Mental Health Minutes with Melissa

Teens are dealing with a world that is changing at a dizzying rate and with challenges unlike any other generation in history. While trying to process and navigate, parents are also trying to help their teens.  What can we do to help our kids?  If you're asking yourself that question – today's episode is for you! I'm so excited to sit down with Dr. Jessica Peck , author of the book, Behind Closed...

Hey Friends! As we continue our year-long series about learning to live healthily, I'm reminded that I started this in January, and here we are already in October! I started this series as a way for me to learn more about living healthy in all areas of my life.  Today's episode is so important as we dive into the topic of unresolved trauma. If you have unresolved trauma, it will make living health...

Can you believe that 2022 is winding down? We only have a few more months till we are in a new year! We are also window down in our year-long series as well we are going to be diving into some fantastic conversations over to next several months to help you thrive in your life.  Today, I'm excited to share my interview with Pastor Mike Novotny . Are you struggling with your spiritual health? Your r...

As we continue our series on how to thrive in your life, one of the necessities is setting and keeping boundaries in your life. I'm so excited to have Dr. Sasha Shillcut back on the join today to talk about her new book, Brave Boundaries. We discuss how to live your priorities, and you have to have boundaries, how to set boundaries, and much more!  Dr. Sasha Shillcutt is a physician, researcher, s...

Hey friends! I just wanted to give a quick trigger warning - especially if you have little ones in the car or around who may be listening …  it might be a good idea to pop in some earbuds or save this episode for later. Also, I believe is this a great episode for those that have a team - encourage your team to listen to this as well. September is Suicide Awareness Month. Around the globe, someone...

Hey Friends, As I've mentioned, we are in the middle of a year-long series about you learning to live healthier lives. We're talking about taking small and easy tips to increase your happiness, build better relationships and feel stronger. When I think about freedom and living healthy, we want to look at the fun stuff, but we also need to look at the roadblocks. Today's discussion will shed light...

Hey Friends, As you know, we are in the middle of a year-long series all about living healthy. We have discussed the small, easy steps to increase happiness, build better relationships and feel stronger. Today's episode fits in with our series theme just perfectly. I'm talking with Pastor and author Ray Leight on the show today.  I couldn't have designed a better book to fit this year's series. Ra...

Hey Friends, We continue this week with our year-long series to live healthily and thrive in your life. Today, we are talking all about your relational health.  If you are dating - are you not attracting the right people? Are you wondering about pursuing dating in a godly way? Then, friends, this episode is for you. Also, if you are married, there are some great nuggets of wisdom.  Today, on the s...

Hey Friends, As you know, we are in the middle of a year-long series helping you regain and remember healthy living patterns to help you thrive in your life. We are focusing on small, manageable steps that you can easily take to increase happiness, build better relationships, and feel stronger. Are you lonely? Do you struggle to find the real friends you long for? No worries, friend, this episode...

If you've ever wondered why you have emotions and how to process emotions in a healthy way, this episode is for you! In today's episode, I sit down with Dr. James Merritt to talk about how to deal with how you feel. This episode is for you if you are struggling with identifying your emotions. We talk about identifying our emotions, biblical wisdom, and everyday reality. We also discuss how so much...

Hello Friends! As we continue our series into being healthy in all the areas of our life, we have many things to be "healthy." I know it can be overwhelming, but I hope you see how the different areas overlap. You are worth it. Remember, The more you care for yourself, the more you can care for others. In today's episode, I am joined on the show by Karen Joy Hardwick , who is also a fellow counsel...

Hello Friends! As we continue in our year-long series, we are taking small steps to help you be healthy, small, easy, actionable steps to increase your happiness, build better relationships, and feel stronger. Today's episode is a hard topic - Grief and Loss . It can bring up lots of strong emotions. We don't good or bad emotions – it's all about what YOU do with them.   God was emotional, and we...

Feeling bored with life? Tired of the mundane? Between work, doing household chores, errands, etc. life can often feel blah and mundane. One day rolls into the next. Before you know it, years and even decades seem to float by. Today's guest gives us some suggestions on creating a life full of adventure. Today's interview is a special treat and quite different from most of the other interviews I've...

Tired of dieting? Struggling with your body image? If you nodded yes to these questions, you are going to love today's episode. It's no shocker that most of struggle with food, body image, and exercise. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, up to 50 percent of Americans have a "disordered" relationship with exercise, their body, and food. My hope is that you would begin taking car...

Are you struggling with finding purpose and passion in your life? In this episode, I sit down with Bob Hasson, author, consultant, and podcaster.  Bob is committed to helping you find purpose and more joy in your work. Bob Hasson is both the founder and CEO of HPCI, a painting subcontractor he founded in 1978. For over 30 years, he has been a consultant and board member for churches, ministries, n...

Hello Friends! We are over halfway done with our year-long series about helping you thrive in your life and gain nuggets of wisdom to assist you in multiple areas of your life. Just a reminder - As you can tell from the title of this episode, this is not one of those episodes to listen to if you have kids in the car. So make sure to op in those AirPods or headphones if you have littles around. Tod...

Hello Friends! As you know, we are in the middle of year-long series all about helping you to live healthily. I hope each episode offers a small tangible step to take that increases your happiness, builds better relationships, and makes you feel stronger. Today are talking to Dominic Done about his new book, Your Longing has a Name.   The longing for purpose is hardwired into our souls. Why are we...

Hello Friends! As we continue our year-long series – all about helping you to live healthily. I urge you to reflect on the positive and negative things in your life. Recently, I celebrated another birthday, which was a reflection time for myself. I examined what I wanted to bring into my life and what I needed to let go off? Sometimes, to be truly healthy, we need to let go of things that aren't w...

Hello Friends! As we continue, our year-long series on being healthy - can you believe we are over halfway done with the year? For me, taking care of my whole self is a daily pursuit. We are such complex beings, so many areas of our life where life can be so very busy. I hope that this series is helping you in the multiple ara of your life. Today's episode is all about anxiety with your ids. If yo...

Hello Friends! Today's episode is very special because this is our 100th Episode of Thrive! Can you believe that?!  First, thank you so much – I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for your emails, messages, and of course, your reviews! My main goal is to help you thrive in your life. My passion has always been to help others realize that they are God's masterpiece. That's what the podcas...

Hello Friends! As I've mentioned before, we are in the middle of a year-long series about you learning to live healthy. There is a lot we need to do to keep ourselves healthy. For example, self-care isn't about taking a nap or spending the afternoon at the spa. It is caring for your whole self - body, mind, and spirit. On the show, I'm joined once again by Kari Kampakis, an author, speaker, podcas...

Today on Thrive and the Art of Living Free, we are discussing about social anxiety. Over 15 million people struggle with this; please know that you are not alone, and this interview is just for you. On the show, I'm joined by Marcus Bales, the author of the book, Don't Shut Up . Marcus is a renowned public speaker and coach who used to struggle with debilitating social anxiety. I find that so insp...

Hello Friends As we continue our year-long series on living a healthy life, I'm very excited about today's episode and the next couple of ones. We will be turning our focus toward the kids! As you know, I'm very passionate about parenting, child mental health, and equipping you to help your child grow and thrive. On the podcast today, I'm joined by Steph Thurling. She is co-founder of Raising Pray...

We are in the middle of a year-long series about helping YOU live healthy in all aspects of your life. I hope that you are enjoying the series as much as I have. I love our guests so far this year,  especially our conversations. On the podcast today, we continue our conversation our chat with Gretchen and what is a life-saving divorce. We continue our deep dive into toxic and abusive relationships...

As we continue our year-long series on living a healthy life, I just have to say that I've learned so much from all the amazing authors, thinkers, and speakers we've had on. Last week, we talked to Dr. Derwin Gray about how to hear our racial divide. If you haven't listened to that one yet, I urge you to listen. On the podcast today, I'm joined by Gretchen Baskerville. She is a Christian divorce r...