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You don’t need to hit rock bottom to change everything.  In this episode, I sit down with James Swanwick for a grounded, honest conversation about alcohol-free living and why so many thoughtful, high-functioning people are quietly questioning their drinking. We talk about the cultural moment we’re in, the limits of traditional recovery models, and why white-knuckling never leads to freedom. I share my own path away from social drinking and what surprised me most about the shift. Mindful sobriety isn’t about deprivation; it’s about choosing a life that actually feels good to live.  This episode is for anyone who is sober-curious, questioning the role of alcohol in their life, or looking for a more humane, sustainable approach to change. If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s another way, without labels, shame, or rock bottom, this conversation opens up a new perspective. Learn more about his programs here. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [06:02] Why addiction often runs on a push-pull dynamic that quietly drains energy and agency [09:38] How the cultural shift away from alcohol is emerging first in younger generations [11:54] What happens when “normal” drinking erodes health and relationships [12:47] The moment a casual drinker realizes alcohol is costing more than it gives [28:10] Why traditional recovery models often miss high-functioning, gray-area drinkers [30:45] How identity labels can freeze growth instead of supporting real change [46:12] Why focusing on desire creates more lasting change than focusing on restraint [56:58] How an alcohol-free life can feel expansive rather than restrictive 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Resources Mentioned: Clear by James Swanwick | Book or Audiobook The Sober Truth by Lance Dodes | Book or Audiobook The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders | Website Rat Park: How a rat paradise changed the narrative of addiction. by Gage, S. H., & Sumnall, H. R. | Article Randomized controlled trial of harm reduction treatment for alcohol (HaRTA) for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder by Susan E. et al. | Article Connect with James: Alcohol Free Lifestyle | Website Swanwick Sleep | Website James Swanwick | Wikipedia James Swanwick | Instagram Find more from Kelly: YouTube: Reclamation Radio with Kelly Brogan, MD Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. You can head to lotuswei.com and use the code Kelly15 for 15% off. Go to juvent.com and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase.

If you feel the need to always speak your opinions, you might be “addicted” to seeking the attention of others. In this episode, I unpack one of the most charged questions I hear: how to tell whether you’re self abandoning or actually accepting reality. There are subtle ways codependency shows up, even in people who think they’re being calm, spiritual, or evolved… especially when silence becomes a strategy. Over-speaking and under-speaking, and how both can be driven by the same nervous system impulse, are two common patterns I see again and again. We talk about anxious attachment, avoidant tendencies, and the “giving to get” dynamic that drains your sense of self.  You’ll also hear why trying to get someone else to see your perspective often costs more than it gives, and how real boundaries begin with knowing what you want, not managing how others live their lives. This conversation is for anyone tired of performing self-control while feeling internally split, and ready to build self-trust that doesn’t depend on being understood. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [01:02] The difference between self-abandonment and letting others live their lives [02:14] Why “giving to get” turns both silence and speaking up into self-betrayal [03:21] The subtle ways codependency hides inside helping, supporting, or being reasonable [04:28] What’s really happening when you need someone else to see your perspective [05:46] How anxious attachment drives over-explaining without meeting your actual needs [07:12] When withdrawal and invisibility start to look like maturity while eroding self-trust [09:03] How to recognize when your voice is coming from control instead of self-attunement [11:01] Why real boundaries start with knowing what you want, not managing others 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here.

What if the man you’re chasing isn’t your type… he’s your father, unfinished? In this episode I share a powerful somatic practice rooted in family constellations that helps disentangle the father wound from adult intimacy. If you’ve struggled with codependent relationships, anxious-avoidant dynamics, or an almost magnetic pull toward emotionally unavailable men, this episode is for you. Most importantly, I introduce a way to mature the internal father, integrating both shadow and strength, so your nervous system no longer confuses longing with love. This is about reclaiming agency, restoring emotional safety, and relating from adult self-possession rather than unconscious repair.  If you’re ready to stop reenacting the past and start choosing from clarity, this episode opens a new door. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [01:08] Why attraction to unavailable men can feel obsessive, and how Eros pulls you toward unresolved wounds [02:14] How romantic partners become stand-ins for the father, and why projection creates suffering [03:05] How the father wound shows up as embodied unsafety rather than a story or diagnosis [03:52] What it means to create safety by maturing the internal father instead of fixing men [05:04] How a simple family constellations practice works through the body as truth [07:02] What you notice when you place father and partner side by side, and why discomfort matters [09:03] Why saying “you are not my father” releases trapped relational energy [11:02] How separating father from partner opens the possibility of adult, sovereign love 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Go to the Juvent Store and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase.

Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. I didn’t think Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work applied to me — then his event cracked open an entirely new understanding of healing.  What if the breakthrough you’re chasing doesn’t come from digging into your past, but from stepping into the future version of you who already made the shift? In this conversation with Dr. Joe Dispenza, I share what happened when I attended one of his in-person retreats. I went in assuming I wasn’t the target audience. I already felt “healthy.” But watching people transform without revisiting old wounds or tracing root causes cracked something open for me. Some changed in a single meditation. These weeklong immersions push people past the point where they normally stop, creating measurable shifts in their brains and bodies. We talk about why people stay stuck, the role of victim consciousness and secondary gain, and the emotional patterns behind health issues, money struggles, and relationship loops. And then we dive into abundance — the topic Joe resisted teaching — and why it’s really an issue of identity, not circumstance. Because once you understand how your internal state shapes your external world, the entire map of healing changes. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [07:14] Why one long meditation can upend the belief that healing requires visiting your past [08:38] What shifts when a weeklong immersive pushes you past your usual stopping point [21:14] Why Joe rejects the “guru effect” and keeps the transformation off himself [25:47] How volunteers and coherence groups expose the real engine behind this work [39:04] The moment Joe finally agreed to teach abundance after years of resisting [41:29] Why expanding abundance beyond money reshapes daily life [49:02] The traits that keep sick or financially struggling people locked in survival mode [50:35] How dropping excuses and worst-case thinking becomes the pivot to abundance [59:03] What opens when you feel your future before it arrives 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Resources Mentioned: Believing, Behaving, Becoming Abundance with Dr. Joe Dispenza | Course Connect with Dr. Joe Dispenza: Instagram: @drjoedispenza Website: drjoedispenza.com YouTube: @drjoedispenza Watch Stories of Transformation with Dr. Joe Dispenza. Real people. Real change. Real stories of what happened when they applied the work. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Go to juvent.com and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase.

What if the very practices you’re using to “heal your nervous system” are actually keeping you stuck in freeze? In this episode I sit down with Irene Lyon, one of the most nuanced voices in the trauma healing and nervous system regulation space. Irene has spent decades studying somatic education, somatic experiencing, and early developmental trauma, and what she brings to this conversation is discernment… something sorely missing in today’s wellness culture. We explore the shadow side of popular practices like cold plunging, meditation, and cathartic trauma release, and why more sensation doesn’t always mean more safety. We talk about freeze response, pre-verbal and developmental trauma, and how well-meaning “trauma hacks” shared online can actually destabilize sensitive nervous systems. This is a conversation for those who feel they’ve “done all the right things” but still don’t feel settled inside themselves. It’s also for clinicians, parents, and seekers who want to understand what true embodiment looks like—beyond trends, performative regulation, and spiritual bypassing. My hope is that this episode offers a long exhale, and a return to what is simple, humane, and honest about healing. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [16:12] Why many chronic symptoms are nervous system survival patterns, not separate diseases [25:18] How trauma-release methods fail when a person can’t feel interoception [36:41] Why early and pre-verbal trauma requires a different path to safety and regulation [44:07] What goes wrong when meditation, catharsis, or pelvic work are done too soon [46:52] How meditation can reinforce shutdown instead of presence [53:24] Why cold plunging and breathwork can trigger freeze or collapse [1:10:36] How incomplete survival responses turn into freeze, collapse, and chronic illness [1:24:11] What must be in place before emotional or sensation-based healing 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Resources Mentioned: Andrew Huberman | Website Andrew Huberman Control Your Vagus Nerve to Improve Mood, Alertness & Neuroplasticity | YouTube Stephen W. Porges Vagus Theory | Website Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine | Book Somatic Experiencing | Website David Berceli Trauma Release Exercises | Website Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert | Book or Audiobook Feldenkrais Method | Website EMDR Therapy | Website Vipassana Meditation | Website Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil | Book or Audiobook Progressive Muscle Relaxation | Website Learn more about Irene's 21-Day Nervous System Tune Up here. Connect with Irene: Irene Lyon | Website Irene Lyon | YouTube Irene Lyon | Facebook Irene Lyon | Instagram Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Go to the Juvent Store and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase. You can head to lotuswei.com and use the code Kelly15 for 15% off.

Access the Audacious Embodiment recordings here. What’s the real difference between erotic energy and sexual energy, and why has that distinction been so deeply confused? In this episode, I respond to a question that opens into embodiment, sensation, and what I call erotic artistry, not as sex or stimulation, but as vital force. I talk about how many of us live in functional freeze, moving through life on autopilot, and how practices that bring us back into sensation can interrupt dissociation and anchor us in our felt experience. This episode explores female embodiment, eros vs sex, and how prioritizing the senses—comfort, pleasure, movement, and presence—can awaken creative energy and aliveness in the body, moment by moment. You’ll Learn:  [00:00] Introduction [00:01:02] The real difference between eros and sexual energy [00:02:46] Living in functional freeze turns life into autopilot and disconnects you from sensation [00:04:41] Prioritizing the senses moment by moment awakens creative energy and embodied aliveness [00:06:54] Intense sensation can be completely non-sexual and still bring you back into your felt experience [00:08:58] Choosing vitality over survival becomes a conscious, embodied practice rather than an idea Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here.

Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. What if women aren’t broken—but exhausted from living by values that don’t belong to them? Emotional suffering is often framed as pathology. But what if it’s information? What we call anxiety or depression can arise when our lived priorities are fundamentally misaligned with our inner values. When a life is organized around productivity, achievement, approval, or external validation, while deeper values point toward connection, intimacy, creativity, or pleasure, the psyche resists. For many women, this conflict shows up as burnout, resentment, guilt, or a persistent sense of futility. Not because something is wrong, but because self-abandonment has become normalized. Priorities are inherited, absorbed, and performed long after they stop feeding us. This episode explores women’s mental health through a different lens: symptoms as signals. Guilt as guidance. Exhaustion as feedback. When fulfillment is chased where it was never available, the system eventually collapses. Depression as a signal may be the moment a deeper truth insists on being heard. This is an invitation to examine your priorities and values, question what you’ve been taught to want, and consider what becomes possible when reprioritizing your life restores authentic expression. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [01:02] Depression reframed as the futility of living by priorities that cannot fulfill you [03:12] Resentment and frustration as early signals that your values and actions are misaligned [05:18] Self-abandonment as a learned strategy for belonging and approval [08:04] Burnout as the cost of organizing life around values that don’t actually feed women [10:02] The “hungry ghost” cycle created by chasing success, productivity, or validation [12:37] Guilt as an invitation to reorganize priorities rather than suppress discomfort [14:48] Alignment as the relief that comes from fully owning the choices you’ve already made [17:06] Reprioritization as a doorway to connection, intimacy, and renewed life force 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. Go to the Juvent Store and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase.

Hear Amerly's first interview here, and listen to this related podcast on food boundaries here. What if your so-called food intolerances are really about your parents?  In this episode, I sit down with my friend and mentor Amerly Centeno, a Family Constellation trainer and teacher whose work braids German New Medicine with ancestral dynamics. We trace my long, rigid history of cutting out gluten and dairy and lay it alongside the symbolic lens where those foods stand in for mother and father. From my Hashimoto's diagnosis to the first croissant I chose to eat in Europe after fifteen years without a molecule of gluten or dairy, I walk you through the inner shifts that made that experiment even possible. Tune in if you suspect your patterns with eating might be about much more than food. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [04:52] Why cutting out gluten and dairy can turn into an identity instead of a choice [09:47] What one bite of a “forbidden” food exposes about hidden rules in your body [12:36] How a small yes to pleasure can disrupt years of rigidity [14:52] Why feeling safer inside shifts how you digest the same foods [18:41] The reason symptoms can act as a biological solution when you can’t find one consciously [21:32] How early attachment patterns shape the way you take in nourishment [27:54] Why gluten and dairy often mirror the father and mother in the ancestral field [33:12] What changes when you stand as the adult child of two imperfect parents [40:52] How rigid health protocols can echo immature containment instead of true choice [44:10] Why some eating disorders reflect an unconscious loyalty to someone who didn’t get to live 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Check out Amerly's programs here and use code Kelly10 for 10% off. You can connect with Amerly and her work through her Website, and be sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. You can head to lotuswei.com and use the code Kelly15 for 15% off.

Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. What if relaxing around money was the very thing that made it flow?  In this episode, I sit down with my friend, ally, and esteemed colleague Kate Northrup, a business owner and author of bestselling books about money and doing less, as well as the host of a top ranking podcast. I still remember exactly where I was when I first read her work on making money a love story and realized I was nowhere near ready to change my own unconscious relationship with it. That title alone has reverberated through my reclamation experience of wealth and even helped me eventually say out loud that I love money. When money has always meant scarcity or panic, being with it in the body can feel like either gripping tight or checking out completely. Tune in to learn how that shows up as lived patterns and how a different kind of nervous system safety slowly makes other choices possible. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [05:14] Why redefining money as an energetic “yes to life” shifts your entire relationship with it [11:07] How noticing your open versus closed responses shows you exactly where money triggers your nervous system [16:42] What happens when you identify whether you’re in protector mode or expander mode around money [19:14] How family patterns of scarcity and abundance imprint your adult money behavior [22:01] Why kids often mirror the money fears you’re not consciously expressing [27:33] How your inherited beliefs shape whether money feels chaotic or organized in daily life [34:58] The reason your capacity to hold money expands only when your body feels safe [41:22] Why recognizing your upper limit with “havingness” changes what you allow yourself to receive [55:49] What shifts when you see every financial exchange as human-to-human rather than system-to-entity 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Resources Mentioned: Money: A Love Story by Kate Northrup | Book Do Less by Kate Northrup | Book Learn more about Kate's Relaxed Money program here. Find more from Kate: Kate Northrup | Facebook Kate Northrup | Website Kate Northrup | Instagram Kate Northrup | Podcast Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Go to the Juvent Store and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase.

What if the holidays you grew up with were never actually the real story?  In this episode, I sit down with Lara J. Day, whose work around the winter season grew out of her own frustration with commercial holidays and her unexpected discovery of a practice that changed how she moved through the entire year. She brings a careful, deeply researched lens to where our modern traditions came from and how they were reshaped long before we inherited them. Old narratives begin to crumble when you hear how many of our rituals were engineered, borrowed, or rewritten. Fresh space opens when you realize there’s a quieter rhythm beneath the noise that most of us have never been taught to notice. The opportunity is choosing how you want to relate to this season without blindly repeating what was handed down. By the end, you’ll see why small shifts during this window can ripple through your entire year. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [03:50] Why rejecting commercial holidays can open the door to a more meaningful ritual season [06:26] What happens when solstice becomes the anchor that replaces the pressure of traditional celebrations [08:14] The reason skepticism about holiday stories can point toward a deeper desire for truth [10:05] How a practice discovered after becoming a parent reshaped an entire relationship to the season [13:47] Why understanding the origins of holidays changes how you participate in them [19:02] What the four-layer pattern behind modern holidays reveals about power, culture, and control [23:39] How aligning with seasonal rhythms shifts your inner world during the darkest part of the year [28:56] Why the curated version of Christmas was engineered to replace chaotic, older winter traditions [36:30] What ancient myths about reindeer, mushrooms, and midwinter spirits hint about cultural blending [44:05] How the 13-night practice uses nature, dreams, and synchronicity to map the coming year Resources Mentioned: The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum | Book or Audiobook 13 Sacred Nights Oracle Deck by Lara J. Day | Website 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Lara: Lara J. Day | Facebook Lara J. Day | Website Lara J. Day | Instagram Lara J. Day | TikTok Get Lara's 13 Sacred Nights Oracle deck in time for the winter solstice here and use code Reclamation20 for 20% off your order. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Go to the Juvent Store and use code KELLY300 at checkout to get $300 off your purchase. You can head to lotuswei.com and use the code Kelly15 for 15% off.

How do I know if my sexual energy is healthy? Between attention-seeking and embodied confidence lives a messy gap. There is an old Madonna–whore tug-of-war that lives in many of us, and an archetypal maturation arc to reclaiming sexuality that won’t look the same for everyone. We start by noticing the judgments that flare and then gently trying on the characters we’ve rejected. Temptation to chase the gaze shows up, and it exposes the little parts that want to be applauded. The work is learning to relate to attention differently until the whole spectrum has a place. Press play to hear why developing a healthy relationship with your impulses changes everything. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [00:35] Why the question “Is my sexual energy healthy?” opens a doorway into your relationship with power [01:32] The difference between attention-seeking and embodied confidence in real life [02:44] How judgment toward “that kind of woman” reveals the parts of yourself asking to be reclaimed [04:09] What happens when you slowly step into the characters you’ve rejected [05:13] Why exploring erotic expression in movement can become a spiritual practice [06:02] The moment you realize your desire to be seen is a natural stage, not a flaw [07:08] How your relationship to the gaze evolves as you mature into self-sourced confidence [08:03] The reason skipping stages of feminine development keeps you stuck in judgment [09:00] Why trusting your impulses is the only true compass for authentic expression 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Resources Mentioned: The Spiritual Lessons I’ve Learned Through Pole Dance | Blog Dear Lover by David Deida and Marianne Williamson | Book The 3 Stages of Men & Women - Masculinity & Femininity | YouTube Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here.

Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. What if everything we’ve been told about birth, the body, and belonging to the system was backwards?  In this episode, I sit down with Veda Ray, a wife, a mother, and a guide for families reclaiming sovereignty through conception, pregnancy, and birth. Her work brings a calm, grounded clarity to topics that most of us were taught to fear, from ancestral trauma to the spiritual role of the placenta. She lives what she teaches, and her story begins long before the birth room. We trace how disconnection begins generations before conception, how modern birth rituals mirror that separation, and what it looks like to restore the bond to your body, your baby, and even your lineage. We go where few conversations dare to go: birth certificates, circumcision, and the quiet decision to raise children outside the system. You’ll see why remembering what’s natural isn’t rebellion, it’s homecoming. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [08:52] The turning point that forced Veda to stop outsourcing her health and trust her body again [16:03] How ancestral trauma can pass through generations, and what it takes to break the pattern before birth [19:47] The surprising imprint a mother’s first thoughts can leave on her baby [27:04] Why revisiting your own birth story can rewrite more than memories [35:56] What a lotus birth really is and the spiritual logic behind letting nature finish the process [47:15] How questioning routine procedures like circumcision can wake you up from medical hypnosis [55:59] The hidden legal meaning of a birth certificate and what opting out actually means [1:06:39] Why redefining motherhood beyond career or convenience can rewire your entire sense of purpose 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Resources Mentioned: The Business of Being Born | Documentary Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra by Robin Lim | Book The Elephant in the Hospital by Dr. Ryan McAllister | YouTube The Way Forward with Alec Zeck episode on The Great Birth Revival with Veda Ray | Spotify or Apple Find more from Veda Ray: Instagram: @veda.revival Youtube: @veda.revival Website: vedarevival.com Learn more about Veda's Your Sovereign Baby system here. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here.

Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. What if the cavity story is bigger than sugar and brushing?  In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nirvani, a leading dental surgeon who has gone holistic in over a decade of practice. Nirvani gets honest about the limits of germ theory in the mouth and the oral–body connection that keeps showing up in real cases. We get into cavities, root canals, wisdom teeth, and amalgams, then shift to what a day-to-day, truly holistic routine looks like. Expect tongue posture, chewing with intention, a five-minute face massage, and simple at-home care, alongside the emotional layer that many families notice but can’t quite name. You’ll hear a clear way to think about what each choice might mean for your whole system, without the hype. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [05:41] Why the “brush and floss more” story doesn’t explain what’s really going on in your mouth [12:19] What your teeth reveal about the rest of your body’s health [18:06] The surprising link between chronic inflammation, emotions, and dental pain [25:54] Why drilling and filling may not solve the deeper cause of decay [32:47] The mouth–gut connection that changes how you think about oral care [39:02] How to support your teeth naturally using minerals and mindful daily habits [45:38] The five-minute face massage that improves lymph flow and jaw tension [52:15] What tongue posture can teach you about your nervous system 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Dr. Nirvani: Instagram: @drnirvaniholistic Website: drnirvani.com YouTube: @Dr.Nirvani Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here. Learn more about the GLOW program here.

Learn more about Kelly's Relaxed Woman System here. To dive deeper, listen to Reclamation Radio episode Unmasking the Narcissist and How to stop being controlled by Ego. Even the darkest voice in your head is trying to help.  In this episode, I sit down with psychotherapist David Coates, trained in Internal Family Systems, to explore parts work with men. Together we trace how the mind operates like a family system of parts, and how those parts show up in relationships when they’re driving the bus. We also map the four extreme male strategies David has observed across years of clinical work and what shifts when they’re seen clearly. The problem is simple to name and hard to live with: when I blend with a part, it runs the show and pulls the relationship to the perimeter. The move is to unblend, get curious, and stay centered while refusing the bait. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [04:17] Why Internal Family Systems can finally make sense of your chaotic mind [06:01] How regulating your inner world stops the suffering loop you keep replaying outside yourself [08:12] The radical reason there are no “bad parts” because even suicidal thoughts have a protective logic [10:02] What happens when a therapist meets every part with zero agenda or judgment [14:55] The real patterns behind “toxic masculinity” and why labeling men as narcissists misses the point [20:46] How to recognize when you’re getting pulled into someone else’s chaos, and hold your own center [26:15] Why your partner’s most frustrating traits might just be old survival strategies [37:54] How reconnecting with exiled “little-boy” parts unlocks lost power and presence [51:15] What true healing looks like when an identity built on defense finally collapses 👉🏻 Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Dr. David Coates: David’s Book: Be Less Dickish Instagram: @belessdickish Facebook: Be Less Dickish Website: davidcoates.world Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here.

Ask Kelly your burning questions in our monthly Vital Life Project membership here. What if your body knows who to trust before your mind does? In this episode, I explore the distinction between discernment and being inflexible or judgmental, and why nervous-system safety matters. I look at how surrounding myself with people who share my values gave my system the signal it needed to read truth. I point to embodied examples of leadership where trust and betrayal are felt, not computed. The real shift is letting your body tell you who feels like an ally and where something feels off. Not everyone has to be everything to you. Some relationships are for deep safety, others are for a hike or a dance, and that’s healthy. When judgment shows up, it’s a mirror inviting you to own the part you’ve pushed into the shadows. Sometimes the smartest move is giving your body what it already needs. You’ll Learn: [00:00] Introduction [01:15] Why discernment isn’t about judgment but about nervous system safety [02:20] What binge-watching warrior shows taught me about embodied leadership [03:05] How to sense betrayal and trust through your body instead of logic [03:50] The real reason some people can’t engage in truth conversations [04:45] How to tell when someone’s nervous system can’t handle reality [05:10] Why different relationships serve different energetic purposes in your life [05:50] The healthy way to view relationships as conscious, reciprocal exchanges [06:05] How judgment reveals the parts of yourself still waiting to be loved Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here. Find more from Kelly: Instagram: @kellybroganmd Website: kellybroganmd.com Join Kelly's monthly membership, Vital Life Project here. Get Kelly’s new book The Reclaimed Woman here.