Why Awareness Isn’t Enough: Turning Therapy Insights Into Real Change

We often expect transformation to come from big breakthroughs, but as Hero and Psychotherapist Jen Baumgold explains, lasting change usually begins with the smallest shifts in day-to-day living. 

In this episode, Jen and Chandler talk through the daily work of integration by paying attention to the body, pausing before reacting, experimenting with new behaviors, and gently challenging long-held patterns. Jen shares accessible tools for regulating the nervous system, practicing boundaries, and rebuilding trust with yourself one decision at a time. 

What You Will Learn

• [00:07:31] Why awareness alone rarely creates change, and what gets in the way of turning insight into action
• [00:09:16] How letting go of a long-held belief (like stepping off the scale) can reconnect you to bodily knowing
• [00:14:48] The power of permission and small steps — why tiny experiments are often more sustainable than big overhauls
• [00:17:30] How to spot a pattern’s triggers and locate the sensation in your body so you can begin to work with it
• [00:21:13] Practical micro-habits for interrupting automatic reactions, like pausing before answering or waiting on emails
• [00:29:39] How EMDR supports integration by allowing you to access and reprocess material from a calmer, safer state
• [00:34:43] A simple nervous-system tool: using saliva or a small oral action to cue parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) activation
• [00:36:51] Why rebuilding self-trust — through boundaries, small decisions, and consistent practice — is core to lasting change

Let’s Connect!
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Cait DeMello

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Chandler Stroud

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Mixing and editing provided by Next Day Podcast.