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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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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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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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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6. Self-identity as a woman of color with danyelle beal

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6. Self-identity as a woman of color with danyelle beal

Today is all about perspective-taking and identifying the ways in which we develop a rigid self-identify.

Our guest today is danyelle beal, a behavior analyst for more than 20 years. She will share her struggles and her successes, her identity as a black woman, and how her journey has led her to become a leader and a mentor for other women of color in her field.

This story is one that doesn’t have a definite starting or ending point because we are really talking about danyelle’s experience as a woman of color...and that experience continues to today.

We are really going to dig into race issues here primarily through her internal struggle and then explore the outer context of racism and prejudice which is infused in her every life from the inside out.

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5. Hope for 2021

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5. Hope for 2021

In this episode I answer the question "What was hard this year and how do I hope onto hope?" In answering this question, I talked about where I started last year--pregnant and hopeful for the future--and go from there. I talk about the struggles I had personally and professionally, how COVID changed my plans for the future, and then I bring it all back to this question; how do you hold onto hope...when things get hard?

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4. Breaking the rules with Jessica Zielske

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4. Breaking the rules with Jessica Zielske

In this episode we are going to talk about rules. Rules are this ubiquitous word that we use to describe something we must or must NOT do, and usually we try to follow them. Sometimes the rules are not so obvious and the very thoughts we have in our head can become very rule-like. Our guest today--her name is Jessica Zielske , she is going to share about how she learned what her rules were in the first place and how she broke some of those rules by searching deeply within herself to realize that the marriage she was in wasn't what she wanted after all.

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3. Forgiveness through curiosity and compassion with Hannah Van Petten

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3. Forgiveness through curiosity and compassion with Hannah Van Petten

Today’s episode is about forgiveness, forgiveness between someone and their close loved one. I don’t know about you, but forgiveness is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life...maybe because it’s so easy to not forgive. Our guest Hannah shares her own story about forgiveness toward her father and how we was able to use mindfulness and compassion to overcome past feelings of hurt.

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2. Eating disorder & the cost of avoidance with Kim Loneck

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2. Eating disorder & the cost of avoidance with Kim Loneck

In this episode we explore the story of an eating disorder as told by Kim Loneck. Since the topic of this conversation touches on a sensitive subject, I want listeners to be aware before they decide to listen. If this is a potentially triggering subject for you, please be kind to yourself in whatever way possible. Thank you.

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