The Audacious Life - Break Free

  Mother's Day - Honoring Moms through loss - celebrating YOU! Man, it has been a crazy wild last two years, and I was thinking about this episode and how to honor moms and all that moms have been through because I think of all that people have been through, the most significant weight has been put upon mothers and mother figures, caregivers, for sure, over the last two years. And so some moms are...

Amber Heard is perpetuating the stereotype that women create false charges against men. While that does happen, I know many cases where the men are able to spin in the opposite direction and take a woman who's been victimized and turn her into the abuser. They cut off her connection to her children and create a restraining order and paint her in the most negative light possible. I have a guest int...

Jada Pinkett Smith image - Jerry Avenaim, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Everybody is aware of the Will Smith incident at the Oscars. Since I recorded this, a few things have happened, but I thought I'd weigh in on which of these two is "the Narcissist," Will or Jada Pinkett Smith.   I wasn't going to comment on this situation at all, but it seems like it's something that's not going away. A...

In this episode, I share some surprising and not so surprising findings related to trauma and its impact on our brain. Living through a traumatic situation can severely impact your memory, your cognition, your emotions, your ability to self-regulate, all of those things.    I found a video about the neurobiological impact of trauma on the brain, and it was eye-opening for me. I knew we could have...

I appreciate your patience if you've followed my lead-up to interviewing Lundy Bancroft.    This interview is coming in the nick of time with the holiday season.   Maybe you've been drawn back to the sparkly seasonal web of Love Bombing.    Maybe you're feeling guilty and questioning whether this version of them is REAL. And you've temporarily forgotten most of the hurtful things they've done thro...

  A quick update about the upcoming Lundy Bancroft interview and an ask to share your abuse quotes if you've left and you have examples of the abuse continuing in post-separation. Tina Swithin of One Mom's Battle has a movement to send these words of the abuse to the family courts to show the abuse that continues after parents are separated and how this post separation abuse impacts children. You...

Toxic families are difficult enough to be raised in. For outsiders, being brought in via dating, marriage, friendships, the family dynamic, and what it creates in adult children can be highly confusing to people raised in healthier homes.   This episode is about toxic clan family dynamics, why they behave the way they do, how confusing it is, and why understanding their foundation of secrets and l...

If you've been feeling disconnected, stuck, or paralyzed, sensing a deep yearning for something more, it may be a desire to find safe people to be with in real life. People who are accepting won't judge you for opening up and sharing what you're going through. There's a collective desire to be seen and heard and indeed find a point of connection with other human beings. Included in this episodev I...

Gabby Petito did not have an anger problem. I believe what we saw on video was Reactive Abuse. I share what Reactive Abuse is and why it can create more problems for the victim and help the abuser look innocent. I've been creating response videos as podcasts to address what I've seen in comments and the media regarding the Gabby Petito case. Mainly based on people assuming she was off-kilter with...

Gabby Petito's Obvious Abuse signs were missed. In this video, I share the classic signs of emotional abuse and control associated with narcissistic abuse and all the "professionals" who identified Brian as the victim and dismissed the signs that many of us viewing the police bodycam video saw as obvious classic signs. All of this points to the need for more Abuse Identification Training which cou...

I spoke with Kate Beesley Eaton about her circumstances leaving her narcissistic abusive husband. Kate is a Trauma & Narcissism informed clinical hypnotherapist, Practitioner & Coach. Highly knowledgeable in this area, I wanted to learn how she managed her experience leaving her abuser and how she protected her young daughter.   In this interview Kate shares the details of her marriage to an alcoh...

After my interview with Katrina Sorrentino about leaving a toxic relationship much of what she said struck a cord. One thing that stood out was the need to calm our nervous systems. It's essential and it coincided with multiple lessons and content about this from Somatic Therapists who help heal trauma. In this short episode, I'm sharing my thoughts before we move on to the next interview about le...

I interviewed Katrina Lillian Sorrentino. She shares her story of being sucked into an emotionally and psychologically abusive relationship with a man who may be a narcissist, sociopath, or something else. She's not sure, but he was toxic, deceptive, abusive, and controlling. Her relationship trauma was so intense and extreme that she created a documentary about the experience and is now building...

In this solo episode, I share some of my favorite authors, spiritual healers, Doctors, and thought leaders. All of these people have helped me reframe my thoughts and pull myself out of darkness. Pouring positive ideas, thoughts, stories, etc., into our minds via podcasts, audiobooks, videos, and music, is healing, induces hope, and catalyzes a plan to exit situations that deplete, depress, and pa...

I think you probably may know or have heard of the Grey Rock method by now. If so, it's worth listening as I share one character you can channel if you're not quite sure what Grey Rock looks like in practice. Mainly, it's about holding your power. Staying grounded, calm, neutral, and I think immovable or unimpressed and non-reactive. One thought to keep in mind is simply this, do NOT take the bait...

Gaslighting is a term that comes up a lot when dealing with personality disorders, i.e., narcissists, sociopaths, psychopaths. But truthfully, anyone is capable of this behavior, and it can even pop up as a way to cover up for narcissists and protect their reputation. You may find yourself denying reality to your family or community if you're in one of these relationships.   In this brief definiti...

I interviewed Judy Giovangelo, energy worker, healer, artist, and founder of Ben Speaks, her non-profit raising awareness for highly sensitive kids who are at risk for self-harm and suicide.   Judy lost her son Ben to suicide when he was just 18. She and Ben made heroic progress over his 18 years and learned ways for him to cope with all the energy and emotions he absorbed like a sponge.   Her mis...

Mother's Day is a tricky time of the year. We take time time to reflect on our mother-daughter relationships. And it's also a time to celebrate the love of all mothers in the world. This year, Caroline Nadine Helsing can celebrate by knowing her book about her mom came to life. She captured the essence of her mom by writing a memoir, a beautiful tribute to her mother's unapologetic love for glamou...

We, as women, are a little too good at putting ourselves last. We come to this naturally through family and societal, patriarchal influence. But we can shift out of it. And we need to!! Now more so than ever, we're called to pay attention to the inner promptings to save ourselves from burnout, bitterness, severe mental health, and physical issues such as adrenal fatigue, auto-immune, insomnia, anx...

Parenting during the pandemic has been a challenge far beyond mask-wearing, sanitizing, or concern over COVID-19. Being in lockdown and isolated with schools mostly shut down or running at half the usual staff and kids has shifted our worlds completely. Women left the workforce in droves, 2.3 Million of us: an all-time low, the lowest since 1988.   "Children involved in the research cited family t...

Emma Ferrick embodies all things this podcast stands for. She's a young mother who survived a dangerous domestic violence relationship and found the support and internal strength to reach for a better life when many in her condition would be paralyzed by fear. Her reality was a catalyst for extreme growth and pursuit of career goals that liberated her from her day job, allowing her to be with her...

We've never before been in a time like this. Life is a giant rollercoaster, and events are intense and changing rapidly. The mental and emotional toll of all of it has put us in a place we've never experienced before.   Never before have I seen the need to be hyper-aware of my mindset, energy, consciousness. And when I fail to stay conscious, I slip into a dark place. I'm emerging from a dark plac...

In September of 2020, a reported 865K women left the workforce in the US. Many of these women are caregivers and moms who felt they had no choice but to step away from work to keep their children's education on track and keep their family intact. In this episode, I share some stats, helpful resources I've found for you to gain support, learn skills, and gain hope for starting over with the flexibi...

Karmic Debt and Instant Karma With all that's swirling in the world around us, it's easy to wonder how people can get away with evil and horrible things and come out seemingly smelling like a rose. Or at the least retaining their position, their wealth, etc. with seemingly little impact. If Karma exists, why is it that some get away with these things, yet you cut the line in the grocery store and...

This episode is a reintroduction to my YouTube channel, The Audacious Life Podcast, and a discussion about the the impact of COVID isolation has seen Domestic Abuse SOARING behind closed doors. I share how awareness around abuse is increasing and how I plan to use my channel to move forward and help women start over and thrive. This episode is also a plea for those who have someone in your life yo...