Loneliness isn’t just uncomfortable - it’s costly. And the scariest part? Most of us are living it without calling it what it is.

Dr. Jody talks with Ken Stern (*Healthy to 100*, *Century Lives*) about the loneliness epidemic and the link between social isolation and mortality risk - plus the practical shift that changes everything: building your social life with the same intention you’d bring to nutrition or exercise.

They get into what “lonely” actually looks like in real life, why we’re spending less time with friends than we did a generation ago, and how proximity, community design, and technology have quietly pulled us apart.

This is a call back to connection - with a plan, not just a wish.

Links & Resources:

• ABOUT CENTURY LIVES The Longevity Project: https://www.longevity-project.com/centurylives
• Healthy to 100: Secrets from Countries Where Retirees Age Best: https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/happy-retirement/healthy-to-100-secrets-from-countries-where-retirees-age-best
• Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review (PLoS Medicine, 2010): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2910600/
• Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon Generals Advisory (May 3, 2023): https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re exhausted by the tension - at work, online, even with people you love - this episode is for you.

Dr. Jody and Rachel DeAlto talk about what’s driving the empathy dip (and the “why is everyone so mean lately?” vibe), how social media trains us out of critical thinking, and why more options in dating/work/friendship can actually make us choose worse.

This is a real-talk episode about rebuilding emotional intelligence, finding your way back to the kind of connection that actually regulates your nervous system, and learning when to dig in and do the work - versus when it’s time to go.

Links & Resources:

• Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington (podcast page): https://www.drjodycarrington.com/podcast
• Dr. Jody Carrington (official website): https://www.drjodycarrington.com/
• Rachel DeAlto (official website): https://www.racheldealto.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve built your whole life around being capable, dependable, and “fine”… what happens when your body says otherwise?

Dr. Jody talks with Malaysia Harrell about the hidden cost of being the helper—how childhood trauma can fuel achievement, how high-stakes service roles stack layer upon layer of vicarious trauma, and why so many women stay in fight-or-flight until something finally forces a reckoning.

This episode connects the dots between:

• Overfunctioning and emotional shutdown
• Repeating patterns in work and relationships
• Trauma that’s neatly “packed away”… until it isn’t
• That unsettling moment of success without satisfaction

Content notes: childhood abuse, death row/corrections, murder of a family member, severe illness/sepsis, near-death experience.

---

Links & Resources:

• Malaysia Harrell | Sepsis Alliance: https://www.sepsis.org/faces/malaysia-harrell/

• 413: Rising from the Ashes with Malaysia Harrell - The PBT Institute: https://thepbtinstitute.com/risingfromashes-malaysiaharrell/

• HOME | Malaysia Harrell: https://www.malaysiaharrell.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is ADHD really a "superpower"? Or is that just a toxic label that sets high-performers up for a massive crash?

In this episode, Dr. Jody sits down with executive coach Cathy Rashidian (aka The Candid Empath) to dismantle the popular "superpower" narrative. They unpack the visceral reality of leading with a "fast brain"—from the dopamine-fueled highs of hyper-focus to the crushing "hangover" that inevitably follows.

They also tackle the "Accidental Leader" trap: why so many of us are promoted eight years before we’re actually trained, why we become "self-appointed fire marshals" just to get our dopamine hits, and why "resilience" has become a dirty word for leaders who are tired of bouncing back.

In this conversation

• The "Superpower" Trap: Why Cathy views her brain as a "messy roommate" rather than a superhero—and why that distinction matters.
• The Hyper-Focus Hangover: The biological cost of flow states and why you need a "body budget."
• The 8-Year Gap: The "peer-to-boss" transition and why you’re likely DIY-ing your leadership style.
• Marination vs. Procrastination: Why doing nothing is actually when the real work happens.
• Toxic Resilience: Why we need to stop proving we can handle it all and start setting boundaries that fuel us.

If you’ve ever felt like your "genius" comes with a heavy price tag, or if you are tired of being the most resilient person in the room, this conversation is the permission slip you didn’t know you needed.

🔗 Links & Resources:

• Cathy Rashidian, ACCG, PCAC, PCC - ADD Coach Academy (Coach Directory): https://addca.com/adhd-coach-directory/coach/cathy_rashidian/
• From Peer to Boss: How New Managers Overcome the Challenges: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/management-tips/from-peer-to-boss-how-new-managers-overcome-the-challenges
• How to Prevent Burnout in Leaders | DDI: https://www.ddi.com/blog/prevent-burnout
• Leadership Fatigue: Burned Out Leaders Are Quiet Quitting At Work Too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianehamilton/2025/02/03/leadership-fatigue-burned-out-leaders-are-quiet-quitting-at-work-too/
• ADHD Coaching for Professionals | Ready Set Choose: https://www.readysetchoose.com/
• Cathy Rashidian - PAAC: https://paaccoaches.org/cathy-rashidian/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve done everything “right” and still feel anxious, disconnected, and like you’re somehow failing…this one is for you.

Dr. Jody and Grace Emmons unpack good girl conditioning burnout: how patriarchy, perfectionism, and people-pleasing can make high-achieving women look fine on the outside while quietly falling apart on the inside. Grace shares her own rock-bottom (including why she felt stuck in a toxic relationship) and the surprising moment that reignited her sense of aliveness.

They also get practical about what it means to “wake up” again: intuitive vision, how intuition actually shows up (it’s not one-size-fits-all), and why reconnection to yourself might be the most important antidote to the disconnection we’re living in.

In this episode:

• Why “doing it all” became the new impossible standard
• The hidden cost of people-pleasing + perfectionism
• How to tell intuition from anxious mental chatter
• Five ways intuition can communicate (and how to find yours)
• Spiritual connection without the pressure of organized religion
• Why technology can deepen loneliness—and what to do instead

---

Links & Resources:

• About | Forward with Grace: https://forwardwgrace.com/about

• Forward with Grace | A Spiritual Consultancy: https://forwardwgrace.com/

• Why Good Girl Conditioning Keeps Women Stuck | Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/self-made/202506/why-good-girl-conditioning-keeps-women-stuck

• Podcasts | Forward with Grace: https://forwardwgrace.com/podcasts

• Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington (show page) | Acast: https://shows.acast.com/everyone-comes-from-somewhere

Follow Grace Here:

@forwardwgrace

@topangacanyonoasis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Real talk, parents: if you’ve got a kid with access to a screen, odds are they’ve seen something they weren’t ready for. And guess what? That uncomfortable convo you’re avoiding? It’s exactly the one you need to have.

In this no-BS episode, Dr. Robyn Silverman joins Dr. Jody to crack open the truth about modern parenting:

Why “kids these days” aren’t broken — the world is just louder.

Why YOU need to say words like “porn,” “vagina,” and even (gasp) “clitoris.”

Why it’s never too late to start the conversation — even if you fumbled it the first time.

And how “parenting out loud” changes everything.

This one might make you laugh, squirm, and cry a little… but it will absolutely make you feel less alone.

Follow Dr. Silverman here:

https://www.instagram.com/drrobynsilverman/

https://www.facebook.com/DrRobynSilverman

https://www.tiktok.com/@bigtalkswithkids

https://www.youtube.com/drrobynsilverman

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“So... do you have kids?”

That one question—THAT ONE—can derail a whole damn conversation. Because if the answer is no? Suddenly, you’re forced to explain your whole existence. This week on Unlonely, I dive into it with the brilliant, badass, and beautifully bold Emily Paulsen who is child-free by choice, and not here to play by anyone else’s rules. We unpack the stigma, the double standards, the asinine questions (Hi, Uber drivers 🙃), and the truth about why choosing not to have kids is just as valid, beautiful, and bold as choosing to have them. Whether you're a mama, an auntie, child-free, child-less, questioning, exhausted, or just trying to make sense of how to be a woman in this damn world—this episode is a deep breath of truth. And spoiler alert: You get to choose. Full stop. No explanation required.

Follow Emily Here:

https://www.instagram.com/curiouslifeofachildfreewoman/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay friends, listen. I think one of the most powerful interventions we can make in this next generation isn’t just another behaviour strategy or classroom tool — it’s helping big people understand how their own brains work. That’s why I could not wait to bring Natasha Dorsey on the pod. She's a clinical hypnotherapist, cognitive science researcher, solo parent, and soon-to-be PhD — and she’s doing some of the most important work I’ve seen around burnout, regulation, and why we’re all just so damn tired.

In this episode, we talk about why the nervous system has to come first (yes, before curriculum, before interventions, before another behaviour plan), and how self-awareness is the game changer we’re not talking about enough. Natasha walks us through what she calls “internal self-monitoring,” how to reframe our autopilot reactions, and why tiny, doable shifts (like changing your grocery store or taking a different route home) can literally rewire your brain for safety and connection.

If you’re an educator, a parent, a leader — heck, a human — who’s ever felt like you should be coping better, or that maybe you’re just not cut out for this anymore… please, listen to this. You are not broken. You’re likely just dysregulated. And you have so much power to come back to yourself.

Follow Natasha Dorsey:

@tashdorsey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If 80% of women have HPV, why aren’t we talking about it?

This conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Goldspink cracked wide open what so many of us feel but don’t say: women are lonely, overwhelmed, and often dismissed by a system that wasn't built with us in mind.

We talk cervical health, perimenopause, trauma, and the stories our bodies hold onto when no one is listening. Spoiler alert: your nervous system is screaming for rest, not hustle. And you’re not that good at doing it all alone — none of us are.

This one’s for the women walking each other home. 💥

Follow Dr. Elizabeth Goldspink:

@drgoldspink

@wellex

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the key to a healthier, happier life isn’t about “fixing” feelings—but truly allowing them?

In this powerful conversation with Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of Permission to Feel, we explore how naming, understanding, and regulating emotions can transform our relationships, our mental health, and even our future.

From childhood trauma to groundbreaking research, Marc’s journey proves it only takes one person to change a life. Maybe that person is you.

Listen now and learn how to give yourself—and others—permission to feel.

Follow Dr. Marc Brackett:

https://www.instagram.com/marc.brackett/

https://x.com/drmarcbrackett

https://www.facebook.com/marc.brackett.5

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.