Being the Best Version of Yourself

Ready to unlock your potential, manage anxiety/stress, and improve your focus?In this illuminating episode of the Being the Best Version of Yourself podcast , Dr. Carey Heller sits down with integrative breathwork practitioner Heidi Tacktill to explore the transformative power of breathwork for both adults and children.In this episode, you will learn: What Breathwork Really Is: Understanding the three main types of breathwork: acute, daily, and therapeutic.Breathwork for Focus and ADHD: Simple techniques, like the "breath of fire," that can help you or your children improve focus and get ready for the day.The Science of Regulation: How breathing directly impacts the nervous system to move you into a calm, "rest and digest" state, essential for learning and emotional balance.Navigating Executive Functioning Challenges: Heidi shares a powerful, simple starting point—bringing awareness to the breath to bring yourself back to the present moment and into your body. She also illustrates a great visual activity to do during a meditation activity for people who struggle with staying focused. Parenting and Co-Regulation: Why working on your own nervous system first is the most crucial step in helping your children achieve calm and regulation, especially when dealing with anxiety.Easy Ways to Get Started: Practical tips for incorporating breathwork into your daily routine—it doesn't have to be just sitting meditation; movement, music, and writing can also be mindful practices.Therapeutic Breathwork: How circular breathing can help release deeply stored emotional patterns and trauma from the body.Heidi's Free Resource: Ready to try it out? Heidi offers a free morning breathwork reset on her website to help you start small and feel the benefits right away.Connect with Heidi Tacktill:Website: https://heiditacktill.com/Instagram: @HeidiTacktillConnect with Dr. Heller:Website: www.hellerpsychologygroup.comInstagram:@Carey_Heller_Psy.D./@HellerPsych#Breathwork #AnxietyRelief #ADHD #FocusTips #NervousSystemRegulation #ParentingTips #SelfCare #Mindfulness #mentalhealth #wellness

Join Dr. Carey Heller, a licensed psychologist specializing in ADHD, as he shares his expert advice on how to help kids with ADHD thrive in sports. In this episode, Dr. Heller discusses the unique challenges these children face and provides practical, actionable strategies for both coaches and parents. Learn how to keep kids engaged and focused, give effective feedback, and communicate in a way that builds their confidence and ensures a positive sports experience. This is a must-listen for anyone who coaches or parents a child with ADHD and is intentionally short so you can listen to it right before leaving for practice, while folding laundry, or at whatever time is convenient for you. For written tools, check out Dr. Heller's article on this topic: https://washingtonparent.com/coaching-kids-with-adhd-in-sports/

Are you ready to unlock your optimal self? In this insightful episode, Dr. Carey Heller sits down with Stephanie Valentine, a holistic nutritionist, clinical hypnotist, and mental health wellness coach.Stephanie reveals her holistic approach to food, emphasizing it's not just about calories, but powerful fuel that directly influences your emotions and executive functions through the intricate gut-brain connection. Discover practical strategies for personalized nutrition, from simplifying meal planning with batch cooking and grab-and-go options to managing decision fatigue.They also discuss the importance of listening to your body's hunger cues, flexible hydration guidelines over rigid rules, and fostering healthy family eating habits by making mealtimes fun and device-free. Plus, Stephanie shares valuable insights on supporting high-level young athletes and navigating the potential pitfalls of intense sports culture, highlighting the crucial role of coaches and mindful eating for long-term well-being.Join Dr. Heller and Stephanie Valentine for a conversation packed with actionable advice to help you cultivate a balanced, sustainable lifestyle and become the best version of yourself, inside and out!Dr. Carey Heller info:Website: www.hellerpsychologygroup.comInstagram: CareyhellerPsyDYoutube: HellerpsychologyStephanie Valentine info:Website: https://svliving.com/Instagram: @s.v.livingYoutube: @stephanie.valentineNew cookbook: https://svliving.com/products/lovewhatsonyourplate

Unlock your career potential! This episode dives into the crucial role of time management and organization in achieving professional success and increasing your earnings. We explore how effective planning, prioritization, and execution can help you get ahead. Learn to optimize your workflow, eliminate time-wasting habits, and create a system for consistent achievement.#timemanagement #organization #careers #productivity #mindset #mentalhealth For additional resources:1) Improving Productivity in the Workplace by Dr. Carey Heller https://a.co/d/9hvaN9c2) https://mypersonalassistant.pmfm.ai/3) https://asana.com/resources/eisenhower-matrix4) https://hellerpsychologygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ATTN_06_2021_Right_Organizational_System.pdfFollow Dr. Heller on Youtube at Hellerpsychology and Instagram at Carey_heller_psyd

Attention ADHD Dads! Tired of the nagging? Done with always feeling tired, trying to keep up, and having your kids be frequently annoyed at you for forgetting something or not paying attention? Dr. Carey Heller dives into practical strategies to help you thrive in fatherhood. Learn how to manage household tasks, improve communication, and reduce reminders from a partner by understanding your ADHD brain. Discover simple self-care tips, the power of visual checklists, and how to have collaborative conversations with your partner. This episode is packed with actionable advice to help you be the best version of yourself, reduce stress, and build stronger relationships. Tune in for a supportive and understanding approach to navigating fatherhood with ADHD.Additional resources:ADHD Dads Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/492162373116213ADHD Dads Meetup Group: https://www.meetup.com/adhd-dads-virtual-groupDr. Heller's info:www.hellerpsychologygroup.comInstagram: carey_heller_psy.dKeywords: ADHD, ADHD Dads, parenting, fatherhood, communication, organization, executive function, self-care, relationships, checklists, visual reminders, Being the Best Version of Yourself.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Heller is joined by special guest Lauren Eckert, owner of Life Solved Coaching. They focus on the mindset, role of mental health, and other factors beyond simply identifying a strategy or tool that are essential to enhancing your executive function skills or helping your kids to do so. In addition, listeners can come away with a conceptual understanding of how to make improvements in their own lives as well as some practical tips for specific strategies to use.  Lauren Eckert https://www.lifesolvedcoaching.com/

In this episode, Dr. Heller is joined by special guest, Tarra Stubbins. She is a time management professional who previously spent ten years on the road supporting touring musicians and entertainers and now has her own business coaching people on how to manage their time and create the life they desire. Tarra provides a wealth of knowledge on why simply using tools you find on Google likely won't cut it and offers some insights into designing a time management plan and mindset that will help you be effective in achieving your goals. Would you like to be more efficient, less stressed, and have greater control over your time so you can do more of the things that you enjoy? If so, listen to this podcast episode and start making changes today. Tarra Stubbins https://www.tarrastubbins.com/about Dr. Carey Heller www.hellerpsychologygroup.com

On this podcast episode of Being the Best Version of Yourself, Dr. Carey Heller is joined by Marina Kerlow, LGMFT. The two professionals discuss a variety of ways to help kids improve their ability to regulate their emotions in the moment as well as strategies to help with this longer term. The end result is that kids with good emotion regulation skills become adults who can handle stress, negative situations, and other emotionally charged experiences with resiliency and success. Marina Kerlow, LGMFT https://www.marinakerlowtherapy.com/ Carey Heller, Psy.D. www.hellerpsychologygroup.com

Dr. Carey Heller is joined by guest Lisa Guillot, PCC, a creative mindset coach and personal branding expert. People often think about branding when it comes to a business, but conscious awareness around the idea of branding yourself in your personal life is not often focused on. Add to this the role that an internal mindset plays on your outward appearance. Fascinating discussion that will get you thinking about your mindset, personal branding, motivation, and so much more.  Carey Heller, Psy.D. www.hellerpsychologygroup.com Lisa Guillot www.bebrightlisa.com

Dr. Carey Heller is joined by Dr. Dara Abraham, a psychiatrist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They discuss adult ADHD, focusing on what improvements can be expected from medication versus what psychotherapy/coaching helps people achieve. A Comprehensive approach that is not one size fits all is usually necessary to help adults with ADHD to thrive in life. Furthermore, the two clinicians discuss some practical coping strategies, especially around planning and organizing.  www.drdarapsychiatry.com

Dr. Heller is joined by guest Megan Meyers (former NFL cheerleader, dance studio owner, and now an online business expert) who discusses her experiences with starting her own online businesses in order to be able to be present as a parent in the ways that she wants. They discuss ways to simplify processes and obligations as well as prioritize. This podcast is great for getting some ideas and increasing your motivation to make a change in your life if you want a better work/life balance with parenthood. 

On this episode, Carey Heller, Psy.D. is joined by Gabrielle Czaja, PT, M.ATI, M.AmSAT. She is a Physical Therapist, Alexander Technique teacher, and Holistic Educator. They discuss simple adjustments to sitting that can greatly improve mood, reduce anxiety, enhance focus, and so much more, as part of a holistic approach to focusing on one's body.  https://GabrielleCzaja.com

Dr. Carey Heller speaks with Catherine Gagnon, a health coach and nurse practitioner, about the mind-body connection with treating mental health and chronic illnesses. ADHD and issues with getting started as well as following through to make health-related changes are also discussed. Finally, a variety of practical strategies and how to get started with making improvements are provided. 

In this podcast episode, Carey Heller chats with Jill Broder, Nancy Hafkin, Pam Tedeschi, and Joan Green, who are fellow members of the Collaborative Resource Network. This group has been meeting monthly for almost a decade, and was started to provide an opportunity for professionals in related fields who work with children, teens, young adults, and families to get to know each other and collaborate. This episode provides listeners with insights into how professionals can more effectively collaborate and what gets missed when they do not. Additionally, a variety of practical strategies are informally discussed. Furthermore, listeners can come away with a better understanding of some of the different types of resources available to help their children, teens, young adults, and themselves thrive in life academically, socially, emotionally, and across all other domains as well.  Contact info: https://www.collaborativeresourcenetwork.com/ Podcast Episode Participants: Carey A. Heller, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist Heller Psychology Group  6320 Democracy Boulevard Bethesda, Maryland 20817 www.hellerpsychologygroup.com Jill Broder, M. Ed. Jill Broder's Tutoring Center Broder Accredited Academy 10000 Falls Road Suite 208 Potomac, MD 20854 jillbrodertutoringcenter.com Nancy Hafkin, Ph.D. https://covingtonandhafkin.com/our-therapists/nancy-hafkin/ 4300 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 201 Bethesda, MD 20814 info@covingtonandhafkin.com Joan L. Green, M.A. CCC-SLP Improving Communication, Cognition and Productivity with Tech-Savvy Strategies, Solutions and Support Licensed and Certified Speech-Language Pathologist Assistive Technology Specialist & Tech Coach Founder of Innovative Speech Therapy www.innovativespeech.com Pam Tedeschi Tedeschi Educational Consulting Certified Educational Planner, AICEP Commissioner Independent Educational Consultants Association;  Professional  Member 10220 River Road Suite 111 Potomac, MD  20854 website: www.pmtedcon.com Disclaimer: We have no formal business relationship with each other, but come together monthly to collaborate and often work with each other as part of a team approach to helping specific individuals with whom we work.

Ever wonder if productivity is different on the other side of the world? In this episode, Dr. Carey Heller chats with Hollie Bakerboljkovac, a mental health counselor in Australia. She explains the idea of sacred productivity, which involves finding value in the things that you do. The two professionals then have a lively discussion on productivity, positives, negatives, and finding a good balance. Many practical strategies are discussed. Furthermore, the clinicians reflect on their own personal experiences with productivity and how different circumstances have led to changes over time in how they approach this in their own lives. Whether you struggle to be productive, have difficulties tolerating not being productive, don't know where to begin, or have trouble finishing, you can find value in this podcast episode. 

Being motivated for some things can be tough. Even for things that you enjoy, sometimes it is hard in the moment to take action. Dr. Heller discusses these issues and provides a few tips for setting up a plan, breaking down necessary steps into parts, and facilitating sufficient motivation to follow through on doing things that you want to do. Next time you think, I should go for a walk, cook, be healthier, get more sleep, or something else, know that if you take action you can make those thoughts a reality. 

In this episode, Dr. Heller briefly illustrates the idea that parenting as a human (i.e., someone who makes mistakes, doesn't always handle situations perfectly) has many benefits over always striving to be perfect and masking any imperfections. This can make you more relatable to your child, provide good learning experiences, and model genuine problem solving situations. Striving to do a good job parenting is important, but acknowledging and making good use of the mistakes along the way is also crucial to effective parenting.

It's hard to believe we have been living in the Covid-19 pandemic for almost two years. What's going to happen next? In this episode, Dr. Heller explores a variety of common questions people have as they grapple with processing the past two years and look at moving forward. There are far more questions than answers, and hopefully from this episode you can begin to identify your own questions and find answers to them. 2

Trying to be as productive as possible may help with getting things done, but at what cost? Could this mindset actually make you less productive over time? Dr. Heller discusses this issue and provides a few tips for helping you find the right balance for yourself and be able to tolerate letting things go or prioritizing them for another day. 

Happy New Year! Making resolutions is common, and technically so is not being able to stick them for many people. Let's change that this year. Better yet, you have the power to make that change. In this podcast, Dr. Heller explains three basic rules for setting up resolutions. Start small, make them measurable, and establish tangible steps to use to implement the goal. For example, with working out, identify how often you wish to do this, a way to track each time you workout, and a clear plan of what activities you will do to work out. Getting equipment, apps, or whatever else you need set up and ready to go is also important to make a goal into a routine and stick with it. Good luck!