Tell Me Something True with Laura McKowen

What if you could step off the rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows? What if the pain that comes with taking everything personally could taper and largely disappear? THAT’S the promise of emotional sobriety, and Veronica Valli is one of the most steady, sane, helpful voices when it comes to that murky topic. Veronica is a woman in long-term recovery, a therapist, a sobriety coach, founder of the Soberful program, a co-host of the Soberful podcast, and the author of three books, the most recent of which, Soberful: Uncover a Sustainable, Fulfilling Life Free of Alcohol, will be published on January 25. On this episode of TMST, we get into how emotional sobriety does, and doesn’t, relate to abstinence from substance or process addictions. What emotional sobriety actually means, why it’s something everyone (not just people in recovery) has to do if they want healthy relationships, because no matter what, “the hardest thing any human being has to do is deal with other people.” Veronica’s site: https://www.veronicavalli.com/ The Soberful podcast: https://soberful.com/ Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2loOl3NNSDWcCu4P2eiYJL?si=8037f210931b423d&nd=1 Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

John Richards is the morning drive host at KEXP, Seattle. For decades, he’s been the soundtrack to the lives of people starting their day, handpicking every record and building a global fanbase. The thing to understand about John is that he’s on a mission than transcends playing cool tunes. John and KEXP are using their collective platform to carry the message that we’re not alone. That we are loved. That there’s a reason to get up every day. He is charming and funny, even when sharing about his battles with anxiety and depression. I think he’s a powerful role model for how our struggles don’t define us - and that we can put the hard times to good use. John’s site: https://djjohnrichards.com/ The Dr. & the DJ podcast: https://thedrandthedj.com/ Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KC79Kr9eZ24TVXrwnBL7E Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

In this engaging conversation, Sharon Adams, a master trainer in emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, shares her profound insights on navigating emotions in our lives. She emphasizes the importance of emotional awareness for empathy and strong relationships. Sharon discusses concepts like emotional granularity and the mood meter, illustrating how they can enhance workplace dynamics. The chat also tackles the challenges of diversity and unconscious bias, urging us to foster open dialogues for growth and understanding.

What if life wasn’t an endless series of zero-sum, high stakes experiences? Leonard Perlmutter is asking these and many other questions, and he's doing it in a lovely, humble way. He’s a meditation teacher, an author, and has a unique ability to make complicated things clear. He founded the American Meditation Institute in Albany, New York in 1996, and in the years since they've touched tens of thousands of lives through their classes and meditation, yoga and integrated health. Don’t be fooled by his easy-going, humble manner - Leonard drops solid gold every few minutes. This is an episode that you’ll go back to several times to wring out all of the goodness. Why Meditate?: https://americanmeditation.org/why-meditate/ The American Meditation Institute: https://americanmeditation.org/ AMI’s Foundation Meditation Course: https://americanmeditation.org/ami-meditation-course/ Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3lOKGXLAL42y5rnEI606zF Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

Laura offers two poems today: one of her favorites, one of her own. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating. And to all, a big heap of gratitude and mystery from all of us at Tell Me Something True. The Sleepless ones by Lawrence Tirnauer https://drkarinlawson.com/the-sleepless-ones/ You could be soft instead by Laura McKowen https://www.lauramckowen.com/blog/2019-3-11-you-could-be-soft Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

This week, we turned it over to you! In the first Ask Me Anything (AMA) episode, Laura answers four questions from our listener community. She talks about why she does this show, whether or not she’d ever do another sobriety-specific show, how to choose creative projects, the truths and fallacies of the whole “you must love yourself before you can be loved by others” saying, talking about new sobriety and the importance of choosing who you tell, and making friends as an adult, especially a sober one! This was really fun and we’ll do it again. Ira Glass on creativity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbC4gqZGPSY 650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/learning/lesson-plans/650-prompts-for-narrative-and-personal-writing.html Submit a question for future episodes by becoming a member: https://tmstpod.circle.so/c/submit-qs-for-laura/submit-a-question-to-be-answered-live-on-the-show Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2bhVj8EF02STFdwCLBHpGO?si=3xkOkJrHQ2CcPsgzYhKiuQ Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

What would you do if someone said you could “find comfort for the most vexing questions in our digitized lives in the wisdom of 19th c. European philosophers”? Sara Kuburic has taken up that challenge. Through her online persona as The Millennial Therapist and in private practice, Sara’s training as an existential psychotherapist integrates modern mental health knowledge with some of the most complex Western thought. Sara’s work provides a thrillingly lucid, concise and grounding response to The Big Questions. Bonus… she’s funny, engaging, and our time together flew by! You can find Sara here: https://www.sara-kuburic.com/ The Millennial Therapist IG account (a must-follow:) https://www.instagram.com/millennial.therapist/ Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KkM9nu9EV2Jhe9SHbcusX?si=a9550c0642444b87&nd=1 Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

What if the hard thing you didn’t want to share was also the thing that made you most human and brought people closer? Anna Sale knows A LOT about this. Anna is the creator of Death, Sex & Money, a podcast about “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.” She is also the author of Let’s Talk About Hard Things, which is an invitation to discuss the tough topics that all of us encounter. The New Yorker said it’s “like a good conversation with a friend” and we agree! Anna has this calm, resolute quality that zeroes in on what matters and then the patience to let some magical moments rise to the surface. In this episode, Anna and Laura talk about working through issues around money, how we see ourselves after divorce, and the power of going first. If you haven’t already, please make sure you check out Death, Sex & Money and enjoy! You can find Anna here: https://www.annasale.com/ Get your Death, Sex & Money here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/deathsexmoney Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/09ooYTs6KWhpuZpbsQZeYL Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

When was the last time an artist took you by the hand and said, “Here, let me show you how the world looks through my eyes”? Frank X. Walker is Kentucky’s former poet laureate and one of the co-founders of the Affrilachian Poets - a grassroots group of poets of color living in the Appalachian region. Thirty years after their founding, the Affrilachian Poets continue to dismantle the idea that Appalachia is a white region, devoid of literature and the arts. For decades, Frank’s work has embodied a deeply personal approach and challenged us to see poetry as an urgent voice that can touch on our experience of living in a way other written works can’t. Today, Frank is the Director of the MFA program of the University of Kentucky and he’s mentored hundreds of artists along their path. He’s the author and editor of a dozen books of poetry and, as you’ll hear, Frank is a lovely, thoughtful, and really cool guy. You can find Frank here: http://frankxwalker.com/index.html Check out his books here: http://frankxwalker.com/books.html Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0djkPzw8PWwpv9qaixNZkX Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/

What if social media scrolling was the latest version of the mythical Labyrinth? An elaborate, confusing structure intended to keep the Minotaur (you) from escaping. Jane Clapp is a Toronto-based Jungian Somatics teacher who left social media because she knew it was making her sick. Her answer to the question “WHY is it making me sick?” tapped the deep wisdom of concepts like archetypes, complexes, and the collective unconscious. That twitchy anxiety we feel from all the FOMO and YOLO isn’t an accident. It’s proof that technologists and advertisers are succeeding in tapping our deepest desires to keep us trapped in the labyrinthine scroll. This one went to places we weren’t expecting and we can’t wait to hear what you think! You can find Jane here: https://www.janeclapp.com/ Jane has a pre-recorded webinar “Social Media: Your Body and Your Psyche:” https://www.janeclapp.com/products/socialmedia Spotify playlist for this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Dzi40SHcEcFobVrw3ZPBe Tell Me Something True is a 100% independent podcast. There are no corporations or advertisers backing this community. We are 100% funded by the TMST community. Support TMST today so you can hear the uncut interviews, attend private events with Laura and help keep TMST ad-free: https://tmst.supercast.com/