Dr. Ardeshir Mehran's Podcast

Dr. Ardeshir Mehran
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Not Depressed. Just UnFinished. Hosted by Dr. Ardeshir Mehran, Ph.D. What if your depression isn't a diagnosis; it's a dare, it's a signal? Not Depressed. Just UnFinished. is the podcast for leaders, high achievers, and entrepreneurs who have built impressive lives on the outside and sense something is dying on the inside. If you've ever stared at everything you've accomplished and felt strangely empty, this is the show you didn't know you needed. Dr. Ardeshir Mehran is a Columbia University-trained psychologist, depression and anxiety expert, and bestselling author of You Are Not Depressed. You Are Un-Finished.  This work is personal. Over 30 years of research and clinical work, and his own personal battle with depression at the peak of his leadership career, Dr. Mehran arrived at a truth that upends everything you've been told: depression and anxiety are not broken-brain problems. They are your body's loudest, most insistent signal that you are living an unfulfilling life. The science is clear: executives and high achievers experience depression, anxiety, and addiction at two to three times the rate of the general population. Status, wealth, and relentless productivity mask the fight, but they don't end it.  Dr. Mehran's pioneering framework, the Bill of Emotional Rights, identifies the seven universal human rights that we are wired to fulfill from birth. When these rights go unmet, we don't fall apart quietly. We achieve loudly, and ache privately. Each episode brings Dr. Mehran's signature warmth, clinical depth, and zero-nonsense directness to the questions that actually matter: Why do high achievers suffer in silence? What does your anxiety know that you don't? How do you go from managing symptoms to building a life that makes you feel fully alive? This is not a podcast about coping or reducing symptoms. It's a podcast about naming and claiming what was always yours. Website: https://ardeshirmehran.com/ The Bill of Emotional Rights: https://ardeshirmehran.com/copy-of-bio/ See Amazon for Bestselling Book: You Are Not Depressed. You Are Un-Finished.  https://ardeshirmehran.com/general-clean/

Episodes

  1. 6h ago

    Insights from an International Opera Singer for Your Personal Power, Style, and Presence

    There is a moment many high achievers quietly know: the life they built works, on paper, but something essential no longer fits.  Not a crisis. Not failure. Something more unsettling: success without a sense of self.  I'm speaking with Adria Firestone, The Reinvention Architect™, about what it means to rebuild from the inside out, reclaim your voice, and design a life that reflects who you are becoming, not who you used to be. The voice as the architecture of identity.  A conversation about reinvention, presence, performance, and how leaders can reclaim their authority, not by starting over, but by returning to their essence.  Adria Firestone, The Reinvention Architect™, keynote speaker, voice and presence expert, best-selling author of You Are the Artist of Your Life.  She is an international opera and musical theater performer, Carbonell Award winner, Woman of the Year at the Spoleto Festival, and university educator with 20+ years of teaching voice, presence, and performance.  Adria helps women and leaders reclaim their voice, identity, and authority through the Reinvention Architecture™ framework. View the Podcast on YouTube.  TIMELINE 0:00 — Introduction — "You're Not Depressed, Just Unfinished"  0:30 — Meet Adria Firestone — Opera Singer, Professor & Reinvention Coach  3:59 — The Duality: Life Looked Fabulous But Felt Empty  4:32 — Escaping to the Stage — Running Away to the Circus at Age 10  15:42 — Safe on Stage, Unsafe at Home — Roots of People-Pleasing  19:40 — Hearing the Voice: "This Is Your Last Carmen"  20:16 — Walking Off Stage Into the Unknown — What Comes After Identity?  22:18 — Following the Breadcrumbs — How Life Guides You Without a Script  23:31 — Hiding in Caregiving — Trading One Role for Another  25:04 — Coming Home to Yourself — When All the Hiding Places Are Gone  29:46 — Reinvention Architecture: The 4 A's — Accept, Ask, Act, Allow  41:13 — The SHINE Framework — Seen, Heard, Included, Nurtured, Empowered  42:58 — Invisible People in Organizations — The Real Engagement Crisis  46:24 — Contact Adria Firestone and Learn More About Her CONTACT ADRIA FIRESTONE Website: https://adriafirestone.com/speaker-coaching-2/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriafirestone/ Book: You Are the Artist of Your Life on Amazon

    51 min

  2. 5d ago

    When Success Stops Feeding You: And What You Can Do About It.

    What happens when the life you worked so hard to build no longer feels like you? In this episode of “Not Depressed. UnFinished.” Dr. Ardeshir Mehran speaks with Loredana Regep, MD, a physician, former global biotech leader, integrative health coach, Positive Intelligence coach, and creator of The Elevation Method™, about the quiet moment when achievement no longer nourishes the soul. Together, they explore the difference between ambition that expands you and ambition that empties you, the inner voices that keep high achievers performing old scripts, and the courage it takes to stop being the actor in someone else’s story and become the writer of your own. This is a conversation about reinvention, whole-person health, conscious leadership, and the life still waiting to be lived — not after collapse, but after truth. Key themes include:  The "two transparent sheets" metaphor for the widening gap between the life you planned and the life you wantThe danger of mistaking burnout for overwork when the real issue is misalignmentThe difference between expanding ambition (values-driven) and hollow ambition (status-driven)The role of positive intelligence (PQ) and the "sage vs. saboteur" framework in shifting from fear-based performance to love-based livingThe courage required to let a successful life evolve into a truer one. Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GFh7VTPN3HM?si=n7NGNAJUyOxkDKNi TIMELINE 6:03       Opportunities that no longer held joy; instinct to return to medicine 7:26       The signal grew louder until it could no longer be ignored 7:45       Where did the signals come from? An inner calling to help people directly 10:49     Many people channel the calling into systemic change within their organizations 11:45     Burnout reframed, not overwork, but misalignment of who you are and what you do 12:34     "Living by somebody else's script" — deciding to become the writer of your own life 14:07     High achievers apply more discipline when they feel pain — it doesn't work 15:14     "I don't think I'm going to make it to retirement" — a pivotal realization 15:52     What does life look like for those who are doing better on "God's scale"? 16:33     Past the failure feeling: being in the lead of your own life for the first time 17:09     When life gains meaning and purpose; colors become brighter 18:13     Research on post-retirement depression; living a life of intention 18:22     Celebration of life; a clean house, cooking, smiling at strangers 19:37     Ambition that expands vs. ambition that empties   21:03    Hollow ambition: short-lived joy, external status, identity tied entirely to achievement 21:43     The "wilderness" after achievement — addiction and distraction as coping mechanisms 23:32     Loneliness on the path — who understands? Confiding only in husband, then one leader in Canada 24:49     A clarity moment: "I'm simply becoming something different" 25:07     Feeling crazy, feeling like something is wrong with you 25:23     Advice to listeners — the "younger Loredana" message: acknowledge, explore, reach out, you are not alone 27:07     Spiritual journey as a companion — 30 years of inner work as a guide through lost moments 29:02     What is PQ (Positive Intelligence)? Saboteurs vs. the Sage 29:43     The inner critic as origin of imposter syndrome 30:43     Career fueled by fear of not being good enough → learning to perform from love 31:19     The "I'm not good enough" narrative — guilt vs. shame; messages learned early in life   CONTACT LOREDANA REGEP, MD LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loredanaregep/ Website: loredanaregep.com

    38 min

  3. Jun 4

    From Illness to Strength: You Are More Powerful Than You Realize

    Let's Meet Renee Excelbert, PhD So many people are trained to dismiss fear, outrun pain, dismiss illness, and “stay strong” when life is asking them to listen. But the body keeps the score. It also holds the wisdom.  I’m speaking with Dr. Renee Exelbert about what happens when adversity interrupts our identity, and how movement, mindset, and the mind-body connection can help us rise again, not as the old self, but as a more powerful and truthful one.  The body as a source of truth. A conversation about adversity, illness, identity, movement, visualization, and how entrepreneurs can build resilience without simply “powering through.” Renee is a licensed psychologist, certified elite personal trainer, body-building competitor, two-time breast cancer survivor, author of Chemo Muscles, founder of The Metamorphosis Center, and creator of Visual Emotional Kinetics, keynoter, and TEDx speaker, blending positive thought, visualization, and movement to reclaim strength and performance. Timeline 7:10  The moment of diagnosis; being blamed by her doctor in the same breath as the news 11:00  The power of human touch; havening, self-massage, and the science of physical connection 15:20  Body betrayal & reconnection; trauma, assault, and reclaiming physical connectedness 17:00  Identity in crisis; perfectionism dismantled by mastectomy and cancer 18:20  Writing Chemo Muscles Book; a seven-year journey from shame to radical openness 20:50  Vulnerability as strength; how sharing her story became her greatest gift 23:19  Bodybuilding origin; using exercise and nutrition science to reclaim control 26:40  Getting on stage; the transformation process, not the competition day, is the point  28:40  Current health; living with ongoing monitoring while maintaining strength and positivity 30:20  Family & marriage; how daughters and husband witnessed and were shaped by her resilience 33:10  Host's reflection on his own book and sharing vulnerability with his son 35:50  Evolving as a clinician; more body-attuned, present, and boundary-flexible since illness 37:10  Faith, prayer & gratitude; spiritual practice, presence, and what she prays for CONTACT DR. RENEE EXCELBERT  Website: https://drexelbert.com/ TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCP4e6UFRms LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-exelbert-ph-d-59137b89/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.renee.exelbert/

    39 min

  4. Jun 4

    You’re Not Lazy. Your Health Routine Is Not Working for You.

    High-achieving women are some of the most disciplined people on the planet — at work, for their families, in every area except one: themselves. I’m speaking with Ariel Hoffman, a Los Angeles-based Master Trainer and holistic wellness coach who has spent nearly two decades asking a different question — not “why can’t you stick to it?” but “why is the system not working for you?” This is a conversation about energy, consistency, and what sustainable strength actually looks like in a real, busy life. A practical, science-backed conversation about why high-achieving women keep losing their energy, falling off their routines, and starting over — and the real system-level shifts that create lasting strength, consistent habits, and a body that actually works with your life. Ariel Hoffman is a Certified National Academy of Sports Medicine Trainer, Certified Health Coach, Certified Primal Health Coach, Pre & Post Natal Specialist, and founder of Ariel Hoffman Wellness.  With nearly two decades of experience transforming high-achieving women, executives, and working mothers, Ariel brings a hybrid of nutrition coaching, customized fitness, and sustainable lifestyle strategy — rooted in the science of how real bodies actually work. Episode Timeline 3:52           Key observations about professional women   5:47           What clients really want, body fixes vs. feelings 6:56           The transformation sequence: feel → see → sustain 9:37           Why high-performing women lose their energy 12:44          The "Yes for everyone else" trap 13:36          Why habits fall apart — misalignment explained 14:41          Building a baseline vs. chasing the perfect week 17:54          Understanding your own energy — what depletes vs. fuels you 18:56          Cyclical energy, hormones, cortisol 19:54          Tips for listening to your body 20:46          Motivation is a myth — implementation is everything 24:26          Design for the hard week, not the perfect week 25:39          Energy crashes & brain fog, nutrition science 27:06          The three levers: nutrition, movement, lifestyle 27:48          Managing indulgences, the replace vs. restrict method 29:39          Substitution over restriction (kids, screens, habits) 30:24          Women over 40, body changes & what actually works 33:28          Stopping the fight with your body 34:14          Ariel's approach: gentle but deliberate CONTACT ARIELLE HOFFMAN LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-hoffman-59229860/ WEBSITE: https://www.wellxariel.com/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/wellxarielhoffman/

    39 min

  5. Jun 4

    Gut-Honest: Your Gut Knows Before Your Mind Does.

    What Your Doctor Didn't Tell You! Dr. Susan Payrovi is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is an anesthesiologist, until multiple sclerosis ended her surgical career and sent her on a very different kind of medical education. Now, triple board-certified and trained in functional and integrative medicine, she's traded symptom management for something more interesting: finding out why you got sick in the first place. In this episode, Dr. Payrovi breaks down the science your doctor probably didn't have time to explain and the gut-brain axis.  You learn how your microbiome runs your immune system, hormones, and mood, and why what you eat, how you sleep, and even your dog may be shaping your health more than any prescription. She explains leaky gut in plain English and walks through her "inside-out" approach to chronic disease, including her own diagnosis with multiple sclerosis (MS). She shares surprisingly doable practices, more fermented foods, less ultra-processed everything, and actually respecting your circadian rhythm. If you've ever felt like you were just managing your illness rather than understanding it, this podcast is for you. Timeline 1:32 — Dr. Payrovi's Background & MS Diagnosis 3:22 — Journey into Integrative Medicine 8:18 — Holistic vs. Conventional Medicine 15:28 — The Gut-Brain Connection 17:05 — What Is a "Gut Feeling"? 20:39 — Gut Health in Daily Life 23:43 — Leaky Gut Explained 29:23 — Food Allergies & Rising Gut Issues 30:59 — Gut Health & Emotional Wellbeing 33:36 — Practical Tips for Gut Health 35:28 — Where to Find Dr. Payrovi CONTACT SUSAN PAYROVI, MD Website: https://www.drsusanpayrovi.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsusanpayrovi/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsusanpayrovi/

    38 min

  6. Jun 4

    Stop Fighting Your Depression: What Depression Is Trying to Tell You.

    I want to start by asking you something. And I want you to really sit with it. Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt... heavy?  Not tired. Not sick. Just heavy.  Like something invisible is pressing down on your chest. Like you're moving through life, but you're not really there.  Like everyone else seems to know why they're here, and you're the only one who missed the memo. You go through the motions. You show up. Maybe you even smile. But inside — inside there's this quiet, persistent voice that says: Is this it? Is this all there is? If that sounds familiar, I want you to know something. You are not broken. You are not weak. And you are absolutely not alone. Welcome to this podcast series. I'm Dr. Ardeshir Mehran, psychologist, depression, anxiety, trauma expert and someone who has sat with many of people in their darkest moments.  And today, I want to talk to you about something that might completely change the way you see yourself. I want to talk about depression. But not in the way you've heard before. Thank You for Listening. Timeline Big Idea: "Depression is deprivation. Depression is data." Shift the question from what's wrong with me? to what's missing? 7 Emotional Rights introduced — Elemental needs, present throughout human history, that we are born to experience Right 1. I Belong: Deep connection; 50% of CEOs report loneliness; we're trained to achieve, not connect Right 2. I Am Complete: Freedom from past shame, trauma, regret; being present and whole right now Right 3. I Am Boundless: Physical aliveness; moving, breathing, full-body presence; what no medication can replicate Right 4. I Matter: Being seen, included, respected; invisibility as emotional violence  Right 5. I Make: Engagement and meaning in work; 2/3 of Americans disengaged; disengagement → depression; here's why Right 6. I Am: Speaking your truth without apology; silencing your real voice causes inner death Right 7. I Soar: Life direction, calling, legacy; Maya Angelou quote: "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you"  The Transformation: Living the 7 rights doesn't cure depression; it ignites fuel. You wake up pissed, restless, alive  Closing message: "You are not depressed, you are unfinished." Depression as proof you care and have been tolerating a life not right for you  Call to action: Ask a different question, be honest with yourself, don't wait for perfect circumstances  CONTACT DR. ARDESHIR MEHRAN Website: https://ardeshirmehran.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ardeshir-mehran-a3457/

    21 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

Not Depressed. Just UnFinished. Hosted by Dr. Ardeshir Mehran, Ph.D. What if your depression isn't a diagnosis; it's a dare, it's a signal? Not Depressed. Just UnFinished. is the podcast for leaders, high achievers, and entrepreneurs who have built impressive lives on the outside and sense something is dying on the inside. If you've ever stared at everything you've accomplished and felt strangely empty, this is the show you didn't know you needed. Dr. Ardeshir Mehran is a Columbia University-trained psychologist, depression and anxiety expert, and bestselling author of You Are Not Depressed. You Are Un-Finished.  This work is personal. Over 30 years of research and clinical work, and his own personal battle with depression at the peak of his leadership career, Dr. Mehran arrived at a truth that upends everything you've been told: depression and anxiety are not broken-brain problems. They are your body's loudest, most insistent signal that you are living an unfulfilling life. The science is clear: executives and high achievers experience depression, anxiety, and addiction at two to three times the rate of the general population. Status, wealth, and relentless productivity mask the fight, but they don't end it.  Dr. Mehran's pioneering framework, the Bill of Emotional Rights, identifies the seven universal human rights that we are wired to fulfill from birth. When these rights go unmet, we don't fall apart quietly. We achieve loudly, and ache privately. Each episode brings Dr. Mehran's signature warmth, clinical depth, and zero-nonsense directness to the questions that actually matter: Why do high achievers suffer in silence? What does your anxiety know that you don't? How do you go from managing symptoms to building a life that makes you feel fully alive? This is not a podcast about coping or reducing symptoms. It's a podcast about naming and claiming what was always yours. Website: https://ardeshirmehran.com/ The Bill of Emotional Rights: https://ardeshirmehran.com/copy-of-bio/ See Amazon for Bestselling Book: You Are Not Depressed. You Are Un-Finished.  https://ardeshirmehran.com/general-clean/

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Ardeshir Mehran
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr. Ardeshir Mehran's Podcast
  • Show Website
    Dr. Ardeshir Mehran's Podcast