If you've ever felt stuck in anxiety, people-pleasing, or patterns you can't seem to break, this conversation is going to resonate.

Because it's not random.
And it's not because something is wrong with you.

In this episode, Melissa sits down with Krystina Dixon, Christian life and legacy coach, to explore what's really happening beneath the surface.

Together, they unpack how trauma, fear, and early life experiences shape the nervous system, influence identity, and impact the way women relate to God.

And more importantly, how those patterns begin to shift.

They dive into:

• How fear can quietly become the voice leading decisions
• Why anxiety, overthinking, and people-pleasing are rooted in survival patterns
• What's happening in the nervous system when someone feels stuck
• Why it can feel difficult to hear the Holy Spirit
• The connection between presence, the body, and relationship with God
• Simple, practical ways to begin regulating the body

This is the work.
Not fixing.
Not striving.
Learning to feel safe in the body so there is space to hear, trust, and follow God's lead.

For the woman who has thought, "I don't even know who I am anymore," this episode offers clarity, understanding, and a way forward.

This conversation is an invitation into healing, identity, and freedom.

If you're ready, apply for 1:1 Coaching or the Freedom Collective through a clarity call: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/discovery-information-form

To learn more about Krystina Dixon, visit: https://linktr.ee/breathelifecoachingllc

If you've been stuck in cycles of overspending, burnout, emotional coping, or feeling like you're never doing enough… this conversation will hit deep.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, we sit down with Sammy Wedemeyer, who is publicly documenting her family's debt payoff journey, faith walk, and radical lifestyle transformation in real time.

But this isn't just about money.

We dive into:

• Why you don't need more information - you need transformation
• How nervous system dysregulation drives spending, burnout, and coping habits
• The emotional reality of grief, identity shifts, and letting go of your old life
• How faith, surrender, and obedience create real, lasting change
• The connection between trauma, motherhood, dopamine, and financial patterns
• Why healing your relationship with money starts with healing yourself

This episode is for the woman who feels:

• Exhausted, stretched thin, and overwhelmed
• Stuck in cycles she can't seem to break
• Ashamed of her coping habits
• Ready for something deeper than another strategy

Healing is possible. Freedom is possible. And your story is not over.

If you're ready to stop staying stuck in the same cycles and actually create change…

This is the work I do inside my 1:1 Coaching and The Freedom Collective.

You can apply here: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/discovery-information-form

To learn more about Sammy Wedemeyer and follow her journey: http://instagram.com/sammy.wedemeyer

If you're constantly tired, stressed, or struggling with your health, this episode will change how you think about healing.

In this conversation, clinical nutritionist Dr. Aaron Chapa returns and breaks down the real foundation of health: sleep, rest, and daily rhythms. If you haven't heard his transformational story, definitely head back to Ep. 51.

Here we dive into:

• Why sleep is critical for gut health, hormones, and brain function
• How poor sleep disrupts detox, digestion, and mental clarity
• The connection between stress, cortisol, and burnout
• Why your body can't heal if you're always "on"
• The role of Sabbath, rest, and slowing down in long-term health
• The truth about sugar, inflammation, and chronic disease
• How small, consistent habits create lasting transformation

You'll also learn practical strategies to:

• Improve your sleep quality naturally
• Support your gut and nervous system
• Break free from burnout and "busy culture"
• Build sustainable, healthy rhythms that actually stick

Healing doesn't come from quick fixes - it comes from daily habits done consistently.

This episode is your reminder:
Your health is built in the small things.

If you're ready to go deeper, Melissa's free 3-Day Mind-Body Workshop offers a guided space to apply these principles, helping you regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your body, and begin creating lasting, sustainable healing from the inside out.

Sign up here: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

To connect to Dr. Chapa and learn more about what he does, visit: https://drchapawellness.com/

Sign up for his newsletter here: https://portal.drchapawellness.com/news-letter

Your body was designed to heal. But modern food, hidden sugar, and processed ingredients are getting in the way.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, clinical nutritionist and wellness advocate Dr. Aaron Chapa joins Melissa to unpack the powerful connection between nutrition, gut health, inflammation, and the body's natural ability to heal.

Dr. Chapa shares his personal story, from being an overweight teenager to becoming a clinical nutritionist after losing his father to heart disease, and explains why so many people today feel confused about what is actually healthy.

Together they discuss:

• why sugar may be one of the biggest drivers of chronic disease
• how ultra-processed foods disrupt gut health and metabolism
• the connection between digestion, brain health, and inflammation
• why what you don't eat can matter just as much as what you do
• how simple changes can help your body return to balance

This conversation is both practical and eye-opening, challenging common nutrition advice and encouraging listeners to return to the basics of real food, hydration, and intentional living.

If you've been struggling with fatigue, inflammation, digestive issues, or confusion about nutrition, this conversation will help you understand how everyday food choices can either support or disrupt your body's ability to heal.

And if you're ready to go deeper and begin supporting your own healing journey, Melissa's Mind Body Healing Workshop walks you through practical steps to help regulate your nervous system and support true healing.

Learn more and sign up here:
https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

Connect with Dr. Aaron Chapa here: drchapawellness.com

Sign up for his newsletter here: portal.drchapawellness.com/news-letter

Twenty-five years ago, a single day changed everything for Melissa. In this deeply personal episode, she shares her experience surviving a school shooting at her high school in San Diego and what the years of healing after that have taught her about trauma, the nervous system, and what it really means to feel safe again.

This is a vulnerable one. Melissa talks about the guilt and shame she carried for years, the flashbacks, the anxiety, and the hypervigilance that followed her well into adulthood. She also opens up about something that made this experience even more complicated: the shooter was her friend, and he had been at her house the night before.

But this episode is not just about what happened. It is about what is possible.

Melissa walks us through what trauma actually is (hint: it is not the event itself), how it gets stored in the body, and why healing means rewiring your nervous system to feel safe, not just knowing that you are. She also guides you through a simple somatic breathing practice you can use right now to start calming your nervous system.

If you have ever felt like your body is stuck in a moment that your mind has already tried to move past, this episode is for you.

Trigger warning: this episode includes a detailed personal account of a school shooting. Please take care of yourself as you listen.

Topics covered:
- What trauma is and how it lives in the body
- Hyper vigilance, anxiety, and fight or flight
- The connection between mind, body, and identity
- Somatic work and breathwork as healing tools
- Rooting your identity in truth and in Christ
- A guided breathing practice to regulate your nervous system

Join the 3-day Mind-Body-Healing Workshop:
https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with functional nutrition counselor and registered nurse Katie Kirklin for an honest conversation about diet culture, blood sugar regulation, nervous system health, and what it really means to nourish your body.

Katie shares her personal journey from chronic symptoms, food fear, and restrictive eating to discovering functional nutrition and a more personalized, whole-food approach to healing. Together, Melissa and Katie explore how food, stress, trauma, and lifestyle patterns shape your physical and emotional health and why shifting your mindset from restriction to nourishment can transform the way your body responds to stress, cravings, and fatigue.

In this episode, you'll learn:
• how under-nourishing keeps your nervous system stuck in survival mode
• why blood sugar balance impacts cravings, mood, and energy levels
• the difference between whole foods and ultra-processed foods
• practical ways to nourish your body even when life feels busy
• shifting your mindset from food fear to nourishment
• simple strategies like ingredient prepping to support sustainable wellness

This conversation blends functional nutrition, nervous system awareness, and practical lifestyle tools to help you simplify nutrition and better understand how everyday nourishment supports your body.

If you feel overwhelmed by conflicting nutrition advice, stuck in cycles of restriction, or unsure how to nourish your body in a sustainable way, this episode will bring clarity, encouragement, and actionable steps you can start today.

Join the 3-day Mind-Body-Healing Workshop:
https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

Connect with Katie
Website: KatieKirklin.com
Instagram: @katiekirklinnutrition

Environmental Working Group
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend and leave a review to help more women discover holistic, root-cause healing.

In a culture that glorifies hustle and self-sacrifice, many Christian women feel guilty for resting. But is burnout really biblical?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, we unpack what Scripture actually says about self-care, humility, and stewardship. Using Philippians 2 and 1 Corinthians 6:19, Melissa explores the difference between selfishness and obedience and why caring for your body, nervous system, and emotional health is not vanity, but worship.

You'll learn:

• Why so many women feel guilty for resting

• The difference between biblical humility and self-neglect

• How hustle culture impacts your nervous system and long-term health

• The four pillars of biblical self-care (spiritual, physical, nervous system, and emotional)

• Why burnout is not a badge of honor

• How chronic stress leads to gut issues, anxiety, inflammation, and fatigue

If you've ever felt torn between serving others and taking care of yourself, this episode will help you reframe rest as stewardship - not selfishness.

Healing is possible. Sustainable service is possible. And rest is not weakness - it's obedience.

Join Melissa's 3-Day Mind Body Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Reverend Christine Vaughan Davies, hospital chaplain, spiritual director, and leader of a hospital spiritual care department, for an honest conversation about grief and spiritual distress.

Together they unpack why grief isn't only about death, how life changes create real loss, and why comparison ("the suffering Olympics") keeps women stuck in shame and isolation. You'll also hear a compassionate, practical guide to supporting someone in acute grief - what helps, what harms, and why well-meaning religious phrases can deepen pain rather than heal it.

This episode blends faith, emotional care, and nervous system awareness, with grounded takeaways for anyone carrying unprocessed grief, whether it happened last week or decades ago.

In this conversation:

• What hospital chaplains actually do (for patients, families, and staff)
• Why we don't "move on" from grief - we move through it
• The grief myths that create shame and emotional suppression
• Toxic religious platitudes vs trauma-informed spiritual support
• Simple ways to show up well for grieving people (without putting pressure on them)
• Why naming loss is often the first step toward healing

If you've been feeling alone in your pain, this episode will help you feel seen, understood, and less isolated.

Connect with Christine:

Her newsletter is https://journeyingalongside.substack.com/
She can be booked for individual spiritual direction sessions via www.christinevdavies.com.
https://journeyingalongside.substack.com/
https://www.christinevdavies.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-christine-davies/
https://www.instagram.com/cvdavies/

Join Melissa's 3-Day Mind Body Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop