Healthy Mind, Healthy Life

There is a kind of love that asks more of a person than they ever planned to give, and somewhere inside it, they meet a version of themselves they did not know existed. In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Rashmi talks with Dr. Amanda Wilson, an orthodontist, mother of two, and founder of StraightSmile Solutions, about the quiet chapters that rarely get named: motherhood, aging, and learning who you are after years of doing what was expected.
Amanda shares what it was like to go from student to doctor to wife to mother within a single year, and how she learned at age 51 that she is autistic after spending a lifetime keeping her head down and shrinking to avoid trouble. She talks about setting boundaries for the first time, what the way we treat our teeth quietly says about how we treat ourselves, and why a smile is really about whether a person believes they have the right to be seen. She closes with the practices that keep her steady: faith, nature, sisterhood, and putting your own oxygen mask on first.
About the Guest:
Dr. Amanda Wilson is an orthodontist with more than 25 years in dentistry, based in Hawaii, and the founder of StraightSmile Solutions, an online platform for doctor-to-doctor orthodontic education and consulting. She creates thousands of videos on growth and development, airways, and smile and facial growth for primary care dentists who see children. She is also a mother of two, and she received an autism diagnosis at age 51, which has reshaped how she understands herself, her boundaries, and her family.
Key Takeaways:
Motherhood often asks you to advocate for your child with confidence, even when the experts do not seem to have the answers that fit your child.
Going from student to doctor to wife to mother in a single year can leave little room to ask who you actually are. Many women meet themselves again only after the children have grown.
Autism in girls and women has long gone unrecognized, and many learn early to mask, stay quiet, and avoid getting in trouble.
A late diagnosis can be disorienting and freeing at once. Naming what you need and setting boundaries is taking your fair share of space, not taking up all the air in the room.
Your teeth and smile can reflect how you feel about yourself. Finding a kind dentist and taking small steps can help bring back confidence.
When everything gets heavy at once, a single small act, like standing in the grass or watching the waves, can keep life from collapsing under its own complexity.
Find your sisterhood. Someone out there is going through the same thing and can help.
Put your own oxygen mask on first. Taking care of yourself is what makes caring for others possible.
Connect With Dr. Amanda Wilson:
Website: straightsmilesolutions.comYouTube: StraightSmile Solutions (thousands of videos on growth, airways, and smiles; some content on dentistry and motherhood)Dentists with questions are welcome to reach out to her directly.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 A Love That Asks More Than You Planned00:45 Welcome and Meet Dr. Amanda Wilson01:46 A Slow Morning in Hawaii02:51 Motherhood and Advocating for Your Child04:29 From Student to Doctor to Mom in One Year06:12 Rethinking Autism and Neurodivergence07:14 Learning She Was Autistic at 5109:00 Growing Up Masked and What a Reunion Revealed10:11 Aging Well and Taking Your Fair Share of Space12:35 What Your Teeth Say About How You Treat Yourself14:42 One Small Shift for Anyone Hiding Their Smile15:29 Holding Motherhood, Aging, and Work All at Once16:37 Faith, Prayer, and Nature as Daily Anchors18:35 Find Your Sisterhood19:15 Put Your Oxygen Mask On First19:32 Where to Find Amanda20:21 Closing Reflections
 
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Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.
With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Contact:💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club📍 Based in: India & USA
🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/
 
#LateAutismDiagnosis #AutismInWomen #Neurodivergent #MotherhoodJourney #AgingWell #HealthyMindHealthyLife #WomensMentalHealth #Boundaries #SelfCompassion #Masking #SmileConfidence #FindYourSisterhood #MentalHealthMatters #DrAmandaWilson #StraightSmileSolutions

Some of the most exhausted people in the room are the ones who look like they have it all together. They hit every deadline, they have the right answer, and a quiet voice inside congratulates each win for about four seconds before pointing at the next thing they should already be doing. In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Rashmi sits down with mindset coach and author Jessica Smarro to talk about the hidden gap between how a life looks from the outside and how it actually feels from the inside.
Jessica introduces the arrival fallacy, the belief that the next goal will finally deliver the feeling we are chasing, and explains why the inner critic is better understood as a protector than an enemy. Together they unpack how perfectionism differs from excellence, why resistance is the first emotion people feel when they notice the pattern, and how a simple tool, the STEAR model, helps bring thoughts, emotions, and actions into view. They close with a question worth carrying into your evening: what is enough?
About the Guest:
Jessica Smarro is a mindset coach, author, and former therapist who works with high-achieving people who are privately exhausted by perfectionism and a harsh inner critic. She is the author of In Pursuit: Go After What You Want, Alive, Aligned, and Fully You, and the founder of a personal development company that helps ambitious people pursue their goals without abandoning themselves along the way. Her work draws on her own experience of being the "good girl" and achiever who looked successful on paper while feeling like she was living a half-lived life.
Key Takeaways:
The arrival fallacy is the belief that the next goal, promotion, or milestone will finally deliver the feeling we want. The horizon keeps moving.
High achievers often reach out only after a body signal, like anxiety or stress-related health problems, or a quiet realization that success does not feel the way they expected.
The inner critic is usually a protector that learned an unhelpful language. Building a relationship with it works better than declaring war on it.
Perfectionism is rooted in fear of vulnerability and rejection, while excellence is rooted in love of the work and a desire for quality.
Resistance to setting perfectionism down is common. Everything you have achieved was in spite of the harsh critic, not because of it.
The STEAR model (Situation, Thought, Emotion, Action, Result) helps you see which thoughts and feelings are driving your actions and what results they create.
Ask what the goal will give you, then what that will give you, until you reach a feeling. Then start cultivating that feeling now, while still pursuing the goal.
A powerful evening question for high achievers: what is enough?
Connect With Jessica Smarro:
Website: jessicasmarro.com (coaching)Instagram: @jessicasmarroBook: In Pursuit, available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook
Episode Chapters:
00:00 The Quiet Exhaustion of High Achievers00:46 Welcome and Meet Jessica Smarro03:15 The Arrival Fallacy and the Gap Between Outside and Inside05:37 What Makes High Achievers Finally Reach Out06:50 Making Peace With the Inner Critic09:20 How Perfectionism Shows Up in Ordinary Days10:20 Perfectionism Versus Excellence12:43 Why Resistance Shows Up First14:34 Where to Begin: The STEAR Model17:36 The One Question to Ask Yourself: What Is Enough?19:10 Where to Find Jessica and Her Book
 
Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatchDM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik
Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.
With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Contact:💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club📍 Based in: India & USA
🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/
 
#Perfectionism #InnerCritic #HighAchievers #MentalHealthMatters #HealthyMindHealthyLife #MindsetCoaching #ArrivalFallacy #BurnoutRecovery #SelfCompassion #ImposterSyndrome #PersonalGrowth #EmotionalWellbeing #InPursuit #JessicaSmarro #WorkLifeBalance

⚠️ This episode includes an honest discussion of past suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional or a crisis line in your area.Davis Bain was a senior in Air Force ROTC, mechanical engineering degree nearly finished, and on track for a commission into the Space Force. Then a single training injury changed everything. A head trauma led to post-concussion syndrome, and what followed was years of chronic pain, cognitive fog, and a body that no longer felt like his own. In this conversation with host Nazish, Davis walks through what it actually feels like to lose the future you had planned for, and the slower, harder work of building a different one.
He talks candidly about the period when denial, physical suffering, and a damaged gut-brain connection pulled him into deep despair, including a season of suicidal ideation that he now speaks about from the other side, as a closed chapter rather than a current struggle. Davis shares what helped him find his way back: treating chronic pain as a whole-body and whole-mind problem, not just a symptom to manage, and eventually turning his story into his book, Chronic Pain Warrior. This episode is for anyone facing an injury, illness, or loss that rewired their identity, and for anyone who loves someone walking through it.
About the Guest:
Davis Bain is a former Air Force ROTC cadet and mechanical engineering student who was pursuing a commission into the U.S. Space Force before a training injury left him with post-concussion syndrome. He is the author of Chronic Pain Warrior, a book chronicling his journey through chronic pain, identity loss, and recovery. Davis now shares his story to help others navigate the mental health side of chronic illness and injury. Learn more at chronicpainwarrior.com.
Key Takeaways:
A single injury can permanently alter a life plan, and grieving that lost future is a necessary part of healing, not a detour from it.
Post-concussion syndrome and gut dysbiosis can both disrupt mood and cognition, showing how physical injury and mental health are deeply connected.
Denial is often the mind's first response to a body that suddenly doesn't work the way it used to.
Suicidal ideation tied to chronic pain is more common than people admit, and naming it honestly, after the fact, can help others feel less alone.
Recovery from chronic pain is rarely linear. It asks for patience with a body and mind that are both relearning how to function.
Turning a painful chapter into a book or a story can be part of reclaiming a sense of purpose after loss.
Connect With Davis Bain:
Website: chronicpainwarrior.comBook: Chronic Pain Warrior
Episode Chapters:
0:00 Why Chronic Pain Feels So Lonely00:45 Welcome and Meet Davis Bain02:36 Where Body Pain and Mental Pain Become One Story07:00 Living Between Denial and Overprotection11:33 The Shame and Identity Crisis of Slowing Down12:49 The Loneliness of Being Misunderstood18:11 How Loved Ones Can Actually Help20:52 Support That Protects Dignity and Autonomy23:14 Where to Find Davis and His Book24:06 Closing Words: You Are a Warrior
 
Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatchDM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik
Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.
With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Contact:💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club📍 Based in: India & USA
🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/
 
#ChronicPain #MentalHealthMatters #PostConcussionSyndrome #HealthyMindHealthyLife #BrainInjuryRecovery #ChronicIllness #MentalHealthAwareness #HealingJourney #SuicidePrevention #Resilience #IdentityAfterInjury #ChronicPainWarrior #VeteranHealth #GutBrainConnection #MindBodyConnection

In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Nazish talks with Oliver Glozik, founder of Harmonica Ayahuasca Retreat in Colombia, about the subconscious as a loud, crowded room most people avoid opening for years. Oliver talks candidly about the fear that comes up in facing one's own inner material, the important distinction he draws between fear and actual danger, and how curiosity, not forced bravery, has carried him through his own ceremonial work with ayahuasca.
The conversation moves into what plant medicine actually is beyond the mysticism, the chemistry and tradition behind ayahuasca, and why the real work happens not during a ceremony but in the ordinary decisions that follow it. Oliver and Nazish also talk about holding space for both modern medicine and ancient plant wisdom without pitting them against each other, and Oliver shares the story of running a retreat for a single guest early in his business, a decision that did not make sense financially but that he credits with opening the door to the growth that followed.
About the Guest:Oliver Glozik is the founder of Harmonica Ayahuasca Retreat near Medellin, Colombia, where he has led ceremonial plant medicine work for over four years within the Kamsa Biya indigenous tradition. His work sits at the intersection of subconscious exploration, plant medicine, and entrepreneurship as a spiritual path.
Key Takeaways:
A useful first step in facing inner material is distinguishing fear, which often comes loaded with the mind's interpretations, from actual physical danger, which is a separate and much rarer thing.
Curiosity can be a more sustainable motivator than forcing yourself past fear. Taking one more step out of a comfort zone is rarely regretted after the fact.
Ayahuasca is a brew of two Amazonian plants, one carrying DMT and the other MAO inhibitors that extend its effects over several hours, used ceremonially for thousands of years in the Amazon.
A plant medicine ceremony is essentially an unfiltered conversation with yourself. The real transformation comes not from the conversation itself but from the decisions made afterward, in ordinary daily life.
Modern medicine and ancestral plant wisdom are not in competition. A significant share of modern medications are derived from plants, and both systems can hold value for different people and different moments.
A decision that does not make financial or logical sense in the moment, like running a retreat for a single paying guest, can be exactly the kind of trust-based choice that opens the door to growth later.
Connect With Oliver Glozik:
Retreat: Harmonica Ayahuasca Retreat, Colombia
Website: ayahuasca-retreat.com
YouTube: search Harmonica Retreat
Episode Chapters:00:00 - Cold open: the subconscious as a loud, crowded room00:47 - Welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life and introducing Oliver Glozik02:16 - Disclaimer: personal views, not medical advice02:37 - Facing the fear of what's behind the door06:43 - What plant medicine actually is, without the mysticism09:01 - Why the real work begins the morning after a ceremony12:14 - Ancient plant wisdom and modern medicine, not a competition17:39 - What this work looks like on an ordinary, unremarkable day18:20 - The retreat with one guest that changed everything24:06 - How to connect with Oliver Glozik and Harmonica Retreat
 
Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatchDM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik
Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.
With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Contact:💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club📍 Based in: India & USA
🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/
#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #healthymindhealthylife #oliverglozik #harmonicaretreat #plantmedicine #ayahuasca #mentalhealthpodcast #healingjourney #subconsciousmind #spiritualentrepreneurship #innerwork #selfinquiry #trustandintuition

In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Niharika talks with psychoanalytic child and adolescent psychotherapist Marie Derome about one of the most common and least discussed parenting myths: the idea that love for a new baby should arrive instantly and completely. Marie, a former BBC World Service correspondent and author of What Your Baby Wants You to Know, explains why bonding is a two-way relationship that takes time to build, much like falling in love with a partner, and why ordinary ambivalence toward a baby, finding them boring or demanding at times, is a healthy, normal part of that relationship rather than a sign of failure.
The conversation moves into what happens when bonding is harder than ordinary ambivalence, particularly after a traumatic birth, using Marie's metaphor of leaving the hospital with a new baby and a new pair of glasses whose lenses are shaped by our own history. She and Niharika also get into the neuroscience of the first two years of life, why early repeated interactions build a literal sense of safety in a baby's developing brain, and how parenting a baby often means re-parenting one's own inner child at the same time.
About the Guest:Marie Derome is a psychoanalytic child and adolescent psychotherapist with over twenty years of clinical experience and a former BBC World Service correspondent. She is the author of What Your Baby Wants You to Know: The Art and Science of Bonding with Your Child, and works online with parents around the world on bonding and attachment.
Key Takeaways:
The idea that love for a baby should be instant and constant is a myth. Bonding is a two-way relationship that takes time, interaction, and getting to know each other, much like falling in love with a partner.
Ordinary ambivalence toward a baby, finding them boring, demanding, or annoying at times, is healthy and normal. The important thing is being able to move between loving and frustrated feelings rather than getting stuck in either one.
A difficult or traumatic birth can distort how a parent perceives their baby's cries, sometimes hearing accusation or failure instead of a simple need for closeness, which changes how warmly they are able to respond.
The first two years of life are a critical window because the brain is highly plastic then, and repeated small interactions, like smiling and responding to a baby, build the neural pathways for a lasting sense of safety.
Parenting can be reparative. By caring for a real baby, a parent is often also caring for their own inner child, especially when their own childhood experience of being parented was difficult.
A few sessions of psychotherapy focused specifically on a difficult birth experience can meaningfully shift how a parent sees and responds to their baby, even when the underlying bonding struggle feels entrenched.
Connect With Marie Derome:
Book: What Your Baby Wants You to Know: The Art and Science of Bonding with Your Child (available on Kindle and audiobook)
Website: mariederome.org
Instagram: Marie Derome Psychotherapy
Episode Chapters:00:00 - Cold open: the quiet, bewildering moments parents don't talk about00:46 - Welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life and introducing Marie Derome02:03 - Debunking the myth of instant, 24/7 love for a new baby06:43 - Why ordinary ambivalence toward your baby is healthy, not a failure13:14 - The glasses metaphor: how birth trauma distorts how we see our baby19:06 - Why the first two years are a critical window for brain development34:38 - Parenting as re-parenting your own inner child36:05 - How to connect with Marie Derome and her book
 
Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatchDM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik
Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.
With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Contact:💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club📍 Based in: India & USA
🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/
 
#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #healthymindhealthylife #mariederome #babybonding #newparentmentalhealth #mentalhealthpodcast #healingjourney #birthtrauma #parentchildbond #attachmentparenting #childpsychotherapy #postpartummentalhealth #innerchildhealing

In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Nazish talks with author Aaron Ryan about the moment a hobby starts asking for more than a hobby is supposed to ask for, and what happens inside a person while they build something real out of it. Aaron, who recently published his fiftieth book, describes writing as a calling rather than a hobby, something that nagged at him until he answered it, and talks candidly about the mental cost of living inside the worlds he creates, including keeping his fictional characters' birthdays on his real calendar.
The conversation moves into the practical and protective side of a creative career: the scams and predatory offers that target indie authors and podcasters, how Aaron filters and spots them, and why thick skin and patience matter more than talent in the long run. He and Nazish also talk about keeping family as the anchor underneath the work, the private, unpublished journal Aaron keeps for his sons, and why surrendering your own timeline is often the real adjustment that keeps a creative calling sustainable instead of exhausting.
About the Guest:Aaron Ryan is an author who has published fifty books, including the Dissonance saga and the Talisman saga, and works as a voice actor to support his writing career. A member of the Authors Guild, he is active in helping other authors and podcasters recognize and avoid predatory offers and scams targeting creators.
Key Takeaways:
There is a real difference between a hobby and a calling. A hobby is something you want to do, while a calling nags at your schedule and priorities until you answer it.
Living inside the worlds you create has a real mental cost. Protecting family time and personal boundaries is essential for a creative career to last decades rather than burn out in a few years.
Predatory offers targeting authors and podcasters are common, often arriving through unsolicited email, and usually promise guaranteed sales, reviews, or adaptations for a fee no legitimate offer would require.
Assertiveness in a creative career looks like committing to the long haul rather than dabbling, treating the work as a business pursuit rather than something to wade into occasionally.
Surrendering your own timeline matters because the desire to give up a creative pursuit usually comes from dreams not manifesting on your own schedule, not from the dream itself being wrong.
A mantra, a filtering system for scam emails, and a hard line between work and family time are concrete, repeatable tools for staying sane inside a demanding creative career.
Connect With Aaron Ryan:
Website: authoraaronryan.com
Private author community: authoraaronryangroup.com
Episode Chapters:00:00 - Cold open: when a hobby starts asking for more than a hobby should00:47 - Welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life and introducing Aaron Ryan01:44 - The inner shift from hobby to calling04:45 - The mental cost of being the engine, steering wheel, and roadmap06:47 - The difference between burning out in three years and writing meaningfully at year fifteen08:31 - Spotting and protecting against predatory offers and scams13:08 - Who Aaron is when he is not producing: daddy, husband, provider15:30 - What a sustainable, creatively honest life actually looks like19:00 - One small adjustment for a creator at the edge of giving up21:42 - The one thing to walk away with when turning a hobby into a calling22:54 - How to connect with Aaron Ryan and his author community
 
Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatchDM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik
Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate.
With over 6500+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Contact:💼 Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™📧 Email: https://www.podhub.club/contact🌐 Website: https://www.podhub.club📍 Based in: India & USA
🎧 Listen to all podcast shows: https://www.podhub.club/podcastnetwork🤝 Be a guest: https://www.podhub.club/beaguest📩 Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/
#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #healthymindhealthylife #aaronryan #creativeentrepreneur #authorlife #mentalhealthpodcast #healingjourney #writinglife #creativecalling #avoidingscamoffers #worklifebalance #burnoutprevention #indieauthor