Reminisce with me as I share clips of some of my favorite past episodes - You'll hear from a resilience expert, a doctor who treats phobia and combat trauma with virtual reality. Then we have some personal stories revisited - mine included. I share a clip from the time I let Dr Johnathan Singer interview me about the loss of my brother to suicide, I talk with real life Humpty Dumpty, Ret Fire Chief Matt Shobert, who's body was put back together after a freak accident on the job, but is now living with, and educating others about the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress among fire fighters. Then there's financial expert, CFP Jeff Motske who helps us understand how couples can find ways to be more financially compatible. Want to hear how to crush your ADD to live a life with more purpose and productivity? Want to be a Black Belt Husband? This is the place! And finally, I give you an update on my life with my special needs sister, Suzy - how her life has changed, how my life has changed because of her, and an announcement regarding a new project. 2020 has been, at the very least, tumultuous, but for most, it has been a violent storm of chaos. I hope you find some solace in some of the lessons, tips and life stories that Coaching Through Chaos brings to you.
Let's face it, 2020 has been like the toxic, chaotic boyfriend who won't go away. I wish I had the definitive answer for how to get him out of all of our lives, but I don't. What I do have, however, is a collection of podcast episodes I've been creating over the last 5 years to help you learn ways to conquer the chaos in your life. So, since chaotic 2020 needs some extra resources to get conquered, I've put together a sampling of some of my favorite episodes for you.
There are so many resources right here for you:
Becoming more Resilient: Christian Moore is a guy who learned how to overcome a learning deficiency, low self-esteem, and hopelessness about the future to now teach both adults and kids about how to be resilient. Christian was raised on the streets with little guidance. The love of a neighbor helped him conquer his childhood demons. His book, The Resilience Breakthrough, can be found on the CTC Bookshelf, and his program, "Why Try?" is implemented in over 12,000 organizations across the US and Canada. Listen to what he has to say about the pow er of resiliency.
Virtual Reality Treatment for Phobias and Combat Trauma: The Virtual Reality Medical Center is equipped to help you overcome your every fear, utilizing virtual reality techniques. They even work with the military personnel, both pre & Post deployment to help decrease the incidences of long-term problems from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Financial Compatibility for Couples: Jeff Motske, a Certified Financial Planner and CEO/President of Trilogy Financial has been helping couples explore their relationship with finances for decades now. His book, Financial Compatibility for Couples explores how couples can assess, talk and plan about their financial future, even when big discrepancies lie in personal viewpoints on the subject. Hear what Jeff has to say about what a couple needs to do if one is a spender and one is more frugal. (get the book and take the compatibility quiz right here!).
Suicide Prevention with Dr. Jonathan Singer: A few years ago, I met Dr. Singer at the Podcast Movement conference for podcasters. Dr. Singer has been hosting the Social Work Podcast for about a decade, but he is also one of the leading experts in suicidology in the US. I had him on the show for a couple of reasons. One was to talk about how to recognize suicidal behavior in children. The other reason was to help me share my experience as a survivor of a sibling suicide. I have rarely talked publicly about my experience with my brother's depression, so I asked Dr. Singer if he could help me tell the story. This episode is full of so much necessary information if you or a loved one struggles with suicidal thoughts. Sharing this episode could help save someone's life. Check out Dr. Singer's book, Suicide in Schools.
Post Traumatic Recovery: If you follow me on Facebook, then this next guest probably wont be a surprise as I think I have this episode with my conversation with Ret Fire Chief, Matt Shobert, 100x more than others just because it's tough to find another person who has lived through what he has. He's a real life Super Hero to himself when his accident happened, but also now to other fire fighters as he tries to advocate for better mental health, and specifically, PTSD awareness among his fire fighter brotherhood. Follow Matt & his trusty sidekick, Butters the PTSD Firedog on Facebook.
*Here's a link to a video where you can also hear from Matt's wife, Tami, to hear a bit about her experience through this traumatic event and the aftermath.
Before we get into my Life with Suzy update, I want to also give a quick shout out to my friend, and ADD Crusher, Alan Brown. Alan is the Mess to Success Entrepreneur who now helps others embrace their Attention Deficit traits in order to live productive and purposeful lives.
Another quick shout out to my therapist colleague, Quintin Hafner. Quintin took his onw life experience, coupled with his MFT training AND his jiu-jitso training to write the marriage handbook for men, The Black Belt Husband. I love how Quintin found a new way to introduce relationship skills training to men. I found this book very helpful and I'm sure you will too. '
Ok - finally, last but not least, there is the Suzy update. My original episodes I posted about Suzy, "My New York Story" and "The Suzy Chronicles", are still my top 2 most listened-to episodes. Im thinking you'll be interested in a Suzy update. Well, Suzy is doing amazing!!!! I share with you about all the great things she is doing and learning at The Meetingplace Clubhouse, her 85lb weight loss and subsequent surgery to help her be even more healthy post weight loss. I also tell you about some of the struggles with the system we are involved with: Medi-Cal Insurance fails as well as random Social Security attempts at 30 year old overpayments. Our situation is unique, yes, in that I am her parent, sister, caretaker, financial support, but we know others are out there in similar situations. That's why we decided to launch a new podcast, My Life with Suzy. When I say "we", it will primarily be me , telling the stories of our life, but Suzy is there by consent and occasionally to share her own perspective. I think it will be cathartic for me as well as I hope to help others feel less alone in their unique situation. If you want to follow along with us, just check my IG towards the end of January for the announcement.
If you've been enjoying the Coaching Through Chaos Podcast, there's a few ways you can support the show: