Being the Best Version of Yourself: Recent Episodes
Dr. Carey Heller
Wish you could be happier? More productive? Relax better? Dr. Carey Heller's podcast focuses on tackling a variety of issues including organization, procrastination, ADHD, executive function limitations, and anxiety to help you be the best version of yourself that you can be.
Ready to unlock your potential, manage anxiety/stress, and improve your focus?
In this illuminating episode of the Being the Best Version of Yourself podcast , Dr. Carey Heller sits down with integrative breathwork practitioner Heidi Tacktill to explore the transformative power of breathwork for both adults and children.
In this episode, you will learn:
- What Breathwork Really Is: Understanding the three main types of breathwork: acute, daily, and therapeutic.
- Breathwork for Focus and ADHD: Simple techniques, like the "breath of fire," that can help you or your children improve focus and get ready for the day.
- The Science of Regulation: How breathing directly impacts the nervous system to move you into a calm, "rest and digest" state, essential for learning and emotional balance.
- Navigating Executive Functioning Challenges: Heidi shares a powerful, simple starting point—bringing awareness to the breath to bring yourself back to the present moment and into your body. She also illustrates a great visual activity to do during a meditation activity for people who struggle with staying focused.
- Parenting and Co-Regulation: Why working on your own nervous system first is the most crucial step in helping your children achieve calm and regulation, especially when dealing with anxiety.
- Easy Ways to Get Started: Practical tips for incorporating breathwork into your daily routine—it doesn't have to be just sitting meditation; movement, music, and writing can also be mindful practices.
- Therapeutic Breathwork: How circular breathing can help release deeply stored emotional patterns and trauma from the body.
Heidi's Free Resource: Ready to try it out? Heidi offers a free morning breathwork reset on her website to help you start small and feel the benefits right away.
Connect with Heidi Tacktill:
Website: https://heiditacktill.com/
Instagram: @HeidiTacktill
Connect with Dr. Heller:
Website: www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
Instagram:@Carey_Heller_Psy.D./@HellerPsych
Breathwork #AnxietyRelief #ADHD #FocusTips #NervousSystemRegulation #ParentingTips #SelfCare #Mindfulness #mentalhealth #wellness
Join Dr. Carey Heller, a licensed psychologist specializing in ADHD, as he shares his expert advice on how to help kids with ADHD thrive in sports. In this episode, Dr. Heller discusses the unique challenges these children face and provides practical, actionable strategies for both coaches and parents. Learn how to keep kids engaged and focused, give effective feedback, and communicate in a way that builds their confidence and ensures a positive sports experience. This is a must-listen for anyone who coaches or parents a child with ADHD and is intentionally short so you can listen to it right before leaving for practice, while folding laundry, or at whatever time is convenient for you.
For written tools, check out Dr. Heller's article on this topic: https://washingtonparent.com/coaching-kids-with-adhd-in-sports/
Are you ready to unlock your optimal self? In this insightful episode, Dr. Carey Heller sits down with Stephanie Valentine, a holistic nutritionist, clinical hypnotist, and mental health wellness coach.
Stephanie reveals her holistic approach to food, emphasizing it's not just about calories, but powerful fuel that directly influences your emotions and executive functions through the intricate gut-brain connection. Discover practical strategies for personalized nutrition, from simplifying meal planning with batch cooking and grab-and-go options to managing decision fatigue.
They also discuss the importance of listening to your body's hunger cues, flexible hydration guidelines over rigid rules, and fostering healthy family eating habits by making mealtimes fun and device-free. Plus, Stephanie shares valuable insights on supporting high-level young athletes and navigating the potential pitfalls of intense sports culture, highlighting the crucial role of coaches and mindful eating for long-term well-being.
Join Dr. Heller and Stephanie Valentine for a conversation packed with actionable advice to help you cultivate a balanced, sustainable lifestyle and become the best version of yourself, inside and out!
Dr. Carey Heller info:
Website: www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
Instagram: CareyhellerPsyD
Youtube: Hellerpsychology
Stephanie Valentine info:
Website: https://svliving.com/
Instagram: @s.v.living
Youtube: @stephanie.valentine
New cookbook: https://svliving.com/products/lovewhatsonyourplate
Unlock your career potential! This episode dives into the crucial role of time management and organization in achieving professional success and increasing your earnings. We explore how effective planning, prioritization, and execution can help you get ahead. Learn to optimize your workflow, eliminate time-wasting habits, and create a system for consistent achievement.
timemanagement #organization #careers #productivity #mindset #mentalhealth
For additional resources:
1) Improving Productivity in the Workplace by Dr. Carey Heller https://a.co/d/9hvaN9c
2) https://mypersonalassistant.pmfm.ai/
3) https://asana.com/resources/eisenhower-matrix
4) https://hellerpsychologygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ATTN_06_2021_Right_Organizational_System.pdf
Follow Dr. Heller on Youtube at Hellerpsychology and Instagram at Carey_heller_psyd
Attention ADHD Dads! Tired of the nagging? Done with always feeling tired, trying to keep up, and having your kids be frequently annoyed at you for forgetting something or not paying attention? Dr. Carey Heller dives into practical strategies to help you thrive in fatherhood. Learn how to manage household tasks, improve communication, and reduce reminders from a partner by understanding your ADHD brain. Discover simple self-care tips, the power of visual checklists, and how to have collaborative conversations with your partner. This episode is packed with actionable advice to help you be the best version of yourself, reduce stress, and build stronger relationships. Tune in for a supportive and understanding approach to navigating fatherhood with ADHD.
Additional resources:
- ADHD Dads Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/492162373116213
- ADHD Dads Meetup Group: https://www.meetup.com/adhd-dads-virtual-group
Dr. Heller's info:
- www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
- Instagram: carey_heller_psy.d
Keywords: ADHD, ADHD Dads, parenting, fatherhood, communication, organization, executive function, self-care, relationships, checklists, visual reminders, Being the Best Version of Yourself.
In this podcast episode, Dr. Heller is joined by special guest Lauren Eckert, owner of Life Solved Coaching. They focus on the mindset, role of mental health, and other factors beyond simply identifying a strategy or tool that are essential to enhancing your executive function skills or helping your kids to do so. In addition, listeners can come away with a conceptual understanding of how to make improvements in their own lives as well as some practical tips for specific strategies to use.
Lauren Eckert
https://www.lifesolvedcoaching.com/
In this episode, Dr. Heller is joined by special guest, Tarra Stubbins. She is a time management professional who previously spent ten years on the road supporting touring musicians and entertainers and now has her own business coaching people on how to manage their time and create the life they desire. Tarra provides a wealth of knowledge on why simply using tools you find on Google likely won't cut it and offers some insights into designing a time management plan and mindset that will help you be effective in achieving your goals. Would you like to be more efficient, less stressed, and have greater control over your time so you can do more of the things that you enjoy? If so, listen to this podcast episode and start making changes today.
Tarra Stubbins
https://www.tarrastubbins.com/about
Dr. Carey Heller
www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
On this podcast episode of Being the Best Version of Yourself, Dr. Carey Heller is joined by Marina Kerlow, LGMFT. The two professionals discuss a variety of ways to help kids improve their ability to regulate their emotions in the moment as well as strategies to help with this longer term. The end result is that kids with good emotion regulation skills become adults who can handle stress, negative situations, and other emotionally charged experiences with resiliency and success.
Marina Kerlow, LGMFT
https://www.marinakerlowtherapy.com/
Carey Heller, Psy.D.
www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
Dr. Carey Heller is joined by guest Lisa Guillot, PCC, a creative mindset coach and personal branding expert. People often think about branding when it comes to a business, but conscious awareness around the idea of branding yourself in your personal life is not often focused on. Add to this the role that an internal mindset plays on your outward appearance. Fascinating discussion that will get you thinking about your mindset, personal branding, motivation, and so much more.
Carey Heller, Psy.D.
www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
Lisa Guillot
www.bebrightlisa.com
Dr. Carey Heller is joined by Dr. Dara Abraham, a psychiatrist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They discuss adult ADHD, focusing on what improvements can be expected from medication versus what psychotherapy/coaching helps people achieve. A Comprehensive approach that is not one size fits all is usually necessary to help adults with ADHD to thrive in life. Furthermore, the two clinicians discuss some practical coping strategies, especially around planning and organizing.
www.drdarapsychiatry.com
Dr. Heller is joined by guest Megan Meyers (former NFL cheerleader, dance studio owner, and now an online business expert) who discusses her experiences with starting her own online businesses in order to be able to be present as a parent in the ways that she wants. They discuss ways to simplify processes and obligations as well as prioritize. This podcast is great for getting some ideas and increasing your motivation to make a change in your life if you want a better work/life balance with parenthood.
On this episode, Carey Heller, Psy.D. is joined by Gabrielle Czaja, PT, M.ATI, M.AmSAT. She is a Physical Therapist, Alexander Technique teacher, and Holistic Educator. They discuss simple adjustments to sitting that can greatly improve mood, reduce anxiety, enhance focus, and so much more, as part of a holistic approach to focusing on one's body.
https://GabrielleCzaja.com
Dr. Carey Heller speaks with Catherine Gagnon, a health coach and nurse practitioner, about the mind-body connection with treating mental health and chronic illnesses. ADHD and issues with getting started as well as following through to make health-related changes are also discussed. Finally, a variety of practical strategies and how to get started with making improvements are provided.
In this podcast episode, Carey Heller chats with Jill Broder, Nancy Hafkin, Pam Tedeschi, and Joan Green, who are fellow members of the Collaborative Resource Network. This group has been meeting monthly for almost a decade, and was started to provide an opportunity for professionals in related fields who work with children, teens, young adults, and families to get to know each other and collaborate. This episode provides listeners with insights into how professionals can more effectively collaborate and what gets missed when they do not. Additionally, a variety of practical strategies are informally discussed. Furthermore, listeners can come away with a better understanding of some of the different types of resources available to help their children, teens, young adults, and themselves thrive in life academically, socially, emotionally, and across all other domains as well.
Contact info:
https://www.collaborativeresourcenetwork.com/
Podcast Episode Participants:
Carey A. Heller, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Heller Psychology Group
6320 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, Maryland 20817
www.hellerpsychologygroup.com
Jill Broder, M. Ed.
Jill Broder's Tutoring Center
Broder Accredited Academy
10000 Falls Road Suite 208
Potomac, MD 20854
jillbrodertutoringcenter.com
Nancy Hafkin, Ph.D.
https://covingtonandhafkin.com/our-therapists/nancy-hafkin/
4300 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 201
Bethesda, MD 20814
info@covingtonandhafkin.com
Joan L. Green, M.A. CCC-SLP
Improving Communication, Cognition and Productivity with Tech-Savvy Strategies, Solutions and Support
Licensed and Certified Speech-Language Pathologist
Assistive Technology Specialist & Tech Coach
Founder of Innovative Speech Therapy
www.innovativespeech.com
Pam Tedeschi
Tedeschi Educational Consulting
Certified Educational Planner, AICEP Commissioner
Independent Educational Consultants Association; Professional Member
10220 River Road Suite 111
Potomac, MD 20854
website: www.pmtedcon.com
Disclaimer: We have no formal business relationship with each other, but come together monthly to collaborate and often work with each other as part of a team approach to helping specific individuals with whom we work.
Ever wonder if productivity is different on the other side of the world? In this episode, Dr. Carey Heller chats with Hollie Bakerboljkovac, a mental health counselor in Australia. She explains the idea of sacred productivity, which involves finding value in the things that you do. The two professionals then have a lively discussion on productivity, positives, negatives, and finding a good balance. Many practical strategies are discussed. Furthermore, the clinicians reflect on their own personal experiences with productivity and how different circumstances have led to changes over time in how they approach this in their own lives. Whether you struggle to be productive, have difficulties tolerating not being productive, don't know where to begin, or have trouble finishing, you can find value in this podcast episode.
Being motivated for some things can be tough. Even for things that you enjoy, sometimes it is hard in the moment to take action. Dr. Heller discusses these issues and provides a few tips for setting up a plan, breaking down necessary steps into parts, and facilitating sufficient motivation to follow through on doing things that you want to do. Next time you think, I should go for a walk, cook, be healthier, get more sleep, or something else, know that if you take action you can make those thoughts a reality.
In this episode, Dr. Heller briefly illustrates the idea that parenting as a human (i.e., someone who makes mistakes, doesn't always handle situations perfectly) has many benefits over always striving to be perfect and masking any imperfections. This can make you more relatable to your child, provide good learning experiences, and model genuine problem solving situations. Striving to do a good job parenting is important, but acknowledging and making good use of the mistakes along the way is also crucial to effective parenting.
It's hard to believe we have been living in the Covid-19 pandemic for almost two years. What's going to happen next? In this episode, Dr. Heller explores a variety of common questions people have as they grapple with processing the past two years and look at moving forward. There are far more questions than answers, and hopefully from this episode you can begin to identify your own questions and find answers to them. 2
Trying to be as productive as possible may help with getting things done, but at what cost? Could this mindset actually make you less productive over time? Dr. Heller discusses this issue and provides a few tips for helping you find the right balance for yourself and be able to tolerate letting things go or prioritizing them for another day.
Happy New Year! Making resolutions is common, and technically so is not being able to stick them for many people. Let's change that this year. Better yet, you have the power to make that change. In this podcast, Dr. Heller explains three basic rules for setting up resolutions. Start small, make them measurable, and establish tangible steps to use to implement the goal. For example, with working out, identify how often you wish to do this, a way to track each time you workout, and a clear plan of what activities you will do to work out. Getting equipment, apps, or whatever else you need set up and ready to go is also important to make a goal into a routine and stick with it. Good luck!
The holiday season is here...And so is a once again worsening Covid-19 pandemic. If you are experiencing anxiety about the pandemic, holidays, or life in general, Dr. Heller provides a few simple anxiety reducing tools to help you navigate the current issues as well as anxiety year round. Feeling anxious? Take the first step towards feeling at least somewhat better by listening to the podcast right now. Don't procrastinate!
Always running late? Are you disorganized? Do you lose things easily? Do you have trouble staying focused and getting things done?
Executive function (EF) skills are mental processes that are used to navigate daily life and complete tasks. Attention, working memory, planning, organization, impulse control, and task initiation are many of the skills that are included under the umbrella of EF. Dr. Heller walks listeners through a basic understanding of EF issues, a few disorders including ADHD and anxiety that often include EF weaknesses, and what to do if the issues described sound like you.
There are many ways to make improvements in your EF skills. The sooner you start, the happier, more relaxed, and productive you likely can become.
Life gets busy. Many people feel like there are never enough hours in the day. Dr. Heller walks listeners through his block planning method. This involves categorizing work tasks into a few categories and then scheduling times throughout the day and week to complete tasks within those domains. While this system may not always work perfectly, and needs to be adapted to each person's unique needs, it has the potential to help you to be more productive, less stressed, and increase your efficiency.
Creativity is a broad category. Identifying why creativity is important to you can be a good starting point. It can be fun, a good outlet for self-expression, used for work, and the list of possible reasons is endless. Identifying things that work for you to enhance your own creativity as desired and minimize stumbling blocks such as perfectionism, anxiety, stress, shame, or guilt is important. Dr. Heller provides a brief overview of these items and discusses a few tools for helping you to find what strategies work for you to maximize your own creativity.
Anxiety is an extremely common issue that many people experience. At the same time, people do not always understand how it manifests or that they are even anxious. In addition, anxiety can lead to other negative issues including guilt, shame, nervousness about getting anxious, decreased productivity, and general unhappiness. Dr. Heller provides a brief overview of what anxiety is, ways that it often manifests, and common approaches to treat it.
ADHD is probably one of the most commonly known mental health disorders by name. At the same time, many people do not understand what the disorder actually is and how it impacts people across the lifespan in academic, social, occupational, and countless other domains in life. This podcast episode is devoted to providing you with a basic understanding of what ADHD can look like beyond the commonly known symptoms of trouble paying attention and sitting still.
Many people would love to be the best version of themselves. But, what does that look like? Dr. Heller provides a framework to identify what is important to you and how to pick tangible things to start doing to transform into the best version of yourself. Transformation is a process, so start today!
Getting started on tasks can sometimes be difficult, especially when you have to create your own structure during the day. Whether it is 9 AM, 2 PM, or even 2 AM, if you are stuck and do not know where to begin to get yourself going with being productive today, this is the strategy for you. In this podcast, Dr. Heller maps out his four-minute quick planning tool to get you started in being productive within five minutes.
- Step 1: View your schedule for the day. If scheduled meetings, events, etc. are not already in a calendar (electronic or paper) or written somewhere, record these items in a calendar, sheet of paper, or somewhere that works for you right now.
- Step 2: List out all tasks that you MUST complete today or work on in some way on a piece of paper or type them out. List estimated completion times for these items.
- Step 3: Fill in tasks in your calendar, the sheet of paper where you listed out meetings OR list specific time blocks next to each task on your list. It may be best to put the most crucial ones first to ensure they get done. It is ok if your actual completion time does not match up exactly with the time estimations for right now.
- Step 4: If your plan for the day (or remaining part of the day) covers available time for work, get started on those tasks now! If you have more than an hour of unaccounted time, quickly make a list of things that would be good to get done or work on if time permits. Once you complete the required tasks, refer to this list to help use any remaining time to get other things done.
This dilemma of when to try to make changes versus trying to get others to accommodate your needs is relevant in lots of situations. If you think about this question with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), common questions arise around whether it is better to get extensions when you can't complete tasks on time versus working on better implementing tools to get tasks completed within the expected time frame next time. Obviously constantly relying on exceptions being made may make it harder to view deadlines as actual deadlines. At the same time, if you keep trying to meet deadlines and cannot make them, that is also a problem. This issue is also relevant with deciding when you stand up for yourself to get your needs met with a co-worker, spouse, child, or other person versus letting them get their way if it has negative consequences for you (i.e., letting a co-worker schedule a meeting with you that interferes with your ability to attend your son's basketball game). The goal of this podcast episode is to raise awareness of this dilemma and help you to think about your mindset in different situations. Finally, by understanding where you stand on different issues that arise, you can begin to make decisions on what situations you keep trying in different ways to meet external expectations versus trying to get other people to accommodate to your needs.
Many people feel overwhelmed in trying to balance tasks, events, and other obligations. In order to simplify things, the first step is to evaluate tasks and determine which items must you do (i.e., have client appointments, complete required projects), what ones are expected but not required (i.e., social media posts), and identify items that would be nice to do, but really are not necessary (i.e., doing a presentation to market services). Choosing three categories to organize tasks into (i.e., must do, should do, only do if time permits) is a good starting point. Dr. Heller walks listeners through thinking through doing this. Afterwards, planning out completion of tasks based on priority would likely be very helpful. This topic is covered in earlier podcasts and likely will be further addressed in subsequent ones as well.
Feeling rushed is often part of many people's lives, especially if you have a lot on your plate. While it may keep you moving if you are not so overwhelmed that it paralyzes you, it likely is not a very pleasant feeling. In addition, you may be less efficient in doing even simple tasks if you feel rushed, and could make more mistakes or forget things. Dr. Heller walks listeners through a few simple strategies to plan out a realistic routine. He then offers some tools for slowing yourself down when completing routines. Looking to feel more relaxed and be even more productive? Listen to this podcast today and start making changes for yourself.
A high percentage of children, teens, and adults have smartphones. However, the rate of people using apps to stay organized such as a calendar, task list, notes apps, and ones for health/wellness (i.e., mindfulness, bedtime reminders) are substantially lower. Dr. Heller provides some basic tips for a few different ways to use certain types of apps to keep track of events, tasks, information, reduce distractions, and maximize your health and wellness. Ready to get even more out of your smartphone? Listen right now or if not convenient, set a reminder in your task list or calendar if you have one and play this podcast when you are ready.
Whether you have ADHD, think you might, or have trouble with executive function skills (i.e., time management, organization), this is the podcast for you. Dr. Heller provides a few simple tools to help you manage life better. Namely, add in structure to the extent that you are comfortable doing so with a calendar, task list, and other similar methods that help you remember things, plan your time, and aid in follow through. Some specific calendar and task list apps are recommended as well as a strategy for identifying electronic tools that fit your needs. Next, Dr. Heller focuses on using organizational tools to help, but carefully choosing where you devote your energy toward being organized so you don't try to take on too much in general, and especially too fast. To round out the podcast, he talks about identifying your strengths and things that you are not good at, as well as trying to cope by automating or delegating things when possible. Finally, Dr. Heller briefly discusses the importance of maintaining or developing a positive mindset to not let repeated failures, feeling like you are always playing catch up, or other negative experiences from holding you back and preventing you from making the changes that you desire.
There are only 24 hours in a day. And you should be sleeping for about a third of that time. Life is busy. How do you maximize your time, do the things that matter the most, take care of yourself, and enjoy your time? Dr. Heller walks you through a step-by-step process that first involves dividing up your life into meaningful categories such as work, family, social, and things to do for fun. The next steps involve identifying tasks/activities that are especially important to you, items that you must do for survival (i.e., financial, emotional, physical), and tasks/activities that you could cut out, put off in a planned way, adjust, or delegate. After this, Dr. Heller walks you through the idea of evaluating your schedule, efficiency, and making adjustments that are doable. Finally, after doing all of these steps, one can gain acceptance over doing what makes sense, and letting go of certain things. This can lead to greater enjoyment of things in life, improved productivity, and freeing yourself from guilt, anxiety, anger, or other negative feelings when you cannot accomplish everything that you would like.
Most people would agree that getting movement in during the day is healthy physically and mentally. At the same time, finding ways to do this can be tough. Dr. Heller offers a few simple strategies involving using breaks, weaving movement into work, and active activities while sitting at a desk. In fact, Dr. Heller recorded this podcast while standing on a balance board, peddling an elliptical under his desk, and finished it while sitting in a yoga ball chair.
For many jobs, networking and being organized is vital to success. For lots of people, organization and social interactions are not easy, and maybe even anxiety provoking. Dr. Heller provides a few strategies in this podcast for helping you improve your professional appearance, especially through networking and good organizational skills.
When most people think about trying to improve their external appearance, often the main focus is on the specific materials or information needed to make these changes over time. What frequently gets overlooked is that the knowledge is almost useless if you cannot effectively implement and maintain the strategies. For example, if you have acne and you only remember to wash your face and apply serum sporadically a few times over a week, your skin likely will not be as good if you are supposed to be doing these things twice per day. This episode will help you to think about the steps involved in improving your external appearance and use a checklist strategy to implement and maintain necessary tasks sequentially to help you make the changes that you desire.
Positive self talk refers to the idea of having a motto or short phrase that you can use to counteract negative thoughts, anxiety, or other issues. These simple phrases can reduce anxiety, improve confidence, and help increase your success in situations. This episode walks you step-by-step through how to create your own positive self-talk phrases.
Wish things would go better in life? Does it always seem like something interferes with your success or happiness? While mental flexibility and a positive mindset may not stop most roadblocks, they will help them become speed bumps so you can achieve your desired outcome.
Creativity is important for being stimulated, motivated, and getting enjoyment out of life. It is also helpful for brain development and keeping your mind sharp as you age. How are you going to be creative this week?
Making time to do things you enjoy is important for many reasons. Oftentimes, work or other obligations interfere with finding time to incorporate activities of interest into daily life. This episode discusses some ideas for identifying things that you enjoy and working on making them part of your regular routine.
Dr. Heller provides listeners with the concept of picking one item to begin addressing such as sleep, eating, or screen time habits. Then he walks people through how to pick and begin implementing simple strategies that can lead to improvements.
One of the starting points in making improvements is to optimize your productivity. In order to do so, one needs to know what they need to be doing. Keeping organized and planning effectively are the basis of enhanced productivity. Therefore, this episode discusses two basic components of a solid organizational system, suggestions of specific apps, and a few tips for getting started with these items.