The Big Silence

Celebrity holistic nutritionist Mona Sharma, known for her work with Will Smith, Jay Shetty, and Julianne Hough, joins Karena Dawn to unpack the health crisis that changed her life. Mona shares her path from a high-pressure career in luxury beauty marketing through two heart surgeries and a PCOS diagnosis, to founding a holistic practice rooted in Ayurveda and nervous system healing. The conversat...

Psychotherapist and boundary expert Terri Cole joins Karena Dawn to break down High Functioning Codependency (HFC): the pattern where over giving, over functioning, and chronic self sacrifice get mistaken for strength. Terri, author of Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High Functioning Codependency, explains how childhood conditioning shapes this behavior, the physical and emotional toll...

Jeff Krasno is the co-founder of Wanderlust, the founder and CEO of Commune, and the author of Good Stress: The Health Benefits of Doing Hard Things. In this episode, Jeff joins Karena Dawn to discuss his diabetes diagnosis at forty-nine and the intermittent fasting, cold water therapy, and resistance training protocols that helped him lose sixty pounds in three months. He also unpacks the science...

Kelly Noonan Gores is the writer, director, and producer of the documentary Heal, author of the companion book by the same name, and host of the Heal with Kelly podcast. In this conversation, Kelly and Karena Dawn explore the placebo and nocebo effects, why 95% of our behavior is run by subconscious programming formed in early childhood, the role of forgiveness in physical and emotional healing, g...

Karena Dawn is joined by Esther Blum, an integrative dietitian and menopause expert with nearly three decades of clinical experience, to break down what perimenopause and menopause actually look like, and why so much of mainstream medicine gets it wrong. Esther explains the real symptoms of perimenopause, how to advocate for hormone replacement therapy at the doctor's office, and the research behi...

Integrative nutritionist, master blood chemistry practitioner, and author Cara Clark joins Karena Dawn to unpack the childhood pattern of performance-based love that shaped her adulthood and the faith-driven journey behind her book. Cara also shares her feel-good food philosophy, her take on protein needs for women over 40, and the daily nervous system practices that keep her grounded as a mother...

In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with Dr. Christine M. Crawford, Chief Medical Officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and board-certified psychiatrist specializing in child and adolescent mental health. From the science behind why deep breathing actually works, to what it means when a teenager stops showing up for their own life, Dr. Crawford brings rare...

Actor, curve model pioneer, and longtime mental health advocate Hayley Hasselhoff joins Karena Dawn for an honest conversation about losing her mother and the year of transformation that followed. Hayley shares how grief reshaped her relationships, her career, and her sense of self, and walks through the personalized mental health toolbox she's relied on since childhood struggles with OCD and anxi...

Darnell Walker is a death doula, children's television writer, and founder of the travel company Passport Required. In this episode, he joins Karena Dawn to talk about how a near-fatal blood clot diagnosis at 22 reshaped how he lives, why he believes you don't have to forgive someone to heal from what they did, the deathbed truth he's witnessed again and again about love and regret, and the 20-pag...

Dr. Michael Greger is a physician, bestselling author of How Not to Die, and founder of nutritionfacts.org. In this episode, he joins Karena to break down the science of longevity — from why poor diet kills more Americans than cigarettes, to the truth about fasting, protein myths, and the three foods that could add years to your life. He also shares surprising research linking meat consumption to...

Stanford grad Melinda Gong is the founder of Sol Health, a teletherapy company offering sessions starting at $30 — five to six times more affordable than private practice. Melinda lost her brother Tony to suicide at nineteen and channeled that grief into one of the most promising mental health startups in the country. In this episode, she joins Karena to talk about the loneliness epidemic, why 57%...

Case Kenny is the host of New Minds on SiriusXM, author of Bold of You: How to Thrive as Your Most Vibrant, Weird and Real Self, and one of the most-shared wellness voices on social media. In this episode, he joins Karena Dawn to talk about how he traded a high-earning ad sales career for a life built on vulnerability and journaling, why mindfulness doesn't have to be mystical, his practical take...

In Episode 200, host Karena Dawn pauses to celebrate five years of The Big Silence and over six million people reached through the podcast's mental health mission. She opens up about growing up with a mother diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, surviving teenage suicidal ideation, and why she built a foundation dedicated to making mental health support accessible to everyone. Karena shares five...

Kathryn Nicolai is the creator of Nothing Much Happens, a bedtime story podcast with over 200 million downloads, a former yoga and meditation studio owner with 20 years of teaching experience, and the author of two books. In this episode, she joins Karena Dawn to explore the real relationship between sleep and mental health, why trying to fall asleep actually makes it harder, the ancient power of...

Best-selling author, keynote speaker, and Golden Gate Bridge suicide attempt survivor Kevin Hines joins Karena Dawn to talk about bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, and the daily practices that keep him mentally well. Kevin opens up about the traumatic childhood that shaped his mental health, the instant regret he felt leaving the bridge rail, the sea lion and Coast Guard boat that saved his lif...

In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn is joined by Heather Askinosie, energy architect, bestselling author of Crystal Muse, and founder of Energy Muse, where she has spent over three decades helping people use crystals and frequency technology to regulate their nervous systems and deepen their alignment. Heather breaks down how frequency devices work, explains the Tesla-inspired 3-6-9-12...

Bestselling author and sought-after relationship coach Stephan Labossiere, also known as Stephan Speaks, joins Karena Dawn for an honest, spiritually grounded conversation on love, dating, and marriage. From decoding red flags to understanding why physical attraction matters more than most people admit, this episode is essential listening for anyone navigating modern relationships: single, dating,...

Dr. Eboni Cornish is the Associate Medical Director at Amen Clinics and president-elect of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), with 16+ years specializing in neuroinflammation, Lyme disease, mold illness, PANS/PANDAS, and long COVID. In this episode, she joins Karena to break down the overlooked root causes driving brain fog, anxiety, poor sleep, and chronic illness — m...

Kelly Rizzo is a food and travel creator, host of the Comfort Food podcast, and founder of the Comfort Club grief community. In this episode, she opens up about losing her husband Bob Saget, rebuilding her identity, and what surprised her most about grief. She and Karena also explore career reinvention at any age, learning to love without fear, and why sharing your story is one of the most powerfu...

In this conversation with Randy Spelling — life coach of 18 years, son of legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, and co-host of the Oldish podcast — Karena explores how growing up with fame and fortune still left him empty. He shares how addiction nearly took his life and how he rebuilt himself through somatic therapy, EMDR, inner child work, and learning to trust his own intuition. You’ll gain pra...

In this conversation with Allie Michelle, poet, spoken word performer, and author of four poetry collections, she and Karena cover the healing power of journaling and radical honesty on the page. They discuss how EMDR therapy rewired her nervous system in just eight sessions, the difference between the Lover and Seeker archetypes, and why fluid identity beats fixed personality systems. Youo’ll hea...

Dr. Steven Storage is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist at Amen Clinics, where brain SPECT imaging is used to diagnose and treat conditions like ADHD at the neurological level. In this episode, he and Karena cover the four pillars of brain health, how social media hijacks your dopamine, why ADHD is both genetic and environmental, the seven subtypes of ADHD, what low dopamine actually fee...

Executive coach and bestselling author Amina AlTai joins Karena to unpack the hidden psychology behind burnout, overachievement, and what she calls the "ambition trap" — the exhausting space between feeling too much and never enough. After her own health crisis brought on by relentless overworking and undiagnosed autoimmune disease, Amina went back to study coaching, nutrition, and mindfulness, an...

In this conversation with Kenny Santucci — personal trainer, entrepreneur, and founder of Strong New York — Karena explores how growing up broke in New Jersey shaped his relentless work ethic, why he lost millions and kept going, and how fitness became his anchor through canceled deals, failed businesses, and a suicidal crisis. Kenny also shares his philosophy on building real community through fi...

In this conversation with Dr. Shefali Tsabary, clinical psychologist and author of The Conscious Parent , Karena explores how unhealed childhood wounds get passed down through generations, why traditional discipline doesn't work, and how the three-step process of awareness, acceptance, and action can help you break toxic patterns — whether you're a parent or not. How do we stop unconsciously passi...