Becoming Real with Dr. Lori

Lori Stevic Rust, PhD
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Mental Health

Becoming Real with Dr. Lori offers real conversations in a world full of noise. Fake is everywhere. Curated lives. Performative confidence. Quick answers that promise easy fixes but rarely lead to real change. And after a while, all that pretending disconnects us — from each other and from ourselves. This is a podcast for anyone hungry for something more honest, and especially for women who are tired of carrying so much and having so little space to say what is real. I’m Dr. Lori Stevic-Rust, a board-certified clinical health psychologist, author, and speaker, and here we explore mental health, physical health, caregiving, grief, women’s health, brain health, stress, relationships, the hard conversations we avoid, and the courage it takes to live more honestly. Drawing on more than forty years in the therapy room, I share what I’ve learned from listening closely to real human stories. Some episodes are solo reflections. Others feature expert guests. All of them are rooted in one core belief: real healing begins with real conversation. Over the years, many patients have said to me, “Sometimes I hear your voice in my head when I’m trying to sort something out.” So maybe that’s what this podcast actually is. A little therapeutic guidance and healing in your ear. Pull up a chair.

  1. 3d ago

    Postpartum Depression, Anxiety & Psychosis: The Hormone Connection

    Pregnancy and postpartum can change far more than a woman’s body. Hormonal shifts can also intersect with anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, OCD and, in rare cases, postpartum psychosis. But how do we know when what a woman is experiencing has moved beyond the expected exhaustion and adjustment of having a baby? In Part Two of our four-part Women’s Health Series, Dr. Lori talks with Dr. Lulu Zhao, an OB/GYN specializing in women’s behavioral health and reproductive psychiatry, about pregnancy and postpartum mental health—and why this is a conversation for women and the people who love them. They talk about why women can look completely functional while struggling underneath, what partners and families should know, PMDD, postpartum anxiety and depression, intrusive thoughts, postpartum OCD and psychosis, and the complicated questions surrounding psychiatric medications during pregnancy. And perhaps most importantly, they look at a question many women find themselves asking: Is this hormonal, is it my mental health—or could it be both? Show Notes: https://drloristevic.com/postpartum-depression-anxiety-psychosis-hormones/

  2. Aug 9

    Brain Health for Women: Why Alzheimer's Risk Isn't Just Genetics

    Alzheimer's may be diagnosed late in life, but brain health is built decades earlier. And nearly two-thirds of people living with it are women. In this solo episode kicking off a new women's health series, Dr. Lori breaks down why the line between mental and physical health has never made sense to her, what neuroscience reveals about the menopause transition, and why women have historically gotten only a fraction of the research funding despite carrying the bulk of the disease. You'll hear the Lancet Commission's fourteen modifiable risk factors for dementia, and a hard truth about the millions of women quietly putting their own brain health at risk while caring for everyone but themselves. This episode sets the stage for a series featuring real conversations on pregnancy and postpartum mental health, sexual health, and hormone therapy. Come back and listen. You owe it to yourself. Show notes: https://drloristevic.com/brain-health-for-women-alzheimers-risk/

  3. Aug 1

    SAVE Act Part 2: Who Controls Your Vote?

    When I released the first SAVE Act episode with attorney Pat Schraff, I thought it was a one and done. We talked about names — what women have historically had taken from them, and what happens when your birth certificate no longer matches the name you have carried for forty years. The response told me we were not finished. So this week I brought in Tera Coleman, counsel at Baker Hostetler, who practices in both state and federal courts and who has been turning this bill over the same way I have, trying to make it make sense. I think it is fair to say that almost everybody agrees that fair elections are critical for our democracy. Only US citizens should vote (as it states in our constitution). So why do we need the SAVE Act, when the numbers of non-citizens registering to vote are so very small but the risks associated with the the Save Act disenfranchising actual US citizens from voting is big. We start the conversation with how elections actually work in this country. Who runs them. Where the states' authority ends and the federal government's begins. Tera walks through what is in the bill, and then through the part almost nobody is talking about — what it would ask of the people who work our elections. Kansas comes up. So does the Department of Homeland Security. And the federal government having our personal voting data. This is not a partisan issue-- the SAVE Act will effect all of us if it passes. Take a listen. Listen to Part 1 with attorney Pat Schraff on what the SAVE Act would mean for married and divorced women. Show Notes: https://drloristevic.com/save-act-part-2-who-controls-your-vote/

  4. Jul 25

    The Power of Play for Adults: Why You Need Recess More Than a Vacation

    It started with an offhand comment from my daughter: grown-ups need recess. We laughed — and then I couldn't stop thinking about it. Because somewhere between the playground and now, the bell just quietly stopped ringing, and nobody told us we'd had our last one. In this episode, I'm making the case that play, laughter, and curiosity are not the dessert of a well-run life — they're part of how human beings have always survived hard seasons. I'll share why recess was never the same thing as gym class (and what an undiagnosed neurological condition taught me about the difference), what a real laugh actually does inside your body, why joy keeps showing up in hospital rooms and funeral luncheons, and three ways to bring recess back into an ordinary adult week. No swing set required. Show Notes: https://drloristevic.com/power-of-play-for-adults/

  5. Jul 18

    What If I Don’t Want to Be the Caregiver?

    What if the person who needs care is the parent who abused you, the mother you have not spoken to in years or the spouse you were preparing to leave before the diagnosis? We talk about caregiving as an act of love. But that leaves little room for the person who does not feel safe, the person who feels trapped or the devoted caregiver whose own health is beginning to fail. In this episode, I talk about the family history an illness cannot erase, why guilt cannot become the care plan and what resentment may be trying to tell you. We will also look at the different ways care can be provided—because making sure someone receives care does not mean you must provide every part of it yourself. Before we judge the daughter who steps back or the spouse who says, “I cannot do this anymore,” we need to ask what part of the story we do not know. Show Notes: https://drloristevic.com/what-if-i-dont-want-to-be-the-caregiver/

  6. Jul 11

    People Pleasing Is Not Really About Pleasing People-Why You Say Yes When You Mean No

    Why do you say yes when part of you already knows you mean no? People pleasing can look like kindness, generosity, and being easy to get along with. But underneath it, there is often something else happening: the attempt to prevent disappointment, avoid tension, and keep the people around us comfortable. In this episode, Dr. Lori explores why people pleasing becomes so automatic, how it can begin as a learned way to preserve connection, and why the relief of avoiding conflict rarely lasts. The conflict does not disappear. It often returns later as resentment, exhaustion, emotional distance, and the feeling that other people know the agreeable version of you better than they know the real one. This conversation looks at the difference between genuine generosity and self-abandonment, why boundaries can feel so uncomfortable, and how to begin telling the truth before resentment tells it for you. Show Notes: https://drloristevic.com/people-pleasing-why-we-say-yes-when-we-mean-no/

  7. Jul 3

    Can We Trust Each Other Again? DEI, Belonging, and Staying Curious in a Divided World

    Can we trust each other again? In this episode of Becoming Real, Dr. Lori talks with Dr. Debbie Plummer, national thought leader on social trust, DEI, and belonging. Together, they explore what it means to stay curious in a divided world, how we rebuild trust across our differences, and why belonging begins with the courage to listen differently. Show Notes: https://drloristevic.com/can-we-trust-each-other-again-dei-belonging-and-staying-curious-in-a-divided-world/

  8. Jun 25

    The SAVE Act and Women’s Names: Voting Rights, Marriage, and the Law

    The SAVE Act is being framed as a bill about election integrity and proof of citizenship. But for many women, especially married, divorced, remarried, or older women, “just bring proof” is not always simple. In this episode, Dr. Lori talks with attorney Patricia J. Schraff about how women’s names, birth certificates, marriage records, and legal identity can collide with voting access. They discuss why a marriage certificate does not prove citizenship, why getting a birth certificate can take months, and why paperwork delays can become a real barrier to voting. This conversation goes beyond the SAVE Act into the deeper history of women’s names, coverture, property rights, Lucy Stone, suffrage, and the long fight for women to be recognized as legal individuals. This episode is not about telling women whether to keep, change, or hyphenate their names. It is about making sure the choice is truly a choice. Shownotes: https://drloristevic.com/slug-save-act-womens-names-voting-rights/

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Trailer

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Becoming Real with Dr. Lori offers real conversations in a world full of noise. Fake is everywhere. Curated lives. Performative confidence. Quick answers that promise easy fixes but rarely lead to real change. And after a while, all that pretending disconnects us — from each other and from ourselves. This is a podcast for anyone hungry for something more honest, and especially for women who are tired of carrying so much and having so little space to say what is real. I’m Dr. Lori Stevic-Rust, a board-certified clinical health psychologist, author, and speaker, and here we explore mental health, physical health, caregiving, grief, women’s health, brain health, stress, relationships, the hard conversations we avoid, and the courage it takes to live more honestly. Drawing on more than forty years in the therapy room, I share what I’ve learned from listening closely to real human stories. Some episodes are solo reflections. Others feature expert guests. All of them are rooted in one core belief: real healing begins with real conversation. Over the years, many patients have said to me, “Sometimes I hear your voice in my head when I’m trying to sort something out.” So maybe that’s what this podcast actually is. A little therapeutic guidance and healing in your ear. Pull up a chair.

Information

  • Creator
    Lori Stevic Rust, PhD
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Lori Stevic Rust, PhD
  • Show Website
    Becoming Real with Dr. Lori