Find Your Voice, Change Your Life Dr. Doreen Downing

 
Today, I interview Clarissa Burt who tells us that her childhood was stressful and not very much fun. There was a lot of yelling, arguing, alcohol, and violence. Her father switched back and forth between Jekyll and Hyde, going from fun and kind to full of rage. Clarissa was the oldest child, and she spent much of her time trying to keep the peace, look after her abused mother, and check each bedroom to make sure everyone was still alive each morning. 

She hadn't realized that she had formed the habit of checking the bedrooms until her mother pointed it out to her after the divorce when she was still doing it. She was able to recognize that she was experiencing PTSD and begin to work through it. 

Once she grew up and left home to pursue a modeling career, she was surrounded by people who just wanted to party, drink, do drugs, and stay up late. That wasn't Clarissa's style. She says that despite their own behavior, her parents instructed her to have a strong sense of right and wrong. Clarissa got up early and went to bed early. She had a good head on her shoulders and was starting to not only discover who she was, but also form the habit of consistently raising her standards. This was a major breakthrough. Clarissa believes that self-esteem is the key. 

We're all going to experience difficulties, traumas, losses, and other great challenges in life. But if you do the work to understand yourself, process your emotions, and feel fully connected to who you are, your self-esteem helps to keep you centered and gives you the tools to overcome any obstacle. She tells us that our experiences are stepping stones in life. Our belief systems and the things we learn help to shape us, and through changes in life we may lose connections with people and things that are no longer a fit, but as long as we are striving for the greater good, amazing things can happen.

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Clarissa Burt is the Founder/CEO of In the Limelight Media. She is an internationally acclaimed award-winning media personality, producer, director, writer, author, former supermodel, and public speaker. With hundreds of television, radio, and film credits to her name, this Who’s Who of International and American Women brings over 35 years of entertainment industry experience in both International and American markets. 

Find Clarissa here: 
https://clarissaburt.com/ 
https://envelopher.com/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarissaburt/ 
https://www.facebook.com/ClarissaBurtInternational 
https://twitter.com/clarissaburt 

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I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. 

Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.     

Today, I interview Anna Ditchburn who grew up in Russia. Her father left when she was 4, abandoning their family to be with another woman. Anna was so young, she didn't quite understand what was going on. She never processed her own feelings about it, but instead focused on her heartbroken mother and helped to keep up appearances, never revealing what was happening behind closed doors. 

She helped to care for her infant brother while her mother worked nights to make ends meet. Six years later, they were still struggling when her mother met a man they all thought was wonderful. A few months into the relationship, he showed his aggressive, abusive side. He was a military man, and the family lived in fear, keeping everything spotless and in its perfect place. 

When Anna turned 15, he began sexually abusing her, forcing her to undergo two abortions, one of which damaged her reproductive system. At 21 she left, hiding her secrets and holding herself back for fear of judgment. She felt so much shame over her past, feeling undeserving of love and acceptance. She struggled with job interviews, having so much fear and anxiety that she would become physically ill. 

And then she met Laban, the love of her life (who has also been a guest on this podcast) and her now husband. They experienced several miscarriages together, but her doctor told her it wasn't a physical problem; it was an emotional and psychological one. Anna was later able to come to terms with the fact that she was afraid of this experience because of her past trauma. She was able to give her trauma a name, ask for help, and begin the healing process for the first time in 20 years. 

Anna Ditchburn has faced some of the most traumatic things a young woman can possibly experience. And that's what motivates her to tell the world that if she can rise above it, others can too. She uses her own podcast to tell others that they're not alone, and her passion is "helping people to realize their potential, and align with their heart, thoughts, feelings, and wishes." 
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Anna is known affectionately as the world’s best life-optimization coach. She empowers others with her ultimate courage, stories of healing, and forgiveness. Systemic sexual abuse, two forced abortions by a stepfather, and then sixteen consecutive miscarriages were once Anna’s only story. Now her story is that she has reclaimed her power, freed herself from the tether of shame and pain, and made her life-purpose to help others to do the same to live the life of their dreams. 

Find Anna here: 
https://annaditchburn.com/ 
https://worlds-best-trauma-recovery-podcast.captivate.fm/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsannaditchburn/ 
https://www.facebook.com/mrs.anna.ditchburn 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7WdkOzozBc_1z3rwmzWfbg 

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 I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. 

Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.    

Today, I interview Laurie Seymour whose father was her best friend. Growing up with three brothers, she confided in her father and he was her sounding board and source of encouragement. When he died she was still quite young, and her mother was forced to pick up the pieces, struggling with overwhelming new emotional and financial stresses. 

Laurie was often left out of the equation. She just didn't fit, and there wasn't much time for her. She retreated within herself, only allowing some parts of herself to be seen in the world. During her childhood, Laurie was a good student and was known to be very intelligent, as evidenced by her work and her confidence in front of the class. She had lots of good experiences but never allowed them to become a part of her life and her story-- never really embracing her life. Losing her father had caused a lack of stability in her life, and those feelings of doubt turned into self-doubt for her. 

After a journey through college and even becoming a therapist herself, Laurie eventually encountered a teacher with whom she had an "energetic experience". This allowed her to finally open up and reconnect to her self-love. She felt a deep connection to her own existence, and it allowed some of those gaps in her mind and heart to come together. Laurie now practices mindfulness, staying in the present and focusing on the truth. She no longer gives self-doubt her time or attention because it has no productive value for her. Today, she teaches others how to tap into their own inner energy and harness it for guidance and stability.

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Laurie Seymour, Quantum Connection Mentor, 2x international #1 best-selling author, and founder/CEO of The Baca Institute, is internationally known as the source for Source. She helps visionary leaders and conscious business owners shift their vibration for more energy, focus, inspiration, and joy in their business and personal lives, leading to streamlined project creation and implementation and financial abundance. Laurie is also host of the Wisdom Talk Radio podcast, listened to in over 60 countries! 

Find Laurie here: 
https://thebacainstitute.com/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurieseymour/ 
https://www.facebook.com/TheBacaInstitute 
https://www.instagram.com/laurie.seymour/ 
https://twitter.com/BacaInstitute

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I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. 

Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.   

Today, I interview Erin Bogdan who grew up believing she truly did have the perfect family, with an easy childhood and parents who loved her. Now she says she's realized it was a dynamic of "emotional codependent dysfunctionality". 

There were issues with addiction on her mother's side of the family, and there was a lack of emotional connection on her father's side. Growing up in New Jersey, efforts were made to make their home life appear picture-perfect on the outside. However, Erin learned from a young age that high achievements and good behavior were the way to gain approval and affection, as she tiptoed around her father's temper and her mother's tendency toward people-pleasing. 

Looking back now, Erin says she didn't realize she didn't have a voice back then. She fit the mold and that's how she functioned. But she was holding herself back and not getting her needs met. Her sister struggled with addiction, and this played into Erin's development and ability to use her voice. That is, until she discovered meetings for families of Al-Anon. She realized she'd been hiding herself. 

She spent several years in Al-Anon rediscovering her wants and needs. Her corporate career development paralleled Al-Anon, and she was slowly pushed more and more into the spotlight and various leadership roles. Erin went on an immersive retreat to Bali where she had a transformative epiphany, realizing that she was merely existing - that she'd never let her true self live freely and boldly. She now uses her voice to speak into the fears of others and help them to find passion and purpose in life.

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Erin Bogdan is an authenticity & confidence coach & soul-purpose activator who coaches unfulfilled ambitious high-achievers & people pleasers to ditch their self-doubt & ‘not enough’ mindset and become their most confident, capable, unstoppable, and unapologetic, authentic selves so that they can create an aligned & purpose-driven life. Today, she is free to be herself and her very journey of transformation was the exact training she needed to facilitate the same deep, profound, & tangible shifts in her clients. Erin’s passion & enthusiasm for serving badasses-at-heart to wake up to their infinite potential is her soul’s calling and she is so extremely grateful to be living her purpose daily. 

Find Erin here: 
https://www.facebook.com/RadiatewithErinBogdan 
https://www.instagram.com/itserinbogdan/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinbogdanconfidence-mindsetcoach/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr1F0wlw27jy3HlAJ_Ce-WA 

**Download her free 6-step No BS Guide that will have you boldly & confidently Remembering, Reclaiming, & Radiating all of who you were born to be: https://mailchi.mp/2eae852ce24d/0yek7qi87p 
**Join her free Facebook community to receive exclusive inspiring soul-shifting content, & engage with a community who all desire to own, embody, and become who they were born to be! https://www.facebook.com/groups/confidentcapableauthenticyou/ 

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I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. 

Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.  

Today, I interview Mitra Manesh, the youngest of three children who grew up in Iran. Mitra learned to fend for herself and figure out her own way. She was intelligent and well-behaved, never getting into trouble and becoming a source of comfort and stability in the room. These things earned her the nickname, "the wise child" from a very young age. But was this a good thing or not?

Mitra took this as part of her identity the more and more adults would say it to her. She became strong and serious and didn't spend much time playing and being silly - very important things for children. 

Mitra was in the U.S. for school in the seventies. Then she returned home, but because of the conflict, the borders were closed and she was unable to come back. Then she went to Turkey and France, and now lives in California. Through all of the unrest, Mitra had an epiphany. She had been looking for stability in the world, and as she so perfectly puts it, as her "inner world was forming, the outer world was in complete chaos." She was just beginning to discover herself and come alive, and all of her surroundings were falling apart. 

She experienced so much loss. The "anchor" she sought in family, friends, academia, and home could really only be found within herself. So she accepted what she calls an "invitation" to dig deep within herself to find clarity and meaning. She realized that she had to find and create her own voice, because if she was "given" her voice from someone, that could just be taken away. She learned to only rely on herself. 

Her journey into Turkey was quite a turning point in her life. She left everyone and everything behind and crossed the border with little more than the clothes on her back. But without all the other voices in her ear, she slowly began to work forward, starting over and waiting for no one. She realized that only she could give herself the power she'd been looking for. These days, Mitra flows through life in a state of mindfulness. She accepts the reality of situations, does her best to be truly present, and enjoys the spontaneity of not taking anything for granted. 

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Mitra Manesh is the creator of the Mindful Attentionist Coaching (M.A.C.) program, an inside-out program for deep training of global mindful coaches. She is also the founder of “innermap”, an innovative new mindfulness App, and the host of “Lights on”, a podcast offering support for a mindful life. She is a mindfulness thought leader, storyteller, and educator with almost 4 decades of experience helping people of all ages and many different cultures to live, love, and lead more consciously at home and at work. 

Find Mitra here: 
https://www.mitramanesh.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/mitramanesh_/?hl=en 
https://www.clubhouse.com/@mitramanesh?utm_medium=ch_profile&utm_campaign=PG4DiiEsePKU2l1IRDbm4Q-218317 

Join her free 1 Hour Class to learn "What’s your most valuable asset in life & how can you benefit from it?": https://www.mitramanesh.com/ 

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I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. 

Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com. 

Today, I interview Dr. John Gray. In John's family there were lots of siblings, and there was lots of love. However, his mother clearly had a sweet spot for John and favored him a little. In turn, his siblings expressed their jealousy by picking on and torturing him. He learned to stay alert, but this meant he was always on edge and quite afraid. 

John's fear wasn't really recognized or discussed in his family until a concerned aunt pointed it out to him when he was still pretty young. So he became aware that he had an issue with fear but didn't yet understand how to work through it. John felt very loved by his parents. He says that by the time he came along, his parents realized that things like spankings and other punishments hadn't worked on his older siblings. They decided not to punish him in the same way and just to "leave him in the hands of God." This added to the growing jealousy of his siblings, and their anger was another source of intimidation, keeping John from building - or even using - his voice. On the other hand, John's mother supported all of his ideas and encouraged him to keep learning and figuring out life. She would later add a wing onto her bookstore to house and sell all of the books he would write. 

At the age of 19, John became the youngest teacher of Transcendental Meditation. During his first lecture, he was so nervous he fainted. But he was so passionate about TM, he decided to keep working at it, trying to overcome his anxiety. Then he found Improv. Instead of focusing on a speech and feeling like everyone was there to judge any misstep, he felt like a cloud lifted when his improv peers supported him and cheered him on for his creativity. In this welcome and safe space, he was able to begin to release his fears and move forward. Today, his thoughts and ideas are known internationally, and his voice has changed the lives of thousands. 

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Dr. Gray has written over 20 books. His most recent book is Beyond Mars and Venus: Relationship Skills for Our Complex Modern World. His Mars/Venus book series has changed the way men and women view their relationships. John helps men and women better understand and respect their differences in both personal and professional relationships. His approach combines specific communication techniques with healthy, nutritional choices that create the brain and body chemistry for lasting health, happiness, and romance. 

His many books, blogs, and free online workshops at MarsVenus.com provide practical insights to improve relationships at all stages of life and love. An advocate of health and optimal brain function, he also provides natural solutions for overcoming depression, anxiety, and stress to support increased energy, libido, hormonal balance, and better sleep. 

He has appeared repeatedly on Oprah, as well as on The Dr. Oz Show, TODAY, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, and others. He has been profiled in Time, Forbes, USA Today, and People. He was also the subject of a three-hour special hosted by Barbara Walters. John Gray lives in Northern California where for 34 years he happily shared his life with his beautiful wife, Bonnie, until her passing in 2018. They have three grown daughters and four grandchildren. He is an avid follower of his own health and relationship advice. 

Find John here: 
https://www.marsvenus.com/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marsvenus/ 
https://www.facebook.com/Mars.Venus.John.Gray 
https://www.instagram.com/johngraymarsvenus_official/ 
https://twitter.com/MarsVenus 

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I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. 

Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.