Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads

What happens after you survive something that should have killed you? In Part 2, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles continue their conversation with John Carter about waking from a coma, living with permanent injuries, maintaining long-term sobriety, choosing forgiveness, staying grateful, and turning a brutal past into a life of purpose.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Never give up. You are much stronger than you think.” — John Carter Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about gun violence, addiction, overdose, incarceration, depression, disability, and loss. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs immediate emotional support in the United States, call or text 988 or visit:
https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the U.S.:
https://findahelpline.com/

Episode Description In Part 2 of John Carter’s story, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles go deeper into the moments that shaped the man he is today—and the mindset that keeps him moving forward.

John describes the vivid dream he experienced while unconscious after being shot in the head. In the dream, he was repeatedly challenged to swim a race he could not win until an unknown older man appeared, coached him, and refused to let him quit. John eventually won the race—and woke up. To him, that mysterious coach represented a higher power delivering a message that would follow him for the rest of his life: keep going.

The conversation explores the long road of physical recovery, John’s decision not to carry hatred toward the man who shot him, and why he sees accountability differently after surviving the consequences of his own choices.

John also talks about maintaining sobriety by refusing to forget how bad addiction became. Today, storytelling, speaking at recovery centers, mentoring younger people, training clients, supporting Mobility Danes of New England, and being present for his children and grandchildren all help keep him connected to his purpose.

He is candid about one challenge that remains difficult: accepting changes in his mobility. But instead of pretending those feelings don't exist, John keeps returning to gratitude.

His message is beautifully simple: never give up, accept help when it comes, and remember that you may be stronger than adversity has allowed you to believe.

Keywords: John Carter, trauma recovery, long-term sobriety, addiction recovery, forgiveness, gratitude, resilience, mental health recovery, overcoming adversity, purpose after trauma, disability awareness, personal growth, second chances, recovery motivation, never give up

Meet Our Guest — John Carter John Carter is a personal trainer, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, author, and owner of Titanium Health and Fitness in Boston. After surviving a near-fatal gunshot, addiction, incarceration, disability, and profound loss, John rebuilt his life and now uses his experience to help others through fitness, speaking, recovery advocacy, mentorship, and service.

His first book, Triggered to Change, documents a life he describes as having contained “a hundred lives”—and the second chances that made his current one possible.

• Website: https://www.johncarterauthor.com/
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Triggered-Change-Life-Full-Turbulence/dp/B0DWLVRWW5
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnessbycarter
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@turbulencebook
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turbulencebook_/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-carter-b29a0a337/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@titaniumfitnessbr?_t=ZP-8wcklttkhhe&_r=1

Key Takeaways

• Long-term recovery requires remembering where addiction can take you—not romanticizing where you came from.
• Forgiveness can mean recognizing your own choices without carrying hatred for someone else.
• Purpose often grows when we turn painful experiences into something that can help another person.
• Accepting help can be every bit as important as having the strength to keep fighting.
• Gratitude does not erase difficulty; it changes what you choose to focus on inside it.
• Being present for the people you love can become one of the strongest reasons to protect your recovery.

Actionable Items

• Write down the reality of a difficult period you never want to return to. Keep it somewhere you can revisit when your memory starts softening the hard edges.
• Identify one way your lived experience could help someone else—even if it is simply having an honest conversation.
• When adversity hits, replace “I can’t do this” with one smaller question: “What is the next thing I can do without giving up?”

References Mentioned

• John Carter’s website:  https://www.johncarterauthor.com/
• John Carter’s memoir, Triggered to Change:  https://www.amazon.com/Triggered-Change-Life-Full-Turbulence/dp/B0DWLVRWW5
• John Carter’s TEDx talk is available through his website:  https://www.johncarterauthor.com/
• Mobility Danes of New England:  https://www.mobilitydanesofnewengland.com/
• Books for Prison: https://prisonbookprogram.org/

Important Chapters

• 00:00:53 — What Happened After John Was Shot
• 00:01:30 — The Dream John Remembers From His Coma
• 00:04:18 — Waking Up Unable to Move or Speak
• 00:05:19 — Physical Recovery and Aqua Therapy
• 00:06:43 — What Happened to the Man Who Shot John
• 00:07:23 — Choosing Accountability Over Resentment
• 00:09:03 — John’s Documentary and What Comes Next
• 00:10:20 — Getting His Book Into Prisons
• 00:11:25 — How John Maintains His Sobriety
• 00:12:27 — Being Present for His Family
• 00:14:37 — Accepting Changes in His Mobility
• 00:18:00 — Fatherhood After Prison
• 00:19:23 — What John Would Tell His Younger Self
• 00:22:19 — John’s Advice: Never Give Up
• 00:23:00 — Anxiety, Turbulence, and the Word John Hates Most

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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #TraumaRecovery #SobrietyJourney #AddictionRecovery #NeverGiveUp #Forgiveness #GratitudePractice #PurposeAfterTrauma #SecondChances #Resilience #RecoveryIsPossible #DisabilityAwareness #PersonalGrowth #RecoveryMotivation #TriggeredToChange #JohnCarter

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
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At 22, John Carter survived a point-blank gunshot to the back of the head—but surviving the bullet was only the beginning. G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with John for Part 1 of an unbelievable conversation about organized crime, depression, addiction, prison, sobriety, physical recovery, and the people who helped him fight his way back.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Tomorrow might not be here for you, so take advantage of it.” — John Carter Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about gun violence, addiction, incarceration, depression, overdose, and loss. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs immediate emotional support in the United States, call or text 988 or visit:
https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the U.S.:
https://findahelpline.com/

Episode Description John Carter has lived through the kind of story that sounds impossible until you hear him tell it. Raised around organized crime and determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, John entered a dangerous world that nearly killed him. At just 22, he was shot point-blank in the back of the head. He survived—but the aftermath brought disability, depression, alcohol, drugs, and eventually dealing drugs to support his addiction.

In Part 1, John joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about the moments that changed the direction of his life. After his arrest, he found himself sitting in a police department parking lot at more than 300 pounds, using a wheelchair, broke, addicted, and out of options. A trip to detox—and a woman named Deb who showed him what recovery could look like—became the beginning of something different.

John also shares how a 10-year prison sentence ultimately became part of his second chance. Inside, three men who had known his father refused to let him stay in his wheelchair. They brought him to the prison gym, trained with him, and helped him rebuild his body until he eventually walked out of prison.

The conversation also explores grief, the loss of John’s brothers to addiction, the importance of asking for help, and the unexpected purpose he found through personal training and service dogs.

John’s story isn’t about pretending trauma was a gift. It’s about what can happen when you keep getting back up.

Keywords: John Carter, addiction recovery, mental health recovery, sobriety, trauma recovery, depression, prison rehabilitation, resilience, second chances, organized crime survivor, personal transformation, service dogs, recovery community, fitness and mental health, overcoming adversity

Meet Our Guest — John Carter John Carter is a personal trainer, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, author, and owner of Titanium Health and Fitness, a private gym in Boston. After surviving a near-fatal gunshot, addiction, incarceration, and profound personal loss, John rebuilt his life around sobriety, service, fitness, and helping others believe that change is still possible.

His memoir, Triggered to Change, shares his journey from organized crime and addiction to recovery, purpose, and second chances.

• Website: https://www.johncarterauthor.com/
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Triggered-Change-Life-Full-Turbulence/dp/B0DWLVRWW5
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnessbycarter
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@turbulencebook
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turbulencebook_/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-carter-b29a0a337/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@titaniumfitnessbr?_t=ZP-8wcklttkhhe&_r=1

Key Takeaways

• Recovery can begin at the moment you finally admit you need help.
• Getting sober does not make every problem disappear, but it gives you a fighting chance to face them.
• A painful consequence can sometimes become the interruption that saves a life.
• Asking for help is not weakness—it can completely change the direction of your story.
• Physical movement and fitness became powerful tools in John’s rebuilding process.
• The people who believe in you can matter enormously, but you still have to choose the next right step.

Actionable Items

• Make a recovery plan before you need it. Identify the people, places, and resources you can turn to when life becomes overwhelming.
• Look honestly at the environments that pull you backward. Sometimes protecting your progress means changing where you go and who you spend time with.
• Find one healthy practice that helps you reconnect with your body—walking, strength training, stretching, swimming, or another form of movement that meets you where you are.

Important Chapters

• 00:01:02 — John Introduces His Story
• 00:02:25 — Growing Up Around Organized Crime
• 00:03:03 — Surviving the Gunshot
• 00:04:00 — Addiction, Arrest, and Hitting Bottom
• 00:05:09 — Meeting Deb and Seeing Recovery Differently
• 00:06:00 — A 10-Year Prison Sentence
• 00:07:29 — Making a Plan Instead of Giving Up
• 00:09:13 — Rebuilding His Body in Prison
• 00:12:14 — The Lesson John’s Father Taught Him About Quitting
• 00:16:55 — Entering Prison at 24
• 00:18:31 — Facing Temptation After Prison
• 00:19:40 — Losing His Brothers to Addiction
• 00:21:16 — Turbulence and the Power of Service Dogs
• 00:26:21 — Turning His Story Into a TEDx Talk
• 00:29:46 — Finding Purpose Through Speaking and Service

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #AddictionRecovery #SobrietyJourney #TraumaRecovery #SecondChances #RecoveryIsPossible #OvercomingAdversity #Resilience #PrisonRehabilitation #DepressionRecovery #ServiceDogs #FitnessAndMentalHealth #RecoveryCommunity #NeverGiveUp #TriggeredToChange #JohnCarter

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

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What happens when years of depression, anxiety, bullying, and feeling like an outsider finally meet a microphone? G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Noah May to talk about surviving some of his darkest moments, finding connection when he needed it most, and discovering that using his voice through podcasting could become part of his healing.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Stay strong and don’t let it all bring you down. You got to keep fighting.” — Noah May Episode Description Noah May has been navigating depression since he was 13 and anxiety since he was 18, but his story is about more than diagnoses. It’s about what happens when loneliness, bullying, complicated family history, and feeling like you don’t belong start shaping the way you see yourself — and what can happen when you finally find a way to speak back.

In this deeply personal conversation, Noah joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about growing up without his biological father, learning the painful circumstances surrounding his conception, being bullied by classmates, and wondering whether he was ever good enough. He also opens up about starting therapy, struggling to be completely honest during those early sessions, and later realizing that healing sometimes requires finding the right outlet — not just following someone else’s version of what recovery should look like.

For Noah, one of those outlets became podcasting.

After graduating from Auburn University with a journalism degree, Noah faced another familiar fear: What if all that work had been for nothing? Instead of giving up, he leaned harder into creating. Today, he hosts three podcasts — Lethal Venom, Music Talks, and Southern Reads — and uses his platform to tell the truth, connect with people, and create the kind of space he once needed himself.

Noah’s story reminds us that life rarely follows the damn plan. Sometimes healing looks like therapy. Sometimes it looks like friendship. Sometimes it looks like music, books, or sitting behind a microphone and finally saying the things you’ve carried for years.

Keywords: Noah May, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, mental health recovery, podcasting and mental health, bullying recovery, loneliness, finding your voice, emotional healing, therapy, young adult mental health, mental health advocacy, overcoming adversity, healing through storytelling

Meet Our Guest — Noah May Noah May is an Auburn University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and the host of three podcasts: Lethal Venom, Music Talks, and Southern Reads. After navigating depression, anxiety, bullying, loneliness, and periods of suicidal thinking, Noah turned his experiences into a reason to speak openly and create conversations where others can feel seen, heard, and less alone.

Website: https://www.noahspodcasts.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/713902225134300
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenoahshowww
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-c-may
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thenoahshowww
X: https://www.x.com/noahspodcasts
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/noahspodcasts

Lethal Venom:
https://noahspodcasts.com/lethal-venom

Music Talks:
https://noahspodcasts.com/music-talks

Southern Reads:
https://noahspodcasts.com/southern-reads

Key Takeaways

• Your past can shape you without getting the final say in who you become.
• Depression and anxiety can make you feel isolated, but hearing someone else’s story can remind you that you aren’t the only one carrying heavy shit.
• Finding the right mental health support may take time, honesty, and sometimes more than one therapist or healing approach.
• Creative expression can become a powerful emotional outlet when you've buried feelings for years.
• Supportive friendships can completely change the way we experience difficult seasons.
• Life rarely unfolds exactly according to plan, and that doesn’t mean you failed.

Actionable Items

• Find one safe outlet where you can say what you’ve been holding back — whether that’s therapy, journaling, podcasting, voice notes, art, or a trusted person.
• Take inventory of the people around you. Pay attention to who makes you feel supported, heard, and able to be yourself.
• When your original plan falls apart, ask yourself, “What can I build with what I have right now?” instead of automatically assuming you failed.

Important Chapters

• 00:00 — Meet Noah May
• 01:45 — Noah’s Childhood and Family Story
• 06:38 — Bullying and Growing Up Without a Father
• 08:11 — Depression and Anxiety Begin
• 09:12 — Starting College During COVID
• 12:52 — Why Noah Chose Journalism
• 15:00 — Turning a Dream Into Podcasting
• 16:38 — Podcasting as a Therapeutic Outlet
• 19:59 — Building Three Podcasts
• 21:05 — Music and Mental Health
• 23:14 — Rediscovering Reading
• 26:15 — Therapy and Learning to Open Up
• 28:28 — Giving Anxiety a Theme Song
• 29:53 — Advice to Noah’s 12-Year-Old Self
• 30:52 — The Hardest Lesson Noah Has Learned
• 32:15 — Noah’s Favorite Word
• 33:32 — Where to Find Noah

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Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #DepressionAwareness #AnxietyAwareness #SuicidePrevention #MentalHealthRecovery #HealingJourney #PodcastingForHealing #FindingYourVoice #YoungAdultMentalHealth #BullyingRecovery #EmotionalWellness #MentalHealthAdvocate #HealingThroughStorytelling #YouAreNotAlone #OvercomingAdversity #NoahMay

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

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Grief has a way of dragging us back into every decision, every conversation, and every painful “what if.” In this deeply personal episode, Stephanie Renner joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about losing her son Jordan to suicide, the guilt and regret that followed, and how she learned to keep moving forward without letting the past define the rest of her life.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listeners in more than 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:

https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote “Love is not measured by the outcome.” — Stephanie Renner Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes candid conversations about suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm, grief, and the loss of a child. Please take care of yourself while listening and step away if you need to.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis support outside the United States: https://findahelpline.com/

Episode Description After losing her father, her mother, and her oldest son within a six-year span, Stephanie Renner knows what it feels like to replay the past and wonder what could have been different.

In this raw and deeply human conversation, Stephanie opens up to G-Rex and Dirty Skittles about her son Jordan, who died by suicide shortly before his nineteenth birthday. She shares what it was like raising a deeply empathetic young man who struggled for years with suicidal ideation, mental health challenges, and the feeling that he did not quite fit into the world around him.

Stephanie also speaks honestly about the guilt that can follow devastating loss. The questions come fast and hard: What if I had found the right therapist? What if I had been home? What if I had made one different decision? She calls them the “if-onlys,” and she knows firsthand how easily they can become a prison.

Over time, Stephanie began to understand that loving someone deeply does not mean you can control their outcome. That realization became one of the most important lessons of her life: Love is not measured by the outcome.

She also shares the unexpected signs that have helped her feel connected to Jordan, the community that surrounded her when she could barely function, and the ways grief changed her perspective on fear, work, and what actually matters.

After nearly 25 years as an attorney, Stephanie stepped away from the life she built and moved toward something more meaningful. Today, through her Regret to Resilience Method, she helps people work through regret, guilt, and shame after trauma or loss.

She also founded Gilly’s Friends in Jordan’s memory, turning his kindness into a lasting reminder: You matter. You’re loved.

Keywords: Stephanie Renner, Regret to Resilience, grief, grief recovery, suicide loss, suicide prevention, parental grief, guilt after loss, regret, emotional healing, self-forgiveness, resilience, trauma recovery, mental health awareness, finding purpose after loss

Meet Our Guest — Stephanie Renner Stephanie Renner is a keynote speaker, writer, attorney, nonprofit founder, and creator of The Regret to Resilience Method. Her work helps people release regret, guilt, and shame after trauma or loss so they can move forward with greater purpose, confidence, and self-compassion.

Her work is deeply personal. After losing her father, mother, and oldest son, Jordan, within six years, Stephanie turned her own experience with grief into a mission to help others stop allowing the past to control what comes next.

She is also the founder of Gilly’s Friends, a nonprofit created in Jordan “Gilly” Guilford’s memory that spreads intentional acts of kindness and reminds people that they matter and are loved.

• Website: https://www.stephanierennerspeaks.com
• Gilly’s Friends: https://gillysfriends.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/srrnd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.renner2
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanierenner/

Key Takeaways

• Love is not measured by the outcome. You can love someone completely and still not control what happens.
• Regret often lives in the “if-onlys,” where we convince ourselves that one different choice would have changed everything.
• Grief does not mean forgetting someone or moving on from them. It can mean learning to carry love and loss at the same time.
• Support matters. Sometimes the people who simply show up, sit with you, feed you, and stay close make survival possible.
• Belonging matters, especially for young people who feel like they do not fit anywhere.
• Purpose can grow alongside grief. Stephanie transformed Jordan’s legacy of kindness into work that continues to help other people feel seen and valued.

Actionable Items

• Challenge one “if-only.” Write down a regret you keep replaying and ask yourself whether you truly know that changing that one moment would have changed the outcome.
• Know who your people are. Identify two or three people you can call when life gets heavy, and consider whether someone in your life may need you to be that person for them.
• Do one intentional act of kindness. Send the text. Make the call. Buy the coffee. Check in. Small moments can carry more weight than we realize.

Important Chapters

• 00:00 – Meet Stephanie Renner
• 02:30 – Signs From Jordan and Staying Connected After Loss
• 08:15 – Jordan’s Mental Health Journey
• 12:00 – Surviving the Loss of a Child
• 13:35 – The “If-Onlys” of Grief and Regret
• 18:50 – One of Stephanie and Jordan’s Final Conversations
• 21:45 – Mental Health, Shame, and Creating a Kinder World
• 23:30 – The Community That Carried Stephanie
• 26:15 – Losing Fear After Losing So Much
• 26:55 – Grieving a Son While Losing a Mother to Alzheimer’s
• 29:30 – From Attorney to Regret to Resilience
• 31:00 – Letting Go of Mother’s Day Guilt
• 33:30 – Care Bears, Raccoons, and Signs From Beyond
• 41:25 – What Stephanie Would Tell a Younger Jordan
• 44:25 – Love Is Not Measured by the Outcome
• 45:40 – Favorite Word, Least Favorite Word
• 46:10 – Regret to Resilience
• 47:05 – Gilly’s Friends and Jordan’s Legacy of Kindness

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Subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:  https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #GriefSupport #SuicideLoss #SuicidePrevention #GriefJourney #RegretToResilience #HealingAfterLoss #ParentalGrief #BereavedParents #EmotionalHealing #SelfForgiveness #TraumaRecovery #Resilience #FindingPurpose #GriefAndLoss #YouMatter

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Some conversations can be course-corrected with feedback. Others cross a bright line and demand something more. In Part 2, G-Rex, Dirty Skittles, and Regent Cornell get even more practical about confrontation, emotional regulation, accountability, leadership, and what to do when the other person simply refuses to meet you halfway.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “People rarely need fewer confrontations. They need thousands more courageous everyday feedback conversations.” — Regent Cornell Episode Description How do you have a healthy conversation when the other person refuses to listen, take accountability, or change?

In Part 2, Regent Cornell returns with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to push the conversation beyond basic communication skills and into the harder territory: bright lines, toxic leadership, broken trust, emotional triggers, and knowing when you have done everything you can.

Regent explains the difference between feedback and confrontation, including situations where a boundary has been crossed so clearly that feedback is no longer enough. He also explores why confrontation should never become an excuse to retaliate, humiliate, or emotionally punish another person. The temporary satisfaction of “winning” a fight can quickly turn into regret.

G-Rex asks what happens when leaders avoid conflict or when the person receiving feedback refuses to engage. Regent’s answer is clear: you cannot force someone to change. You can communicate, influence, set expectations, and choose what you are willing to tolerate, but accountability ultimately belongs to each individual.

The trio also talks about self-worth, curiosity, emotional regulation, and why avoidance can quietly destroy relationships. Regent leaves listeners with a challenge: choose one conversation. Not ten. One. Decide what needs daylight, get curious about the other person’s reality, and stop waiting for the “suddenly” that comes after months or years of avoidance.

Keywords: difficult conversations, courageous conversations, conflict resolution, mental health, emotional wellness, boundaries, leadership communication, workplace conflict, toxic leadership, self-worth, accountability, emotional regulation, healthy confrontation, relationship communication, Fierce Conversations

Meet Our Guest — Regent Cornell Regent Cornell is a transformational leadership, talent-development, and organizational-growth expert with more than 33 years of experience helping leaders, teams, and individuals build the clarity, confidence, and capability to thrive. He serves as Vice President of Market Evolution & Strategic Growth at Fierce Conversations and owns Cornell Consulting, bringing expertise in executive coaching, strategic communication, organizational development, team building, diversity and inclusion, negotiation, and change management.

Regent is an HBDI Level III Master Facilitator through Herrmann International and holds a Professional Coaching Certification at the ICF-PCC level from the University of Miami. He is also certified in Fierce Conversations, Myers-Briggs, DiSC, Prosci Change Management, and Advanced Consulting.

Fierce Inc.:
https://www.fierceinc.com/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/regent-cornell

Key Takeaways

• Feedback is preventative care; confrontation is the intervention when a pattern becomes too important to ignore.
• Some situations cross a “bright line” and require immediate accountability rather than gradual feedback.
• You cannot force another person to change, no matter how well you communicate.
• Entering a confrontation to prove you are right usually shuts down curiosity and learning.
• The best time to give feedback is close enough to the moment to be useful and calm enough to be constructive.
• Avoidance weakens relationships; curiosity strengthens them.

Actionable Items

• Pick one conversation you have been postponing and put a date on when you will address it.
• Before speaking, ask yourself: “Am I entering this conversation to prove something or to learn something?”
• Use Regent’s standard for fierce feedback: candor with care, clarity with curiosity, and courage with respect.

References Mentioned Fierce Inc.: https://www.fierceinc.com/

Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Important Chapters

• 00:00:49 – Asking, “How Can I Show Up Better for You?”
• 00:01:31 – Feedback as Preventative Care
• 00:02:08 – When Someone Crosses a Bright Line
• 00:04:22 – Confrontation Is Not Revenge
• 00:06:58 – What Happens When Leaders Avoid Conflict?
• 00:10:52 – What If the Other Person Won’t Reciprocate?
• 00:12:39 – The Cost of Waiting Too Long
• 00:16:08 – Self-Worth, Choice, and What You Will Tolerate
• 00:17:55 – Avoidance vs. Curiosity
• 00:19:57 – Stop Entering Conversations to Prove You’re Right
• 00:20:57 – Candor With Care
• 00:21:41 – Start With One Conversation
• 00:23:09 – Stop Waiting for the “Suddenly”
• 00:24:33 – A Message for Leaders
• 00:25:24 – How to Connect With Regent

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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #CourageousConversations #DifficultConversations #ConflictResolution #HealthyCommunication #LeadershipDevelopment #EmotionalWellness #BoundariesMatter #Accountability #ProtectYourPeace #WorkplaceMentalHealth #EmotionalRegulation #SelfWorth #FierceConversations #RelationshipAdvice #PersonalGrowth

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

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What happens when the conversations you keep avoiding start costing you your peace, your relationships, or even your mental health? G-Rex and Dirty Skittles welcome back Regent Cornell for a powerful conversation about honest feedback, emotional courage, boundaries, and why saying the hard thing early can keep resentment from taking over.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Silence does not remove the issue. It simply delays the conversation while allowing the impact to continue.” — Regent Cornell Episode Description Avoiding a hard conversation might feel easier in the moment, but what happens when silence starts becoming resentment, anxiety, or emotional exhaustion?

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles welcome back leadership and communication expert Regent Cornell to talk about why courageous conversations matter long before things reach a breaking point. Regent shares how the principles of Fierce Conversations have changed his personal and professional life, and why feedback should feel less like criticism and more like a GPS helping us course-correct.

The conversation gets deeply personal as Regent opens up about quarterly relationship check-ins with his partner, navigating difficult family dynamics, and setting a painful boundary with a friend struggling with addiction. Dirty Skittles reflects on how avoiding hard conversations can turn into resentment, while G-Rex shares how she uses the principles of Fierce Conversations even when the person she needs to confront is herself.

Together, they unpack why confrontation does not have to mean conflict, cruelty, or emotional warfare. Healthy confrontation means facing the problem with honesty, curiosity, and respect before frustration becomes something bigger.

This episode reminds you that protecting your peace doesn't always mean walking away. Sometimes it means finally saying what needs to be said.

Keywords: courageous conversations, difficult conversations, mental health, emotional wellness, healthy communication, boundaries, feedback, confrontation, resentment, self-awareness, relationship communication, conflict resolution, Fierce Conversations, leadership communication, protecting your peace

Meet Our Guest — Regent Cornell Regent Cornell is a transformational leadership, talent-development, and organizational-growth expert with more than 33 years of experience helping leaders, teams, and individuals build the clarity, confidence, and capability to thrive. As Vice President of Market Evolution & Strategic Growth at Fierce Conversations and owner of Cornell Consulting, Regent works at the intersection of leadership, strategy, human connection, and change, grounded in the belief that meaningful conversations create the conditions for learning, action, and transformation.

Fierce Inc.:
https://www.fierceinc.com/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/regent-cornell

Key Takeaways

• Avoidance does not solve conflict; it often gives resentment room to grow.
• Feedback works best when it happens before frustration becomes confrontation.
• Difficult conversations can strengthen both professional and personal relationships.
• You can have a Fierce Conversation with yourself, but an outside perspective can help challenge the stories you tell yourself.
• Setting a boundary does not mean you stopped caring about someone.
• Honest communication should come from respect, not revenge or the need to prove you are right.

Actionable Items

• Think of one conversation you have been avoiding and write down what you actually need the other person to understand.
• Use Regent’s “experience, explore, explain” approach: share your experience, ask about theirs, explore the situation together, and clarify what happens next.
• Before confronting someone, check your emotional temperature. If you are going in to punish, prove, or unload, give yourself time to regulate first.

References Mentioned Fierce Conversations:

Fierce Inc.:
https://www.fierceinc.com/

Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Herrmann International / HBDI

Important Chapters

• 00:00:40 – Regent Returns to the Podcast
• 00:04:44 – You Don’t Have a “Work Self” and a “Personal Self”
• 00:09:49 – Why Common Sense Is Not Always Common Practice
• 00:10:33 – Feedback Before Confrontation
• 00:15:46 – How Avoidance Turns Into Resentment
• 00:18:34 – Having Fierce Conversations With Yourself
• 00:21:55 – When Loving Someone Requires a Boundary
• 00:27:20 – Why We Need Other Perspectives
• 00:29:36 – Confrontation Is Not a Brawl
• 00:31:24 – Experience, Explore, Explain

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #CourageousConversations #DifficultConversations #HealthyCommunication #EmotionalWellness #BoundariesMatter #ProtectYourPeace #ConflictResolution #RelationshipCommunication #SelfAwareness #LeadershipDevelopment #FierceConversations #EmotionalHealth #Resentment #PersonalGrowth #CommunicationSkills

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when betrayal forces you to stop fixing everyone else and finally start protecting yourself? G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Barbara Parker for a raw, funny, and deeply honest conversation about healthy boundaries, emotional safety, perfectionism, rebuilding self-worth, and learning that protecting your peace isn’t selfish—it’s necessary.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about infidelity, toxic relationships, emotional trauma, alcohol misuse, suicidal thoughts, and intense emotional distress. Please listen with care.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States and Canada for immediate support. You don’t have to carry the heavy shit alone.

Mental Health Quote “Anything that comes between you and your peace needs to be removed.” — Barbara Parker Episode Description Barbara Parker knows what it feels like to lose yourself while trying to hold a relationship together. After discovering repeated infidelity in her marriage, she found herself facing heartbreak, anger, financial instability, and one brutal realization: she had spent so much energy worrying about someone else’s happiness that she had stopped paying attention to her own.

In this powerful conversation with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles, Barbara shares how those painful experiences became the foundation for rebuilding her identity, strengthening her boundaries, and eventually helping others do the same. She explains why boundaries start with knowing what you want, why two perfectly good people can still be completely wrong for each other, and why protecting your peace sometimes means accepting that somebody simply isn’t headed where you’re headed.

Barbara also gets real about perfectionism, anxiety, emotional triggers, and the wounds that can sit beneath our awareness until something slams directly into the panic button. She shares her “good enough” approach when perfection falls apart, her tea-kettle analogy for bottled-up emotions, and how her POWER method helps people communicate more clearly, rediscover their confidence, and create lives aligned with what actually matters.

This isn’t about pretending heartbreak was some magical gift wrapped in a bow. It’s about realizing the shit that hurt you doesn’t get to own you forever. You can learn from it, rebuild from it, and become fiercely protective of the peace you worked so damn hard to find.

Keywords: healthy boundaries, self-worth, emotional safety, toxic relationships, relationship healing, betrayal trauma, divorce recovery, self-love, perfectionism, anxiety, emotional wellness, confidence building, personal growth, women’s empowerment, mental health podcast

Meet Our Guest — Barbara Parker Barbara L. Parker, MA, LPCC-S, is the Founder and CEO of BF Empowerment Center, where she helps people build confidence, improve communication, set healthier boundaries, and move through emotional healing and major life transitions. Drawing from both professional expertise and her own experiences with heartbreak, divorce, financial hardship, and rebuilding her identity, Barbara brings a practical, empowering approach to helping people create healthier relationships with themselves and others.

Connect with Barbara:

Official Website:
https://www.bfempowerment.com/

Instagram — BF Empowerment:
https://www.instagram.com/bfempowerment/

Facebook — B F Empowerment Center:
https://www.facebook.com/bfempowerment/

LinkedIn — Barbara L. Parker:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/queenblparker

Key Takeaways

• Healthy boundaries begin with knowing what you want before somebody else starts deciding it for you.
• Two people can both be good humans and still be completely wrong for each other.
• Protecting your peace sometimes requires walking away from situations that keep pulling you away from yourself.
• Perfectionism can steal the joy from moments you worked incredibly hard to create.
• Anger can be the surface reaction covering a much deeper emotional wound.
• Rebuilding after betrayal means investing energy back into yourself instead of endlessly investigating somebody else.
• Emotional safety, self-worth, and identity matter just as much as what a relationship looks like from the outside.

Actionable Items

• Ask whether it’s on mission or off mission. Before saying yes to a relationship, commitment, opportunity, or another obligation, ask whether it supports the life you’re trying to build or pulls you away from it.
• Practice the “good enough” reset. When perfectionism starts convincing you everything is ruined because something went wrong, remind yourself that successful doesn't have to mean flawless.
• Empty the emotional tea kettle. Make regular space to talk, journal, rest, seek therapy, or process what you’re carrying before one small trigger sends everything boiling over.

Important Chapters

• 00:01:06 – Meet Barbara: Spunky, Sassy, and a Recovering Perfectionist
• 00:04:21 – What Healthy Boundaries Actually Look Like
• 00:06:29 – The Heartbreak That Taught Barbara Boundaries
• 00:08:53 – Facing Infidelity and Talking to Nine Mistresses
• 00:13:30 – Poor Boundaries, Lost Identity, and Inviting Chaos
• 00:15:15 – When Betrayal Made Barbara Disconnect From Herself
• 00:16:28 – Turning Pain Into Purpose
• 00:19:01 – Stop Investigating Them and Start Investing in You
• 00:21:53 – The POWER Method and Finding Yourself Again
• 00:23:51 – Anger, Old Wounds, and the Panic Button
• 00:25:26 – The Tea Kettle: What Happens When We Never Empty Out
• 00:30:22 – “This Is Going to Hurt, but It’s Going to Be Worth It”
• 00:32:04 – Loyalty, Fidelity, and Emotional Safety
• 00:34:06 – Anxiety, Perfectionism, and Never Feeling Productive Enough
• 00:35:12 – Favorite Word, Least Favorite Word, and Why “Can’t” Gets No Love

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #HealthyBoundaries #ProtectYourPeace #SelfWorth #EmotionalSafety #ToxicRelationships #RelationshipHealing #DivorceRecovery #BetrayalTrauma #SelfLoveJourney #WomenEmpowerment #EmotionalWellness #PerfectionismRecovery #ConfidenceBuilding #PersonalGrowth #HealingAfterHeartbreak

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if binge eating isn’t proof that you lack discipline—but a learned pattern your brain can actually change? In this episode, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with binge-eating coach Amber Abila to unpack food obsession, restriction, cravings, shame, and what it can look like to rebuild trust with yourself around food.

Awards & Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“You’re a lot less alone than you think you are.” — Amber Abila

Special Announcement

Amber shares a guided audio designed to help people slow down and “play the story forward” when an urge to binge hits. The direct resource link was not included in the transcript, but listeners can find Amber’s resources through: https://theconfidenteater.org/

Episode Description

Binge eating can feel like a battle between what you want to do and what your brain seems determined to make you do. Amber Abila knows that fight firsthand. After years of restriction, bingeing, bulimia, food guilt, and trying everything from calorie counting to willpower, she began searching for a different way forward.

In this raw and practical conversation, Amber joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about how binge-eating patterns can develop, why shame often keeps people stuck, and why simply trying harder may not create lasting change. Amber explains her approach to separating the biology that may contribute to urges from the psychology that can reinforce them, while also challenging the belief that recovery has to take forever.

The conversation gets especially real around dieting, food noise, emotional eating, body image, and the endless mental tug-of-war between “I’ve been good all day” and “I deserve this.” Amber also shares how visualization, questioning automatic thoughts, noticing how food actually makes you feel, and celebrating small wins can help create new patterns.

G-Rex and Dirty Skittles bring their own complicated relationships with sugar, carbs, dieting, GLP-1 medications, and body changes into the conversation, making this episode less about perfection and more about curiosity, awareness, and self-trust.

Most importantly, Amber reminds listeners that shame doesn’t have to run the show. Change can begin when you stop treating yourself like the enemy and start paying attention to what your mind and body are actually telling you.

Keywords: binge eating, food addiction, emotional eating, binge eating recovery, food obsession, food guilt, eating habits, body image, diet culture, food cravings, mental health, emotional wellness, self-compassion, habit change, confident eating

Meet Our Guest — Amber Abila

Amber Abila is a binge-eating and overeating coach and the founder of The Confident Eater. Drawing from her own experience with binge eating and bulimia, Amber now helps people challenge learned food patterns, understand urges, question automatic thoughts, and build a more confident relationship with eating.

Her work centers on emotional eating, hunger and fullness cues, food mindset, body confidence, habit change, and helping people move away from cycles of restriction and shame.

Website: https://theconfidenteater.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconfidenteater_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/532434625387487

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amberabila

Key Takeaways

• Binge eating is not simply a matter of being “weak” or lacking willpower; Amber encourages people to look at the patterns underneath the behavior.
• Restriction and food obsession can create a cycle in which cravings grow louder rather than quieter.
• Shame makes it harder to ask for help, which is why talking openly about binge eating matters.
• Learning to question automatic thoughts like “I deserve this because I’ve been good all day” can interrupt old habits.
• Visualization can help you move beyond the first few seconds of an urge and imagine how each choice may feel afterward.
• Celebrating small wins matters. Your brain needs reinforcement when you practice a new response instead of immediately moving on.

Actionable Items

• Ask, “Is this true?” When a food-related thought shows up—“I need this,” “I deserve this,” or “I already blew it”—pause and question whether the thought is actually true or simply familiar.
• Play the story forward. Imagine both paths: what happens physically and emotionally if you act on the urge, and what happens if you allow the urge to pass?
• Celebrate the new behavior. When you make a choice that supports the relationship with food you want, consciously acknowledge it instead of brushing it off.

References Mentioned

The Confident Eater: https://theconfidenteater.org/

Become a Confident Eater Podcast: Amber mentions her weekly podcast during the episode. You can find it on The Confident Eater website.

DSM-5 / Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Amber references diagnostic criteria for binge-eating disorder while discussing how binge eating is recognized clinically.

Important Chapters

• 00:01:12 – Amber’s Story and the Beginning of Binge Eating
• 00:02:22 – Restriction, Cravings, and Amber’s First Binge
• 00:05:17 – GLP-1s and Food Noise
• 00:06:38 – Why Amber Believes Binge Eating Starts
• 00:10:16 – Food Flavor, Cravings, and Hyperpalatable Foods
• 00:15:44 – The Pleasure-versus-Pain Teeter-Totter
• 00:23:46 – Visualization as a Tool for Urges
• 00:27:37 – Why You Should Celebrate Small Wins
• 00:30:02 – The Question That Can Change Your Thinking
• 00:32:59 – Can Change Really Happen Quickly?
• 00:37:22 – Restriction vs. Self-Care
• 00:40:25 – What Amber Wishes She Could Tell Her Younger Self
• 00:43:20 – The Hard Things Can Build Us
• 00:45:09 – Anxiety’s Theme Song and the Meaning of Confidence
• 00:47:00 – Where to Find Amber

Closing CTA

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Subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #BingeEatingRecovery #BingeEatingAwareness #EmotionalEating #FoodAddiction #FoodFreedom #RelationshipWithFood #BodyImage #DietCulture #FoodGuilt #SelfCompassion #EatingHabits #EmotionalWellness #HabitChange #ConfidentEater #FoodObsession

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if healing was never supposed to become another full-time job? In Part 2, Mandi Lynne joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about leaving survival mode, reconnecting with yourself, refusing to let mental health diagnoses become limitations, and giving yourself permission to live now—not someday when everything finally feels fixed.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:

https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about trauma, depression, suicidal crisis, and suicide. Please listen in whatever way feels safest for you.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:

https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the United States:

https://findahelpline.com/

Mental Health Quote “I kept postponing living until I was done healing.” — Mandi Lynne Episode Description What if you stopped treating healing like the admission ticket you have to earn before you are allowed to enjoy your own life?

In Part 2, Mandi Lynne joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to explore the philosophy behind ONE | Life and the shift from simply understanding mental health to figuring out how the hell we actually live with everything we know.

After years of helping build MedCircle, Mandi began noticing something important. Mental health education was becoming easier to access, but people still needed help answering the next question: now what?

She talks about going beneath the crisis of the moment to understand the beliefs underneath it, including how her former husband’s infidelity activated old wounds around worth. The conversation expands into boundaries, relationships, self-abandonment, caregiving, personal agency, labels, diagnoses, and why caring about other people should not require disappearing from your own life.

Then things get wonderfully weird.

There are raccoon videos, ADHD superpowers, favorite swear words, Joan Jett, Led Zeppelin, joy folders, squirrels eating McDonald’s cheeseburgers, funeral menus, tequila, mofongo, espresso martinis, glow sticks, and enough inappropriate laughter to keep the USS Shit Show afloat.

Underneath all of it is a powerful reminder: joy belongs in recovery too.

You do not need to become fully healed before you deserve connection, purpose, laughter, and a life that feels like yours.

Keywords: Mandi Lynne, ONE Life, survival mode, trauma recovery, living while healing, mental health recovery, self-worth, boundaries, self-abandonment, CPTSD, anxiety, ADHD, emotional wellness, personal growth, healing journey

Meet Our Guest — Mandi Lynne Mandi Lynne is the Founder and CEO of ONE | Life and a former executive at MedCircle, where she helped scale one of the world's most recognized mental health education platforms.

A former educator and nonprofit leader with a background in science, education, and leadership, Mandi also holds certifications in Health & Wellness Coaching, Hypnotherapy, NLP, Somatic practices, and Global Leadership & Social Innovation through the United Nations University for Peace.

Her perspective is shaped not only by her professional experience but by rebuilding her own life through trauma, chronic illness, job loss, bankruptcy, divorce, financial hardship, miscarriage, single parenting, OCD, anxiety, CPTSD, and a past eating disorder.

Today, she helps people move out of survival mode and into a life of clarity, confidence, and direction.

Not someday. Now.

Website: https://onelifelivenow.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onelifebymedcircle

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MedCircle

Key Takeaways

• You do not need to finish healing before you are allowed to start living.
• Constantly triaging external problems can keep us from examining the deeper beliefs those problems activate.
• Caring for other people should not require abandoning yourself.
• Mental health diagnoses can provide information and direction without becoming your identity or limitation.
• Healing is allowed to include joy, laughter, music, nature, friendship, and ridiculous moments.
• Asking for help does not diminish your strength.
• Sometimes one person reminding you of your worth can change the direction of your life.

Actionable Items

• Build five minutes of living into your day. Choose something that genuinely makes you feel alive—music, nature, coffee, laughter, animals, creativity—and make space for it before everything feels “fixed.”
• Create a joy folder. Whenever something sparks a moment of happiness, take a picture. On the days you feel disconnected from yourself, use that folder as evidence of what still lights you up.
• Identify your support people. Write down the names of the people you can contact when you are struggling so you do not have to figure out who to call in the middle of a hard moment.

References Mentioned ONE | Life: https://onelifelivenow.com/

MedCircle: https://www.youtube.com/@MedCircle

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/

 

 

Important Chapters

• 00:00:46 — What is ONE | Life? Mandi explains her eight years with MedCircle and how mental health education evolved into a bigger question: once we understand what is happening, how do we actually live better?
• 00:02:31 — When all the distractions disappeared, Mandi reflects on COVID and how suddenly being left alone with ourselves changed the broader conversation around mental health.
• 00:03:20 — Stop spending every therapy session triaging the surface. Mandi explains how repeatedly focusing only on external crises can keep us from reaching the deeper beliefs those situations trigger.
• 00:04:00 — Infidelity, self-worth, and getting to the root. Mandi shares how her former husband’s affairs hurt so deeply because they reinforced something she already feared about her own worth.
• 00:05:05 — Stop postponing your life until you are healed. Mandi describes realizing that she had turned healing into a prerequisite for living and why that needed to change.
• 00:05:49 — Raccoon videos count as mental health care around here G-Rex explains the therapeutic value of starting the day with ridiculous raccoon videos, and somehow it makes perfect sense.
• 00:06:46 — Service without self-abandonment. Mandi talks about caring for others while recognizing that giving should not constantly come at your own expense.
• 00:07:16 — Relationships without betraying yourself. Mandi explores healthy connection, attachment wounds, authenticity, and finding people who cherish you for being who you actually are.
• 00:08:57 — G-Rex on masking depression: G-Rex reflects on how completely she hid her depression while caring for everyone around her and why she refuses to put that mask back on.
• 00:10:05 — Humor as a mental health pressure valve Mandi, G-Rex, and Dirty Skittles explain why sometimes the thing that keeps heavy experiences bearable is laughing at shit you probably should not laugh at.
• 00:11:47 — Living while you are still healing: G-Rex talks about traveling, setting boundaries, and continuing to experience life even while recovery was still unfolding.
• 00:14:42 — Introverts confess they kind of loved lockdown. Dirty Skittles and Mandi bond over the unexpected freedom of canceled obligations, while G-Rex, the extrovert, strongly disagrees.
• 00:16:32 — The evolution from MedCircle to ONE | Life Mandi describes creating a more experiential, inclusive approach focused on practical living rather than only diagnosis and education.
• 00:18:26 — Your diagnosis is not your personality. Mandi explains why labels should provide information and direction—not become evidence that you cannot do something.
• 00:20:32 — ADHD as a superpower: G-Rex talks about working with her ADHD instead of treating it solely as a limitation.
• 00:22:06 — What Mandi would tell her seven-year-old self: Mandi returns to the childhood trauma discussed in Part 1 and gives her younger self the message she needed most: it was not your fault.
• 00:23:49 — The hardest lesson: You do not have to do everything yourself. Mandi talks about responsibility, caregiving, parenting, enabling, and the value of letting others learn to stand on their own.
• 00:26:03 — If anxiety had a theme song, Joan Jett and Led Zeppelin enter the chat as Mandi shares the music that helps her interrupt anxiety and release control.
• 00:27:19 — Mandi’s favorite word is exactly what you think it is. The versatility and emotional range of the word “fuck” receive the appreciation it deserves.
• 00:30:38 — Mandi turns the questions on G-Rex and Dirty Skittles. The conversation shifts as Mandi asks the hosts about the life-changing realizations that altered their own mental health journeys.
• 00:31:01 — Dirty Skittles realizes she has been living in fight mode. Dirty Skittles shares how therapy helped her recognize chronic hypervigilance and begin discovering what peace actually felt like.
• 00:32:10 — The 988 call that changed G-Rex’s life. G-Rex describes the crisis call that reminded her of her worth, helped her ask for help, and became a pivotal moment in her survival.
• 00:33:10 — Kevin Hines and the power of human connection: Mandi reflects on conversations with Golden Gate Bridge survivor Kevin Hines and why acknowledging another human being can matter more than we realize.
• 00:35:02 — Healing outside therapy: Nature, joy folders, photography, and small moments of happiness become examples of tools that can help us reconnect with ourselves.
• 00:37:41 — When caregiving disconnects you from yourself: Mandi and Dirty Skittles talk about losing pieces of identity inside roles like parent, partner, and caregiver.
• 00:38:40 — The squirrel, the cheeseburger, and unexpected joy. Mandi shares one of those completely ridiculous moments that instantly remind you of how healing laughter can be.
• 00:39:14 — Music and activating the experience of being alive: Mandi discusses using playlists, sensory experiences, nature, and emotion to reconnect with what it feels like to be fully present.
• 00:40:25 — Planning the ultimate funeral party: Tequila, mofongo, meatloaf, espresso martinis, glow sticks, walkers, and Depends close the conversation in exactly the way you would expect from this crew.
• 00:42:04 — Where to find Mandi and ONE | Life Mandi shares how listeners can connect with ONE | Life and MedCircle and reminds everyone to find the approach that works for them.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:

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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MandiLynne #OneLife #SurvivalMode #TraumaHealing #LivingWhileHealing #SelfWorth #BoundariesMatter #CPTSDRecovery #AnxietyRecovery #ADHDAwareness #HealingJourney #SelfDiscovery #EmotionalWellness #MentalHealthRecovery #JoyInHealing

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How much of the way we see ourselves was shaped before we were old enough to understand what was happening? Mandi Lynne joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles for a deeply honest conversation about childhood trauma, shame, self-worth, perfectionism, and the work of separating who you are from what happened to you.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:

https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about childhood sexual trauma, eating disorders, alcohol use, shame, and suicide. Please take care of yourself while listening and step away if you need to.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:

https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the United States:

https://findahelpline.com/

Mental Health Quote “When we learn to see something differently, that is where most of the healing is.” — Mandi Lynne Episode Description Mandi Lynne has spent years working in mental health education, but long before becoming the Founder and CEO of ONE | Life, she was trying to understand the shit going on inside her own head.

In Part 1, Mandi sits down with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about the childhood sexual trauma she experienced at seven years old and how it shaped her understanding of love, safety, responsibility, and self-worth. She opens up about the shame and confusion that followed, including what she later came to understand as moral injury.

That early trauma became tangled with perfectionism, OCD, anxiety, eating disorders, alcohol use, attachment wounds, and the exhausting belief that if she could just become good enough, perfect enough, or controlled enough, she might finally feel safe.

Mandi also shares what began changing when she found the right therapist. The conversation explores cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, expressive therapies, equine-assisted work, nature, and why healing does not always happen by thinking harder about the problem.

G-Rex and Dirty Skittles share their own therapy experiences, including one of their favorite pieces of advice: speed-date your therapist. The right connection matters.

This episode is heavy, funny, compassionate, and deeply human. Your past may explain parts of you, but it does not have to dictate the rest of your life.

Keywords: Mandi Lynne, childhood trauma, trauma recovery, self-worth, shame healing, moral injury, OCD, anxiety, eating disorder recovery, EMDR therapy, attachment wounds, inner child healing, mental health recovery, expressive therapy, trauma-informed healing

Meet Our Guest — Mandi Lynne Mandi Lynne is the Founder and CEO of ONE | Life and a former executive at MedCircle, where she helped scale one of the world's most recognized mental health education platforms.

A former educator and nonprofit leader with a background in science, education, and leadership, Mandi also holds certifications in Health & Wellness Coaching, Hypnotherapy, NLP, Somatic practices, and Global Leadership & Social Innovation through the United Nations University for Peace. Her professional work is deeply informed by lived experience with trauma, chronic illness, job loss, bankruptcy, divorce, financial hardship, miscarriage, single parenting, OCD, anxiety, CPTSD, and a past eating disorder.

Her work is grounded in one powerful belief: you do not have to wait to be fully healed to start living well.

Website: https://onelifelivenow.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onelifebymedcircle

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MedCircle

Key Takeaways

• Childhood trauma can shape self-worth before we are developmentally able to understand what happened.
• Adult logic can know something was not your fault while a younger, wounded part of you still struggles to believe it.
• Shame and moral injury can create deep emotional residue that requires patience, compassion, and support.
• Perfectionism, control, disordered eating, and other coping mechanisms can become attempts to create safety.
• Finding the right therapist matters. One poor therapeutic relationship does not mean therapy cannot work for you.
• Healing is not always intellectual. EMDR, art, animals, movement, nature, and other experiential approaches can reach parts of us that conversation alone may not.

Actionable Items

• Speed date your therapist. Pay attention to whether you feel safe, understood, and able to be honest. If the connection is not right, you may keep looking.
• Try a form of healing that does not require talking. Paint without a plan, spend time outside, listen to music, move your body, or engage with animals and notice what comes up.
• Offer yourself the compassion you would give a child. When shame appears, ask: “If this happened to a seven-year-old I loved, would I blame them?”

  Important Chapters

• 00:01:02 — Who is Mandi Lynne? Mandi starts with a simple answer: a regular person. She explains why accepting who we are matters before we start chasing some supposedly better version of ourselves.
• 00:02:06 — Self-worth, perfectionism, and learning to feel proud. Mandi talks about growing up with messages about humility and confidence, and how easy it became to default to seeing herself through a negative lens.
• 00:04:34 — Learning to receive praise without shrinking: G-Rex opens up about becoming more comfortable with recognition and learning that confidence and generosity can exist at the same time.
• 00:08:53 — Childhood trauma and the beginning of survival patterns. Mandi shares her experience of sexual trauma at seven years old and explains the confusion, secrecy, attachment wounds, and self-blame that followed.
• 00:12:41 — When knowing “it wasn’t your fault” still isn’t enough. Mandi explains the difference between intellectually understanding what happened and getting the brain and body to believe it.
• 00:13:17 — Understanding moral injury and shame: Mandi discusses the guilt she carried from being forced into situations as a child that conflicted deeply with her values.
• 00:15:27 — Avoidance, eating disorders, alcohol, and control. Mandi talks about the ways she tried to outrun what happened and how perfectionism became an attempt to make herself feel safe.
• 00:17:44 — Pregnancy becomes a turning point. An unexpected pregnancy becomes a major catalyst for Mandi to take her mental health seriously and seek the right support.
• 00:18:46 — CBT, reframing, and recognizing thought patterns. Mandi describes learning that catastrophizing and black-and-white thinking were patterns rather than unavoidable truths.
• 00:19:05 — EMDR and healing beyond the thinking brain: Mandi explains why EMDR helped her access insights that talk therapy alone had not reached.
• 00:20:12 — Changing perspective without minimizing pain. Mandi talks about accepting that some experiences simply suck while refusing to remain mentally tied to them forever.
• 00:22:11 — Why you should “speed date” your therapist: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles share their own experiences finding therapists who were—and were not—the right fit.
• 00:25:30 — Painting without a plan: Dirty Skittles shares a therapy assignment that challenged her need for control and unexpectedly helped her feel free.
• 00:26:50 — Healing through photographs, horses, and experience. Mandi talks about expressive work, life timelines, equine therapy, and helping people access emotions through experience rather than forced conversation.
• 00:29:15 — Nature as medicine for the nervous system: G-Rex and Mandi connect over nature, grounding, winter weather, and the very real impact seasonal changes can have on mental health.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:

https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

 

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MandiLynne #ChildhoodTrauma #TraumaRecovery #HealingTrauma #SelfWorth #ShameHealing #InnerChildHealing #EMDR #TherapyWorks #OCDRecovery #AnxietyRecovery #AttachmentHealing #CPTSDRecovery #MentalHealthHealing #HealingJourney

 

 

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What changes when you stop looking outside yourself for permission to feel whole? In Part 2, Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo return with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles for a powerful conversation about breaking generational patterns, choosing yourself, letting go of emotional weight, healing old wounds, and building a life around joy instead of someone else’s definition of success.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Choose yourself. When you stop giving away your power, you finally have something real to give back to the people you love.” — Inspired by Rocio Aquino & Angel Orengo Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about childhood abuse, abandonment, suicide attempts, trauma, and emotional pain. Please listen with care.

If you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You do not have to be suicidal to reach out for support.

https://988lifeline.org/

Episode Description What happens after you recognize your wounds? How do you make sure you aren’t unknowingly handing them to the next generation?

In Part 2, Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo join G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to continue their conversation about healing, self-awareness, and the lessons behind The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses.

Rocio and Angel explore the stories society teaches women and men, why empathy and compassion matter, and how the media and stories we consume can shape how we understand ourselves and the world.

Rocio reveals that the five women at the center of The Orchid carry pieces of her own experiences, trauma, and transformation. Angel shares one of the biggest lessons of his healing journey: we have more control over where our emotional energy goes than we realize.

The conversation becomes deeply personal as Angel discusses childhood abuse and Rocio shares losing her mother, attempting suicide at 20, and what she would tell that younger version of herself today: go play the game, because you are going to be okay.

They also talk about generational trauma, parenting, letting go, intuition, self-love, nature, emotional energy, and why taking care of yourself first is not selfish. G-Rex brings it home with one hell of a reminder: stop chasing somebody else’s definition of happiness and start chasing your joy.

Healing yourself can change more than your own life. It can change what the people who come after you have to carry.

Keywords: generational trauma, choosing joy, self-love, emotional healing, breaking generational cycles, intentional living, childhood trauma, personal empowerment, mental health recovery, letting go, self-worth, emotional wellness, healing family patterns, self-compassion, finding purpose

Meet Our Guests — Rocio Aquino & Angel Orengo Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo are the storytellers and creators behind The Orchid, a book and growing community dedicated to healing, self-discovery, purpose, and intentional living. Their work blends personal experience, honest reflection, storytelling, and meaningful conversation to encourage people to look inward, challenge inherited beliefs, and create healthier emotional patterns for themselves and future generations.

Website: https://www.theorchidbook.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocioangel__/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocioangel.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rocioangel.theorchid

Key Takeaways

• Healing your own wounds can change what gets passed down to the next generation.
• Loving yourself does not take love away from your family; it can increase your capacity to show up for them.
• You have a choice about where you spend your emotional energy.
• Letting go is not weakness—it is deciding that something no longer deserves your peace.
• Happiness tied only to possessions or achievements can be temporary; joy can live in ordinary moments.
• Family, cultural, and societal stories can shape you, but they do not have to control the rest of your life.

Actionable Items

• Do an energy audit. Identify one person, argument, resentment, or expectation receiving more of your emotional energy than you want to give it.
• Spend ten minutes outside without your phone and notice something small that genuinely brings you joy.
• Identify one belief, behavior, or emotional pattern from your family history that you do not want to pass forward, then choose one small way to respond differently.

 

 

Important Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome to Part 2 + Why Healing Stories Need a Bigger Stage G-Rex opens by asking how stories like The Orchid can help people better understand women's emotional experiences and normalize talking about mental health.
• 03:34 – Rocio’s Mission to Create Stories That Help People Heal Rocio talks about dedicating her life to stories that allow people—especially women—to see themselves through a different lens.
• 05:39 – Strengthening Women, Men, and the Human Experience Angel discusses the importance of empathy, kindness, compassion, and strengthening qualities historically labeled as feminine.
• 08:06 – How the Stories We Consume Shape Us Angel explores the influence of film, television, video games, and storytelling—and why he wants more stories showing people how to heal and survive.
• 09:45 – Rocio Reveals Herself in The Orchid’s Five Women Rocio shares that she sees parts of her own trauma and healing journey in all five central characters.
• 10:58 – Closing Your Wounds and Reclaiming Your Power Angel uses The Matrix as a metaphor for reaching a place where another person’s insults no longer have the same power over you.
• 15:45 – Take Care of Yourself Before Trying to Save Everybody Else Angel explains why healing yourself first allows you to show up differently for your family and everyone around you.
• 17:53 – What Angel Would Tell His Six-Year-Old Self Angel reflects on childhood abuse and the lessons about personal power and self-belief he wishes he could have learned before experiencing trauma.
• 20:21 – Rocio on Losing Her Mother and Attempting Suicide at 20 Rocio talks about reaching one of the lowest moments of her life and the message she would now give her younger self: you are not alone, and this will not last forever.
• 22:11 – Their Hardest Lessons: Abandonment and Letting Go Rocio reflects on surviving abandonment while Angel explains why letting go has been one of the most difficult and rewarding lessons of his life.
• 25:13 – “The Person I Love the Most Is Me” Angel shares the realization that taking responsibility for his own happiness actually allows him to love his wife, daughters, and family more freely.
• 27:02 – Choosing the Story You Tell Yourself Rocio and Dirty Skittles discuss how self-belief becomes a daily practice and why compassionate thoughts matter.
• 29:00 – Stop Chasing Happiness. Chase Your Joy. G-Rex shares why joy has become more meaningful than material success and encourages listeners to stop building their lives around somebody else’s dream.
• 32:22 – Anxiety Theme Songs and Remembering to Breathe Angel and Rocio share the reminders they use when anxiety kicks in and life starts feeling overwhelming.
• 35:50 – Healing as a Couple and a Family Rocio talks about investing in personal growth, growing together as partners, and watching those lessons ripple through their children and extended family.
• 37:23 – Breaking Generational Trauma Angel recalls the moment he and Rocio decided that the painful patterns carried through their family line would stop with them.
• 39:08 – “Yes, I Can” vs. “You Can’t” Rocio and Angel share their favorite and least favorite words, ending the episode with a reminder to stop allowing other people to define what is possible for you.
• 40:06 – Where to Find Rocio, Angel, and The Orchid Rocio and Angel share where listeners can connect with their work and leave one final reminder: one of the greatest resources you have is yourself.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

 

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #GenerationalTrauma #BreakTheCycle #ChooseJoy #SelfLove #EmotionalHealing #IntentionalLiving #HealingJourney #PersonalGrowth #SelfWorth #SelfCompassion #TraumaRecovery #LettingGo #FindYourJoy #TheOrchid #RocioAndAngel

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when you finally realize the pain you’ve been carrying doesn’t have to define the rest of your life? In Part 1, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo, creators of The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses, for a raw conversation about forgiveness, trauma, self-awareness, relationships, and learning how to choose yourself.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Forgiveness isn’t about giving your power back to someone else. It’s about releasing what you no longer need to carry.” — Inspired by Rocio Aquino Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about trauma, abuse, suicidal thoughts, and a suicide attempt. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You do not have to be suicidal to reach out. Support is available for anyone experiencing emotional distress or crisis.

https://988lifeline.org/

Episode Description What if forgiveness isn’t really about the person who hurt you?

In Part 1 of this powerful two-part conversation, Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo join G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about the experiences that shaped their personal healing and eventually inspired The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses.

Rocio opens up about carrying shame, guilt, trauma, and the belief that life was happening against her. After a painful financial loss left her feeling betrayed, defeated, and responsible, curiosity pushed her toward a life-changing question: How do I forgive?

What began as a search for relief became a deeper journey into psychology, self-awareness, acceptance, and understanding the beliefs she had been taught about herself. Rocio explains that forgiveness eventually stopped being about the person who hurt her and became about releasing the emotional weight she was carrying inside.

Angel shares what it was like witnessing Rocio’s transformation while discovering his own understanding of personal power. Together, they explain why awareness is the starting point for change and why gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, and intention became central lessons behind The Orchid.

G-Rex also shares openly about her own suicide attempt, calling 988, and how therapy, self-forgiveness, and choosing to live changed her life. Dirty Skittles reflects on living in fight mode after childhood trauma and the process of becoming her own best friend.

This episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t erase what happened. It changes how much power the past gets to have over what comes next.

Keywords: forgiveness, trauma healing, self-forgiveness, self-awareness, emotional healing, childhood trauma, mental health recovery, inner child healing, self-discovery, intentional living, personal transformation, women’s mental health, gratitude, acceptance, overcoming shame

Meet Our Guests — Rocio Aquino & Angel Orengo Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo are the storytellers and creators behind The Orchid, a book and growing community dedicated to healing, self-discovery, purpose, and intentional living. Their work blends lived experience, honest reflection, storytelling, and meaningful conversation to help people better understand themselves, question inherited beliefs, and recognize their capacity for transformation.

Website: https://www.theorchidbook.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocioangel__/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocioangel.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rocioangel.theorchid

Key Takeaways

• Forgiveness can be less about the person who hurt you and more about freeing yourself from what you are still carrying.
• Curiosity can become the first step out of survival mode and into genuine self-awareness.
• Trauma, shame, guilt, and old family stories do not have to determine your identity forever.
• Understanding why you think the way you think creates space to make different choices.
• Gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, awareness, and intention can become practical tools for personal transformation.
• Becoming your own best friend can completely change how you experience yourself and the world around you.

Actionable Items

• Ask yourself: “Why do I believe what I believe about myself?” Write down whatever comes up without immediately judging or correcting it.
• Identify one resentment, painful memory, or old story that still takes up emotional energy and ask what releasing some of that weight could give back to you.
• Choose one small decision this week based on what you genuinely want instead of what you believe other people expect from you.

  References Mentioned The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses https://www.theorchidbook.com/

The Matrix — referenced by Rocio as an early catalyst for questioning limitations, reality, and personal possibility.

Important Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome to Part 1 + Meet Rocio and Angel Rocio and Angel introduce The Orchid and explain why the orchid became the symbol at the center of their story.
• 03:13 – Why They Chose Storytelling Over a Traditional Self-Help Book Rocio and Angel explain how their lived experiences and entertainment backgrounds inspired them to teach healing concepts through story.
• 06:17 – Rocio’s Transformation Begins Angel reflects on watching Rocio change after years of carrying shame, self-doubt, pain, and the feeling that she was never enough.
• 08:26 – Betrayal, Financial Loss, and the Search for Forgiveness A failed investment becomes a major turning point that sends Rocio searching for a practical way to forgive and move forward.
• 11:08 – G-Rex on Suicide, 988, and Choosing to Live G-Rex shares how calling 988 became part of her own turning point and how therapy, forgiveness, and doing the work changed her life.
• 18:13 – What Forgiveness Really Means Rocio explains how she realized forgiveness was ultimately for her—not for the person who hurt her.
• 22:03 – Learning to Understand Yourself Rocio discusses studying psychology, reading extensively, and recognizing how family, society, and old beliefs had shaped the way she saw herself.
• 24:58 – Curiosity, Travel, and Discovering Different Ways to Live Angel shares how traveling around the world helped them see that many of the “rules” we live by are not the only options available.
• 27:53 – Hope, Healing, and Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop G-Rex reflects on how life changed after her darkest moment and what it feels like to experience genuine happiness after years of pain.
• 30:18 – What Humans Around the World Have in Common Rocio and Angel talk about traveling to more than 70 countries and discovering how much people share across cultures.
• 33:00 – Angel’s Aha Moment: Recognizing His Own Power Angel describes realizing that many limitations are learned stories and that alignment between thoughts, feelings, words, and actions can change everything.
• 35:13 – Rocio, The Matrix, and Becoming “Neo” Rocio explains how seeing The Matrix in 1999 sparked questions about possibility, programming, and the life she could create.
• 37:02 – Becoming Your Own Best Friend Dirty Skittles and Rocio reflect on learning to love yourself, listen to yourself, and recognize what you actually need.
• 42:15 – The Five Lessons Behind The Orchid Angel breaks down the core framework woven into the book: awareness, gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, and intention.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #TraumaHealing #Forgiveness #SelfForgiveness #EmotionalHealing #SelfDiscovery #InnerChildHealing #IntentionalLiving #PersonalGrowth #SelfAwareness #HealingJourney #OvercomingTrauma #ChooseYourself #TheOrchid #RocioAndAngel #MentalHealthRecovery

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when anxiety, creative pressure, and everyday stress leave you feeling five minutes from completely losing your shit? G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Author David Meyer for a funny, thoughtful conversation about burnout, overthinking, empathy, self-care, and why making art can remind us that we’re not alone.

Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “If it touches one person, make the art.” — David Meyer Episode Description David Meyer knows what it feels like to live five minutes from a meltdown. The author, screenwriter, poet, and cooking-show producer joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles for a brutally relatable conversation about anxiety, burnout, creative pressure, and the strange little habits that keep us functioning when our brains refuse to calm the hell down.

David shares how a collection of hundreds of comedic poems became his book, Five Minutes From a Meltdown, and why humor has always helped him acknowledge emotions that might otherwise stay buried. For David, laughter is more than entertainment. It creates connection, offers relief, and reminds us that someone else has probably felt the exact same messy thing.

The conversation also gets real about the basics of mental health care: eating, sleeping, drinking water, exercising, resting, and admitting that the annoying advice often works. David opens up about balancing a demanding creative career with his well-being, managing the fear of disappointing people, and learning to create without waiting for perfect confidence.

He also introduces the idea of “sonder”—the realization that every person is living a life as complicated and meaningful as our own. That awareness can be overwhelming, but it can also make us kinder, more patient, and less likely to judge someone based on one difficult moment.

This episode is funny, thoughtful, and deeply human. It’s a reminder that nothing has to be perfect to have value—and sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is laugh, make the art, drink some water, and keep going.

Keywords: David Meyer, Five Minutes From a Meltdown, anxiety, burnout, mental health, emotional wellness, creative pressure, humor and healing, overthinking, self-care, empathy, resilience, perfectionism, stress management, creative confidence

Meet Our Guest — David Meyer David Meyer is the author of Five Minutes From a Meltdown, a candid and funny exploration of stress, resilience, and life near the edge of burnout. A writer and producer based in Los Angeles, David uses poetry, screenwriting, storytelling, and sharp observation to help people find humor, meaning, and connection inside life’s everyday chaos.

Website: https://davidmeyerwriter.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cubsdem
Email: david@davidmeyerwriter.com

Key Takeaways

• Humor can help us acknowledge difficult emotions without letting them completely take over.
• Burnout often gets worse when basic needs such as food, sleep, movement, water, and rest are ignored.
• You don’t need perfect confidence to make something meaningful.
• Creative work can help people feel seen, understood, and less alone.
• Remembering that everyone has a full, complicated life can build empathy and reduce judgment.
• Your work does not need to change the entire world to matter to one person.

Actionable Items

• Before labeling yourself unmotivated or overwhelmed, check the basics: Have you eaten, slept, moved your body, rested, and had enough water?
• Create something imperfect this week—a poem, journal entry, voice note, sketch, or story—and resist the urge to judge it.
• When someone frustrates you, pause and imagine one compassionate explanation for what they may be experiencing.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – Meet David Meyer David joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about writing, producing, books, movies, and the creative work that keeps him busy.
• 00:06:00 – From Buying Groceries to Producing a Cooking Show David explains how a short six-week job turned into a major production role and what he has learned from working with a small, driven creative team.
• 00:08:01 – Becoming a Writer and Accidental Published Poet David shares how he started writing as a child, discovered screenwriting in college, and turned hundreds of comedic poems into a published collection.
• 00:11:41 – Humor as Mental Health Medicine The conversation shifts to laughter, emotional release, and why art can make people feel recognized and less alone.
• 00:15:38 – A Good Childhood and an Anxious Brain David talks honestly about having a loving upbringing while still experiencing mental health challenges—and why pain does not always need a dramatic origin story.
• 00:17:23 – Creative Pressure, Burnout, and Basic Self-Care David describes the demands of producing a show and the frustrating truth that sleep, food, water, exercise, and rest really do help.
• 00:22:37 – What David Wants to Write Next From serious poetry and plays to screenplays and horror-comedy, David discusses his creative ambitions and the uncertainty of building a career in a changing industry.
• 00:24:48 – Confidence, Mortality, and Making the Art Anyway David explains how accepting that life is temporary helps him take risks, release perfectionism, and create work that may connect with even one person.
• 00:29:17 – Building a Sustainable Writing Practice David reflects on being an inspiration-driven writer and why he is learning to treat creativity as a skill that requires routine and consistent effort.
• 00:33:20 – Advice for His Younger Self David shares the message he would give his younger self: people probably see more value in you than you currently see in yourself.
• 00:35:20 – Sonder, Empathy, and Everyone Else’s Full Life David explores the realization that every stranger is the main character of a complex life—and how that awareness can make us kinder.
• 00:39:48 – The Theme Song for David’s Anxiety David chooses Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” and opens up about his fear of disappointing or emotionally hurting other people.
• 00:41:48 – Favorite Words, Swearing, and the Mental Load of AI David explains why “fuck” is his favorite word, why AI is currently his least favorite, and how language reflects the pressures of modern life.
• 00:44:33 – David’s Book and Charitable Mission David shares how listeners can find his work and explains that proceeds from his remaining books support charitable causes.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #DavidMeyer #FiveMinutesFromAMeltdown #BurnoutRecovery #AnxietySupport #CreativeMentalHealth #HumorHeals #EmotionalWellness #StressManagement #Overthinking #SelfCareMatters #CreativeConfidence #EmpathyMatters #Resilience #MentalHealthConversations #WritersMentalHealth

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Justin Shaw went from addiction, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and spiritual rock bottom to a life-changing “bliss attack” that completely rewired how he saw himself. In this raw, funny, and deeply human conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles talk with Justin about shadow work, religious trauma, emotional healing, and what happens when we stop letting fear drive the damn car.

Awards & Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“The shadow is the reactor. The sorcerer is the responder.” — Justin Shaw

Episode Description

Justin Shaw knows what it feels like when the shadow takes the wheel. After years of addiction, PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief, and spiritual confusion, he reached a point where survival was no longer enough. He wanted to understand why pain kept repeating itself—and how to stop reacting from wounds he had never learned to heal.

In this bold and brutally honest conversation, Justin joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to explain why our shadow cannot simply be locked in the trunk and ignored. Instead, he believes we must recognize it, care for it, and move it into the back seat where it no longer controls every decision. Justin shares how comedy first became a way to escape emotional pain, how substance use took over his twenties, and why traditional recovery and religious spaces helped him for a time but eventually left him trapped in fear.

He also opens up about losing his mother, questioning beliefs about hell and worthiness, and experiencing what he calls a “bliss attack”—a powerful wave of love, clarity, and connection that changed the direction of his life. Through his book, Sourcery 101: 13 Rungs to a Higher Elevation of Consciousness, Justin now offers a practical, no-BS path toward emotional alchemy, curiosity, and personal freedom.

This episode is about questioning inherited beliefs, separating your identity from your trauma, and learning to respond instead of react. It is messy, funny, spiritual, uncomfortable, and full of hope—because healing is not about becoming someone new. It is about remembering who the hell you were before fear took over.

Keywords: Justin Shaw, shadow work, addiction recovery, PTSD healing, anxiety support, depression recovery, emotional freedom, religious trauma, spiritual awakening, trauma healing, mental health podcast, consciousness, self-awareness, emotional wellness, personal growth

Meet Our Guest — Justin Shaw

Justin L. Shaw is a mystical comedian, spiritual sherpa, author, and self-described Sourcerer who uses humor and higher-consciousness principles to help people transform pain into wisdom. After navigating addiction, PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief, and religious fear, Justin developed a grounded approach to healing that blends comedy, curiosity, shadow work, and spiritual connection without dogma or toxic positivity.

• Website: https://www.awakenthesourcerer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sorcerer_u_13/
• Book: Sourcery 101: 13 Rungs to a Higher Elevation of Consciousness - Available through Amazon and Audible.

Key Takeaways

• Your shadow is not something to destroy—it is something to understand, care for, and stop allowing to run your life.
• Unhealed trauma often shows up as anger, reactivity, addiction, anxiety, or destructive behavior.
• You are not your diagnosis, addiction, fear, or trauma. You are the awareness observing those experiences.
• Healing is not one-size-fits-all, and recovery should leave room for different spiritual beliefs and personal paths.
• Questioning inherited beliefs can be painful, but curiosity creates space for emotional freedom.
• Happiness comes from temporary experiences, while joy can remain present between those moments.

Actionable Items

• When you feel triggered, pause and ask: “Am I reacting from my shadow, or responding from awareness?”
• Write down one belief you inherited about yourself, religion, success, or worthiness—and honestly question whether it is still true.
• Create a healthy outlet for anger or fear through journaling, movement, comedy, music, art, or honest conversation.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – Welcome to Justin Shaw G-Rex and Dirty Skittles introduce Justin and jump into his description of being “a little bit Deepak and a little bit Tupac.”
• 00:01:26 – Understanding the Shadow and the Sorcerer Justin explains how the shadow can drive the car, sit in the passenger seat, or rest safely in the back seat when we learn to care for it.
• 00:05:26 – Healthy Ways to Work With Anger From journaling and exercise to comedy and creative expression, Justin shares ways to process shadow emotions without harming ourselves or others.
• 00:08:42 – Comedy as a Pain-Ducker Justin talks about growing up emotionally unsupported and using humor, television, food, and entertainment to create relief and connection.
• 00:13:05 – Addiction, Rehab, and Relapse He opens up about addiction to opioids and benzodiazepines, his first attempt at rehab, and why physical sobriety alone was not enough.
• 00:15:39 – Recovery, Religion, and Fear Justin describes following the AA and Christianity path, then spiraling after his mother became terminally ill and he feared she was going to hell.
• 00:17:35 – Rebuilding Beliefs After Religious Trauma Working with a shaman, meditation, and self-inquiry helped Justin challenge dogma and begin separating spirituality from fear.
• 00:19:32 – Justin’s First “Bliss Attack” Justin describes a three-hour experience of love, clarity, and spiritual connection that became his “near-life experience.”
• 00:20:45 – Loss, Grief, and Searching for Direction After losing contact with his young son, Justin moved to Sedona and asked the universe for guidance about what to do next.
• 00:22:32 – The Difference Between Happiness and Joy Justin explains why temporary pleasure is not the same as cultivating a deeper, more sustainable sense of inner peace.
• 00:25:30 – Spiritual Healing Outside Traditional Religion G-Rex and Justin connect over religious trauma, changing beliefs, and finding support beyond the walls of a church.
• 00:31:36 – Creating Sourcery 101 Justin shares why he created 13 “rungs” instead of 12 steps and how his framework turns pain into emotional alchemy.
• 00:33:29 – Healing Is Not One-Size-Fits-All The conversation explores spiritual bankruptcy, anxiety, depression, PTSD, recovery, and the need for more inclusive healing options.
• 00:38:25 – Questioning Childhood Programming Justin discusses how early messages shape identity and why adults must learn to question the beliefs installed during childhood.
• 00:42:30 – Advice to His Younger Self Justin says he would tell his teenage self to question everything and approach life with curiosity.
• 00:44:32 – The Hardest Lesson Justin Learned He reflects on realizing how many beliefs he accepted from people who may not have understood the truth themselves.
• 00:45:54 – Anxiety’s Theme Song Justin chooses the Indiana Jones theme because anxiety can feel like a wild journey filled with rising intensity and sudden drops.
• 00:47:11 – Favorite and Least Favorite Words Justin names his favorite word without hesitation and explains why “church” still brings up painful emotional memories.
• 00:48:47 – Where to Find Justin and His Work Justin shares his social media, book, audiobook, email, and vision for combining spiritual growth with live mystical comedy.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

 

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #JustinShaw #ShadowWork #AddictionRecovery #PTSDRecovery #AnxietyHealing #DepressionRecovery #ReligiousTrauma #SpiritualAwakening #EmotionalFreedom #TraumaHealing #MentalHealthRecovery #SelfAwareness #ConsciousLiving #EmotionalWellness #Sourcery101

 

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This conversation concludes our two-part Season 19 opener with Diandra Ford-Wing. In Part 2, Diandra joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to ask one hell of an important question: why are employees expected to navigate grief, burnout, mental health leave, and returning to work almost entirely alone? Together, they imagine a more human workplace built on emotional intelligence, practical support, psychological safety, and leaders who actually know how to lead people.

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes references to suicide, depression, mental health crises, workplace trauma, and medical leave. Please listen with care.

If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 in the United States and Canada to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is available, and asking for it is an act of strength.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
• Global crisis resources: https://findahelpline.com/

Awards & Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:

https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Losing people won’t kill you. It can teach you how deeply you were capable of loving them.” — Inspired by Diandra Ford-Wing

Episode Description

What happens when an employee is too mentally unwell to work—but also too overwhelmed to navigate the system that is supposed to help them?

In Part 2 of our Season 19 opener, Diandra Ford-Wing, G-Rex, and Dirty Skittles take an unfiltered look at workplace mental health, FMLA, toxic leadership, grief literacy, and the emotional cost of being treated like a replaceable number.

Diandra shares how FMLA gave her the time she needed to recover after a suicide attempt, while Dirty Skittles describes the exhausting hoops she faced when severe burnout left her unable to form sentences or manage complicated paperwork. Their experiences reveal a brutal contradiction: people often need the most administrative help at the exact moment they are least capable of advocating for themselves.

The conversation also examines what happens when employees return from leave. Who prepares the manager? How should coworkers respond? Why are struggling employees expected to disclose private medical details just to satisfy someone else’s curiosity?

Together, the group imagines better systems: trained leave coordinators, crisis support that exists outside traditional HR, emotional intelligence standards for managers, return-to-work plans, ongoing leadership education, and workplaces where asking for help feels safe.

Diandra also reflects on the advice she would give her 16-year-old self, the hardest lesson she has learned through loss, and the tattoo she shares with her twin sister commemorating the 16,282 days their mother was alive.

This episode is a call for workplaces to stop treating mental health as a personal inconvenience. Employees are human beings—not machines, metrics, or cogs in somebody else’s wheel.

Keywords: Diandra Ford-Wing, workplace mental health, FMLA mental health, burnout leave, grief in the workplace, toxic workplace recovery, emotional intelligence, employee wellbeing, return to work, mental health accommodations, leadership training, workplace crisis support, psychological safety, bereavement reform, human-centered leadership

Meet Our Guest — Diandra Ford-Wing

Diandra Ford-Wing is an author, speaker, Sales Director, and workplace grief advocate committed to creating conversations about loss, burnout, resilience, and humanity at work. Through her speaking platform and her debut novel, Red Bird, she uses personal experience and storytelling to help others feel less alone while encouraging organizations to respond to grief and mental health crises with greater compassion.

• Website: http://booksbydiandra.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diandrafordwing
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diandrafordwing
• Book: Red Bird by Diandra Ford-Wing

Key Takeaways

• Human resources primarily protects the organization, so employees need independent and accessible mental health support.
• FMLA can provide essential recovery time, but the application process may overwhelm people already experiencing a crisis.
• Employees returning from mental health leave do not owe coworkers the details of what happened.
• Managers need practical training in burnout, grief, emotional intelligence, crisis response, and psychologically safe communication.
• Supporting someone can be as simple as checking whether they ate, rested, brushed their teeth, or need quiet companionship.
• Losing someone can change you without ending you, and healing does not erase the love that remains.

Actionable Items

• Prepare a return-to-work sentence before taking leave or coming back: “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not discussing the details. I’m ready to focus on moving forward.”
• Create a personal crisis folder containing benefit contacts, insurance information, leave policies, medical providers, and one trusted person authorized to help you navigate paperwork.
• Leaders should schedule regular, private check-ins that ask about workload, safety, capacity, and support—not just performance metrics.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:46 — Taking the first step toward workplace reform: Diandra explains why simply getting into the room and beginning the conversation can create meaningful change.
• 00:01:56 — The need for workplace grief and crisis support: The group discusses why HR alone cannot provide the independent emotional support employees need.
• 00:03:40 — When burnout leaves you unable to advocate for yourself: Dirty Skittles describes how mental exhaustion made navigating medical leave and workplace procedures nearly impossible.
• 00:05:43 — How FMLA supported Diandra’s recovery: Diandra shares how her mother and manager helped her access leave after a suicide attempt.
• 00:06:44 — The exhausting reality of FMLA paperwork: The conversation exposes the deadlines, documentation, costs, and administrative pressure placed on people in crisis.
• 00:08:14 — Returning to work after mental health leave: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles discuss privacy, intrusive questions, and preparing a script for coworkers.
• 00:10:41 — What meaningful support can look like: The hosts share why simple, low-pressure check-ins can matter more than advice or demands for conversation.
• 00:12:45 — Building assessments and crisis-response systems: The group imagines tools that could help managers and leave coordinators identify escalating levels of distress.
• 00:14:45 — Why emotional intelligence must be a leadership requirement: Diandra reflects on how therapy changed the way she would lead and why technical skill alone does not make someone fit to manage people.
• 00:18:42 — Good managers, self-check-ins, and changing work culture: G-Rex discusses the leaders who made employees feel seen and the self-care questions she now asks herself.
• 00:21:21 — What must change first?: The conversation turns toward realistic reforms, including workload expectations, psychological safety, and leadership accountability.
• 00:25:38 — Why an EAP is not enough: The group challenges companies that point employees toward limited assistance programs without fixing harmful workplace conditions.
• 00:26:59 — Men, stigma, and asking for help: G-Rex directly addresses the shame many men experience around burnout, grief, and mental health leave.
• 00:28:00 — The advice Diandra would give her younger self: Diandra returns to age 16 with one clear message: things will get better.
• 00:29:18 — The hardest lesson loss taught her: Diandra explains why losing someone will not kill you and shares the meaning of the tattoo honoring her mother’s 16,282 days.
• 00:30:26 — Anxiety theme songs and favorite words: The episode closes with humor, reflection, and Diandra’s refusal to accept the word “can’t.”

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:

https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

 

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #WorkplaceMentalHealth #FMLA #BurnoutRecovery #GriefAtWork #EmployeeWellbeing #ToxicWorkplace #EmotionalIntelligence #PsychologicalSafety #LeadershipDevelopment #MentalHealthLeave #BereavementReform #HumanCenteredLeadership #WorkplaceWellness #DiandraFordWing #Season19

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Season 19 of Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads. We’re opening the season with a powerful two-part conversation about grief, survival, workplace burnout, and what it takes to rebuild your life after everything changes without your permission. In Part 1, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with author Diandra Ford-Wing for a raw conversation about surviving a suicide attempt, losing her mother, stepping away from burnout, and learning that grief is love with nowhere to go.

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes an open discussion of depression, suicide, hospitalization, grief, and the loss of a parent. Please listen with care.

If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 in the United States and Canada to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are not weak, broken, or alone, and you deserve support.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
• Global crisis resources: https://findahelpline.com/

Awards & Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:

https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Grief is just love with nowhere to go.” — Diandra Ford-Wing

Episode Description

Burnout does not always arrive with a dramatic breakdown. Sometimes, it looks like showing up, hitting your numbers, answering messages, and quietly disappearing inside yourself.

In Part 1 of our Season 19 opener, author Diandra Ford-Wing joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to share what happened when grief, depression, and workplace exhaustion became too heavy to carry. After the sudden death of her mother, Diandra stepped away from a successful career and gave herself something corporate life rarely offers: time to stop, feel, and heal.

Diandra also speaks openly about surviving a suicide attempt at 24. She remembers the depression she could not name, the friend who found her, and the mother who made the difficult decision to place her in professional care. That choice saved Diandra’s life and began a relationship with therapy that continues today.

The conversation explores what it means to lose the person who made you feel safe, why three to five bereavement days are nowhere near enough, and how support systems can keep us standing when grief knocks the air out of us. Diandra explains the therapy exercise that helped her understand grief as love searching for somewhere to land.

She also shares how writing her debut novel, Red Bird, became a love letter to her mother and Aunt Audrey—and a safe harbor for others navigating loss.

This episode is honest as hell, but it is also filled with hope. You can survive the thing you believed would destroy you. You can ask for help. You can honor the people you have lost by choosing to keep living.

Keywords: Diandra Ford-Wing, grief recovery, workplace burnout, suicide prevention, depression recovery, losing a parent, grief and mental health, therapy, bereavement support, healing after loss, maternal loss, emotional resilience, Red Bird novel, storytelling as healing, mental health podcast

Meet Our Guest — Diandra Ford-Wing

Diandra Ford-Wing is an author, speaker, and accomplished Sales Director whose experiences with grief, depression, career burnout, and healing inspired her to use storytelling as a source of connection. Her debut novel, Red Bird, is a heartfelt tribute to her mother and Aunt Audrey and an exploration of love, loss, resilience, and the complicated beauty of being human.

• Website: http://booksbydiandra.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diandrafordwing
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diandrafordwing
• Book: Red Bird by Diandra Ford-Wing

Key Takeaways

• Burnout can build quietly until your mind and body have nothing left to give.
• Asking for professional help is not a failure; it can be the decision that saves a life.
• A strong support system does not need perfect words—it needs consistency and presence.
• Grief has no corporate timeline, and a few bereavement days cannot contain the loss of someone you love.
• Therapy can help name emotions that feel too complicated or painful to explain.
• Storytelling can give grief somewhere to go and transform private pain into connection.

Actionable Items

• Write a free-association list of every word you connect with grief, burnout, or loss. Review the list and notice which themes keep appearing.
• Identify three people you can contact when you are not okay, and tell them what useful support looks like for you.
• Check your current level of exhaustion honestly. Ask yourself whether you need rest, professional support, medical leave, firmer boundaries, or a larger life change.

Important Chapters

• 00:01:07 — When burnout and grief collide: Diandra explains how her mother’s death intensified an exhaustion that had already been building and why she ultimately stepped away from work.
• 00:07:09 — Taking time off and writing Red Bird: During an 11-month career pause, Diandra wrote and published the novel that transformed her grief into a tribute to the women who shaped her.
• 00:08:39 — Why workplaces need grief literacy: The conversation turns to productivity culture, employee burnout, and the lack of meaningful support for grieving workers.
• 00:10:16 — Diandra’s suicide attempt and mental health crisis: Diandra shares the depression she experienced at 24, the night her friend found her, and the emergency care that followed.
• 00:11:58 — The decision that saved her life: Diandra’s mother recognized that love alone was not enough and insisted that her daughter receive professional psychiatric care.
• 00:14:46 — Gratitude, therapy, and learning how to cope: Diandra reflects on the coping tools she did not yet have and why she remains committed to therapy.
• 00:16:33 — Mourning a parent before the loss: Diandra discusses anticipatory grief and the ways she imagined her mother’s death before it happened.
• 00:18:32 — Grief is love with nowhere to go: A therapy exercise helps Diandra find the language that now shapes how she understands and carries grief.
• 00:20:19 — G-Rex on honoring her mother through the podcast: G-Rex shares why the show launched on Valentine’s Day and how she changed the meaning of a painful anniversary.
• 00:22:47 — Why bereavement policies fail grieving employees: The group challenges the idea that loss can be processed within a standard three-to-five-day leave period.
• 00:24:15 — The people who helped Diandra keep standing: Diandra speaks about the support of her husband, twin sister, older sister, and brother.
• 00:25:22 — Turning grief into advocacy: Diandra shares her goal of speaking on larger platforms and bringing more humanity into workplace culture.

Closing CTA

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Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:

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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #GriefRecovery #SuicidePrevention #DepressionRecovery #WorkplaceBurnout #TherapyWorks #LosingAParent #BereavementSupport #HealingAfterLoss #EmotionalResilience #StorytellingHeals #RedBird #DiandraFordWing #Season19 #GriefAwareness #YouAreNotAlone

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
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• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

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Season 18 reminded us that healing is not always about becoming someone new. Sometimes, it is about finding your way back to the person you were before trauma, shame, burnout, illness, or other people’s expectations pulled you away from yourself.

In this season-ender, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles look back at eight unforgettable guests, the lessons that stayed with them, and the conversations that changed how they think about anxiety, emotional healing, healthy masculinity, self-love, neurodivergence, food freedom, trauma, and listening to the body.

Awards and Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner for Best Health, a 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner for Best Mental Health Podcast, a 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner for Best Mental Health Podcast, and a 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner for Best Hosts, with more than 4.5 million downloads and listeners in more than 160 countries.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave us written or voice feedback here:

https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about coming home to the person you were before the world taught you to leave.” — Inspired by the guests of Season 18

Trigger Notice and Crisis Reminder

This episode includes conversations about suicide, suicidal thoughts, childhood sexual abuse, trauma, grief, serious illness, and mental health crises. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.  https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the United States:  https://findahelpline.com/

Episode Description

Season 18 brought us eight guests with completely different stories, but one truth kept showing up: healing begins when we stop running from ourselves and start listening.

In this season-ender, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles revisit the conversations that changed how they think about mental health, parenting, masculinity, trauma, food, illness, self-worth, and the way the body carries what the mind tries to bury.

Nancy Gilette reminded us that behavior is communication and that connection needs to come before correction. Dr. Mark Sherwood showed us what it means to become a hope dealer, especially for people who feel forgotten or written off. Dominic Petty helped us see that peace is not some distant finish line. It is the baseline underneath the noise.

Jason Lange gave men permission to feel what is happening in their bodies and talk about it without shame. Michelle Petties challenged diet culture by showing us that food noise is often emotional noise in disguise. Michael Caprio proved that a life-changing diagnosis can become part of your story without becoming the end of it. Alan Katz showed us that telling yourself the truth can set you free, even decades later. Anat Peri reminded us that the only way to feel better is to get better at feeling.

G-Rex and Dirty Skittles also reflect on their own growth, the ridiculous lies anxiety tells us, and what happens when you finally answer that voice with two words: watch me.

This episode is honest, funny, emotional, and full of reminders that your body is not the enemy, your emotions are not weaknesses, and asking for help carries absolutely zero shame.

Keywords: mental health podcast, emotional healing, coming home to yourself, anxiety recovery, self-discovery, trauma healing, emotional wellness, healthy masculinity, neurodivergent parenting, food freedom, self-love, body awareness, emotional literacy, personal growth, mental health awareness

Meet Our Guests — Season 18

Season 18 featured eight guests with eight very different stories, but every conversation gave us one unforgettable lesson about healing, self-awareness, and finding our way back to ourselves.

Nancy Gilette

Nancy taught us that behavior is communication. Before we rush to correct, fix, or control someone, especially a child, we need to slow down, listen, and connect first.

Dr. Mark Sherwood

Mark reminded us that hope can be life-saving. Even the smallest glimmer of hope can interrupt the darkness and help someone believe that more is still possible.

Dominic Petty

Dominic taught us that peace is not something we have to chase. It already exists beneath the anxiety, the noise, and the emotional chaos. The work is learning how to return to it.

Jason Lange

Jason showed us that emotional strength begins with body awareness. When men learn to name what they feel and take responsibility for their pain, they are less likely to pass that pain on to the people they love.

Michelle Petties

Michelle taught us that food struggles are rarely just about food. Lasting change begins when we understand the emotions, beliefs, and unmet needs underneath the behavior.

Michael Caprio

Michael reminded us that a diagnosis can change your life without ending it. Gratitude does not erase pain, but it can help us build meaning, connection, and hope on the other side of it.

Alan Katz

Alan taught us that the truth can set us free, even decades later. Healing began when he stopped blaming himself for what happened and finally told his own story with honesty and compassion.

Anat Peri

Anat reminded us that the only way to feel better is to get better at feeling. Self-love grows when we stop running from our emotions and learn how to sit with ourselves without judgment.

Key Takeaways

• Healing is not always a reinvention. Sometimes, it is a return to the most honest version of yourself.
• The body is a messenger, not the enemy.
• Connection creates more change than shame or correction.
• Emotional literacy helps us understand what is happening inside us.
• Rock bottom can become a turning point, but asking for help should come sooner.
• Your worth does not depend on achievement, toughness, productivity, or perfection.

Actionable Items

• Ask yourself, “What is my body trying to tell me right now?”
• Replace broad words like “fine” or “stressed” with a more specific emotion.
• When anxiety says you cannot do something, answer it with evidence and two words: “Watch me.”

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 — Welcome to the Season 18 Ender, celebrating 18 seasons with laughs and side quests.
• 00:05:17 — The Thread That Connected the Season: Finding your way back to yourself.
• 00:08:11 — Growth, Reassurance, and Reinvention: How the season changed G-Rex and Dirty Skittles.
• 00:11:09 — Nancy Gilette Connection before correction.
• 00:14:58 — Dr. Mark Sherwood Hope, vulnerability, and first responder mental health.
• 00:17:31 — Dominic Petty Inner peace, relationship healing, and baby spiders.
• 00:25:16 — Jason Lange Men’s groups, emotions, and healthy masculinity.
• 00:30:08 — Michelle Petties Food freedom and emotional eating.
• 00:33:20 — Michael Caprio Rare disease, gratitude, and resilience.
• 00:35:19 — Alan Katz Childhood trauma and telling yourself the truth.
• 00:37:14 — Anat Peri Self-love and learning to feel.
• 00:39:26 — Gratitude for the Season: Thanking the guests, listeners, and each other.
• 00:40:42 — What Anxiety Told G-Rex From “You won’t make it” to “Watch me.”
• 00:42:18 — Goodbye to Season 18: Closing out the season and welcoming Season 19.

Closing CTA

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Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our website:

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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #ComingHomeToYourself #EmotionalHealing #SelfDiscovery #AnxietyRecovery #TraumaHealing #EmotionalWellness #HealthyMasculinity #MensMentalHealth #NeurodivergentParenting #FoodFreedom #SelfLoveJourney #EmotionalLiteracy #BodyAwareness #PersonalGrowth #HealingJourney

 

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

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What happens when losing the life you thought you wanted finally sets you free? G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Anat Peri to talk about hitting rock bottom, uncovering childhood wounds, learning to feel your feelings, and building the kind of self-love that changes everything.

Awards & Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“The only way to feel better is to get better at feeling.” — Anat Peri

Trigger Notice and Crisis Reminder

This episode includes conversations about emotional trauma, anxiety, substance misuse, depression, and suicide rates. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or considering suicide, call or text 988 in the United States and Canada. For international crisis resources, visit: https://findahelpline.com

Episode Description

When Anat Peri discovered evidence that her five-year relationship was ending, she felt devastated—but underneath the heartbreak was an unexpected realization: she was finally free. Three weeks later, she boarded a one-way flight to California with $2,000, $40,000 in debt, no car, no job, and no permanent home. That rock-bottom moment became the beginning of her real journey toward self-love.

In this raw and deeply practical conversation, Anat joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to explain why personal growth requires more than positive thinking and intellectual breakthroughs. She shares how codependency, emotional disconnection, and an unhealed father wound shaped her relationships, career choices, and belief that she had to work harder to be worthy.

Anat also breaks down what it means to reparent yourself, recognize the childhood scripts still directing your adult life, and safely express emotions instead of judging, suppressing, or analyzing them. She explains why unfamiliar feelings can register as threats to the nervous system—and how giving an emotion your full attention for just 90 seconds can begin building emotional capacity.

This episode is a powerful reminder that healing is not about becoming someone else. It is about letting go of inherited roles, reconnecting with your body, and trusting that you are worthy without hustling, performing, or proving yourself. Your feelings are not the enemy. They are part of the path home.

Keywords: Anat Peri, self-love, emotional healing, inner child healing, reparenting, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, childhood trauma, father wound, codependency recovery, emotional expression, anxiety support, personal transformation, self-worth, generational healing

Meet Our Guest — Anat Peri

Anat Peri is the CEO and Founder of Training Camp for the Soul and the creator and Master Facilitator of the TCS Method, a transformational coaching framework that blends mindset work, somatic healing, and inner-child reparenting. With nearly two decades of experience in developmental and trauma-informed coaching, she helps coaches, healers, and business leaders move beyond survival, break painful patterns, and create lasting emotional freedom.

Website: https://trainingcampforthesoul.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anat.peri/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anat-peri

Key Takeaways

• Rock bottom can become the moment you finally stop living a life that no longer belongs to you.
• Self-love means becoming your own inner best friend, cheerleader, protector, and nurturer.
• Many adult relationship patterns are childhood survival strategies playing out in a different setting.
• Positive thinking cannot replace the emotional work of grieving, feeling, and healing.
• Emotions are not dangerous; they often feel threatening simply because they are unfamiliar.
• You do not have to hustle, overperform, or overgive to prove that you are worthy of receiving.

  Actionable Items

• Use an emotion or mood chart to identify exactly what you are feeling instead of defaulting to words such as “sad,” “bad,” or “anxious.”
• Set a timer for 90 seconds and allow an emotion to move through your body using sound, facial expression, movement, and breath—without judging or explaining it.
• Ask yourself: “Am I choosing this because it is aligned with who I am, or am I repeating a role I learned in childhood?”

References Mentioned

Training Camp for the Soul: https://trainingcampforthesoul.com

Yale Mood Meter: https://moodmeterapp.com

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org

Global Crisis Resources: https://findahelpline.com

The Chopra Center and the teachings of Deepak Chopra were also discussed as part of Anat’s healing environment and professional journey.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – Meet Anat Peri Anat shares how growing up on the East Coast eventually led her to San Diego—and why California always felt like home.
• 00:02:17 – Arriving at Rock Bottom With limited money, significant debt, and no job or home, Anat makes the life-changing decision to move across the country.
• 00:04:06 – Codependency, Heartbreak, and Freedom Anat reflects on losing herself in relationships and the betrayal that finally gave her permission to leave.
• 00:06:35 – One Hundred Days of Dating Herself Unable to enjoy her own company, Anat commits to spending 100 days building a relationship with herself.
• 00:08:35 – Reconnecting With Her Body She discusses dissociation, plant medicine, stored tension, and realizing how much of her life had been lived inside her head.
• 00:10:05 – The Relationship That Revealed Her Father Wound An emotionally significant relationship uncovers childhood grief and introduces Anat to deeper inner child work.
• 00:12:11 – The Support Behind the Healing Anat explains how mentorship, meditation, yoga, friendships, and her work environment supported her transformation.
• 00:15:40 – Recognizing Childhood Relationship Patterns She examines how her father’s absence shaped beliefs about being invisible, unimportant, and repeatedly chosen second.
• 00:20:13 – Relationships as Mirrors for Growth G-Rex and Anat discuss healthy partnerships, vulnerability, and why lasting relationships require ongoing inner work.
• 00:22:10 – Moving From Survivor to Creator Anat explains how inherited family scripts and generational learning can quietly control adult decisions.
• 00:26:08 – Why the Work Never Really Ends Marriage, entrepreneurship, and reinvention continue to reveal new levels of healing and personal growth.
• 00:29:47 – Choosing Joy Over External Success The conversation turns to money, career expectations, social media comparison, and defining success for yourself.
• 00:34:31 – The Only Way to Feel Better Anat explains why talking about feelings is different from physically and emotionally expressing them.
• 00:38:16 – Teaching Children Emotional Safety Dirty Skittles shares how she helps her son name and process emotions rather than dismissing or suppressing them.
• 00:40:53 – Building Your Emotional Vocabulary Anat introduces the Mood Meter and a 90-second practice for making unfamiliar emotions feel safer in the nervous system.
• 00:44:09 – What Anat Would Tell Her Younger Self She offers her 12-year-old self a message about intelligence, talent, self-acceptance, and future impact.
• 00:44:37 – The Cost of Not Believing in Herself Anat reflects on leadership, business mistakes, overgiving, and learning that she is worthy simply because she exists.
• 00:46:46 – Anxiety, Alignment, and Letting Go of “Try” The episode closes with Anat’s reflections on anxiety, her word of the year, and her choice to align with her authentic self.

Closing CTA

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Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

 

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #AnatPeri #SelfLoveJourney #InnerChildHealing #SomaticHealing #EmotionalHealing #FeelYourFeelings #NervousSystemRegulation #Reparenting #CodependencyRecovery #ChildhoodTraumaHealing #GenerationalHealing #SelfWorth #TraumaInformedCoaching #EmotionalFreedom #TrainingCampForTheSoul

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alan Katz spent decades telling other people’s stories while hiding the most painful chapter of his own. In this raw conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with the former Tales From the Crypt writer and producer to talk about childhood sexual trauma, self-blame, suicidal despair, creativity, and the brutal honesty that finally helped him reconnect with himself.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“You’ve got to be brutally honest with yourself about yourself. Then you can maybe find happiness.” — Alan Katz

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes candid conversations about childhood sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts, self-blame, depression, and emotional trauma. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States or visit: https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the United States, visit: https://findahelpline.com/

Episode Description

For most of his life, Alan Katz was a professional storyteller who could build characters, write dark comedy, and help shape iconic projects like HBO’s Tales From the Crypt. But beneath the success was a story he could not fully tell himself.

At 14, Alan was sexually abused by a religious authority figure. After the abuse happened a second time, he began carrying a devastating belief: when something bad happens, it must be his fault. That belief became a lifelong pattern of self-blame, disconnection, rage, and emotional pain.

In this honest conversation with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles, Alan shares how he reached the lowest point of his life just before Christmas in 2016, when he came within inches of ending it. Choosing to seek immediate help became the first step toward stabilizing his mental health, confronting the truth of his trauma, and reconnecting with the 14-year-old version of himself who had carried the blame for far too long.

Alan also takes us behind the scenes of his Hollywood career, from his arrival in Los Angeles to his role in developing the Crypt Keeper’s unforgettable personality. He explains how creative success can become its own mountain—and how painful it can be when identity, purpose, and career begin to fall apart.

This episode is about more than survival. It is about speaking up, releasing shame, reclaiming creativity, and discovering that the truth really can set you free.

Keywords: Alan Katz, childhood trauma, childhood sexual abuse, emotional freedom, trauma recovery, suicidal thoughts, depression recovery, self-blame, mental health healing, emotional honesty, inner child healing, storytelling, Tales From the Crypt, creative identity, suicide prevention

Meet Our Guest — Alan Katz

Alan Katz is a writer, producer, storyteller, and podcaster whose entertainment career includes work on HBO’s iconic Tales From the Crypt. After decades of professional storytelling, Alan confronted the childhood trauma and self-blame that had disconnected him from himself, transforming his personal healing into a deeper purpose: making the world better through honest storytelling.

He is also the co-founder of Costard and Touchstone, a podcast production company named after two Shakespearean “wise fools” known for speaking truth to power.

Website: https://costardandtouchstone.com

Key Takeaways

• Childhood trauma can quietly create patterns of shame and self-blame that last for decades.
• What happened to you is not automatically your fault, even when trauma convinces you otherwise.
• Speaking the truth about your own story can rebuild your connection to yourself.
• Medication can be a valuable part of mental health treatment when used with informed medical support.
• Career success cannot heal emotional wounds that have never been acknowledged.
• Creativity can return with greater depth when it is grounded in honesty and purpose.

Actionable Items

• Write a compassionate note to the younger version of yourself who carried blame that never belonged to them.
• Identify one painful belief you have treated as fact, then ask: “Is this actually true, or is this something trauma taught me?”
• Tell one safe, trusted person what you are going through instead of trying to carry it alone.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:57 – Meeting Alan Katz Alan describes himself as the final product of a remarkable story—one that proved the truth could set him free.
• 00:01:42 – Success, identity, and falling off “Showbiz Mountain” Alan explains why staying successful in Hollywood can be more emotionally damaging than reaching the top.
• 00:05:00 – Finding purpose through truthful storytelling He shares how reconnecting with himself helped him discover a deeper mission behind the work he had already been doing.
• 00:06:40 – The childhood trauma Alan kept from himself Alan reveals that he was sexually abused at 14 and explains how the second incident created a lifelong pattern of self-blame.
• 00:08:12 – Coming within inches of suicide Alan recounts the crisis he experienced three days before Christmas in 2016 and the decision to seek immediate medical help.
• 00:10:39 – Finding a medication that helped stabilize him He describes how a mood stabilizer interrupted overwhelming rage and gave him space between emotion and reaction.
• 00:14:38 – Reconnecting with his 14-year-old self Alan talks about embracing the younger version of himself who had carried guilt and shame for decades.
• 00:16:02 – How emotional healing changed his creativity Truth gave Alan access to a wider emotional range and helped him evolve from a strong writer into a purposeful storyteller.
• 00:17:15 – Leaving acting behind and becoming a writer Alan shares how a rough audition helped redirect him toward screenwriting and, eventually, Hollywood.
• 00:20:42 – Meeting creative partner Gil Adler He explains how their shared belief in solving production problems through creativity shaped their partnership.
• 00:22:38 – Joining HBO’s Tales From the Crypt Alan reveals how he became the show’s story editor when the series was originally expected to end.
• 00:27:21 – Saving the show from cancellation Alan and Gil helped revive the series by protecting the rebellious spirit of the original comic books.
• 00:28:53 – Creating the Crypt Keeper’s personality Alan explains how he gave the Crypt Keeper a character, a voice, and a twisted sense of humor, based in part on his own personality.
• 00:32:31 – Moving Tales From the Crypt into feature films The conversation turns to Demon Knight, Hollywood expectations, and the fear of being pigeonholed creatively.
• 00:34:20 – When a dream project was suddenly killed Alan recounts how Universal shut down a deeply personal film project and replaced it with Bordello of Blood.
• 00:37:23 – The mental health cost of creative loss He reflects on how one devastating professional decision became a turning point in his emotional decline.
• 00:38:11 – The advice Alan would give his younger self His message to his 14-year-old self is simple and powerful: “Speak up.”
• 00:38:32 – The hardest lesson he has learned Alan explains why brutal honesty with yourself is essential to healing and happiness.
• 00:39:24 – Alan’s work today He introduces Costard and Touchstone and shares how the company uses podcasting and storytelling to speak truth to power.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #AlanKatz #ChildhoodTrauma #TraumaRecovery #EmotionalFreedom #InnerChildHealing #SuicidePrevention #DepressionRecovery #TruthTelling #EmotionalHealing #MentalHealthMatters #SelfBlame #CreativeHealing #TalesFromTheCrypt #StorytellingHeals #HealingJourney #Bleav

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In Part 2, Michael Caprio’s story moves beyond survival and into the messy, beautiful work of rebuilding a life with purpose. G-Rex and Dirty Skittles talk with Michael about mental health after surgery, living with FAP long-term, family genetics, advocacy, gratitude, and why helping even one person makes the whole damn story worth telling.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“If my story helps one person feel less alone, then it was worth telling.” — Michael Caprio

Episode Description

In Part 2 of Michael Caprio’s conversation with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles, the story shifts from diagnosis and surgery to what happens after survival. Because surviving the scary thing is one chapter. Learning how to live again is a whole different road.

Michael opens up about life after FAP surgery, including diet changes, bathroom anxiety, ongoing medical monitoring, and the everyday realities of living without a large intestine. He talks honestly about how a rare disease affects planning for the future, relationships, travel, family conversations, and the possibility of having children when a hereditary condition is involved.

This episode also explores the emotional power of legacy. Michael shares how his grandmother’s courage shaped his understanding of perseverance, how his family’s “club” fostered connection rather than shame, and how writing A Bump in the Road helped him turn pain into purpose. One of the most moving parts of the conversation is Michael’s story about connecting with a woman in Australia who also lives with FAP and finally felt seen through his book.

Through humor, honesty, and a whole lot of heart, Michael reminds us that rare disease advocacy is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about telling the truth, building community, and showing someone else that life can still be beautiful after the thing that almost broke you.

Keywords: Michael Caprio, rare disease advocacy, FAP, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, mental health, colorectal cancer awareness, gratitude, survivorship, chronic illness, hereditary cancer, patient advocacy, medical trauma recovery, emotional wellness, family genetics, life after surgery

Meet Our Guest — Michael Caprio

Michael Caprio is an Author, rare disease advocate, and speaker who draws on his personal experience with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis to help others feel less isolated in their medical journeys. He is the author of A Bump in the Road: My Medical Journey over Potholes, Detours, and the Bridge to Gratitude, a memoir that blends vulnerability, humor, and gratitude while shining a light on the emotional side of rare disease, surgery, and survivorship.

Website: https://www.mikecaprioauthor.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikecaprio_author/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/A-Bump-in-the-Road/100076302759044/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-caprio/

Key Takeaways

• Life after survival still comes with anxiety, adjustments, and big emotional questions.
• A rare disease can affect everything from travel plans to relationships to future family planning.
• Advocacy does not require perfection; it starts with telling the truth.
• Family history can carry pain, but it can also carry strength, wisdom, and a blueprint for survival.
• Gratitude can grow beside grief, fear, and uncertainty.
• Helping one person feel less alone can turn a painful story into a powerful mission.

Actionable Items

• If you live with a chronic or rare condition, make a “real life” plan for travel, food, bathrooms, appointments, and support instead of pretending your needs do not exist.
• Share your story with one safe person or support group. Connection can break the shame spiral.
• Replace “I can’t” with “What support or information would make this possible?”

Important Chapters

• 00:00:00 – Welcome to Part 2 G-Rex opens the second half of Michael’s story, bringing the conversation back to mental health, recovery, and life after diagnosis.
• 00:00:39 – Was therapy offered? G-Rex asks whether anyone offered Michael therapy during diagnosis or treatment, and Michael reflects on not being ready for help at the time.
• 00:01:30 – Life with FAP now Michael explains what day-to-day life looks like in his 30s, including diet adjustments, stomach sensitivity, and future medical monitoring.
• 00:04:24 – Planning life around the body you have Dirty Skittles asks how FAP affects life experiences, and Michael talks about travel, bathrooms, crowded places, and learning not to feel ashamed.
• 00:07:01 – Family planning and hereditary risk Michael discusses the emotional complexity of having children when FAP can be passed down genetically.
• 00:08:50 – Nothing in life is guaranteed Michael shares his family’s perspective: every family has something, and FAP is theirs.
• 00:10:47 – His grandmother’s courage and the butterfly effect Michael tells the powerful story of his grandmother, early medical procedures, and how her decision to keep going helped make his whole family possible.
• 00:15:13 – Advocacy and helping others feel less alone G-Rex reflects on Michael’s courage in putting his story out there and helping others understand that FAP is not a death sentence.
• 00:16:35 – Reaching someone across the world Michael shares the story of connecting with a woman in Australia who found comfort and validation through his book.
• 00:20:57 – The family “club” and deeper connection Michael talks about how FAP brought his family closer and created a stronger bond through shared understanding.
• 00:23:31 – Advice to his younger self Michael says he would go back to his 18-year-old self and tell him that life after surgery would be okay, and that there would be a future worth living.
• 00:25:43 – The hardest lesson Michael shares that one of the hardest lessons has been accepting that some people cannot handle illness or hardship and may walk away.
• 00:28:30 – Anxiety’s theme song Michael answers G-Rex’s question with humor and heart, landing on “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.
• 00:29:37 – Favorite word: Attitude Michael explains why “attitude” matters so much to him and his family, sharing a quote that shaped his recovery mindset.
• 00:31:34 – Least favorite word: Can’t Michael talks about why he dislikes the word “can’t” and how he pushes back against limitations.
• 00:32:28 – Where to find Michael Michael shares where listeners can learn more about his book, his story, and his advocacy work.
• 00:34:12 – Final reflections G-Rex and Dirty Skittles thank Michael for sharing his story and helping listeners understand rare disease, resilience, and hope.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review! Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MichaelCaprio #RareDiseaseAdvocacy #FAPAwareness #FamilialAdenomatousPolyposis #ColorectalCancerAwareness #PatientAdvocacy #ChronicIllnessLife #Survivorship #MedicalTraumaRecovery #GratitudePractice #MentalHealthRecovery #HereditaryCancerAwareness #LifeAfterSurgery #BumpInTheRoad #HealingOutLoud

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At 18 years old, Michael Caprio was handed a diagnosis that changed everything: Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, a rare genetic condition tied to colorectal cancer risk. In this powerful Part 1 conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles talk with Michael about fear, surgery, anxiety, family history, and what it really takes to keep going when life smacks you sideways.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Sometimes the bump in the road becomes the bridge that gets you back to yourself.” — Inspired by Michael Caprio

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes discussion of serious illness, surgery, medical trauma, anxiety, depression, and moments of feeling like life was no longer worth living. Please listen with care.

If you or someone you love is in crisis or thinking about self-harm, call or text 988 in the United States to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are not a burden. You are not alone. Help is available right now.

Episode Description

At 18, Michael Caprio should have been worrying about senior year, friends, and what came next after high school. Instead, he was facing a rare genetic diagnosis called Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, or FAP, a condition that causes precancerous polyps to grow in the large intestine and dramatically raises colorectal cancer risk. What followed was fear, bloodwork, colonoscopies, life-changing surgery, an ostomy, and the emotional punch of realizing his body would never be the same.

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Michael joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk honestly about what it felt like to be diagnosed so young, how his family history shaped his understanding of FAP, and why Googling symptoms can send your brain straight into a horror movie. He opens up about having his large intestine removed, living with an ostomy during recovery, and struggling with the mental health side of healing.

This episode gets real about medical trauma, anxiety, identity, and the moments when Michael felt like a burden to the people who loved him most. But it also shows the power of support, honesty, perspective, and choosing to stay in the fight one painful day at a time.

Keywords: Michael Caprio, FAP, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, colorectal cancer awareness, rare disease, medical trauma, anxiety, ostomy recovery, colectomy, J pouch surgery, mental health, chronic illness, hereditary cancer, surgery recovery, emotional wellness

Meet Our Guest — Michael Caprio

Michael Caprio is an Author, advocate, and rare disease warrior who was diagnosed with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis at just 18 years old. He is the Author of A Bump in the Road: My Medical Journey over Potholes, Detours and the Bridge to Gratitude, a memoir about surviving serious illness, navigating medical trauma, and finding gratitude after life-changing surgery.

Website: https://www.mikecaprioauthor.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikecaprio_author/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/A-Bump-in-the-Road/100076302759044/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-caprio/

Key Takeaways

• A rare diagnosis can change your body, your future, and your mental health all at once.
• Medical trauma is not just physical; it can shake your identity, independence, and sense of safety.
• Support systems matter, especially when your brain tells you that you are a burden.
• Friends may show you who they really are during hard seasons, and that truth can hurt.
• Gratitude does not erase pain, but it can help you rebuild after it.
• Healing takes honesty, patience, and the courage to keep showing up.

Actionable Items

• If you are facing a scary diagnosis, write down your questions before appointments so fear does not steal your voice in the room.
• Build a support circle that includes medical professionals, loved ones, and people who understand your condition.
• When your thoughts get dark, tell someone. You do not have to carry the heavy stuff alone.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:00 – Welcome to Part 1 G-Rex opens the episode and lets listeners know this is the first half of Michael’s two-part story.
• 00:01:33 – Michael introduces his book Michael shares the title of his memoir, A Bump in the Road, and explains how his medical journey became the foundation of his writing.
• 00:01:48 – Understanding FAP Michael explains Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, a rare genetic condition that causes precancerous polyps to grow in the large intestine.
• 00:03:00 – Family history and “the club” Michael talks about his mom, aunt, and grandmother living with FAP, and how he slowly began to understand the family connection.
• 00:05:19 – The diagnosis conversation Michael remembers being told he had FAP and how the seriousness of the diagnosis slowly started to sink in.
• 00:06:39 – The danger of Googling symptoms After searching online, Michael found terrifying stories that made his fear and anger spike.
• 00:08:30 – Being 18 and trying to process everything G-Rex and Michael talk about the emotional weight of facing a life-changing diagnosis while still figuring out who you are.
• 00:10:05 – Surgery, colectomy, ostomy, and J pouch recovery Michael explains the surgery to remove his large intestine, the temporary ostomy, and the J pouch procedure that helped him regain quality of life.
• 00:13:43 – The emotional toll of recovery Michael shares how difficult recovery became, including bathroom challenges, pain, frustration, and regret over how he treated people trying to help him.
• 00:14:56 – Friends, support, and painful distance Michael reflects on friends who disappeared and others who showed up in ways he never expected.
• 00:18:11 – A perspective shift after illness Michael describes how losing everyday freedoms made him more grateful for small things like coffee, exercise, and time with friends.
• 00:22:29 – Rock bottom and the fight to keep going Michael opens up about feeling like a burden and the painful family conversation that helped snap him out of a dangerous mental spiral.
• 00:26:10 – Closing reminder G-Rex and Dirty Skittles close with a reminder that it is okay to be not okay, as long as you are talking to someone.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review! Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MichaelCaprio #FAPAwareness #FamilialAdenomatousPolyposis #ColorectalCancerAwareness #RareDiseaseAwareness #MedicalTrauma #AnxietyRecovery #OstomyAwareness #ChronicIllnessSupport #SurgeryRecovery #MentalHealthMatters #HereditaryCancer #HealingJourney #Jpouch #BumpInTheRoad

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In Part 2, Michelle Petties returns with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about body trust, self-care, fear-based eating, and what it really means to live after diet culture. This conversation is honest, practical, and full of reminders that healing does not require perfection — it requires support, awareness, and the courage to keep getting back up.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Once you learn how to trust your body, your voice, and your choices, you do not have to crawl back into the old story.” — Inspired by Michelle Petties

Episode Description

In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Michelle Petties takes the conversation deeper into body trust, emotional healing, self-care, and life after diet culture. G-Rex opens up about her type 2 diabetes diagnosis, the fear that came with it, and the changes she made to support her health. Dirty Skittles shares something many people silently carry: the fear of gaining weight back and losing the version of yourself you worked so hard to become.

Michelle meets that fear with compassion, lived experience, and no-nonsense wisdom. She explains why transformation is not about white-knuckling your way through cravings. It is about belief, writing, visualization, affirmations, community, and learning to listen when your body says, “This does not work for me anymore.”

The conversation also delves into grocery-store triggers, food packaging, advertising, social pressure, and why self-care is not selfish. Michelle reminds us that people are not failing because they are weak. They are often trying to heal in a world that keeps pushing them back toward old habits.

She also shares powerful lessons about falling down, getting back up, and learning to trust yourself the way a child trusts that walking is possible. It is not about never messing up again. It is about knowing you can recover, reset, and keep choosing the life and body you want to live in.

Keywords: Michelle Petties, body trust, emotional healing, diet culture recovery, food addiction recovery, emotional eating, self-care, food freedom, weight regain anxiety, body image healing, mindful eating, self-compassion, mental health recovery, trauma healing, personal transformation

Meet Our Guest — Michelle Petties

Michelle Petties is a TEDx speaker, author, Food Story coach, and experiential eating expert whose work helps people answer the question, “What are you really hungry for?” Through speaking, coaching, writing, and her online community, Michelle supports people in moving away from shame-based dieting and toward sustainable, compassionate transformation.

Website: https://LeavingLarge.com
Website: https://MichellePetties.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambrandnewnow/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Iambrandnewnow
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iambrandnewnow
X: https://x.com/iambrandnewnow
Email: michelle@michellepetties.com
Media/Booking Email: iambrandnewnow@gmail.com

Key Takeaways

• Self-care is not selfish. Ignoring your own health can cost you and the people who love you.
• Fear of gaining weight back is real, but it does not have to control your choices.
• Writing, affirmations, visualization, and community can help reinforce a new identity.
• Grocery stores, packaging, and advertising are designed to trigger impulse decisions.
• Falling down does not make you a failure. It means you are learning a new way to live.
• Body trust grows when we stop confusing emotion, desire, and actual hunger.

Actionable Items

• When fear shows up, write this down: “What am I afraid will happen, and what support do I need right now?”
• Practice Michelle’s pause before eating: “Is this hunger, or is this the desire to eat?”
• Pick one self-care habit this week — water, sleep, writing, or rest — and treat it like a non-negotiable appointment.

References Mentioned

Leaving Large – The Stories of a Food Addict by Michelle Petties
https://LeavingLarge.com

Michelle Petties’ Food Story work
https://MichellePetties.com

Michelle Petties YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@iambrandnewnow

Important Chapters

• 00:00:00 — Welcome to Part 2
  G-Rex introduces Part 2 of Michelle Petties’ conversation and brings listeners back to the show's mental health mission.
• 00:00:40 — G-Rex Shares Her Type 2 Diabetes Wake-Up Call
  G-Rex talks about being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, taking Metformin, working with a nutritionist, and changing her relationship with food.
• 00:04:09 — Michelle Explains Why We Are Pushed Into the Trap
  Michelle talks about food marketing, diet advice, and why people are not given enough tools to fight daily messaging around food.
• 00:06:36 — Grocery Stores, Packaging, and Food Triggers
  The group discusses how even “healthy” areas in stores are surrounded by temptation, labels, and emotional triggers.
• 00:10:16 — Self-Care Is Not Selfish
  Michelle reframes self-care as necessary and explains why neglecting ourselves affects the people who depend on us.
• 00:12:02 — Dirty Skittles Shares Her Fear of Gaining Weight Back
  Dirty Skittles opens up about holding on tightly to her new version of herself and worrying that old patterns could return.
• 00:12:16 — Visualization, Affirmations, and Writing
  Michelle explains how invisible work can rewire the brain and help create long-term transformation.
• 00:14:23 — The Caterpillar and the Child Learning to Walk
  Michelle shares powerful metaphors for transformation, belief, and getting back up after setbacks.
• 00:21:27 — Hunger vs. Desire to Eat
  Michelle explains the difference between real hunger and eating out of emotion, pleasure, or conditioning.
• 00:28:50 — Advice to Her Younger Self
  Michelle says she would tell her younger self to listen to her grandmother, especially around rest, water, food, and wisdom.
• 00:30:22 — The Hardest Lesson
  Michelle shares that staying focused, choosing one thing, and remaining present are ongoing lessons in her life.
• 00:31:53 — Anxiety Theme Song and Favorite Words
  Michelle talks about control, overwhelm, her favorite word “perfect,” and why she cannot stand the phrase “it is what it is.”
• 00:34:16 — How to Find Michelle
  Michelle shares where listeners can connect with her, buy her book, and join her community.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MichellePetties #BodyTrust #DietCultureRecovery #FoodFreedom #EmotionalHealing #FoodAddictionRecovery #MindfulEating #SelfCareMatters #EmotionalEatingRecovery #BodyImageHealing #WeightLossMindset #MentalHealthRecovery #SelfCompassion #LeavingLarge #WomenAndWellness

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michelle Petties joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles for Part 1 of a powerful two-part conversation about food addiction, emotional eating, and the stories we carry around hunger. Michelle gets real about why “food noise” may actually be emotion noise — and why healing starts when we stop blaming ourselves and start getting curious.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“It’s not food noise. It’s emotion noise — and once you understand the story behind it, you can start taking your power back.” — Inspired by Michelle Petties

Episode Description

In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Michelle Petties brings truth, compassion, and a whole lot of “damn, I needed to hear that” energy to the conversation. Michelle is a TEDx speaker, Food Story coach, and author of Leaving Large – The Stories of a Food Addict. After gaining and losing more than 700 pounds over four decades, she learned that food addiction was never just about food.

G-Rex and Dirty Skittles talk with Michelle about emotional eating, shame, diet culture, and the sneaky ways food becomes tied to sadness, boredom, stress, celebration, and comfort. Michelle explains why what many people call “food noise” may actually be emotion noise — thoughts, feelings, and old beliefs begging for attention.

She also breaks down her “Brand New” framework and how belief, writing, rest, nourishment, alignment, and community can help people rewire their brains and change their relationship with food. This is not another conversation about willpower, restriction, or beating yourself up for eating the thing. This is about pausing, listening, and learning what you are really hungry for.

Michelle’s message is hopeful as hell: you are not broken, and you are not weak. You may just be carrying stories that need to be unpacked, rewritten, and released with compassion.

Keywords: Michelle Petties, food addiction, emotional eating, food freedom, diet culture recovery, body image healing, food story, emotional wellness, mindful eating, trauma healing, self-compassion, obesity recovery, mental health healing, brain rewiring, shame recovery

Meet Our Guest — Michelle Petties

Michelle Petties is a TEDx speaker, author, Food Story coach, and the award-winning, Amazon best-selling author of Leaving Large – The Stories of a Food Addict. After gaining and losing more than 700 pounds over four decades, Michelle created her Food Story method to help people uncover the beliefs, memories, and emotional patterns driving their relationship with food.

Website: https://LeavingLarge.com
Website: https://MichellePetties.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambrandnewnow/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Iambrandnewnow
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iambrandnewnow
X: https://x.com/iambrandnewnow
Email: michelle@michellepetties.com
Media/Booking Email: iambrandnewnow@gmail.com

Key Takeaways

• Food noise may actually be emotion noise, asking for your attention.
• Emotional eating is not a personal failure. It is often tied to old stories, old wounds, and learned survival tools.
• Shame keeps people stuck, but awareness creates space for change.
• Food companies and diet culture can keep us blaming ourselves instead of understanding the system around us.
• Michelle’s “Brand New” framework helps people rethink food, hunger, belief, and healing.
• Writing, rest, hydration, and community can become powerful tools for food freedom.

Actionable Items

• Before eating, pause and ask yourself: “Am I hungry, or am I feeling something else?”
• Start an emotion log. Write down what you feel before and after eating without judging yourself.
• Pick one old food story you have carried for years and rewrite it with compassion instead of shame.

References Mentioned

Leaving Large – The Stories of a Food Addict by Michelle Petties
https://LeavingLarge.com

Michelle Petties’ Food Story work
https://MichellePetties.com

Brand New Now 52-Week Program
https://go.michellepetties.com/brand-new-now-program

Important Chapters

• 00:00:00 — Welcome to Part 1
  G-Rex and Dirty Skittles introduce Michelle Petties and open the door to a two-part conversation about food, mental health, shame, and healing.
• 00:03:25 — Dirty Skittles Opens Up About Food Noise
  Dirty Skittles shares her experience with weight loss, GLP-1 medication, and the frustration of food noise returning.
• 00:04:22 — Michelle Reframes Food Noise as Emotion Noise
  Michelle explains why cravings and overeating often come from emotion, memory, and belief rather than physical hunger.
• 00:08:38 — How Culture Teaches Emotional Eating
  The group talks about how movies, shows, and social conditioning normalize turning to food when life gets heavy.
• 00:13:13 — Michelle’s Story and Leaving Large
  Michelle shares how writing her book helped her understand that food addiction was never just about the food.
• 00:17:29 — Gaining and Losing Over 700 Pounds
  Michelle talks about four decades of yo-yo dieting and what finally helped her stop fearing weight regain.
• 00:18:53 — The “Brand New” Framework
  Michelle introduces the principles behind becoming brand new, including belief, reinvention, alignment, nourishment, writing, and celebration.
• 00:22:31 — Drink, Sleep, and Write
  Michelle explains why water, sleep, and prescriptive writing can support emotional regulation and lasting change.
• 00:26:05 — Question Everything You Eat
  Michelle shares the questions she asks before eating and how that pause helps her stay connected to her body and her choices.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MichellePetties #FoodAddictionRecovery #EmotionalEating #FoodFreedom #DietCultureRecovery #BodyImageHealing #FoodStory #EmotionalWellness #MindfulEating #TraumaHealing #SelfCompassion #ObesityRecovery #MentalHealthHealing #LeavingLarge #BrainRewiring

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes conversations about suicide loss, suicide attempts, depression, addiction, trauma, and mental health treatment. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. or Canada for immediate crisis support. You are wanted. You are needed. And you do not have to carry this alone.

For Men’s Mental Health Month, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with former NFL linebacker Brandon Siler for a raw, powerful conversation about brain health, suicide prevention, life after football, and the pressure men often feel to stay silent. Brandon’s story is a reminder that asking for help is not weakness. It is strength, survival, and sometimes the first real step toward healing.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Don’t let that soda shake up on you. Fizz that thing out before it explodes.” — Brandon Siler Episode Description For Men’s Mental Health Month, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles welcome Brandon Siler, a former NFL linebacker, national champion, entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and straight-up wall breaker. Brandon’s story starts in Pine Hills, Orlando, where sports helped keep him focused, driven, and out of trouble. That path led him to the University of Florida, a national championship, and six seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs.

But this conversation is not just about football. It is about what happens after the cheering stops.

Brandon opens up about the devastating death of his teammate Javon Belcher by suicide, his own mental health struggles after leaving the NFL, and the hard truth that even the toughest people need help. He talks about the macho pressure placed on men and athletes, the stigma around therapy and treatment, and why real strength means raising your hand and saying, “I need help.”

Through Legacy Pro Sports, Pure Recovery California, Love4Vets, and Siler Brain Clinics, Brandon now helps former athletes, veterans, and high performers access disability benefits, mental health care, brain mapping, neuro-feedback, and treatment built around their lived experiences. His mission is simple but massive: knock down the walls that keep people from healing.

This episode is raw, hopeful, funny, and deeply human. It is a reminder that men’s mental health matters every damn day, not just during awareness months.

Keywords: Brandon Siler, men’s mental health, suicide prevention, brain health, NFL mental health, athlete mental health, veterans mental health, neurofeedback, brain mapping, trauma recovery, addiction recovery, mental health stigma, therapy for men, depression support, crisis support

Meet Our Guest — Brandon Siler Brandon Siler is a former NFL linebacker turned serial entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and founder of multiple mission-driven companies. Raised in Pine Hills in Orlando, he earned a scholarship to the University of Florida, became SEC Freshman of the Year, helped lead the Gators to a national championship, and went on to play six seasons in the NFL.

After the death of a teammate by suicide and his own difficult transition out of football, Brandon shifted his focus to helping athletes, veterans, and high performers access the care, benefits, and brain health tools they need to heal and thrive.

Business Websites

Legacy Pro Sports: https://www.legacyprosports.com
Pure Recovery California: https://purerecoveryca.com
Siler Brain Clinics: https://www.silerbrainclinics.com
Siler Clinics: https://www.silerclinics.com
Love4Vets: https://love4vets.com

Personal Social Media

Instagram — Brandon Siler: https://www.instagram.com/brandonsiler40
LinkedIn — Brandon Siler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsiler40
Facebook — Brandon Siler: https://www.facebook.com/brandonsiler40
X — Brandon Siler: https://x.com/BrandonSiler21

Business Social Media

Instagram — Legacy Pro Sports: https://www.instagram.com/legacyprosports

Key Takeaways

• Asking for help is not weakness. It is one of the strongest things a man can do.
• Brain health matters, especially for athletes, veterans, and high performers carrying invisible injuries.
• Suicide prevention starts with honest conversations before the pressure explodes.
• Therapy, treatment, and support work better when people feel seen, understood, and safe.
• Brandon’s work is about knocking down walls so former players and veterans can access the benefits and care they deserve.
• Healing does not mean you never struggle again. It means you learn how to stop carrying it alone.

Actionable Items

• Check in on the strong friend, the funny friend, and the extroverted friend. They may be carrying more than they show.
• Say the thing out loud before it becomes too heavy. Talk to a therapist, trusted friend, doctor, coach, or crisis line.
• Reframe mental health care as brain optimization. You are not broken. You are learning how to care for the most important part of you.

References Mentioned 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org Legacy Pro Sports: https://www.legacyprosports.com Pure Recovery California: https://purerecoveryca.com Siler Brain Clinics: https://www.silerbrainclinics.com Love4Vets: https://love4vets.com University of Florida Football: https://floridagators.com/sports/football NFL Player Benefits: https://www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/resources/frequently-asked-questions/player-benefits Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 — Welcome to the Episode G-Rex and Dirty Skittles welcome Brandon Siler and set the stage for a real conversation about mental health, football, healing, and the things men are often told to keep buried.
• 00:01:35 — Brandon’s Journey from Pine Hills to the NFL Brandon shares how growing up in Pine Hills shaped him, how sports kept him focused, and how football eventually chose him.
• 00:03:30 — Life After Football and a Teammate’s Death by Suicide Brandon opens up about the tragic loss of teammate Javon Belcher and how that experience pushed him to rethink his purpose after the NFL.
• 00:06:10 — Brandon’s Own Mental Health Struggles He talks honestly about being in a dark place after leaving football and how hard it can be for NFL players and men to admit they need help.
• 00:07:44 — Why Athlete-Specific Treatment Matters Brandon explains how one teammate’s struggle with alcohol, drugs, and mental health led him to discover treatment built for athletes who needed to feel understood.
• 00:08:13 — Brain Mapping, Neurofeedback, and Healing the Root Cause The conversation turns to brain health, neurofeedback, biofeedback, red light therapy, and tools that help people see and work with what is happening in their brains.
• 00:12:48 — Breaking the Stigma for Men G-Rex speaks directly about suicide prevention, asking for help, and why there is no shame in reaching out when you are struggling.
• 00:14:24 — Brandon on Strength, Masculinity, and Speaking Up Brandon shares why men need to reject the “macho” stigma and understand that asking for help is a strength, not a failure.
• 00:17:06 — Love4Vets and Supporting Veterans Brandon discusses his work with veterans, disability claims, mental health support, and why he felt called to help when he saw veterans facing similar struggles to athletes.
• 00:22:58 — Chasing the Best Version of Yourself Brandon shares the powerful image he carried as a kid: looking in the mirror and chasing the best possible version of himself.
• 00:30:02 — Suicide Attempts, Therapy, and Brain Optimization Brandon and G-Rex talk openly about suicide attempts, therapy, mistakes, healing, and why mental health care can be viewed as optimizing your brain.
• 00:33:37 — Advice to His Younger Self Brandon reflects on faith, purpose, and what he wishes he had understood sooner when he was struggling.
• 00:35:22 — The Hardest Lesson Brandon Had to Learn He shares the pain of realizing you cannot force someone to want better for themselves, even when you love them deeply.
• 00:37:24 — Anxiety, Favorite Words, and Brandon’s Humor The episode lightens up with Brandon’s anxiety sound, his favorite word, his least favorite word, and a hilarious explanation of why exclamation points matter.
• 00:41:43 — Final Message for Men’s Mental Health Month Brandon closes with a reminder to reach out, talk to someone, and let the pressure out before it explodes.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review! Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MensMentalHealth #MensMentalHealthMonth #SuicidePrevention #BrainHealth #BrandonSiler #NFLMentalHealth #AthleteMentalHealth #VeteransMentalHealth #TherapyWorks #BreakTheStigma #MentalHealthRecovery #AddictionRecovery #TraumaHealing #Neurofeedback #BrainMapping #YouAreNotAlone

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jason Lange joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles for a real, honest conversation about men’s mental health, vulnerability, emotional isolation, and the healing that happens when men finally have a safe place to tell the truth. From growing up disconnected from his body and emotions to becoming a men’s embodiment coach, Jason shares why men’s groups can be life-changing for relationships, parenting, self-worth, and community.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“The greatest gift a man can give the world is to take responsibility for his pain instead of passing it on.” — Inspired by Jason Lange

Episode Description

Men are often taught to push through, suck it up, and keep moving as if nothing hurts. The problem is, all that unspoken pain has to go somewhere. In this episode, Jason Lange joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about men’s mental health, vulnerability, emotional embodiment, and why men need spaces where they can stop performing and start telling the truth.

Jason opens up about growing up in a home where physical closeness, emotional language, and open conversations about feelings were missing. As a teenager and young adult, that disconnection showed up as anxiety, shame, numbness, and difficulty building intimacy. His healing began when he found men’s groups and somatic therapy, where he learned how to reconnect with his body, name his emotions, and be witnessed by other men without judgment.

This conversation hits some deeply human stuff: male isolation, sensitivity in boys, healthy masculinity, fatherhood, asking for help, and the pressure men carry to always appear strong. Jason breaks down why emotions often begin in the body, why “I’m fine” is not a full emotional vocabulary, and why vulnerability does not make a man weak. It makes him more honest, more grounded, and more capable of showing up for the people he loves.

Whether you are a man trying to reconnect with yourself, a partner trying to better understand the men in your life, or a parent raising emotionally healthy boys, this episode is a reminder that healing starts when we stop hiding from what hurts.

Keywords: men’s mental health, men’s groups, vulnerability, emotional healing, male isolation, embodiment work, somatic therapy, fatherhood, emotional wellness, healthy masculinity, shadow work, men’s coaching, emotional intelligence, mental health podcast, personal growth

Meet Our Guest — Jason Lange

Jason Lange is a men’s embodiment coach, group facilitator, and certified No More Mr. Nice Guy coach who helps men stop going through the motions and start showing up fully in life and love. As the founder of Evolutionary Men and host of the Evolutionary Men podcast, Jason supports men in clarifying their purpose, deepening intimacy, doing shadow work, and building real accountability through men’s groups and embodied practice.

Website: https://evolutionary.men
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolutionarymen/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionarymenswork
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@evolutionarymen
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@evolutionarymen

Key Takeaways

• Men’s mental health struggles are often tied to emotional isolation, shame, and not having the language to talk about pain.
• Men’s groups provide a safe space for men to be honest, vulnerable, challenged, and supported.
• Emotions are not just thoughts in your head; they often begin as sensations in your body.
• Sensitivity in boys is not a weakness. With the right support, it can become emotional intelligence, courage, and strength.
• Vulnerability does not mean falling apart. It can look grounded, steady, accountable, and powerful.
• Asking for help is one of the strongest things a man can learn to do.

Actionable Items

• Take one minute each day to check in with your body and ask: “What am I feeling, and where do I feel it?”
• Find one trusted person, therapist, coach, or group where you can practice telling the truth without pretending you are fine.
• When anger, stress, or anxiety shows up, pause before reacting and name the feeling out loud.
• For parents, help kids build emotional language by naming what they might be feeling without shaming them for feeling it.

References Mentioned

Evolutionary Men: https://evolutionary.men
No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert Glover: https://www.drglover.com/no-more-mr-nice-guy.html
John Wineland: https://www.johnwineland.com
Tripp Lanier: https://www.thenewmanpodcast.com
Ken Wilber / Integral Theory: https://integrallife.com
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org
Global Crisis Resources: https://findahelpline.com

Important Chapters

• 00:00:56 – Jason joins the show and introduces his mission: every man should be in a men’s group. He explains how emotional pain, isolation, and a lack of language around feelings contribute to the men’s mental health crisis.
• 00:02:29 – Jason shares how he learned to communicate later in life after growing up in a home where touch, emotional closeness, and conversations about feelings were not part of daily life.
• 00:04:45 – Jason talks about what pushed him to seek help in his 20s, including the pain of feeling disconnected, anxious, and ashamed of being a late bloomer.
• 00:08:02 – The conversation turns to family healing as Jason explains how he changed his relationship with his mother and processed unresolved anger toward his father before his passing.
• 00:11:29 – Jason breaks down how somatic work and men’s groups helped him reconnect with his body, understand emotions, and move beyond the limited vocabulary of “good, bad, and fine.”
• 00:15:53 – G-Rex and Jason discuss raising emotionally aware boys and why teaching emotional language early can help young men grow into healthier adults.
• 00:21:09 – Dirty Skittles asks how to help her son see sensitivity as a superpower instead of a weakness. Jason explains healthy masculinity, rites of passage, role modeling, and the importance of emotionally grounded men.
• 00:29:28 – Jason talks about when boys and young men can begin benefiting from male mentorship, nature-based programs, emotional role models, and a healthy community.
• 00:33:02 – Jason shares how men’s groups have shaped him as a father, husband, and community member by giving him a place to restore himself and return home more present.
• 00:36:24 – Jason explains why taking responsibility for pain is one of the most powerful things men can do for themselves, their families, and the world around them.
• 00:37:20 – Jason reflects on what he would tell his younger self: relax, trust the path, and get better at asking for help.
• 00:38:36 – Jason shares one of his hardest lessons: the work never really ends, but healing becomes easier when we stop trying to “fix” ourselves and keep showing up.
• 00:41:09 – Jason discusses his self-care practices, including men’s groups, nature, hiking, saunas, massages, solo movie dates, sleep, movement, and eating well.
• 00:42:41 – Jason shares where listeners can find him and how men can connect with local or virtual men’s groups through Evolutionary Men.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MensMentalHealth #MensMentalHealthAwareness #MensGroups #VulnerabilityIsStrength #HealthyMasculinity #EmotionalWellness #SomaticHealing #EmbodimentWork #MensWork #ShadowWork #FatherhoodJourney #EmotionalIntelligence #HealingJourney #AskForHelp #MentalHealthMatters

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when an engineer’s brain meets the messy, beautiful chaos of human relationships? In this episode, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Dominic Petty to talk about trauma-informed coaching, emotional intelligence, self-acceptance, and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is absolutely nothing.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Your baseline is peace and calm. Anything else is just where life has taken you.” — Inspired by Dominic Petty Episode Description Dominic Petty didn’t start out planning to become a coach. With an engineering degree from Stanford, an MBA from Wharton, and a career built around solving complex problems, he spent years using logic, structure, and strategy to make sense of the world. But life had other plans, boo.

In this thoughtful and unexpectedly funny conversation, Dominic joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about how his path shifted from engineering and consulting into trauma-informed mindset, intimacy, and relationship coaching. He shares how learning emotional intelligence changed the way he led people, listened to people, and eventually helped people untangle the relationship patterns keeping them stuck.

Dominic breaks down why so many high achievers are running on insecurity, why self-acceptance is often the missing piece in relationships, and how silence can sometimes be the wisest damn answer in the room. He also explains how emotions are data, not identity — and why returning to a baseline of peace takes awareness, practice, and a willingness to stop making parts of yourself wrong.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt broken, too much, not enough, or trapped in the same unhealthy cycles. Dominic reminds us that healing is not about forcing someone else to change. It is about waking up to yourself, learning what your emotions are trying to teach you, and choosing a relationship with yourself that does not run on shame.

Keywords: Dominic Petty, relationship trauma, self-acceptance, inner peace, emotional intelligence, trauma-informed coaching, relationship healing, mindset coaching, intimacy coaching, anxiety, emotional awareness, healthy relationships, shadow work, self-compassion, mental health podcast

Meet Our Guest — Dominic Petty Dominic Petty is a trauma-informed Mindset, Intimacy, and Relationship Coach known as the Inner Peace Advisor. Through his Relationship Enlightenment Method, Dominic helps clients heal emotional wounds, break unhealthy relationship cycles, and move from feeling unworthy or stuck into deeper self-acceptance and connection.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His work blends relationship coaching, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Theta Healing, Erotic Blueprints, Enneagram, Shadow Work, and lived experience.

Website: https://explorewithdominic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innerpeaceadvisor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicpetty
Email: dominic@innerpeaceadvisor.com

Key Takeaways

• Self-acceptance is often the missing bridge between high achievement and real emotional peace.
• Emotions are information, not identity — you can feel them without becoming them.
• Healing relationship trauma starts with noticing your patterns instead of blaming the other person for all of them.
• Sometimes silence is not avoidance; sometimes it is wisdom wearing sweatpants.
• High achievers often use insecurity as fuel, but that kind of fuel burns dirty and eventually wears people down.
• Inner peace is not passive. It takes active presence, emotional awareness, and consistency.

Actionable Items

• Before reacting in a tense conversation, ask yourself: “Will what I’m about to say improve on silence?”
• When a strong emotion shows up, name it, feel it, and ask what story is sitting underneath it.
• Practice five minutes of quiet presence each day. No pressure to be perfect — just show up consistently.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – Welcome to the episode G-Rex and Dirty Skittles welcome listeners back and introduce Dominic Petty, setting the stage for a conversation about mindset, relationships, and emotional healing.
• 00:01:08 – Dominic’s geographic independence and coaching path Dominic shares how he built a work-and-travel lifestyle and how an unexpected conversation with a friend nudged him toward coaching.
• 00:03:27 – From engineering to emotional intelligence Dominic talks about his engineering and consulting background, and how managing people taught him that leadership requires genuine curiosity and connection.
• 00:05:52 – Relationship coaching and seeing unhealthy patterns Dominic explains how he has always noticed relationship dynamics and why he now uses a deeper framework to help clients understand what is really going on.
• 00:08:30 – The power of silence in relationships Dominic shares the advice that he should wear a shirt saying “I don’t know anything” when talking to his partner — and why silence can be your friend.
• 00:11:38 – Why people are the most fascinating puzzle He describes coaching as joining clients inside a maze they built, then helping them find their own way out without forcing them.
• 00:14:29 – Relationships as containers for awakening Dominic reframes relationships as places where people learn what they need to release, heal, and integrate within themselves.
• 00:21:58 – Insecurity, high achievement, and self-acceptance Dominic explains how many high performers run on insecurity and why that fuel can create anxiety, depression, frustration, and strained relationships.
• 00:28:55 – Moving from the head to the heart The conversation shifts into emotional awareness, presence, and how emotions can be treated as valuable data instead of personal failure.
• 00:31:15 – Returning to peace and calm Dominic breaks down the idea that peace is our baseline and that emotional regulation is about learning how to return to it.
• 00:34:17 – Meditation, consistency, and meeting people where they are He shares why meditation can help, why consistency matters more than intensity, and how coaching has to fit the person in front of him.
• 00:37:11 – Advice to his younger self Dominic gives a funny and honest answer about fitness, confidence, and the power of “pretty privilege.”
• 00:38:45 – The hardest lesson: shut up Dominic shares that one of his biggest life lessons was learning he does not have to say everything he sees or knows.
• 00:41:11 – Anxiety’s theme song and favorite words Dominic answers G-Rex’s signature questions, including his made-up anxiety theme song and his love for the words “boo” and “love.”
• 00:43:56 – Where to find Dominic Dominic shares how listeners can connect with him through email and Instagram.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review! Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #DominicPetty #InnerPeaceAdvisor #RelationshipHealing #RelationshipTrauma #SelfAcceptance #EmotionalIntelligence #TraumaInformedCoaching #MindsetCoach #HealthyRelationships #InnerPeace #EmotionalHealing #SelfCompassion #ShadowWork #AnxietyAwareness #HealingJourney

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when a former pro baseball player, SWAT team officer, and naturopathic doctor turns personal pain into a mission to help others heal? In this powerful conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Dr. Mark Sherwood to talk about hope, resilience, functional medicine, grief, mindset, and why healing has to include the whole damn person — body, mind, and spirit.

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes discussion of suicide loss, grief, depression, crisis support, and emotional trauma. Please listen with care. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are not alone, and help is available right now.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Just a little glimmer of hope is like light — it can cancel out all levels of darkness.” — Inspired by Dr. Mark Sherwood

Episode Description

In this episode, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Dr. Mark Sherwood, a naturopathic doctor, author, speaker, filmmaker, former professional baseball player, and retired Tulsa police officer. And let’s just say, Mark has lived a few lives in one lifetime.

Mark opens up about being adopted, chasing a childhood dream all the way to professional baseball, serving on the SWAT team, and eventually finding his way into functional medicine. But this conversation goes way deeper than career pivots. Mark shares how the suicide loss of his mother became a defining moment in his life, pushing him to become what he calls a “hope dealer” — someone committed to bringing light into the darkest places.

Together, they talk about how physical health and mental health are deeply connected, why our words and thoughts matter, and how people can accidentally start identifying with their diagnosis instead of their humanity. Mark also shares honest wisdom about forgiveness, boundaries, faith, resilience, self-worth, and learning to love yourself in a healthy way.

This episode is raw, hopeful, and packed with reminders that healing is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about getting back up, choosing hope when life gets ugly, and remembering that you are more than your pain, your diagnosis, or the hardest chapter of your story.

Keywords: Dr. Mark Sherwood, functional medicine, mental health podcast, emotional wellness, resilience, hope dealer, suicide loss support, whole-person healing, naturopathic doctor, trauma recovery, mindset healing, faith and mental health, self-worth, forgiveness, body mind spirit healing.

Meet Our Guest — Dr. Mark Sherwood

Dr. Mark Sherwood, ND is a naturopathic doctor, best-selling author, national TV personality, filmmaker, and co-founder of the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma, alongside his wife, Dr. Michele Neil-Sherwood, DO. His work focuses on root-cause healing and helping people understand the connection between physical health, mental wellness, mindset, and purpose.

Before medicine, Dr. Sherwood was a professional baseball player, Oklahoma state and regional physique champion, and a 24-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department, including 10 years on the SWAT team. His story matters because he has lived through pressure, grief, identity shifts, and trauma — and turned it all into a mission of hope and healing.

Website: https://sherwood.tv
Clinic: https://fmidr.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarksherwood
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marksherwood4E
Additional Website Mentioned: https://drmarksherwood.com

Key Takeaways

• Healing is not just physical. Your emotional, spiritual, and mental health all matter.
• Hope can be small and still be powerful enough to shift the darkness.
• You are not your diagnosis, your trauma, your depression, or your disease.
• Forgiveness is not about excusing someone else. It is about freeing yourself from bitterness.
• Resilience is built through hard things, not by avoiding them.
• Learning to love yourself in a healthy way may be one of the hardest and most important lessons.

Actionable Items

• Watch your words. Notice when you say “my depression,” “my disease,” or “I can’t,” and try shifting that language toward healing and possibility.
• Build one small daily gratitude practice. Start with something simple: sunshine, movement, a good conversation, your breath, or one more chance to try again.
• Check your circle. Surround yourself with people who bring peace, honesty, accountability, and hope — not people who constantly drain your spirit.

References Mentioned

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org
Functional Medical Institute: https://fmidr.com
Dr. Mark Sherwood: https://drmarksherwood.com
Sherwood TV: https://sherwood.tv

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – G-Rex and Dirty Skittles welcome listeners into another stigma-breaking conversation about mental health, healing, and real-life resilience.
• 00:01:00 – Dr. Mark Sherwood introduces himself as a naturopathic doctor and shares how his work focuses on root-cause healing for the whole person.
• 00:03:06 – Mark talks about being adopted, childhood determination, and the English teacher who helped him believe he could become a professional baseball player.
• 00:05:54 – Mark reflects on his years as a police officer and SWAT team member, including how first responder wellness became part of his mission.
• 00:07:55 – Mark shares the heartbreaking loss of his mother to suicide and how that tragedy deepened his commitment to bringing hope to others.
• 00:10:00 – The conversation turns toward faith, purpose, community, and the importance of having something bigger than yourself to lean on.
• 00:13:00 – G-Rex opens up about her own crisis moment and reminds listeners that 988 is not just for suicide, but for anyone in emotional crisis.
• 00:14:27 – Mark explains why spiritual, emotional, and physical health are interconnected and why he calls himself a “hope dealer.”
• 00:19:05 – Mark talks about boundaries, emotional pain, forgiveness, and why letting go of bitterness is part of healing.
• 00:23:09 – Mark shares how he moved from SWAT into wellness, police officer health, and eventually naturopathic medicine.
• 00:27:15 – Mark explains the difference between the brain and the mind, and how thoughts, words, and environment can impact the body.
• 00:31:35 – Dirty Skittles and G-Rex reflect on how sleep, self-care, mindset, laughter, and small daily choices affect emotional health.
• 00:36:40 – Mark discusses medication, resilience, and why the body has to be supported instead of only silenced.
• 00:47:01 – Mark answers what he would tell his younger self: be a giver, be a servant, and do not believe the lie that you cannot achieve something.
• 00:47:56 – Mark shares one of his hardest life lessons: learning to love himself in a healthy way and build true self-worth.
• 00:49:51 – Mark reveals that if his anxiety had a theme song, it would be “It Is Well,” because peace within yourself changes everything.
• 00:52:08 – Mark shares where listeners can find him and his work.

Closing CTA

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Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
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#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #DrMarkSherwood #FunctionalMedicine #HopeDealer #Resilience #WholePersonHealing #EmotionalWellness #TraumaRecovery #SuicideLossSupport #988Lifeline #NaturopathicMedicine #MindsetHealing #HealingJourney #SelfWorth #Forgiveness #FaithAndMentalHealth #BodyMindSpirit

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In part two, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles continue their conversation with Nancy Gilette and discuss practical tools parents can use to support autistic and neurodivergent children. Nancy breaks down co-regulation, declarative language, visual referencing, and why parents sometimes need a damn timeout too.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Nothing good happens in dysregulation. Calm comes first, connection comes next, and problem-solving comes after that.” — Inspired by Nancy Gilette

Episode Description

Part two with Nancy Gilette gets into the tools parents can actually use when the house is loud, your child is overwhelmed, and everyone’s nervous system is one tiny inconvenience away from losing it.

Nancy talks with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles about parent resistance, old-school parenting beliefs, and why the “just get it done” mindset can disconnect kids and adults from what really matters. Her message is clear: parenting autistic and neurodivergent kids is not about forcing compliance. It is about creating safety, building trust, and helping kids develop the skills they need for a life that feels good — not just one that looks good on paper.

Nancy explains three core strategies she teaches families: visual referencing, declarative language, and co-regulation. She breaks down how declarative language shifts parents away from constant commands and gives children space to think, process, and participate. She also explains why co-regulation is not about controlling emotions; it is about creating shared safety when things feel too big.

Dirty Skittles shares more about parenting Nugget, finding moments of real attunement, and learning how to honor both her child’s needs and her own nervous system. Nancy also opens up about Crohn’s, boundaries, art, rest, and learning to trust her body.

This episode is a big, compassionate exhale for parents who are tired of being told to do more. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is slow down, connect, and stop parenting from panic.

Keywords: co-regulation, declarative language, autism parenting, parenting autistic kids, neurodivergent children, RDI strategies, visual referencing, emotional regulation, parent regulation, autism support, ADHD parenting, nervous system support, parent-child connection, quality of life, compassionate parenting

Meet Our Guest — Nancy Gilette

Nancy Gilette is a certified RDI Consultant, mentor, and autism advocate who helps parents of autistic and neurodivergent children shift from crisis-driven parenting into connection-based support. Her work focuses on practical strategies, relationship development, parent education, emotional regulation, and helping families create a better quality of life together.

Website: www.nancygilette.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nancygilettecoaching
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.gilette
RDI Connect: https://www.rdiconnect.com

Key Takeaways

• Parents need regulation tools too, because dysregulated adults cannot guide dysregulated kids.
• Declarative language helps children think, process, and participate instead of simply following commands.
• Co-regulation is not about controlling emotions; it is about creating shared safety.
• Visual referencing can help shift everyday moments from “me” to “we.”
• A child’s confidence grows through safe experiences, not pressure or forced performance.
• Quality of life matters more than checking every box society hands you.

Actionable Items

• Try replacing one command with declarative language. Instead of saying, “Turn on the light,” try, “It’s dark in here, and I can’t see where I’m going.”
• When you feel yourself about to snap, take a parent timeout and name it calmly: “I need a break so I can come back better.”
• During a shared task, pause long enough for your child to refer to you visually before moving forward.

References Mentioned

Relationship Development Intervention: https://www.rdiconnect.com
Nancy Gilette: www.nancygilette.com
Dr. Ross Greene
Dr. Daniel Siegel
Dr. Gabor Maté
Autism: A Different Perspective — Nancy’s Facebook community

Important Chapters

• 00:00:00 – Welcome to Part Two
  G-Rex opens part two by continuing the conversation around stress, the mind-body connection, and supporting families with more compassion.
• 00:01:29 – When Parents Resist a New Approach
  Nancy explains how resistance often comes from old parenting stories, authoritative beliefs, and the pressure to “just get things done.”
• 00:04:15 – Do Parents Need Their Own Timeout?
  G-Rex asks whether parents sometimes need to step away, and Nancy explains why parent regulation is essential.
• 00:06:11 – Regulation in Action
  Nancy talks about what it means to catch yourself before losing control and how parents can model emotional regulation in real time.
• 00:09:13 – Why Nancy Works With Parents, Not Just Children
  Nancy explains her parent-focused approach and why supporting the adults often helps the child thrive.
• 00:10:28 – Visual Referencing, Declarative Language, and Co-Regulation
  Nancy introduces the three core strategies she teaches families to support authentic engagement and connection.
• 00:16:35 – Dirty Skittles Shares a Connection Moment With Nugget
  Dirty Skittles describes a powerful moment of pausing, listening, and feeling the reward of true attunement with her child.
• 00:22:45 – What Is RDI?
  Nancy explains Relationship Development Intervention and how it helps parents build practical skills to support their child’s development.
• 00:30:39 – Nancy’s Daily Practices for Showing Up
  Nancy shares how rest, art, nervous system care, boundaries, and reducing social media help her stay grounded.
• 00:42:45 – Advice to Younger Nancy
  Nancy reflects on what she would tell her younger self and the power of feeling supported instead of shut down.
• 00:46:38 – The Hardest Lesson: Believing in Herself
  Nancy opens up about self-worth, professional identity, and learning to trust her own experience and body.
• 00:53:27 – Where to Find Nancy
  Nancy shares how listeners can learn more about RDI, her work, and her autism support community.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #CoRegulation #DeclarativeLanguage #AutismParenting #ParentingAutisticKids #RDIStrategies #NeurodivergentKids #VisualReferencing #ParentRegulation #EmotionalRegulation #ADHDParenting #CompassionateParenting #AutismSupport #ConnectionBeforeCorrection #NervousSystemSupport #QualityOfLife

 

 

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kicking off Season 18, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Nancy Gilette for part one of this powerful two-part conversation about autism support, parent burnout, neurodivergent parenting, and why connection has to come before correction. Nancy brings the kind of grounded wisdom parents need when they’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering if they’re doing enough.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Mental Health Quote

“Behavior is communication. When we slow down enough to understand it, connection becomes possible.” — Inspired by Nancy Gilette

Episode Description

Parenting can feel like a full-contact sport, especially when your child is autistic, neurodivergent, overwhelmed, or struggling to communicate what’s really going on. In part one of this conversation, Nancy Gillette joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about autism support, parent burnout, and the power of building real connection inside the chaos.

Nancy is a certified RDI Consultant with more than 20 years of experience helping families shift from survival mode into a calmer, more connected way of parenting. Her work centers on one powerful truth: behavior is communication. Instead of seeing challenging behavior as defiance or failure, Nancy encourages parents to get curious about what their child’s nervous system is trying to say.

Nancy also shares the moment that shaped her life’s work — a powerful connection with a young autistic child that showed her how meaningful engagement can change everything. From there, the conversation opens up into regulation, visual referencing, parent-child relationships, and why parents need support just as much as their kids do.

Dirty Skittles gets real about parenting Nugget, navigating possible neurodivergence, and trying to create more happy memories than painful ones. And G-Rex reminds listeners that parents are not broken; many were simply never given the tools they needed.

This episode is a compassionate reminder that you do not have to parent from panic. You can pause, reconnect, and try again.

Keywords: autism support, autism parenting, parent burnout, neurodivergent parenting, autistic children, behavior is communication, emotional regulation, RDI consultant, sensory overwhelm, parent-child connection, mental health podcast, parenting support, family wellness, compassionate parenting, connection before correction

Meet Our Guest — Nancy Gilette

Nancy Gilette is a certified RDI Consultant, mentor, and advocate with over 20 years of experience supporting autistic children and their families. She helps parents understand behavior as communication and teaches practical, relationship-based strategies that move families from crisis mode into connection, clarity, and calm.

Website: www.nancygilette.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nancygilettecoaching
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.gilette

Key Takeaways

• Behavior is communication, not proof that a child is “bad” or that a parent is failing.
• Parents often need support, tools, and compassion just as much as their children do.
• Connection comes before correction, especially when a child is dysregulated.
• Neurodivergent kids need adults who are willing to slow down, observe, and respond with intention.
• Confidence grows through safe, manageable experiences — not pressure, shame, or forced performance.
• Parent burnout is real, and taking a pause is a healthy part of regulation.

Actionable Items

• Before reacting to challenging behavior, pause and ask: “What is this behavior trying to communicate?”
• Create one small calm moment in your day, especially during high-stress transitions like mornings or bedtime.
• When your child is dysregulated, focus first on helping them return to calm before trying to teach, explain, or problem-solve.

References Mentioned

Dr. Ross Greene — “Children do well if they can”
Relationship Development Intervention: https://www.rdiconnect.com
Nancy Gillette: www.nancygilette.com

Important Chapters

• 00:00:00 – Welcome to Part One
  G-Rex and Dirty Skittles introduce the episode and welcome Nancy Gilette to the show.
• 00:01:19 – Nancy’s Work With Autistic Children and Families
  Nancy explains her role as an RDI Consultant and how she helps parents move from survival mode into more calm, clarity, and understanding.
• 00:03:49 – The Moment That Sparked Nancy’s Mission
  Nancy shares the powerful experience she had at 17 while working with an autistic child, and how one moment of authentic connection changed the direction of her life.
• 00:07:20 – Moving From Reaction to Connection
  Nancy explains why so many parents feel stuck in crisis mode and how regulation, intention, and connection can shift the whole family dynamic.
• 00:14:21 – Dirty Skittles Opens Up About Parenting Nugget
  Dirty Skittles shares a real-life morning moment with Nugget and how she works to pause, communicate honestly, and show up with love.
• 00:17:53 – Neurodivergence, Diagnosis, and the Bigger Question
  Nancy discusses how diagnosis can offer information and access, but the deeper question is how families use that information to support quality of life.
• 00:28:28 – Dysregulation and Helping Kids Return to Calm
  Nancy explains why the goal is not to shut down dysregulation, but to guide a child back toward calm so problem-solving can happen.
• 00:37:36 – Building Confidence Through Small, Safe Challenges
  Nancy introduces the idea of gently increasing a child’s challenge level so they can experience success without becoming overwhelmed.
• 00:45:42 – Nancy’s Crohn’s Diagnosis and Listening to the Body
  Nancy shares how her own health journey helped her better understand stress, the nervous system, healing, and quality of life.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #AutismSupport #AutismParenting #ParentBurnout #NeurodivergentParenting #BehaviorIsCommunication #AutisticChildren #EmotionalRegulation #CompassionateParenting #RDIConsultant #ParentingSupport #SensoryOverload #FamilyWellness #ConnectionBeforeCorrection #NeurodiversityAffirming #PodcastCommunity

 

 

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Season 17 went out the way this show does best: honest, messy, funny, and full of heart. In this recap episode, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles look back at a powerful season of conversations about toxic relationships, shame, burnout, suicide prevention, chronic pain, grief, parenting, joy, and the wild little thing we call healing.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes discussion of suicidal thoughts, suicide prevention, emotional pain, trauma, and mental health struggles. If you or someone you love is in crisis, please call or text 988 in the United States or visit https://988lifeline.org for immediate support. You are not alone, and your story is not over.

Mental Health Quote

“Every time we share our story, we unlock somebody else’s prison so they don’t feel so alone.” — Inspired by G-Rex

Episode Description

Season 17 was one hell of a ride, and G-Rex and Dirty Skittles are closing it out with the kind of conversation that feels like sitting with your favorite people after a long, emotional day. In this Season 17 recap, they revisit the guests who brought wisdom, vulnerability, humor, and real-life tools to the mic: Kate King, Nicole Penrod, Justin Goodman, Shannon Salge, Louis Kim, Shari B Kaplan, Deane Benninghoven, Joe Smarro, Kathryn M Henry, and Jacintha Field.

This episode pulls together the big emotional thread running through the season: learning how to stop abandoning yourself. From toxic relationships and workplace burnout to shame spirals, chronic pain, grief, parenting, suicide prevention, and finding joy again, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles remind us that healing does not always look polished. Sometimes it looks like laughing through the hard stuff, crying when the dime moments hit, saying “another fucking growth opportunity,” or finally admitting that you need help.

They also reflect on how each guest brought something practical and deeply human to the table: self-compassion, advocacy, emotional safety, suicide-prevention resources, joy, plant-based healing, hypnosis, first-responder mental health, grief rituals, and helping kids feel their feelings.

At its core, this episode is a love letter to Season 17 and to every listener still doing the hard work. Healing is not linear, but damn, it is possible.

Keywords: Mental health podcast, emotional wellness, toxic relationships, suicide prevention, burnout recovery, self-worth, shame healing, grief support, chronic pain, parenting emotions, first responder mental health, trauma recovery, joy, self-compassion, mental health recovery.

Meet Our Guests — Season 17 Recap

This Season 17 ender celebrates the powerful guests who helped shape the season’s conversations around healing, hope, and mental health recovery. G-Rex and Dirty Skittles reflected on each guest in order, pulling out the moments that stuck with them most.

• Kate King — Kate’s third visit brought a much-needed conversation about toxic relationships, toxic workplaces, and knowing when it is time to mend or move on. Her reminder that you do not have to abandon yourself to keep a relationship alive hit hard in the best way.
• Nicole Penrod — Nicole’s episode opened up a real conversation about toxic shame, perfectionism, negative self-talk, and the pressure to get everything right the first time. G-Rex and Dirty Skittles reflected on the importance of giving yourself patience and grace instead of beating yourself up over every mistake.
• Justin Goodman — Justin’s story with Project 55 centered on suicide prevention, connection, and the creation of tools that help people feel less alone. His journey reminded the hosts that sharing our darkest moments can become a lifeline for someone else.
• Shannon Salge — Shannon’s story highlighted medical gaslighting, self-advocacy, and the connection between emotional stress and physical symptoms. Her work reminded the hosts how important it is to keep peeling the onion when something in your body or mind does not feel right.
• Louis Kim — Louis brought humor, honesty, and a powerful reminder that outward success does not always mean inner peace. His message was clear: do not chase the money or the dream so hard that you forget to chase joy.
• Shari B Kaplan — Shari’s two-part conversation explored plant-based healing, self-compassion, and what it means to be brave even when all you can do is make it happen from bed. Her story reminded everyone to be gentler with themselves and stop using a bat when a feather duster will do.
• Deane Benninghoven — Deane’s episode focused on trauma, chronic pain, hypnosis, and the many different paths healing can take. His story was a reminder that talk therapy is not the only option, and sometimes we have to try something new to find what actually helps.
• Joe Smarro — Joe’s conversation was a powerful look at masculinity, military service, police work, trauma, vulnerability, and first responder mental health. His willingness to take off the mask gave others permission to do the same.
• Kathryn M Henry — Kathryn’s episode brought grief, humor, love, and “another fucking growth opportunity” into the conversation. Her dime moments reminded G-Rex and Dirty Skittles that the people we lose can still show up in ways that feel deeply personal and healing.
• Jacintha Field — Jacintha’s work with Happy Souls Kids sparked a beautiful conversation about children, emotions, parenting, and helping kids navigate their storms. Her episode reminded the hosts that kids need language for their feelings, and parents need compassion while figuring it out too.

Key Takeaways

• You do not have to keep abandoning yourself to keep a relationship, workplace, or version of your life alive.
• Shame gets louder when we stay silent, but self-compassion gives us a way back to ourselves.
• Suicide prevention starts with connection, resources, and reminders that people are valued.
• Burnout can hide behind success, productivity, and a really convincing “I’m fine.”
• Healing can come through therapy, humor, advocacy, hypnosis, grief rituals, parenting tools, or simply trying something different.
• Kids need room to feel their feelings, and honestly, so do we grown-ass adults.

Actionable Items

• Put your hand over your heart and remind yourself: “This belongs. I belong. I am allowed to want better.”
• Create a “happy album” of things, people, songs, places, or moments that remind you joy still exists.
• When life punches you in the face, try naming it what it is: another fucking growth opportunity. Then breathe, regroup, and take the next right step.

References Mentioned

• Project 55:  https://project55.org
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:  https://988lifeline.org
• Find a Helpline:  https://findahelpline.com
• Happy Souls Kids:  https://happysoulskids.com

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 — Welcome to the Season 17 ender
  G-Rex and Dirty Skittles kick off the finale with laughs, gratitude, and disbelief that Season 17 is already wrapping.
• 00:05:51 — Kate King and toxic relationships
  The hosts reflect on choosing yourself, toxic workplaces, and knowing when to mend or move on.
• 00:09:09 — Nicole Penrod and toxic shame
  Dirty Skittles opens up about perfectionism, self-doubt, and the pressure to get life right the first time.
• 00:13:09 — Justin Goodman and suicide prevention
  G-Rex and Dirty Skittles revisit Justin’s story, Project 55, and the power of helping people feel less alone.
• 00:16:16 — Shannon Salge and medical gaslighting
  The conversation turns to self-advocacy, physical symptoms, and being heard when something feels wrong.
• 00:19:30 — Louis Kim and chasing joy
  Louis’s episode reminds the hosts that success is not the same as happiness, and joy matters.
• 00:21:55 — Shari B Kaplan and self-compassion
  The hosts reflect on plant-based healing, bravery from bed, and being kinder to yourself.
• 00:24:04 — Deane Benninghoven and chronic pain
  Deane’s story brings up trauma, hypnosis, chronic pain, and finding the healing path that works for you.
• 00:26:34 — Joe Smarro and first responder mental health
  Joe’s episode sparks a conversation about vulnerability, masculinity, service, and taking off the mask.
• 00:28:47 — Kathryn M Henry and grief
  The hosts talk about humor, loss, dime moments, and finding signs of love after grief.
• 00:32:19 — Jacintha Field and helping kids feel
  Jacintha’s work with children leads to a conversation about parenting, emotions, and giving kids space to feel.
• 00:34:13 — Gratitude, growth, and what comes next
  G-Rex and Dirty Skittles close the season with gratitude for the guests, listeners, awards, and the community.

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #MentalHealthRecovery #ToxicRelationships #SuicidePrevention #BurnoutRecovery #ShameHealing #SelfWorthJourney #TraumaRecovery #GriefSupport #FirstResponderMentalHealth #ChronicPainAwareness #ParentingAndMentalHealth #EmotionalWellness #HealingJourney #SelfCompassion #JoyfulLiving

 

***************************************************************************

If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

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When life cracked wide open during COVID, separation, solo parenting, and her son’s emotional dysregulation, Jacintha Field didn’t just survive it — she turned it into a mission. In this powerful conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles talk with Jacintha about trauma, parenting, emotional literacy, and how helping kids feel safe starts with learning to be kinder to ourselves.

Awards & Downloads Line Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback Link Line We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Every part of you is welcome. Every big feeling has a place.” — Inspired by Jacintha Field Episode Description When Jacintha Field’s son started school during COVID, her world was already upside down. She was navigating a brutal separation, solo parenting, and the emotional fallout of a child who didn’t yet have the words or tools to explain what was happening inside. His outbursts were intense. Her heart was breaking. And with child mental health waitlists stretching six to twelve months, Jacintha did what so many parents do when there are no easy answers — she went looking for them herself.

In this deeply honest episode, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Jacintha, a Family and Child Counselor, Art Therapist, and founder of Happy Souls Kids, to talk about trauma, parenting, sobriety, self-compassion, and the messy beauty of learning as you go. Jacintha shares how surviving domestic violence, getting sober, and rebuilding her life helped her understand that healing is not about being perfect. It is about repairing the rupture, naming the feeling, and choosing connection over shame.

This conversation is for parents, caregivers, educators, and anyone who has ever wondered, “Am I messing this up?” Jacintha reminds us that kids do not need perfect adults. They need safe ones. And sometimes, the most powerful thing we can say is, “I’m here. We’re a team. We’ll figure this out together.”

Keywords: child mental health, emotional regulation, trauma healing, parenting support, self-regulation for kids, emotional literacy, solo parenting, domestic violence recovery, sober healing, mindful parenting, play therapy, child anxiety, family counseling, resilience, Happy Souls Kids.

Meet Our Guest — Jacintha Field Jacintha Field is a Family and Child Counselor, Art Therapist, and founder of Happy Souls Kids, a global mental health platform helping children ages 5–12 regulate big feelings through storytelling, gamified tools, and the voices of athletes and role models they admire. After surviving domestic violence, emotional burnout, and solo parenting through her son’s anxiety and dysregulation, Jacintha turned her lived experience into a mission to help 100,000 children by 2027.

Website: https://www.happysoulskids.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16633spBm7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacinthafield
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacinthafield
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jacinthafield

Key Takeaways

• Kids are not “bad” when they have big emotions — they are often overwhelmed and asking for safety in the only way they know how.
• Self-compassion is not optional in parenting. The kinder we are to ourselves, the safer we can become for our children.
• Emotional literacy starts small: naming feelings, drawing them, talking about them, and giving kids space to understand what is happening inside.
• Connection comes before correction. Sometimes a game of Uno does more healing than a lecture ever could.
• Parents do not have to be perfect. Repair, accountability, and honesty matter more than pretending everything is fine.
• Healing after trauma can become service, purpose, and something beautiful — but only after we let ourselves move through the mud.

Actionable Items

• When your child has a big feeling, pause and ask: “What emotion might be underneath this behavior?” before reacting.
• Try Jacintha’s circle exercise: draw a circle on paper and ask your child to draw how they feel inside it.
• Practice repair after rupture. Try saying, “That was my big feeling coming out. I’m sorry. Can we try that again?”

References Mentioned The Red Beast: Controlling Anger in Children with Asperger’s Syndrome — a children’s book that Jacintha referenced as a helpful tool for talking about anger and emotional regulation.

Happy Souls Kids: https://www.happysoulskids.com

Raw with Jay Podcast — Jacintha’s podcast focused on real, honest conversations for parents and emotional healing.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – Welcome to the Episode G-Rex and Dirty Skittles introduce the show and welcome Jacintha Field, also known as Jay, from Australia.
• 00:02:04 – COVID, Separation, and Her Son’s Big Feelings Jacintha shares how her son’s intense outbursts during COVID and separation became the catalyst for her work in child counseling and emotional regulation.
• 00:04:51 – Self-Compassion and Parenting Through Tantrums Jacintha explains how learning to be patient with herself helped her respond more compassionately to her son’s big emotions.
• 00:06:47 – Therapy, Separation, and Rebuilding Jacintha opens up about attending 26 psychology sessions in one year and how support helped her move through the mud of separation.
• 00:14:26 – Naming Emotions and Being Real With Kids Jacintha talks about showing up authentically with her child, naming emotions, and letting kids know every feeling has a place.
• 00:18:04 – Tools for Helping Kids Express Feelings Jacintha shares practical tools like drawing emotions, breaking down the story behind the feeling, and helping children problem-solve without jumping in to fix everything.
• 00:19:29 – Connection Before Correction Jacintha explains why children need connection, play, and emotional safety before they can respond well to guidance.
• 00:24:44 – Winning, Learning, and Repairing Ruptures Jacintha talks about reframing failure, emotional dysregulation, and why repairing after a hard moment matters so much.
• 00:30:58 – Advice to Her Younger Self Jacintha shares what she would tell her younger self: that she is worthy, valid, and never too much.
• 00:35:43 – Happy Souls Kids and How to Connect Jacintha shares how listeners can find Happy Souls Kids, join beta testing, and connect with her work.
• 00:37:42 – Final Message for Parents Jacintha leaves listeners with a reminder to be kind to themselves because every parent is doing the best they can.

Closing CTA Subscribe, Rate, and Review! Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #ChildMentalHealth #EmotionalRegulation #BigFeelings #TraumaHealing #ParentingSupport #MindfulParenting #SoloParenting #DomesticViolenceRecovery #SoberHealing #SelfRegulation #EmotionalLiteracy #PlayTherapy #ChildAnxiety #ResilientKids #HappySoulsKids

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

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Kathryn M. Henry joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles for a raw, beautiful, and deeply human conversation about grief, love, resilience, spirituality, and learning how to keep living after losing the person you thought you’d grow old with. Through her memoir A Dime to Say I Love You, Kathryn reminds us that even the heaviest moments can become another f*cking growth opportunity when we meet them with honesty, humor, and self-compassion.

Awards & Downloads Line

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

Feedback Link Line

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here:
https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes conversations about grief, childhood abuse, suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, cancer, and loss. Please take care of yourself while listening. If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are loved, wanted, and needed here.

Mental Health Quote

“You’re good enough, and you don’t have to prove anything to anybody.” — Kathryn M. Henry

Episode Description

Grief can knock the air right out of you, but Kathryn M. Henry shows us that even the most painful chapters can hold love, wisdom, and one hell of a growth opportunity. In this episode, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Kathryn, author of A Dime to Say I Love You, to talk about losing her wife Lisa, finding spiritual meaning after death, and learning how to keep showing up when life feels impossible.

Kathryn shares the story behind the dimes she and Lisa left for each other as tiny reminders of love. After Lisa’s transition following a decade-long cancer journey, those “dime moments” became something even deeper: signs of connection, comfort, and the belief that love does not simply disappear.

Together, they talk about resilience, childhood trauma, suicide survival, spirituality, vulnerability, self-love, and the kind of healing that does not come wrapped in perfection. Kathryn also opens up about writing her memoir, living in integrity, and bringing her whole self into every room, from personal relationships to corporate leadership.

This episode is for anyone walking through grief, questioning their purpose, rebuilding after trauma, or trying to find joy again without pretending everything is fine. Keywords: mental health podcast, grief healing, emotional wellness, suicide prevention, spiritual healing, resilience, self-love, LGBTQ mental health, trauma recovery, conscious leadership, grief support, vulnerability, personal growth, healing after loss, finding joy

Meet Our Guest — Kathryn M. Henry

Kathryn M. Henry is a writer, spiritual seeker, business leader, and author of A Dime to Say I Love You, a bold memoir that blends intimate storytelling with meditation, reflection, and personal growth practices. After a global career leading technology, operations, and people development at brands including Gap, Levi’s, and Lululemon, Kathryn now works at the intersection of leadership, inner life, social impact, and healing. Her story matters because she reminds us that grief does not have to harden us; it can open us.

Website: https://kathrynmhenry.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathryn.m.henry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathryn.henry.94
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrykathryn
Media and speaking inquiries: katmbueno@gmail.com

Key Takeaways

• Grief is not something we “get over.” It becomes part of how we learn to live, love, and grow.
• Kathryn’s “dime moments” show how signs of love can appear in small, powerful, and deeply personal ways.
• Resilience is built by surviving what we thought would break us and realizing we are still here.
• Vulnerability helps us connect in ways that polished perfection never could.
• Self-love means choosing practices, people, and boundaries that help us stay grounded.
• Living in integrity means showing up as the same whole person in every room.

Actionable Items

• Look for your own “dime moments” — the small signs, memories, symbols, or reminders that help you feel connected to love.
• When life hands you another f*cking growth opportunity, pause before beating yourself up and ask, “What can I learn here?”
• Choose one grounding practice this week, like music, nature, meditation, journaling, movement, or calling someone who helps you feel safe.

References Mentioned

• A Dime to Say I Love You by Kathryn M. Henry
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org
• Global crisis resources: https://findahelpline.com
• Gayatri Mantra by Deva Premal
• Michael Bublé
• Stoic philosophy
• Buddhism
• Hinduism
• Meditation and contemplative practices

Important Chapters

• 00:00:37 – Welcome and episode introduction
• 00:01:38 – Kathryn introduces A Dime to Say I Love You
• 00:03:18 – The meaning behind Kathryn and Lisa’s “dime moments.”
• 00:05:11 – Why Kathryn uses the word “transition.”
• 00:06:20 – Signs from loved ones after loss
• 00:07:33 – Writing the book to honor Lisa and help others
• 00:10:06 – Another F*cking Growth Opportunity
• 00:12:49 – How resilience is built through hard moments
• 00:16:57 – Choosing joy and holding onto hope
• 00:19:26 – Vulnerability, self-love, and real connection
• 00:21:02 – The practices that keep Kathryn grounded
• 00:26:38 – Sharing trauma, grief, and suicide survival
• 00:30:10 – Kathryn’s spiritual path and healing practices
• 00:33:17 – Turning brokenness into hope
• 00:40:06 – Living in integrity in every room
• 00:46:03 – Kathryn’s advice to her younger self
• 00:46:36 – Learning that life gives no guarantees
• 00:47:51 – Music as a grounding tool
• 00:49:03 – Kathryn’s spirit animal
• 00:49:44 – How to connect with Kathryn

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website:
https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #GriefHealing #GriefSupport #EmotionalWellness #Resilience #SelfLoveJourney #TraumaRecovery #SuicidePrevention #SpiritualHealing #HealingAfterLoss #LGBTQMentalHealth #VulnerabilityIsStrength #PersonalGrowth #ChooseJoy #ConsciousLeadership #ADimeToSayILoveYou

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

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Joe Smarro walked away from a Marine uniform, a badge, and a gun belt that almost ended his life, and walked straight into the work of healing himself and the first responders nobody else was checking on. This conversation is about what it really takes to take off the mask, do the work, and become the kind of human who gives other people permission to do the same.

 

Awards & Downloads Brought to you by the 2024 and 2026 award-winning podcast Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads, a 2026 Women Podcasters Awards nominee in the Mindset and Mental Health category and honored among the Influential Women 2026 Women of the Year, with 4.5 million plus downloads across 160 plus countries and counting in Season 17. Feedback Link We'd love to hear what landed for you in this episode. Leave us a voice or text note here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote "There's so much freedom on the other side of your suffering. There's so much freedom on the other side of your fear." Joe Smarro Episode Description Joe Smarro is a Marine Corps combat veteran, former San Antonio Police Officer, co-founder of one of the country's first Mental Health Units, and the kind of man who'll tell you exactly how close he came to not being here. In this episode, Joe sits down with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to share the story behind his Emmy-winning HBO documentary Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops, his book Unarmed, and the moment he chose therapy over the gun belt sitting next to him.

This is a raw, hopeful, and surprisingly funny conversation about childhood trauma, an ACES score of nine, PTSD, persistent depressive disorder, and the addiction patterns that ran his life until he stopped running from himself. Joe shares why he believes therapy is a relationship, and most people just haven't found the right partner yet, why he started attending SLAA meetings at 44, and why he gets up every day, names his alarm clock with affirmations, and practices three points of reflection before his feet hit the floor.

If you've ever worn a mask so tight you forgot what your real face felt like, this one's for you. Joe gives men, first responders, veterans, and anyone with a hard story permission to stop pretending and start healing. We talk masculine vulnerability, suicide prevention, scars versus scabs, the "selfish AF" approach to wellness, radical self-responsibility, and what it actually looks like to live on the other side of trauma.

Keywords: first responder mental health, PTSD recovery, veteran mental health, suicide prevention, childhood trauma, ACES score, Joe Smarro, Unarmed book, Ernie and Joe Crisis Cops, masculine vulnerability, de-escalation, police mental health, trauma healing, therapy for men, addiction recovery

Meet Our Guest Joe Smarro is a decorated Marine Corps combat veteran, former San Antonio Police Officer, co-founder of the SAPD Mental Health Unit, TEDx speaker, and bestselling Author of Unarmed: De-escalation Techniques to Cultivate Courage, Compassion, and Connection and 12 Laws of Maximizing the Human Experience. He's the founder and CEO of SolutionPoint+, a national consulting firm focused on mental wellness, resiliency, and crisis response training for first responders, public safety, public transit, and corporate clients. When he's not on stage or in a hotel somewhere in North America, you'll find him on the golf course.

Connect with Joe:

• Website: https://www.joesmarro.com
• Company: https://www.solutionpointplus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joesmarro
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josephsmarro
• Documentary: Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops on HBO Max

Key Takeaways

• Share from a scar, not a scab. Healing first, then teaching. Joe waited until his wounds had closed before he started talking about them publicly, and that's why his story actually helps people.
• Therapy is a relationship, not a one-time experiment. If the first therapist didn't fit, that doesn't mean therapy doesn't work. It means you haven't found your person yet.
• "Selfish AF" is not a personality flaw. It's self-awareness, self-love, and self-care so you can actually show up for the people you love.
• Take radical responsibility for the life you're living now. Bad things happened to you, and they weren't your fault. What you do with them today is.
• Hope and curiosity keep you moving. Not motivation. Not hustle. Curiosity about what life looks like on the other side of the work.

Actionable Items

• Build your own three points of reflection. Each morning, ask yourself where you are, why you're there, and who contributed to you being there.
• Find three new things you're grateful for every day, and they cannot repeat. This forces you to hunt for the good rather than run on autopilot.
• Identify the biggest fear holding you back right now and take one small step toward it this week.

References Mentioned

• Book: Unarmed by Joe Smarro, available at https://www.joesmarro.com
• Documentary: Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops on HBO Max
• TEDx Talk: "I See You" by Joe Smarro on YouTube
• SLAA (Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous): https://slaafws.org

Important Chapters

• 00:00 Welcome
• 02:15 Childhood trauma and the mask
• 05:04 Behind the book Unarmed
• 09:05 The gun belt moment
• 13:22 First SLAA meeting at 44
• 16:20 Speed dating your therapist
• 24:21 Joe's morning ritual
• 29:42 Selfish AF
• 35:10 Nobody is coming to save you
• 42:56 Where to find Joe

Closing CTA If this episode moved you, sat heavy on you, or made you finally pick up the phone, we want to know. Leave us a review or share your story at https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews. Listen on your favorite platform or on our website at https://www.goesoninourheads.net. Your story might be the one that unlocks somebody else's prison. #MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #JoeSmarro #Unarmed #FirstResponderMentalHealth #PTSDRecovery #SuicidePrevention #VeteranMentalHealth #TraumaHealing #PoliceWellness #MasculineVulnerability #ACES #CrisisCops #BreakTheStigma #TherapyWorks #SelfishAF #HealingTrauma #STGOIOH

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If You Need Support, Reach Out

If you or someone you know is facing mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline in your area. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK—talking to someone can make all the difference.

• United States: Call or Text 988 — 988lifeline.org
• Canada: Call or Text 988 — 988.ca
• Worldwide: Find a Helpline
• Mental Health Resources and Tools: The Help Hub

Stay Connected with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles

• Official Website: goesoninourheads.net
• Facebook: @shltthatgoesoninourheads
• Instagram: @grex_and_dirtyskittles
• LinkedIn: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles
• Join Our Newsletter: (https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/)
• Merch Store: goesoninourheads.shop

Audio Editing by NJz Audio

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.