So Jan's basically building a new body one joint at a time, and we figured it was time to talk about it.

As of recording, Jan is eight weeks out from her fourth joint replacement, a knee this time, and we got into all of it. The parts they don't put in the brochure. The stuff your surgeon forgets to mention. The real experience of living in a body that needs a little extra hardware to keep going.

If you have a joint replacement in your future, or your mom does, or you're just trying to figure out how to stay mobile as you age, this one is genuinely useful. We promise.

Here's what we covered:

• How to know when it's actually time for a joint replacement and what the road there typically looks like
• Why the surgeon you choose matters more than you think, and what Jan learned the hard way from her first hip
• How robotic surgery has changed everything, making procedures more precise and often fully outpatient
• Scar tissue, fascia, and why rehab is non-negotiable for some bodies more than others
• Why strength training before surgery is one of the best things you can do for your recovery
• What those first days home actually look like and why having someone there is not optional
• How to protect the joints you've already had replaced so they actually last

If you've been through a joint replacement yourself, or you're heading into one, you already know this conversation was a long time coming. And if you haven't, consider this your heads up that your future self will thank you for listening now.

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

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*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

This week, Jan connected us with Melinda Watman, a woman who has lived inside the obesity and eating disorder world since she was two and a half years old, and who somehow turned that into a career that's literally changing how pharmaceutical companies and clinical trials treat patients. We had a feeling this conversation was going to be good. We had no idea.

Melinda is a patient advocacy consultant, a former CEO, a French restaurant owner (yes, really), and a person who has had bariatric surgery, survived three concurrent eating disorders, and came thisclose to not being here. She's also as honest as we love our guests to be!

We talked about:

• Why obesity is a disease, not a character flaw.
• The food noise.
• Bariatric surgery and what nobody prepares you for.
• How Melinda ended up with three eating disorders at once.
• The moment something shifted.
• GLP-1 medications, the real talk.
• Weight bias in healthcare.
• Her "village" approach to recovery.
• Why childhood obesity and eating disorders are rising together, and why the cruelest bullying still goes unchecked.

The line that stayed with us: "I thought my goal was to be the skinniest girl in the room. It took me a long time to realize I was actually the sickest girl in the room."

If you've ever felt shame around your body, your eating, or your weight, or if you love someone who has, this episode is for you. You are not weak. You are not broken. And you are not alone.

About Melinda:

Ms. Watman is the founder of Weighty Decision, a patient advocacy consultancy partnering with pharmaceutical companies in the anti-obesity medication space. She provides both internal and external stakeholders patient-centered frameworks that improve engagement and outcomes. Drawing on 15 years of clinical experience and an MBA-driven entrepreneurial career, she bridges healthcare delivery, policy, and innovation. Ms. Watman is a compelling and trusted voice on the lived experience of obesity, healthcare bias, eating disorders, and patient-centered innovation.

In addition to her clinical practice, her background includes founding two successful consulting firms, serving as CEO and co-founder of a medical device company, working with both startups and established organizations to bring novel healthcare technologies to market, and owning a French restaurant.

She is a strong believer in giving back and is a mentor with the MIT Venture Mentoring Service and Innovate@BU. She also is an Emeritus board member of the Obesity Action Coalition.

Melinda will be speaking this year on eating disorders with obesity at two upcoming professional conferences: the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the World Obesity and Weight Management Congress. She is also involved with an advocacy effort to maintain coverage for anti-obesity medications for MassHealth/Medicaid patients in Massachusetts.

Connect with Melinda on LinkedIn.

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

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Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

Today we’re talking about something so many women carry quietly: disordered eating and body image stuff. We get honest about our own histories (yep, both ends of the spectrum) and what actually helped us move toward peace—without shame, perfection, or “just try harder” nonsense.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How eating disorders aren’t just anorexia and bulimia—there’s a whole range of disordered eating behaviors
• Patti’s experience with control, trauma, food hiding, bingeing, and the shame spiral
• Jan’s experience with thinness pressure, dance culture, and bingeing/purging without even knowing what it was called
• Why food often becomes a coping tool (just like alcohol, drugs, work, shopping… you get it)
• How body dysmorphia messes with what we think we see in the mirror
• The sneaky messages we absorb from family, culture, and “well-meaning” comments
• Why therapy matters (because food is rarely the real issue)
• The power of permission: eating carbs, adding snacks, and even having dessert on purpose

If you’re struggling, here’s what we encourage:

• Consider therapy with someone who understands trauma + body image
• Work with a registered dietitian/nutritionist who doesn’t shame bodies (HAES-aligned can be a great fit)
• Start small with body neutrality: “I’m not broken” is a powerful first step

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

Apply to be a guest here.

Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

The conversation this week with our colleague and friend, Dr. Rick Butts, stopped us in our tracks—in the best way.

Rick walked us through his grief timeline, beginning with losing his grandmother at 7, his father at 10, and later his mother at 35. What unfolded was something we hadn’t quite thought about before: grief isn’t just an event… it’s a thread that runs through your entire life.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why many of us get “stuck” in one stage of grief (hello, denial)
• How childhood loss quietly shapes adult coping patterns
• Why unprocessed grief lives in the body
• The idea that all counseling is grief work
• What it means to complete a “threat response”
• How to create your own grief timeline
• Why retirement, divorce, moving, and unmet expectations are real losses
• How mindfulness helps us embody grief instead of outrun it
• The power of meaning-making in healing

Rick vulnerably shares his own journey—from shutting down as a 10-year-old boy to fully grieving decades later through experiential therapy.

And we ask the big question:

Where are you in your grief timeline?

If this episode stirred something in you, you’re not alone. Grief is not weakness. It’s human. And you don’t have to move through it by yourself.

About Dr. Rick Butts:

Rick has been a therapist for the past 37 years. During this time, he has been a professor at two different Universities. At the University of Cincinnati, he taught in the Human Social Services department. And at the Cincinnati Christian University, he taught in their Master of Arts in counseling program. Throughout these 37 years, he has maintained a private practice focused for several years on children, adolescents, and families. Then he transitioned to adults with an interest in developmental and relational trauma and couples counseling. In 2013, he co-founded the Healing Our Core Issues Institute with Jan Bergstrom, which is a training program for therapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and coaches.

Website: https://www.drrickbutts.com

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

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Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

In this episode, we talk about the many faces of grief—and how it's not just about death. From heartbreak and dementia to aging bodies and old friendships, this one’s for anyone who’s had to say goodbye to something (or someone) they loved.

We get into:

• The sneaky, shapeshifting nature of grief
• What “ambiguous grief” actually means
• How grief is deeply connected to attachment
• Why we need rituals—and how they help us move through pain
• Grief triggers and how to cope
• Creating meaning from loss (even when it feels impossible)

Whether you’re in it, past it, or dreading it—this conversation will meet you where you are.

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

Apply to be a guest here.

Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

In this episode, we sit down with the wildly talented and utterly honest Ma Sherry Glaser—actress, playwright, author, and activist. Sherry shares her harrowing (and strangely funny) journey through a stroke, a cancer diagnosis, and a kidney tumor... all discovered after avoiding the medical system for decades.

This one’s about what happens when your magical thinking meets a medical emergency—and what it really means to make peace with death.

You’ll hear us talk about:

• How denial and “wishful wellness” can sometimes teach something else
• The shame and shock of getting seriously ill
• What it’s like to have a stroke and discover a tumor in one hospital visit
• Her powerful new show, Life and Death: A Love Story
• And why life tastes sweeter when you finally stop trying so damn hard

If you’ve ever feared getting older, been shocked by your own medical chart, or just wondered how to actually live while you’re still here—this one’s for you.

About Ma Sherry:

Sherry Glaser is originally from New York City and has been doing comedy for over 40 years. She is the star and author of 4 One woman shows, TAKING THE HIGH ROAD, (Comic confessions from behind the Cannabis Curtain), The ADVENTURES OF SUPER ACTIVIST MOTHER, OH MY GODDESS! and the Longest running one woman show in off-Broadway Herstory – FAMILY SECRETS. Sherry is a published author of THE FIRST PRACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR CRAZY PEOPLE, of her memoir FAMILY SECRETS, and MAMA’S 1ST POCKET CHICKTIONARY. She is the founder of the Peace Advocacy group; Breasts not Bombs Her new play is LIFE AND DEATH: A Love Story

Links for Ma Sherry:

Website

Instagram

Sherry also offer Tarot readings. You can contact her directly for more information here.

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

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Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

In this episode, we go there—into the deep, raw, and very real territory of death and dying. Sounds jolly, right? But seriously, it's the conversation no one prepared us for, and that’s exactly why we’re having it.

We're getting honest about:

• Sudden loss and the trauma of unexpected death
• The weird things our brains do when we first hear someone’s gone
• The difference between grief and the act of dying
• End-of-life planning, medical aid in dying, and making peace with our mortality
• And yes… the “Oh No” book, because someone’s gotta know where the passwords are

We laugh, we share personal stories, and we hope this episode helps you feel a little more seen and a little less alone.

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

Apply to be a guest here.

Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.

In this episode, we sat down with Kristy Dillon—therapist, survivor, and truth-teller—to talk about something that too many people still struggle to say out loud: sexual abuse.

This conversation is raw, honest, and full of the kind of wisdom that only comes from deep healing. If you've experienced abuse—or love someone who has—this episode is for you.

Here’s what we talk about:

• What it’s like to tell your story after years of silence
• How sexual abuse impacts identity, relationships, and trust
• The complicated feelings survivors often have about their abusers
• What healing actually looks like (hint: it's not linear)
• How safe touch, therapy, and community helped Kristy reclaim her body
• The power of saying it out loud—yes, even if it’s messy or imperfect

Trigger warning: We talk about childhood sexual abuse. Please take care of yourself as you listen. You can pause, come back, or skip this one if it’s not the right time.

👉🏼 If this resonates with you, you're not alone. Healing is possible. We're proof.

About Kristy:

Kristy Dillon is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Dayton, Ohio with over 30 years of experience in the counseling field. She has been trained in Somatic Experiencing, Developmental and Relational Trauma, and Polyvagal Theory. Over the years, she has worked in Community Mental Health Centers, private psychiatric practice, school-based counseling, and private practice.

Kristy was motivated to earn a degree in Counseling after engaging in her own personal counseling to address sexual trauma she experienced as a child. The profound healing she experienced inspired her to learn how to support others through their own healing journeys.

View Kristy’s profile here.

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

Apply to be a guest here.

Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.