Insights with Us

Spells for Surviving a Haunted Childhood by Barbara Latinka

Host Anastasia interviews author Barbara about her three-book series, Spells for Surviving a Haunted Childhood, written during trauma therapy to process childhood abuse, neglect, and feelings of worthlessness. We explore themes of healing work, magic in the world, neglect, boundaries, and the reality of being hurt and human.

Instagram: @hauntedchildhoodspells  

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How do I not freak out when things don't go as planned? How do I become more spontaneous? How are you dealing with everything in the world? How do I achieve my dreams? These are the questions explored in today's episode of Insights with Us. Join us, and let's see if we can build insight together on this journey of life. 

What to expect in this episode?

00:00 Welcome and Mission

01:28 Q1: How do I not freak out when things don...

Dr. Damijey is here to remind us that we are not alone. As board-certified endocrinologist, Dr. Damijey is on a mission to explain endocrinology and help us understand our options and how to advocate for ourselves. Dr. Dami emphasizes women’s health topics including PCOS (note: it has been renamed PMOS since our recording), menopause, osteoporosis, thyroid, and metabolic issues. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing sy...

Our guest today is Sophia McGovern: a mother writer, editor, and founder of Little Somethings Press, a Tempe-based handmade press that has produced about 1,000 books over seven years and published about 200 contributors worldwide. She shares fears about losing her creative identity during pregnancy, her postpartum experience, and how creating and writing helped her process her experience and reconnect with herself. Sophia discusses...

AMA: Boundaries,, Depth, and Self-Love in Relationships

Another AMA, and I love it! Today, Anastasia answers fan-questions about effort and healing in relationships, boundaries, and love. We use metaphors, talk philosophy, and get messy and complicated as we explore the human experience. These answers are contextual and not a substitute for therapy. 

What to expect in this episode:

00:00 Welcome

02:19 Q1: Now that I’m ...

here or sign up here.

Find Nicole:

https://nicolebreit.com/

On Instagram and Substack: @the.nicole.breit

What to expect in this episode:

01:39 Meet Nicole

03:50 Writing as Transformation

08:18 Distance Through Story

12:01 Teen Trauma and Grief

22:53 Therapy as Witnessing

25:06 Pillow Talk: Tuning Guitars and Wet Kisses

33:59 Revolution Story Lab

38:18 Nicole’s Latest Memoir

45:20 Heartbreak and Snake Season

51:39 Sharing Li...

Today’s episode features Hannah Davis, a fellow Pillow Talk contributor and author of an upcoming memoir, Sugar Hit. Hannah shares how she decided to face her internal pain, accepted her true self, and did a complete 180 in her life. Hannah opens up about her drug use, building inner safety, and how to navigate feeling stuck. Together, we explore the collective courage in sharing vulnerable stories.

What you’ll find in...

Insights with Us has its first AMA! The theme of this AMA: regulation and interpersonal dynamics. We talk about the window of tolerance, the emotional backpack, and attachment styles if they were buckets waiting for love. 

If you have any questions you’d like answered in a future AMA, send questions to:

insightswithus@gmail.com

OR

@insightswithuspodcast 

01:15 Q1: Do therapists care about their clients?

04:44 Q2:...

Stephanie Sonntag, chief therapist and co-founder of NextTherapist joins Insights with Us! NextTherapist is a platform created to address the challenge of getting therapeutic support when you need it, instead of waiting weeks for a potential fit. Stephanie shares her journey of uncertainty and trying several different paths including journalism, non-profit work, mental health work and advocacy, before settling into EMDR and being a...

How can you follow your dreams while honoring your limits? I want to share with you my journey of learning about my body, my chronic pain, and the decades it took to start understanding my rhythm.

I had to grieve the life I thought I would have, shifting from “pushing through” to listening to my body, setting boundaries, and experimenting with new ways of showing up including: cycle-based tracking, flexibility with my ...

This episode of Insights with Us features Ginny MacColl, Guinness World Record holder as the oldest female ninja competitor, former Broadway dancer in Pippin (1974–76), commercial actor, and mother of two incredible children, including Ninja Warrior Jesse Graff. In this episode, Ginny shares what it’s like performing under pressure and the mental strategies she uses on American Ninja Warrior. Ginny advocates for strengt...

Listen to the journey of four contributors to the bestselling anthology Pillow Talk, noted as a CBC 2026 books-to-read pick. We explore their stories, writing processes, and what’s next for each of them. 

Author 1: Simarbir.

@simar.bookish.dreamer

Author 2: Kate. 

@heskett.kate 

Author 3: Andrea.

@the_world_of_caracopia 

https://caracopia.com/

https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheWorldofCaraCopia

https://www.yout...

Renee, a feminist leadership and cycle syncing coach, joins Insights with Us to discuss her book, Cycle Sync your Business, on how menstrual cycles and hormones affect women’s energy, emotions, productivity, and well-being throughout the month, and how understanding these rhythms can reduce burnout and increase self-permission. 

We discuss aligning exercise and work with cycle phases, using awareness and the process of a...

Let’s talk about long-term goals: how to identify them, start them, and endure the frustration of slow progress without giving up. Long-term goals require flexible cycles of progress and rest, and today we talk about what that might look like. This episode ends with a guided thought experiment about what future you are working towards.

02:34 Pick Your Goal

04:25 When Motivation Fades

10:09 Rest Without Guilt

15:09 Avoid Shor...

Pillow Talk:  Real People. Real Stories. Real Awkward. (an awfully hilarious anthology) is available now! The audiobook is available on February 18th (on sale), get your copy and let’s heal together.

In this episode, we explore themes of sex, intimacy, and empowerment while celebrating our shared journey of writing and community building. Heather shares insights into the collaborative process of creating the book, the i...

Welcome back to the ‘Insights with Us’ podcast! My mission is to build a community rooted in acceptance and authenticity. In this episode, I want to reflect on the podcast’s journey over the past two years and share exciting plans for 2026 before we dive into the idea of shadow work, which involves confronting and understanding the parts of ourselves that we typically avoid so we can break old patterns and heal. L...

In this episode, we join Brittaney Latta, a queer trauma therapist, as she shares her personal journey of overcoming childhood trauma and finding safety in adulthood. She shares the challenges and triumphs of starting her own private practice and her commitment to creating safe and affirming spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. Brittaney also introduces her innovative project—the Queer Rebels Box—a curated set of sensory co...

What makes you feel free? How do you know what is authentic for you? In this episode, Maria Scarpello dives into alignment she has found with her true self, the significance of play and exploration in life, and the importance of authenticity and self-love. We talk about being a nomad, grounding practices, and genuineness and inner child work.

We show up together as our authentic selves, accept our differences, and share excitemen...