The Grace of Being

What happens when the world you thought you were living in suddenly stops making sense? When the systems, authorities, and structures you relied on reveal themselves to be built on deception, fear, and control? For many people, that realization is destabilizing — even terrifying. But for my guest this week, Tony Sayers, it became the catalyst for a profound transformation and a commitment to speak...

When your child is struggling in school, it can feel like their entire future is on the line. The story we're sold is terrifying: if they don't get the grades now, they'll end up with nothing later — homeless, living under a bridge in a burnt-out Pinto, as I often joke with my clients. In this episode, I want to gently but firmly challenge that fear-based narrative. I'm talking with someone I know...

Hi friends, Kerry here. In today's episode of The Grace of Being Podcast, I'm riffing on one of the most important questions you can ask yourself: Who the hell do you think you are? This is a question that's come up countless times in my private practice over the years. I've sat with some of the kindest, most accomplished humans you could imagine—people who seem to "have it all together" on paper—...

In this conversation, I sit down with someone whose story has stayed with me long after we stopped recording. Juan Manzer spent 25 years in the military—believing deeply in the mission, the structure, and the purpose behind it all. But when the stories he was told no longer matched what he was witnessing, everything he thought he knew about the world began to unravel. What followed was a profound...

When we talk about healing, we tend to imagine progress - advances in science, better treatments, safer medicine. But what if the origins of psychiatric drugs tell a different story altogether? In this episode of The Grace of Being, I explore the dark and often hidden history of psychiatry's "chemical revolution." From coal tar and petroleum byproducts to the CIA's mind control experiments under M...

What if the "help" you were prescribed at 15 quietly reshaped your brain, your body, and your sense of who you are—for the next 20 years? In this episode of The Grace of Being, Leela Ehrhart shares a raw, courageous account of life on—and off—SSRIs. From vivid nightmares on day one to a years-long, safer taper that ended on November 12, 2020, Leela maps the terrain few are warned about: withdrawal...

What if depression isn't simply a "chemical imbalance," but the body's alarm system signaling that something deeper needs attention? In this episode of The Grace of Being, I continue my series on nutrition and mood—this time focusing on inflammation, sugar, and their impact on mental health. We'll explore how everyday choices—processed foods, hidden toxins, poor sleep, even the products we put on...

What if your hardest days weren't a "chemical imbalance"… but a medication effect no one warned you about? For decades, we've been told that antidepressants correct something broken in the brain. But what if that story is not only incomplete—it's dangerously misleading for many people? What if what you're feeling is withdrawal, not relapse? In this episode of The Grace of Being, Sylvia Huseyin sha...

What if depression and anxiety aren't just "all in your head"? For decades, we've been told that mood disorders come down to a simple chemical imbalance. But what if that story is not only incomplete—it's misleading? What if your brain health has far more to do with what's on your plate than with a prescription bottle? In this episode of The Grace of Being, I'm inviting you into a conversation tha...

What if the "safe" prescription you're given could take everything from you? Twenty-two years ago, Kim Witczak's life changed forever. Her husband Woody—a vibrant, healthy, funny, bigger-than-life man—was prescribed Zoloft for insomnia. Five weeks later, he was gone. No history of depression. No warning signs. Just a prescription that was supposed to "help take the edge off." What followed was Kim...

What if the story you've been told about depression—and the pill that's supposed to fix it—isn't just incomplete, but dangerously misleading? We're looking squarely at a narrative that's been whispered in exam rooms, wrapped in glossy pharmaceutical ads, and repeated so often it feels like truth: that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, and an antidepressant will correct it. It's a story...

What if everything you've been told about your feelings is wrong? For the last 25 years, I've sat in small rooms having big, intimate conversations—about love, loss, fear, joy, and the messy, complicated experience of being human. I've heard people's deepest confessions, their private heartbreaks, and their quiet victories. And I've learned something that I can't keep to myself anymore: We're livi...