Love and Life with Dr. Karin and Pastor Elliott

Summer is in full swing and that means while Dr. Karin and Pastor Elliott are out we are going back in time to Ep. 262 and replay one of our more popular episodes on mental health! We believe this topic is just as relevant today as it was back in 2023. Whether you're hearing this episode again or for the first time we hope it will empower you! We’re in the midst of a mental health war. Over th...

We’ve been a series for the past month, taking a counter-cultural approach to the mainstream use of medications. These medications have been normalized by medical professionals and big businesses for decades, and those who experience negative side effects are often demoralized and shunned. In today’s episode, Elliott offers his response to this series and helps us continue unpack these topics. He...

Over the last 10 years, there’s been an exponential growth in the number of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. “Gender affirming care” prescribes puberty blockers to keep children from developing naturally. Doctors often claim puberty blockers merely “pause” physical development—suggesting children can “un-pause” the process and resume puberty at will. Nothing could be further from the trut...

Psychiatric nurse and Love & Life favorite David Wayne returns to the show today as we continue our series examining drugs that most of us consider completely safe, effective, and harmless. In this conversation, we discuss one of the most commonly prescribed drugs: antidepressants. David witnessed firsthand how these drugs had profound impacts on the health of his patients… Spoiler alert: it w...

Today we continue my conversation with Lori Wold as we discuss how Lori's daughter Dana's world was turned upside after taking just 6 pills of a routine antibiotic. In Part 2, we talk about ways Dana was able to regain parts of her life back as well as providing support for those who have experienced similar injuries. This episode is the second installment in a new series examining drugs m...

Dana was a 29-year-old musician living in Chicago—perfectly fit and healthy. Until she took a routinely prescribed antibiotic for a urinary tract infection. After taking just 6 pills, she began to feel horribly ill. Her limbs tingled and went numb—to the point where Dana had to pull over to the side of Lake Shore  Drive using her knees to guide the steering wheel. Her life was never the same. She...

As a first time mom, Dani couldn’t wait for her bundle of joy to arrive! She expected a huge transition, of course. But then again, she couldn’t full prepare for some elements she’d experience. For example, their baby was born with a heart condition which, obviously, complicated matters. She and her husband also had to adjust their marital dynamics to accommodate the demands of caring for an infan...

Elliott was talking to his wife, Angie, about our series for new parents. As a mom of four babies within two years, Angie had plenty of thoughts around this topic! She suggested some themes we could explore in today’s episode: How to embrace your brand new identity of “mother” and “father.” Recognizing your self-concept may alter in ways you didn’t expect.  How to ask for help—even when you’ve alw...

This July, Elliott and I will welcome our niece’s first baby—a boy named after our father, Simon. We are over the moon! My stepson’s wife is also pregnant; their boy, Max (named after Dan’s dad), is due in June. So we’re blessed with two babies coming into the family! Plus, one of my dearest friends just had a boy in January.  I started thinking about what a beautiful gift—and also, what a major l...

Last March I was walking through my all-time favorite grocery store, Seed to Table in Naples, Florida. Yes, I have a favorite grocery store, and yes, it’s the best ever. While browsing through the Health & Wellness section, I met Michelle Albergo who was sharing information about Cell Fit. Cell Fit’s lead scientist, biochemist Tricia Flanagan, created a product like no other! It’s not a supple...

It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes asking a question is the WORST way to gather information! As we’ve been talking about in the last couple episodes, posing questions can often backfire. Our friends and partners may feel defensive or attacked! Even the most loving questions may impede intimacy, rather than enhance it.  Elliott’s clients have started making statements instead of asking questi...

When you want to get to know someone better, you ask them a lot of questions, right? Maybe not . . . This week, we pick up on an important point Elliott made last episode about avoiding questions to facilitate effective, authentic communication. It seems counterintuitive, but we can actually gather MORE information and cultivate DEEPER intimacy by communicating with statements. So, how exactly do...

Today Elliott and Tim explore the significance of language in relationships and how to avoid potential pitfalls in communication. They discuss how communication styles, gender roles, and temperament influence interactions, especially during conflicts. Elliott shares the importance of using 'we' language to foster unity and understanding in the context of relationships with significant others.  We...

We are joined on today’s episode by Sarah Knott. Sarah has been an avid listener of the podcast and has done counseling with Elliott. She shares with all of us her profound healing journey that started with some physical manifestations but as she explored things deeper found that there were emotional and spiritual elements at play as well. She is also a mom and her little ones were excited to be o...

Join us for part two of my conversation with Jenna McCarthy, author of, Yankee Doodle Soup for the Fringy, Tin-Foil Hat Wearing, Conspiracy Theorist’s Soul and The War on Ivermectin with Dr. Pierre Kory. We process our parallel journies as COVID dissidents —including the lingering trauma so many of us continue to experience (well, maybe me more than Jenna!) Full disclosure—this episode was a bit o...

Elliott and I have been doing a series on trauma—which got me thinking about the thing I’m pretty much always thinking about—COVID. Talk about a traumatizing event! Since we all—as in, the entire world—endured the pandemic, it certainly qualifies as what psychologists call a “collective trauma.” Because we went through it together, right?  Well no, we didn’t. The “collective trauma” wasn’t a unify...

Take charge of your thoughts, take charge of your life!  Elliott reminds us to take charge of our words, too! What are you speaking over yourself? Do you talk in defeatist terms? Do you make All-or-Nothing statements? I CAN’T do ___________. This is going to be HORRIBLE! I’ll NEVER be _________. I’ll ALWAYS struggle with __________. Our thoughts matter. Our words matter. They have an impact on our...

Question: I’m listening to your boundary podcast about family and newlyweds. My husband and I have been married for 6 months and I come from a very close, tight knit family. He from a family who isn’t as close. He is struggling with the involvement my parents have and the constant plans they make to see me and my sister who lives in the same town as me. She has a 1 year old who is the first grand-...

For the last few weeks we’ve been going through a series on Trauma Recovery. How do we heal from trauma? How do we get unstuck and move towards healing?  Last week we dove into Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, and we continue the series today with work by trauma recovery expert Bessel van der Kolk. Inspired by Bessel’s work we discuss 3 more additional movements in healing f...

The recovery process often feels nebulous and unclear. Of course, we want to heal from trauma, but how do we do so? Elliott’s recently been inspired by Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess:  5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking. He immediately began introducing Dr. Leaf’s steps to his clients—many of whom are working through trauma....

Have you ever been through a traumatic moment or event? With decades of experience helping individuals recover from trauma Elliott wanted to share 3 of his perspectives on how we can have a recovery mindset. Specifically, how do we move through the traumas we face throughout our lives?  How do we stay present? How do we deal with feeling unsafe? Is it possible to live abundantly despite our trauma...

I’m never on Facebook but I hopped on the other day to look at Marketplace. I doom scrolled for just a minute (mistake🤦‍♀️) and saw some posts about the measles outbreak in Texas. Some people were quite concerned. Some got a measles vaccines for the first time since childhood. Others felt the whole thing was overblown. Yes, tragically, a child died. However, we don’t know if he/she had preexistin...

Question:What is the best way for a 49-year-old to meet a guy? In person or an app? Cuz it's rough out here! Answer:It’s a jungle out there. I should know. I spent 27 years on the dating scene. I get how frustrating it can be. 😫To address this question, I discuss some strategies that helped me when I was single—ones I talk about in my book, Single is the New Black: Don’t Wear White ‘til it’s...

Question:   I met this guy when I was 18 and he was 19. Three years later, I’ve chosen to break it off after realizing that no matter what, my family won’t accept us as a couple.  For context, I belong to an ethnoreligious group—marrying outside the faith is frowned upon, as we work to preserve our identity and heritage. He was raised Christian, but he’s not devout. We never met each other's f...

We all felt the immense pressure to get the COVID vaccine. Many were forced to jab in order to keep their jobs. In some cities, we couldn’t eat in restaurants, buy a cup of coffee, or attend a concert unless we showed proof of vaccination. People rolled up their sleeves. Many regret it because they later learned the “vaccine”prevented neither infection nor transmission.  And then there’s the linge...