Holistic Health with Melissa

What happens when something adults think is funny feels terrifying to a child?

After Melissa shared her reaction to a viral video of parents deliberately scaring their young children with a demon-like filter, the conversation sparked debate about childhood fear, trauma, and what we normalize as entertainment.

Melissa's reaction video was taken down from YouTube under the stated reason that it "depicts physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of minors." It's still available on Instagram, and the link is included.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa explores how fear affects a...

What happens when you've done the healing work, but the same old patterns keep showing up?

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation on Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa welcomes back Coach Keith, a marriage and relationship coach with 30 years of experience, to explore a frequently overlooked piece of lasting transformation: emotional maturity.

Together, they unpack the first two of five stages of maturity and discuss why receiving love and support can be harder than we realize. They explore how early experiences shape adult relationships, how the brain influences connection, and why understanding your past doesn't...

Why can a woman love God, know Scripture, and do all the "right" things yet still feel stuck in survival mode?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Coach Keith Dorscht, a marriage and relationship coach with 30 years of experience, to explore the powerful connection between faith, the brain, the nervous system, and emotional healing.

Together, they unpack why knowing the truth doesn't always change how a person feels, how past experiences shape relationships and patterns, and why emotional maturity and joy are essential to lasting transformation.

They...

What if your anxiety, overthinking, and need for control aren't the real problem, but protective patterns you've developed over years of feeling unsafe?

In Part 2 of this special Mind-Body Workshop, Melissa takes you inside a real, unscripted coaching conversation with a woman struggling with health anxiety and constant "what if" thoughts.

What begins as a fear of getting sick quickly reveals something much deeper: a need for control, a fear of the unknown, and experiences from childhood that may have shaped the way her nervous system responds to uncertainty.

Through this conversation, you'll...

What if one of the biggest things keeping you stuck isn't something happening around you, but something you've been believing about yourself for years?

In Part 1 of this special Mind-Body Healing Workshop, Melissa explores the connection between your identity, your thoughts, your nervous system, and your physical and emotional health.

But this episode is also deeply personal.

Melissa shares more of her own story, from growing up in chaos and experiencing significant trauma, to struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and physical symptoms, and eventually reaching a point where she knew there had...

What if the hardest parts of your story aren't the end of your story?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with entrepreneur, bestselling author, speaker, and founder of Cali'flour Foods and the first cauliflower pizza crust to hit the market, Amy Lacey for an incredibly vulnerable conversation about trauma, chronic illness, faith, forgiveness, and what can happen when you surrender the parts of your life that don't make sense to God.

Amy shares how childhood trauma, sexual assault, and years of buried pain eventually became intertwined with her physical health...

The new mRNA flu vaccine is here. But what does the research actually tell us about its safety and effectiveness?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa is joined once again by certified Physician Assistant Katie Collins to dig into the research behind the new mRNA influenza vaccine and explore what true informed consent should look like.

Together, Melissa and Katie break down the difference between traditional and mRNA vaccines, what researchers actually measured in the clinical trials, and why understanding the way statistics are presented matters when making medical decisions.

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What if the hardest part of healing isn't the grief, the triggers, or even the pain you're processing?

What if it's realizing that the version of you who survived your past can't come with you into your future?

In this solo episode, Melissa talks about the identity shift that happens in the messy middle of healing, when old beliefs, coping mechanisms, relationships, and ways of seeing yourself no longer fit.

She also shares what her recent viral reels have revealed about her own healing, visibility, rejection, and the beliefs that still get challenged...

Not every uncomfortable feeling means something is wrong. Sometimes it means you're growing.

This week, Melissa is joined by Jamie Javed, a former ER and trauma nurse turned founder of the Weightless Woman movement, and one of Melissa's own coaches and closest friends. The conversation grew out of something Jamie posted on Instagram that Melissa couldn't stop thinking about: the moment nervous system regulation quietly turns into another form of avoidance.

Together, they dig into a distinction most women have never been taught. Trauma activation and identity expansion can feel almost identical in the body...

In this powerful episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with her best friend, Stevie Silvers, a registered nurse and former hospital charge nurse, to hear the story of what happened when she began asking questions during COVID.

Stevie takes listeners back to March 2020 and shares what she actually experienced working inside the hospital during the pandemic, including the disconnect she witnessed between what was being reported publicly and what she was seeing firsthand, the staffing crisis within healthcare, and the growing pressure to follow protocols without question.

As Stevie began asking why...

Are antidepressants actually treating the root cause of depression and anxiety, or are we simply managing symptoms?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa is joined by Katie Collins, PA-C, a physician assistant with experience in family medicine, urgent care, and lifestyle medicine who now helps parents make more informed health and medical decisions.

Katie and Melissa have a candid conversation about antidepressants, SSRIs, informed consent, and the research behind the medications so many people are prescribed.

They talk about the long-standing "chemical imbalance" theory of depression, what the research actually...

Informed consent is the right to know the full risks, benefits, and alternatives before saying yes to any medical treatment, and it's something Melissa believes every parent and patient deserves.

This week, Melissa sat down with Katie Collins, a certified physician assistant known online as Katie the PA, for a conversation about what informed consent actually looks like and how often it's missing from routine medical care. Katie shares her own path from working in urgent care and family medicine to educating parents on the childhood vaccine schedule, along with what her physician assistant training left out e...

In this deeply personal solo episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa shares the story she's never fully told before.

After a recent social media reel about her experience as an RN during the COVID-19 pandemic reached millions of people, listeners asked for the full story. This episode is that story.

Melissa takes you behind the scenes of working inside the traditional medical system before and during the pandemic, navigating pregnancy, caring for patients, questioning what she was witnessing firsthand, and ultimately walking away from a career she once believed was her calling.

I...

Sometimes the deepest healing doesn't come from doing more. It comes from learning how to stop.

Last week, Melissa sat down with Laurie Smith, author of The Flow Habit, for a powerful conversation about reconnecting to stillness and finding flow. If you missed episode 69, go back and listen first. This week's episode is a little different. At the end of that conversation, Melissa and Laurie began talking about the meditations Laurie creates to help people access flow, and Laurie offered to record one just for this community.

This episode is that meditation. Laurie guides listeners...

Have you ever done something you loved so much that time just disappeared? That feeling has a name, and it might be one of the most healing things you can experience.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa explores the science of flow state and why so many of us have lost easy access to something that used to come naturally as kids. Podcast guest, Laurie Smith, an author and flow researcher, shares how she discovered flow during the early days of the pandemic, when anxiety and overwhelm pushed her to challenge herself to do...

What if the hardest thing you've ever walked through became the foundation for some of the best parts of who you become?

In this episode, Melissa explores the powerful concept of Post-Traumatic Growth, the psychological and spiritual transformation that can happen after trauma when we choose to heal instead of stay stuck.

You'll learn why some people experience profound growth after adversity while others remain trapped in cycles of pain, and how healing your nervous system, beliefs, and identity can completely change the trajectory of your life.

Melissa also shares her own story...

What if the symptoms you have been trying to fix are actually messages your body is sending you?

This week on Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa is joined by Dr. Tabatha Barber. She is a triple board-certified physician in obstetrics and gynecology, menopause, and functional medicine, and the author of the international bestseller Fast to Faith. Her story begins far from the exam room. From teen mom and high school dropout, she went on to build a virtual medical practice serving women across the country, and she credits her turnaround entirely to faith and perseverance.

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What do you do when life hands you the unthinkable, and how do you come out the other side still proclaiming God's goodness?

In this powerful episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with conservative activist, media personality, and mama bear, Kendall Bailey, for a conversation that will leave you anchored in the goodness of God.

Kendall shares her remarkable journey through diagnosis, crisis, and choosing to trust God with the outcome - and how her unshakeable faith carried her through one of the hardest seasons of her life. Together, Melissa and Kendall...

Melissa is joined by Tiffany Parsons this week on Holistic Health with Melissa. Tiffany is a pastor's wife, homeschooling mom of twins, pediatric occupational therapist, and author of the new Christian children's book All Different Yet the Same. She shares her journey from driven career woman to faith-led mother running a flexible private practice, and the sanctification process that changed everything she thought she knew about her calling.

Together, Melissa and Tiffany get honest about: 

Do you ever feel physically present in your life, but mentally a million miles away?

In this solo episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, I share how learning to be present has transformed the way I experience motherhood, family, faith, and my own healing journey. After years of living in the next thing - thinking about the laundry, the emails, the appointments, the bills, and everything that still needed to be done - I realized that life wasn't passing me by because I was busy. It was passing me by because I wasn't fully present for it.<...

For so many women, burnout doesn't happen overnight. It builds slowly through every yes given out of guilt, every ignored warning sign, and every season of trying to hold everything together.

God never asked you to be everything to everyone.

This week on Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa is joined by author and speaker Susan Wiesemann for a conversation about what happens when years of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and trying to do it all finally catch up with the body.

Susan shares her powerful story of landing in the emergency room on her 45th...

Are you a Christian woman who's done everything "right" - prayed, read the Word, shown up for your faith but still feels stuck, anxious, or burned out? You're not alone, and you're not broken.

In this powerful episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Eleanor Brown, Licensed Professional Counselor and author of A Better Way, for a raw and honest conversation about why so many Christian women are struggling and what's really going on beneath the surface.

Eleanor breaks down why well-meaning faith communities sometimes do more harm than good when it...

What if healing is not about fixing what is broken, but learning how to feel safe in your body again?

In this week's episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa has the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Haley Turpin, a nervous-system-focused chiropractor and breathwork facilitator in Colorado, for a conversation about trauma, nervous system healing, and the mind-body connection.

Dr. Haley shares how the unexpected loss of her mother led her to understand healing in a much deeper way. She explains how grief affected her body, her identity, her relationships, and her capacity, and...

If you've ever felt like something was "off" in your body but were told everything looked normal… this episode is for you.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Elyse Scheeler, a speech-language pathologist, myofunctional therapist, special needs and homeschool strategy coach, and host of Speaking Life Into Motherhood.

Melissa and Elyse talk about what it looks like to trust your intuition, advocate for your health, and care for your body from a place of faith, especially when you feel dismissed, overwhelmed, or unsure where to begin.

Elyse sh...

Motherhood is one of the most beautiful and meaningful roles we step into… and also one of the most refining and exhausting.

In this honest, heart-led solo episode, I'm sitting down to talk about the parts of motherhood we don't talk about enough. The identity shifts. The emotional weight. The triggers that surface. And the internal tension of loving your kids deeply while still feeling stretched, overwhelmed, or even lost at times.

We're diving into:

If you're the one who "holds it all together"… this episode is for you.

In this powerful conversation on Holistic Health with Melissa, self-leadership coach Robin McIntire sits down with Melissa to unpack the emotional patterns behind perfectionism, burnout, and chronic self-doubt.

Together, they explore why so many high-achieving women feel exhausted, disconnected, and stuck in cycles of overdoing and how those patterns often stem from early experiences, trauma, and a deep-rooted belief of "I'm not enough."

You'll learn:

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa is joined again by functional nutritionist Katie Kirklin for part two of their conversation on the true foundations of healing.

Together, they unpack the non-negotiable trifecta of health: sleep, poop, and blood sugar balance and explain why these basics matter more than most women realize. If you are struggling with hormone imbalance, cortisol issues, gut problems, constipation, fatigue, cravings, poor sleep, PMS, or feeling stuck in your health, this conversation will help you understand where to start.

Katie shares how sleep affects cortisol, melatonin, insulin, and...

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Dr. Bri, a mind-body practitioner and chiropractor, to talk about the deeper roots of chronic stress patterns and the symptoms that often come with them, including anxiety, fatigue, pain, gut issues, burnout, brain fog, emotional overwhelm, and nervous system dysregulation.

Together, they unpack the mind-body connection, how the nervous system gets stuck in survival mode, and why so many people continue struggling even after trying therapy, supplements, meditation, medication, mindset work, and other wellness tools. Dr. Bri explains how unresolved emotional stress can quietly drive...

So many Christian women love Jesus… but still feel deeply unworthy.

In this solo episode, I'm sharing my personal journey from trauma, survival mode, and believing I was "not enough"… to discovering what it actually means to be worthy in Christ.

We're talking about:

Where feelings of unworthiness really come from

Why so many Christian women struggle with this

The difference between performance-based faith and identity

What Scripture actually means when it says "apart from God we are nothing"

How unworthiness keeps your nervous system stuc...

If you've ever felt stuck in anxiety, people-pleasing, or patterns you can't seem to break, this conversation is going to resonate.

Because it's not random.
And it's not because something is wrong with you.

In this episode, Melissa sits down with Krystina Dixon, Christian life and legacy coach, to explore what's really happening beneath the surface.

Together, they unpack how trauma, fear, and early life experiences shape the nervous system, influence identity, and impact the way women relate to God.

And more importantly, how those patterns begin to shift.

If you've been stuck in cycles of overspending, burnout, emotional coping, or feeling like you're never doing enough… this conversation will hit deep.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, we sit down with Sammy Wedemeyer, who is publicly documenting her family's debt payoff journey, faith walk, and radical lifestyle transformation in real time.

But this isn't just about money.

We dive into:

If you're constantly tired, stressed, or struggling with your health, this episode will change how you think about healing.

In this conversation, clinical nutritionist Dr. Aaron Chapa returns and breaks down the real foundation of health: sleep, rest, and daily rhythms. If you haven't heard his transformational story, definitely head back to Ep. 51.

Here we dive into:

     • Why sleep is critical for gut health, hormones, and brain function
     • How poor sleep disrupts detox, digestion, and mental clarity
     • The connection between stress, cortisol, and burnout
     • Why your body can't heal if you're always "on"

Your body was designed to heal. But modern food, hidden sugar, and processed ingredients are getting in the way.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, clinical nutritionist and wellness advocate Dr. Aaron Chapa joins Melissa to unpack the powerful connection between nutrition, gut health, inflammation, and the body's natural ability to heal.

Dr. Chapa shares his personal story, from being an overweight teenager to becoming a clinical nutritionist after losing his father to heart disease, and explains why so many people today feel confused about what is actually healthy.

Together they...

Twenty-five years ago, a single day changed everything for Melissa. In this deeply personal episode, she shares her experience surviving a school shooting at her high school in San Diego and what the years of healing after that have taught her about trauma, the nervous system, and what it really means to feel safe again.

This is a vulnerable one. Melissa talks about the guilt and shame she carried for years, the flashbacks, the anxiety, and the hypervigilance that followed her well into adulthood. She also opens up about something that made this experience even more complicated...

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with functional nutrition counselor and registered nurse Katie Kirklin for an honest conversation about diet culture, blood sugar regulation, nervous system health, and what it really means to nourish your body.

Katie shares her personal journey from chronic symptoms, food fear, and restrictive eating to discovering functional nutrition and a more personalized, whole-food approach to healing. Together, Melissa and Katie explore how food, stress, trauma, and lifestyle patterns shape your physical and emotional health and why shifting your mindset from restriction to nourishment can transform the...

In a culture that glorifies hustle and self-sacrifice, many Christian women feel guilty for resting. But is burnout really biblical?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, we unpack what Scripture actually says about self-care, humility, and stewardship. Using Philippians 2 and 1 Corinthians 6:19, Melissa explores the difference between selfishness and obedience and why caring for your body, nervous system, and emotional health is not vanity, but worship.

You'll learn:

Why so many women feel guilty for resting

The difference between biblical humility and self-neglect

How hustle culture impacts your...

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Reverend Christine Vaughan Davies, hospital chaplain, spiritual director, and leader of a hospital spiritual care department, for an honest conversation about grief and spiritual distress.

Together they unpack why grief isn't only about death, how life changes create real loss, and why comparison ("the suffering Olympics") keeps women stuck in shame and isolation. You'll also hear a compassionate, practical guide to supporting someone in acute grief - what helps, what harms, and why well-meaning religious phrases can deepen pain rather than heal it.

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In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 2 practitioner Nathan Cooley to explore how trauma, anxiety, and nervous system dysregulation are stored in the body and how true healing is possible.

Together, they unpack how childhood trauma, religious trauma, emotional abuse, and generational patterns create "unfinished loops" in the nervous system that keep us stuck in survival mode. Nathan explains Internal Family Systems therapy in a grounded, accessible way and guides Melissa through a live IFS mini-session, offering listeners a powerful real-time example of somatic healing in action.<...

In this powerful and deeply honest episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Amanda Dykes, host of Unedited Faith, to talk about trauma, faith, healing, and what it really means to surrender to God when prayer alone feels insufficient.

Amanda shares her journey as a preacher's kid raised in rural East Tennessee, navigating sexual assault, domestic violence, church hurt, deep grief after losing both parents, and the quiet depression that followed. She opens up about how unprocessed trauma shaped her identity, distorted her relationship with God, and left her feeling unseen, unworthy, and angry...

What if your emotions were not the problem, but the pathway to healing?

In this powerful conversation, Melissa sits down with licensed psychologist and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist Dr. Audrey Davidheiser to explore how trauma healing, faith, and emotional health are deeply connected.

Dr. Audrey breaks down Internal Family Systems in a simple, accessible way, explaining how we all have "parts" within us and why that does not mean we are broken. She shares how the IFS concept of the Self aligns with a Christian understanding of God-given wisdom, calm, compassion, and healing power...