Does your relationship have "communication problems?" Do you often feel like your spouse is talking "at" you instead of "with" you? In this episode of the Soul Healing Love Podcast we explore with Amanda and guest speakers, Drs. Bev and Tom Rodgers, that communication problems are typically more than they appear on the surface. Most communication problems are not the inability to talk to each other, but an inability to recognize that we are filtering tough conversations through our past soul wounds, traumas, assumptions and projections. This can often lead to reactivity in both parties and a breakdown in communication as a result. The Rodgers go on to explain that there is healing when we dig deeper to understand our own wounds and take ownership of them using the Soul Healing Love Model. In a few practical steps, they give guidance on how to regulate your nervous system, take ownership of your fears, and create emotional safety in the relationship, so healthy communication can return.

This is part 3 of of 6 on our Neurodivergent side quest, how ADHD affects boys and men. While women get "lost in the diagnostic shuffle", boys tend to get diagnosed early on because with testosterone they tend to be more likely to have the hallmark Hyperactivity and Impulsivity. They're more likely to be the kids that just can't sit still in class and blurt out answers, but while they're more easily diagnosed, they tend to bear so much more shame over the years.

So often when men come to counseling dealing with ADHD in adulthood they'll lament "I just don't think I'm where I should be in life" because of the societal standards imposed on these men early on. They also tend to have dopamine dysregulation which lends itself to addictive tendencies. They also can struggle with emotion regulation leading to anger outbursts and road rage.

As always, as well, ADHD is not all bad! Men with ADHD are creative, playful, and make fantastic entrepreneurs!

Learn more about ADHD in men…and maybe share with a friend!

Amanda is joined by Rachel Cunningham-two women with ADHD talking about how ADHD affects women specifically. It's not uncommon for girls and women to be misdiagnosed as ADHD presents differently for girls than boys, so many women find out later in life they their lifelong struggles are actually ADHD related. Amanda and Rachel share some of their own life experiences with time blindness, co-occurring anxiety, and increase rejection sensitivity. Learn common ADHD struggles as women progress through life into adulthood and motherhood and the role of shame in their lives and how Rachel and Amanda fight the shame. They also share how they uniquely have found ways to manage the forgetfulness and organization challenges common to ADHD-ers. Please listen, share, and let us know what you think!

Join Amanda as she embarks on a neurodivergent side quest with her neurodivergent bestie and fellow RCCA counselor Rachel Cunningham. Neurodivergence is a term that typically refers to people who have ADHD and/or autism and have a neurodivergent rather than neurotypical brain.

This particular neurodivergent side quest focuses on ADHD-and mirrors an ADHDers hyper focus special interest topic, where we with ADHD go down a rabbit hole on a novel favorite topic! Learn specifically what is ADHD, how dopamine affects the brain and the ADHD brain in particular, and begin to understand how neurodivergence affects the lives of so many.

This is the first in a six episode side quest on all things ADHD. If it's helpful, please share and follow so you don't miss more!

Happy Holidays from us at Soul Healing Love! Amanda is joined by Rachel Cunningham, a fellow therapist at Rodgers Christian Counseling with a helpful list of Do's and Don'ts for the Holiday season. Often times we enter the Holidays with unrealistic expectations and hopes for change that aren't based in reality. What you can expect of Uncle Joe is that he will mostly do what he's always done. Listen in for tips about how to have realistic expectations, topics to avoid and others to focus on, and ways to decide what are the healthiest boundaries for you to set with friends and family during the Holidays.

TRIGGER WARNING: there is discussion of suicide, suicidal thoughts and other issues around the topic of suicide. Join Amanda as she talks with two amazing guests. She's joined by two great minds behind For Students, an organization dedicated to equipping students with tools for lifelong emotional health and suicide prevention. Whitney D'Allaird is a wife, mother first and also Executive Director of this amazing organization. And Ed Williams is a former teacher and student leader turned Programming Director with For Students. Whitney and Ed share about the vision behind For Students and Whitney shares her family's story of loss of her beloved oldest son Tyler. She shares her pain, her grief and how ultimately this led her to start an organization in hopes that no parent would ever feel her pain again. Amanda leads a discussion around coming myths of suicide—things like "no one will miss me, I'm a burden, and suicidal ideas are just a means to get attention"—to help people further understand the complexity behind a person's desire to take their own life. Whitney and Ed offer insights into how they've had firsthand experience with students to help More people understand how to face suicidal thoughts in themselves and loved ones in hopes that their pain can be met and transformed. To learn more about Whitney and Ed's mission please visit www.ForStudents.org or Instagram @forstudentsclt If you yourself are thinking of taking your own life, please right now call a trusted friend, call 988, AND text TALK to 741741. Yes, please do all 3!! Because we promise whatever thoughts your suicidal self are telling you are not true. You are a life worth saving and you deserve to hear that from at least 3 sources! And… keep fighting! You are not alone.