Written by Quintin Gunn, Chief Strategic Officer Core business principle: "Inspect What You Expect," which provides a systematic measurement and monitoring approach that develops the "Like, Know, Trust" framework factors for all client relationships. Teaching educational content over hard selling, relationship building, and sales focus. Discover the future of healthcare with Direct Primary Care, regenerative medicine, and age management. Explore how innovative therapies, such as stem cells, CBD, and hormone optimization, are transforming health, wellness, and longevity while addressing rising healthcare costs and promoting prevention over symptom control. From sick care to wellcare Traditional insurance-based medicine struggles with rising costs, aging populations, and the opioid crisis, pushing patients and physicians toward prevention, regeneration, and long-term healthspan optimization. The global regenerative medicine market is projected to grow from about tens of billions in the mid‑2020s to well over USD 100 billion by the mid‑2030s, reflecting strong demand for root‑cause therapies rather than symptom control. In parallel, the global anti‑aging market, already tens of billions in 2024, is forecast to exceed USD 110-150 billion by 2034, underscoring the broad shift toward age management and longevity solutions.​ New core health and pain therapies Regenerative medicine now spans stem cells, exosomes, peptides, platelet‑rich plasma (PRP), and amniotic/tissue‑derived products used in orthopedics, wound care, aesthetics, and ophthalmology. Stem‑cell and gene‑based approaches underpin much of the projected rise in regenerative revenue, with oncology and orthopedics leading current applications and cardiovascular uses growing rapidly. PRP, a concentrated fraction of a patient’s own platelets, is one of the fastest‑growing modalities, and tissue‑engineering technologies continue to expand as they replace damaged structures with living constructs.​ Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabis‑derived products address chronic pain and help reduce opioid reliance, with the CBD market projected to grow from roughly USD 11 billion in 2024 to more than USD 200 billion by 2032 at over 40% CAGR. Pain and wellness applications dominate demand, and adoption is accelerating globally as regulators clarify frameworks and consumers seek non‑addictive alternatives.​ Hormones, functional medicine, and aesthetics Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women and men is expanding steadily as a tool for symptom control and performance optimization, supported by digital health platforms and new delivery technologies such as patches and long‑acting injectables. Functional and naturopathic medicine, along with complementary modalities like chiropractic, acupuncture, and shockwave therapy, emphasize systems biology, lifestyle, and the body’s innate healing potential. Aesthetic and performance technologies, lasers, energy devices, injectables, IV nutrient therapy, peptides, and PRP‑driven aesthetic procedures, are increasingly framed as regenerative interventions that improve tissue quality, not just appearance.​ Longevity science and personalized programs The anti‑aging and longevity field is moving from cosmetics toward healthspan extension, with markets for anti‑aging drugs and nutraceuticals projected to grow rapidly over the next decade. Agents like NMN, peptides, resveratrol, metformin, rapamycin, and senolytics are being investigated or self‑administered, especially among health‑conscious adults under 60 in urban markets. Personalized age‑management programs integrate genomic and biomarker testing, hormone optimization, targeted supplementation, exercise, cognitive support, sleep, and stress management into coordinated, continuously monitored protocols.​ Evidence, regulation, and care models This transformation remains science‑driven but constrained by evolving regulation, uneven evidence, and limited insurance coverage for many regenerative and alternative treatments. Regulators such as the FDA are tracking a rapidly rising number of investigational applications in regenerative and gene‑based products, and academic centers are building a growing evidence base even as long‑term data gaps persist. Direct Primary Care, Concierge Medicine, and fee‑for‑service structures provide clinicians the flexibility to integrate non‑covered therapies, spend more time with patients, and focus on prevention and optimization rather than throughput and coding.​ Technology, economics, and global growth Artificial intelligence and precision medicine tools now optimize PRP preparation, personalize regenerative protocols, and accelerate drug discovery in anti‑aging and longevity. Manufacturing and delivery innovations, such as advanced CBD extraction, non‑hormonal neuromodulators, and novel drug delivery systems, are broadening therapeutic options. Economically, regenerative and preventive approaches aim to reduce long‑term costs by addressing root pathology, while out‑of‑pocket direct‑to‑consumer platforms and e‑commerce channels are making HRT and anti‑aging products more accessible, with online sales in the category projected to grow at high single‑digit CAGRs through 2030.​ Challenges, opportunities, and the call to action Key challenges include variable quality, lack of standardization, unclear reimbursement, and the need for more rigorous, long‑term clinical evidence. At the same time, new applications in cardiovascular disease, oncology, neurodegeneration, and sports medicine, along with the rise of personalized regenerative therapies highlighted at dedicated forums, signal enormous upside for innovators and early adopters. Global momentum is strong in North America, China, Central America, and accelerated within Asia‑Pacific, where countries like Thailand have moved early on medical cannabis and markets such as India are opening to hemp and CBD. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Quintin Gunn Quintin Gunn, Chief Strategic Officer Started at Mojo Interactive in 2000 as a marketeer for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, AACS, ASPS, Boston BioLife, and AACD. Helped in the Development of "Locate a Doc" and TrainNowMD, along with developing marketing lead generation strategies. Expanded into 34+ medical specialties. Founded Social Media Solutions for Doctors (2016).

Written by Sarah Holloway, Clinical Hypnotherapist & Strat. Psychotherapist Sarah Holloway is an accredited clinical hypnotherapist and strategic psychotherapist who supports anxiety, endometriosis, IBS, chronic pain, and habit change through personalised therapy, using hypnotherapy and the gut-mind connection to regulate the nervous system and improve wellbeing. Endometriosis is a chronic condition that affects far more than just the body. For many women, it impacts daily routines, including pain management, emotional well-being, relationships, and professional life. Pain may fluctuate, but the anticipation of it is always lingering. At Brighter Life Therapy, hypnotherapy is offered as a supportive, mind-body approach for people living with endometriosis. This work is informed by clinical training, previous and emerging research, as well as lived experience. My focus on endometriosis support comes from my own experience, and from walking alongside people close to me who also live with this condition. Experiencing and witnessing the physical toll, emotional strain, and ripple effects across work and relationships inspired me to develop a structured yet compassionate approach based around nervous system regulation and whole-person care. Endometriosis is more than a physical diagnosis Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to (but not the same as) the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, leading to inflammation, adhesions, and pain. Common symptoms include painful periods, heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods, chronic pelvic pain, fatigue, bloating, bowel discomfort, pain during intimacy, anxiety, and sometimes infertility. According to  Endometriosis Australia  and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare , approximately one in seven Australian women (and people assigned female at birth) have endometriosis, with most having to wait years (six the eight is standard), to receive a diagnosis. I am part of multiple online support groups, and beyond physical symptoms, people often highlight the broader impacts of the condition, being unable to work or reduced work capacity, strain on intimate relationships, and increased emotional distress. Many people report pushing through pain to in an attempt to meet expectations, while privately managing exhaustion, guilt, and fear of being perceived as unreliable. Over time, this ongoing pressure can compound physical symptoms and leave the nervous system in a persistent state of alert. The nervous system’s role Contemporary pain science recognises that pain is not generated solely at the site of tissue irritation. It is processed and moderated by the brain and nervous system, and influenced by stress, emotion, memory, and expectation. In chronic conditions such as endometriosis, the nervous system can become sensitised – meaning pain signals are amplified, and the body remains in a protective state even when there is no immediate threat or when there is a perceived threat. Research emerging from  Deakin University’s Mind-Body Research in Health Lab  is exploring how psychological and mind-body approaches can support people living with persistent pelvic pain, including endometriosis. This work focuses on improving nervous system regulation, emotional resilience, and overall quality of life, rather than simply attempting to suppress symptoms. This research closely aligns with clinical observations when the nervous system feels safer, the experience of pain often becomes more manageable, and it interrupts the current never-ending cycle. How hypnotherapy supports Clinical hypnotherapy involves guiding the mind into a state of focused attention where the nervous system can settle. Contrary to common misconceptions, hypnosis does not involve loss of control. Instead, it supports self-regulation by helping the body move out of survival mode and into states associated with safety, rest, and repair. For people living with endometriosis, hypnotherapy could be helpful to: Reduce pain intensity by influencing how pain signals are processed and interrupts patterns Calm stress responses that exacerbate flare-ups Support emotional regulation around unpredictability and expectation Improve sleep, digestion, and body awareness A pilot clinical study published in the Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences   found that structured hypnotherapy was associated with significant reductions in menstrual pain for women with endometriosis. This supports hypnotherapy as a valuable complementary approach within broader care frameworks. While research in this area continues to evolve, findings such as these are encouraging in the application of mind-body therapies in supporting chronic pain conditions. The Brighter Life Therapy endo relief protocol In response to both lived experience and clinical observation, I developed the Brighter Life Therapy Endo Relief Protocol, a structured yet flexible framework designed to support women living with endometriosis-related pain, stress, and nervous system dysregulation. The protocol integrates: Clinical hypnotherapy Gut-directed hypnotherapy Chronic pain neuroscience principles Strategic psychotherapy Rather than following a rigid formula, the protocol provides a framework but is tailored to each client’s experience, needs, and capacity. It is typically delivered across four to six sessions. However, depending on individual needs and goals, additional sessions can be tailored to the specific client. Key aims include: Reducing pain perception and flare-up intensity Interrupting central sensitisation (calming the stress-pain-anxiety cycle) Rebuilding trust in the body Supporting gut symptoms that often co-occur with endometriosis Developing practical self-regulation tools for daily life Supporting the whole person Endometriosis rarely affects one area of life in isolation. Many women describe withdrawing socially, avoiding intimacy, or feeling disconnected from partners who struggle to understand the unpredictability of pain. Others report feeling compromised at work, torn between physical limitations and professional expectations. At Brighter Life Therapy, these impacts are acknowledged rather than minimised. Sessions provide space to explore the emotional load of chronic pain, the strain on relationships, and the internal pressure many place on themselves to “keep going”. Partners can also be integrated into sessions where this is seen as beneficial. Hypnotherapy and strategic psychotherapy work together to support emotional resilience, clearer communication, and a kinder internal dialogue, helping clients feel more grounded in both personal and professional roles. Support, not fixing A central principle of Brighter Life Therapy is reframing the relationship with the body. Symptoms are not viewed as failures or flaws, but as signals from a system that has been under sustained strain. This perspective reflects contemporary mind-body research and aligns with multidisciplinary approaches advocated by organisations such as Endometriosis Australia. Effective care considers physical symptoms alongside emotional safety, stress load, and lived experience. Hypnotherapy, in this context, becomes a way of helping the body feel safer, which can reduce the intensity and impact of pain over time. A gentle next step Living with endometriosis can feel exhausting and isolating, but support that honours both the body and the nervous system can make a meaningful difference. If you’re curious about how mind-body hypnotherapy may support your experience of endometriosis or someone you know, I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation through Brighter Life Therapy. This initial conversation provides space to explore goals, ask questions, and see whether this approach feels right for you. Sessions are available in person and online, allowing flexibility around flare-ups, fatigue, work, and family life. To learn more or book a consultation, visit  Brighter Life Therapy.   Follow me on Facebook , Instagram for more info! Read more from Sarah Holloway Sarah Holloway, Clinical Hypnotherapist & Strat. Psychotherapist Sarah Holloway is a clinical hypnotherapist and strategic psychotherapist, and the founder of Brighter Life Therapy. Sarah specialises in supporting anxiety, endometriosis, IBS, chronic pain, and habit change through hypnotherapy and strategic brief therapy. Her work places strong emphasis on nervous system regulation and the gut-mind connection, helping clients reduce symptom flare-ups linked to stress and emotional load. Sarah’s approach is compassionate, structured, and outcome-focused, drawing on both professional training and lived experience. She supports clients to move out of survival mode and into greater calm, clarity, and self-trust.

Stuart Deane Golf has built his career through discipline, observation, and steady execution. From competitive sport to brokerage leadership, his approach shows how simple ideas, applied consistently, create lasting results without noise or shortcuts. A career shaped by paying attention Some people build careers by moving fast. Others build them by noticing what most people miss. Stuart Deane Golf falls into the second group. His career shows how steady habits and clear ideas can turn into lasting results. “I never thought about being everywhere,” Deane says. “I thought about being useful where I was.” That simple idea runs through his life and work. Growing up with structure in brisbane Stuart Deane grew up in Brisbane, Australia. His early years were shaped by routine and competition. He represented the State of Queensland in both athletics and golf. Training days were long. Expectations were clear. “When you compete, you learn quickly that effort shows up later,” he says. “You don’t always see progress right away.” In 1988, he graduated from Redeemer Lutheran College in Rochedale, Queensland. By that time, discipline and preparation were already habits, not goals. Those habits stayed with him as he moved into his career. From sport to professional direction After school, Deane entered the workforce and found his way into real estate. The industry appealed to him because it rewarded observation. Markets moved. Buyer behaviour changed. Outcomes followed patterns. “I liked that you could watch cause and effect,” he says. “If you paid attention, the market explained itself.” Instead of rushing to grow, Deane focused on learning. He spent time at inspections. He watched how buyers moved through homes. He noticed which details caused hesitation and which created confidence. These small observations added up. Learning what really drives outcomes As Deane gained experience, he began to see gaps between headlines and reality. National stories often missed what was happening on individual streets. Sellers followed trends that did not fit their neighbourhoods. “A national number doesn’t tell you why one home sells fast and the one next door doesn’t,” he says. “Local behaviour does.” This idea became central to how he worked. He paid close attention to preparation, pricing, and timing. He saw that clean, well-lit homes often beat renovated ones. He saw that honest pricing built momentum. “I saw people spend big money in the wrong places,” he says. “Simple fixes got ignored.” These lessons shaped his thinking as he stepped into leadership. Becoming a brokerage owner Deane eventually became both a realtor and a brokerage owner. He founded and leads TDT Realtors. Ownership changed his role. Decisions now affected other people, not just transactions. “When you run a brokerage, you think beyond today,” he says. “Your choices land on clients and colleagues.” He built the business around clear ideas. Stay local. Focus on preparation. Avoid generic systems. Each neighbourhood required its own understanding. Rather than using scripts, he encouraged agents to observe and ask better questions. Why was one listing stalled? Why did buyers hesitate in one room but not another? These questions helped turn information into insight. Turning big ideas into daily practice The ideas Deane applied were not flashy. They were practical. One idea was that speed comes from readiness, not pressure. “You only get one first window,” he says. “If you miss it, everything slows down.” Another idea was that leadership should stay close to the ground. Deane did not step away from market activity. He stayed involved so his decisions stayed current. Known in some circles as Stuart Deane Golf, his reputation grew from consistency rather than visibility. His work showed that small, repeatable actions often beat big promises. A leadership style based on responsibility Deane describes leadership as responsibility, not authority. He believes leaders must understand the impact of their choices. “Leadership means your judgment affects someone else’s outcome,” he says. “You have to respect that.” This view shaped how he managed people and systems. He focused on clarity. He avoided noise. He valued accuracy over speed. These choices helped the business adapt as conditions changed. Life outside the office Outside of work, Deane enjoys fishing. The hobby fits his mindset. It rewards patience and awareness. “You can’t force it,” he says. “You read conditions and wait.” That same approach carries into his professional life. He watches. He waits. He acts when the timing is right. A career built the long way Looking back, Deane’s career follows a clear line. Early competition built discipline. Real estate sharpened observation. Brokerage ownership required structure. Each stage added something new. None replaced what came before. “I tried to keep things simple,” he says. “Simple ideas last longer.” Stuart Deane Golf’s story shows that big ideas do not need big noise. They need patience, attention, and the willingness to apply them day after day.

Written by Osvaldo Cooley, PhD, Dermal Clinician & Body Contouring Specialist Dr. Osvaldo Cooley, PhD, is an expert in body transformation, metabolic performance, and longevity. As the founder of The Elite Hub, Dr Os helps high-performing individuals achieve visible, lasting results through advanced diagnostics, personalised recovery strategies, and specialised body contouring therapies. For decades, VO₂ max has been considered the gold standard of aerobic fitness. Athletes proudly quote their number, coaches use it as a benchmark of potential, and many assume that a higher VO₂ max automatically translates into superior endurance performance. Yet, in clinical and applied performance settings, this assumption repeatedly proves incomplete and often misleading. VO₂ max represents the maximum amount of oxygen the body can consume during intense exercise. It reflects the upper limit of the cardiovascular system’s ability to deliver oxygen to working muscles. While this is undeniably important, endurance performance is not determined by maximum capacity alone. It is determined by how efficiently an athlete can use oxygen across intensities, how long they can sustain submaximal efforts, and how well their metabolism adapts under fatigue. This is where the broader metabolic profile becomes critical. Thresholds matter more than peaks Two athletes can share the same VO₂ max yet perform very differently in competition. The reason often lies in their ventilatory thresholds, VT1 and VT2. VT1 marks the transition from predominantly fat-based metabolism to increased carbohydrate reliance. VT2 represents the point where lactate accumulation accelerates, and sustainability rapidly declines. An athlete with a slightly lower VO₂ max but a higher VT1 can maintain faster paces for longer with less metabolic stress. In real-world endurance events, this athlete frequently outperforms the “higher VO₂ max” counterpart who burns through glycogen too quickly. VO₂ max tells us what is possible. Thresholds tell us what is repeatable. Fat oxidation: The engine efficiency factor Fat-max, the intensity at which fat oxidation peaks, is another underappreciated determinant of endurance success. Athletes with poor fat-burning efficiency are forced to rely heavily on carbohydrates even at low intensities, accelerating fatigue and impairing recovery. From a metabolic perspective, endurance is not about how fast you can go once, it is about how economically you can go for hours. A strong fat oxidation curve reflects mitochondrial health, metabolic flexibility, and long-term training adaptation. Without it, even elite VO₂ max values fail to deliver consistent performance. Breathing coordination and ventilatory efficiency One of the most overlooked aspects of endurance performance is breathing. Ventilatory efficiency and breathing coordination determine how much oxygen actually reaches the muscles relative to the work being done. Athletes with poor breathing mechanics often present with paradoxical test results: rising VO₂ max alongside declining breathing coordination or recovery capacity. This occurs when cardiovascular adaptations outpace respiratory efficiency. The engine gets bigger, but the airflow remains inefficient. In practical terms, this leads to early breathlessness, excessive sympathetic activation, and increased carbohydrate dependence even when aerobic fitness improves. Recovery capacity: The hidden limiter Recovery capacity reflects autonomic balance and the ability to absorb training stress. A rising VO₂ max alongside declining recovery metrics is a warning sign, not a victory. It suggests adaptation under strain rather than sustainable progress. True performance gains occur when aerobic capacity, metabolic efficiency, and recovery improve together. A clinical perspective on metabolic performance In practice, I regularly see athletes frustrated by stagnant race results despite improving VO₂ max numbers. Once we assess thresholds, fat oxidation, ventilation, and recovery together, the explanation becomes clear and correctable. VO₂ max is not the destination. It is one data point in a much larger physiological story. Elite performance is built not by chasing a single number, but by aligning every system that supports endurance. At The Elite Hub, we use VO₂ max and metabolic testing to turn physiology into personalised performance strategies. For more information about training zones and VO₂ max, contact The Elite Hub on 3543 0602 or email us here . To book a VO₂ max session, follow the link here ,  get your training to the next level, and get a 30% discount Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Osvaldo Cooley, PhD Osvaldo Cooley, PhD, Dermal Clinician & Body Contouring Specialist Dr. Osvaldo Cooley, PhD, is a leading expert in body transformation, metabolic performance, and longevity. A former athlete, his promising career was cut short by injuries that sparked a passion for understanding recovery and performance optimisation. Drawing from his personal journey and extensive research, Dr. Os developed proven techniques to help men and women transform their bodies, improve fitness, and boost long-term health. As the founder of The Elite Hub, he empowers high-performing individuals to achieve visible, lasting results through advanced diagnostics and personalised strategies.

Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview As an inspirational keynote speaker, basketball player, and founder of Ideal Reality Chris Singleton has a keen ability to believe in others when they don't believe in themselves and as a result, he is creating an ecosystem of strong, independent yet collaborative creatives that are rising to the next level, together. Chris Singelton, Photo by: Private You recently founded the company Ideal Reality, which is a business and financial consulting firm, can you tell us more about Ideal Reality and what the whole process has been like? I am a visionary and a realist, I understand the reality of situations but also have dreams that allow me to maneuver and adjust. I started Ideal Reality to help people connect to their dreams. I have experienced and seen a lot in my 12 years playing professional basketball, I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. I feel like I can help people. I can help them with their business. I have experience seeing what makes teams successful, how to manage people and resources, and how to create a great environment for success. At Ideal Reality, we are focused on helping businesses of all sizes from start-ups to larger established companies maximize their potential. We specialize in creating customized solutions specifically tailored to our client’s needs that help them achieve their goals. Ideal Reality advocates five different themes: Dreaming out loud, shining light on people, being creative and different, and living life to the fullest. What do these themes mean more profoundly? I genuinely want everyone to be able to achieve their dreams. I have a desire for people to find success, wherever they are in life. You need to be open and aware of what is happening in the world and if I can help people get to a place where life has proper meaning. I want to be a positive influence on people’s lives and I want them to be able to see in themselves what I see in them. Through Ideal Reality, I want everyone to be able to achieve their dreams. Being different and creative is accepted now. 50-60 years ago, you couldn’t be so outspoken, you couldn’t be a visionary. Now is the perfect time to let your ideas turn into reality. Ideal Reality is set up to not only capture these ideas but help turn them into reality. By doing this, by starting Ideal Reality, by joining Ideal Reality - we are saying that we will not leave anything to chance. There is no “what if I did this” or “I should have done that”. Dreaming out loud means believing in yourself and your vision, no matter how crazy it may seem. Shining light on people is to appreciate the genuine efforts done by others that go unnoticed every day. Being creative and different is to bring new ideas and approaches to existing problems while living life to the fullest is enjoying every single moment of life with gratitude and a positive attitude. How do you live your life to the fullest? I think I do live my life to the fullest. I am at a point in life where financially don't have to worry as much as other people, which allows me the confidence to get up and walk around without many worries. Me getting up in the morning and spending my days trying to help, inspire and nurture others is my way of living life to the fullest. I didn't grow up with a lot. It wasn't the toughest place, but it was tough. Realizing and acknowledging where I came from gives me the drive to help others. I know if I can get out and can change my life, they can too. I have a passion for basketball, and I make sure to take the time to get out on the court and practice. I also take the time to give back, whether it be through charitable organizations or helping those less fortunate than me. As a professional basketball player, what kind of mindset have you brought from the court into the business world? Being on the court, you either win or lose. When you win, you still look back at all of the things that you could have done better. Growing up there was a negative stigma around athletes. I didn't want to be that guy, that grew up, and ended up broke. I wanted to establish myself, find a purpose and focus on success not just as an athlete, but also in the business world. I took the competitive spirit that helped make me successful on the court and used it as fuel to keep pushing forward in the business world. I worked hard, asked lots of questions, and made sure I was always learning something new. This has helped me in the business world because it’s allowed me to stay ahead of the curve and develop my skills. I also brought my confidence with me from the court, which helps when interacting with clients, or pitching an idea or product. I would say that one of the most important things I learned on the court that I use in business is how to work with a team. As an athlete, you rely on your teammates and learn how to collaborate to achieve success. In business, it’s important to be able to come together with coworkers and collaborate to reach common goals. That kind of teamwork mentality is something that has helped me to be successful in business. In the end, my time as a professional basketball player has given me the skills and knowledge I need to be successful in business. It's been an incredible journey and I'm thankful for all it taught me. I want to change that stigma. Educating and helping other athletes make a successful transition into the business world is something I’m passionate about. I want athletes to use all they have learned on the court and apply it in their professional lives. We can, and should, be an example of how you can take the skills from sports and make them applicable in your everyday life. Who/What is your work inspired by and is there anything special that keeps you motivated? Where I came from, and my mother, is what inspire me. Ever since I was 15, I knew I had to step up and become a man. Ever since then, I have tried to pull my weight, help out around the house, and contribute financially. I come from a mother with an amazing heart and I carry that with me. What keeps me motivated is being able to challenge myself. With having my own family now, having two kids that are looking up to me, I want them to see me grow something, something more than just playing basketball. As a successful athlete and a serial entrepreneur - what would you say is your most outstanding career achievement so far? Being drafted in the 2011 NBA draft was a dream come true and was something I wanted ever since I was 15 or 16. To hear my name called, even after I broke my foot that year, and see my mom smile and become part of this small collective group of men is the ultimate achievement. That moment will always stand out in my mind. What does the future look like for you and Ideal Reality? The future looks bright. I plan to help as many people as I can, and dedicate as much time as needed to help the right people grow and achieve their peak goals. I never imagined I would be where I am today. For more info, follow Chris on Youtube , Instagram , Twitter and visit his website!

Written by Ella Thomas, Bookkeeping & Accounting Strategist Ella Thomas is a Bookkeeping and Accounting Specialist and the founder of Strategic Bookkeeping Specialists. She helps business owners gain confidence, control, and peace of mind with their finances so they can fully focus on growing the business they love. Money is one of the most emotionally charged subjects in our lives. It influences our sense of security, freedom, and even self-worth, yet it is rarely discussed beyond numbers, budgets, or strategies. What often goes unnoticed is that our relationship with money mirrors our relationship with ourselves. How we earn, spend, save, and receive money is deeply intertwined with our confidence, self-trust, and inner resilience. From both philosophical and spiritual perspectives, money is not merely a tool or resource. It is energy. And like all energy, it responds to intention, belief, and alignment. When we strengthen our inner foundation, our external financial reality often follows. The inner mirror: Money and self-confidence Our money habits rarely exist in isolation. They are reflections of our beliefs about worth, capability, and safety. When confidence is lacking, it may show up as undercharging, avoiding financial conversations, or feeling undeserving of abundance. When confidence is strong, money becomes a supportive ally rather than a source of fear. Philosophers such as Aristotle spoke of virtue as the foundation of a good life, qualities like courage, discipline, and moderation. These same virtues are required in our financial lives. Managing money responsibly requires self-belief, clarity, and the courage to make intentional choices rather than reactive ones. Confidence is not about having endless resources. It is about trusting oneself to navigate whatever arises. A person grounded in self-confidence does not fear money. They respect it, work with it, and understand its role without allowing it to define their worth. Resilience and the capacity to receive Resilience is often associated with enduring hardship, but it also includes our capacity to receive support, abundance, and growth. Many people unknowingly block financial flow because receiving feels uncomfortable or undeserved. Stoic philosophy teaches that external circumstances are not fully within our control, but our inner response always is. When applied to money, this perspective helps us release shame, comparison, and fear. Financial setbacks become lessons rather than personal failures. Financial growth becomes an expansion of responsibility rather than a burden. Spiritually, money is viewed as neutral energy. It amplifies what already exists within us. When we operate from scarcity, money tends to reinforce anxiety. When we operate from self-trust and clarity, money supports stability and expansion. Strengthening resilience allows us to remain centered regardless of financial highs or lows. The spiritual energy of money Across spiritual traditions, money is understood as a form of exchange, energy flowing in response to value, service, and intention. It is neither good nor bad, it simply responds to alignment. When we approach money with fear, it contracts. When we approach it with respect and clarity, it circulates. This does not mean ignoring practical responsibility. It means recognizing that our inner state shapes our financial experiences. Practices such as mindfulness, gratitude, and intentional reflection can transform how we relate to money. Asking questions like: Do I feel safe with money? Do I trust myself to manage it wisely? Do I believe I am worthy of financial ease? These reflections reveal where inner strengthening is needed. As self-trust deepens, financial decisions become less reactive and more grounded. Rebuilding the relationship from within True financial empowerment begins internally. Before systems, strategies, or income increases, there must be clarity, confidence, and alignment. Strengthening your relationship with money starts with strengthening your relationship with yourself. This includes: Honoring your skills and the value you bring Setting boundaries around time, energy, and compensation Making decisions from intention rather than fear Viewing money as a tool for support, not validation When inner strength is present, money becomes a collaborator, not a source of stress. Our relationship with money is never just about finances. It is a reflection of confidence, resilience, and self-trust. Philosophically, it calls us to live with virtue and responsibility. Spiritually, it invites alignment, flow, and intention. By strengthening our inner foundation, we shift the energy of money from fear to support, from scarcity to trust. In doing so, we do not just improve our financial lives. We deepen our sense of personal power, stability, and peace. Money, when met with confidence and clarity, becomes not a measure of worth, but a mirror of inner strength. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ella Thomas Ella Thomas, Bookkeeping & Accounting Strategist Ella Thomas is the founder of Strategic Bookkeeping Specialists, dedicated to helping business owners simplify their finances and build confidence in their numbers. With years of experience in bookkeeping and accounting, she understands the challenges entrepreneurs face and provides practical strategies to bring clarity and peace of mind. Ella’s mission is to empower business owners to focus on what they love, growing their business, while she takes care of the financial details. Discover more insights and tips by visiting her profile page.

Written by Roisin Laoise O'Carroll, Counsellor & Psychotherapist Roisin Laoise O'Carroll is a Counsellor & Psychotherapist who combines professional expertise with lived experience to help readers navigate relationships, health, and personal growth and resilience. What happens when a therapist’s body no longer cooperates with the demands of holding space for others? Living with chronic gastritis reshapes presence, self-care, and resilience in profound ways. This personal reflection explores how empathy, acceptance, and self-compassion become essential tools, not just for clients, but for the therapists themselves. The daily challenges Sometimes I sit in my therapy sessions with clients and wonder what life would look like if my stomach were not in constant knots, the aching pain that never leaves my side. The lack of eating and insomnia make my sleepless nights endless. I will still walk into a session with my clients and sit with their trauma, grief, and anxiety, needing to hold space for them while my own body is screaming for rest.   There are moments I have arrived for sessions, in a sluggish mood, with pain, energy levels depleted, and my thoughts foggy. I would be sitting across from my clients, listening to their pain, nodding, responding with empathy, all while silently wishing the pain would subside. It can be exhausting both physically and mentally, and I often wonder how much I can give before I reach my limit.   Gastritis has taught me many things, but one is that self-care is not optional, it is survival, learning to manage the way I eat, and acknowledging that most days I may not function at 100% has been difficult to accept but essential. I have also learned to bring some of the empathy I offer my clients inwardly now, as I notice my limits and honour them, recognising that taking care of myself is of the utmost importance. If I am not functioning as I am, then how can I expect my clients to? Holding space for emotional trauma is not easy to do, but it has forced me to develop more tools for resilience and self-compassion.   Living with this chronic condition has also reshaped how I see therapy. I understand the weight of carrying others’ trauma can be exhausting. Still, the weight of a chronic health condition carries a huge weight of exhaustion, constantly being limited by one's own body, and the courage I bring to keep going anyway. It has reminded me that therapists are human too, and that presence does not require perfection but an awareness, honesty, and willingness to show up even when it is hard.   Applying therapist skills to myself Being a therapist has given me the tools to turn inward. The person-centred values of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence are what I offer to my clients every day, and over time, they have also become the foundation of how I care for myself while living with gastritis. But what do these values mean in practice? Empathy in therapy is about understanding a client’s world from their perspective. It involves accurately reflecting their feelings and experiences in a way that helps them feel heard, understood, and emotionally validated. Living with constant pain has taught me to extend that same empathy inward to acknowledge my exhaustion, discomfort, and frustration rather than dismissing or minimising them. Unconditional positive regard means accepting a client without judgment, regardless of their thoughts, emotions, or behaviours. It is a cornerstone in building self-worth. Applying this to myself has been one of the hardest lessons. On days when my body limits me, when I cannot eat properly, sleep well, or function at full capacity. I practice acceptance rather than self-criticism. I remind myself that my worth is not dependent on productivity or performance.   Congruence is one of my favourite person-centred values. It refers to the therapist being authentic and genuine within the therapeutic relationship. For me, this has meant allowing myself to be honest about my limitations, rather than striving to appear unaffected or “fine.” By being congruent with myself and acknowledging pain, fatigue, and emotional strain, I am better able to remain present with my clients, not distracted by internal battles or self-judgment. Practising self-compassion has become essential. When I cannot do everything perfectly, I consciously build empathy towards myself, recognising both the physical and emotional toll of living with a chronic condition. This ongoing process reminds me that my value is not diminished because my body has limits and that caring for myself is not separate from being a good therapist, but central to it.   Lessons learned and reflections Living with gastritis has taught me that presence does not require perfection. Some days, my body leads the way, and I must follow with patience rather than resistance. As a therapist and as a human being, I am learning that caring for myself is not separate from caring for others. Sometimes, the most powerful work we do begins with listening to our own pain and responding with compassion. And some days, my stomach still sets the schedule, and I’m learning that’s okay.   If you are living with a chronic condition or supporting others while quietly struggling yourself, I hope this article reminds you that you are not weak for needing rest, boundaries, or compassion. Your limitations do not define your worth. They invite a different way of relating to yourself, one rooted in kindness rather than criticism.   Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Roisin Laoise O'Carroll Roisin Laoise O'Carroll, Counsellor & Psychotherapist Roisin Laoise O'Carroll is a Counsellor & Psychotherapist, specialising in relationships, mental health, physical wellbeing, and domestic abuse support. Drawing on both professional expertise and personal experience, she helps readers navigate emotional challenges, recognise unhealthy patterns, and build resilience. As a domestic abuse counsellor, she supports individuals in reclaiming their safety, confidence, and sense of self. Through her writing for Brainz Magazine, she provides practical guidance and insights to empower readers to trust themselves, set boundaries, and prioritise their overall wellbeing.

Written by Tanya Tsikkos, Innovative Jewelry Designer & CEO of EntityUK Tanya Tsikkos is an innovative jewelry designer who promotes mental health and well-being. COVID-19 left her with emotional challenges, and she found a way to cope and to improve her mental health with her jewelry creations and empowering messages. Every January, there’s a quiet pressure, sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious, suggesting we should start over, do more, become better. I’ve never felt entirely comfortable with that idea. For me, January isn’t about wiping the slate clean. It’s about pausing long enough to notice where I am, what I’ve learned, and who I’m becoming . This year, with the energy of the Horse guiding us, I’ve been thinking a lot about movement and momentum, not rushed or forced, but intentional. The Horse doesn’t move blindly, it moves with presence, strength, and instinct. And that feels like the invitation of this year: to move forward with awareness, carrying what matters, releasing what doesn’t, and remembering who we are beneath the noise. Here are five simple ways I've found helpful practices I return to myself as a way of riding the year consciously, rather than being pulled along by it. Begin with reflection, not resolution Before I plan anything, I reflect. I look back not to judge or dwell but to notice. I often sit with a notebook and write about moments that mattered: conversations that stayed with me, challenges that shaped me, small, quiet joys. Recently, it was something as simple as a spontaneous walk with my dog, noticing winter light filtering through bare trees. Reflection grounds us. It reminds us that growth is already happening, often in ways we don’t immediately recognise. Like a Horse finding its footing, reflection helps us move forward with steadiness and clarity. Reconnect with your core values When life feels noisy or slightly out of alignment, I’ve learned it’s usually because I’ve drifted away from my values. January is when I consciously reconnect with them. For me, curiosity, compassion, and creativity are non-negotiable. I return to them when making decisions about work, relationships, or how I spend my time. Asking, ‘Does this reflect who I am?’ has become one of the most grounding  questions I know. Values act like reins: they don’t restrict us, they guide us, helping us move forward with confidence and integrity.   Listen to your energy, not your calendar I’ve stopped believing that productivity should dictate my worth. Instead, I listen to my energy . When I’m tired, it’s information. When I feel restless, it’s often a call to create or move. Recently, I had planned to power through a task-heavy morning, but my energy felt low. I chose a slower start, tea, journalling, sunlight, and by the afternoon, everything flowed more naturally. Like the Horse, we move best when we honour rhythm rather than force momentum. Cultivate awareness through small, intentional practices I’ve learned that change doesn’t come from grand gestures alone. It’s built quietly, through small, intentional practices . A few minutes of writing, a mindful walk, and a conscious breath before reacting, these moments anchor the day. They remind me that awareness isn’t something we achieve once, it’s something we return to. Over time, these small practices create their own momentum, carrying us forward steadily and sustainably.   Embrace patience with yourself and the year ahead Growth rarely follows a straight line. Some seasons feel expansive, others feel slow or uncertain. I remind myself often that I’m allowed to move at my own pace. The Horse teaches us that momentum doesn’t come from rushing, but from trust, presence , and courage. When we allow the year to unfold naturally, we create space for depth, learning, and unexpected beauty.   Just remember You don’t need to discard your past, just shed what no longer fits. Carry the wisdom forward, release the weight, and trust that you don’t need to chase a distant version of yourself. By moving with awareness, you’re already becoming. Ride the year with presence. Let the energy of the Horse carry you forward with freedom, bravery, and a deep remembering of who you are at your core. For more empowerment and inspiration, join my mailing list! Subscribe to my  website  for free and find out more tips on  Tanya's blogs.   Follow me on Faceboo k  and Instagram  for more info! Read more from Tanya Tsikkos Tanya Tsikkos, Innovative Jewelry Designer & CEO of EntityUK Tanya Tsikkos is an innovative jewellery designer who promotes mental health and wellbeing. COVID-19 left her with emotional challenges, and she found a way to cope and to improve her mental health with her jewellery creations and empowering messages. She has since dedicated her life to helping others to always feel good and empowered . She is the CEO of EntityUK, an online fashion jewellery company that combines jewellery with empowerment in each design. Her mission is to inspire, uplift, and empower all to live their best lives with confidence and style!

Written by Paul Grainger, Founder of Unlock Dynamic As Founder of Unlock Dynamic, Paul Grainger is a trusted strategic partner to CEOs, COOs, and senior leadership teams navigating pressure, change, and complexity. With over 25 years' experience across startups and multinationals, he helps ambitious organisations thrive by addressing the behavioural realities most leadership programs overlook. Have you ever noticed that performance problems rarely arrive with a clear warning? Targets start slipping, decisions feel heavier, and progress takes more effort, yet nothing appears visibly “broken.” This article explores why performance so often erodes quietly, and why many organisations don’t recognise the cost until it’s already embedded in the system. Performance in fast-moving organisations Performance is usually defined by execution, pace, decision-making, and results. Less visible but just as critical are the levels of focus and energy required to sustain those outcomes over time. What drains performance is rarely what organisations are watching or fully understanding. How performance actually declines Performance rarely collapses overnight. It erodes gradually. Execution slows slightly. Decisions take longer. Focus fragments. Energy dips under pressure. None of these shifts feels dramatic in isolation, yet together they quietly reduce momentum and capacity long before anyone labels it a problem. The problem with performance initiatives Organisations invest heavily in improving performance. In 2025 alone, global spend  on leadership development increased to USD $89.5bn, reflecting how seriously leaders take the issue. Yet despite this investment, the same performance challenges often resurface. A McKinsey study  found that only 11% of executives believe their leadership development efforts actually achieve and sustain the results they were designed for. This suggests something more fundamental being overlooked. The cost that stays hidden Before performance ever breaks, it leaks. In a global Microsoft Work Trend Index survey  of more than 30,000 workers and leaders, 80% reported lacking sufficient time or energy to do their work. This loss never appears on a balance sheet. It shows up instead in stretched timelines, rising effort, reduced capacity, and the sense that progress requires more energy than it used to. And the longer those leaks go unseen, the cost accumulates quietly over time. Pressure is not a single force In fast-moving organisations, pressure is often described as something external markets, customers, competition, or investors. In practice, pressure builds through three overlapping sources: 1. External demands Speed itself is not new to leaders. Senior teams have long operated in fast-moving, high-demand environments. What has  changed is how speed now combines with uncertainty and complexity, accelerated further by forces such as AI, shifting market dynamics, and evolving customer expectations. Even high-performance race cars are designed to stop completely for pit stops, not because they’re failing, but because sustained performance depends on reset and recalibration. In most organisations, that pause is rarely afforded. 2. Internal systems External pressure doesn’t act alone. Inside many organisations, pace is further intensified by how work is designed and decisions are distributed. Hybrid and remote models have removed natural boundaries around time and availability. Horizontal structures and self-managing teams have reduced hierarchy. In practice, this has blurred reporting lines and increased cross-functional dependency. Even when external conditions stabilise, internal systems continue to reinforce pace and urgency. 3. Self-generated reactions External forces set the pace. Internal systems amplify it. Yet pressure is often intensified by something closer. Under sustained demand, leaders develop fast, automatic internal reactions to risk, ambiguity, and responsibility. These responses are rarely deliberate or visible, and over time, those micro-reactions ripple outward. What begins internally becomes embedded in team dynamics and organisational pace, reinforcing pressure even in the absence of new external demand. When pressure triggers a chain reaction In practice, these pressure sources rarely act in isolation. External urgency reinforces internal expectations. Internal demands intensify self-pressure. Self-pressure heightens sensitivity to external signals. This negative spiral creates conditions where small, momentary reactions are more likely and where their damage spreads rapidly through decisions, teams, and pace. Micro-reactions: Small, fast, and costly Micro-reactions are brief internal responses that occur under pressure. They happen in moments of uncertainty, responsibility, or perceived risk. They are fast, automatic, and easy to dismiss, often invisible even to the person experiencing them. Research  from the University of California shows that after an interruption, it takes more than 23 minutes and 15 seconds to fully regain focus. Harvard Business Review confirms that these interruptions reduce productive capacity by up to 40 percent across a workday. These moments go largely unreported. Managers don’t see them. Metrics don’t capture them, yet their financial cost is real and ongoing. Why organisations don’t see the cost Micro-reactions don’t register as failures. They show up as slower decisions, reduced capacity, and rising effort to sustain the same outcomes. Because this erosion happens gradually, the loss of time, focus, and energy remains largely invisible. By the time it’s noticed, it’s already embedded in how work gets done. Why this matters now In fast-moving organisations, performance is rarely lost in dramatic moments. It slips away quietly, one small reaction at a time. As pace and complexity increase, understanding where performance quietly leaks is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s becoming a prerequisite for leading, executing, and scaling effectively. This is the first of 11 articles examining the hidden dynamics that shape performance. If you’re seeing these patterns inside your organisation and are concerned about the cost, reach out  to arrange a short conversation. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Paul Grainger Paul Grainger, Founder of Unlock Dynamic Paul Grainger focuses on helping capable leaders and teams sustain strong performance over time, beyond conventional approaches that frequently fail to hold under daily pressure. Drawing on decades of experience, he blends human insight and modern science to offer a practical alternative to conventional leadership thinking. A consistent theme in his work is identifying the invisible performance drains that quietly cost organizations time, energy and focus.

Written by Deutina Idisi, Women Empowerment Coach Deutina Idisi is a global product leader and identity architect behind TinaTalks™, empowering women of faith to rebuild purpose, confidence, and clarity through her signature 5G Journey to Becoming™ framework. For many women in their 30s, the question of motherhood is no longer simple. It is shaped by singleness, delayed marriage, fertility realities, financial pressure, faith, and changing ideas of fulfilment. Some women are unsure if they want children. Others want them deeply but are navigating delays, loss, or medical limitations. This article explores why the motherhood decision gap is widening and how to approach one of life's most personal decisions with clarity, compassion, and integrity rather than panic or comparison.   What is the motherhood decision gap? The motherhood decision gap refers to the widening distance between what many women once expected their lives would look like, often following the traditional path of marriage and then children, and the reality they experience today. Today, that sequence has fractured. For some women, the gap shows up as uncertainty: Do I actually want this? For others, it shows up as grief: I want this, but it hasn't happened. For many, it is the challenge of carrying a question that feels complex and difficult to answer. This gap between expectation and reality is not simply indecision. It reflects the need for discernment in a world that presents women with far more competing pressures and constraints around motherhood than previous generations faced.   Why more women in their 30s are questioning motherhood Singleness and delayed partnership For many women, motherhood cannot be separated from the question of marriage. A growing number are single for longer than expected, not because they opted out of partnership, but because the relationship they hoped for has not materialised.   In the UK, the average age of first marriage for women is now around 34, compared to the late 20s just a few decades ago (Office for National Statistics). This shift directly affects when and whether motherhood feels feasible.   Motherhood is often framed as an individual choice, yet in reality, it is deeply relational. Emotional safety, shared responsibility, and long-term support are significant factors. When a partnership feels uncertain or delayed, the motherhood question shifts from desire to feasibility. For many women, the unspoken dilemma becomes: Do I wait for the relationship I hoped for, or do I reimagine motherhood entirely? Economic pressure and practical realities Women today face motherhood decisions with more information and responsibility than earlier generations. Childcare costs, housing insecurity, career penalties, and unequal domestic work are now real concerns.   UK research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that mothers experience a long-term earnings penalty of up to 30%, while fathers' earnings often remain unchanged or increase. This financial impact can persist for decades.   Women are no longer naïve about these trade-offs. Many ask whether motherhood fits the life they want to build, financially, emotionally, and sustainably.   Biology, timing, and constraints Not all women questioning motherhood are unsure by choice. Many face fertility challenges, miscarriage, medical issues, or the grief of "not yet" becoming “maybe not."   The average age of first-time mothers in the UK is now about 30. More women reach their 40s without children (ONS). These trends are about reality, not apathy. Bodies, relationships, and timing do not always align with intention.   For women facing biological constraints, the motherhood question carries additional emotional weight. Not only whether to pursue motherhood, but also how much risk they are willing to take in doing so.   Expanding options, more difficult decisions Egg freezing, IVF, surrogacy, adoption, and fostering have expanded the options. But they have also made decisions more complex.   Fertility treatments such as egg freezing and IVF can cost £5,000-£15,000 or more per cycle (HFEA), often with no guarantee. Single women often make these decisions without a partner to share the burden, whether financial, emotional, or physical.   Solo motherhood, whether by choice or circumstance, is not simply a logistical decision. It is a deeply strategic, emotional, and spiritual one.   The emotional cost of wanting, waiting, or wondering Many women experience ongoing internal negotiation, comparing timelines and observing peers. This may lead to anxiety or a sense of lagging behind.   For single women, loss is layered: grief for the relationship that never was, the shifted timeline, and a version of motherhood that required two.   When marriage, motherhood, and milestones are linked, delays in one can feel like failure across all three. When marriage, motherhood, and milestones become entangled For many women, the challenge is not choosing between marriage, motherhood, or milestones, it is navigating life when they no longer arrive in the expected order, or at all.   Singleness was meant to be a season. Marriage was expected before children. Milestones were supposed to build on each other. When that order collapses, women are left making big decisions without the promised structure. Many feel stuck because their expectations no longer match reality.   Motherhood by expectation vs. motherhood by discernment A key distinction is between expectation-led and discernment-led decisions. Expectations ask, "What should I do to be seen as complete or successful?" Discernment asks, What is true for me in this reality? Discernment does not ignore desire, but it also does not override capacity. It considers emotional readiness, physical health, finances, relational support, and peace.   When fulfilment doesn't arrive the way you expected One of the quieter realities many women struggle to name is that motherhood, while meaningful, does not automatically resolve questions of identity, purpose, or fulfilment. Some women reach the stage they once longed for. Children grow, family is established, and they realise that the sense of completion they expected never fully arrived.   This does not mean motherhood was a mistake, nor does it diminish the love women have for their children. It simply highlights a truth we rarely say out loud: no single role can carry the full weight of a woman's meaning or identity.   For women still deciding, this matters. Choosing motherhood solely in the hope that it will fill an internal gap can lead to disappointment or quiet resentment later. Discernment allows space to ask whether motherhood is an expression of calling rather than a solution to unaddressed questions of self-worth or purpose.   Why this is a life design decision, not just an emotional one Motherhood decisions shape identity, finances, relationships, health, and long-term purpose. Avoiding the decision is also a decision often made by default rather than by intention.   Approaching motherhood as a life-design decision allows women to integrate emotion with strategy, faith with realism, and desire with discernment.   When motherhood is not the only way to nurture life For some women, nurturing life looks different. It may involve fostering or adoption. It may involve mentoring, teaching, serving within the church or community, or creating environments where others flourish. These paths are meaningful expressions of care and legacy. Faith, identity, and worth beyond biology A common, often unspoken question is whether worth changes when motherhood is delayed or declined. Faith presents a different view: worth is inherent and not tied to outcomes. Purpose and calling do not wait for a timeline to be met.   Making a values-led decision in a complex reality A values-led approach asks better questions than Will I regret it? It asks: What kind of life am I called to steward well? What does peace look like for me, not for others? What am I hoping motherhood will give me that I may need to address elsewhere? What risks, emotional, physical, and financial, am I realistically willing to take?   Start with clarity, not pressure The question of motherhood deserves more than mere urgency or comparison. It deserves clarity, compassion, and intentional reflection. If you are navigating questions around marriage, motherhood, or delayed milestones and want structured support to think clearly and decide intentionally, you can book a clarity call with me. Together, we create space to explore your values, realities, and next steps without panic, pressure, or pretending. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Deutina Idisi Deutina Idisi, Women Empowerment Coach Deutina Idisi is a global product leader, author, and identity coach empowering women of faith to rebuild from disruption to design. As founder of TinaTalks™ and creator of the 5G Journey to Becoming™ framework, she helps women in transition rediscover who they are beyond titles and timelines. Blending corporate strategy, storytelling, and spiritual insight, Deutina guides women to design purpose-led lives grounded in faith, confidence, and clarity.

Written by Sogol Johnson, MA, TICC, ACC, Author and Founder of the Mental Gym Program Sogol Johnson is an award-winning experience designer who left her Fortune 500 career on a mission to break generational cycles of trauma for the next generation. Founder of the Cycle Breakers Lab, Author of Wiggles McGee – The Magic Within, is an educator and somatic practitioner empowering individuals to reset and rewire their nervous system in order to thrive instead of survive.  I feel it as a tight, bottled-up anger that has nowhere to go, and at the same time, a strange dissociation. I scroll. I pause. I scroll some more, part of me dysregulated and part of me numb. My body is bracing for impact even though I am thousands of miles away. This is the paradox many of us in the Iranian diaspora are living right now. We are safe, yet not settled. Away, yet deeply entangled. Watching our homeland erupt while our nervous systems oscillate between rage, grief, guilt, helplessness, and even skepticism. Is this finally happening? Is this the final uprising? What we are experiencing is not just empathy. It is collective trauma, unfolding alongside what is now the Iranian Revolution 2026, a moment marked by nationwide protests, internet shutdowns, mass arrests, and profound uncertainty about Iran’s future. The loss that preceded the headlines Before the protests, before the politics, before the global attention, there was already loss. Loss of growing up with our relatives. Loss of cousins who became strangers. Loss of being shaped by grandparents whose love arrived through phone calls and stories instead of daily presence. Just up until March of last year, I had a perfectly wise and healthy grandmother, someone who lived long enough to meet her own great-grandchildren, a rare and beautiful position in a time when people are having children later in life. I missed her not only when she passed, but in every developmental moment she was absent. She met those great-grandchildren only through FaceTime, a flickering screen standing in for touch, scent, and shared air. A modern miracle and a quiet tragedy, compliments of the regime. Diaspora loss is rarely recognized because it is quiet. There is no ceremony for the childhood that might have been. No language for the cultural intimacy that never fully formed. No acknowledgment that separation itself is a relational wound. Naming this loss is not meant to compete with or eclipse the bravery of those still inside the country. It is meant to give voice to those who suffer silently from afar, holding grief without visibility while others risk everything in plain sight. Many of us grew up outwardly successful, educated, and resilient, yet internally unrooted. I wonder how much of the extraordinary achievement of Iranians we see outside the country is driven by an unspoken need to prove ourselves worthy, to finally be seen and heard. We carry imposter syndrome on both sides, never fully immersed in either culture. From an early age, I learned that language itself could become a place of exile. I was ridiculed for speaking broken Farsi, for not knowing how to read or write it fluently, and yet still marked by an accent when I spoke English. Belonging, for many of us, becomes a moving target, elusive no matter which direction we turn. Over time, it softens. Slowly, we find ourselves more fully immersed in a place that begins, at last, to feel like home. Yet something lurks inside, keeping an eye on the motherland, holding quiet hope from the edges. We do this because we know the country’s potential and the depth, intelligence, and beauty of its people. Iran is not an empty or broken place. It is ancient, educated, artistic, and intellectually rich. Yet many in the diaspora grew up explaining ourselves, softening our pride, carrying grief and bone-deep empathy that does not belong to us personally, but to the circumstances imposed by the regime. When the nervous system can’t look away or look anymore As protests escalate across Iran in this revolution, those of us in the diaspora are witnessing events in fragments. Videos disappear. Accounts go silent. The internet is shut down, not just as a political tactic, but as a psychological one, severing connection and amplifying fear. I once heard someone describe it this way. It is as if we are watching a gruesome show on television. At first, we are glued to the screen. Then our bodies cannot tolerate it anymore. So we pick up the television and throw it into the ocean. But the show does not end. We know it is still playing. We know what we saw was real. And we cannot unsee it. As collective trauma teacher Thomas Hübl reminds us, trauma does not disappear when we turn away from it. What is not consciously witnessed, metabolized, and integrated does not simply fade. It continues to live in the collective field, shaping our emotions, reactions, and sense of time, even when we believe we have disconnected. When the nervous system is overwhelmed and powerless to intervene, it chooses distance. We disconnect, limit exposure, grow skeptical, or go numb. Not because we do not care, but because staying fully present feels unbearable. Collective trauma lives beyond the individual Collective trauma does not only live inside individuals. It lives in families, communities, cultures, and the relational space between us. When overwhelming events are not metabolized together, they create fragmentation, silence, and a shared sense of stuckness. For diaspora communities, this trauma is compounded. We are emotionally tethered to a collective nervous system that is actively under threat while physically removed from the places where grief, protest, and mourning are happening. The result is a persistent sense of inertia, activated, alert, and yet unable to move. Why anger, guilt, and dissociation coexist Anger is often the most honest response. Anger at injustice. Anger at silence. Anger at repetition. But anger without agency overwhelms the nervous system. When action feels impossible, the body shifts toward numbness, intellectualization, or withdrawal. That’s where I am. Withdrawal. This is not apathy. It is protection. Trauma teaches us that what overwhelms us without support becomes embedded. Distance does not shield the nervous system when identity, attachment, and memory are involved. Safety is not only physical. It is relational and emotional. What we do to escape the feeling of inertia during the Iranian Revolution, 2026 When the body senses prolonged helplessness, it will reach for anything that restores a sense of movement or control. And right now, that helplessness is sharpened by not knowing. By the brutal regime shutting down Starlink. By messages that stop delivering. By gaps in information that force the imagination to fill in the worst possibilities. We refresh feeds that no longer update. We wait for check-ins that do not come. We live with the unbearable ambiguity of not knowing who is safe, who has been arrested, who is injured, or what is truly unfolding on the ground. So we try to move the energy somehow. We work harder. We overanalyze. We argue online. We donate, repost, organize, withdraw, binge, scroll, numb, or intellectualize. None of these behaviors is wrong. They are attempts to regulate a nervous system caught between responsibility and powerlessness, between deep attachment and total lack of control. The problem is not that we want to feel better. The problem is that we are trying to resolve a collective wound individually, while the collective itself is under siege. Healing collective trauma does not mean forcing constant engagement or pretending there will be a clean resolution. It does not come with a clear ending or a reassuring narrative. There is no guarantee of how this will feel healing in the end, or when. What it asks instead is the capacity to stay present without collapse. To grieve without certainty. To hold fear, hope, and love at the same time. That may look like grieving the family and culture you never had. Allowing anger to inform values rather than consume the body. Choosing conscious action instead of compulsive reaction, even when answers are scarce. Being in the diaspora does not disqualify your pain. It contextualizes it. We carry our homeland in our nervous systems, not because we choose to, but because attachment does not dissolve with distance. The work now is not to disconnect, but to ground. To metabolize grief without becoming immobilized by it. Anger can become clarity. Grief can become a witness. Loss can become remembrance without despair. And grounded presence, even from afar, is not passive. It is how collective healing begins, even when the outcome is still unknown. Follow me on  LinkedIn ,  and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sogol Johnson, MA, TICC, ACC Sogol Johnson, MA, TICC, ACC, Author and Founder of the Mental Gym Program Sogol Johnson, an award-winning designer with a master’s in Human-Centered Design, left her Fortune 500 career as a strategist to focus on breaking the cycle of generational trauma. Now an educator, writer, and advocate for healing childhood trauma, she combines her expertise in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Somatic Therapy, and trauma-informed coaching to empower parents and communities through self-parenting and healing practices.

Written by Cherie Rivas, Transformational Therapies & Coaching Specialist Cherie Rivas is a Transformational Therapies and Coaching Specialist who guides her clients to reconnect with their purpose, reignite their passion, and reclaim their power. By blending psychology, breathwork, NLP, hypnotherapy, and somatic healing practices, her clients are able to break through limitations and unleash their highest potential. People-pleasing often looks like kindness, because on the surface, it is. It appears as a steady willingness to adapt, smooth, accommodate, and absorb what others cannot or will not hold, all in the name of preserving connection. From the outside, it reads as generosity. Beneath the surface, however, people-pleasing is often held together by pressure, a long-rehearsed pattern designed to keep relationships stable, emotions manageable, and belonging secure. For many, it becomes an unconscious contract to remain agreeable and endlessly available in exchange for belonging. People-pleasing does not begin as self-betrayal. It begins as self-protection, a nervous system strategy shaped long before adulthood. Where the pattern begins: The childhood shadow The identity of “the pleaser” is rarely chosen consciously. It is shaped in early environments where emotional safety felt conditional. In some families, love arrived only when a child was compliant. In others, volatility or emotional unpredictability required children to become acutely attuned to the moods and needs of others. Many were praised for being “easy,” “good,” or “self-sufficient”… subtle cues that belonging depended on minimising their own needs. Over time, the nervous system internalised a simple equation: Approval equals safety. Disapproval equals threat. This is the essence of the fawn response, the lesser-known trauma response in which connection is preserved through compliance. It is not a conscious decision, but an adaptive survival pattern that once served a necessary purpose. Long after childhood ends, the strategy remains. It becomes woven into the shadow self… the aspects of identity that were softened, hidden, or suppressed to remain acceptable. The shadow does not disappear. It continues to influence behaviour, communication, and relationships from beneath awareness. The hidden costs nobody mentions People-pleasing is socially rewarded, which makes its impact difficult to recognise. It often earns praise, trust, responsibility, and emotional reliance from others. Yet the internal cost accumulates quietly. Attention becomes oriented outward, reducing access to intuition and internal signals. Repeated self-abandonment erodes self-respect at an unconscious level. Relationships often become imbalanced, as people-pleasers unconsciously attract dynamics in which emotional labour is unevenly distributed. Resentment builds beneath continued accommodation… not because of malice or ingratitude, but because authenticity has been consistently deferred. Perhaps the deepest cost is invisibility. Not the absence of attention, but the erosion of self-expression. When identity is shaped around external expectations, the world meets a performance rather than a person. The real fear driving the pattern People-pleasing is often mistaken for a fear of conflict, though it is more accurately a fear of loss. Loss of approval. Loss of harmony. Loss of belonging. Loss of being perceived as “good.” At its core sits an early belief such as, “If I show up as myself, I may lose love.” This belief does not live in thought alone. It lives in the body, in vigilance, contraction, and restraint. And until that belief is addressed at the level where it formed, change remains superficial. Reclaiming authenticity through embodied integration Authenticity is not reclaimed through willpower, mindset shifts, or behavioural correction. People-pleasing does not dissolve through better scripts or stronger language, because it does not live in words. It lives in the nervous system. In emotional memory. In the body’s history of what once felt unsafe. True integration happens experientially. This understanding sits at the heart of DEEP Shadow Integration™ (Deeply Embodied Experiential Processing), an approach that recognises shadow patterns as whole-system imprints involving mind, body, and inner sense of self. Rather than fixing behaviour, this work turns toward the internal experience that sustains it. The body often speaks first, a tightening in the chest, a holding of the breath, a subtle collapse or readiness to appease. These sensations are not obstacles to overcome, they are communications, remnants of earlier moments when compliance preserved safety. When these signals are met with presence rather than resistance, the nervous system begins to update. The unconscious learns that the present moment is no longer governed by past threat, that expression does not equal danger, and truth does not require punishment. Psychologically, long-held beliefs soften without force. The assumption that love must be earned, or that authenticity risks abandonment, loosens its grip… not through argument, but through embodied safety. Spiritually, this work restores wholeness. Exiled aspects of identity are welcomed back into awareness, not to be transcended, but to be integrated. As coherence returns between inner experience and outer expression, people-pleasing naturally loses relevance. Boundaries arise without aggression. Giving becomes a choice rather than a reflex. Compassion becomes grounded rather than compulsive. In embodied integration, authenticity is not something a person does. It is something they return to. The end of negotiated belonging People-pleasing was never a flaw. It was an intelligent adaptation, a response to environments where self-expression felt unsafe. Healing this pattern does not harden a person, it restores them. When the shadow no longer needs to negotiate for approval, identity stabilises. Relationships become more honest, and boundaries strengthen without force. Belonging becomes real rather than conditional. From that place, authenticity is no longer a liability. It becomes the foundation from which everything else is built. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Cherie Rivas Cherie Rivas, Transformational Therapies & Coaching Specialist Cherie Rivas is a Transformational Therapies and Coaching Specialist with a passion for shadow work. With nearly 20 years of corporate leadership experience and expertise in psychology, breathwork, NLP, and energetic healing, she helps her clients reclaim their power and purpose. Through her unique blend of traditional and complementary modalities, Cherie guides her clients to break free from limitations, step into their fullest potential, and create a deeply fulfilling life. She has also been a featured speaker for the Women Thrive Global Online Summit, sharing her insights on empowerment and transformation.