The Nativist

Heal for Real

This is for you if: you’re always tired - no matter how much sleep you get; you have more questions than answers regarding your health/body; you’ve ever experienced chronic illness/pain; you feel like you’re battling your metabolism; you have lingering health questions that are never quite satisfactorily answered; you feel OK now but want to feel as great as possible in 10, 20, 30 years; you want to optimize your health and nutrition; you feel like you’re at war with your skin (this is especially for you)

And if you love inspiring stories - you’ll like this.

In this episode, I talk to Jackie Lee Gibbs, who shares her self-transformation journey of healing from severe acne following the Medical Medium protocol. Jackie tells us what she did to radically transform her skin, and how doing so led to an internal transformation as well. 

Though we do talk skincare, this conversation extends far beyond that into general health and wellness. We discuss facing and navigating adversity, trusting yourself and your body, investing in your health, and leveraging your experience to help others.

More than anything, this episode is a message of hope: for those of us feeling discouraged/betrayed by our body/lost/overwhelmed/confused. This is for you.

I highly encourage you to further explore the Medical Medium’s work, whether through his blog here , his Instagram account @medicalmedium, his podcast (iTunes/Apple Podcasts/Spotify), or his books. Your mind will be blown. I spent several years and countless hours seeking and researching answers, seeing multiple specialists and spending thousands of dollars, only to end up with no relief or answers for my health issues. The answers I received never quite explained everything or fully connected. It was only when I read Anthony William’s (the Medical Medium) information that everything.finally.clicked. Everything. 

I’m a believer.

You can find Jackie on Instagram @myskintruth where she shares tips on caring for your skin internally and externally, gentle skincare and skin-healing tools, healing plants and recipes, skin-healing inspiration and compassion, kitchen tips and tricks, the healing process, and her self-transformation journey. If you’d like to work with her, you can contact her via her website: www.jackieleegibbs.com 

Taking Accountability and Regulating Emotions

This episode is not only per request, but it's also an area I've specifically wanted to cover.

If you want help setting/respecting boundaries, this is for you. If you seek insight on interacting with humans - in whatever capacity - this is for you. If you desire guidance on living a more effective and fulfilled life, this is for you.

In this solo episode, I discuss what happens when we/others don't take accountability for our actions, and responsibility for regulating our emotions. I provide tips on emotional self-regulation. 

You can find me on Instagram @the_nativist or Facebook @TheNativist or @WhitneyRichardson

Addiction Series 6: My Best Friend Was Addicted to Painkillers

The latest installment of The Nativist’s addiction series is a gut punch.

My incredible friend Jessie Enander shares the heartbreaking - and tragically relevant - story of how painkillers destroyed her best friend’s life.

Jessie talks about how her friend, a stay-at-home mother, fell prey to the horrors of addiction. Jessie describes the addiction’s progression and symptoms, and how terrifyingly easy it is to obtain and get hooked on heavy pain pills.

Jessie candidly tells us her reactions and emotions throughout the experience. She emphasizes the importance of compassion and recognizing the person beneath the addiction. She identifies what she wishes she would have known then, and how she wishes she would’ve handled it.

It’s a moving, informative, profound, and necessary part in my ongoing effort to normalize conversations on addiction.

The resource Jessie shares is www.shatterproof.org , an invaluable resource that works to end the stigma and provide help by informing, connecting, and guiding addicts and their loved ones through addiction.

 

You can find Jessie on Instagram @themomhatter

Addiction Series Part 5: My Husband Overcame Alcoholism

Today’s episode is moving, it’s enlightening, it’s illuminating, it’s inspiring… It’s as remarkable as the woman who shares it: Mindy Cervantes​.

Mindy candidly and compassionately shares her story of being married to someone addicted to alcohol. She takes us through how it began, how it progressed, and how it resolved. She outlines what steps she took on her end to empower and heal herself, so she could deal with the issue, and notes how those steps actually revolutionized not only her relationship with her husband, but also her relationship with herself and others. She talks about what realizations she had and lessons she learned. She highlights the importance of doing our own work, whether we’re the addict or we’re supporting one.  

She answers the million dollar question of what was finally the catalyst for change. She spotlights the less-often discussed phase of navigating post-sobriety and its accompanying questions and considerations. 

As in past episodes, we emphasize addiction touches us all, whether directly or indirectly. 

The website Mindy mentions is www.loveoveraddiction, where you can also find the podcast.

Find and follow Mindy on Facebook @MindyCervantes and Instagram @mindy.d.cervantes

Addiction Series Part 4: Ally Not Enabler

Another hard-hitting and stellar conversation in my ongoing series on addiction.

Today’s guest is Hallie Hanohano-Erickson, who shares her perspective of a loved one watching her brother and “brother-in-law” experience drug addiction.

Hallie candidly speaks on her emotional evolution, and what she did to help her process and understand the experience. Hallie highlights signs to look for, and realizations to keep in mind. Hallie remarks on how she would have responded differently, knowing what she knows now, and what she’s learned during the journey, such as how to be an ally, not an enabler.

The podcast Hallie references is Last Day by Stephanie Wittels Wachs. The podcast I reference is Armchair Expert, particularly Episode 87 with Johann Hari from March 14, 2019 (exactly two years ago!).

Please excuse the inexplicable “swamp monster” sound you occasionally hear in the background. We tried identifying the cause, but no such luck. If you power through, it’s totally worth it.

Connect with me on Instagram @the_nativist

Addiction Series Part 3: My Dad Was an Alcoholic

The series on addiction continues. In this episode, my long-time amiga Nicholia speaks on addiction in general and alcoholism in particular. Not only has Nicholia specifically taught on the subject to her high school students, but she also personally experienced it in her home growing up (and into adulthood).

Nicholia shares her experience of having an alcoholic parent, and how that affected her own parenting. She describes how her mother’s approach to it was especially impactful to Nicholia, as a person and as a mother herself.

She tells us about the scary close call that finally led to her father’s sobriety, after doubting it would ever happen.

We discuss generational trauma and how our current habits (and addictions) impact not only us, but our posterity. We emphasize the importance of digging into the discomfort and facing your demons, to heal and prevent generational and current trauma.

Nicholia gifts us with wisdom and a gorgeous message of hope.

 

You can find Nicholia on Instagram @alwaysalittlelippy

I Was Addicted to Porn

In the second installment of my addiction series, our guest shares his experience being addicted to porn. In the first installment, we heard the perspective of a spouse; this time, we hear directly from the addict. Eric Gallup explains what led him to pornography and his unhealthy relationship with it. He discusses what drove him to pornography, and whether or not it reflected his contentment with his partner and marriage. Eric reflects on how he climbed from rock bottom to the happy, healthy, uplifting, grateful person he is today as a life coach. Not only does this episode highlight addiction truths, but life lessons as well.

 

You can follow Eric Gallup on Facebook. On there, he also has his Curative Coaching page if you’d like to hire him as your life coach.

My Spouse Was Addicted to Porn

The first part of a series on the relevant topic of addiction. 

In this episode, Reagan Garrett candidly shares her story of having a spouse addicted to porn. As a new mom and wife at the tender age of 17, Reagan tells us how she discovered the addiction, and what she did with that information. She speaks on her initial and subsequent reactions, her thoughts, her coping methods, her recommendations, and her current views on the matter.

Though widespread, addiction is still stigmatized, hushed, shamed, and (I feel) generally misunderstood.

But it affects all of us (whether you realize it or not) directly and indirectly. So let’s talk about it.

Most of us are addicted to something (whether we realize/acknowledge it or not), and we arbitrarily determine which addictions are respectable. 

There are multiple manifestations, experiences, and contributing factors regarding addiction. This series is to normalize this conversation. To offer various perspectives and angles, from addicts and from those who love them. These views/experiences may differ from your own. Good. I hope so.

This is part of The Nativist’s broader purpose of sharing stories and views, to connect to ourselves and others; to nurture empathy and inspire us to look outside our personal experience and perspective, so we may learn, grow, understand, and live more fully. 

(Please excuse the poor audio quality on this episode. It’s worth it.)

If you’d like to connect with Reagan to share/relate to your own experience, you may find her on Instagram @reagang_

 

THANK YOU for caring. This matters.

 

Opinions Are Like...

It’s true: we all have them. There’s nothing wrong with having them, but it does become problematic when you don’t recognize them for what they are: your opinion.

In this brief solo episode that’s ever relevant in this increasingly polarized environment, I clarify what an opinion is and isn’t; I discuss what drives opinions and how to change them…and release the need to change them; I cover addressing misperceptions; I remark on respecting, asserting, and receiving opinions; I touch on differentiating among our individual realities; and I offer guidance on striking the balance between speaking your truth and considering others’.

Victor Not Victim: Fighting Not Fleeing

What. A. Story. From go go dancing to going the distance, Shauna Aranton’s life reads like a movie, full of dramatic moments and life lessons.

In this episode, Shauna shares her journey of learning to stay and fight for what she wants rather than fleeing from what she doesn’t, whether it’s a relationship, a career, or anything else. She now has the career and marriage of her dreams, but they came through grit, determination, and hard work. And this girl on fire isn’t done: Shauna is still in hot pursuit of achieving her ultimate dream of becoming a nurse practitioner and earning a PhD so she may further help the kids of Nevada. She also speaks on working in a hospital in the midst of a pandemic, and the stress that incurs. Healthcare workers are true angels.

It’s a fun, easy, entertaining, INSPIRING listen.

You can find Shauna on Instagram at @shaunaleesinner

If you listen, like, and are so inclined, I would truly appreciate if you subscribe/rate/review!

Thank you!