The Shift Show

Zac and Sarah Explain How the Great Outdoors Makes Us Happier -- and Why We Should Leave Our Phone at Home

In Andrea and Zac’s 360 on porn compulsion, they discuss what the real problem is (spoiler alert: it’s not the sexy bodies), how it’s compounded by modern-day society, and what to do if you or a loved one is struggling with it.

Defy Gravity, Embrace Yourself: Floating Entrepreneurs Matthew Smith and Jamie Phillips 

Twelve inches of water, half a ton of salt, 34-degree water, that’s all. No sound. No light. No sensory input. Just you and your thoughts.

Whether that sounds divine or demonic, this conversation with Modern Gravity founders Matthew Smith and Jamie Phillips, Shift Clinician Zac Erickson, and Shift Operations Manager [Name…?] offers new perspectives on the experience of floating -- the good, the weird and the downright trippy.

Smith and Phillips discuss the history of floating, its myriad health benefits, and the scientific studies supporting the glowing results they’ve witnessed first hand in their Edmonton center.

While many tout the physical benefits of floating that make it a go-to recovery treatment for athletes, its real power lies in the opportunity it offers for deep introspection. Like other forms of mindfulness-based self-care, such as meditation and yoga, floating offers a safe environment in which you can face your limiting beliefs, stressors and fears.

Plus: Hang around for the final segment and discover what it was like for Zac to experience his first float.

The Holy Grail of emotions, happiness is everywhere -- and yet so hard to see. Everything from a pleasant sunny afternoon to a once-in-a-lifetime winning lottery ticket could sit under the umbrella of happiness. The problem is, wanting to be happy without knowing what that means, is a recipe for unhappiness. 

In the first episode of this new series, Shift’s Zac Erickson, Andrea McTague and Sarah [...?] poke around under the blanket of happiness to demystify it from a physiological, psychological and evolutionary perspective. As they do so, they ask two questions that will recur throughout this upcoming series: What is happiness for you as an individual and what is happiness for humans in general?

It’s ADHD’s moment in the spotlight. Thanks to Tiktok, today there’s an unprecedented level of interest around ADHD. But so many of the symptoms of this neurodevelopmental disorder can also be caused by lifestyle factors -- diet, sleep, exercise, social activity -- exacerbated by the pandemic. In other words, if you’re bouncing off the walls after a year and a half of being cooped up, it’s probably more an environmental issue than a clinical one.

In this episode, Shift’s Zac Erickson and Andrea McTague discuss ADD/ADHD from the inside out, bringing to bear their personal and professional experiences with the disorder. After defining the three types of ADD/ADHD and running Andrea through a screening questionnaire, the two discuss why a diagnosis matters (and why it doesn’t), and how to build a life that works with, not against, your instinctual nature. 

Bottom line: regardless of label, it’s all about knowing yourself, what makes you tick and what throws you off the rails. 

Listen closely and you’ll learn: Why you wouldn’t ask your chihuahua to herd sheep, how a box of yarn saved Andrea’s grey velvet couch, and why not all screen-time is created equal.

“Is My Boss Serving Kool Aid?”

Sarah Lerner of And Together Discusses the Cost of Toxic Workplaces -- and Maps the Way Forward

Toxic workplaces cost big. If you’re cowering in your cubicle or dodging bullies, you aren’t bringing your “A”-game to the office. You’re probably waist-deep in a job search.

If that’s you, you’re not alone: According to a 2020 study, 20% of all U.S. employees reported fleeing a toxic workplace over the previous five years, at an estimated price tag of $220 billion in lost productivity -- to say nothing of missed opportunities for creativity and innovation.

Shift’s Zac Erikson hashes out this pervasive problem with Sarah Lerner, Shift client and founder of And Together, an organization that strives to create more inclusive workplaces by consulting on collaborative solutions. 

In this episode, they tackle questions like: 

• How do you know if you’re in a toxic workplace? (Hint: Is there Kool Aid on tap?)
• How can organizations disrupt unhealthy dynamics and foster inclusivity -- and what’s in it for them? (Five letter word, starts with ‘m’ and rhymes with funny.)
• How can we as individuals participate in difficult conversations and respond to feedback that might make our neck hair stand on end? (Get ready to dust off your yoga mat.)

Parents are human, it’s okay to make mistakes! Shifters Zac and Sarah talk about the highs and lows of parenting during the peak of COVID.

1. Find a “good fit.” (What does that even mean?? And why is personality more important than skill!? Would you want Mr. Rogers to be your surgeon?). 
2. Vent about your week: Chat a lot, feel crummy a lot, get validated a lot. #codependentmuch? 
3. Pay a ton of money.
4. Repeat steps 1-3. 

This is a really important issue that we’re passionate about. First responders of all kinds, including firefighters, paramedics and police officers, deal with trauma every day. The long term (and short term) impacts of experiencing traumas are by no means light. We wanted to bring light to this issue by providing some education around the types of traumas that first responders experience, how it impacts them and some of the proactive measures we can take to lessen the impacts of those traumas.

In The Shift Show Episode 13 we speak to Daniel Sundahl of DanSun Photo Art. Dan has been a full-time firefighter and paramedic since 2003, and that's where he gets all his motivation for his emergency services artwork. He has a real passion for raising mental health and PTSD awareness for his profession.

Shift Psych: https://shiftpsych.com/
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DanSun Photo Art
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Sometimes life confronts us with tragic events, things out of our control, which bring on a myriad of emotions and impact our beliefs about ourselves and the world.  One of these heartbreaking arenas is infant loss and pregnancy loss.  

Once shrouded in quiet suffering and stigma, we are thankful that more and more open conversations about these not-so-uncommon events are occurring.  Still, hesitation to discuss a loss of a pregnancy or child still abounds.  Sometimes this is because the pregnancy was not yet disclosed, sometimes it is because the grief pushes people into hiding, sometimes it is because they simply do not know how to broach the topic and sometimes it is individual choice.  Everyone experiences grief differently and encouraging and supporting individuals in the way they most adaptively address it should be the goal for both therapists and loved ones. As a loved one, it is also important to know when to step in when the individual is struggling.  

It can be difficult to know what to say or how to help, however.  Finding a way to be supportive involves knowing a bit about what the loss means to the individual and knowing a little bit about how they would like you to support them.  Sometimes it is a memorial, something to honor the child or pregnancy, holding space for them to discuss or a casserole dropped off.  Removing the shroud of secrecy, if they are comfortable, can offer a place to process what has happened.  

Things to steer clear of include: being dismissive “well, you can just get pregnant again” type of comments, assuming what the attachment level to the child or pregnancy is, forcing a conversation, flat out ignoring it, minimizing the event or emotional responses and assuming it has only affected the woman.

Often, in the acute stages of grief, directly following the loss, loved ones are the most supportive.  In the case of pregnancy or infant loss, there are often far-reaching effects, and traumatic memories amplified by anniversaries, important life events, other’s pregnancies or children and subsequent pregnancies. Being supportive and aware of this over the long run is helpful in assisting someone dealing with grief of this nature.  A conversation, knowledge and acknowledgement go a long way.  As does therapy around the loss.  Incorporating significant life events into our worldview and present life experience, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, is an important part of a healthy response to trauma.  At Shift, we endeavor to identify any limiting beliefs- negative thoughts about ourselves or the world- that are activated by miscarriage or infant loss.  Quelling the limiting beliefs allows us to use more of our cognitive processes, reduces maladaptive emotions and  remain mentally healthy.  Doing so also helps with the ability to remember the good parts and happy memories- no matter how fleeting they were.

Shift’s therapeutic protocol can help navigate through grief and the challenges associated with loss.  We focus on ensuring that these tragic experiences are adaptively addressed and avoid becoming issues of complex grief, wherein an individual gets “stuck” or has maladaptive responses.

In The Shift Show Episode 12, we speak to Kristina Oriold, founder of Tiny Footprints.  Tiny Footprints is an organization which raises awareness and provides support for individuals dealing with pregnancy loss and infant loss. 

Shift Psych: https://shiftpsych.com/
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