Navigating a Broken Vessel

Host Dave Harris sits down with long-time friend Lara Jackson to discuss her extraordinary journey through chronic pain, medical misdiagnoses, and profound personal trials.Lara opens up about feeling as though her body was "broken," detailing a decade-long battle with debilitating headaches, severe eye conditions, and painful miscarriages—until a surprising Celiac disease diagnosis finally brought answers. She also candidly shares the emotional toll of caregiver burnout while supporting her husband through severe physical pain, medication-induced mania, and complex mental health challenges, all while raising three young children.In this episode, we discuss:Uncovering Hidden Root Causes: How going gluten-free cured years of debilitating pain initially diagnosed as cluster headaches.The Heartbreak of Infertility & Loss: Processing recurrent miscarriages, postpartum depression, and the emotional weight of medical finality.Navigating Mental & Physical Crises in Marriage: Supporting a spouse through Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder, and Trigeminal Neuralgia.Finding Light in the Dark: The power of prayer, faith, and how her children served as daily "miracles" that kept her moving forward.Laura’s story is a powerful testament to human resilience, reminding us that even when we feel under the water and breathing through a straw, we are strong enough to keep surviving.Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional, and this should not be taken as any kind of medical advice. If you need assistance, I highly recommend working with mental health professionals. I use many myself.

Dave Harris opens up about his personal journey of faith, mental health, and the defining moments that shaped his testimony. From childhood encounters with tragedy to navigating scrupulosity and returning home early from his LDS mission, Dave shares an honest reflection on why he continues to believe, even when life is far from a fairytale.Key Topics in This Episode:Life-Shaping Experiences: Reflections on witnessing tragedy as a young boy and how unspoken trauma impacts mental and spiritual well-being.The Crucible of Scrupulosity: Facing religious OCD, feelings of inadequacy, and the difficult decision to return home early from the Wellington, New Zealand mission.The Anchor Point: A powerful spiritual experience at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) while hearing the account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision.Faith Over Perfection: Why trials aren't faith-destroyers, but invitations to stay humble, grounded, and reliant on Jesus Christ.Connect & Share:Email: [email protected]: navigatingabrokenvessel.comSocials: Search @navigatingabrokenvessel on Facebook and InstagramDisclaimer: I am not a mental health professional, and this should not be taken as any kind of medical advice. If you need assistance, I highly recommend working with mental health professionals. I use many myself.

What do a kindergarten Mother’s Day craft and a 300-pound studio riser have in common? Both taught host Dave Harris a hard-hitting lesson about overconfidence.In this candid episode of Navigating a Broken Vessel, Dave reflects on a recent, painful biceps tendon rupture, and the security footage that captured it, to unpack why we so easily overestimate our own abilities. From DIY disasters to creator culture on YouTube, Dave explores how our minds trick us into thinking we know more (and can lift more) than we actually can.In this episode, we explore:* The Traps of Overconfidence: How early assumptions and stubborn solo-lifting can result in surgery and a year-long recovery.* The Dunning-Kruger Effect: What science says about skill gaps, self-assessment, and blind spots.* Cultivating Intellectual Humility: Practical exercises to recognize the limits of our knowledge, adopt a growth mindset, and take a step back from our biases.* Real-World Metacognition: How evaluating our own thinking helps us handle career challenges, admit when we’re wrong, and grow as individuals.Have a story about learning humility the hard way? Email Dave directly at [email protected] or visit navigatingabrokenvessel.com for past episodes. Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram @navigatingabrokenvessel!Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional, and this should not be taken as any kind of medical advice. If you need assistance, I highly recommend working with mental health professionals. I use many myself.

In this powerful episode of Navigating a Broken Vessel, we sit down with Jourdyn Pitcher to share her extraordinary journey of faith, resilience, and survival.Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at just 14 years old, Jourdyn faced cancer not once, not twice, but three separate times throughout her teenage and young adult years. Through 64 weeks of chemotherapy, radiation, a bone marrow transplant, 100 days in hospital isolation, and the loss of both a lung and a kidney, Jourdyn refused to put her life on hold. Instead, she chose to live fully—pursuing her education, working multiple jobs, and serving a full-time mission, against all odds.In this episode, we discuss:A Three-Time Battle: Jourdyn’s medical journey from her initial diagnosis at age 14 through eight years of maintenance chemotherapy.Miracles & Burning Bushes: The profound spiritual moments, tender mercies, and unexpected kindness from loved ones and strangers that sustained her family.Overcoming Limits: How she navigated college, career goals, and a church mission while managing aggressive medical treatments.Beauty for Ashes: Finding deep gratitude in battle scars, navigating infertility, the joy of building a family through adoption, and celebrating over a decade cancer-free.Tune in for an inspiring conversation about finding purpose in pain, leaning on faith when the path ahead is uncertain, and discovering that what is gained spiritually can far outweigh what is lost physically.Connect with Navigating a Broken Vessel:Email: [email protected]: navigatingabrokenvessel.comSocials: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @NavigatingABrokenVessel

Are you carrying the weight of having to be perfect? In Episode 26 of Navigating a Broken Vessel, Dave Harris dives into scrupulosity, religious OCD, and the distinction between LDS culture and doctrine. Learn why we aren't expected to be flawless in this life, how grace actually works, and why pre-sin guilt only fuels anxiety.Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional, and this should not be taken as any kind of medical advice. If you need assistance, I highly recommend working with mental health professionals. I use many myself.