26. Immigrating to the United States with Matthieu Villate

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26. Immigrating to the United States with Matthieu Villate

What does it mean to “be yourself” when you’re learning a new language and living in a new culture? Some of us find it hard to do even in our own language!

In the latest episode of The Vibrant Introvert, Matthieu Villate shares his story of immigrating to the United States from France and the struggle to be himself as he struggled to communicate, be heard, connect to others, and convey his unique sense of humor.

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25. Public speaking & finding your voice with Debbie Jacob

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25. Public speaking & finding your voice with Debbie Jacob

If you are an introvert, public speaking can be quite the challenge.

But, what if you have public speaking anxiety or social anxiety? The challenge can be even higher because those anxieties can feel like a real physical barrier to showing up and speaking up.

In the latest episode of The Vibrant Introvert, Debbie Jacob shares a pivotal public speaking experience after many years of avoiding any forms of public speaking.

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24. A writer's journey with Marcus Harrison Green

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24. A writer's journey with Marcus Harrison Green

In the latest episode of The Vibrant Introvert Podcast, our storyteller is Marcus Harrison Green, a man from South Seattle. He is also a writer, publisher, and founder of a local new source, The South Seattle Emerald.

Several years ago, after trying out an unfulfilling career in finance, Marcus trekked back to his hometown of Seattle. From there, he pursued his passion for writing. In his story he tells us about how this passion led him on a journey to start a publication—a publication that would become the South Seattle Emerald. All he had was a decision—the decision to start on his journey…and from there, the adventure began.

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23. Finding faith in Black maternal and infant health: A woman’s epic journey of infertility, miscarriage, & motherhood with Narissa Harris

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23. Finding faith in Black maternal and infant health: A woman’s epic journey of infertility, miscarriage, & motherhood with Narissa Harris

I invite you to join me on this journey, full of lots of twists and turns, of deep emotion, of experiencing cultural bias, of loss, of grief, of determination, of experiencing deep spiritual healing.

Our storyteller, Narissa Harris, is a licensed marriage and family therapist. In her work she runs a small private practice and spends most of her professional career providing trainings, workshops, consultations, and writings to help others increase their cultural awareness particularly when working within the African-American community. Narissa prides herself on using a real, direct, and unapologetic approach, while also creating safety and trust.

So, today I am sharing the epic journey of this amazing woman’s struggle with infertility, with miscarriage, and how losing hope was exactly what she needed in order to be open to a spiritual journey that would lead her right back to what she was looking for in the first place…her Faith.

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22. That time I wanted to quit: from self-doubt to self trust

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22. That time I wanted to quit: from self-doubt to self trust

What if you dreamed so big it scared you?

I ask this question in this unscripted episode of The Vibrant Introvert. I veer from the typical format to bring you my own story as an introverted entrepreneur.

This episode describes my roller coaster experience of going from self-doubt to self-trust.

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21. A mother's story of colic and stillborn birth with Dr. Diana Hill

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21. A mother's story of colic and stillborn birth with Dr. Diana Hill

Our storyteller, Diana Hill, dealt with discomfort as a mother…in a few different ways. Diana is an ACT-based psychologist, a mom, a fellow podcaster, and author. Diana shares how she experienced a colicky baby and the many discomforts that it came with…and learned how to form a new relationship with the crying, with the discomfort, with her son, and with her past grief. See how she made space for discomfort and how that little bit of space changed everything.

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20. A dancer’s struggle with orthorexia with Lauryn Elder

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20. A dancer’s struggle with orthorexia with Lauryn Elder

Our storyteller, Lauryn Elder, shares her experience as a former professional woman…and a person who basically grew up in a dance studio. At some point she eventually realized the tremendously positive and impactful ways in which the dancing world shaped her behaviors from the inside out. One behavioral pattern includes her experience with orthorexia.

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19. Finding compassion in my younger self with Katelyn Kendrick

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19. Finding compassion in my younger self with Katelyn Kendrick

Here’s my big question for you: why is it so much easier to show compassion for someone else than it is to show it to yourself?

Today our storyteller, Katelyn Kendrick, who I talked to way back in February when I was still pregnant…is going to share their very personal journey, one that involves her growing up as a super feeler in an addicted home, how they experienced trauma both in the home and outside of it, and how that impacted their ability to see herself and treat herself with compassion. In their story they will talk about how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy taught her how to take perspective on her story and how that has slowly shaped not only an understanding of their life and trauma, but an even stronger sense of who she is and what she wants to be about.

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18. A tender-hearted autistic with Brian Middleton

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18. A tender-hearted autistic with Brian Middleton

Today, you will hear the story of Brian Middleton, a behavior analyst and fellow podcaster. He describes himself as autistic and someone who has a very tender heart. He shares how his experience of being autistic has shaped his early memories and ability to process the world around him…later on, his increased ability to communicate started him on the path of relating to himself and others in more complex ways, and how this new ability to relate also open the door toward that universal experience of suffering.

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17. Tuning into anxiety as a sleep deprived mom with Hilary McClinton

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17. Tuning into anxiety as a sleep deprived mom with Hilary McClinton

Today we are going to explore sleep, behavior, and a mental health condition that is not often talked about: postpartum anxiety. Our guest, Hilary McClinton, is a behavior analyst and sleep specialist who has her own story about anxiety…and how all of this is a product of her context as mom to child with sleeping difficulties, and a product of her own sleep deprivation.

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16. "Being more me": Growing into authenticity with Summer Mingo

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16. "Being more me": Growing into authenticity with Summer Mingo

In this episode I talk to fellow introvert Summer Mingo. We talk about how we’ve learned to not only come “out” of our shells but to grow into them.

I relate our experience to that of a hermit crab. It’s shell might be mistaken as any other shell, but it is uniquely the environment, the context in which the hermit crab resides.

We all have our own space and, own context by which we are living our life right now. You too have an experience that is different from anyone else's, and different from what it looks like 5 or 10 years ago. Your shell is your life, right now.

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15. Breaking the introvert bubble with Rebekah Perez

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15. Breaking the introvert bubble with Rebekah Perez

This is the first episode of the new season of the podcast formerly called ACT-Inspired Behavior. The show is now titled The Vibrant Introvert!

To start off our season, I want to ask you a question. What IS an introvert? How would you define the term? Of course there are many definitions out there, books written, blog posts…but what is YOUR definition?

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14. Journey toward a natural birth (Season 1 Bonus)

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14. Journey toward a natural birth (Season 1 Bonus)

This bonus episode is all about my journey toward a VBAC and natural birth. There is real audio from the beginning to end of my labor experience so hopefully you can feel like you are there, experiencing it alongside me. This is also the last episode of the podcast formerly titled “ACT-Inspired Behavior.” After this episode, I will publish episodes for season 2 under a new name, title “The Vibrant Introvert.” Listen to hear more about it!

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About the episode: Have you ever done something…scary? What was it and what made it so scary? Was it physically difficult, or emotionally difficult, or both? Did it fill you with fear as you prepared to do it?

But here’s the most important question. Why was it worth it?

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13. Speak life into yourself with Chauntae Gold

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13. Speak life into yourself with Chauntae Gold

Have you ever been put in a situation where you were forced to do something that didn’t ring true to you? Perhaps it was something your parent asked you to do. Perhaps it was a new rule at work…or something you felt pressured to do because of your friends?

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12. The imposter's struggle through career change with Greg Bodin

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12. The imposter's struggle through career change with Greg Bodin

I was once told that in one lifetime, you can have many different experiences, many different careers. You can live many lives in one life. I LOVE this message so much…this statement has really given me the freedom to choose, to change, to go where my heart and my compass leads me. And I would say that this mindset describes my own career path—I’ve switched career paths several times now and each of these experiences have only made my ability to adapt greater, my perspective that much richer…but the transition and the change itself never really gets easier, per se.

Greg Bodin, an ACT-based psychotherapist in San Francisco and our guest today, went through a major career change in his early 30’s…though he was encouraged by everyone around him, who were certain of his ability to become a therapist…

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11. My relationship with stress with Martha Smith

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11. My relationship with stress with Martha Smith

Ok, let’s play a little game.

What is the first thing you think of when you think of the word…”stress?” For me it’s…the word… “tightness”… or the phrase, “too much on my plate.” Or the image of my son Matthew screaming at me at 6AM in the morning because he doesn’t “always want to put on new underwear!”.

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10. When you try to change a person with Tayler Gowan

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10. When you try to change a person with Tayler Gowan

Do you ever look at other people’s family and wonder, how the hell do they get along so well? They look so happy. They seem to get along…I bet they go on skiing holidays and wear matching sweaters. And then, do you compare them to your family?

I’ve caught myself thinking: “If only they would change…then we’d finally get along.” I’d hazard to say that this line of thinking is common because… I’ve thought it a time or two.

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9. Finding value when everyday is the same with Courtney Bilton

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9. Finding value when everyday is the same with Courtney Bilton

See if you can guess what movie I’m referring to…Bill Murray is asleep in bed, covers pulled up to his chin and then the camera pans to the alarm clock. The clock’s number flips from 5:59 to 6:00 AM. And then the radio starts to play.

This scene plays out again and again and again throughout the entire movie. Because, it’s Groundhog Day. And, unfortunately, for Bill Murray, the day repeats itself over and over and over again. There’s no changing it. There’s no response he can make that will move him forward in time. He’s. Just. Stuck.

This is the movie that Courtney Bilton so very much relates to…She’s a mom of 2 young children, who last year around this time was preparing to return from her second year-long maternity leave. And, as you know, this was the same time last year when the pandemic hit causing everything in her life and everything in YOURS to pause.

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8. The ebb and flow of grief with Mari Cerda

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8. The ebb and flow of grief with Mari Cerda

Do you know that feeling of standing in the ocean, waves at your feet, & the constant coming and going of waves? Imagine yourself, even for a second…standing in the water, your eyes closed, feeling the sensations of those waves.

Sometimes the waves come with regularity…and, every once in a while, notice how they are more forceful at times, and then unexpectedly gentle. Our guest today, Mari Cerda, shares a difficult story…the loss of a loved one. She shares how her experience was much like the experience of standing in the ocean, feeling wave after wave of grief.

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7. Social Anxiety & the Observer Self with Joanna Burbury

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7. Social Anxiety & the Observer Self with Joanna Burbury

Here is a question for you. If you don’t like your personality, can you change it? Today is all about how we see ourselves…and fighting against parts of ourselves that seem… unchangeable. Maybe there are parts of your personality or ways in which you move around in the world that you’ve changed. But maybe there are also remnants of that way of being that have largely stayed the same.

This part of you, the part that never changes, is what we will talk about today. Later in the episode my guest Joanna Burbury, a clinical psychologist in London, and I will chat about this concept—it’s called the observer self. We also discuss ways in which our struggles with social anxiety have shaped our young lives and how we no longer feel defined by these thoughts and labels but…that it is still a part of our current experience.

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