

(21:51) Love, Loss, and the Fight for the Bridge Nets

• The wildly improbable love story that began in a psychiatric ward
• Why it took nearly two decades to get life-saving nets installed at the Golden Gate Bridge
• What to say when you see someone in visible pain and don't know how to start

(28:58) Building a Life That's Worth Staying For

• Kevin's morning and evening routine for regulating his nervous system
• The 23-minute exercise rule backed by University of Georgia research
• Why his doctor reframed medication as a quality-of-life decision, not a weakness
  
  

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—Get Involved through Action, not just awareness. 

Be a part of change with The Big Silence | Host a benefit with The Big Silence: https://thebigsilence.com/blogs/share-your-silence/the-big-silence-fundraiser-hosting-guide

• Follow Kevin on Instagram
• Explore his books
• Listen to the Hindsights Podcast
  

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation
• The Big Silence Resource Guide
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST
• Tone It Up App
• Tone It Up YouTube
• Tone It Up Instagram

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn is joined by Heather Askinosie, energy architect, bestselling author of Crystal Muse, and founder of Energy Muse, where she has spent over three decades helping people use crystals and frequency technology to regulate their nervous systems and deepen their alignment. Heather breaks down how frequency devices work, explains the Tesla-inspired 3-6-9-12 manifestation practice, and offers a grounded look at why real change starts from the inside, from morning rituals to how you handle your hardest relationships.

What if the energy you're projecting is the very thing shaping the reality you're living in?

When we clear our internal frequency and stop outsourcing our power, we stop reacting to the world and start consciously creating it.

(01:37) Crystals, Frequency & the Art of Getting Grounded

• Heather's 30-year journey into crystal energy and what led her to pair crystals with frequency devices 
• Crystals as earth tools: how they anchor the mind and give the nervous system something to hold onto
• Recalibrating your energy field with the 7.83 Schumann resonance device 
• Why frequency works on animals and babies faster than adults, and what that reveals about our own mental noise
• The key insight: it's about clearing the distortion

(13:15) Your Animals Know More Than You Think

• Why Karena's Pomeranians get anxious when she leaves and what frequency tools can actually help
• How animals respond to sound frequencies 
• Heather's case for communicating with your pets before you leave and why they understand more than we give them credit for
• The fastest way to calm anxious animals: regulate yourself first
• The 417 frequency device as "digital sage" for clearing shared spaces

(28:57) Morning Rituals, Manifestation & Programming Your Subconscious

• Heather's non-negotiable: 20 minutes of meditation before touching her phone, every single morning
• The Tesla 3-6-9-12 method to reprogram your subconscious
• Why the moment you wake up is your single most powerful manifestation window
• Her night routine: reviewing wins, reframing the day, and visualizing situations resolving at their highest potential
• Why gratitude opens your energy field and how focusing on what's right makes you a magnet for more of it

Thanks for the support from our partners, including:

• Follow Heather on Instagram
• Visit Energy Muse
• Read Heather's Substack
• Monthly frequency device classes available at energymuse.com
  
  

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation
• The Big Silence Resource Guide
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST
• Tone It Up App
• Tone It Up YouTube
• Tone It Up Instagram

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

Bestselling author and sought-after relationship coach Stephan Labossiere, also known as Stephan Speaks, joins Karena Dawn for an honest, spiritually grounded conversation on love, dating, and marriage. From decoding red flags to understanding why physical attraction matters more than most people admit, this episode is essential listening for anyone navigating modern relationships: single, dating, or partnered.

Healing your past isn't just self-care. It's the foundation for every meaningful relationship you'll ever have.

(01:37) What Real Love Actually Is

• Stephan defines love as spirit-to-spirit connection, not performance, chemistry, or circumstance
• Why you can't force two people to love each other simply by putting them together
• How Stephan went from IT professional and real estate investor to relationship coach through an unexpected spiritual journey
• What it really means to be "prepared" for love: healing past wounds, not just showing up

(19:48) Dating, Marriage & the Attraction Nobody Talks About

• Red flags to watch: men who won't discuss feelings, men who say they're not serious, and the women who don't believe them
• The #1 issue Stephan sees in marriages: loss of physical attraction, and why no one wants to admit it
• Why attraction isn't just about looks. It's about effort, respect, and energy
• How low self-worth in one partner quietly dismantles intimacy for both

(44:42) Being Love: The Foundation Everything Else Rests On

• Why the goal isn't to find love. It's to become it
• The emotional vs. physical disconnect that quietly breaks most marriages and how to bridge it
• Healing as the prerequisite: how unresolved pain sabotages every new relationship
• Practical ways to walk in love daily: rejecting negativity, caring for your health, starting with the people around you

Thanks for the support from our partners, including: 

• Visit his website: StephanSpeaks.com
• Follow him on Instagram
• Shop his Books
  

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation
• The Big Silence Resource Guide
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST
• Tone It Up App
• Tone It Up YouTube
• Tone It Up Instagram

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

Dr. Eboni Cornish is the Associate Medical Director at Amen Clinics and president-elect of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), with 16+ years specializing in neuroinflammation, Lyme disease, mold illness, PANS/PANDAS, and long COVID. In this episode, she joins Karena to break down the overlooked root causes driving brain fog, anxiety, poor sleep, and chronic illness — making the case that most people suffering from mood and cognitive symptoms have an underlying physical cause that's going completely undetected.

When mental health is treated as brain health, the entire conversation changes. Dr. Eboni Cornish shows us what's possible when we stop medicating symptoms and start asking why.

(02:15) Brain Health Is the Missing Piece of Longevity

• You can sauna, plunge, and lift — but if you're not sleeping, your brain can't heal
• Non-restorative sleep is the number one red flag your brain is under stress
• Hormones, cortisol, and fight-or-flight mode all disrupt sleep
• Supplements Dr. Cornish recommends: L-theanine, GABA, and magnesium

(18:31) Mold, Environmental Toxins & Your Mood

• Mold toxins cause inflammation that mimics depression, anxiety, and even dementia
• Some patients' mood symptoms resolved entirely after leaving a water-damaged building
• HLA gene testing can reveal whether your body can clear mold toxins or retains them
• Brain fog is a symptom, not a diagnosis

(33:49) Lyme Disease, Tick Bites & PANS/PANDAS in Kids and Adults

• Less than 50% of people with Lyme ever notice a tick bite or bullseye rash
• Lyme is a global disease, a "great imitator" that can present as depression, fatigue, or psychosis
• In kids, sudden personality changes after illness can signal PANS/PANDAS, an autoimmune neuropsychiatric response

Thanks for the support from our partners, including:

• Visit Dr. Eboni Cornish's website (https://www.drebonicornish.com/)
• Follow her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dr.ebonicornish/)
• Learn about Amen Clinics (https://www.amenclinics.com)
• Find an ILADS-trained physician (https://www.ilads.org)

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/audiobook)
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection (https://thebigsilence.com/collections/shop-all)
• Subscribe on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaL3RrbvDLuTTGFN4VYzEpw)
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation (https://thebigsilence.com/donate)
• The Big Silence Resource Guide (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/resources)
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/our-podcast-partners)

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/new-year-new-tiyou-challenge)
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-silence/id1607181597)
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/tone-it-down-podcast)
• Tone It Up App (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/tone-it-up-app)
• Tone It Up YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@toneitup/featured)
• Tone It Up Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/toneitup/?hl=en)

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

Kelly Rizzo is a food and travel creator, host of the Comfort Food podcast, and founder of the Comfort Club grief community. In this episode, she opens up about losing her husband Bob Saget, rebuilding her identity, and what surprised her most about grief. She and Karena also explore career reinvention at any age, learning to love without fear, and why sharing your story is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself and others.

Kelly Rizzo didn't plan to become a voice for grief and resilience. But when she started sharing her healing journey after losing Bob Saget, the responses she received solidified her mission.

(00:00) Resilience, Grief & Why It's Still Taboo

• Kelly and Karena connect over resilience as a shared foundation
• Why grief is still taboo — and why that needs to change

(05:14) Reinvention at Any Age

• How a market crash, a divorce, and a dead end led Kelly to start over in her mid-30s
• From family real estate to food and travel vlogging before "influencer" was even a word

(09:32) Bob Saget, Grief & What Losing Him Taught Her

• How Bob slid into her DMs and why she almost didn't give him a chance
• What grief actually feels like from the inside
• The detail that shocked her most 

(23:47) Love After Loss & Never Sweating the Small Stuff

• What it was like to open her heart again and why it scared her 
• How her boyfriend Brecken embraced Bob as part of their life together
• Why grief completely changed the way she shows up in her relationship — and what that means for anyone starting over

Thanks for the support from our partners, including:

• Instagram (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.instagram.com/kellyrizzo__;!!IjqdgNtW8d72VyZ5!JI-8y7XdQUobtOLvEqXeU4Ej3DLUTh76jENW-BWGww4R1EXJ32b5gq2RB8jIuAvFG1NF3COb3uxRdHmcnMhNdokUf01XtTXL$)
• TikTok (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.tiktok.com/@eattravelrock__;!!IjqdgNtW8d72VyZ5!JI-8y7XdQUobtOLvEqXeU4Ej3DLUTh76jENW-BWGww4R1EXJ32b5gq2RB8jIuAvFG1NF3COb3uxRdHmcnMhNdokUfwzrBQAB$) 
• Eat Travel Rock (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.eattravelrock.com/__;!!IjqdgNtW8d72VyZ5!JI-8y7XdQUobtOLvEqXeU4Ej3DLUTh76jENW-BWGww4R1EXJ32b5gq2RB8jIuAvFG1NF3COb3uxRdHmcnMhNdokUf-AZ7ZxM$)
• Comfort Food with Kelly Rizzo Podcast (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comfort-food-with-kelly-rizzo/id1716987177__;!!IjqdgNtW8d72VyZ5!JI-8y7XdQUobtOLvEqXeU4Ej3DLUTh76jENW-BWGww4R1EXJ32b5gq2RB8jIuAvFG1NF3COb3uxRdHmcnMhNdokUf1iR5719$)
• Comfort Club (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.comfortclubonline.com/__;!!IjqdgNtW8d72VyZ5!JI-8y7XdQUobtOLvEqXeU4Ej3DLUTh76jENW-BWGww4R1EXJ32b5gq2RB8jIuAvFG1NF3COb3uxRdHmcnMhNdokUf-LCFn0q$)

If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:

Connect with The Big Silence Community

• Order: The Big Silence Memoir audiobook (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/audiobook)
• Shop The Big Silence Self Love Collection (https://thebigsilence.com/collections/shop-all)
• Subscribe on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaL3RrbvDLuTTGFN4VYzEpw)
• Donate to The Big Silence Foundation (https://thebigsilence.com/donate)
• The Big Silence Resource Guide (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/resources)
• Find exclusive offers from our supporters (https://thebigsilence.com/pages/our-podcast-partners)

Show Resources:

• VISIT THE CHALLENGE PAGE (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/new-year-new-tiyou-challenge)
• THE BIG SILENCE PODCAST (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-silence/id1607181597)
• TONE IT DOWN PODCAST (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/tone-it-down-podcast)
• Tone It Up App (https://my.toneitup.com/pages/tone-it-up-app)
• Tone It Up YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@toneitup/featured)
• Tone It Up Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/toneitup/?hl=en)

Have a message for Karena? She'd love to hear from you and share your comment or question on air!

Leave Karena a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/KarenaDawn

In this conversation with Randy Spelling — life coach of 18 years, son of legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, and co-host of the Oldish podcast — Karena explores how growing up with fame and fortune still left him empty. He shares how addiction nearly took his life and how he rebuilt himself through somatic therapy, EMDR, inner child work, and learning to trust his own intuition. You’ll gain practical tools for breaking negative self-talk, working with rumination, and taking the first steps toward real healing.

Randy Spelling grew up inside one of Hollywood's most famous families, with every privilege imaginable — and still ended up at lost, searching for anything to dull the pain. In this deeply honest conversation, Randy walks Karena through the night that changed everything, the addiction that almost killed him, and the 18-year coaching practice he built on the other side of it. From inner child work to EMDR to rewiring negative self-talk, this episode is a masterclass in what it takes not just to survive, but to actually heal.

(00:58) Presence Over Metrics: How Randy Coaches Today

• Most goals are placeholders for what people actually want to feel
• The vacation analogy: you can be on the beach at sunset and still be completely disconnected inside

(07:14) Growing Up in Aaron Spelling's Shadow

• Despite enormous privilege, Randy never felt good enough or fulfilled
• Being highly empathic meant constantly reading the room to earn love and attention

(13:22) Rehab, Relapse & the Decision That Actually Stuck

• His first rehab was someone else's choice- the second time, he chose it
• The time his heart stopped

(22:27) EMDR, Somatic Therapy & the Healing That Goes Deeper Than Talk

• After years of traditional therapy, Randy felt he was going in circles — he needed something that moved what was stuck in his body
• He explored somatic therapy, Reiki, EMDR, and working with spiritual teachers

(31:50) Inner Child Work, Negative Self-Talk & the Rumination Method

• Inner child visualization — seeing yourself at a specific age, making eye contact, and saying what that child always needed to hear
• For negative self-talk: write it down to get it outside your head, then alchemize it 
• The rumination method: personify it, let it speak, take its notes, then consciously let it out of the car

Thanks for the support from our partners, including:

• Visit Randy's website (https://www.randyspelling.com)
• Follow Randy on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/randyspelling)
• Discounted offer to Randy's 'You 2.0' 14 Day program: YOU 2.0 (https://go.randyspelling.com/you-2-0)

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