Love & Life with Dr. Karin & Pastor Elliott

Psychiatric nurse and Love & Life favorite David Wayne returns to the show today as we continue our series examining drugs that most of us consider completely safe, effective, and harmless. In this conversation, we discuss one of the most commonly prescribed drugs: antidepressants.

David witnessed firsthand how these drugs had profound impacts on the health of his patients…

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t good.

More than the ...

Today we continue my conversation with Lori Wold as we discuss how Lori's daughter Dana's world was turned upside after taking just 6 pills of a routine antibiotic.

In Part 2, we talk about ways Dana was able to regain parts of her life back as well as providing support for those who have experienced similar injuries.

This episode is the second installment in a new series examining drugs most of us consider completely s...

Dana was a 29-year-old musician living in Chicago—perfectly fit and healthy. Until she took a routinely prescribed antibiotic for a urinary tract infection.

After taking just 6 pills, she began to feel horribly ill. Her limbs tingled and went numb—to the point where Dana had to pull over to the side of Lake Shore 

Drive using her knees to guide the steering wheel.

Her life was never the same.

She moved back home to live...

As a first time mom, Dani couldn’t wait for her bundle of joy to arrive!

She expected a huge transition, of course. But then again, she couldn’t full prepare for some elements she’d experience. For example, their baby was born with a heart condition which, obviously, complicated matters.

She and her husband also had to adjust their marital dynamics to accommodate the demands of caring for an infant—as do all new parents.

How did they ...

Elliott was talking to his wife, Angie, about our series for new parents.

As a mom of four babies within two years, Angie had plenty of thoughts around this topic!

She suggested some themes we could explore in today’s episode:

• How to embrace your brand new identity of “mother” and “father.”
• Recognizing your self-concept may alter in ways you didn’t expect. 
• How to ask for help—even when you’ve always been self-sufficient and...

This July, Elliott and I will welcome our niece’s first baby—a boy named after our father, Simon. We are over the moon!

My stepson’s wife is also pregnant; their boy, Max (named after Dan’s dad), is due in June. So we’re blessed with two babies coming into the family!

Plus, one of my dearest friends just had a boy in January. 

I started thinking about what a beautiful gift—and also, what a major life transition—the birth of a baby bri...

Last March I was walking through my all-time favorite grocery store, Seed to Table in Naples, Florida.

Yes, I have a favorite grocery store, and yes, it’s the best ever.

While browsing through the Health & Wellness section, I met Michelle Albergo who was sharing information about Cell Fit.

Cell Fit’s lead scientist, biochemist Tricia Flanagan, created a product like no other! It’s not a supplement, rather it’s a therap...

It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes asking a question is the WORST way to gather information!

As we’ve been talking about in the last couple episodes, posing questions can often backfire. Our friends and partners may feel defensive or attacked! Even the most loving questions may impede intimacy, rather than enhance it. 

Elliott’s clients have started making statements instead of asking questions. They’re enjoying increas...

When you want to get to know someone better, you ask them a lot of questions, right?

Maybe not . . .

This week, we pick up on an important point Elliott made last episode about avoiding questions to facilitate effective, authentic communication.

It seems counterintuitive, but we can actually gather MORE information and cultivate DEEPER intimacy by communicating with statements.

So, how exactly do we do ...

Today Elliott and Tim explore the significance of language in relationships and how to avoid potential pitfalls in communication. They discuss how communication styles, gender roles, and temperament influence interactions, especially during conflicts. Elliott shares the importance of using 'we' language to foster unity and understanding in the context of relationships with significant others. 

We hope today’s conversation will empow...

We are joined on today’s episode by Sarah Knott. Sarah has been an avid listener of the podcast and has done counseling with Elliott. She shares with all of us her profound healing journey that started with some physical manifestations but as she explored things deeper found that there were emotional and spiritual elements at play as well.
She is also a mom and her little ones were excited to be on the podcast too! So you may h...

Join us for part two of my conversation with Jenna McCarthy, author of, Yankee Doodle Soup for the Fringy, Tin-Foil Hat Wearing, Conspiracy Theorist’s Soul and The War on Ivermectin with Dr. Pierre Kory.

We process our parallel journies as COVID dissidents —including the lingering trauma so many of us continue to experience (well, maybe me more than Jenna!)

Full disclosure—this episode was a bit of a therapy session for me ☺️. Jenna ...

Elliott and I have been doing a series on trauma—which got me thinking about the thing I’m pretty much always thinking about—COVID.

Talk about a traumatizing event!

Since we all—as in, the entire world—endured the pandemic, it certainly qualifies as what psychologists call a “collective trauma.”

Because we went through it together, right? 

Well no, we didn’t. The “collective trauma” wasn’t a unifying experience. Some co...

Take charge of your thoughts, take charge of your life! 

Elliott reminds us to take charge of our words, too!

What are you speaking over yourself? Do you talk in defeatist terms? Do you make All-or-Nothing statements?

• I CAN’T do ___________.
• This is going to be HORRIBLE!
• I’ll NEVER be _________.
• I’ll ALWAYS struggle with __________.

Our thoughts matter. Our words matter. They have an impact on our mood, our behavi...

Question:

I’m listening to your boundary podcast about family and newlyweds. My husband and I have been married for 6 months and I come from a very close, tight knit family. He from a family who isn’t as close. He is struggling with the involvement my parents have and the constant plans they make to see me and my sister who lives in the same town as me. She has a 1 year old who is the first grand-baby and my parents want to be invol...

For the last few weeks we’ve been going through a series on Trauma Recovery. How do we heal from trauma? How do we get unstuck and move towards healing? 

Last week we dove into Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, and we continue the series today with work by trauma recovery expert Bessel van der Kolk. Inspired by Bessel’s work we discuss 3 more additional movements in healing from trauma by expounding on the ...

The recovery process often feels nebulous and unclear. Of course, we want to heal from trauma, but how do we do so?

Elliott’s recently been inspired by Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess:  5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking. He immediately began introducing Dr. Leaf’s steps to his clients—many of whom are working through trauma.

We’ve invited Dr. Leaf to appear on t...

Have you ever been through a traumatic moment or event? With decades of experience helping individuals recover from trauma Elliott wanted to share 3 of his perspectives on how we can have a recovery mindset. Specifically, how do we move through the traumas we face throughout our lives? 

• How do we stay present?
• How do we deal with feeling unsafe?
• Is it possible to live abundantly despite our traumas? 

Join us as we expl...

I’m never on Facebook but I hopped on the other day to look at Marketplace.

I doom scrolled for just a minute (mistake🤦‍♀️) and saw some posts about the measles outbreak in Texas.

Some people were quite concerned. Some got a measles vaccines for the first time since childhood.

Others felt the whole thing was overblown. Yes, tragically, a child died. However, we don’t know if he/she had preexisting conditions or comorbidit...