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PODCAST

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life

Dr. Doreen Downing

Psychologist and Host, Dr. Doreen Downing, invites guests who have suffered from public speaking anxiety to tell their story of struggle and how they overcame fear. They took an inner journey, found the voice that is truly their own, and now speak with confidence.

education how to

All Episodes

34:02

#182 A Diagnosis, a Divorce, and a Decision to Speak Up

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2026/04/02

Today, I interview Karen Rudolf who believed she wasn’t enough and learned early on to stay quiet, especially after being told as a child to stop asking questions. That moment shaped how she saw herself. She became very quiet, carried that into her relationships, and continued to feel small and unheard into adulthood.Growing up, her curiosity was shut down, and with a mother who was also timid and a people pleaser, she learned not to speak up. She entered a relationship where her voice was again

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42:36

#181 Silence Kept Her Safe… Until It Didn’t

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2026/03/19

Today, I interview Dori Eversmann who grew up in a family where speaking up could lead to disconnection, learning as a young girl to stay silent, watch people’s faces, and only speak when it felt safe.That pattern followed her into school and adulthood, where she became the quiet, compliant, invisible one, often freezing when asked to speak and doubting her own voice. For decades, she lived this way, until in her 40s she felt invisible, disposable, and replaceable, reaching a breaking point that

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26:02

#180 When “You Can’t” Becomes “Watch Me”

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2026/03/05

Today, I interview Mikki St. Germain who grew up being told to “keep your mouth shut” and made to feel like her voice didn’t matter. At 14, her mother left, and she stepped into adult responsibility, working, caring for her siblings, and eventually becoming an emancipated minor at 16.When a guidance counselor told her, “Girls like you don’t go to schools like this,” something inside her woke up. With $263 in her pocket, she drove to Florida after graduation and decided she would figure life out on

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37:15

#179 Success that Hides the Truth

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2026/02/19

Today, I interview Robin Goad who grew up believing that if her own mother did not love her enough to protect her, then she must be unlovable. From a young age, she learned to perform. Achievement was praised. Expectations were high. On the outside, she looked confident and capable. On the inside, she was hiding pain and building a life around approval.That pattern followed her into adulthood. She excelled in corporate America, rising into leadership while staying driven by performance and approval

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42:03

#178 The Hidden Cost of Being the Strong One

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2026/02/05

Today, I interview Shelly Grimm, who reflects on growing up alongside chronic illness and learning, from a very young age, how to take care of herself and others.Much of Shelly’s childhood unfolded in hospitals, financial strain, and ongoing uncertainty. She learned how to manage, decide, and keep going without much protection or guidance. Confidence developed through necessity. Speaking up was less about expression and more about making sure life continued to function.As the conversation unfolds,

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32:22

#177 The Cost of Living in Systems Not Designed for...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2026/01/22

Today, I interview Katrina van Oudheusden, who reflects on how early family dynamics, expectations, and learning to be capable from a young age shaped the way she learned to push through, stay productive, and quiet parts of herself.Growing up in a large family with strong values around stability and responsibility, Katrina learned to perform well and do what was expected. As an adult, those early patterns followed her into high-achieving environments, where productivity was prioritized and bodily

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48:45

#176 When Staying Quiet Was Survival and Listening...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/12/18

Today, I interview Desislava Dimitrova, who grew up learning to stay quiet in order to keep the peace. She shares what it was like growing up in a strict home where it did not feel safe to speak, and how being quiet became a way to protect herself from a very young age.A major turning point came later in her life through a serious illness that divided her life into before and after. The long healing process forced her to slow down, listen deeply, and face her biggest fears. Through years of

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30:05

#175 Layers of Awakening: What It Means to Truly Have...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/12/04

Today, I interview Manya Gittel who lost her voice during a stroke and woke up to something far more unexpected than the crisis itself. She describes that moment as an inner awakening she didn’t see coming, one that shifted her sense of who she was and how her voice lived inside her.Manya shares parts of her early life, shaped by her parents’ history and the roles she learned to carry as a child. These patterns became so natural to her that she never questioned them, even as they influenced how she

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38:37

#174 From Disfigurement to Discovery: Building Real...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/11/13

Today, I interview John Kippen who spent years hiding after a surgery left half of his face paralyzed. His story is one of deep courage, transformation, and learning what it really means to be seen.As a child, John grew up in a successful family and learned how to perform, achieve, and seek approval. But beneath that confidence was a longing to be understood for who he truly was. When a brain tumor led to facial paralysis, everything he knew about identity and worth was shaken.What followed was a

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36:50

#173 Unraveling the Layers to Remember Your Truth

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/10/30

Today, I interview Robin Humphreys, who once felt her voice caught in her throat and her body tense with fear. She shares how creative expression became her lifeline, helping her release what she couldn’t say out loud.Growing up sensitive and full of imagination, Robin later faced experiences that taught her to hold back her voice. Years of silence led to a deep disconnection from her own safety and expression, until art and body-based healing began to show her another way to live and speak.Now,

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32:43

#172 Finding Safety in the Body and Freedom in the Voice

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/10/16

Today, I interview Heidi Fischbach who grew up in a strict, high-control environment where fear and rules shaped how she learned to speak and exist. From an early age, she carried the weight of right and wrong, heaven and hell, and learned to stay small to stay safe.As she grew older, this constant vigilance became anxiety and self-silencing. Her turning point came when she began to understand how the body holds old fear-based patterns, and how healing the nervous system can restore a sense of

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32:43

#171 Turning Breakdown Into Breakthrough: A Journey...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/10/09

Today, I interview Catherine G. Lucas who opens up about losing her voice in the midst of a painful breakdown. In her late teens she was already standing on stage for public speaking competitions, but by the time her parents divorced during her university years, the weight of family wounds caught up with her. Instead of enjoying summer with friends, she found herself in an acute psychiatric ward, her world shattered and her voice silenced.Her breakthrough came much later, when she discovered that

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29:21

#170 Finding Freedom in Letting Go of Perfection

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/09/18

Today, I interview Liz Sweet, who spent years feeling the pressure to be polished and perfect, even when it left her exhausted. Growing up in Los Angeles, she was encouraged to use her voice, but only her polished side was welcomed, while her vulnerable self was seen as “too much.”As she built her career leading trainings around the globe, Liz created a confident persona that looked successful on the outside but drained her on the inside. Her turning point came when she discovered a presence-based

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26:13

#169 Intrusive Thoughts, Anxiety, & the Journey to...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/09/04

Today, I interview Renee Zukin who spent years caught in fear and intrusive thoughts that silenced her voice. For much of her life, anxiety and self-doubt made her question whether she could ever step into leadership or express herself authentically. She carried the weight of comparison, believing that courage belonged only to those who could do the big, bold things she thought she couldn’t.Her turning point came when she redefined bravery. Instead of measuring herself against others, she began to

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26:40

#168 Transform Stage Fright Into Human Connection

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/08/21

Today, I interview Michael Grant and Lee Glickstein. Michael once struggled with stage fright, from freezing in high school to facing the daunting role of speaking at his uncle’s memorial service. His voice, long held back by anxiety and fear, often felt locked away.Everything began to shift when he discovered Speaking Circles, created by Lee. Instead of relying on performance or technique, Michael experienced the power of pauses, silence, and being truly seen. He learned to drop into his heart,

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35:31

#167 Letting Go of the Rules to Reclaim my Voice

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/08/07

Today, I interview John Briggs, who once believed that working harder and earning more was the ultimate measure of success, until the cost of that belief showed up at home.He grew up as the youngest in a religious family, often singled out and bullied in his childhood. Making himself small felt like the only way to stay safe. Even in the workplace years later, that pattern repeated. His voice silenced under systems that rewarded overwork and discouraged questioning the norm.The breakthrough came

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36:36

#166 Rooted in the Heart: From Shyness to Bold...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/07/24

Today, I interview Eric Atwood, who spent decades trapped in self-doubt, believing he had nothing of value to say. Labeled as the “shy, scared, stupid kid” after a traumatic moment in school, he carried that identity into adulthood, silencing his voice, hiding from connection, and believing he wasn’t enough.He grew up across seven countries, constantly moving because of his father’s humanitarian work. From the outside, his childhood might have looked rich in experience. But inside, Eric struggled

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35:26

#165 Authenticity Begins Where Performance Ends

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/07/10

Today, I interview Jonathan Reynolds, who learned that voice isn’t something you perform, it’s something you live from. Growing up in a small town shaped by rigid roles and quiet expectations, Jonathan learned early on to silence parts of himself. But beneath that silence was a longing for truth, for freedom, and for something more real than what the world around him seemed to offer.In this conversation, we explore how those early conditions shaped his relationship to voice and identity, and what

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38:00

#164 She Stood Between Her Past and Her Future—and...

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/06/26

Today, I interview Junie Moon, who grew up bright and bubbly, until one look from her mother made her feel unloved. Her free spirit met a controlling household where even a glance could silence her. By eight, she had learned to dim her light just to stay safe. Being cheerful and expressive got her labeled, and rejected.Bullied through middle school, silent in high school, Junie carried this fear of being seen well into adulthood. It shaped her relationships, her body, and her belief that her voice

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33:53

#163 From Hiding to Healing and Wholeness

Find Your Voice, Change Your Life ·

2025/06/12

Today, I interview Elisa Negroni, who grew up silenced—not just by family secrets and trauma, but by a culture that told her to stay small, stay quiet, and never question authority.Raised in Puerto Rico and Jamaica, Elisa learned early that speaking up came with consequences. A teacher once told her she wasn’t “college material,” and a cruel stepmother punished her for simply existing.The silence followed her into adulthood. For years, Elisa avoided the spotlight, convinced she had nothing to say

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181 results

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