Insights with Us

E64 Out of the Darkness and Into the Light with Nicole Breit

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

E63 Inner Healing with Hannah Davis

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

E62 AMA Interpersonal Dynamics and Emotional Regulation

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

E61 NextTherapist with Stephanie Sonntag

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

E60 The Whole Picture of Health

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

E59 Say Yes to Life with Ginny MacColl

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

E58 Conversations with Pillow Talk Authors

Listen to the journey of four contributors to the bestselling anthology Pillow Talk, noted as a CBC 2026 books-to-read pick. We explore their stories, writing processes, and what’s next for each of them. 
Author 1: Simarbir.
@simar.bookish.dreamer
Author 2: Kate. 
@heskett.kate 
Author 3: Andrea.
@the_world_of_caracopia 
https://caracopia.com/
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheWorldofCaraCopia
https://www.youtube.com/@TheWorldofCaraCopia
Author 4: Dean.
@dees.healing.hands 
https://substack.com/@boyswhobleed 
 
What to expect in this episode:
01:36 Meet Simarbir (Lessons in Loveology)
05:39 Writing Boundaries And Humor
09:59 Erotic Literature Hack
20:52 Shoutout And Brave Stories
25:14 Meet Kate (Pineapples in the Snow)
29:21 Identity And Vulnerability
37:47 Safe Spaces And Community
47:40 Meet Andrea (Sex Education)
52:32 Asexual Validation
56:39 Self Acceptance Shift
01:08:06 Meet Dean (Boyfriend Duties)
01:11:18 Writing Boyfriend Duties
01:18:10 Love In Mess of Being Human
01:28:04 Print vs Audiobook
01:30:14 Love Stories
 

E57 Cycle Sync Your Business with Renae Fieck

Renee, a feminist leadership and cycle syncing coach, joins Insights with Us to discuss her book, Cycle Sync your Business, on how menstrual cycles and hormones affect women’s energy, emotions, productivity, and well-being throughout the month, and how understanding these rhythms can reduce burnout and increase self-permission. 
We discuss aligning exercise and work with cycle phases, using awareness and the process of allowing to listen to the body rather than forcing rigid schedules, and making small intentional choices. Renee reframes menstrual and luteal phases as sources of intuition, vision-setting, insight, and empathy, and emphasizes understanding your individual body and how to work with it. 
You can find Renae:
https://renaefieck.com/
@renaefieck 
 
What you can expect in this episode:
01:37 Book Origins and Burnout
06:35 Cycles and Ebb Flow
13:32 Magic of Allowing
23:43 Awareness and Luteal Reframe
27:10 Menstrual Phase Reframe
29:45 Follicular to Ovulation High
31:13 Luteal Phase Insights
36:07 Cycle Strengths and Burnout
41:29 Business Mission Heck Yes
45:23 Cyclical for Everyone
47:25 Wrap Up and Resources

E56 Long Term Goals: Patience and Purpose

Let’s talk about long-term goals: how to identify them, start them, and endure the frustration of slow progress without giving up. Long-term goals require flexible cycles of progress and rest, and today we talk about what that might look like. This episode ends with a guided thought experiment about what future you are working towards.
 
02:34 Pick Your Goal
04:25 When Motivation Fades
10:09 Rest Without Guilt
15:09 Avoid Short Term Traps
17:33 Guided Thought Experiment

E55 Pillow Talk with Heather Hendrie

Pillow Talk:  Real People. Real Stories. Real Awkward. (an awfully hilarious anthology) is available now! The audiobook is available on February 18th (on sale), get your copy and let’s heal together.
 
In this episode, we explore themes of sex, intimacy, and empowerment while celebrating our shared journey of writing and community building. Heather shares insights into the collaborative process of creating the book, the importance of trauma-informed approaches, and the significance of laughter and vulnerability in storytelling. We also delve into the healing power of self-exploration, connection, and community. Anastasia reflects on the experience of becoming a published author through the project. The episode emphasizes the joy of authentic connections and the therapeutic potential of sharing personal stories.
What is Pillow Talk? It's smashing stigma with story, eighteen writers share frank and funny stories of their intimate experiences—celebrating moments of passion, and laying bare others they’d rather forget. Disappointing and humiliating encounters are interlaced with  instances of joy and self-discovery in a book that validates all manifestations of desire.
 
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
05:12 Discussing 'Pillow Talk' and 'Foreplay'
17:28 Community and Connection
31:22 The Importance of Foreplay
40:06 The Power of the Erotic
44:13 The Importance of Trauma-Informed Approaches
47:35 Building Community and Support
49:41 Upcoming Projects and Initiatives
56:06 The Power of Community and Connection
01:09:33 Final Thoughts and Resources