Earth to Gert

In this episode, I'm sharing journal entries from 2021, when this podcast was nothing more than a terrifying dream, and older thoughts from a time when I didn't want to stay alive. Thoughts I have never admitted out loud before. 
Someone recently asked me, "How do you stay on this side of the glass?"
This is my answer.
In this episode, I talk about the tools that slowly rebuilt my brain and my life—sleep, movement, food, breathwork, meditation, journaling, counseling, nature, connection, purpose, and so much more. Not because they're magic, but because together they've helped carry me from surviving... to genuinely loving my life.
If you've ever wondered what healing actually looks like behind the scenes, this episode is for you.
And if you're struggling right now, I hope it reminds you of one thing:
People care, keep talking!
❤️ If this episode resonates with you, please share it with someone who might need to hear it. You never know whose life a conversation could change.
 
Content Note: Thess episodes contains discussions of anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts.
The stories, opinions, and information shared on Earth to Gert are based on personal experiences and are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.  I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, psychologist, or medical provider.
Nothing in this podcast should be considered medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a qualified healthcare professional. And if you're experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call 911, contact 988, or seek immediate support from a crisis professional.
As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and be kind to yourself along the way.

In this week's episode, Dani shares the unbelievable story of how she went from a stable life in a small town to addiction, overdoses, drug trafficking, a SWAT raid, jail, and the possibility of spending 10–20 years in prison.
But this isn't a story about losing everything.
It's a story about finding herself.
We talk about the connection between trauma and addiction, the healing power of recovery, EMDR, inner child work, and why the hardest work you'll ever do is often the work that sets you free. Today, Dani works alongside judges, advocates for people in recovery, and returns to the very jail where she once believed her life was over—this time to bring hope to others.
This conversation is raw, honest, heartbreaking, hilarious in places, and ultimately one of the most inspiring stories of redemption I've had the privilege to share.
If you've ever wondered whether it's possible to come back from rock bottom, this episode is proof that your past doesn't have to define your future.
 
Content Note: Thess episodes contains discussions of anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts.
The stories, opinions, and information shared on Earth to Gert are based on personal experiences and are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.  I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, psychologist, or medical provider.
Nothing in this podcast should be considered medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a qualified healthcare professional. And if you're experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call 911, contact 988, or seek immediate support from a crisis professional.
As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and be kind to yourself along the way.

In this episode of Earth to Gert, I sat down with my buddy Terry, who I met at KOS Sauna, and had an honest discussion about healing, community, and what it means to truly connect with other people.
We talk about the different ways anxiety and depression can show up, the courage it takes to ask for help, finding joy again after difficult seasons of life, learning to be alone, inner child work, psilocybin, social media, and why building real community may be one of the most powerful tools we have for protecting our mental health.
I am so grateful to Terry for coming on and sharing his experiences and for the healing space of the sauna 💜🤍
 
Content Note: Thess episodes contains discussions of anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts.
The stories, opinions, and information shared on Earth to Gert are based on personal experiences and are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.  I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, psychologist, or medical provider.
Nothing in this podcast should be considered medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a qualified healthcare professional. And if you're experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call 911, contact 988, or seek immediate support from a crisis professional.
As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and be kind to yourself along the way.

This week I sit down with my friend Tom to talk about men's mental health.
What started as one conversation turned into many—anxiety, therapy, fatherhood, vulnerability, people-pleasing, community, and the stories we carry from childhood.
As usual, I cried.
I'm grateful to Tom for showing up honestly and helping create the kind of conversation I think more of us need to have 🤍
 
Content Note: This podcast contains discussions of anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts.
The stories, opinions, and information shared on Earth to Gert are based on personal experiences and are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.  I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, psychologist, or medical provider.
Nothing in this podcast should be considered medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a qualified healthcare professional. And if you're experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call 911, contact 988, or seek immediate support from a crisis professional.
As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and give yourself grace along the way.

June is Men's Mental Health Month, and for this episode I'm sharing something a little different.
Over the years, some of the people who have reached out to me most about mental health have been men. Friends, coworkers, family members, and people I never expected. Yet when it comes to talking openly about anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts, many men still feel pressure to stay silent.
In this episode, I read the story of an anonymous friend who has lived with anxiety and panic disorder for most of his life. From childhood worries and panic attacks to health anxiety, medication, therapy, and learning how to cope, he shares what it's really like to live inside an anxious mind.
If you've ever struggled with anxiety, or if you love someone who has, I think you'll see pieces of yourself in this story.
And if you're a guy who's been carrying it all alone, this one's especially for you.
 
Content Note: This episode contains discussions of anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts.
The stories, opinions, and information shared on Earth to Gert are based on personal experiences and are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.  I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, psychologist, or medical provider.
Nothing in this podcast should be considered medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a qualified healthcare professional. And if you're experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call 911, contact 988, or seek immediate support from a crisis professional.
As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and be kind to yourself along the way.

In this episode, I sit down with my sister Kim and give her an update on my EMDR journey and share more of the process with her.
We talk about some of the memories, experiences, and family dynamics that have come up as I've worked to better understand my anxiety, depression, insecurities, and the ways my childhood shaped the person I became. Along the way, we get into some difficult conversations about our upbringing, including physical abuse, generational patterns, and the complicated reality that understanding our parents isn't the same thing as excusing the harm.
As always, this conversation isn't about blame. It's about curiosity, healing, and making sense of the stories that helped shape us.
This one is raw, imperfect, and was super hard to share—but I think that's exactly why it matters.

This week’s episode is vulnerable, emotional, and probably one of the most difficult thing I’ve shared.
What started as a simple intro somehow turned into a live emotional breakdown, reflections on healing, and the decision to finally release a collection of EMDR audio journals that I recorded during a really difficult stretch this past winter.
These recordings were raw check-ins from the middle of the work — conversations about anxiety, depression, shame, childhood wounds, feeling like a burden, learning how to receive love, and what happens when therapy starts pulling old pain to the surface.
This episode is what healing sometimes actually sounds like: awkward pauses, crying, overthinking, nervous system exhaustion, small breakthroughs, and trying to stay present through all of it.
If you’ve ever felt emotionally “too much,” struggled to feel safe being vulnerable, or found yourself somewhere between breaking down and healing… this one might hit home.

In this episode of Earth to Gert, I sit down with my sister Kim and my niece Reagan for a conversation about generational trauma, anxiety, survival mode, and how the emotional environments we grow up in shape us in ways we don’t always understand until later in life.
We talk about parenting differently than the generations before us, how anxiety and hypervigilance can quietly get passed down, and what it’s like to look back on childhood through adult eyes. We also dive into the idea of epigenetics and the growing understanding that trauma, stress, environment, and nervous system patterns may impact future generations in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
This conversation touches on counseling, EMDR, survival mode, emotional disconnection, single motherhood, grief, and the realization that sometimes our parents were just humans trying to survive too.
More than anything, this episode is about understanding instead of blame.
About asking “why?” instead of just judging the behaviors we developed to cope.
And about realizing that healing ourselves may also help heal the generations that came before — and the ones that come after.
As always, thank you so much for listening.
And a huge thank you to Kim and Reagan for their openness, vulnerability, humor, and willingness to have these conversations out loud. 

Welcome back to season two of Earth to Gert💜
In this episode, I talk about the mental and emotional work I’ve been doing this off season, and what it’s felt like to move through grief, healing, more EMDR therapy, and some really big life changes. From starting a new job in mental health to realizing my kids are actually about to leave for college (which feels rude, honestly), this season starts from a very real place.
I also share the story of finally reaching out to someone I’ve not-so-secretly had a crush on for basically my entire life — local firefighter Micki Guy — and how this podcast brought us together just weeks before her devastating accident.
This episode is about healing, timing, vulnerability, growth, awkward lesbian panic, and learning how to keep creating even when life completely knocks you on your ass.
I’m really grateful you’re here 

 
In this heartfelt episode, I  reflect on a transformative nine-year journey through counseling. I discuss the impact of counseling and the various therapeutic tools used for me mental health and personal growth. Conversations delve into the power of vulnerability, the significance of relationships, and the role of gratitude in finding inner peace. Real-life journal entries from 2019 and 2020 highlight the challenges and triumphs experienced along the way. The episode also addresses the importance of intentional living, the interplay between body and mind, and the dynamic nature of healing. Tune in to discover how consistent counseling and the incorporation of holistic practices can lead to profound personal growth and resilience.