219: Giving Pain Purpose — Living With Trauma, Chronic Pain, and Radical Gratitude with Lyndsay Soprano
Release Date: 02/17/2026
230: Cancer Didn’t Break Him — It Set Him Free
Warriors Unmasked
What if the worst diagnosis of your life became the greatest gift you’ve ever received? When Glenn Sturm got the call at an airport in 2009 telling him he had an aggressive, incurable form of T-cell lymphoma, everything should have stopped. Instead, something unexpected happened — his perspective shifted. Rather than letting cancer define him, Glenn made a decision: he would celebrate life every single day and make someone else’s life better whenever he could. Seventeen years later, still undergoing treatment, Glenn isn’t just surviving — he’s living with purpose, gratitude, and a...
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229: Why Transition Is So Hard — And What Veterans Can Teach Us About Purpose and Identity with Matt Smith
Warriors Unmasked
The hardest battles don’t always happen in combat. For Major General (Ret.) Matt Smith, the real challenge began after the uniform came off. After 32 years of service leading thousands in high-stakes environments, he found himself facing a different kind of question, Who am I now? This conversation goes beyond leadership and into something much deeper. It’s about what happens when your identity has been built around purpose, structure, and mission… and then suddenly, all of that changes. Matt shares what it actually feels like to transition out of military life, why so many veterans...
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228: When You Can’t Carry It Anymore: A Marine’s Story of Burnout, Surrender, and Healing with Keith Cole
Warriors Unmasked
There’s a point where pushing through just doesn’t work anymore. For Keith Cole, that moment didn’t come in combat. It came decades later — after war, loss, responsibility, and years of carrying more than anyone could see. A Vietnam Marine veteran, CPA, husband, and provider, Keith spent over 50 years holding it all together… until one night, alone in his office, everything finally broke. This episode is about what happens when the weight becomes too much to carry, and what can happen when you finally let it go. Keith shares his journey from combat and trauma to decades of silent...
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227: The Cost of War, The Power of Truth: Sean Martin on Trauma, Healing, and Finding His Voice Through Music
Warriors Unmasked
What happens when you come home from war… but your mind doesn’t? Sean Martin didn’t just serve in the military, he went searching for meaning, purpose, and truth at the highest level. What he found came with a cost. After his service, he was left navigating PTSD, disillusionment, and a reality that no longer felt like home. This conversation goes beyond the surface of “life after service.” It explores what it actually feels like to carry those experiences, the internal battles that follow, and the long road back to clarity. Sean shares how he moved from self-medication and breakdown...
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226: How Eric Mazzeo Rebuilt His Life and Now Leads the Next Generation
Warriors Unmasked
Sometimes the life you’re living doesn’t feel like your own. Before becoming a leader in youth substance use prevention, Eric Mazzeo was stuck in a cycle he couldn’t break: addiction, jail, loss, and a constant battle with himself. On the outside, he came from a good home and had real opportunities. On the inside, he was overwhelmed with fear, anxiety, and a deep sense of not feeling like he belonged. What changed wasn’t one single moment. It was a decision to try something different when everything else had failed. In this conversation, Eric shares what it really looks like to live...
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225: What Happens When You’re Forced to Fight for Your Own Life? Shannon Ivey on Self-Advocacy and Survival
Warriors Unmasked
When Shannon Ivey was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer at 42, she was a single mom in a new city with no built-in support system. What followed wasn’t just a medical battle. It was a crash course in self-advocacy, resilience, and learning how to navigate a system that wasn’t designed for someone in her position. In this episode, Shannon shares what it really looks like to face a life-threatening diagnosis while holding everything else together. From recognizing the symptoms she almost dismissed, to building her own medical team, to making the decision to fight when she wasn’t...
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224: How to Finally Build Confidence with Simone Knego
Warriors Unmasked
Confidence is often seen as something you either have or don’t. But what if that’s not true at all? Simone Knego has spent years helping women unpack the stories that keep them stuck in self-doubt, overthinking, and the constant pressure to be “more.” In this conversation, she shares how confidence isn’t built through perfection, achievement, or external validation — it’s built by learning to trust yourself exactly as you are. Chuck and Simone dive into the hidden patterns that quietly shape how we see ourselves, why so many high-achieving women still feel “not enough,” and...
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223: Healing From the Inside Out — Trauma, the Body, and the Power to Recover with Bob Ross
Warriors Unmasked
What if the body already knows how to heal, and the missing piece is learning how to get out of its way? Bob Ross has spent a lifetime at the intersection of science, medicine, emergency response, and human potential. With a background in physics, medical research, and decades of hands-on experience helping people survive trauma, Bob has seen firsthand how unresolved emotional shock can quietly shape physical health, behavior, and identity. In this episode, Bob Ross and Chuck Thuss explore the deep connection between emotional trauma and the body’s biological responses. From cancer research...
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222: A Second Chance at Life — Identity, Resilience, and Rebuilding After Hockey with Robert Pallante
Warriors Unmasked
Losing your way can sometimes be the beginning of finding who you really are. Robert Pallante’s life revolved around hockey from a young age. Growing up in the Toronto area, he played at the highest levels, earned a college scholarship, and chased the dream so many young athletes believe defines them. But when his hockey journey didn’t unfold the way he expected, Rob was left struggling with identity, confidence, and unanswered questions that followed him long after he left the game. Years later, a near-fatal motorcycle accident forced Robert into stillness, reflection, and a complete...
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221: When the Uniform Comes Off — Identity, Purpose, and Hope After Service with Jeremy Stalnecker
Warriors Unmasked
When the mission ends, the questions often begin. Jeremy Stalnecker spent years building his identity around service, leadership, and responsibility as a United States Marine infantry officer. But when combat ended and the uniform came off, Jeremy found himself facing a different kind of battle, one marked by anger, isolation, loss of identity, and a quiet belief that he was completely alone. This episode traces Jeremy’s journey from combat leadership to personal collapse, and ultimately to clarity. Through painful self-reflection, accountability, faith, and community, Jeremy discovered that...
info_outlinePain has a way of demanding your attention, but it doesn’t get to decide who you become. Lyndsay Soprano’s life has been shaped by layers of trauma, abuse, chronic illness, and a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, one of the most painful conditions known. Yet instead of letting pain define her, Lyndsay made a conscious decision to give it purpose.
This episode explores what it means to reclaim your power when your body hurts, your past weighs heavy, and healing feels overwhelming. Through honesty, humor, and radical gratitude, Lyndsay shares how facing trauma head-on, questioning broken systems, and choosing presence over despair changed everything. Her story is not about fixing pain, it’s about learning how to live fully in spite of it.
Guest Bio
Lyndsay Soprano is the founder and host of The Pain Game Podcast and a bold advocate in the chronic pain and trauma recovery space. Diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in 2017, Lyndsay is also a survivor of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, infertility, depression, anxiety, and divorce. After years of misdiagnosis and failed treatments, she chose a trauma-informed, integrative approach to healing and turned her lived experience into a platform that helps others feel seen, understood, and less alone. Her guiding belief is simple but uncompromising: the only way out is through.
You’ll hear About
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How early trauma quietly shaped Lyndsay’s coping mechanisms
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Living with CRPS and navigating life in constant physical pain
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The moment she chose gratitude over despair
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Why Western medicine alone failed her — and what she did differently
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Turning pain into purpose through conversation, advocacy, and voice
Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Episode Introduction
02:00 Lyndsay’s Early Trauma and Childhood Coping
05:00 Uncovering Repressed Memories and Their Impact
08:00 Living With CRPS and Daily Pain Decisions
12:00 Gratitude as a Survival Skill
15:30 The Night Everything Had to Change
18:30 Reclaiming Power From Medication and Misdiagnosis
22:30 Functional and Integrative Healing Approaches
26:30 Advocacy, Self-Trust, and Taking Control of Care
30:00 Why Pain Does Not Get to Define Identity
33:30 Creating The Pain Game Podcast
37:30 Writing, Forgiveness, and Letting Go
41:00 Lyndsay’s Message to Anyone Feeling Hopeless
45:00 Chuck’s Closing Reflections
Chuck’s Challenge
This week, notice where pain or frustration is trying to take your power. Pause before reacting. Ask yourself how you can meet that moment with curiosity, compassion, or gratitude instead. Even small shifts can change the entire direction of a day.
Connect with Lyndsay Soprano
Website: thepaingamepodcast.com
Email: talktoher@thepaingamepodcast.com
Connect with Chuck
Check out the website: https://www.thecompassionateconnection.com/
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-thuss-a9aa044/
Follow on Instagram: @warriorsunmasked
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