Surviving or thriving?

Eric Liddick is a major in the US Army's Judge Advocate Generals corps. He is a former member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and 82nd airborne division. His service includes multiple deployments to Afghanistan, and maybe most importantly, he has a super cute dog. Eric was part of a counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan, which means, essentially, capturing or killing enemies of the United States. But one aspect of his role as a Judge Advocate was this: answering the question of whether or not it was legal - in keeping with the laws of war - to kill a specific individual who was being targeted. So in this episode, we talk about the immense weight of that. We discuss the fact that when we think of the lingering trauma of war, we think about people who were on the ground being shot at. We don't tend to consider those who were maybe more removed from immediate danger, but who still carry guilt, shame, and pain.  We also talk about what it's like to be a highly sensitive and introverted person in the military, the impact of post-traumatic stress and moral injury, and what happens when you feel that you have betrayed yourself and you're no longer the person you thought you were.

The world is opening up again...so why are we still really freaked out? In this episode, I discuss social anxiety, why even extroverts are having issues with being social again, and how you are allowed to change up the rules and get what you need out of your life.

Recently, I've been thinking that I was having a some sort of super healthy mid-life crisis. I've been changing almost everything in my life: my schedule, my skincare routine, my workouts, my filing system, my journaling system. I've been tweaking everything. What I've finally realized is that for the past 412 days I have been focused on surviving. But survival has become insufficient. I want to thrive. In this podcast, I talk about the difference between thriving and surviving, how you know which one you need, and what to do if your external circumstances feel like survival, but you want more.

Three years ago, my husband and I adopted a rescue dog. And she was a nightmare. This a story of love and sadness. Of heartbreak and joy. Of learning and of failures. But more than anything, this is a story about how things can change. Things can seem so dark and hopeless - but they actually can get better. This is a story about how everyone is capable of healing. Because I went from thinking this traumatized, fear-aggressive, terrified mutt had ruined my life — to being madly in love with my sweet Olive. And now it's all love.

Meet Buzzy. He is an Air Force Veteran who flew 212 combat missions in Vietnam as a navigator on B-52 bombers. He is also my yoga student and one of my favorite humans. Buzzy speaks honestly about the Vietnam war, the challenges that Veterans face, and what happens when you decide to do something radical in the face of depression and post-traumatic stress.

30 years ago last week, I broke my back on a film set. I had lingering pain and nerve damage for decades.  This episode is all about questioning why it is so common to hate our bodies, why many of us are constantly living from a place of trying to change and improve them. What happens if we decide to opt-out from that narrative and live from a place of gratitude? Can we shift the energy we spend on the scale and actually do something productive with that, instead?

What happens when you are not an alcoholic, but you decide to stop drinking for one year for the simple fact that alcohol makes your anxiety rage and makes you feel like garbage?  I had lots of questions. What about my birthday? What about when I need to unwind? What about when the world is facing a global pandemic? No drinking even then?  No drinking even then.  I explore what it's like to be sober during the apocalypse, the social pressures to drink, and the big question - I've been sober for a year -  now what?

I am a lifelong troubled sleeper.  When I worked as an actor, I would often have to grab a quick nap to get through long days, comfortably sleeping upright in a folding chair without messing up my hair and makeup.  But in my own bed? At an appropriate sleeping time? That is a recipe for sleepwalking, night terrors, and writing creepy and insistent notes that no one understands.  In this podcast, I share what I've learned about how to sleep, what to do - and not do - during the day to get to sleep at night, and also my game-changer of a routine that is simple, and free.  Sleep tight, my fellow weirdos.

I've gotten lots of requests lately to talk about fear. I've not wanted to talk about fear. Fear is scary.  But since it's something so many of us are dealing with right now, I decided we needed to talk about it.  So let's talk fear, and why we should consider doing the exact opposite of what we want to do. 

This is the first time I've ever cried during a podcast. I was going to re-record it because of that, but I didn't. Because I want to be real with you. This episode is about how I've not wanted to write lately. For me, that's like saying I no longer have any use for food. But there is a very real reason why that is, and I talk about it in this episode, and I also share the re-frame that helped me to work through some of the difficult emotions I've been feeling. And I share how you can do that, too, if you think it might help you.