“Our mental health is a cumulative product of the story of the body.” Why do mental and physical health concerns seem to go hand in hand? At which levels can and should we intervene and develop more agency in our whole health trajectory? Too many people are getting more sick with traditional interventions, but many are taking their power back and finding ways that basic and sustainable changes can change our outcomes. In this episode, I share personal and professional lessons in healing from over a dozen chronic conditions (celiac, depression, IBS, Lyme, anemia, schizophrenia, PMDD, etc.), revealing how they were all connected and how I came to understand the importance of sustainable changes. I am not here to offer a “magic pill” kind of story, but rather to reveal and embrace the complexity of healing and offer a different framework for understanding mind-body health.

In this episode we discuss:

• chronic illness and mental health overlap
• early cascades of symptoms that lead to chronic health crises
• surprising roots causes no one ever told me about
• why getting diagnosed is not enough to determine interventions
• interpreting the body’s messages
• why western world has worse rates of chronic illness and mental health concerns
• determining the most basic and sustainable interventions

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠

Links

• chronic illness rates : https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletter-article/study-chronic-disease-increased-25-percent-over-last-decade
• global chronic disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6214883/
• c section and swabbing : https://www.science.org/content/article/swabbing-c-section-babies-mom-s-microbes-can-restore-healthy-bacteria
• effects of overuse of antibiotics: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4939477/
• pans and step bacteria: https://www.psych.theclinics.com/article/S0193-953X(22)00101-0/abstract

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

“A new order will emerge from within the chaos” - Sara Avant Stover

Being human means experiencing loss. If we let it, these moments can propel us towards a deeper, richer inner journey. In this episode of the Depth Work podcast, Sarah Avant Stover shares her profound experiences through many circumstances of grief and heartbreak, detailing the events that led her to write her latest book. She discusses the unique nature of betrayal trauma, the transformative power of grief, and the significance of ritual and communal support in healing. Her exploration into Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and its impact on her is also highlighted. In fact, she was generous enough to demonstrate an IFS session in real time with yours truly

00:06 Sara’s story 02:13 Betrayal Trauma and Its Unique Challenges 04:14 The Transformative Power of Grief 12:16 Navigating the Early + Later Stages of Grief 14:51 Collective Grief and Community Healing 19:48 The Role of Rituals in Healing 25:20 Exploring Internal Family Systems (IFS) 32:29 Demonstrating a session - Jazmine’s parts 48:35 Understanding Inner Child Dynamics

Bio

Sara Avant Stover is an author, Certified Internal Family Systems practitioner, and teacher and mentor of women’s spirituality and entrepreneurship. Her work—integrating Buddhism, embodiment, and psychology—has uplifted the lives of countless women worldwide. She has taught at Kripalu, 1440 Multiversity, and Shambhala Mountain Center and has been featured in Yoga Journal, HuffPost, Newsweek, Natural Health, and more. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. For more, visit saraavantstover.com.

Links

• Handbook for the Heartbroken: A Woman's Path from Devastation to Rebirth By Sara Avant Stover https://www.soundstrue.com/products/handbook-for-the-heartbroken?variant=43436021809351
• Website https://saraavantstover.com/about
• Programs: https://saraavantstover.com/offerings
• Podcast: https://saraavantstover.com/podcast/

Resources Mentioned

• Jody Day https://gateway-women.com/
• Sobonfu Some https://www.sobonfu.com/
• Daniel Foor https://ancestralmedicine.org/bio/

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

https://depthwork.substack.com/

Its becoming more well known that gut health impacts mental health, but with the rise of ‘wellness culture’ how do we separate fact from fiction? Dr. Supriya Rao of Gutsy Girl MD bridges the gap between medicine and lifestyle to give patients simple and effective support for gut health, motility, and nutrition. We talk about the topics patients are often too embarrassed to discuss (elimination!), what trauma has to do with the gut, and the things we can do each day to support ourselves.

In this episode we discuss:

• how gut health is linked to mental health
• the enteric nervous system and trauma
• why it’s important to screen for sexual abuse
• motility and issues with constipation and diarrhea
• simple effective nutrition tips
• 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine
• dispelling wellness myths

Bio

Dr. Supriya Rao (she/her) is a quadruple board-certified physician in internal medicine, gastroenterology, obesity medicine and lifestyle medicine who focuses on digestive disorders, gut health, obesity medicine, and women's health and wellness. She received her undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after which she graduated from Duke University School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine from the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to complete her fellowship in Gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center. She joined Integrated Gastroenterology Consultants in 2014 and is now a managing partner. She completed further certification in obesity and lifestyle medicine and is the Director of Medical Weight Loss at Lowell General Hospital and runs the Metabolic & Lifestyle Medicine Program at IGIC. She also runs the motility program, which focuses on disorders of the esophagus, irritable bowel syndrome and anorectal disorders. She is passionate about empowering people to improve their health through sustainable changes in their lifestyle. She enjoys cooking, traveling, running, yoga and spending time with family and friends. You can also find Dr. Rao on Instagram @gutsygirlmd.

Links

https://www.gutsygirlmd.com/

Sessions & Information about the host:

Get bonus episodes now on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/

⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Millions of people are put on psychiatric drugs each year. For some, these drugs are desired and effective, but for many, whether taken willingly or by force, they create multiple harmful side effects, long-term health complications, and are incredibly challenging to taper off of. Users of psychiatric drugs also rarely find professional or even peer support for tapering off due to the stigma and discrimination and a false narrative that implies users must remain on them for life. Chaya Grossberg, psychiatric survivor and ally, has supported people for over 15 years in finding alternatives and maintaining their agency, a role that is much needed. After becoming ill and nearly dying from the multiple psychiatric drugs she was prescribed, she decided to slowly taper off with support from the Freedom Center (a peer support organization) and heal the damage done to her body. Now, an activist, community organizer and writer of her book: “Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs”, Chaya shares her wisdom.

In this episode we discuss:

• what it was like to take 7 different psychiatric medications
• how to change and reclaim your narrative
• crisis as a retrieval of life purpose
• what we want young people to know today
• how pharmaceutical companies use non-profits and peer organization to perpetuate propaganda
• why nutrition matters when coming off psych meds
• case studies of successful tapering off
• withdrawal symptoms and the false narratives told about them
• the risk of SI due to being on or coming off psych meds
• taking a basic needs framework

Bio

Author Chaya Grossberg discusses her book Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs about what people go through coming off psychiatric drugs and what helps them. Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs is a manual and workbook for psychiatric survivors and their allies, friends and families. Chaya is not a medical practitioner, does not give medical advice, and supports the autonomy of each individual to make their own decisions on when or whether to come off psychiatric drugs. She advocates for increased options, support and safe spaces for people seeking alternatives to psychiatric drugs.

website: http://www.chayagrossberg.com

Book: Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs: First edition

Resources

the freedom center - https://www.freedom-center.willhall.net/node/463.html

Links

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠

Institute for the Development of Human Arts (mental health training institute) - www.IDHA-NYC.org

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

"When someone says that they want to end their life, it just means that they don't want to be living the life that they're living" (Icarus Project). It’s overwhelmingly common for people to experience a suicidal ideation at some point in their life. As a society, we have to find better ways of preventing or approaching these experiences. Currently, our traditional psychiatric approaches seem to often do more harm than good for folks in vulnerable states. In this episode, I review some of the concerning research around SI interventions, and what we can do better.

In this episode we discuss:

• myths about folks who experience SI
• why structured clinical assessments aren’t predictive of SA
• what traditional mental health systems get wrong about approaching SI
• why there are higher rates of SA after psychiatric hospitalization
• research on efficacy of emergency services
• alternative options when someone’s experiencing SI

Resources

• Institute for the Development of Human Arts : www.idha-nyc.org
• peer run respite centers: https://power2u.org/directory-of-peer-respites/
• Alt 2 Su (australia): https://alt2su-nsw.net/support-groups/
• Alt 2 Su charter https://wildfloweralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CHARTER_alt2su_August-edits.pdf

Research:

• safety contracts https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18638213/
• assessments and lack of predictive power https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673-022-10189-5
• post-hospitalization suicide risk https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2629522
• higher risk post emergency services https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-014-0912-2
• coercion survey https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31162700/
• harm disguised as help https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/09/suicide-police-harm-disguised-as-help/
• hospitalization both increased and decreased risk https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37851457/

Sessions & Information about the host:

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠

⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

“When medical doctors or psychiatrists entertain incoherent ideas about the mind and body, they make bad decisions about how to assist us in being well.” - Diane O’Leary. Understanding how the mind and body are connected in mental health and medicine is critical, especially considering that when we fail to do so, many are harmed. Despite drawing on the Biopsychosocial model for the last few decades, psychiatry hasn’t gotten much closer to elucidating the connections between the mind, body, and society. Today, Diane O’Leary explains to us psychiatry’s big philosophy problem and how it leads to huge ethical concerns. In an effort to ‘not be dualists’ psychiatry often tries to lump the mental and physical together, but in doing so, fails to approach clients as ‘holists’. Here’s how we can bring the person back into mental health.

In this episode we discuss:

• why medically unexplained physiological symptoms get labeled as ‘in your head’
• why the way to be a ‘holist’ is not about eradicating dualism or separating mind and body
• why the biopsychosocial model is incoherent and doesn’t do justice to patients
• the roots of bad philosophy in psychiatry
• women’s health and the history of manipulation in psychosomatic medicine
• why psychiatry needs to reevaluate its bioethics and respect patients’ rights and personhood

Bio

Diane O’Leary, PhD is a philosopher whose research focuses on medicine and psychiatry. In particular, she sets out to apply philosophy of mind in a way that helps to clarify what biomedicine and psychiatry are aiming for with holistic practice – and what they should be aiming for. Dr. O’Leary is Professor of Philosophy at University of Maryland Global Campus, and a former visiting researcher at the Center for Philosophy of Science at University of Pittsburgh. She’s a strong advocate for change in the area of psychosomatic medicine, and she’s currently a Public Voices Fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with The Oped Project and Equality Now.

https://www.dianeoleary.com/

Links:

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: www.idha-nyc.org

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠

Resources

• How to be a Holist who Rejects the Biopsychosocial Model https://eujap.uniri.hr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/17_2_5.pdf
• John Read on the “Bio bio bio model” https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=fc53f77bec3514fe6c66f9216be662a89b78fa27
• Prozac’s rebrand for PMDD to Serafim - https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/29/renamed-prozac-fuels-womens-health-debate/b05311b4-514a-4e65-aaa5-434cb2934271/ & https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2016/11/how-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-was-defined-and-marketed-drug-makers/#:~:text=Lilly rebranded Prozac%2C changing the,feminine-sounding name — Sarafem.

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Sometimes it takes a healing crisis to get to the roots of chronic illness and transform our life into something more sustainable and purposeful. For Fern Olivia, this crisis manifested as an autoimmune thyroid problem - Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis - that forced her to quit her corporate job and led her down a healing path. Since then, she has developed Thyroid Yoga, along with other breath, movement, and vocal practices to support people who desire a more holistic way of dealing with whole-body health concerns.

In this episode we discuss:

• the connections between the thyroid, hormones, and depression
• why hypothyroidism is more prevalent in women and diagnostically overshadowed
• messages from the body and why we ignore or normalize symptoms
• the function of the thyroid, physically and energetically
• the value of mentorship and community support
• learning to not be antagonistic with the body
• body talk practice and how to deeply listen
• blending yogic traditions and holistic nutrition
• using your voice to find your power

Bio

Fern Olivia is an internationally recognized teacher, speaker, and wellness influencer, as well as the founder of Thyroid Yoga®, a unique holistic program that has empowered thousands of women to reclaim their thyroid health and live a fuller, more radiant life. After fainting in the subway in NYC while working for seven years as a Vice President on Wall Street, she left the concrete jungle for the jungle of Costa Rica where she lives and guides retreats. Fern has birthed a new approach to healing through her own education in biomedical engineering and over a decade of experience and certifications in yoga, integrative medicine, breathwork and as a Medical Medium cleanse specialist. She combines targeted yoga sequences, breathwork, vocal activation, somatic intelligence, and brain rewiring to form a whole body approach to health. Through her masterminds, writings, retreats, workshops, and much more, Fern continues to educate and train thousands of women to reclaim their health and live their most fully expressed lives.

Fern's "The Expressed Woman" 21-Day Quest to Confidence:

www.thyroid.yoga/products/theexpressedwoman

Join Fern's Medical Medium & Thyroid Yoga® Cleanse Retreat in Upstate NY this July 10-14: www.thyroid.yoga/products/upstateny

Retreats and Cleanses in Costa Rica: www.thyroid.yoga/cleanseretreat

Websites:

www.fernolivia.com

www.thyroid.yoga

https://embodiedvoicebreathwork.com

Instagram: @fernolivia

Research:

Epstein Barr Virus a possible cause for Autoimmune Thyroid conditions:

1. https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/epstein-barr-virus-thyroid
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5099387/

Thyroid Conditions and Increased Risk of Depression

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9392461/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9025086/

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.