Dr. Bell

In the days following her husband’s suicide, Suzanne felt like the ground beneath her had disappeared. A friend listened to Suzanne explain her feelings and helped her process the death of her husband. She understood that she would need to surrender herself to the journey of healing. At first, Suzanne slipped into a denial stage. Realizing that would not help her, she began to reach out for help. Suzanne began to work with developmental trauma and wrote, “You Make Your Path By Walking.” It took her four years to be able to revisit her trauma. Suzanne explains the importance of community. At this stage, she realized she was faced with another decision. Would she try to get back to where she was? Or be reborn?

Suzanne Anderson, MA, is the founder of The Mysterial Woman, a psychologist and author of “You Make Your Path by Walking.” Born in Toronto, Canada, Suzanne was pressured to do well in school by her father. A consultant in Canada for 15 years she was hired by IBM to train their corporate teams. She moved to France for seven years and this is where she would meet her first husband. The couple moved to Seattle, Washington and they soon divorced. She met her second husband six months later. David struggled to find his quiet space. He was diagnosed with tinnitus and his business was beginning to collapse, unbeknownst to Suzanne. David confided in his friends that he was contemplating suicide, but they were sworn to secrecy. David sadly took his life, which opened Pandora’s box of a shocking discovery for Suzanne. She faced a choice. Would Suzanne be broken down and defeated, or broken open and transformed?

Nadia Davis is a mom, attorney, victims’ rights advocate, and author of “Home Is Within You.” In Episode 58, The Thrive Stage, she shares what helped her to survive her layered traumas and relapses. “It became about beating the shame of the past,” Nadia stated. 12-step work, kundalini yoga and EMDR are just a few techniques that helped her connect to her safe place. “A Home Within You is a place free from attack thoughts,” Nadia shared. She is a vocal advocate of keeping parents and children together during recovery, and she truly believes that asking for help is the most courageous thing anyone can do.

Nadia Davis is an attorney, juvenile justice advocate and author of “Home Is Within You.” She kicks off Episode 57, The Survive Stage, by describing waking up from a near-death experience and how this trauma held the answers to life. After her long recovery, she managed the physical pain with increased drinking, worked tirelessly for her clients and causes and met her ex-husband, California’s Attorney General. Their second date resulted in a pregnancy and a marriage proposal over the phone. “The best gift he gave me was our son,” Nadia stated. She felt abandoned, alone, and vulnerable. She met a man that manipulated and defrauded her needs ending in her most devastating trauma to date.

Nadia Davis is the author of “Home is Within You,” an attorney with a passion for juvenile justice and former wife of California’s State Attorney General. She is a survivor of trauma and abuse and is most well known as the attorney who fought tirelessly to free Arthur Carmona, an innocent victim wrongly accused and jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. In Episode 56, she discusses unaddressed childhood sexual traumas, why it’s important to break the stigma of shame and how her survivalist mind went into overdrive.

Dr. Mark Goulston is the author of “PTSD For Dummies,” a former UCLA professor, and an FBI hostage negotiation trainer. In Episode 55, he discusses steps for preventing teenage suicide and a documentary that he executive produced, “What I Wish My Parents Knew.” He also explains the prompts for talking to teens and the importance of letting your child cry. He wrote “Why Cope When You Can Heal?: How Healthcare Heroes of COVID-19 Can Recover from PTSD” to address healthcare workers' trauma. This episode is packed with tips on the importance of faith, relieving stress, and facing life.

Dr. Mark Goulston, an admitted dyslexic, dropped out of medical school twice. At one point, the Dean of Students told him, “You’ve been kicked out.” However, after being told his med school career was over, he was given a trifecta of hope. Mark was told he had a knack for connecting with patients, he was encouraged to keep trying, and he knew he could see something in a patient’s eyes, minds and souls that others missed. Dr. Goulston did become a practicing clinical psychiatrist, a UCLA professor of psychiatry for over 20 years and the author of 8 books. He is also considered a one of the foremost thought leaders and coaches in the area of empathic listening with his book, “Just Listen,” becoming the top book on listening in the world. Dr. Goulston discusses RTA (Re-traumatization avoidance), Surgical Empathy and what to do with a hijacked amygdala.

Wes Geer, guitarist for Korn, would have advised his younger self to follow and trust his heart, remember that he is loved, and everything will be OK in time. He explains that trauma does not have to originate from a drastic situation. Trauma can happen to everyone and from any situation. The traumas people do not want to address are the traumas that need healing the most. Wes says that our experiences do not define if we are good or bad, and we should meet people where we in the recovery process. “Your success will be determined by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have.” Wes describes how helping others is a form of self-healing. He encourages others to become a seeker and that God is a unique experience for everyone.

The clouds parted for Wes as he gave up his addiction. He got excited about recovery and contemplated what he would do differently at Alcoholics Anonymous. Although Wes wanted to quit several times, now he put complete faith into the process. He began meditating and had premonitions of getting back into a band. Soon, he received an invitation from Korn to go on tour. Wes jammed with the band for an hour before playing his first concert in front of 12,000 people. It went great, and they toured for years. When Korn rekindled their relationship with their original guitarist, Wes created Rock to Recovery and integrated his program into the curriculum of numerous recovery centers.

Growing up Wes Geer moved schools a lot and always felt that he had to be “extra” to fit in. Self-medicating with marijuana was a way to avoid his real feelings. “I limped out of high school,” Wes recalled. He focused on playing music with his band and had the passion to keep trying. “It’s not about the talent, it’s about the hustle,” Wes believes. He and his band were doing massive amounts of drugs, playing gigs and rehearsing nonstop. Record labels were flying in to see them. “I was a tweaker about to sign a record deal,” Wes remembers. The lie he believed was, “How can I have a problem if I have a record deal?” The drug use escalated to meth and heroine. He couldn’t keep a job and couldn’t sleep, ever. He was mid-30’s and lost. His brother intervened and Wes ended up in a 30-day rehab. He ended up staying for 60 days, “I was into it,” he shared. It was during that 60-day recovery that Wes discovered AA and learned how to ask for help.