We are wired to be dependent, to connect, to love, and to feel a sense of belonging.

Phyllis Leavitt is a podcaster, author, and psychotherapist for over three decades. In her book, America in Therapy: A New Approach to Hope and Healing for a Nation in Crisis, she discusses in-depth how abusive family dynamics are playing out in America, especially in politics, and how we can use the best of what we have learned from psychology, Family Systems, and Family Therapy to interrupt the escalating cycle of hatred, divisiveness, and violence, and begin to heal the family of America.

Phyllis Leavitt shares her experience and focuses on healing relationships, both with ourselves and with others. She advocates for applying this within larger institutions to bridge divides, build empathy, and foster understanding. Her approach involves taking personal responsibility, making necessary changes within ourselves, and building deep connections rather than blaming others, which we usually do.

To reconnect with that beautiful person that we were born to be, that innocent baby, people need to heal. When people heal and find that inner essence, and connect to it, they have a source of love and understanding that they bring into the world around them. Healing on an individual level is deeply connected to the broader societal context and the only way to make this world a better place is to start from ourselves.

Love and connection, among many other positive things, are essential for human well-being. When we lack these, we feel unwell.

Notes:
🔗 Unhealed trauma, models, and values of the people we grow up with—all the groups that affect family dynamics and us. 02:05
🤔 Healing her trauma helped Phyllis realize that people don’t understand what is going on with them. 05:19
⭐ The more we heal individually, the more we bring love and attention to the people around us and to society. 10:41
2️⃣ Learned helplessness and identifying with the aggressors are two patterns that we are experiencing as a society. 12:42
⚠️ The stigma around needing another human being for help is specifically tied to mental health: we all need love and support. 18:18
🤯 Adopting trauma to survive and not knowing how to move from the behavioral patterns. 22:03
🔁 Attraction to the familiar: abuse creates a feeling of disliking dependency. 25:32
🌺 Allow yourself to get help and depend on help to heal: the power of random kindness and the ripple effect of our behavior. 28:18

Links:

Website: www.phyllisleavitt.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/phyllis-leavitt-630179255

Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1636983367

We are not broken, we just need help to understand ourselves.

Jennifer Dawn is an expert business coach, creator of Best Planner Ever, author and podcaster. She very openly shares her story that started with a mix of trauma but also entrepreneurial creativity. Her childhood wounds affected her life, relationships and business. Jennifer discusses her experiences with trauma and abuse. Therapy helped her recognize and address these issues, leading to personal growth and healing. Her reason for going into therapy may seem a bit different, but it worked perfectly for her.

We are all coping. We all feel pain inside, but most of us push it deep down and try to walk through life like nothing happened. However, the pain often shows up in things that are not always obviously connected with the pain and trauma. It’s unfortunate that getting therapy is stigmatized, as it is essential to healing our self talk, discomfort, and worries. Our mental health impacts various aspects of life, including things like business planning and organization skills. When we heal, we get new perspectives, new impacts in business and in life. Ultimately, a new us.

Notes:
👩‍💼 Jennifer is a business coach who organized a retreat in Costa Rica, where Bonnie had an amazing experience. 01:55
😇 Personal development and mental health journey: Jennifer is advocating and talks very openly about her personal and mental challenges. 03:34
👧 Childhood trauma impacted Jennifer’s relationships: therapy helped her in fixing her issues, but the reason she went on it is a bit different than usual ones. 05:13
💣 Pressing bad things and trauma in: trauma gets out in harsh, fighting reactions to small things. 11:16
😥 Pushing through as coping mechanism: relationships showed something is not working well for Jennifer. 15:17
⚠️ Childhood wounds are real: not all got abused, but we just don’t admit we have pain inside. 17:03
🆚 Misunderstanding around anxiety: healing vs diagnosis. 18:20
🍀 Therapy changed Jennifer’s business as well: emotional intelligence show up in our actions. 21:17
💭 The thoughts you tell yourself are very important to recognize and admit. 23:37
🤩 Find the right therapist and have intention to heal: don’t give up if you have bad experiences here and there. 26:03
🔑 Transformation Bonnie shares: being open is the key for all epiphanies in life.
🌹 When you heal, everything changes around you: new perspectives, relationships and new you. 32:26
🏖️ Retreats, coaching and all Jennifer is working on. 33:36

Links:

Website: https://jenniferdawncoaching.com/

Retreats: https://jenniferdawncoaching.com/our-retreats/

Follow Dr. Bonnie Wims:www.linkedin.com/in/drbonniewims

Book a free call with Dr. Bonnie Wims:calendly.com/bonnie-96

Self-care and boundaries are ever-evolving, just as our identity evolves!

Olivia Verhulst is a psychotherapist, adjunct professor, Forbes Health Advisor and She Leads LIVE conference speaker. With a strong focus on self-care and boundaries, Olivia believes it is important to allow ourselves to have needs and address them. Self-care is a deep-rooted sense of what it is to care for ourselves, and we need to allow ourselves to make decisions that align with nourishing self-preservation boundaries.

Olivia teaches that while boundaries can sometimes be scary to implement, they are, in fact, what keeps us close to others. Setting boundaries in our lives allows us to place limits in our relationships and to create a space within which we can show up genuinely and authentically without running the risk of overextending ourselves.

Be willing to hear what it is that you are telling yourself, and then show up for yourself!

Notes:
🎤 Olivia met Bonnie at the She Leads LIVE 2023 conference, where she gave a speech about self-care. 3:07
⚠️ Self-care is really about the purpose and context, not Spa trips and massages. 4:47
👉 The desire to constantly try to be perfect comes from a sense of inadequacy. 07:08
🤔 Boundaries are scary for many, but they're the thing that keeps us close to others. 10:06
👀 Resentment can inform us about what's going on inside of us. 13:15
🫂 Intimacy involves being truly seen and known by another. 18:21
🗣️ People are not mind readers: when we communicate with them, we name our limits in relationships. 21:22
🌸 Our identity is ever-evolving, and thus, so are our boundaries. 26:40
😇 Being willing to hear what you're telling yourself: permitting yourself to be a needy human. 29:39

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-verhulst-34098b136/

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/mary-olivia-verhulst-new-york-ny/1003416