Surthrival Diaries: Recent Episodes
Erika
Do you want to live an expansive and limitless life? Do you want to maximize your potential? Have you experienced loss and heartbreak and are looking for ways to overcome it? Do you want to turn your pain into purpose and live your most conscious, joyous and full life? You've come to the right place. Every week, host Erika Oley has open-hearted conversations with thought leaders and experts, as well as people with their own stories of overcoming heartbreak to uncover the science of chartering a purposeful path through loss and walking in the light. We will share implementable strategies and practical tips on maximizing our human potential. You are never alone, we are on this journey together. Follow @surthrivaldiaries on Instagram for daily inspiration. Also, please subscribe to the Surthrival Diaries podcast and share it with anyone it might help. Love and light.
Erika sat down for a talk with Master Certified Coach Anthea Dunks. Her passion is to help people who have tried many self-help methods and think they "should" be better, stop using the tools against themselves with Deep Dive Coaching. She teaches coaches her laser-focused coaching method so they can get past the surface-level coaching and get their clients better results. Anthea and Erika discussed what entrepreneurship has to do with feelings, and how we should just start wherever we are without waiting until we are perfect at something. Anthea also suggests a different approach to New Year's resolutions. Happy 2023!
She has offered listeners a special tool that she mentions during the episode, which you can find here:
https://www.antheadunks.com/erika
Find Anthea at:
https://www.instagram.com/deepdivecoach_anthea/
Erika speaks with Life Coach and Certified EFT Practitioner Jess Johnson, whose methods have been described as “powerful mindset coaching meets psychological acupressure with a dash of magic.” Jess is a former therapist and U.S. Army Veteran with a career that began working in corrections. She harnesses those skills in her work as a Life Coach for Life Coaches and Practitioners, combining mindset management with the energy modality EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, most commonly referred to as “tapping”) to help her clients create a process for feeling and understanding their emotions so they can think clearly and get things done. Her clients have described working with her as “brilliant, shocking, and mind-blowing”, as well as “safe, accepted, seen” and “pretty darn fun to work with!” This conversation is inspiring, informative, and fascinating - listen today!
To get in touch with Jess:
Jessjohnsoncoaching@gmail.com
@seekingagreatperhaps1
https://www.jessjohnsoncoaching.com/
Documentary on EFT:
https://www.scienceoftapping.com/limited-viewing-registration/
Lauren Smit joins Erika on the show to discuss the 5 types of imposter syndrome and tools to deal with each one. She also offers useful suggestions on how to find more balance in our lives and feel less frazzled. Lauren is a marketing coach who helps moms in service-based businesses attract quality clients so that they can build a fulfilled life with family and freedom. She was in the brand and marketing industry for over 8 years before finding her passion for coaching. She realized how much more of an impact she can make when giving women the tools to build a thriving successful business where they have time to spend with family but still absolutely love what they do.
Get in touch with Lauren:
@laurensmit.com02
In this solo episode, Erika talks about what it takes to make your dreams a reality. She discusses how it requires that we actually become a whole other person, when we achieve something we once thought was impossible. Reaching our dreams also requires that we face a lot of our deepest fears and most difficult emotions. If you have any dreams that you want to go after, this is a must-listen.
Sarah Ariaudo is a former "proud workaholic" who once spent up to 14 hours per day in the office, leading her to suffer multiple health struggles. In looking for answers, she was led to mindfulness and meditation, which she now practices the "lazy girl way," so it fits into her lifestyle and not the other way around. She and Erika discuss mindfulness and stress in the workplace and how she is on a mission to bring the human factor back to the job.
Get in Touch with Sarah Ariaudo:
www.sarahariaudo.com
Social Media: @sarah.ariaudo
Erika talks to FCT practitioner Kat Daou, who shares what led her to discover this powerful healing modality and how it changed her own life. She explains how ancestral trauma affects us and how our entire family can transform when we work on it. Kat describes what a typical session looks like and how she gets information from the morphogenic field as she works. Until we heal our trauma, we can not truly be the fullest expression of ourselves. A must listen for anyone interested in healing.
Get in touch with Kat:
https://www.healwithkat.com/
Instagram:
@heal_with_kat
Erika speaks with Esther Loopstra, a professional artist, speaker, and creative coach. She is highly regarded for her expertise in the psychology of flow, the neuroscience of creativity, and intuition. She shares with Erika how we can connect to our intuition and the power of being in a flow state. Esther underlines that when we approach situations with curiosity, so many beautiful things unfold. This episode contains so much goodness for people from all walks of life!
Get in touch with Esther:
https://www.flowintoauthenticity.com/
In this solo episode, Erika talks about the three types of money blocks she has encountered while working with her clients. These blocks keep us in limiting thought and action pattens that prevent us from achieving what we desire. Erika underlines that change begins with awareness of the mental programs and blocks that are keeping us playing small and leading to lots of self-sabotage. A quiz will soon be available to help you determine which of the three blocks you are dealing with.
Enjoy!
Erika speaks with Bridgett Burrick Brown, who is the founder of Beyond Beauty Project, "a movement and multimedia platform that focuses on inspiring confidence and acceptance surrounding beauty, body image, and mental health." After two decades in the modelling industry, she decided that she no longer wanted to play a role in perpetuating an unattainable standard of beauty and has now made it her mission to help others get back in touch with themselves and connect with their bodies and beauty. She offers a refreshing and frank perspective on the body dysmorphia epidemic we are currently dealing with. Bridgett underlines how important it is to be mindful of the language we use with children, as well as ourselves.
Episode contains references to suicide, eating disorders, and child loss.
To get in touch with Bridgett:
https://www.beyondbeautyproject.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/beyond.beauty.project/
Book mentioned:
"More Than a Body: Your Body is an Instrument, Not an Ornament" by Lindsay Kite and Lexie Kite
Erika and Kim talk about Kim's journey from being an RN who did what was expected of her to a business owner living the life of her dreams and doing what she loves, while following her own heart. She shares how she uses essential oils in her practice supporting women in menopause and perimenopause and how when you love what you do as much as she does, there are some unexpected challenges that come up. Kim underlines that the biggest changes she needed to make along her journey had to do with her own mindset.
Find Kim at:
https://www.midlifewithcourage.com
Instagram and Facebook: @midlifewithcourage
Book Erika mentions:
"F The Shoulds. Do The Wants." by Tricia Huffman
If you find the thought of creating content for your business to be daunting at best of times, this is the episode for you. Mariah MacInnes, the Founder of Content Queen is a passionate traveller, digital nomad, serial rambler and big dreamer with a purpose to inform and educate. She helps professionals create content that works and now lives the digital nomad lifestyle while building her content marketing agency! She tells Erika about her journey after being diagnosed with 2 tumours in her bowel and pancreas and having a Whipple’s procedure. This health scare sent her on a self-health awareness journey, which she is always keen to talk about on social media and other content channels. Mariah underlines the importance of having a team in business and how to create powerful content – a must-listen for anyone interested in creating content online! She gives some amazing advice on how to develop bold strategies and which platform to choose, as well as underlines the importance of failing – over and over again.
Get in touch with Mariah:
Website: www.contentqueenmariah.com
Instagram (Content Queen): https://www.instagram.com/contentqueenmariah/
Instagram (Mariah): https://www.instagram.com/mariah_contentqueen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahmacinnes/
FREE DOWNLOADABLES
Content Strategy Template: https://sales.contentqueenmariah.com/content-template
What content channel is right for you? Quiz: https://sales.contentqueenmariah.com/content-quiz
The Guide to Storytelling to Market your Business: https://sales.contentqueenmariah.com/storytelling
In this short solo episode, Erika discusses how she made the decision to make a pivot with the podcast and exit the grief space. She shares her view on why us being multi-faceted beings is what makes us magical. Be sure to tune in next week for an amazing interview with the Content Queen, Mariah!
Erika talks with Matt McLean, a mindset and life-rebuilding coach, speaker, mental-health advocate, and host of the podcast "The Recombobulated Life." He is also a bipolar survivor who went from law firm partner to jail house inmate. During that process, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, got treatment, and learned to manage his condition. He shares his journey and what we can learn from it, all well as his experience dealing with the mental health of his children.
Get in touch with Matt:
www.mattmaclean.com
Instagram @themattmaclean
Matt's podcast on being a mental health patient:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-ways-to-be-a-good-mental-health-patient/id1561565932?i=1000557199074
Get in touch with Erika:
www.erikaoley.com
Email: hello@erikaoley.com
The podcast (formerly "Surthrival Diaries") is now "The Erika Oley Show" and with the new name, comes a slight pivot in content. There will be topics like career and business success, healing from burnout and self-sabotage, and holistic mind-body-soul modalities. You’ll also get some abundance and energy work – so in short a little bit of magic, a little bit of theory, and a little bit of fun, coupled with heartfelt conversations and true stories. In this episode Erika (re)introduces herself, so you can get to know who is behind the microphone. Enjoy! And come visit www.erikaoley.com
This is the final solo episode in the "Surthrival Diaries" series, as the podcast will be rebranding for the next episode and be taking a slight pivot, but will still be focusing on transformation. Tune in to Erika's social media channels for more information. In this episode, Erika talks about how all of the people she has been working with within her coaching and hypnotherapy container have one thing in common. She also underlines that every single one of us has a unique set of talents and characteristics that form our unique bit of magic. Enjoy the episode and thank you for listening to the show this far. It is our hope that the upcoming pivot will only better serve our audience. Love and light.
Erika's solo episode discusses how most of us are just passenger's in our lives, living to the standards of others and without really connecting to our agency and power. She underlines how the system is actually rigged to take away our ability to think differently and disagree with what we have been force fed. Erika suggests we start to question the beliefs that we were taught from our families, schools, society, jobs, etc. so that we can truly connect to our own individual voice.
Super interesting book: "Do Nothing" by Celeste Headlee
Find Kelly Brogan: https://www.kellybroganmd.com/books
Marianne Williamson: https://marianne.com/a-return-to-love/
Erika is joined by Shanna McSorley, an experienced REBT coach who calls for us to learn radical self-compassion. She underlines the importance of setting boundaries, as well as describes some of the different types of boundaries we can set. Shanna talks about her healing journey, which led her to discover her passion for coaching and helping others. She urges us to ask for help when we aren't feeling supported and wants more than just good enough for everyone, something she says we are all capable of achieving.
Books:
Anything by Gabor Mate
"Becoming" by Michelle Obama
"Fierce Self-Compassion" by Dr. Kristen Neff
To contact Shanna:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannamcsorley.coach
Instagram: @shannamcsorley
https://www.shannamcsorley.com
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Suzaito Hipolito, spiritual mindset coach, trauma healer, motivational speaker, and events producer and host, shares her beautiful transformation journey, after she was fired 3 times from her job. She overcame pharmaceutical addiction and wanted to end her life several times. After reaching a breaking point, she decided to set out on an eat-pray-love journey and learn her truth. To do so, she had to confront deep-seated shadows and demons and follow her discomfort. She now leads a purpose-driven life and guides others who are committed to their own inner work. She is a mirror for others on how we can completely transform our story and life.
Get in touch with Suzaita:
email: suzaita@suzaitahipolito.com
website: www.suzaitahipolito.com
Instagram: @suzaitahipolito
Books Suzaita mentions:
"Awakening: A 40 Day Guide to Unleashing Your Spiritual Powers, Life's Purpose and Manifesting Your Dreams" by Dr. Erin Fall Haskell
"The Biology of Belief" by Bruce Lipton
"Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself" by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Trigger warning: contains references to suicide
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Erika speaks with Kari O’Driscoll, writer, parenting coach and parent of two young adults. Kari underlines the importance of curiosity over teachable moments in our relationships with adolescents and offers a fresh perspective on creating meaningful connections with them. She describes how the school systems and even our jobs are not geared for how our brains actually work, offering an updated view of just how different our brains are between the ages of 10 and 24. Kari also shares her story with childhood loss and what role caretaking has played in her life. She underlines how writing was a way for her to heal from childhood trauma.
Get in touch with Kari and buy her books:
https://kariodriscollwriter.com/
https://www.theselfproject.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karilodriscoll/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kariodriscollauthor
Book Kari mentions:
“All About Love” by Bell Hooks, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078GL796R/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Erika is joined by Hannah Powell, who suffered from Functional Neurological Disorder, which has been called the most common condition you’ve probably never heard of. She had been living big in London like many others her age, when she started to feel sick. As her nervous system became completely overloaded, she realised her trajectory wasn't sustainable. Nature helped her to get out of her own head, as she connected with it during her "green" recovery. Hannah shares what it was like to return back home to her family and to the country. In addition Hannah underlines how she used a toolbox of approaches to heal herself. Erika and Hannah also discuss how important it is to listen to your body, especially when it speaks gently so that it doesn’t have to scream.
Follow Hannah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecactussurgeon/
Join her Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/121668463061545
Buy Hannah’s book:
“The Cactus Surgeon: Using Nature to Fix a Faulty Brain,” https://thecactussurgeon.com/
FND Hope UK Charity: https://www.fndhope.org.uk/
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
In this solo episode, Erika discusses the topic of money and how taking care of our finances is self-care. She underlines that the subject of finances is the most fought-about topic between couples. When we care for our financial well-being and make decisions from a position of love and not fear, we can unblock not just the area of money but also experience so many other amazing shifts in our lives. Erika underlines how our limiting beliefs can influence our money story and how we need to work through them to expand financially and in other areas. It’s not just about buying ourselves the next new thing, but opening ourselves up to receiving and stepping more into our authenticity and strength, and - most importantly - being our own saviours.
Marianne Williamson “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles”
Lacy Phillips, To Be Magnetic Community: https://tobemagnetic.com/
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Vince Kramer is back for a second episode. He is a transformational growth and human potential speaker, author, mentor, teacher, coach, and podcaster, who was also an airline pilot, military veteran, corporate executive and entrepreneur. He shares life's three most important questions and how we can learn we are the creators of our own lives. Vince suggests what we can do when we get in a negative thought spiral and shares how knowing someone's unique gifts and talents in the workplace could revolutionise the way business is done. Finally Vince and Erika discuss how we can connect to our higher selves and answer our own questions.
Get in touch with Vince:
https://imaginemiracles.com/
vince@imaginemiracles.com
https://www.facebook.com/ImagineMiracles/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-miracle-you-with-vince-kramer/id1437346493
Special offer for Surthrival Diaries listeners:
https://imaginemiracles.com/surthrival
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Dave Wyner is a National Certified Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist, and Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional. He has his own private practice and he’s passionate about helping people rebuild their lives and thrive again after painful losses or traumatic experiences. Dave tells Erika about the fork in the road he was faced with early in life and how he chose the “wrong” fork. More than two decades later, he made a choice to change his life after a series of traumas. He describes how there comes a moment when the discomfort of staying in the same place is greater than changing, when the status quo becomes unsustainable. Dave discusses what trauma is and how it can affect us if we ignore it, and also what happens to our bodies when we are stuck in the fight, flight or freeze response. He suggests ways to process and release this energy as well as the importance of a mindfulness practice. Dave underlines how amazing what he calls post-traumatic growth can be, as well as how we can find meaning even in our darkest moments.
Get in touch with Dave Wyner:
https://www.apathforwardcounseling.com/
email: dave@apathforwardcounseling.com
Book:
“The Body Keeps the Score” Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
“Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers?” Robert M. Sapolsky
“Man’s Search for Meaning” Viktor E. Frankl
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Katiuscia Gray is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, certified yoga teacher (500hr) and psychotherapist with her own private practice. She and Erika discuss the mind-body connection and how the pandemic has affected our mental health, in particular that of children and families. Kat underlines that trauma and mental health issues are stuck in our bodies, so to heal one we also have to heal the other. No one escapes trauma, and everyone will experience some form of it throughout their lives. The first step in changing is acknowledging that there is an issue and then that everything is connected. Kat underlines that it is never too late to change and that most people are disconnected from their bodies. She also shares how her own trauma affected her journey and the moment she realized she had to start her own healing with an integrated approach.
Get in touch with Katiuscia Gray:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindmovemenths
Website: https://mindmovementcounseling.com
Email: mmholisticservices@gmail.com
Ebook: https://mindmovementcounseling.com/ebook/
Book:
“The Body Keeps the Score” Bessel van der Kolk M.D.: https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748
Dr. Laura Williams is a clinical psychologist and runs a thriving online psychology and coaching practice. She specialises in the treatment of relational trauma and helps people to understand how their early relationships have shaped them psychologically. She is currently creating a digital course to make this work globally accessible and has a published the Amazon best-seller “Grief Writer.” Dr. Williams and Erika discuss how everyone has a story and how sudden loss and events can catapult us into drastic, and sometimes much needed change. After the death of her husband, she realized that she needed to make huge shifts in the way she had been living. Dr. Williams underlines how life is so short and we don’t have all the time we think we will have, so we can’t live by keeping ourselves small and doing things we don’t want to do. She and Erika also talk about how learning to say no is a lifelong journey, but how having compassion for yourself is a necessity. Dr Williams shares how we can shatter generational patterns and live better lives.
Get in touch with Dr. Williams:
www.drlaurawilliams.com
Instagram: @drlawilliams
Facebook: Dr Laura Williams
Buy Dr. Williams’ book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grief-Writer-Dr-Laura-Williams/dp/B09KN7Y2QR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ONUD2MWSCEGI&keywords=grief+writer+dr+laura+williams&qid=1647104224&sprefix=grief+writer+%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-1
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Vince Kramer is a transformational growth and human potential speaker, author, mentor, teacher, coach, and podcaster, who was also an airline pilot, military veteran, corporate executive and entrepreneur. He and Erika discuss the wakeup calls he experienced in his life and what made him finally listen to them. Vince shares his experience of masculinity, reconnecting to himself, and learning to create from inside out with thought and feeling. He underlines that he has realized that there is a gift in everything that happens, and that we need to learn to step into who we are or we will get to the end of our lives and regret it.
Book:
“The Biology of Belief” by Bruce Lipton
Get in touch with Vince:
https://imaginemiracles.com/
vince@imaginemiracles.com
https://www.facebook.com/ImagineMiracles/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-miracle-you-with-vince-kramer/id1437346493
Special offer for Surthrival Diaries listeners:
https://imaginemiracles.com/surthrival
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
In this solo episode, Erika talks about her experience recently at the Natural Sciences Museum and aquarium in Madrid, where she asked herself how it is that some powerful force created all of the natural perfection and abundance around us, where everything is purposeful. We are raised to see lack, raised to feel imperfect, and are taught that success is external, especially in Western cultures. How could we ever not be enough, if the natural world is inherently perfect? We are created from this same abundant, all-knowing, ever-present entity or force. We become disconnected from ourselves and from others. The connection to the universal abundance is, however, always there. We can just choose to plug into it. Once we live in this state, we can bravely and boldly live a heart-centered life, filled with magic and purpose. We are perfection, you are perfection.
The Cathy Heller Show podcast with Marianne Williamson: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marianne-williamson-on-healing-the-world-with-love/id1191831035?i=1000548789636
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Erin Browning is a living example of shifting chaos to calm, a breathwork facilitator and Ayurvedic Health Counselor. She was educated as a speech language pathologist, and she’s traveled America speaking on stress relief. Her mission is to help others through the rough waters life brings to find stability, pleasure, and joy. Erin and Erika discuss Erin’s story of partner loss, journey as a widow and how her life changed in the blink of an eye. After her partner died, she experienced heartbreak like never before and wasn’t prepared for its depths. She found comfort in movement and trusting her body and intuition to tell her what she needed. Erin gives advice for new grievers, as well as touches upon how year two can be very different from the experience of grief in year one. She is a beacon of hope and light for anyone who has lost their way and is proof that there is joy and healing after heartbreak.
Find Erin at:
https://www.instagram.com/erin.l.browning/
https://erin-browning.com/
SURTHRIVAL discount code for the mini course on Erin’s website:
https://erin-browning.com/online-courses/
Meditation for Surthrival Diaries podcast listeners:
https://tinyurl.com/surthrivalmeditation
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Dana Kaplan is a retired award-winning classroom educator turned lifetime educator of the world. She helps children permanently activate their positively powerful voice while guiding parents on how to release their conscious and unconscious biases, expectations, labels, and limits they place upon their children and theirselves. She and Erika discuss how Dana felt different growing up and how that affected her journey. She defines what compassionate culture is and how having more of it in our lives can help us live more fully. She also suggests leading with curiosity and how that can help us remove judgement. Whether you have children or not, this talk will definitely bring so much value to your life, with practical ideas to implement in your daily routine.
To contact Dana:
https://linktr.ee/danakaplanteach
https://www.instagram.com/danakaplan_deed/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-kaplan-9b19ab71
https://www.facebook.com/dana.kaplan.716
Books Dana recommends:
“The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, The Horse” by Charlie Mackesy
“A is for Activist” by Innosanto Nagara
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Randi Pearlman Wolfson, from the online community of Grief & GRITS, is a grief educator and author who tenderly holds the hearts of thousands of grievers around the world daily. When her father died when she was ten years old, it became her life-long dream to provide this hope and healing to grieving children and adults, which she was done for nearly twenty years. Randi and Erika discuss what it feels and looks like to grieve as child, and how it differs from the experience as an adult. They also talk about how we can communicate with children about grief and loss, and how it’s never too late to begin grief work. Randi gives actionable tips for moving through the grieving process, underlining that despite it being the one thing we will all experience, it is also a lonely journey.
Get in touch with Randi:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/griefandgrits
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griefandgrits/
“Eddie’s Brave Journey: How one little elephant learned all about grief,” https://www.griefandgrits.com/
Books Randi recommends:
“When Dinosaurs Die, A Guide To Understanding Death” by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown
“If Grandma Were Here” by Amber L. Bradbury
Erika recommends:
“I’ll Always Love You” by Hans Wilhem
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Linda Burke has almost 30 years of professional experience as a recruiter. Her life changed forever in 2007, when she was diagnosed with MS. She talks about how she grieved the life she thought she would have, and later grew to see her condition as full of possibility. Linda is now a Conscious Parenting coach and she and Erika discuss what this means and how parents can perform better for their children. Linda talks about how learning how to be a conscious parent can help us let go and make changes that are generational in nature. She shares her beautiful personal story and how she grew to see everything as an opportunity to learn. Her Buddhist practice has helped her immensely in navigating difficult situations.
Linda’s website and podcast: https://www.becomingmoreconscious.com/areas-of-practice
Books:
“Mind Over Medicine” by Lissa Rankin
“A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle
“The Conscious Parent” by Shefali Tsabary, PhD
“The Awakened Family” by Shefali Tsabary, PhD
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Kathleen McDermott is the host of the Your Life Your Way podcast, and founder of Yogilosophy/Stress and Lifestyle Management Coaching. She is a Restorative and Adaptive Yoga teacher and both are an intricate part of her Coaching programs. Kathleen describes her journey into adaptive and restorative Yin yoga, and how she realized that her clients were experiencing amazing breakthroughs on the mat. She says that everyone has their own versions of poses and when you find your way on the mat, you can find your same way in life. She talks about her personal struggles and how she made a choice to step out of the darkness and practice what she preaches. She underlines how fear is useful and how we can use it to live a more expansive life. She talks about how she learned that in order to understand where you are and why, you have to look back and dig into your past. Kathleen is also the proud mom of twin boys and a grandma.
Kathleen’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenmcdermott99
Kathleen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katmcd99
Your Life, Your Way podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3mddkjIkE0AN00NKe57oXP?si=ca2c0748a4bc4ec6
Kathleen’s website: www.yogilosophymethod.com
Books:
“The Body Keeps the Score” Bessel van der Kolk M.D.: https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Stephanie Thompson created the Bravemumma community after she went from being an extremely active triathlete and teacher to someone who had trouble standing for 10 minutes. This was due to a traumatic birth with permanent physical injuries in the form of Pelvic Organ Prolapse. The condition affects 1 in 2 women, however many women feel completely alone in their struggles. Stephanie shares what she discovered along her journey and in working with thousands of women from around the world to live fulfilling and beautiful lives despite their condition. She and Erika discuss the mission that Stephanie is now on to get the conversation about Pelvic Organ Prolapse into the mainstream and overcome gender biases that affect us from the day we are born.
Links:
Stephanie’s website: https://www.bravemumma.com/
Stephanie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bravemumma/
Book: “The Day My Vagina Broke” by Stephanie Thompson
Podcast: The Lowdown with Bravemumma
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Dr. Mekel Harris is a licensed psychologist and health service provider who specializes in grief and loss. She has travelled her own road of heartbreak and shares how it changed how she lived and related to her clients. She became a better listener and astute observer, and she was also able to forge better connections through sharing her truth. Her faith has played a monumental role in how she has weathered her own grief and loss journey. Dr. Mekel describes how trauma and grief rattles our nervous systems, as well as the role that shame plays in that journey. She underlines the importance of naming the “elephant in the room,” so we aren’t avoiding grief and isolating ourselves. She says we need to go all in because life is short and precious. Erika and Dr. Mekel discuss how to talk to children about death, including suicide, using the KISS method.
Get in touch with Dr. Mekel:
https://mekelharrisphd.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmekel/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMekel
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Trigger warning: contains references to suicide
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In this solo episode, Erika talks about how having a deathbed mentality can help us connect to what’s important, as well as to the meaning of life. She talks about what living life as if you were dying means to her. When we start to filter things in our lives through a deathbed mentality, we can get to the heart of what matters in our lives and learn to let things go. Erika shares her experience of taking care of her brother while she was 19 and what it was like to live in the space between life and death. The more we can connect to the energy of that space, the more clearly we can see the true meaning of life and touch heaven and the grace that’s inside us.
Links:
Your Life Your Way podcast, Kathleen McDermott: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6FjASv1JgItEMd9Sv6hWVa?si=lRRosWa0S9OVTOQkkJEzlg
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Dana Frost is the beautiful soul behind the Forced Joy Project. She shares what forced joy means to her. While her late husband Brad was sick with cancer, they made a point of acknowledging something joyful every day. They did this up until the day he died and Dana continued this work after his passing. Dana speaks about grief, loss, and widowhood in a candid and refreshing way. She also talks about her own experience with cancer when she was 28. Dana gives useful advice on caregiving for someone with terminal illness. She shares about her worst days and what kept her going, as well as how she knew she was ready to explore a new relationship as a widow. Finally, Dana offers concrete advice on how you can find joy as well, no matter what is going on in your life.
Links:
Dana’s website: www.forcedjoyproject.com
Book of stories: https://www.forcedjoyproject.com/book-of-stories-intro
Instagram: @forcedjoyproject
Books that Dana recommends:
“It’s OK That You’re Not OK,” by Megan Devine
“The Year of Magical Thinking,” Joan Didion
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Mrs L is a mother, daughter, friend, sister and wife who also loves someone that struggles with addiction. She speaks her authentic reality on what she has and is still going through as her husband navigates his addiction and recovery. Mrs L puts words to her raw experiences that are relatable to many. She tells Erika how addiction spilled over into every area of her life, talking about her own toxic behaviors and how her wellbeing took a serious fall and how far she came away from her own integrity. She talks about the moment when she decided she would choose herself and prioritise the safety of her children, as well as the significance of having an exit plan.
Links:
Mrs L at Addiction Makes Three: https://www.instagram.com/addictionmakesthree/
Get in touch:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Steph Belcher's mission is to help musicians remove financial roadblocks as a finance coach and business manager for emerging and independent musicians, songwriters, producers, and industry reps. She is also the host of the “When Songs Mean Business” podcast. In this episode, Steph speaks about her father’s cancer diagnosis and how she started drinking heavily. She was brand-new to the music business and spent a lot of time networking and drinking. She shares about her DUI and how she felt completely disconnected from her goals and ambitions. She was drowning everything out. Then her grandfather suddenly died and her grandmother died a month later. She realized that your entire life can change in an instant. When she met her husband, she decided she didn’t want to have hangovers all the time. She had been turning to alcohol anytime she felt discomfort. It was the beginning of her journey out of addiction, but it took a few years for her to finally be substance-free.
Links:
“When Songs Mean Business” podcast by Steph Belcher:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/when-songs-mean-business/id1592996723
https://open.spotify.com/show/0kTtBvStgsZBJKZ1RBCcHE
Calm app: https://www.calm.com
Gabby Bernstein: https://gabbybernstein.com/
Get in touch:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
In her most intimate episode yet, Erika talks about her very personal experience with suicide and why she felt shame after her mother took her life. She talks about how she was worried and embarrassed it would reflect poorly on her if she spoke about it. Erika says the system is broken and can’t support people with mental illness. Suicide is the leading cause of death between 15 and 19-year-olds, so why isn’t the discussion about this taking place in mainstream media? Suicide obliterates those people left behind and it is never the answer. This needs to be a topic on the table and the shame needs to be removed from the picture, otherwise it eats away at families from the inside. If we don’t express what we have in our hearts, no one will ever know our hearts and we can’t live whole-hearted lives.
Books:
“Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown, https://brenebrown.com/book/daring-greatly/
“Feel the Fear and Do it Anyways” by Susan Jeffers, http://www.susanjeffers.com/home/detailtemplate.cfm?catID=2234
“The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level” by Gay Hendricks, https://hendricks.com/amazon/
Other:
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_K%C3%BCbler-Ross
Instagram post on grief as ball of string: see H. Norman Wright ball of grief
World Health Organization – data on suicide: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide
Get in touch:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Trigger warning: contains references to suicide
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Erika speaks with Vanessa Marie Caron, a young stay-at-home-mother of four (and mother to a little angel in heaven) who also happens to be a novelist. Vanessa’s story of losing her unborn son last year has touched the hearts of so many already, catching the attention of local Canadian media and spreading a message of hope and healing. Vanessa describes her brush with death and the moments after she lost her child. She speaks from within her grief, from a place of such grace. Her faith has been a guiding light throughout her journey. She talks about how grief can unite us, and although it may be easy to despair, we have to focus on the light and the gifts we have been given.
To connect with Vanessa, you can follow her on her blog at: www.vanessamariecaron.wordpress.com
or on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/vanessamariecaron_author/
If you want to connect with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Every year on her birthday, Erika looks back at the year before and takes stock of how far she has come and sets a vision for the future, focusing on how that future makes her feel. Erika talks about the big goals, also known as BHAGs, that we can set for ourselves to build for the long-term, and then focus on “bite-sized” steps. It’s also about trust and letting go, a balance between control and surrender. We can’t foresee every twist in the road and sometimes the universe’s plan is so much better than what we could have imagined for ourselves. Speaking it out loud and writing it down helps us commit to our vision. You can only call in what you feel worthy to receive.
Books:
“Built to Last” by James Collins and Jerry I. Porras
Jim Collins website: https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts.html
Alexander Lowen and methods for blocked emotions: https://www.lowenfoundation.org/
Trauma Yoga: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma-sensitive_yoga
The Cathy Heller Show: https://www.dontkeepyourdayjob.com/
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
We spend our lives looking for the approval of others and seeing ourselves through the lenses of others, even though that approval isn’t theirs to give. We self-impose cages that keep us small, but we can open the door and release ourselves from them. If we wait for someone else to set us free, that will never happen. Erika shares more of her story, and her experience with her mother’s suicide. She also speaks about her coming home to herself and how when we make decisions from a place of worth, we can live our dream today. Live big, take up space, and shine. Leave us a review if you can!
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Trigger warning: contains references to suicide
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Are the people that are rising after hardship and trouble doing something different? Is there a science to surviving loss and how can we thrive after loss? How can we maximize our potential and live our best lives? And how can we get out of our own matrix? Sometimes we have to let faith direct us. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom, because it’s a place where we have nothing to lose and we are forced to look at the deepest parts of ourselves. Erika shares her WHY behind starting this podcast, and invites you to take this journey with her. Leave us a review if you can!
“The Beautiful No,” Sheri Salata, https://sherisalata.com/books/
“A Radical Awakening,” Dr. Shefali, https://www.aradicalawakening.com/
Send us an email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
How can we find connection during grief and open up to others so they can support us in our loss? Ann a.k.a Grief Kid lost her mom when she was 14 and her brother 10 years later. She wanted to find a way to express her grief and normalise the conversation and that’s when she created the cartoon of Grief Kid on Instagram. She talks about how important peer support was for her and how – when we speak about what we are going through – it opens the door for others to support us. She shares advice for those grievers and those supporting them. She also underlines that we need to live life to the fullest and talk to ourselves like a best friend or younger sibling.
Links:
Grief Kid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griefkid/
5 Ways to Wellbeing, NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/
TNN Charity: https://www.thenewnormalcharity.com/
Let’s Talk About Loss Charity: https://letstalkaboutloss.org/about/
Get in touch with Erika:
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Trigger warning: contains references to suicide
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When we heal we become whole and we need a holistic approach. Erika shares her story of having spent many years being out of touch with her body and how she had to address many different aspects in her healing. She talks about how when she began her healing, conventional medicine wasn’t able to help her. She was told by many doctors that it was all in her head. It was only when she started to take the road less travelled that she started to find answers and solutions that worked for her. Loss pushes us into rock bottom and that’s where miraculous healing miracles can occur because you have nothing to lose.
Books:
“A Mind of Your Own” by Kelly Brogan, MD, https://www.kellybroganmd.com/amindofyourown
“The Body Keeps The Score” by Bessel van der Kolk, https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score
Holistic Psychologist, Dr. Nicole Le Pera: https://theholisticpsychologist.com/, “How to Do The Work” by Dr. Nicole Le Pera: https://theholisticpsychologist.com/book/
Email: hello@surthrivaldiaries.com
Website: http://www.surthrivaldiaries.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surthrivaldiaries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurthrivalDiaries
Trigger warning: contains references to suicide
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Do you want to live an expansive and limitless life? Do you want to maximize your potential? If so, have a listen. This short episode covers what you can expect from the podcast. Every week, we will hold open-hearted conversations with thought leaders and experts, as well as people with their own stories of overcoming heartbreak to uncover the science of chartering a purposeful path through loss and after and walking in the light. Follow @surthrivaldiaries on Instagram for daily inspiration. Also, please subscribe to the Surthrival Diaries podcast and share it with anyone it might help. Love and light.