Christi's Couch
“I remember looking up at myself for the first time. And my cousin kept saying, ‘I’m going to fix this. I'm going to fix this.’ And I literally looked at her and I was like, ‘How are you going to fix this?’ That was the first time I realized my whole upper lip was not there,” shares Brooklinn Khoury, close family friend and professional skateboarder. In November of 2020, Brooklinn suffered a horrific dog attack that disfigured her face. Following the attack was hours of chaos and continual surgeries to try to fix her face. In spite of enduring life altering trauma when she was...
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“We can't ever hate ourselves into a body that we love, but we can love ourselves into a body that we love,” shares Kelley Nemiro, certified holistic health coach, pilates instructor, and founder of Wellness by Kelley. Through her coaching membership program, Kelley helps women live healthier lives by teaching them how to balance their hormones from the inside out. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with Kelley Nemiro to talk about the role of hormones on overall health and body weight and how changing your mindset can be the most important behavioral...
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“The more we bring everyone's gifts and potential into the world through giving them the tools that they need, the more we all benefit,” explains Briana Borten, Spiritual Mentor. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with Briana Borten to talk about the healing properties of energy work, listening to signs from the universe, and giving back. After graduating from high school, Briana experienced a horrible accident that broke her neck. She was in a lot of pain and barely able to function until she was gifted three energy working sessions by...
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Every Monday on her Instagram stories, host Christi Lukasiak takes time to do an “Ask Me Anything” with her followers, and this week she’s bringing it to Christi’s Couch. In this episode, Christi answers listener questions and gives her advice on the topics most frequently asked to her. Take a moment to have a coffee with Christi as she answers some commonly asked questions. She discusses her favorite summer reads, her dislike of cooking, and her advice for choosing the right sorority. Christi does not shy away from more difficult questions like whether it is ever...
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“I just want to encourage anyone out there who struggles, you are not alone. Get therapy. Go seek help. Find the things that work for you,” shares host Christi Lukasiak. In this episode of Christi’s Couch, Christi talks about her personal mental health journey which began with a misdiagnosis and changed dramatically when she was properly diagnosed and given the correct medication. When Christi first sought help for her depression, she was treated with very minimal doses of generic antidepressants that did not help her. After finding a new doctor, she was diagnosed with...
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“The only thing that our universe is bringing to us is an amplification of our own thoughts, our own feelings and our own daily behaviors,” shares Allyson Byrd, money mindset strategist. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with Allyson Byrd to talk about mindset change, imposter syndrome, and unlocking abundance by learning to listen to the signs sent by your universe. We all have our own universe that is created based on our unique lived experiences, but most of us are playing pretend trying to be part of an existence that matches our friends...
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“Communication is so important and it's probably one of the most important things you can do for your safety,” shares Cathy Pedrayes, safety guru, author, and everyone’s favorite TikTok mom friend. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with Cathy Pedryes to talk about everyday safety and security measures that are easy to do but that you may not have thought of before. Cathy shares that being the mom friend came naturally to her long before she ever identified as one. She began sharing quick safety tip videos on TikTok and they took off...
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“Our minds will keep us in our comfort zone, no matter how painful that is, because the unknown is so scary and so difficult to conceptualize for all of us,” explains Scout Sobel, founder of Scout’s Agency and author of The Emotional Entrepreneur, a guidebook for navigating the emotional challenges of launching, running, and scaling a business. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with Scout Sobel to talk about the intersection of mental health and entrepreneurship. Scout talks openly about being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and how it...
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“There's this huge market for people that have dual skin concerns, and nothing that addresses it,” shares Kayleigh Clark, co-founder of CLEARstem, a skincare company that combines anti-aging and anti-acne solutions into one product line while also providing skincare education. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with both co-founders of CLEARstem, Kayleigh Clark and Danielle Gronich, to talk about the combination of acne and aging concerns that many adults struggle with. Acne doesn't just go away when you get older. Unfortunately, many anti-aging products...
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“Whatever the space is you're working on, you are emptying it 100%. If you're not emptying first, it’s like you just keep putting a bandaid on it,” shares Ria Safford, CEO of RíOrganize, a luxury home organization business. Ria is the go-to celebrity home organizer with clients all over the United States. In today’s episode, host Christi Lukasiak is joined in conversation with Ria to discuss easy tips you can use to reorganize your home. Home organization can feel particularly overwhelming if you are not a Type A personality. To make things easier for all, Ria breaks home...
info_outline“I just want to encourage anyone out there who struggles, you are not alone. Get therapy. Go seek help. Find the things that work for you,” shares host Christi Lukasiak. In this episode of Christi’s Couch, Christi talks about her personal mental health journey which began with a misdiagnosis and changed dramatically when she was properly diagnosed and given the correct medication.
When Christi first sought help for her depression, she was treated with very minimal doses of generic antidepressants that did not help her. After finding a new doctor, she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and began an intensive therapy program. When that did not help, she finally found a doctor who recognized her symptoms for what they were and ultimately diagnosed her with Bipolar Disorder. Since Bipolar is mostly a hereditary chemical imbalance, it requires specific medications to help correct the imbalance, and therapy alone would not have been enough. After her diagnosis, Christi struggled with the stigmas surrounding Bipolar disorder, including having to take medication. She knew in her heart that people would scrutinize her behavior on Dance Moms even worse if they knew. Rather than succumbing to the stigmans, Christi decided to share her story with others in hopes of offering support and encouraging others to seek the help they may need.
Tune into this week’s episode of Christi’s Couch to hear more about Christi’s personal mental health journey. Learn more about the importance of finding the right therapist, destigmatizing medication, and exploring different treatment methods such as hypnotherapy, EFT tapping, and meditation.
Quotes
“Bipolar disorder is very hereditary. It is a chemical imbalance that is hereditary, so it literally is not my fault. I take responsibility for what I can do for it, but the fact that I have it wasn't because I did something wrong. Once you release yourself from that guilt and assignment to yourself, it's very, very freeing.” (25:32-26:01 | Christi)
“Honestly, I think my most helpful work has been my own mental reframe. Instead of looking at it as a death sentence, look at it as an opportunity because you have struggled through things and you've persevered.” (26:53-27:11 | Christi)
“I just want to encourage anyone out there who struggles, you are not alone. Get therapy, go seek help, and find the things that work for you.” (28:31-28:42 | Christi)
“If you don't like your therapist, find another one. Because that makes all the difference in the world. You have to have somebody you're comfortable with.” (28:42-29:01 | Christi)
Links
If you've benefited from this episode be sure to tag me @christilukasiak on Instagram and share this episode with your community to spread the word! Also, be sure to leave a review on iTunes. And if you want a question answered on the couch, call 1-800-988-8155 and leave a message!
XO, Christi