Learn From People Who Lived it

A PCP-Laced Brownie Changed Her Whole Life with Ruth Poniarski

A PCP-Laced Brownie Changed Her Whole Life with Ruth Poniarski
In this episode, Mathew and Ruth discuss the impact of unknowingly ingesting a hallucinogenic substance while already in a bad mental state, the long-term impacts, her recovery journey, and where she is today.
Ruth Poniarski is here to share her story of surviving a devastating mental illness that stemmed from a PCP-laced brownie. In 1977, Ruth was in her fourth year of a five-year architectural program and struggling with extremely low self-esteem. She was in a bad place and felt isolated when she met an older man. He invited her to an intimate college party and gave her a brownie laced with PCP (angel dust), leading to a series of life-threatening nervous breakdowns that caused her to leave college and seek out psychological help. This led to a multi-year uphill battle to find relief from anxiety, depression, mania, and severe insomnia. She never gave up, and eventually, she found the right psychologist for her, was prescribed the proper medication, and broke the cycle. She has not had a breakdown since 2010.
In this episode, you'll hear:
What led Ruth to the party where she was drugged?
Finding the proper treatment and how art helped Ruth recover
Why are hallucinogens positive for some people and negative for others?
Ruth's advice to anyone who is struggling today 
Get LFPWLI Merch here!
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
Resources:
RuthPoniarski.com 
Journey of the Self: Memoir of an Artist by Ruth Poniarski
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

How to handle menopause with Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Today's episode is what the podcast people call a "Swap." We're pausing Learn from people who lived it this week to showcase one of the most downloaded episodes on the I NEEDED THAT PODCAST.
Today’s show features an interview with Dr. Mary Claire Haver. Dr. Mary Claire Haver is a wife, mom, physician, and entrepreneur who has devoted her adult life to women’s health. As a board-certified OBGYN in Houston, Dr. Haver has delivered thousands of babies, completed thousands of well-woman exams, counseled patients, taught residents, and done everything an academic professor and OBGYN could do. This episode is all about MENOPAUSE! This conversation must be had; both male and female listeners should understand this process. What happens when women go through menopause? Listen and learn during this fabulous episode!
 
Also in this episode:
Chris brings questions from his followers to Dr. Haver
Dr. Haver explains hormone replacement therapy
Dr. Haver expands on how the number on the scale does not fully represent health
Mathews asks Dr. Haver: How can men support the women going through menopause in our lives?
Mathew and Chris invite Dr. Haver to play a round of Name That Tune
Mathew and Chris invite Dr. Haver to play a round of: Would You Rather
 
Go to https://betterhelp.com/ineededthat for 10% off your first month of therapy with
BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored
Try Neurogum over at https://tryneurogum.com/ineededthat #sponsored
Thanks for checking out our podcast, and please don’t forget to follow along on Instagram at www.instagram.com/ineededthat
Connect with Chris Powell, get links to his new app (coming soon) as well as products & speaking info at www.ChrisPowell.com
Connect with Mathew Blades, and bring him to speak at www.learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com
Bring movement to your company or school with Move 1 Million www.m1m.org
Connect with Dr. Mary Claire Haver here: https://www.instagram.com/drmaryclaire
 
Resources that Dr. Mary Claire mentioned found here:
https://www.menopause.org/
https://www.myalloy.com/
https://www.joinmidi.com/
https://maryclairewellness.com/

Part 3: Let Go and Laugh with Cortney McDermott

In this episode, you'll hear:
Why do many high performers have a hard time cutting loose?
We are not in control, but we can influence and adapt.
What Cort learned on Richard Branson's private island
What does it mean to “play” as an adult?
Mathew and Cort do an improv exercise. 
This is part three of three in a series with Cortney McDermott. Cort is a bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and mind-body expert with a Master of Science from the London School of Economics. She speaks four languages and currently splits her time between Italy and the US. There was a time when it looked like she had it all, but in reality, she was “miserably successful." She had a series of “cold shower moments” where she realized that, despite her accomplishments, she was unhappy. She looked around and saw that it didn't seem like anyone around her was feeling fulfilled. Finding her way out of that space and helping others do the same has become her calling and a new career.
It can be easy to get caught up in the seriousness of life. With bills, doctor visits, and laundry, we often feel like we don’t have time to relax or can’t afford to let things spin out of control. It may be hard for you to let go because you do care so much. There is nothing wrong with caring, and as Mathew always says, “Letting go is not the same as not caring.” However, in reality, we rarely control most things happening in our lives, like our heartbeat, the weather, or people's actions. It can be hard to break away from the identities you’ve created around yourself: control freak, type A, high achiever... But there is an easier way to navigate life, and you may find the results are even better when you go with the flow.
Cort tells us there was a time in her life when she was operating from a “push place," trying to force her will on life. Now, she has shifted to an intrinsically motivated place. By leaning into her internal instructions, she has found more peace and happiness in her life. Having time to listen to the universe can be seen as a luxury, but as Cort told us in part two of this series, she sees busyness as a lie, and by silencing the noise, space can be created. There is freedom in letting go of things we cannot control. What other people think of you is none of your business, and by eliminating that concern, we can begin to find more time to invest in ourselves.
As we become adults, “play” can feel inaccessible, but Cort's advice is to just try new things and do what feels good. We are on a ball of dirt spinning through space. Ride the wave and do what you need to do to find happiness. We are not in control, but we can influence and adapt.
In this episode, you'll hear:
Why do many high performers have a hard time cutting loose?
We are not in control, but we can influence and adapt.
What Cort learned on Richard Branson's private island
What does it mean to “play” as an adult?
Mathew and Cort do an improv exercise. 
Get LFPWLI Merch here!
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
Everything is Fine, but You Are Still Unhappy: Change Your Mindset with Cortney McDermott
Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot
The teaching of the Dao
Richard Branson 
CortneyMcDermott.com 
 
Connect with the Guest
CortneyMcdermott.com
Cortney on Instagram 
Cortney on LinkedIn
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

Part 2: How to Create More Time in Your Day with Cortney McDermott

Part 2: Creating More Time in Your Day with Cortney McDermott
This is part two of three in a series with Cortney McDermott. Cort is a bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and mind-body expert with a Master of Science from the London School of Economics. She speaks four languages and splits her time between Italy and the US. There was a time in her life when it looked like she had it all, but in reality, she was “miserably successful." She had a series of “cold shower moments” where she realized that, despite her accomplishments, she was unhappy. She looked around and saw that it didn't seem like anyone around her was feeling fulfilled. Finding her way out of that space and helping others do the same has become her calling and a new career.
Do you tie your value to your productivity? Do you think being busy gives you self-worth? Do you struggle with time management? Cortney tells us she used to be this person too, until one day, she removed the word “busy” from her vocabulary, flipped her relationship with time, and started to focus on the things that were really important to her, and eventually, it started to feel like time expanded.
For many of us, the chaos starts when we open our eyes, roll over, and grab our cell phones. Cort tells us our brains are most programmable right before we fall asleep and right after we wake up, so avoiding the phone in bed is a small way to make a few minutes of time for ourselves and begin to cultivate stillness. In that stillness, we can access our innate intelligence and begin to see things more clearly. A lot of what we think we need to be doing is just noise. In stillness, we can find honesty that allows us to evaluate what we are spending time on and can actually let go of. In the same way, there are things that only we can do, like spend time with our family. By eliminating the "busyness," you will have more time for the important things.
However, there are seasons in life when we feel the busyness serves us, like when we are expanding in our careers or building a family. Mathew reminds us that while there is a time to turn the volume up to 10, there are also times to lower it back down to 2. As long as you realize that no one but you can control the volume of your life, you will maintain the ability to manage your own time. As many of us know, a task will expand to the time it is allotted, leading to procrastination. By setting realistic yet ambitious timelines for ourselves, we maximize what we can accomplish. No matter what, remember that you always have permission to opt out. Identify the noise and areas where you are giving too much out of a sense of obligation or outside perception, then take back your time. Link new behaviors to existing behaviors, like listening to the audiobook while watching your kids practice or doing wall push-ups each time you go to the bathroom. Experiment with patterns and habits you can associate to make your life easier.
In this episode, you'll hear:
How to be intentional with your days when you are living a “busy” life
Why are stillness and mindfulness so important in the morning?
Opt out and experiment with associating new and existing patterns and habits.
Get LFPWLI Merch here!
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
Everything is Fine, but You Are Still Unhappy: Change Your Mindset with Cortney McDermott
The Pareto principle
Pomodoro Technique
Parkinson's law
 
Connect with the Guest
CortneyMcdermott.com
Cortney on Instagram 
Cortney on LinkedIn
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson