Fight Like a Mother

My guest on this episode is disability educator and advocate Amy Webb.   Due to the current events happening at this particular time.  Amy and I discuss the ramificaitons of the Texas vs Becerra lawsuit concerning section 504 of federal law.  Seventeen states are suing, stating that section 504 is unconstitutional.  Section 504 of the law protects disabled individuals from discrimintation.  It was...

Can a 5 minute walk really change your life? It absolutely has changed mine in significant ways.  In this episode I share: *Research about the benefits of walking *How walking is connected to EMDR therapy *How I started with the smallest, tiniest goal * Now I have built my walking habit from a 5 minute walk to a 30 minute walk *That needing cute workout clothes was hampering my ability to get out...

Happy 100th episode! This episode is a celebration of getting to 100 episodes!  It's been hard fought for and taken 4 years! I share where I have been, where the podcast is going, the focus is shifting a little and a new project I am so excited about.  A nonprofit called Love like a Mother that will support moms of kids who have attempted or completed suicide and could use some love and support fo...

My guest Jessica Frew is a delightful person to listen to talk about her incredible story and about what happens when life throws you a major curve ball. Jessica married Steven and two years into their marriage he came out to her as gay.  They stayed married and had a daughter but eventually the marriage dissolved but their friendship and connection remain strong.  They both are remarried and she...

This episode is about something near and dear to my heart, getting into nature.   Nature therapy is one of my most used and powerful tools to heal and to improve my mental health. Brittany Crane of the company Get out there Girl is my guest.  Brittany is a living example of getting outside, seeking and creating adventures and encouraging other women to do the same.  She plans regular adventurous r...

"We are never more fully alive , more completely oursevles, or more deeply engrossed than when we are playing."  Charles Schaefer How does play affect our mental health?  How does it aid in our healing of past traumas and struggles? My guest in this episode is Ashlynn Mitchell.  I have followed Ashlynn for many years on Instagram and she is an incredible example of resilience and healing.  I have...

Creativity opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics. It brings healing. During this month of May which is mental health awareness month, i wanted to do something a bit differently.  Talking about mental illness and bringing awareness can often feel heavy. This year I wanted to focus on a few lighter, fun things that can greatly improve our mental health. Our first topic this year is how...

This episode with Jill Freestone as a guest is part 2 of a series about when our children leave our faith tradition.   What do we do as parents?  How do we unpack some of the unhealthy narratives we've absorbed over the years about our role as parents in our kids faith journey?   What things have been said over pulpits in years past that have made us feel like if we are just righteous enough our k...

This podcast episode is a bit of a shift from my normal mental health content, but I feel this topic is so vital for so many families today, I am seeing so many parents struggle.   So many families are having shifts in religious beliefs within their families and it can be challenge for relationships that were often built upon those religious beliefs and values.  Because our religious traditions an...

I think we all know that life can be a bit bumpy, I think all of us hope that our life path looks maybe a bit rocky or bumpy, maybe a little rustic, but fairly flat, straight and really beautiful. So what happens when the life path actually looks more like hanging from a cliff from our fingertips? We are literally holding on for dear life.  That's not what most of us expected in life! Today's epis...

Ember Pilati is a life and relationships coach who loves lots of people who struggle with their mental health.   She shares valuable tips and simple, actionable tips to care for yourself so you can care for your loved ones better.   She shares a framework of caring for our mind, body and soul and why each step is so vital to our own physical and mental health.   Gratitude is a practice that can ch...

Welcome to the fight, like your mother podcast. I'm so glad that you are here.  I am sharing an episode today that I have been thinking about doing for a really long time.  And I haven't done it because I wanted a therapist. Slash expert who knows a lot about this to come on and talk about it because I haven't felt qualified to do so.  However lately it won't leave my brain.  And I've asked severa...

Does your child have challenging and sometimes rebellious and unsafe behaviors that have you desperate for a resource?  Are you feeling fearful and desperate?   This podcast could be your answer.  Today my guest Jessi Stringham shares a resource for parents that is free and really amazing.  It is a peer led support group that is extremely well organized and    From the Changes website: https://cps...

The trauma of "good mom syndrome" In this week's episode, we delve into the profound truths and challenges of parenting children with intense needs. The episode explores the concept of parenting trauma and the importance of acknowledging and validating the difficulties faced by parents in raising kids with unique challenges. Key Points: Toxic Positivity and Trauma: I address criticism received for...

My guest today is Robyn Gobbel, therapist and parent educator. Robyn Gobbel, MSW, loves coffee, P!NK, and everything about the brain. Once (recently!) her teenager went ballistic on her for getting ANOTHER (glitter!) coffee mug in the mail. Robyn loves cultivating deep, resonant connections with anyone who is up for it, and is especially fond of all the grown-ups in the world who love and care for...

The last time I chatted on this podcast was in April last year.  I chatted with two dear friends who I was planning a conference with.  We chatted about our lived experiences of having mental health challenges in our family and how much we needed support and couldn't find it.   That was the kick off to sharing about our in person Fight like a Mother mental health conference in September.      I fu...

This episode highlights our "why" for creating the Fight like a Mother mental health conference on September 16, 2023.   All 3 of us in the last decade have desperately needed more resources and a supportive community surrounding mental health and raising our kids.  You'll hear each of us sharing personal experiences about how community and support and knowing about resources has been essential in...

What do you want Cheryl?  It's a question I was asked by a therapist that shifted my perspective significantly!  Many times we don't give ourselves permission to go for what we want or even allow ourselves to think about what we want. In the episode I share a recent experience of being brave and asking for what I wanted and it was a life changing experience and I plan to focus on living life how I...

In this episode I chat with licensed marriage and family therapist David Kozlowski.  We discuss personality disorders and specifically borderline personality disorder which David said is the most complicated one and believes it should be renames to Emotionally extreme personality disorder or something similar. Borderline is too tame a label for it.       https://davidkozlowski.com Light the Fight...

 I was fortunate to be a guest on The Better Behavior podcast with Dr. Nicole Beurkens.  Dr. Beurkens is a champion of parents and families living with mental illness.  She is an amazing advocate and support to these families.  I was honored to be asked to be a guest because I have long admired her work.  If you are a parent raising a kiddo with extra challenges, this episode is for you.   In this...

In this episode I chat with therapist Brenna Brooks about the concept of a window of tolerance. The window of tolerance is when our nervous system is functioning well.  We can handle stress and big emotions.  Our pre frontal cortex is fully engaged so we can make good decisions, have good judgement and not be controlled by our stress or trauma. When we shift out of the window of tolerance we go to...

Courtney Brown is a brilliant CEO of the clothing company Cents of Style.  She is a mom of 3 kiddos and is married to John Brown.   She is also one of the most generous, kind, light filled people I've ever known. Courtney chooses an intention the beginning of every year and this year she chose the word Ease.  She sees it as an experiment, to learn more about the process of finding the ease and joy...

My guest this episode is my best friend of over 50 years, Lisa Paulsen.   Our friendship has ebbed and flowed over all of that time, but we have always known we will be there through thick and thin.  We are more sisters than friends and have had so many big life experiences and we have gotten through them together. Lisa has had big struggles in her life including a progressive neuromuscular diseas...

Life gets to be both... Struggle and success Overcoming and feeling the pain Joy and challenges. If we can embrace the AND in life yes we will have the struggle but we will also open ourselves up to beauty and memories.  When we feel the whole range of the human experience it enhances the joy and tempers the struggle.

Happy 2023!  This time of year so many are talking about resolutions and goals and words or themes for the year.   It often feels like lots of pressure to join in to change yourself or make new habits, systems etc.  Sometimes we cave to the pressure of social media and others because we feel the push to set those high goals and resolutions because of the expectation that we do so.   What I am goin...