153. Managing stress using ACTUAL practical strategies with Dr. Elissa Epel

You know we’re all about the shrooms here on HTW, and not just the ones that take you on a trip. But when it comes to other psychedelics and their potential health benefits, it can be hard to get over some misconceptions we have. Most of us grew up hearing “drugs are bad, mkay,” and while many can be—and nearly all without taking the proper precautions—it’s taken a toll on public perception around certain compounds and held us back from some very useful and SAFE benefits. Lauren Taus is a licensed psychotherapist, practicing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), and trained to work with both psychoactive compounds and plant medicines. Lauren leads Inbodied Life, a group therapy practice and she also offers immersive educational programs for clinicians to learn psychedelic assisted therapy and integration in contexts that hold personal healing as essential to effective facilitation. Lauren is a lifelong student, educator and activist. For decades, Lauren’s work has focused on creating aligned, and kind mind-body connections to support complete health for individuals and the collective. She helps walk us through using these potent plants as tools for healing, looking at ketamine beyond the stigma (and where those stigmas may be right), and the potential uses for future psychedelic-assisted therapies.   Lauren talks about… Her pain-to-purpose path into the world of mental health The value people get from their addicitons How ketamine-assisted psychotherapy works and the history of drug-assisted healing The experience of using ketamine beyond the stigma How we compromise ourselves to maintain relationships The impact of drug legalization   Resources: Learn more at inbodiedlife.com Instagram: @lauren.taus Listen: Inbodied Life Podcast Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!  

Oh hey, wellness fanatics! Buckle up for a wildly entertaining chat with the fabulous Candice Kumai, who's basically the Swiss Army knife of the wellness world. She's a chef, journalist, author, model, and host of the Wabi Sabi podcast, and now she's got a new book out on Audible called "Spirited." Brace yourselves for some juicy girl talk and plenty of laughs! Candice and Erica have been running side-by-side on this wacky wellness rollercoaster for years, watching the landscape morph into something we barely recognize, and still riding those entrepreneurial highs and lows. In this episode, we dish out some real talk about our battles with imposter syndrome, anxiety, insomnia, and all those not-so-glamorous moments that come with the territory. Expect a healthy dose of chuckles and maybe even a little cat chatter, as among other roles, Candice also devotes many hours to rescuing and fostering kittens.  So, if you're ready for a wild ride through the ever-shifting world of wellness, and a deep dive into Candice's new book "Spirited," don't miss this outrageous and downright honest conversation with the one and only Candice Kumai.    Candice talks about… The beautiful heartbreak of cat rescue and fostering Boundaries, the silver linings of the pandemic,  Feeling empowered to be your full self, the light and the dark The ugly side of social media and fake influence in the wellness world Leaving the legacy of being a good person   Resources: Learn more at Candice’s website: https://candicekumai.com/ Listen to "Spirited" exclusively on Audible: http://audible.com/spirited Kintsugi Wellness: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062669850/ Clean Green Eats: https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Green-Eats-Clean-Eating-Recipes-ebook/dp/B00O11JTME Listen to Wabi Sabi Podcast: https://candicekumai.com/wabi-sabi-podcast/ Follow Candice to support her work: https://www.instagram.com/candicekumai/ Candice's shop site: https://thematchashoppe.com Candice on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CandiceKumai/videos Candice on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@candicekumai Visit earthandstar.com and use the promo code “PODCAST” to get 15% off your first order Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!  

Are we still talking about stress and anxiety? Yes... yes we are. Because it never f***ing goes away. And panic attacks, in particular, have become a very broad, catch-all topic for a variety of still-potentially-severe-but-not-actually-panic-attack problems. That’s why we’re bringing on our good friend, Dr. Ellen Vora, to lay out the real deal about panic attacks: what they actually are, and how you can cope with them. She practically wrote the book on it — Ok, she ACTUALLY wrote the book on it. The Anatomy of Anxiety is available now.   Dr. Ellen Vora talks about… Unpacking what panic attacks are False anxiety vs true anxiety How the fear economy preys on our anxiety What to do when you’re experiencing a panic attack How to set ourselves up to avoid them in the first place   Resources: Learn more: ellenvora.com Instagram: @ellenvoramd Visit earthandstar.com and use the promo code “PODCAST” to get 15% off your first order Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!  

Time for another sesh between us girls, including a (potentially) informative ride as we discuss everything from The Last of Us (spoiler alert: not a ringing endorsement for fungi) to the miracle of hormone therapy (progesterone for all — if you can get it from your dealer), and how to break up with your therapist once you've worked through your issues. We may or may not also have some opinions on SoulCycle, Glennon Doyle's podcast, and the public feud between Dave Asprey and Joe Rogan over the war on vegetables.    Resources: Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!  

If you've been suffering through the joys of perimenopause and menopause, this episode is for you. And even if you’re not there yet–it’s coming.  We're going to give you all the juicy details about how we've been misled about menopause — and boy, have we been misled. We had a hilarious and informative conversation with Monica Molenaar, co-founder of Alloy — assuming you find tales of incontinence as amusing as we do. What we learned is that hormone replacement therapy can actually alleviate the long list of symptoms plaguing women during menopause and perimenopause, but for reasons that will be revealed, we've been told otherwise for the past few decades. Luckily, Monica is a wealth of information and she's here to set the record straight. And you don't have to wait until menopause–actually you SHOULDN’T wait.  You can start treating your symptoms right now. Whether you're in the midst of menopause, perimenopause, or just curious about WTF is going on with your hormones, this episode is definitely worth a listen. Head on over to Alloy's website for more information, and get ready to laugh and learn.   Bio: Monica Molenaar is a serial entrepreneur who has become a passionate advocate for democratizing access to safe, effective, and evidence-based solutions for women as they age, stemming from her own experience going into surgical menopause at age 40 and finding little support.  She is now the co-founder and co-CEO of Alloy Women's Health, an online telehealth and pharmacy platform that makes it easy for women in all 50 states to access expert physicians and gold-standard treatments for menopause.   Monica talks about… The lies women are told about menopause and what we can do about it Misconceptions about hormone replacement therapy Taking a multi-strategy approach to menopause management Empowering women to make the decisions that work best for them   Resources: myalloy.com Use the code HTW15 for 15% off the first order at MyAlloy.com Follow Monica on Instagram: @monica.molenaar Women Have Been Misled About Menopause Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Today we're talking about stress, something that we've all experienced. And if you say you don't get stressed, congratulations and also we call bullsh*t.   But fear not, Dr. Elissa Epel is here to give us some tactical tips to address it. She's the author of The Stress Prescription, a book that promises more joy and ease in just seven days. As an expert in stress and biological aging, she knows a thing or two about the subject. And the best part? She actually provides practical strategies that you can apply to your life, rather than broad, useless recommendations. Here at Highway to Well, we love useful tools and guidance, not just meaningless gestures. So without further ado, let's hear from Dr. Elissa Epel.   Dr. Epel talks about… Why stress isn’t always bad for you and how to distinguish between them Methods for reducing stress in the moment Taking inventory over what you can control The relationship between stress and anxiety Managing the stress responses in kids How stress passes down generationally   Resources: Learn more at elissaepel.com Read: The Stress Prescription Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!  

If all the buzz about psychedelic therapy has you curious and intimidated at the same time, then get ready for the perfect gateway: holotropic breathing. Christine Calvert is an experienced practitioner and certified faciliatator of this type of breathwork, who experienced firsthand how life-changing the practice can be, helping her road to recovery from substance abuse and depression. As a cultuer, we tend to resist things that seem too "easy," which can prevent us from trying the simplest forms of healing. But what if it was as simple as learning to control your breath to take you to a totally new place? With the abundance of modalities available now, we have many options to try — so take a deep breath, enter an altered state of consciousness, and let’s get started.   Christine Calvert talks about… How Christine Calvert’s life got flip-turned after a gas station encounter introduced her to holotropic breathing What a typical holotropic breathwork session looks and feels like Who holotropic breathwork is not for How expanded states open us up to wider emotional acceptance Hurdles to accepting and feeling comfortable with breath work   Resources: Learn more at holotropic.com Connect with Christine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-calvert-lcdc-a4099665/ Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!  

Spoiler alert for 2023: We’re screwed. Who is Natalie Miles? She's an acclaimed channel, psychic medium, and author of the best selling book "You Are Intuitive.  Trust Your Truth.  Take Back Your Power."  And she is lovely! She's informed, and she's frighteningly precient. Her intuitive energy forecasts have reached millions of people globally via her YouTube channel, inspiring and guiding others to navigate the themes we face personally and as a collective on our planet. Soooooo Natalie's got some big predictions for the year but also some practical advice. The big message is that we need to stop planning and trying to control the future, and focus on the present and put in the hard work.  We also asked her about a big prediction she made recently, and guess what? She called it! So, if you're looking for some real insight and a little bit of hope, you should definitely check out her one-on-one and collective sessions. But in the meantime, buckle up and get ready for the wild ride - it sounds like 2023 is going to be an interesting year.   Natalie Miles talks about… The shift of people opening up to their gifts How she taps into her intuitive messages What we can expect energetically from 2023 and beyond Putting presence into practice   Resources: Learn more at natalie-miles.com Follow Natalie on Instagram: @iamnataliemiles YouTube: youtube.com/c/NatalieMiles Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Dr. Aric Prather is a dream doctor come to rescue us from sleepless nights! He treats insomnia with cognitive behavioral therapy and helps patients adjust to their CPAP equipment. He’s also the author of The Sleep Prescription: Seven Days to Unlocking Your Best Rest which, as the name suggests, lays out a plan to straighten your sleep out in one week. Prather's research focuses on how sleep deprivation affects our physical and emotional health. He studies sleep patterns to identify those of us who are at risk of health problems due to lack of sleep and those who are resilient. Prather earned his Ph.D. in clinical and biological health psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and is a member of the Sleep Research Society, American Psychological Association, American Psychosomatic Society and Society for Affective Science.   Dr. Aric Prather talks about… The definition of insomnia and why it’s such a struggle for many people Night owls, morning people, and the science behind circadian differences The importance of a consistent, predictable sleep schedule How sleep worry feeds insomnia   Resources: Learn more at aricprather.com Read: The Sleep Prescription Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

The one where Zoe still thinks it's 2020.  It may as well be, no?  It’s the end of the year, and while plenty of people are thinking about goals for next year, we’re more about reflection than resolution. So listen in on this admittedly free-wheeling conversation as we perform free association dissociation, deny the laws of time, and perform a modality inventory to look back on all the waacky and woo-woo things we’ve done to ourselves over the past year in the name of science and healing.   We talk about… Things we’ve learned in 2022 Untangling the law of attraction and hypnotherapy Going into the k-hole   Resources: Visit earthandstar.com and get 15% off your first order with code HTW Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!