Take What Serves. Leave the Rest.

"The OCD Blog" Founder Shares His Mental Health Story

Expressing his mental and emotional experience through drawing has been a healing outlet for Justin Jordan-Lake. He's now sharing his art through "The OCD Blog", providing light for others living with obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

In this week's episode, Bryan talks to Justin about his OCD journey, his approach to recovery, the intention behind "The OCD Blog", and much more.

You can follow "The OCD Blog" on Instagram: @theocdblog. 

As always, take what serves you - and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

What Does It Mean To "Be Gentle" With Yourself? Let's Discuss

What does it mean to be gentle with yourself? 

In the fast-paced world we find ourselves in, it can sometimes be hard to cultivate a sense of gentleness towards ourselves. Bryan explores this more deeply with Dr. Anastasia Ristau in this week's episode. 

They discuss how "being gentle" may look different for everyone, how a gentle action towards ourself may vary depending on what we're experiencing in the moment, and much more. 

Dr. Ristau is a Licensed Psychologist, and the Director of Psychotherapeutics at PrairieCare. 

As always, take what serves you - and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Reframing OCD Treatment as a Spiritual Practice with Reverend Katie O'Dunne

Many people with OCD experience obsessions related to God, spirituality, and their faith. Reverend Katie O'Dunn is helping bridge the gap between spiritual traditions and effective treatment for OCD. 

In this episode, Bryan talks to Katie about religious and moral scrupulosity and how it can manifest for some people living with OCD. She also talks about how she is reframing effective OCD treatment as a spiritual practice, and how she's seen therapy help people deepen their relationship with God. Katie also shares her own personal journey of living with OCD. 

Katie is an ordained minister and interfaith chaplain. She is also the Founder and Director of "Stick with the Ick", and lead advocate for the International OCD Foundation. Katie shares that running is a spiritual practice for her and - as an endurance athlete - she is working towards running an ultra marathon in every state to raise awareness about OCD. 

Follow Katie on Instagram: @revkrunsbeyondocd
Visit her website here. 

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Creating Space To Acknowledge, Feel and Express Our Emotions

Learning to truly lean in, feel, and express what is arising in our body is some of the most nuanced and deep work we can step into as a human being. Especially living in a world that is often telling us to keep our emotions hidden. 

In this episode, Bryan talks to Dr. Anastasia Ristau about the process of honoring our own emotional landscape. As mentioned in the episode, this conversation was inspired by this video on TikTok. 

Bryan and Dr. Ristau talk about the courage it takes to trust the process when an emotion arises, holding space for others when they are maneuvering an emotion - and much more.

Dr. Ristau is a Licensed Psychologist and the Director of Psychotherapeutics at PrairieCare. 

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Mental Compulsions, Mindfulness & Maneuvering "Pure OCD" with Lauren Rosen

Lauren Rosen started experiencing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) when she was seven years old, and wouldn't be properly diagnosed for 17 years. She's now transformed her own journey into a career as a mental health therapist supporting people living with OCD.

In this episode, Bryan talks to Lauren about her mental health story, the manifestation of OCD often referred to as "Pure OCD", mindfulness, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, and much more. 

Lauren is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California, Founder of "The Center for the Obsessive Mind", and co-host of the Purely OCD podcast. 

You can follow Lauren on Instagram: @theobsessivemind.

If you are interested in working with Bryan you can click here to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation for OCD & anxiety therapy in the state of Minnesota. You can also email him at bryan@stateofmindtherapy.com.

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Grief, Celebrating Average & Being Honest About Our Pain with Colleen Lindstrom

In a world that is constantly telling us we need to be perfect, Colleen Lindstrom is on a mission to help us all celebrate the beauty in the average of life. 

In this episode, Colleen joins Bryan and Kelly Grosklags of the "See My Grief" podcast. Colleen is a former radio host in the Twin Cities, creator of The Bronze Medal Life and host of The Bronze Medal Life podcast. 

Colleen shares more about The Bronze Medal Life and her relationship with grief after the loss of her three month old daughter. Colleen, Kelly and Bryan also discuss being honest with others about our pain, and much more. 

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Life Is A Journey, Not A Destination: Shifting Awareness To The Moment

There is deep messaging in our world that happiness is somewhere off in the future.

"I'll be happy when...".

While setting goals and working towards things we want to create can be deeply powerful, the journey that we take to get there can often get lost in the mix. 

In this episode, Bryan talks to Dr. Anastasia Ristau about the idea that life is a journey that we are all on, not a destination that we arrive at. They discuss being open to the detours along the way in life, connecting to the subtle nature of the present moment, showing up before we are ready, and much more. 

Dr. Ristau is a licensed psychologist and the Director of Psychotherapeutics at PrairieCare. 

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Creating Space For What Arises This Holiday Season

The holidays are a beautiful time of the year, and can also be very tender for some of us. 

In this week's episode, Bryan talks to Dr. Anastasia Ristau about creating space for what arises this holiday season when it comes to our mental and emotional health. 

They discuss the shifting of routines that often happens, listening to signals from our bodies that we need some self care, creating new traditions, and much more. 

Dr. Ristau is a licensed psychologist and the Director of Psychotherapeutics at Prairiecare. 

As always, take what serves you - and leave the rest. 

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Maneuvering Flying Anxiety with Jenny Matthews

Getting on an airplane activates anxiety for many people. 

In this week's episode, Bryan talks to Jenny Matthews about maneuvering flying anxiety. 

Jenny is a licensed mental health therapist, and founder of State of Mind Therapy. 

Jenny talks about her personal experience with flying anxiety, different core fears that people often have when getting on an airplane, and ways to maneuvering the anxiety when it arrives before and during the flight. 

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

Follow Jenny on Instagram: @state.of.mind.therapy

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)

Photographer Jared Fessler Shares His Experience with Anxiety

You can often find Jared Fessler up close and personal at concerts in the Twin Cities, photographing artists from Taylor Swift to Queen. All experiences that would have been extremely difficult for him several years ago he was struggling with intense anxiety. 

In this episode, Bryan talks to Jared about how anxiety forced him to start avoiding places like large crowds and driving in the car. He also shares how anxiety latched onto the fear of getting sick, working through resistance to mental health medication, and much more. 

As always - take what serves you, and leave the rest. 

You can check out Jared's website here.

Follow him on Instagram: @jaredfesslerphotography & @jarredfessler

(This podcast is not meant to replace therapy. If you feel you need it, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health professional)