About Progress

“We didn’t recognize each other, or ourselves. How do you reconcile this? How do you go and redefine how we work together if who we are has taken some pretty fundamental changes?” Mark and Giulia fell in love at 18 years old and launched into what looked like would be a lifetime of happiness. Unexpectedly, three years into their marriage, their fairy tale fell apart as Giulia encountered struggles with her mental health that neither of them fully understood or knew how to deal with.  But this isn't just a story about mental illness; it's a story about how a family chose to navigate a crisis and rebuild their lives based on love, not tragedy. Mark talks about what led to Giulia's first bout with psychosis and her eventual diagnosis with bipolar disorder. He shares how as a result they switched roles within their relationship, what it was like for Mark to battle his own depression just as Giulia started to get better, and how they learned to anchor into their new lives both together and individually.  Both Mark and Giulia hope their son learns from their choice to focus on on love over fear and that life is beautiful, especially when they hold on to each other. About Mark: Mark Lukach is a teacher and freelance writer. He is the author of a memoir My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Pacific Standard, Wired, and other publications. He is currently the Ninth Grade Dean at The Athenian School, where he also teaches history. He lives with his wife, Giulia, and their son in the San Francisco Bay area.  Show Notes:Mark's website, Instagram, and where to find his bookMonica's interview for the Extraordinary Moms PodcastSURVEY!!!!Monica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaFree Audiobook through Audible! (Affiliate link)More Podcasts from About ProgressSong Credit: "Sweet Promise" by Nicolai Heidlas  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Depression loves darkness . . . the only way to fight depression is to bring it into the light.” I'm sure you read that article "Marriage Isn't For You" that circulated the internet a few years ago. How am I so sure? Because everyone read it, as in 100 million strong all over the world.  Seth Adam Smith is the author of that article, as well as four popular books (including his latest work of fiction!). Seth talks about what it was like to have a VIRAL article and the three years-long mind trip it sent him on as he tried to live up to the internal and external pressure to keep writing pieces to resonate with millions. Seth is much more than "the marriage guy" his article pegged him to be. He's been writing for as long as he can remember. One of the common themes he writes about is depression, and he's been doing that long before it was the cool thing to do.  Seth has struggled with chronic depression since he was in third grade, and at his lowest low as a 20 year old, he attempted to commit suicide. What has risen from his broken soul is completely transformative. Seth has shifted his intense struggles to instead act as a force for good--or a "light in the wilderness," as he calls it--one that he holds high and proud, calling others to learn that life is worth living, and it is worth living well.  You won't want to miss what Seth says about how we all should want to be "broken," and how he blew my mind with his thoughts on perfectionism. Please share this episode with anyone who you think can benefit. (Hint: it's all of us!)  Show Notes:Seth's Website, Blog, Instagram, and YouTube ChannelSeth's books: Here, Here, Here, and Here.Monica's interview for the Extraordinary Moms PodcastSURVEY!!!!Monica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaFree Audiobook through Audible! (Affiliate link)More Podcasts from About ProgressSong Credit: "Sweet Promise" by Nicolai Heidlas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"God didn’t take it away, but I have felt so many times that he has sent living angels to help me through, time and time again." Lauren Agostinelli-Gessel has been through more in her young life than most do in an entire lifetime. One week after getting married, she moved to Italy for months to receive a stem cell transplant and five rounds of chemotherapy. This was a drastic measure to help with her vicious form of Multiple Sclerosis. Lauren shares what led up to her diagnosis at 27 years old as a single mother of a two year old, how her fear of dying led to a marriage that wasn't right, what it was like divorcing with a little baby and a little boy while battling a debilitating disease, and how she found love again and married shortly before embarking on her intensive treatment in a foreign country. M.S. is different for everyone. Lauren talks openly about the physical side effects of her disease and how the hardest effects have been the mental and emotional. And yet, Lauren looks for the blessings in spite of the very hard challenges life has dealt with her; she most often finds these blessings in those around her, her earthly angels. You will not only learn so much, including how being dealt with hard life changes doesn't have to be the end of a happy life--you can look for the good and fight for your happiness. Show Notes:Lauren's email: MSIsNotTheEnd {at} gmail {dot} comLauren's blog, Instagram, and YouTube videos on her: here, here, here, and hereMonica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaFree Audiobook through Audible! (Affiliate link)More Podcasts from About Progress  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"There are things you can do to rewire your brain. It’s not going to be fun, it’s not going to be easy. But can you choose to do them? Yes. And will they make your life better even in the midst of depression? Absolutely."Andy is a "happiness nerd" who loves to share what he's studied and put into practice. His specialty is positive psychology, which researches the science of happy people and ways we can apply what they do and how they think. In the first half of our interview, Andy shares some of his favorite things he's learned about positive psychology and ways we can apply these lessons in our own lives. In the second half, Andy shares how his research has impacted his personal life through very difficult times where he needed all the tools he could get; those times included: divorce, remarriage, his wife's traumatic bouts with mental illness, and the following unraveling of the foundations of their lives, including the development of a Andy's panic disorder. Andy is a relatable friend and teacher, and he inspires hope for all those who will hear him out, that we are all capable of more happiness in our lives, even in the midst of inner turmoil.Show Notes:Andy's Website (where you can learn more about his classes and read his fantastic blog)Andy's InstagramAndy's Youtube channel Andy's bookReferenced theories and books (some affiliate links):   Broaden and Build Theory  Flourish  Learned Optimism  Social  Meditation site  When Panic Attacks  Via Strengths Survey  The How of HappinessMonica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaFree Audiobook through Audible! (Affiliate link)More Podcasts from About Progress  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"If you bring forth what is within you, what is within you will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." ~Gospel of Thomas I heard this quote a few weekends ago from Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife's workshop I attended. I had already been working on this podcast and it gave me the lightbulb moment that I so love. (Sidenote: each special podcast that I create, inspiration for that very theme is suddenly all around me. It's pretty nuts!) If you deny what is within you--your hopes, your dreams, your gifts, your capabilities, even your self-love--you're going to lose yourself. Ain't that the truth? For me, in order to find those things and dare to reach for them, I've had to use the mantra, "Fake It 'Till You Make It."    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Something I’ve really internalized is that it’s never to late to create the kind of life that you want, or to uncreate the life you’re not cool with . . . It’s never too late to enjoy your life, it’s never to late to feel like you have more control over something, even if it’s just as simple as changing the way you think about it." By the age of 19, Celeste had already abandoned her modeling career and experienced the ending her first marriage. After these low-lows, Celeste decided that instead of wallowing in her sorrows, she wanted to pick up her life, own her struggles, and move onward and upward. And she did just that. Celeste shares how owning her struggles helped her find the strength to forgive her ex AND herself through grace, and move forward to finding a new man who helped her learn to trust again. This strength also pushed her through the hard times her life still brought, including her husband's battles with mental health and her own fight with postpartum depression. Celeste's surprise cure to her depression? She joined a beauty pageant. (No one was more shocked about this move than herself!) You'll love hearing about how the pageant helped her regain her confidence, changed the way she viewed herself, and formed lifelong friendships, but it also taught her the great importance of finding something that was just for her and that provided that self-care she learned was necessary to being the woman she wants to be. You'll also love to hear how Celeste found natural childbirth helped empower her, what helped her get through two back-to-back miscarriages, what she does for self-care, and the power of good girlfriends. Show Notes:Celeste's InstagramPodcast Episode with Matt Davis (Celeste's husband)Free Audiobook through Audible! (Affiliate link)Monica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaDo Something Highlight: Shan'tel's Article and BlogMore on Do SomethingPast Podcast mentioned with Matt DavisMore Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Realizing that I am in control of the life I want to live, really allowed me to be the happiest I can be because I’m doing the things that I truly LOVE in life.”  Jessica Dahlquist is the brains behind the Extraordinary Moms Podcast (which I can't recommend enough), but this is her first time being on the other side of the interview. She does not disappoint! Jessica talks about how her own transition to motherhood manifested an internal voice she didn't like, one riddled with anxiety and self-criticism. With a lot of work, she learned the power of altering her expectations on herself and letting go of what others think. Once she shifted the internal narrative behind her work as a mother and beyond, it changed everything and led to a greater happiness. Whether or not you are a parent, Jessica teaches that once you've shifted your mentality to "I should . . ." to "I choose . . . " your life might look the same, but it will feel completely different.If you like the show, please subscribe!!Show Notes:Jessica's Podcast, Facebook, and InstagramFree Audiobook through Audible! (Affiliate link)Monica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaDo Something Highlight: Shan'tel's Article and BlogMore on Do SomethingPast Podcast mentioned with Matt DavisMore Podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kayti Oldham is your best gal who always manages to bring the fun, willingly shares all her makeup knowledge, and makes you feel like a million bucks. But Kayti's gifts don't start and end with her makeup artistry. In today's podcast, we learn more about her past with the performing arts, how she learned from a young age to follow her passions, and how putting on red lipstick not only helped her through terrible post part depression, but inspired her passion for make up that led her to mission today. And that mission? To inspire women to love the face, body, soul they were gifted, encapsulated in Kayti's urging, "Be YOU!" Kayti shares all this, and more including how her opinion can't be bought, what she has learned from her struggles with acne, how coming from a broken home inspired the tradition of laughter in her own, and so much more.  Show Notes:Kayti's Blog, Consultations, and InstagramMonica's Facebook and InstagramContact Monica Lisa's Podcast EpisodeMore PodcastsMore on Do Something Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you want your loved ones to remember you? Your face illuminated by the light of a screen? Of course not. None of us do.  But we are ALL guilty of letting our devices distract us from what is most important. If you've struggled from time to time with balancing your technology use, if you often feel sad, jealous, lonely, or apathetic, and if your devices are acting more as a task master than a tool, then it's time to refocus. In today's podcast, two guests (Kim Christenson and Jamie Cook) and I share how to recognize when your technology use is out of control, and how to turn it back into a tool for good.  Show Notes:Kim Christenson's referenced blogpost and InstagramJamie Cook's InstagramMeg Mile's Instagram and past About Progress Podcast interview Irresistible Podcast on Fresh AirIrresistible BookSimon Sinek's interview on Millennial and Internet AddictionMonica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaMore Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I think that it’s so important to make that effort to try and not to worry so much about the result . . . The real satisfaction comes in the effort, not the outcome.” You know my "Do Something" campaign, where I encourage people to try things that scare them? That is Amy Nash's entire life story. This woman has done so many incredible things that required courage and testing her limits: she has traveled around the world (including with kids!), graduated from law school, worked at a big firm, learned photography, and started a blog that will make you drool. She's also had to deal with five failed adoptions among other though times that taught her to rely on her connections--family and friends--and power through with her optimism in tact. Amy's sense of adventure has acted as the foundation for her life--and the foundation of her family--while her go-getter attitude has been coupled with a conscientious choice that what matters more than the destination is the path that got you there. Show Notes:Amy's blog, Facebook, Instagram, and PinterestMonica's Facebook and InstagramContact MonicaMore PodcastsMore on Do Something Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices