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Today we delve into the mimics of the mind and the intelligence of our threat based survival systems. Your survival system is fast, smart, and doesn't always know the difference between a real emergency and a mimic of one. This episode came out of a conversation in the Crazy Club, our free monthly virtual support circle. A member shared a framework that stopped me in my tracks: be your own first responder. Stop. Orient. pause.  Assess for imminent threat. If the threat is real, get your body out. If it isn't, you get to administer care: hold your own hand, lengthen your exhale, tone. Because you are an infinitely powerful, self-healing, self-sustaining  organism, and most of us never get taught to act like it.  we are life intelligent beings that have an intelligent siurvia system to take care of. To join us next session in our very safe community: register here for free : https://brothers-koren.mykajabi.com/crazyclub   Thorald

In this episode we look at the loops. The ones our survival system runs. The ones our nervous system keeps firing off long after the danger has passed. We then explore a new way of seeing how these loops get built inside the mind and the body. And how, through non participation and conscious awareness, we can start to show our nervous systems something different. That we may not need to be triggered now. That we may actually be safe enough now to get underneath it all, to the human pain sitting at the center. The thing all those loops and layers were built to keep us from feeling. We also look to something that’s hard and freeing at the same time. The ways we might be responsible for growing and compounding these loops.  And also the automatic triggers that we arent repsonsible for going off. This isn’t about forcing anything open. It’s a reframe on how to care for the loops that go off in us, so they can unravel in their own time. At nature’s pace. Please join me at the next CRAZY CLUB The Crazy Club is a free monthly virtual support circle, born out of this podcast Embracing Crazy, where people gather to explore and reframe their relationship with anxiety, obsession, and the complexities of being human. Come experience mindfulness and cognitive behavioral practices, and hear from others on their journeys to mental health.  It meets live on Zoom the last Saturday of the month with no recordings. Come as you are, and leave with more of yourself. come share, or just come listen. Register here: https://brothers-koren.mykajabi.com/crazyclub

In todays episode, I explore the art of doing nothing, supsending reacting and acting from a triggered state, and how to use an offsetting mindfulness approach to creating pause before responding.    Today is also my 45th birthday, and i got to celbrate with hosting the 1 yr anniversary of The Crazy Club, my free monthly virtual & live support circle...to become a member for free go here!  https://brothers-koren.mykajabi.com/crazyclub The Crazy Club is my free monthly virtual support circle — born out of my podcast Embracing Crazy and my own journey coming through a severe case of OCD that nearly took my life in my twenties. Every month, on the last Saturday, I hold space for a live, no-recording gathering where real people explore their relationship with anxiety, obsession, and the beautiful messiness of being human. It’s not therapy. It’s not a lecture. It’s a witnessed community doing real work together… guided by the belief that the way through “crazy” isn’t around it. It’s straight into the heart of it. Free. Live. Come as you are. For all the mindfulness and somatic trauma-informed work i do around voice and song, go here! https://linktr.ee/YourBigVoice

In this short conversation, I talk all about sensation-based triggers, and how recognizing the differences between sensations and thoughts gave me a whole new perspective to riding the waves of Anxiety and staying home in my body.

In this episode, I enter into the paradox of trigger-land. I unpack how I make the distinction between the trigger, and the observer within. I further delve into the rabbit hole with my take on how the survival system can build what i call 'cancer-like behavioral loops', and how confusing it feels to experience the resistance of the resistance. Lastly, in this episode I presence how important self-awareness is the doorway to our greatest mental and emotional health.   thank you for joining me in this exploration.    Thorald

In this episode, join me as I unpack the game changing distinction between the motivation ' something's wrong that I HAVE TO FIX' and 'Something's possible if Iet this be/take a risk here'.  I share a story that changed my entire approach to re parenting my nervous system/ocd mechanism.   I also announce the Crazy Club; a free monthly virtual open support circle, a home for anyone exploring their mental health and wants to go deeper, stay tuned for an invitation and our first date!

so happy to be back and into season 2 of Embracing Crazy. I start this season off with a solo episode, unpacking the the behind the story of my new song 'Here I Go', my deepest musical share to date on what it felt like to go through a critical case of OCD, and what it took to lean in, find my courage,  and find a new way of being in the face of it.   follow me here @thoraldkoren

In this episode, Jeffrey and I unpack the hidden gifts of the wounding/trauma we all go through in different ways in our lives. And how when we embrace the hurt we've been through, our greatest gifts often come to the surface, becoming our service to others. Jeffrey Van Dyk is an international speaker, guide, and transformational leader specializing in helping others find their audience and serve their people. He's also a great friend. Jeffrey shares the challenges he went through in his early life, and how eventually finding the gift in them gave him the courage to share his message and find his tribe. He now helps others do the same.

In this episode, Dr. Joan Rosenberg and I dive into the wild, counter-intuitive, and beautiful world of letting yourself experience unpleasant feelings as they arise. This episode is so relevant to all of us. Joan’s insights & behavioral approach; One of accepting feelings and welcoming emotion as a necessary step toward healing ,freedom, and resilience, is powerful and so helpful. I am so grateful to know Joan is out there sharing such a kindred approach to emotional and mental health integration.

I recorded this episode of the podcast on the night before the one year anniversary of my son's passing. I wasn't sure I would share it, so i put it away for a couple of months. Yet coming back to listening to the episode this week, I knew it was an honest way to open the conversation around what ultimately we all experience here on earth at different times in our lives; the Loss of those we love, and the waves of grief we will each face as humans being here on earth. I will open the podcast to many more stories around loss and grief into the future, it felt important i go first. In loving memory of my son, Jack Mutsuro Mcrae Koren. Each and every day i miss you, and I'm forever changed by you. You my greatest miracle to date.   T

In this episode, I'm in conversation with my friend and brother, Justin Michael Williams.  Justin is the Author of 'Stay Woke', a transformational leader and speaker, alongside being  a Billboard top 20 recording artist. Justin is at the forefront mindfulness, meditation and racial justice. Justin and I dive into his amazing story, and what it took for him to come through challenges in his own mental and emotional health, to become the human he is today. we jam on trauma and the trauma responses of Rigidity, that can behaviorally create perfectionism in someones life...often born out of the feeling and trigger of 'I'm not good enough'  Justin also shares his experience with an eating disorder that derailed him in his earlier life. to discover all the amazing things Justin is up to, please visit www.justinmichaelwilliams.com

Seeing yourself in another  In this episode, I'm in conversation with Mitch Wallis. Mitch is a leader in Mental health, and one of the most recognizable faces in the mental health conversation in Australia and beyond. We met originally when I spoke at the SMBI program at Columbia University after being invited to speak by the wonderful Barnet Bain After the event, Mitch and I became immediate friends, and brothers in a conversation around mental health, and mental advocacy - to bring light to what is one of the largest health issues facing all generations alive today. Our stories are Similar in so many ways, and Mitch boldly shares his story; from his battle with his own mental illness , to how he walked a path into the mental health he has today. We chat about one of THE most important things we can do toward mental health for ALL of us.. to help create the space to share our mental health stories. To be able to see oneself in another is part of the healing, and to hear other people’s mental health stories, allows us to realize we are far from alone. To learn more on all the wonderful things Mitch Wallis is up to, go here: www.mitchwallis.com

In this episode, I venture into the Wild West of uncomfortable feelings. I dare to share what it takes to come ‘home’ to the body no matter how uncomfortable it feels, and how to ride the waves of anxiety and panic to find a new relationship to allowing the storms of the mind and body to pass, without resistance or trying to get rid of them. I recount times of great anxiety- filled moments in my recovery, and share what I did to form a new healthy relationship to the automatic survival system of my mind and body.

Here I go: I start this podcast with an in-depth dive into my OCD story, when it started as a kid, how I hit bottom, and what I discovered that shaped me into the behavioral coach and mental health advocate I am today.

This is a podcast about mental health, and much more. Join me and special guests, as we unpack conversations on behavior, mindfulness, and what it takes to be in great relationship with yourself.