The Focus Cast

On today's episode, we discuss the science of being grounded. And how the concept being grounded is directly from CoHost Bryan's experience in therapy. 

TIMESTAMPS
00:46 Music Intro
01:20 Is it hippie nonsense
07:50 Mental grounding   
20:00 Ungrounded characteristics
36:25 Grounded characteristics 
39:40 How to ground  

SHOW NOTES
Is "being grounded" just some hippy nonsense? Think again. Grounding, also known as earthing, has been scientifically proven to have significant physiological benefits. According to Science Direct, integrating earthing into lifestyle medicine strategies is highly recommended. Over 20 studies have demonstrated remarkable improvements in the body's functioning when grounded.

But grounding goes beyond the physical realm. It also encompasses mental well-being. Psychology Today explains that being grounded means practicing mindfulness and freeing yourself from constant "what ifs." It's about feeling centered, balanced, and fully present in your body and relationships.

Personal experiences echo the importance of being around grounded individuals. They are not codependent, competitive, or narcissistic. Instead, they possess admirable qualities outlined in Inc. Magazine: unshakeable, reliable, morally upright, humble, confident, unworried, and advocates for justice and personal growth.

So, how can we ground ourselves? Psychology Today offers various techniques to combat trauma and anxiety. Soothing strategies like self-talk, meditation, listening to music, being with pets, and visualization can work wonders. Engaging in mental exercises, such as solving math problems or spelling names backward, activates higher-level thinking. Embracing your physical surroundings through sensory focus, enjoying food mindfully, splashing cold water on your face, taking a nature walk—all these activities help ground you in the present moment.

Being grounded is far from a mere abstract concept; it has tangible benefits for our well-being. Embrace the power of grounding and experience the transformative effects it can bring to your life.

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00:00 Intro
01:41 Intro music
03:10 What is the fawn response 
08:00 Why revert to fawn response 
10:00 Enmeshment 
16:00 Characteristics of fawn response   
37:15 Why are we talking about it

INTRO TO FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE & FAWN

• Intro freeze episode and how it came up
• What is the Fawn Response?
  • Pete Walker, psychotherapist and author of Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving wrote: The fawn response is “a response to a threat by becoming more appealing to the threat.”
  • Psych Central:
  • Fawning refers to consistently abandoning your own needs to serve others to avoid conflict, criticism, or disapproval. 
  • Fawning is also called the “please and appease” response and is associated with people-pleasing and codependency.
• Why do we revert to Fawn Response? 
  • Childhood Trauma 
  • Complex Trauma (war trauma)
  • Fawning is particularly linked with relational trauma or trauma that occurred in the context of a relationship
    • Abuse: harmful experiences that could be physical, sexual, or emotional in nature
    • Neglect: trauma as a result of things that didn‘t happen, such as physical or emotional neglect
    • Enmeshment: a lack of boundaries between family members that can impair a child’s independence and sense of self
• Let's talk about Enmeshment
  • Enmeshment is a description of a relationship between two or more people in which personal boundaries are permeable and unclear.
  • You grow up in this environment and then you go to a job where there is no clear direction on what is required of you but you get yelled at if you fuck something up. 
    • eFactory, “50% of employees across all sectors currently lack role clarity in the workplace.” (source is selling something, so…)
• Is Fawn Your Response? 
  • stifling your own needs
  • finding authentic self-expression challenging
  • flying under the radar
  • having trouble saying “no”
  • over-apologizing
  • holding back opinions or preferences that might seem controversial
  • experiencing chronic pain or illness
  • having depression, which can be linked with trauma
  • trouble with personal boundaries
  • assuming responsibility for the emotional reactions and responses of others
  • fixing or rescuing people from their problems
  • attempting to control other’s choices to maintain a sense of emotional safety
  • denying your own discomfort, complaints, pain, needs, and wants
  • changing your preferences to align with others
• Why Are We Talking About This on a Focus Podcast? 
  • Well, we are talking about it because of a therapy session, but…
  • Bryan… I wonder… out of all the people who stop and start businesses, I wonder how many just mentally murder themselves because of childhood trauma…. 
  • The Fawn response is absolutely sucking your focus. You literally are losing yourself trying to appease others. 
  • National Institute for Children’s Health and Safety: Nearly half of American children—are exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that can severely harm their future health and well-being. As a manager or owner, half of your employees experienced real trauma…

When To Exercise 

We mention how important exercise is in 90% of our episodes, but you know wheat we’ve never considered. When  to do it. Do certain times yield different or possible better results when exercising? The whole purpose of this podcast is to talk about staying focused so we can get shit done.  Just like keeping a business efficient it helps to be efficient in all aspects of life.

00:42 Music Intro
01:18 Does it matter when you exercise
05:35 Morning  workout pros
11:20 Evening workout pros
19:25 Anything is better than nothing

Real quick lets hit a few benefits of exercise. MayoClinic

• Controls weight
• Combats health conditions and diseases
• Improves mood
• Boosts energy
• Promotes better sleep
• Puts the spark back into your sex life

Does working out at different times lead to different results? Here’s the results of a 12 week study from researchers at Skidmore College (Study)

• Women who worked out in the morning lost more fat, while those who trained in the evening gained more upper-body strength and power. As for men, the performance improvements were similar no matter when they exercised. But those who did so in the evening had a significant drop in blood pressure, among other benefits.

Working out in the morning Pros

• Forbes Health: In a study of 51 healthy adolescents, those who ran 30 minutes in the morning three days a week reported improved sleep quality, mood and concentration during the day, as well as decreased daytime sleepiness, compared to the control group (who did not engage in any running).
• Research also suggests morning workouts can curb appetite throughout the day. A small study from Brigham Young University compared food intake and brain responses to food images in a group of 35 women. Those who completed 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise in the morning had a lower response to food images and didn’t consume extra calories during the day to make up for the calories burned during exercise

Working out in the evening Pro

• When it comes to exercising in the evenings, the most significant benefit is that most people have more time. This can lead to better focus, longer workouts and better exercise adherence if you’re working out with friends or participating in an exercise class. Evening exercise can also be a great way to de-stress, boost endorphins and leave your workday behind you.

Does working out to late affect sleep? (Harvard Health)

• The researchers examined 23 studies that evaluated sleep onset and quality in healthy adults who performed a single session of evening exercise compared with similar adults who did not. They found that not only did evening exercise not affect sleep, it seemed to help people fall asleep faster and spend more time in deep sleep. However, those who did high-intensity exercise — such as interval training — less than one hour before bedtime took longer to fall asleep and had poorer sleep quality.

Through therapy, Bryan finally learns the name for how he's been feeling for decades. Disassociation. Dissociative disorders are mental disorders that involve experiencing a disconnection and lack of continuity between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions and identity. 

00:39 Music Intro 
03:20 How Disassociation Can Feel
12:15 Potential Causes 
16:56 Types of Disassociation  
25:50 What Can We Do?
36:59 Music Outro 

DO YOU FEEL THIS WAY? 

• Memory loss (amnesia) of certain time periods, events, people and personal information
• A sense of being detached from yourself and your emotions
• A perception of the people and things around you as distorted and unreal
• A blurred sense of identity
• Significant stress or problems in your relationships, work or other important areas of your life
• Inability to cope well with emotional or professional stress
• Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors

According to an article from the May Clinic, these are symptoms of dissociative disorders.

DISSOCIATION DISORDER

• DEFINITION: Dissociative disorders are mental disorders that involve experiencing a disconnection and lack of continuity between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions and identity. 
• POTENTIAL CAUSE: Dissociative disorders usually develop as a reaction to trauma and help keep difficult memories at bay.

TYPES OF DISSOCIATION

• Dissociative amnesia. The main symptom is memory loss that's more severe than normal forgetfulness and that can't be explained by a medical condition.
• Dissociative identity disorder. Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, this disorder is characterized by "switching" to alternate identities. You may feel the presence of two or more people talking or living inside your head.
• Depersonalization-derealization disorder. This involves an ongoing or episodic sense of detachment or being outside yourself — observing your actions, feelings, thoughts and self from a distance as though watching a movie.

QUOTES:

• "I have a form of dissociative disorder that makes the world seem like it's not real, as if things aren't taking place. It's hard to explain, but you feel untethered,"  said Counting Crows lead singer in  Men's Health, going on to explain, "It's hard to care when everything feels as if it's taking place in your imagination." 

OPEN CONVO

• Why are we talking about this bro? 
• What is your goal? 
• What can you do? 
  • Encourage ongoing therapy
  • Be patient
  • Don’t play games with the identities
  • Try to understand triggers
  • Practice good mental hygiene together
  • Help with memory gaps

Michael Plasha is a nationally Recognized Yoga and Ayurvedic Educator; Writer; Workshop Leader; Mindfulness and Meditation Coach and Consultant, Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Consultant for Corporations, Non-Profits, Hospitals, and Schools.

01:10 Music Intro
02:20  Michael Plasha Intro
03:09 What is Mindfulness   
05:55  Why Mindfulness
13:25 4 Foundations of Mindfulness
18:45 First Level of Awakening
30:15  Mindfulness Practice Live
47:11 Being Attached to Expectations
01:16:20 Life Without Substances

Michael Plashas calming and grounded presence is instantly felt as we discuss several topics: mindfulness, meditation, intuitive/divine prompts, expectations, to list a few. During a short mindfulness practice Micheal helps us find/notice the space between thoughts where pure presentness and existence happen. Several nuggets of wisdom are dropped we talk through the causes of suffering, frustrating, and expectations. Towards the end Michael offers a meditation practice for those with hyper active minds who look at any from of meditation as a burden.

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Bro, I was talking to my therapist, and she mentioned the vagus nerve, which is responsible for the fight, flight and freeze response to stress. Really, in this episode, we will talk about the freeze response to stress, why you should be aware of this response, and why I was talking to my therapist about it.

01:00 Music Intro 
01:55 NCBI Article  
03:40 Freeze Response in Humans 
05:55 The Brain in a Freeze State
10:09 Freeze Response & Stress
14:09 Bryan Elaborates on Therapy  
20:15 Talking Trauma 
24:30 Interacting with People in Freeze States

NCBI, Exploring Human Freeze Responses to a Threat Stressor 

• “Fight or flight” was coined by Cannon (1927) 
• FREEZE RESPONSE IN ANIMALS
  Tonic immobility may be useful when additional attacks are provoked by movement or when immobility may increase the chance of escaping, such as when a predator believes its prey to be dead and releases it.
• POSSUM EXAMPLE: Well literally allow themselves to be eaten by another animal 

FREEZE RESPONSE IN HUMANS

• In the Guilford Press in 2002,  Barlow’s description of an adaptive alarm model suggests that a freeze response may occur in some threatening situations.
• This literature suggests that a relatively high percentage of rape victims feel paralyzed and unable to act despite no loss of consciousness during the assault.
• NICABM: Many times, we see a freeze in response to childhood trauma

THE BRAIN DURING FREEZE STATE

• NICABM: When we’re dysregulated – whether that be in hyper or hypo arousal – our prefrontal cortex – which allows us to think critically – goes offline, while our limbic system – which drives survival behavior by responding to threat takes over.
• What this means is that any information going into the brain – sensations, words, movements – can’t be processed in a logical, cognitive way.
• Like all trauma responses, freeze is an involuntary response.

WHAT DOES THE FREEZE RESPONSE TO TRAUMA HAVE TO DO WITH US? 

• Do you ever feel so overwhelmed by stress, you literally can’t move? 
• Introspective work: childhood trauma
• Why were you talking to your therapist about this bro? 

SOLUTION

• Get help
• How to Overcome the Freeze Response, NICABM
  • Avoid making eye contact: maybe too intrusive. 
  • Don’t offer touch: my feel violating 
  • Make sure to ask for permission: trauma is that it strips people of choice and control
  • Work at a slow, gentle pace
  • Don’t mistake a loss of speech for unwillingness to speak: they may be stuck and literally not able to speak. Don’t mistaken for unwillingness to cooperate. 
  • Stay away from trying to “convince the nervous system” that it’s safe: The prefrontal cortex is offline, instead: According to Polyvagal Theory, humans communicate with each other via their social engagement systems – or our vocal intonation and facial expressions. So by using calm prosody and inviting body language, we can impart cues of safety.
  • Keep affective expression to a minimum: positive emotion might actually be associated with threat. People have experienced mixed queues from abusers (positive, then negative) 
  • Make it clear that going into freeze is NOT a negative thing: It is purely a stress response and has nothing to do with their strength or lack thereof. 
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2489204/
  https://www.nicabm.com/topic/freeze/

 Not feeling safe consumes an enormous amount of energy, personally & professionally. Psychological Safety “The belief that one can speak up without risk of punishment or humiliation" which is critical and profitable when creating a healthy work environment, today we talk about this on a personal and professional level with some steps you can take to create a Psychological Safe work environment. 

00:44 Music Intro 
00:54 Podcast Intro 
01:37  What is Psychological Safety
02:40 HBR Article 
07:29 4 Stages of  Psychological Safety
16:30  Psychological Safety with Yourself 
18:00 Providing Psychological Safety  

HBR ARTICLE “What Psychological Safety Looks Like in a Hybrid Workplace”

• “The belief that one can speak up without risk of punishment or humiliation" 
• WHY IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY A THING?: 
  • "In the past, we’ve approached “work” and “non-work” discussions separately. 
  • Joint decisions about hybrid work are increasingly being made between managers and employees, allowing them to discuss topics such as child care, health-risk comfort levels, and family challenges. 
• THE RESULT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY? 
  • "When psychological safety in the workplace is present, people feel comfortable bringing their full, authentic selves to work and are okay with "laying themselves on the line" in front of others.

STAGE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY 

• The 4 Stages framework for psychological safety, authored by Timothy Clark
• Inclusion Safety: the ability to belong in a group, feel safe being yourself, and be accepted for who you are
• Learner Safety: the ability to learn and grow by asking questions, giving & receiving feedback, experimenting, and even making mistakes.
• Contributor Safety: the ability to make a difference by using your skills and abilities to make a meaningful contribution.
• Challenger Safety: the ability to make things better by speaking up and challenging the status quo when there is an opportunity for improvement.

HOW DOES PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY APPLY TO SOLOPRENEURS?

• If you don’t have a mentor group, you are often left in your own head to ask these questions? In Episode #24, we talked about the inner critic… that might be a dangerous place where you DON’T feel safe. 
• If you have a mentor group, is it a place where you can be safe to be honest, ask questions, learn, contribute and challenge? 
  • Toxic family or group of loser friends… 

HOW DOES PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY APPLY TO FOUNDERS?

• Research from PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown an average of 230% return on every dollar invested in creating a mentally healthy workplace as measured by organizational outcomes such as improved productivity, lower volume of compensation claims and reduced absenteeism.
• Gartner Research, Gallup, & Harvard Business Review, January 2017
  • 27% reduction in turnover, 76% more engagement, 50% more productivity, 74% less stress, 29% more life satisfaction, 57% workers more likely to collaborate, 26% greater skills preparedness

STEPS TO INCREASE PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY FROM QUANTUM WORKPLACE

• Promote self-awareness.
• Demonstrate concern for team members as people.
• Actively solicit questions.
• Provide multiple ways for employees to share their thoughts.
• Show value and appreciation for ideas.
• Promote positive dialogue and discussion.
• Explain reasons for change.
• Own up to mistakes.

01:10 Music Intro
01:50 Amount of alcohol in a standard drink
03:24  Negative impacts of alcohol
10:00 Drinking socially 
14:58 Alcohol and vibration   
17:45 Sober curious 
24:00 Things you're tying NOT to do

 Clear patterns have emerged between alcohol consumption and the development of the following types of cancer Cancer.gov: Head and neck cancer, esophageal, liver, breast, colorectal. Evidence is accumulating that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risks of melanoma and of prostate and pancreatic cancers

What happens to cancer risk after a person stops drinking alcohol?

Most of the studies that have examined whether cancer risk declines after a person stops drinking alcohol have focused on head and neck cancers and on esophageal cancer. The cancer risks eventually decline, although it may take years for the risks of cancer to return to those of never drinkers.

•  Harvard.edu: It can cause inflammation of the liver (alcoholic hepatitis) and lead to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), a potentially fatal disease. It can increase blood pressure and damage heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
• Nlm.nih.gov: Chronic inflammation is commonly associated with alcohol-related medical conditions. 
• Even moderate drinking carries some risks. Alcohol can disrupt sleep and one’s better judgment
• People's perception of “one drink” is usually off with heavy pours or strong beers. 

SOLUTION:
Harvard.edu In addition, studies suggest that moderate drinking (as discussed below) may be linked with a lower risk of: Heart attack, the most common type of stroke, death due to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gallstones.

“Moderate” alcohol consumption per the CDC: 1 drink or less per women and 2 drinks or less per day in men

• Quotation from CDC.gov I think sums things up nicely. 
  • “Although past studies have indicated that moderate alcohol consumption has protective health benefits (e.g., reducing risk of heart disease), recent studies show this may not be true.6-12 While some studies have found improved health outcomes among moderate drinkers, it’s impossible to conclude whether these improved outcomes are due to moderate alcohol consumption or other differences in behaviors or genetics between people who drink moderately and people who don’t.”
• Don’t drink because you’re bored
• Ask yourself why you’re actually drinking
• The less you drink the less you need
• Shit adds up to go out and drink
• Entrepreneurs don’t have time to be hungover, we have shit to do. 

Welcome to the FocusCast, today our guest is Alex Ballew founder of Secret River Sounds. Alex is a vibrational sound therapist who uses various instruments and techniques to create a vibrational massage. This massage penetrates on a cellular level helping ease the listener into a meditative state, which soothes the nervous system and encourages deep relaxation. Alex recounts stories of his clients having emotional breakthroughs and releasing traumas while in this hyper relaxed restorative state. After covering a range of topic from health, removing vices, and overcoming fear, Alex takes us though a short meditation/sound immersion with some of this instruments. 

00:00 Intro Alex Ballew
01:16 Podcast Intro 
03:10 Breath is the Ultimate Tool
05:10 Alex Breaks Down Vibrational Sound Therapy 
07:44 Stories of Emotional Breakthroughs 
10:20 Learning to Heal Yourself 
21:29 Sacrifices to Level Up
38:00 Reducing Electronics 
52:00 Working Through Fear  
1:09:35 Breath Work 
1:20:45 Sound Immersion 

If you want to accomplish your dreams or grow your company to $100M, being aware of your sugar intake may be a critical step. Sugar has a major impact on our brain function, and overall mental health. And it turns out, we are at war with the sugar industry. Today we will share with you some dirty little (not so secret) tricks the sugar industry played on the narrative, our over consumption of sugar, and what we can do TODAY to increase our focus.

01:20 Stats on Sugar
04:30 Effects on Brain 
06:45 Sugar & Mental Health
09:22 At War w/ Sugar
13:30 Sugar Subsidies
20:00 Solution
SUGARS & OUR FOCUS

• We eat too much sugar: 
• According to AHA guidelines, most men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (tsp) of sugar.
• AHA - Estimated 17 teaspoons of sugar every day 
• Can of Coke - 10 teaspoons 
• Iced Tea – 6 teaspoons
• Orange Juice – 6 teaspoons
• Sports Drinks – 3.5 teaspoons
• Sugar & Brain Function 
  • Verywell Mind stated, "Even a single instance of elevated glucose in the bloodstream can be harmful to the brain, resulting in slowed cognitive function and deficits in memory and attention."
  • Sugar consumption causes inflammation in the brain, leading to memory difficulties.
• Sugar & Mental Health: 
  • 23,245 individuals enrolled in the Whitehall study—found higher rates of sugar consumption was associated with a greater incidence of depression.
  • Journal Scientific Reports, found those with the highest level of sugar consumption were a 23% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder 

WE ARE AT WAR WITH SUGAR

• Sugar Manufacturing/Processing Market - $56B
• The U.S. Sugar Program: 
  • Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, the U.S. Sugar Program maintains a minimum price for sugar with the goal of protecting sugar-industry growers and processors. 
  • Tax payers pay $3-$4B each year in sugar subsidies.
  • According to Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, the sugar industry—led by United States Sugar and Florida Crystals—gave $57.8 million in direct and in-kind contributions to state and local political campaigns between 1994 and 2016. 
  • “the sugar guys win votes because they are better at politics than anyone else.”  the industry has retained a core of lobbyists, experts, and other advocates that could ‘fill a stadium,’ 
• Trust the Science (maybe)
  • Pro Market.org - Historical documents were released showing that the sugar industry paid Harvard scientists in the 1960s to produce research that downplayed the connection between sugar and heart disease, and instead laid the blame on saturated fat. 
  • According to The New York Times, the documents suggested that five decades of scientific research into the interconnection between nutrition and heart disease “may have been largely shaped by the sugar industry.”

SOLUTION/HABITS

• When you are feeling hungry for a snack drink water. 
• Reduce mindless snacking
• You're on a blood sugar roller coaster, and it's hard to get off it. So STOP the craving before it starts by eating healthy sugars, proteins, fats, etc

 Stress causes you to be hungry, "Stress causes the hormone cortisol to flood your body, releasing glucose from your liver, which in turn raises your blood sugar." Practice healthy stress reducing activities.

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