Insights with Us

How do I not freak out when things don't go as planned? How do I become more spontaneous? How are you dealing with everything in the world? How do I achieve my dreams? These are the questions explored in today's episode of Insights with Us. Join us, and let's see if we can build insight together on this journey of life. 
 
What to expect in this episode?
00:00 Welcome and Mission
01:28 Q1: How do I not freak out when things don’t go as planned?
03:20 Three Cs Regulation
07:26 Q2: How do I become more spontaneous?
09:21 Hexaflex Breakdown
16:10 Building Flexible Plans
21:02 Q3: How are you dealing with everything in the world?
30:43 Q4: How do I achieve my dreams?

Dr. Damijey is here to remind us that we are not alone. As board-certified endocrinologist, Dr. Damijey is on a mission to explain endocrinology and help us understand our options and how to advocate for ourselves. Dr. Dami emphasizes women’s health topics including PCOS (note: it has been renamed PMOS since our recording), menopause, osteoporosis, thyroid, and metabolic issues. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing symptoms, seeking second opinions, and finding clinicians who listen.
 
Follow her @hormoneswithdrdamijey 
 
What to expect in this episode:
01:51 What Endocrinologists Do
09:23 Work Life Balance
11:21 Why Womens Health Matters
20:30 Fighting For The Right Doctor
25:40 Making Science Understandable
31:44 Osteoporosis Prevention Basics
38:58 Fueling and Blood Sugar
45:36 Holistic Mind Body Balance
46:33 Speak Up and Free Guides

Our guest today is Sophia McGovern: a mother writer, editor, and founder of Little Somethings Press, a Tempe-based handmade press that has produced about 1,000 books over seven years and published about 200 contributors worldwide. She shares fears about losing her creative identity during pregnancy, her postpartum experience, and how creating and writing helped her process her experience and reconnect with herself. Sophia discusses an “ecosystem” of mothers, shifting cultural support for mother artists, and what it means to heal shame and stay authentic. 
 
@littlesomethingspress on Instagram
littlesomethingspress.com
 
What to expect in this episode:
01:18 Meet Sophia And Little Somethings Press
08:27 Pregnancy Fears And Identity
16:55 Birth Story And Family Healing
20:15 Postpartum Reality And Love
28:10 Creativity After Baby Arrives
33:42 Ecosystem Of Mothers
40:23 Mother Artists Rising
50:22 The Challenges of Pregnancy and Parenthood
58:04 Pillow Talk and Healing Through Humor

AMA: Boundaries,, Depth, and Self-Love in Relationships
 
Another AMA, and I love it! Today, Anastasia answers fan-questions about effort and healing in relationships, boundaries, and love. We use metaphors, talk philosophy, and get messy and complicated as we explore the human experience. These answers are contextual and not a substitute for therapy. 
 
What to expect in this episode:
00:00 Welcome
02:19 Q1: Now that I’m setting boundaries, I’m feeling lonely. What happened? 
08:39 Actions Over Words
11:40 Q2: I feel really guilty when I set boundaries, how do I stop this? 
12:02 How to navigate guilt
18:47 Q3: I want a deep and meaningful relationship, and no one can meet me there, am I alone in this?
23:17 Healing Depth Metaphors
28:53 Growing Together
32:05 Q4: Do I need to love myself before I can let someone else love me?
39:21 Gottman Effort Insight
41:19 Wrap Up

Nicole Breit, an award-winning essayist and story work coach, joins our adventure! Nicole shares the vulnerability behind doing the work and how she utilizes short-form memoir and non-fiction as a playful, identity-shaping way to process emotions, heal, and gain distance from intense experiences. Her own healing journey influenced her desire to support others, and helped her embrace her authentic, queer self.
Nicole founded the Revolution Story Lab, a community-supported, nervous-system-aware space for writers who want to heal. You can find more details here or sign up here.
 
Find Nicole:
https://nicolebreit.com/
On Instagram and Substack: @the.nicole.breit
 
What to expect in this episode:
01:39 Meet Nicole
03:50 Writing as Transformation
08:18 Distance Through Story
12:01 Teen Trauma and Grief
22:53 Therapy as Witnessing
25:06 Pillow Talk: Tuning Guitars and Wet Kisses
33:59 Revolution Story Lab
38:18 Nicole’s Latest Memoir
45:20 Heartbreak and Snake Season
51:39 Sharing Light Through Stories
58:33 Where To Find Nicole

Today’s episode features Hannah Davis, a fellow Pillow Talk contributor and author of an upcoming memoir, Sugar Hit. Hannah shares how she decided to face her internal pain, accepted her true self, and did a complete 180 in her life. Hannah opens up about her drug use, building inner safety, and how to navigate feeling stuck. Together, we explore the collective courage in sharing vulnerable stories.
 
What you’ll find in this episode:
01:48 Meet Hannah Davis
06:54 Sugar Hit Memoir
11:13 IFS Healing and Safety
25:06 Quitting Alcohol and Drugs
31:20 Identity Shifts and Fear
41:16 Starting Over After Leaving
58:25 Publishing And Courage
01:02:13 You Are Never Stuck

Insights with Us has its first AMA! The theme of this AMA: regulation and interpersonal dynamics. We talk about the window of tolerance, the emotional backpack, and attachment styles if they were buckets waiting for love. 
 
If you have any questions you’d like answered in a future AMA, send questions to:
insightswithus@gmail.com
OR
@insightswithuspodcast 
 
01:15 Q1: Do therapists care about their clients?
 
04:44 Q2: How can you repair with yourself when the person you’re in conflict with isn’t interested?
05:34 Window Of Tolerance
09:01 Acceptance And Perspective
13:52 Meaning Making And Grief
 
19:34 Q3: How do I change the way I regulate my nervous system?
24:15 Emotional Backpack Metaphor
26:34 Building Regulation Skills
 
37:35 Q4: Can you explain attachment styles to me?
41:00 Four Attachment Categories
43:16 Secure Attachment
44:43 Preoccupied Anxious
46:15 Dismissive Avoidant
47:33 Disorganized
54:22 Reassurance Heals
01:02:24 Repair After Ruptures

Stephanie Sonntag, chief therapist and co-founder of NextTherapist joins Insights with Us! NextTherapist is a platform created to address the challenge of getting therapeutic support when you need it, instead of waiting weeks for a potential fit. Stephanie shares her journey of uncertainty and trying several different paths including journalism, non-profit work, mental health work and advocacy, before settling into EMDR and being a business owner with the drive to help others.  We emphasize the importance of therapist-client fit, the realities of entrepreneurship, and the value of authenticity and acknowledging ongoing anxiety and struggle.
 
Check it out:
https://nexttherapist.com/
@nexttherapist
 
What to expect in this episode:
00:16 Meet Stephanie and Next Therapist
04:19 Stephanie’s Winding Career Path
11:58 Becoming a Therapist and the Myth of Having It Together
20:48 Private Practice and Burnout
22:39 The Idea Behind Next Therapist
27:23 Why Fit Matters
34:09 How Next Therapist Works
42:05 Building The Platform
49:01 Big Dreams
53:25 Authenticity And Being Human

How can you follow your dreams while honoring your limits? I want to share with you my journey of learning about my body, my chronic pain, and the decades it took to start understanding my rhythm.
I had to grieve the life I thought I would have, shifting from “pushing through” to listening to my body, setting boundaries, and experimenting with new ways of showing up including: cycle-based tracking, flexibility with my routine and workouts, and having curiosity for what my body tells me.
 
I end with reflective questions encouraging you to zoom out, notice patterns, trust your experience, and set yourself up for success. 
 
01:46 Dreams vs Capacity
05:00 Pain Since Childhood
08:50 College Burnout Coping
10:48 TMJ Diagnosis Breakthrough
15:21 Acceptance and Boundaries
18:41 Tiny Goals and Self Compassion
21:29 Cycles and Fitness
31:51 Chronic Pain and EDS Clues
37:16 Zoom Out Reflection Questions

This episode of Insights with Us features Ginny MacColl, Guinness World Record holder as the oldest female ninja competitor, former Broadway dancer in Pippin (1974–76), commercial actor, and mother of two incredible children, including Ninja Warrior Jesse Graff. In this episode, Ginny shares what it’s like performing under pressure and the mental strategies she uses on American Ninja Warrior. Ginny advocates for strength training and resistance work for mobility and bone-loss prevention, discussing osteopenia, menopause-related bone density loss, and the value of proper form and trainers. She discusses the joys of life after 60, finding fun in new adventures, and her dreams for the next few decades.
 
You can find her on instagram: @ginnymaccoll 
 
What to expect in this episode:
00:16 Meet Ginny MacColl
01:48 A Joyful Memory
06:29 Broadway to Commercials
09:42 Nerves and Ninja Mindset
17:33 Aging Strong and Saying Yes
29:07 New Goals
35:34 Returning to Acting
43:45 Osteopenia Wake Up Call
47:15 Strength Is Ageless
52:46 Daily Goals and Micro Habits
01:02:15 Resilience Through Hard Seasons
01:05:13 Conclusions