When Strength Looks Different: A Chronic Pain Journey

"From Shame to Spotlight: Overcoming Anxiety Through Courage"

In this powerful and deeply human episode, I sit down with my bestie, Irina Bogomolova to explore her journey of overcoming debilitating social anxiety, alcohol misuse, and the isolating experience of living with a blushing disorder. Irina, a Russian immigrant who came to the United States as a child, shares how unbearable blushing in social settings became a source of intense shame and fear, and how alcohol slowly became a way to cope. What began as overdrinking to “get through” social situations eventually reinforced the anxiety, creating a painful cycle of avoidance, self-doubt, and disconnection. But Irina’s story is ultimately one of courage, transformation, and leadership. Through a personal development and leadership program, she found the strength to face what she feared most, break free from the grip of social anxiety, and reclaim her voice. That journey led her into the world of slam poetry and stand-up comedy, spaces where vulnerability became power and authenticity became freedom. Today, Irina is the founder of Choice in Recovery, an organization dedicated to expanding the conversation around substance use and recovery. Drawing from her own experience learning to moderate alcohol use in a healthy way, she now helps professionals and communities understand the importance of personalized, diverse pathways of peer support for individuals struggling with substance use disorders. This episode is an inspiring reminder that healing is not one-size-fits-all — and that the very thing we fear most can become the doorway to our greatest growth. About Irina: Irina is a University of Colorado at Boulder graduate, holding a BA in Russian and Sociology. Inspired by her own journey, Irina founded Choice in Recovery in May of 2014. After networking and speaking to representatives of the many pathways, she built a team and together they began educating the public and professionals in the field about the various options available. Irina has facilitated conversations on the many pathways to recovery at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Auraria Campus, Denver Health, The Office of Behavioral Health, The Southern Nevada Substance Use and Behavioral Health Summit, and the Colorado Association of Addictions Professionals conference. She has also trained recovery coaches, students at the University of Denver, and led a webinar for Transforming Youth Recovery.  choiceinrecovery.net [http://choiceinrecovery.net/] choiceinrecovery.thinkific.com [http://choiceinrecovery.thinkific.com/] IG: @reroutepoetry

When Strength Looks Different: A Chronic Pain Journey

In this episode, I sit down with Joy McGowan to explore her deeply personal journey with chronic pain, a journey that began unexpectedly in her 40s and reshaped every part of her life. As a wife and mother who once identified strongly as athletic and physically capable, Joy shares the grief, frustration, and identity rupture that followed injury and persistent pain. Joy speaks honestly about what it’s like to navigate chronic pain while holding family roles, managing expectations, and mourning the loss of a former version of herself. Rather than allowing pain to define her solely through limitation, she describes how this season became an invitation into deeper self-love, self-compassion, and identity work. Through reflection, resilience, and intentional inner work, Joy has transformed her experience of chronic pain into a source of meaning, using her story to support others who are struggling to reconnect with their bodies, redefine their worth, and rebuild identity in the face of long-term pain. This episode is a powerful conversation about grief, adaptation, and learning how to love yourself in a body that no longer works the way it once did. About Joy: Joy is a counselor who is passionate about helping people overcome felt limitations related to chronic illness and chronic pain. She uses CBT, DBT, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help root out what holds us back from living a full life after diagnosis and keep the condition from becoming who we are versus simply a part of who we are – a very important distinction when living with chronic conditions. Joy provides therapeutic services at Envision Counseling Clinic in Colorado and truly believes in post-traumatic growth. If you are feeling stuck, unsure, or fearful of your future, please reach out to Joy at the following connection points. You are not your condition, it is simply a part of you and your story.  Where to connect: https://www.envisionclinic.com/staff/joymcgowan/ [https://www.envisionclinic.com/staff/joymcgowan/]

Choosing Love Without Certainty: A Relationship OCD Conversation

In this episode, I sit down with Lily Duffy to explore her lived experience with relationship OCD—a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that targets the very relationships we care about most. Lily shares how a series of difficult life events and an overwhelming fear of the unknown triggered intrusive doubts, anxiety, and relentless questioning about her relationship and future. At its peak, relationship OCD nearly stood in the way of her marriage, convincing her that certainty was required before commitment. Through the support of a thoughtful and deeply attuned therapist, Lily was introduced to Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts work—an approach that helped her understand her inner world with curiosity rather than judgment. In this conversation, Lily reflects on how learning to relate compassionately to her anxious and protective parts allowed her to move from fear and self-criticism toward hope, healing, and self-compassion. This episode is an honest and grounding exploration of how therapy, inner work, and courage can transform suffering into growth—and how healing doesn’t come from eliminating fear, but from learning how to be with it. This episode is for anyone navigating OCD, relationship anxiety, or the quiet inner battles that can shape our most meaningful connections. Lily Duffy, LCSW is a therapist in Denver, Colorado. Lily runs Dreaming Pines Therapy, where they specialize in supporting high masking, late-identified neurodivergent adults who are struggling with chronic shame and self-criticism, complex trauma, burnout, social difficulties, and identity integration. Learn more at www.dreaming pines therapy.com [http://www.dreamingpinestherapy.com/]. ROCD/Relationship Anxiety resources on Instagram:  @forloveweheal @anxiouslovecoach @youloveandyoulearn @wisdomofanxiety @withawakenintolove

Expectation Meets Reality: The Path of a Foster Parent

In this episode of Wisdom Through Fire, we explore how becoming a foster parent can unravel assumptions, surface unhealed wounds, and fundamentally reshape how we understand care, control, and expectations. I sit down with Danielle Martinelli-Taylor who entered foster parenting with a supportive partner, an open heart, and the belief that love and good intentions would be enough. While fostering has been deeply meaningful and something she genuinely enjoys, it has also been far more emotionally and mentally confronting than she ever anticipated. The role has brought her face-to-face with her own emotions, past experiences, and ways of coping, many of which were previously unexamined. As she navigates the realities of the foster care system, she shares the grief and sadness that come with witnessing systemic limitations, the complexity of attachment, and the emotional toll of loving children within a system built around impermanence. This conversation explores the fire of expectation versus reality, the quiet grief foster parents carry, and how caregiving can become a powerful mirror for our own inner work. This is a story about learning that love doesn’t bypass hard truths—and that growth often comes from the places we thought would be easiest. Danielle Martinelli-Taylor, MA, LPC, NCC is an EMDR & ART, somatic, and boxing therapist specializing in trauma and childhood pain & attachment struggles. You can connect with her at: https://animocounseling.com/ [https://animocounseling.com/]

Motherhood as Medicine: When Rest Becomes a Radical Act

In this episode of Wisdom Through Fire, we explore how life sometimes forces a reckoning when we refuse to slow down on our own. I sit down with a psychotherapist and private practice owner whose identity was deeply rooted in productivity, caretaking, and achievement—until a high-risk twin pregnancy changed everything. As an African American woman, she carried not only two babies, but the very real fear shaped by alarming maternal mortality statistics for Black mothers in the United States. Working through burnout, medical risk, and the looming fear of death, her body demanded a pause she could no longer ignore. What followed was a profound transformation. Forced rest became an act of survival. Slowing down quite literally saved her life—and the lives of her daughters. This conversation explores burnout, motherhood, mortality, identity, and the radical wisdom that emerges when we finally listen to our bodies. This is a story about choosing life, challenging narratives of overwork, and discovering that sometimes the fire doesn’t destroy us—it teaches us how to live. Josephine (Josie) Ampaw-Greene, LCSW, MFTC, ADDC, MA (she/her) is a therapist,speaker, educator, and group practice owner committed to equity, inclusion, andhealing. She works with individuals, couples, and families navigating identity-basedand relationship trauma, particularly those historically marginalized. Using aperson-centered, relational approach, Josie helps clients explore and heal theimpacts of systemic oppression and relational harm. She trains organizations onequity, inclusion, belonging, and clinical development, and serves as an AdjunctProfessor at the University of Denver. She also founded The Mental Health TherapistHub, supporting new clinicians in navigating the mental health profession. Website Link: https://www.ampawpc.com/