This week I'm talking about that mental place where you’re not quite ready to change something, but you’re not okay with things staying the same either. It's an in-between space I call the "want to want," and it's what this episode is about.

We’re talking about shame, and how it differs from guilt (a distinction that matters more than most people realize). Shame makes a behavior feel like an identity, and convinces you that you’re not just doing something bad - you ARE bad. And that shame, with all of its loud and relentless bull$hit, is directly in the way of the change you’re wanting (or wanting to want).

I use a lot of parts language (shoutout to Internal Family Systems), and walk through what’s actually happening when two very powerful parts of you are at total war. The truthiest truth is that both of them, even the one that feels like the villain, are just trying to keep you safe.

The part of me that used to be most determined to do the thing that burned my life down again and again is the same part that gets me on this microphone every week. And I want you to re-purpose that badass part, too. First I want to show you that you can, and deserve to!

If you’re feeling lost in the want-to-want forest right now, this one’s definitely for you. I promise you don't have to be there forever.

Deep breaths! I love ya.

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

We're talking about CONTROL today. And how it relates to freedom. And how it feels to yearn for both.

We're talking about drinking as a way to grasp for control, and the freedom that comes when we hold ourselves and our yearnings in a looser hand.

Love ya, so glad you're here.

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

Welcome to season 2!!

Today I'm talking about perfection - or the performance of perfection - gets in the way of all the best parts of life. That includes recovery of all kinds, a sense of joy, of freedom, and can even delay launching season 2 of a podcast (who knew)!

So take a few big breaths, know that you're perfect exactly as you are, and join me for a shiny new season, devoid of any "shoulds" and "supposed to's" that could get in our way.

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

This episode is the finale to Season 1! What a wild thing to say! And Season 2 is going to be even better, so be sure you've subscribed!

In this convo, we talk about the Italian word "attraversiamo," made famous in Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and one of my fave tattoos. This epidsode is a big ol' loving permission slip to make a change. Whether that change is large or small, trust yourself, find your sunshine and head toward it.

In season 2 we'll be talking to some special guests, doing some hypnosis right here on the pod, and generally walking toward the sunshine. See you on the sunny side!

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

Can you find healing without knowing what the THING is that you need to heal from? Is generational trauma real (spoiler alert, science says it is)? And how the heck do we put down what we're carrying when it doesn't even belong to us?

This and more in this rather emotional episode, and I'm so grateful for your ear and your heart that's listening in.

If you are blaming yourself for a pain you don't even understand, and shaming yourself for not knowing how to get over it.... this is the convo for you.

It'll be ok. Love ya.

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

Today I have some tangible, tried and true tips that I hope provide some relief in your most anxiety-laden moments; and maybe even make the worse case scenarios less likely to happen. My favorite tools are the ones that work so well I eventually don't even need them!

The good (and infuriating) news is that these are incredibly simple practices. So simple that it feels a bit insulting how well they work.

Let me know if you try them, and here's wishing you peace, rest, and the biggest exhale.

xoxo

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

Today's chat is inspired by a reel (which I'll link below) that struck me as a perfect metaphor for our subconscious. Your conscious mind is such a tiny part of you- it's a tiny little island while your subconscious is the whole ocean. And that scary thing in the ocean, the nightmare-fueling villain in so many old movies- the shark- is not actually trying to hurt you. In fact, there are so many fears swimming around inside of us that we didn't put there- but we have the power to change them.

Which means what used to be a dark, scary ocean becomes a magical playground that you know and love as much as your safe little island.

So come scuba diving in the mind with me! Can't wait to sea you there :*

(This is the reel I reference in the episode.)

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com

Welcome to the newly renamed Starfish Hypnosis! Same host, same vibes, lil name shift. Because hypnosis is what I do, and subconscious stories and programming and, to be totally cliche, healing- is what we talk about here!

In this meandering chat, I explain the new name, give you some insight on what hypnosis is (and what it is not).

You'll also here my take on why alcohol "worked" to make me feel better before I even took a sip... but how much I prefer a solution that also works long-term (unsurprisingly).

I hope you enjoy, and stick around for more hypno-convo!

Learn more at LizMcKean.com.

You can also connect with me on Instagram @liz.mckean, or send me an email at Liz@LizMckean.com. I'd love to hear from you!

All my love and gratitude for this podcast's beautiful cover design, created by the very best & most magical Mo Houston of JoyScout Studio

And podcast production/editing masterfully done by Sean Gritters. You can reach Sean by emailing seangritters@gmail.com