How To Feel Nothing | Processing Psychedelics From The Inside Out

Trauma shapes how we live—organizing our lives as if the past is still happening. The body holds onto these experiences, leaving us disconnected from our most powerful resource: our felt sense. In this episode, we will go through the profound connection between your body and mind. We'll explore how mindlessness—ignoring your felt sense—keeps you stuck in cycles of stress, disconnection, and unresolved trauma. Drawing from the work of trauma experts like Peter Levine and Gabor Maté, we'll uncover how tuning into your felt sense is the gateway to healing and self-awareness. You'll learn: What the felt sense is and why it's crucial for trauma healing. How your body's natural instincts—when trusted—can guide you toward repair and resilience.  Practical insights to reconnect with your body and start releasing stored trauma. Healing begins when we stop overanalyzing trauma and start trusting our biology. Your body is a biological marvel, capable of self-healing when we allow it to complete its natural processes. Let this episode be your starting point to restoring the balance between your body and mind. Together, we'll move toward a state of integration, clarity, and wholeness.  --Socials-- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somacology LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-brossart-46432038/ Subscribe to the Somacology Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/somacology/id1493145676 This podcast was originally a YouTube video: https://youtu.be/3T9ZXIAkdeQ ___ www.somacology.com Get started with safe, ethical psychedelic assisted therapy. www.dailymindfulnesslab.com Increase your mental fitness and emotional agility. --My Products-- www.dailymindfulnessjournal.com A journal protocal proven to increase mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and compassion. Email me @ hello@mentalevents.com

We're going through a psychedelic therapy revival. Join psychotherapist Todd Brossart as he introduces the Somacology channel and discusses some of his personal journey following a near-death injury and the innovative practices that helped him reconnect with his body and mind. Gain insights into: The felt sense as a critical pathway to accessing the body's innate ability to process and resolve trauma. The role of Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Therapy (PSIP) in addressing deeply rooted trauma that conventional therapeutic approaches often fail to resolve.  The potential consequences of unprocessed trauma, including mental health challenges and physical health conditions, and how somatic healing provides a pathway toward recovery. Through a combination of personal experiences, professional expertise, and practical applications, Todd illuminates ways to treat trauma and increase psychological flexibility for sustainable growth. Whether you are a mental health professional, an individual seeking deeper understanding of trauma resolution, or someone interested in exploring psychedelic therapies, this video provides valuable perspectives and actionable knowledge.  --Socials-- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somacology LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-brossart-46432038/ Subscribe to the Somacology Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/somacology/id1493145676 This podcast was originally a YouTube video: https://youtu.be/3T9ZXIAkdeQ ___ www.somacology.com Get started with safe, ethical psychedelic assisted therapy. www.dailymindfulnesslab.com Increase your mental fitness and emotional agility. --My Products-- www.dailymindfulnessjournal.com A journal protocal proven to increase mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and compassion. Email me @ hello@mentalevents.com

If you could have a conversation with yourself back when you started your career in healthcare, what would you say? What does that person need to know in order to sustain their mental health over the arch of their career? Would you talk to them about naivete? Or how to approach one's naivete as it comes up in their career? Consider where you're at today in your career. Would you be willing to talk to yourself about owning your naivete? After 12 years of working in a large hospital setting, in outpatient mental health and substance use disorders clinics, I can admit that I naively behaved and spoke as though I was exempt from the stressors of life, and the stressors on the job. I was naïve to how things would eventually start to breakdown in my personal life. Which they eventually did. Some of the breakdowns were preventable, but my naivete interfered with seeing clearly. I reference the following paper during the podcast: Self-awareness Questions for Effective Psychotherapists: Helping Good Psychotherapists Become Even Better" by Samuel Knapp, Michael Gottlieb and Mitchell Handelsman. The questions they encourage providers to consider to assist in becoming more self-aware: Do I recognize my immediate emotional reactions? Do I judge my competencies accurately? Do I recognize that I might harbor implicit prejudices? Am I aware that I might succumb to cognitive biases or unhelpful heuristics? Am I fully aware of my values? Connect with me: www.dailymindfulnessjournal.com www.mentalevents.com  

If you've listened to this podcast for a while, you'll know that I hold a belief that there's still someone out there who I haven't met yet, that will change my life in profound ways. This episode is an attempt to honor someone who left a lasting impact on my life. In April 2019 during my lengthy stay in the hospital, I was privileged to have a very special person care for me. Her name was Rachel Petersen. Rachel was a nurse at the Anschutz Medical Center, in Aurora, Colorado. Sadly, Rachel passed away recently. The news was devastating to read about, and my wife and I are still trying to process her sudden loss. To learn more about Rachel, and the first annual 5K Scrub Run honoring her visit, https://5kscrubrun.org/.  . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

We all have to do things. Some things we are excited about. Other things, not as much. Rarely do we consider what we get to do in our lives, taking it for granted. In this episode I offer a quick mindfulness reframe to help you shift your perspective to living with more presence and gratitude. Because when we get to do something versus have to do something, we show up more completely and openly. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

Should self-care always mean you get to feel calm? Should self-care be limited to feeling good? Let's reimagine self-care for a moment. Instead of adding things to your life in the name of self-care, consider what you could subtract in order to practice better self-care. Continually adding activities of self-care could become exhausting, and may make you feel worse. What could you let go of today to make room for your health and well-being? . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

What doesn't kill us, can make us stronger! On the two-year anniversary of a near death experience, I invite a friend of the podcast, John Evans to sit down for an extended conversation about post-traumatic growth. Post-traumatic growth refers to the positive psychological changes that a person can experience as a result of adversity. John and I cover a lot of ground in this episode, referencing Stephen Joseph's book, What Doesn't Kill Us, Judith Herman's book, Trauma and Recovery, and Stephen Pressfield's book, The War of Art. . If you're wondering how to move through feeling stuck, and hitting plateau's in day-to-day life, John gives some helpful insights from his 13 year recovery. We also talk about the importance of finding a survivor mission, and transforming the meaning of personal tragedy by making it the basis for social action. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

So often we feel hopeless and powerless after tragedy and trauma. I know I've felt that way recently with the tragedies in Atlanta and Boulder. Both events serve as reminders of how violence can devastate community, trust, and desecrate the ideals, values, and freedoms we hold as sacred. In this week's episode, I discuss what moral injurious events are, and offer a mindful approach to touch feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

Life serves up discomfort to us in many ways. At times we've all avoided challenges in order to escape the stress that goes with feeling uncomfortable. This week's episode examines how our struggle against discomfort can cause additional suffering in our lives.  . Think of unhealthy discomfort as something you do to avoid coming into contact with what doesn't feel good. Healthy discomfort on the other hand tends to be a more open, willing, and engaging way of managing what is already present. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

"Just breathe." Depending on how stressed you might be, hearing those words may not be well received. Enter box breathing! It's a proactive breathing exercise aimed to help you regulate your nervous system. . Box breathing is a common breathing technique used by Navy Seals, mindfulness practitioners, and recovery programs. During my time as the lead facilitator of the mindfulness group at the Veterans Administration, I would lead the group through box breathing.  . If you can envision drawing a box in your mind, and follow your breath to the count of four, then you can do box breathing. . This week's podcast episode outlines what box breathing is, and I'll walk you through a brief box breathing exercise toward the end of the episode. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

Do good things only happen to good people? Do bad things only happen to bad people? And are all honorable actions eventually rewarded? The Just World Belief states that your actions are inclined to bring morally fair and just consequences to you, or others. But what happens when something unexpected and traumatic happens to you? . To be honest, I'm not so sure where I fall with this belief/hypothesis? Nonetheless, in this episode I try and make sense of the Just World hypothesis, while leaving you with a few thoughts to ponder. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

There are two kinds of emotions. The first kind of emotions are those that happen naturally. We often experience natural emotions as they unfold after something happens. The second kind of emotions are the manufactured type. They're not based on the facts of an event, but on your interpretations of it. . Push play to learn more about how you might be manufacturing emotions, and how to stop adding kindling to the fire! . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

Our human lives are inundated with the needs of the Self. The self (I/me/my) has many preferences, needs, biases, desires, and conditioned habits. While we're often unaware of how we are being controlled by the causes and conditions of our needs and wants, remembering mindfulness offers a path to greater awareness and choice. When remembering mindfulness we remember to come back to our present state. In this space of awareness we can be present-minded participants and live with more mindful action. . This week, learn how to become more aware of yourself, and how to practice mindfulness - even when life appears to be too overwhelming and confusing. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.  . Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

New Year's tends to bring about a newfound motivation for change. After a taxing 2020, I think we're all ready to turn the page! When making New Years resolutions we tend to hope for the best. Behind our desire for change there's a hope for the quick fix. Unfortunately, (myself included) we set ourselves up for disappointment, forgetting to update our expectations. With mindful living, we realize there are no quick fixes, only ways to simplify the over-complicated.  . I mention several reflection questions and a worksheet during the podcast. Click here for the Reflect on your Year worksheet to reflect on where you've come, and what a life well-lived looks like in 2021! . I offer a guided meditation/visualization exercise @15:40 mark. . BTW - If you haven't listened to the most recent podcast, 2020 in a word, I would recommend giving that a listen before pushing play on this episode! . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my free Mindfulness Framework video. . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.   Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. . Connect with Mental Events on social media: Instagram @mentalevents Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

What word would you use to describe the past year? I asked 70 people that very question and received many different responses. But I also asked a second question. What did you learn to value about the experience from the pandemic? Tune in to hear how the two questions elicited different responses, and why it's vital to reflect on difficult experiences. After all, you may not realize how the things you're saying to yourself could be impacting your mood and behavior!  . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

You have the ability to focus your attention on just about anything! Yet sometimes we become so close to our worries that we struggle to see what's beyond the thinking mind. This week I talk about our ready-to-experience mind, and three simple ways to pay attention more mindfully.    . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

One of the greatest gifts we can offer anyone is our true presence. Unfortunately this year, many of us won't be able to congregate for the holidays. Does this mean we won't be able to be present or thankful in other ways? Of course not. Tune in for this week's episode and learn how to practice presence whether you're congregating with others or not. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

"Don't talk. Don't trust. Don't feel." Rules that were taught early and often to my guest in this week's episode. In this special interview, I connect with friend and colleague, John Evans, peer support specialist, musician, and Army Veteran. Looking inward and breaking the patterns of suffering was a path John fully committed to in July of 2007. John experienced many adverse events in his childhood, including the loss of his mother, and addiction in his family. After joining the Army in high school, John worked diligently to reintegrate back into civilian life when he returned home from two tours in Iraq as a medic. Thirteen years into his recovery, John intimately shares how his best days have come since committing to sobriety and working on his trauma. John explains, "Recovery means fearlessly attempting to unlock my potential, and being willing to reach for the life that my trauma would say, 'don't do that.'" An introduction to John – 3:09 What's a hero? – 5:03 Quoting the book, "A Year to Live" by Steven Levine – 15:29 Recognizing resistance – 18:38 The pain of losing a parent – 22:46 Experience as a combat medic – 34:05 Impermanence and healing – 38:07 Waking up to thought forms during deployment – 42:10 Identity formation w/ trauma – 44:41 Victim role and attachment to pain – 48:00 Every day is a gift – 57:25 Trauma comparison – 1:01:21 Accepting wounds leads to empowerment – 1:07:45 What does recovery mean? – 1:11:20 Life after substance, 13 years into recovery – 1:15:02 Cultivating gratitude – 1:23:50 Adhering to a spiritual practice – 1:29:12   Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

We all have core yearnings that make us human. In today's episode I'll introduce you to six core human yearnings that stem out of the therapeutic approach of acceptance and commitment therapy, and how trauma can impact these essential core yearnings. Coherence Feeling Orientation Belonging Self-directed Meaning Competency Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.

I recently summited my 21st different 14er mountain (14,000 ft.) in my home state of Colorado. The 12 mile trek was a grueling experience that lasted over 8 hours. It was a commitment. If I wasn't clear about my values, it's safe to say I likely would have never gone! In this episode I introduce the the therapeutic aspect of committed action - a step-by-step process of acting to create a life of integrity. Committed action is about the qualities of chosen actions, not the speed with which they are accomplished. What matters is maintaining growth and forward movement, not the amount or rate of movement. . Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It's dedicated to examining the workability of the mind's proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts. . Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE . Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events. . As always, we'd like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.