231. How to Handle Hard Conversations with Confidence with Mathew Blades
Release Date: 12/08/2025
252. Healing the Emotional Roots of Food and Addiction with Sandy Zeldes
Happy Whole You
You can follow every diet and still feel stuck if the real issue lives beneath the surface. This conversation invites you to look at eating disorders and addictions through an emotional and nervous system lens, not willpower. You start to see how trauma, shame, and unprocessed experiences quietly shape your relationship with food, weight, and control. You’re introduced to holistic tools like Emotional Freedom Techniques that go beyond talk therapy and calorie counting. By addressing emotional blockages directly, real change becomes possible. The focus shifts from fixing your body to...
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251. Why rest is productive (and Hustle Is Making You Sick)
Happy Whole You
In this episode, Anna challenges hustle culture and reframes rest as a powerful productivity tool and health necessity. She explains how chronic overwork and lack of sleep can dysregulate hormones, weaken the immune system, and increase emotional reactivity—especially for women whose biology requires cyclical rest. Drawing on Barbara O’Neill’s “8 hours rest / 8 hours work / 8 hours play” framework, she offers practical tips for improving sleep quality and using visualization and breathing techniques to wind down. The episode closes with an invitation to rethink daily rhythms so that...
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250. You’re Thoughts Aren’t Harmless… They’re Biochemical Instructions
Happy Whole You
In this episode, you explain how thoughts are not harmless but act as biochemical instructions that can either support healing or keep the body stuck in stress and illness. You connect mindset with physiology—stress hormones, sleep, inflammation, and even gene expression—and encourage listeners to consciously choose more supportive inner dialogue, explore epigenetics (e.g., Dr. Bruce Lipton’s work), and consider coaching to rewire their neural networks. Key Points Thoughts act as biochemical instructions in the body Chronic negative self-talk raises stress hormones (e.g.,...
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249. Why You’re Doing ‘All The Right’ Things and Still Not Healing
Happy Whole You
In this episode, we explore why you can be eating clean, working out, and taking all the right supplements yet still not feel well. Anna explains how unresolved emotional stress keeps the body from feeling safe, which blocks physical healing. You’ll learn why safety cues, breathwork, and coaching support are crucial for deeper, lasting healing beyond diet and exercise. Key Points: Doing “all the right” health habits but still feel unwell Body won’t heal when it doesn’t feel emotionally safe Unresolved emotional stress suppresses immune function Stress slows tissue repair and...
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248. Your Gut Has Feelings Too/ Why Healing Starts In The Gut
Happy Whole You
In this episode, we explore the powerful connection between your gut, stress, and emotions. Anna explains how anxiety and chronic stress can disrupt the gut-brain axis, damage immune function in the gut, and show up as bloating and digestive issues. You’ll learn simple daily practices and supportive supplements that help calm the nervous system, restore gut lining, and address both the emotional and physical sides of gut healing. Key Points Stress and anxiety strongly affect gut health Gut-brain axis communicates via the vagus nerve Fight-or-flight state disrupts digestion and heart...
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247. You’re Not Lazy - Your Nervous System Is Fried!
Happy Whole You
In this episode, Anna explains why what we label as “laziness” is often actually burnout and nervous system overload. She shares her own experience of hitting a wall after years of high productivity, describes how chronic stress keeps us stuck in survival mode, and outlines simple, science-backed ways to regulate the nervous system. Listeners are encouraged to see burnout as a biological state—not a character flaw—and to reclaim energy through rest, boundaries, and basic self-care. Key Points Burnout is a nervous system issue, not a character flaw Mindset matters at first, then...
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246. Lesson’s I didn’t expect to learn (Part 6)
Happy Whole You
In this episode of “Lessons I Didn’t Expect to Learn,” Anna reflects on how losing her grandmother reshaped her understanding of success. Instead of measuring life by revenue and achievements, she explores family time, presence, and connection as the metrics that really matter. Through a tender story of her grandmother’s final days, she shares how grief led her to redesign her life around proximity to loved ones and choosing memories over milestones. Key Points: Success is often measured by numbers, not connection Loss of grandmother prompted deep reflection on priorities Final...
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245. Lesson’s I didn’t expect to learn (Part 5)
Happy Whole You
In this episode of “Lessons I Didn’t Expect to Learn”, Anna explores how reframing disappointment as information rather than a personal failure can be deeply freeing—especially for people pleasers. By recognizing that many disappointments reflect others’ capacities, fears, and seasons (not our worth), we can release self-blame, soften resentment, and respond with more clarity, peace, and self-compassion. Key Points: Disappointment isn’t personal; it’s information We often over-own disappointments that aren’t ours Many disappointments reflect others’ stress, fear, and...
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244. Lesson’s I didn’t expect to learn (Part 4)
Happy Whole You
In this episode, Anna explores the uncomfortable reality that hitting big goals doesn’t always bring the fulfillment we expect. She shares candid stories about giving keynotes that didn’t feel authentic, how borrowing others’ “success frameworks” shook her nervous system, and why tying worth to achievement leads to restlessness and anxiety. The conversation centers on reclaiming authenticity, listening to the body’s signals, and examining whether our goals are truly ours or shaped by others’ expectations. Key Points: Success can feel empty even when goals are met...
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243. Lesson’s I didn’t expect to learn (Part 3)
Happy Whole You
In this episode, Anna reflects on the moment she realized she didn’t need another program, course, or coach—she needed to live what she already knew. She explores the subtle shift from endlessly preparing and collecting frameworks to actually integrating, embodying, and trusting her own wisdom. This is a gentle call, especially to high achievers, to step back from constant “doing,” embrace stillness, honor their values, and become the work instead of buying more of it. Key Points: Realizing it’s time to live the work, not buy more of it Love of growth can become a distraction...
info_outlineYou know those conversations you keep putting off because they feel heavy or tense? This talk gives you a clearer way through them. Mathew Blades explains why tough conversations trigger anxiety and why they matter even more when the person is someone you’ll have to face again. You hear how “I” statements, honest intentions, and simple clarity can shift the whole tone. And you learn why giving someone space to process can be more effective than pushing for instant resolution.
You also get a practical look at how to lead the conversation instead of reacting to it. Role-playing, knowing what outcome you want, and assuming the other person didn’t mean harm help you stay grounded. By the end, you see that hard conversations don’t have to drain you. They can open the door to understanding, peace, and healthier relationships.
About Mathew Blades:
When organizations need to break free from dysfunctional workplace cycles and build winning team cultures, they turn to Mathew Blades. An award-winning broadcaster turned captivating keynote speaker, he shares a startling new perspective on how teams can relate to themselves and each other to achieve the extraordinary, together.
Drawing from 27 years of broadcasting experience and hundreds of transformational interviews through his podcast Learn From People Who Lived It™, Blades helps leaders and teams renegotiate what work can look like. His approach has impacted organizations like Kia, Hyundai, and Keller Williams, earning praise from industry leaders, including Howard Stern.
Connect with Mathew Blades:
Website: www.mathewblades.com
Connect with Anna:
Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com
Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou
Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com
Instagram: @happywholeyou
Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie
Facebook: Happy Whole You
LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank
Venmo: @happywholeyou