Business Innovators Radio - Amiee Boswinkle: How to Overcome Trauma, PTSD, and Addictions

Episode Date: November 29, 2023

Amiee Boswinkle helps people who have survived trauma, PTSD, and addictions to create peace within their minds so they find it in their life. She is a B.A. Psychology, Certified Health and Life Coach, Certified RMT and Certified Master Level NLP Practitioner.Rebelpreneur Radio with Ralph Brogdenhttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/rebelpreneur-radio-with-ralph-brogden/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/amiee-boswinkle-how-to-overcome-trauma-ptsd-and-addictions

Your Resistance is future. The revolution has begun. We're listening to Revelepreneur Radio, helping you break the rules and build the business you need for the life you want. And now, broadcasting his pirate signal from somewhere beyond the status quo.

Here's your host, best-selling author, Marketing and Media Strategist, Ralph Brogden. Hello and World. welcome to Rebelpreneur Radio. It's the show that helps you build the business you need so you can live the life you want. I am Ralph Brogden. Mental health is such a big issue in today's world. And if you're not taking care of your health mentally, you're not going to succeed in business or in life or in anything else. So I always love to get people on who can help us work through our mental and emotional blocks to overcome obstacles and challenges in our thinking. A lot of this, is overcoming trauma, PTSD, addictions that you may not even be aware of, but they are affecting your life in your business even now. So I love talking to people who have expertise in this area. Today's guest certainly has plenty of experience. Amy Boswinkle helps people who have survived trauma, PTSD, and addictions to create peace within their minds so they can find it in their life.

She has a BA in psychology. She is a certified health and lifestyle. She is a certified health and Life Coach, a certified Reiki Master Teacher, and a certified master level NLP practitioner. So if she can't help you, you can't be helped. Amy Bosnacle, welcome to Replenewa Radio. Oh, my gosh. What a great introduction, Ralph. Thank you so much for that. I'm so incredibly excited to speak with you and your audience today.

Thank you so much for coming on. Tell us a little bit about your background and what got you interested in these incredible things that you were doing. Yeah, absolutely. I feel like, you know, the people who are out there being of service to humanity have a little story in the background that their niches in, such as mine. So I come from a background of abuse and neglect and certainly not understanding where I fit into life, feeling like I was, you know, always kind of.

left behind. And I traveled, because of those things, I traveled down my own road of addiction and unsureness, not knowing where I was going to go. And by the grace of God, found my way along the journey. You know, there were many, many dark years, but I believe that I had tried everything within my power and God provided into my life another way. where I studied the human body nonstop physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually until I was able to heal myself from the things that I was told I was never going to heal from. And that enlightened the purpose inside of my heart. And I became a completely different person.

Believe me, I'm a completely different person who you're talking to than who I once was. And I found my voice and I went on to the world and I shared what I had found along the way with others. Wonderful. Now, you know, a lot of people have gone through similar experiences. Many of them do not come out on the other side of that in a positive way. A few of them do, but not all of them then turn around and go out and help others with the same help that they have received. What was the thing in you that caused you to take that extra step and to give back and want to help people who had been through a similar challenge that you had learned to overcome? I truly believe it's because I walked through such dark, dark, dark places where I

didn't believe I was going to survive. Sometimes because of choices I was making, accidentally, we might say, and for other times choices that I was making on purpose, because I had landed in some incredibly dark places in my life. And when I had my aha moment, when I woke up, as I call it, something awakened inside of my heart. And I knew that if I could go out into the world and just, share one shred of hope with anyone who had had an experience like I had, that I would be doing my purpose work on this planet. And believe me, when I tell you at that point in time, I couldn't look people in the eye. I could barely speak to people. I believed I was beneath people.

So I had to retrain myself to be able to feel worthy inside of myself, you know, to find my voice and to share it with people. But that spark inside of me was so strong. I was willing to go to any link to have that thing because I knew that that was my purpose. So what was it like then to take that purpose and then try and figure out how to build a business around that, how to get clients?

And that's a lot different. That's a different skill set than the thing that you do. So the thing that you do is the thing that you do. but then building a business that delivers the thing that you do to other people. That's a different skill set. And not everyone is cut out for that. What was that experience like for you? It was, to be very transparent, very honest with you, it was terrifying.

You know, I had to, like I said, I had to literally find a voice I didn't believe that I could have. So I can remember standing in my bedroom and practicing speeches for hours on end every single day. And my first opportunities of publicly speaking with people were at a health food store that I had worked at at that point in time for 10 and a half years. And I built relationships with the customers who had come in there. and I shared this speech that I had created around physical health at that particular moment in time. And my voice shook and I was really scared and I was very transparent with people and I let them know that I was really scared, but that I had a really important message that I wanted to share with them. And it was received really well.

And the very first talk that I gave, I enrolled two clients into my coaching program, the very first speech that I, gave. Yeah. And I just kept moving forward. And I went to every business that would allow me to come in and I would share that talk. And eventually I became brave enough to share it on Facebook. Okay. All right. What I love about that is my program I help people with is called Master Your Message. What I like about that is when your message becomes your mission and you're creating a movement around your message. The marketing takes care of itself. It's no longer about marketing and selling. It's about your mission and why you are here. And the fact that you have a message that's worth sharing with people. And you may not share it 100% fluently. You may not share it 100% flawlessly.

but the importance of what you have to share and what you have to say to people overrides whatever other natural reticence or reluctance you might otherwise have because you're following such a big thing. You're out to change the world. However imperfectly you may do that. So I love that story that you just got up there, spoke from your heart just the way it was, and you got clients from that. So tell us about the people that you work with, you work with people with PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma focused therapy type of issues, addictions.

But what is a typical client like working with them? Who are the people that you are generally working with? What are they struggling with for the most part? Many of them are dealing with whether it's current or in the past struggles with fear of some kind, fears of, you know, showing up for themselves, finding that confidence that lies within their own self. They're caught in repetitive, addictive, negative thought loops that keep them stuck in certain, you know, vibrational spaces, as I call them, keep them caught up and, you know, seeing only the negative things around them. And what I do is I help them break free from the prison of their own mind so that they can find the peace that lies in life.

What I personally found on my own journey is, you know, everything's perception and that if we can just take a moment and create some regulation within our nervous system and, you know, find that peace inside of us, we can begin to. shift perception and see different realities that are all around us. And if we can find that new reality and take steps towards that, we can shift and change the trajectory of our life forever. So it begins with taking control of our thoughts and how we think, what we choose to think about, what we focus on, and breaking the cycle of those repetitive thoughts that don't support us. And my experience, that's what I call the why beneath the why. There's lots of different levels

why people, you know, might arrive to me. They might come to me because they've been struggling with some kind of alcohol or drug addiction or they might come to me because they're walking through a terrible divorce or they're trying to awaken and find their place in the world because they know that they have a purpose, right? And what I learned along my own journey is I dug beneath all of the layers is that the great, my opinion is the greatest addiction on this planet is our addiction to our own thoughts. And that stems from the feelings, right? Like we have these unconscious feelings in our nervous system that we, that are triggering those thoughts. And if we can dig down even more and to begin to regulate the nervous system and create more emotional

intelligence. Like I said, in my experience, we can shift and change the trajectory of people's lives for the better. Amazing. I've never heard anyone put it that way before. Our greatest addiction is to our own thoughts. Interesting, because we get some kind of a benefit in a kind of a perverse way when we indulge in those thoughts that shouldn't support us, but it gives us some kind of sense of comfort or excuse or reason to hold back, to not step up, to not speak out. So we're kind of indulging ourselves at that lower level, really settling for less. Is that correct?

Does that sound right? Yeah, that's the way. way that I see it, we allow those thoughts to be the truth, you know, and in a sense, we're not wrong at all. Like, it isn't my purpose to shame others. It's my purpose to break people free from the imprisonment, you know, of certain thoughts and to be able to see the truth that lies beneath what we thought was once the truth. So, you know, like we, if we can, you know, take radical responsibility and see, you know, the thoughts that we're thinking and be able to, you know, shift the perception. Could it possibly, what if it could possibly be the signal for something different?

If we learn to begin to communicate through the body signals, right? Because the body's letting off signals that's creating those subconscious recurring thoughts. And those signals come from. being able to really dig down deep and tap into the feelings, right? Because everything, in my experience, stems down from there is a feeling that is creating a habituated thought or a habituated, you know, repetitive action in our life. And if we can begin to change those behaviors, you know, if we can catch that and recognize the signal and begin to take a walk in a different direction, begin to train the brain in a different light.

We can create new habits. And, you know, I personally believe, and I'm sure every coach thinks that I work with the bravest people on this planet because to create a new habit is one of the scariest things a human being can do because it's so scary to a mind. to a mind who only has ever seen one particular way of doing something. So I'm not saying that the journey is easy, but it's definitely incredibly fruitful once we walk through that space that I call the in-between,

where we're walking away from the person we once were. We're kind of in the middle and we don't know, right? Because the brain, it only understands the past. So it's always bringing up. but this is what has always happened. This is what has always happened. And holding enough belief inside of me because I know, because I've done the work myself, you know, and holding enough of that energy of belief for them,

knowing what lies on the other side, if we walk through the in between by taking that new repetitive action and creating the new thoughts, feelings, and actions behind that so that we, you know, we become the people we were ultimately always meant to be. You know, the people that come to me, they know there's something more inside of their heart. They just can't, they just can't tap at it. They can't see it. And it's something that I see so clearly.

And it's really hard for people to see that in themselves. It's easier for someone on the outside to be able to look at someone. And I find that all the time with people that I work with. They don't know how to properly value who they are and what they do. And so they tend to sell themselves short, which means they're not serving others at the level that they could. And so everybody loses. So it's to our benefit to really come to grips with who we are and what we really offer.

And I guess we don't do that because survival instinct kicks in. And we don't, we want to regress and stay back at the uncomfortable familiar or the comfortable familiar is easier than the uncomfortable unfamiliar, the future that we don't know. Even if the past is terrible, we think how much better can the future be? And so it does take a lot of bravery to push through that. And not everyone has the courage to do it. So let's take someone who's listening right now. And this may be hard, but what would you say to someone that they recognize,

they have thought patterns that are not serving them, not supporting them. They want to break through to a higher level. And they're probably going to need some help, but what would you say to them to help get them moving in the right direction as kind of like some preparatory work towards reaching out and working with you or working with someone to really dive deeper? Is there anything they can do right now to start feeling better, improved? I'm a huge fan of breathing techniques. You know, so it's like if I could tell that their nervous system is in an excitatory state, you know, like they're presenting themselves as calm, but maybe their speech is a little rapid or I can tell they're a little fidgety or their voices,

you know, a little bit off. I personally like to connect into the 557 breath. So that's just a 5.7. second inhale, it's five seconds of holding the breath, and then it's a seven second exhale, which helps to calm down the adrenal glands. It calms down cortisol and adrenaline. That breath where we're holding for five seconds allows, you know, a little pause, a little space. It allows for more oxygenation into the cells. The more oxygen we have in our cells, you know, the calmer. state of being that we can be in. So I would probably start there. Another thing that I personally like to do is

dig beneath the surface. Like I said, I call it my why beneath the why. And that is, you know, just asking the right questions so that I can get a better understanding of where this actually really is starting from. You know, you ask people certain questions and they give you answer, right? Like, well, you know, why do you feel really nervous standing up and giving a speech? Well, because I'm not used to it. I don't like people staring at me. I don't let, you know, like there's a lot of different answers. And I might say, okay, well, what's important about that, right? Like, I might ask a question that really targets the cerebellum in the brain rather than the prefrontal cortex because the prefrontal cortex is always answering why questions,

which keeps us at a certain level. It keeps us stuck in that thought loop. So when we're asking questions that actually target a different part of the brain, we're able to dig a little bit deeper and be like, oh, when I was this age, this happened to me. And now I like what's loading up is, you know, I had like a stressful response to this. situation when I was in third grade and the teacher picked on me. Nobody, you know, like we were supposed to raise our hands. Nobody raised the hand and the teacher just picked on me and

I wasn't expecting it. And maybe that person was a little bit shy, right? Like they begin to make some connections when you ask people the right questions. So that would be my next space where I would head with people after, you know, kind of creating a, you know, more regulated space within their nervous system. So there's a logical reason behind. our emotional response to something. But if we stay in the emotional frame of reference, we won't get to the logical reason behind. So that's why you're asking those questions to try and figure out

and help them to see, well, here's why I am the way I am, or the reason why I react the way I do in these particular situations. And then once you know that, it helps to kind of diffuse the situation. situation moving forward. So awareness is the is a big part of that. Absolutely. Clarity, and awareness of where things begin, you know, and understanding that feelings are always facts. You know, feelings are signals. They're indicators. That's how I, I speak to my clients. You know, here's a really amazing signal for us to pay attention to. Your body's communicating to us. If we learn its language, then we can learn to speak with it in a different manner, right? And also

understanding there's a large part of the brain that doesn't understand chronological time. You know, when we're experiencing some kind of emotional response, there's a part of our brain and our nervous system that takes us back to a particular moment in time, but we're not always connecting the dots of the logicalness, like you just said, you know, and helping to people. connect those dots and understand that, you know, even though we may be reacting a certain way today, this actually may be a response that kept us safe, you know, back when we were seven years old. And the body is just that signal, right? Like the body's way of communicating is just like, I want to keep you safe.

I want to keep you safe. I want to like we've been here before. We've been here, right? And me helping to connect those dots. So people are like, oh, it's, you know, like there's a seven-year-old version of me that's just been trying to keep me safe for a really long period of time. Yeah. And when people have that awareness and that clarity, there's so many aha moments with that. And you know, you could be 57 years old and still have that seven-year-old on the inside trying to protect you.

Life has drastically changed in the last 50 years, but your physiology doesn't realize that. So that's an incredible insight, just to realize that. And I imagine it takes a good deal of time and patients to do the work, to uncover the layers, to get the Y beneath the Y, and to really dig down. But it must be very rewarding to actually get to that point and to achieve that breakthrough. Would you say that it is longer in some cases or is it pretty dependent upon how invested the person is in working, doing the work and being open and honest in the process? I feel like both are true. Every single person on this planet has had their own experience of life, which is true for them.

You know, and so number one rule of thumb for me is meeting people where they are and understanding where they've come from. And if I can, you know, just get a little glimpse and be with them inside of their world to where, you know, they have to feel comfortable and safe with me. You know, that's really important to me too. And if I'm not the right mentor for them, you know, determining that up, you know, upfront and me creating resources and spaces and places and places for them. that person to continue walking. I have a lot of people in my toolbox, so to speak, if I'm not working with the right client myself, but just saying that I am, the person being invested in it certainly is going to speed some things along. Somebody's a little further ahead in the personal development journey and understanding how NLP might work or how coaching might work.

we can make some breakthroughs perhaps a little bit faster than maybe somebody, this is their first go around, you know, but I really believe it's that willingness within the person's own heart and soul, you know, and continuing to trust that this was the right space in place for them, you know, to continue to move forward so that they continue to make those breakthroughs. So like I said, I feel like everybody. journey is just a little bit different and the pace is just a little bit different for each person. I think you hit the nail on the head saying, you know, when we're when we're dealing with things like emotional intelligence and rewiring of the mindset and rewiring of the emotional,

you know, responses physiologically inside of the body, there is, it is a journey that does require some patients, but also at the same time, I have a little caveat there, you know, if we've experienced ill physical health in our life because of interesting choices we've made with food and we end up with, let's just say, cholesterol issues or high blood pressure, that's also a lifestyle change that requires some patients and some steps that people have to take. I like how you put that interesting choices with food as opposed to unhealthy or, yeah, you put that very delicately, very good, good job. How can our listeners get in touch with you to find out more about you and what you have to offer them?

Absolutely. Oh, my goodness, friends. If you're interested in learning more about what I do, you can find me on Facebook under Amy Boswinkle, AMI-E-E-B-O-S-W-I-N-K-L-E. Also, Instagram, same thing, Amy Bosswinkle, or you can email me direct, AMI-K-B-O-Z at Yahoo.com. Okay, so you heard it here and we will have at least one of those links, probably your Facebook link on the rebelpreneur website as well. What are you working on right now that's got you really excited that you'd like to share with our listeners? Lately, what has like really just been opening up my heart so much is just working one-on-one with people and just, you know, being in their world with their journey and helping them to create, you know,

really potent and poignant, actionable steps to move them forward. So one-to-one work definitely is where my heart is right now. That's where I've been probably for the past three or four months. I have in the past run group programs and have a monthly membership and things like that, but definitely the one-to-one work. And I've been working with people at the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels, you know, people dealing with thyroid issues are ulcerative colitis, anxiety, depression, and also people who are overcoming, you know, just things that feel really big, like really big things in their life, whether that's alcoholism, drug addiction, lots of fear thoughts, a big move. Their children are leaving the home, divorce, things of that nature.

Yeah, and often those big life changes trigger all kinds of emotional baggage that you didn't realize was there. It's almost like when you're packing up a house, you've got all these things in the attic and in the closet and under the rug. And then you notice them while you're in the process of moving and you forgot that you had them. I guess psychologically, any kind of change can trigger those emotional skeletons. that we've kept in the closet. So that's an interesting analogy that any change in life or in business can be the catalyst that causes you to realize, I've got to make some changes. And if that is what you are sensing and feeling and experiencing right now, then reach out

and get some help. Don't try to do it by yourself. Amy, thank you so much. Any final thoughts or words of wisdom that you'd like to leave with our listeners today? I just, I suppose I always have to go back to one of my favorite quotes and that is to just be the change that you want to be, right? Like live, live your truth, be your truth. And if you are that, then you're, the potential of you creating transformational change in your client's life is expected. financial.

Wonderful. Amy Boswinkle, thank you so much for being on Rebel Paneur Radio today. I really appreciate it. Yeah,

thanks so much, Ralph. Great to be here. Thank you so much. You've been listening to Rebelpreneur Radio with Ralph Brogden. Download the show notes

and much more at Rebelpreneur.com.