Founder's Story - From Trauma to Triumph: Dr. Kate Truitt’s Mental Health Mission | S2: E30

Episode Date: May 21, 2024

Today's episode is brought to you by BiOptimizers, whom I LOVE their MAGNESIUM BREAKTHROUGH product that has helped me sleep better, stay focused, and feel all around healthier. Check out their pr...oducts at http://bioptimizers.com/danrobbins use promo code FOUNDERS for 10% off any order. In a compelling episode of "Founder's Story," host Daniel Robbins talks with Dr. Kate Truitt, a psychologist and mental health consultant, about her transformation from clinician to author with the release of her book, "Keep Breathing." Dr. Truitt, who has battled personal traumas, aims to destigmatize mental health issues through her writings and advocacy.Exploring the brain's response to stress and trauma, Dr. Truitt's work emphasizes the importance of understanding psychological mechanisms to foster resilience. She advocates for a compassionate approach to mental health, blending personal stories with scientific insights to educate and empower individuals.Her message is timely, addressing the widespread mental health challenges intensified by global crises. Dr. Truitt's approach not only offers strategies for personal well-being but also promotes broader societal support for mental health, making her insights invaluable in today’s context.APPLY TO BE ON PODCAST: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScae1KS6UZRjdG2FjGI-HYNKT-VIdflxbO2YYe62ofAFgDKmA/viewform?usp=pp_url Our Sponsors:* Check out PrizePicks and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: www.prizepicks.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome back to Founders Story. If you've heard this show before, you know that mental health, stress, trauma, these things are something that I want to know more about because I am on a mission to be the best version of myself this year and beyond. And I know you are too. But today we have Dr. Kate Truitt, who is an incredible psychologist, mental health media consultant. She is also an advocate and expert in neuroscience and trauma and resilience. And I think we have a lot of traumas that we are carrying. She's also the author of Keep Breathing that just launched back in April. But Dr. Kate
Starting point is 00:00:44 Truitt, welcome to the show. Yeah, I'm delighted to be here, Dan. Thank you. Let's start off by talking about Keep Breathing. So what was the inspiration for this book and how was it transitioning from being the clinician to author? I think we're, as you just highlighted, we're in a time where mental health, whether we talk about it or not, is a primary framing for our society. There is so much anxiety, so much stress, so much trauma. And we know the pandemic in many respects opened up a doorway to mandate these conversations. But I believe they've been going on for a long time prior to that.
Starting point is 00:01:24 And when I started writing Keep Breathing, it was truly a call to action for myself to say, I need to be the change that I want to see in the world. So I've been in the field of mental health for over 20 years, so a good bit. And we were trained in the field of mental health to not really be human, to not talk about ourselves or our experiences. And yet I don't know a single mental health practitioner, and you tell me if you've met one, who didn't get into this field because they've struggled with something or they've loved somebody who struggled. And in many societies at a global level, we're not allowed to talk about these human struggles.
Starting point is 00:02:02 So I had a reckoning and I said I've been through a lot and my my memoir has been called a thriller which was probably the most apt description that I've had reflected back to me. So I've been through a lot, thriller a lot, and I'm also an expert and I've been very privileged to acquire a lot of education and the things that fundamentally in some respects almost killed me and so I said hey what if I gave my story and my educational privilege a job and turn that into being the change I want to see in the world and so I pulled back the iron curtain on being a psychologist and not being able to be human and said, I am so human. I have been in the trenches of PTSD. I have had
Starting point is 00:02:54 panic attacks, literally, and some of the stories in the book in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard. I have been through my version of so much deep human real pain. And let me illuminate why these things happen because it's not crazy. It's our brains being a brain. So it's been really interesting and really exciting since April to see people putting up their hands and saying, hey, me too. And thank you. We need that. We really need that. I think back to, and thank you for sharing and being so vulnerable. And that really helps, at least for me, when I hear other people have done it, I'm like, wow, I'm not alone. Going back to when I was in, I think I was maybe 10 years old.
Starting point is 00:03:36 I started having a lot of anxiety and that manifested itself getting worse over time. Going back to even 2020 reminded me of that time in my life. Like we were so afraid that every time we went to the grocery store, we might not even make it home alive. We've really like dealt with that trauma the last four years. What are you seeing since then? I think you just called it out beautifully. And thank you for your vulnerability and i i know my version of that childhood anxiety and you know i dig into it the neurobiology of it in the memoir what that looks like and feels like on so many different levels since 2020 because now we're in 2024 what are we still seeing we're a lot of brains that are dealing with the chronic stress of living through the pandemic.
Starting point is 00:04:26 A lot of nervous systems that I view as firing on all cylinders still, except for now we're not in a lockdown, I'm going to die at the grocery store mentality. And they certainly know my version of that fear. Now our brain has been trained, I believe, to have a trauma filter, an anxiety filter around this, to look out for the next new threat. And our brain actually is wired, we're born into this world with a negativity bias, a very specific bias that is going to look out for threat to keep us alive. And if we don't have a real threat like the pandemic our brain will find other threats to focus on and those will take over our brain is very trainable it's called neuroplasticity it
Starting point is 00:05:12 is constantly shifting and changing across the course of our lives sometimes in favor of the things we want it to do but other times not so much's, I mean, I can relate to that. I think a lot of people can relate to that. We are in this constant state of like, every time I read the news, I'm like, oh my gosh, there's a new virus or there's a new something or there's something else. Like there's always something that is going to like wipe me off this planet. What are you seeing in terms of like, how do we how do we move forward? How do weusive, especially when we are in a stressed out moment, but to have resources or connection to self can be the game changer. The way I really
Starting point is 00:06:13 think that humanity in a primal fundamental way can start to change, and this is one of my biggest missions in life, the relationship with their own mental health and have a domino effect in relationship to one another is destigmatizing experiences of stress, destigmatizing what it feels like to have anxiety. And by destigmatizing, it means pulling back that iron veil again and saying, hey, we're all human. We all have brains that do scary big things sometimes. And what if we can turn inward towards our brain and go, wait a minute, brain, you're trying to keep me safe. It doesn't make sense, but high five. Thank you. And in that moment, if it feels out of control, reach out to somebody else and say, hey, my brain's doing weird things. Can you help me? And that person knowing because of their own safety and language around mental health, being
Starting point is 00:07:08 able to go, my brain does weird things too. Hi, let's come together and have a conversation. We are designed for connection and community. And that is such a deep healing balm that is wired into us as a species. And yet coming out of the pandemic, we're becoming more and more isolated and disconnected from one another at very deep fundamental levels that are unsettling and worrisome. That reminds me of technology. It seems like, as we think of like, I love social media, seems to make us less social. And we have all these tools and these apps and things. But we're more lost and younger generations are more isolated.
Starting point is 00:07:58 So what's your thoughts around the advancements of AI? I mean, I was just watching today. AI can watch and communicate and see what you're wearing and your what's going on around I mean it sounded like you're talking to a human but I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing but what are you thinking in terms of going forward here uh I think it's so multi-layered and complex and when we look at the literature of what's been unfolding over even the past decade of how our reliance on technology, especially for developing brains, is fundamentally rewiring brains. It's changing our ability to have emotional intelligence, to communicate effectively, to connect to one another.
Starting point is 00:08:37 In the most basic terms, I think it's a poor plan for our species. We need to come together for our species to continue to survive. And the more we build these relationships... We will return to our show shortly, but first, let's talk about today's sponsor, Magnesium Breakthrough by BioOptimizers. Did you know four out of five Americans don't get enough magnesium. Crucial for over 300 biochemical reactions in your body. Here are signs of magnesium deficiency. Irritability, anxiety, insomnia, muscle cramps, high blood pressure, and even constipation. I know I suffer from a few of these, but many supplements don't work well because they use low quality magnesium.
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Starting point is 00:10:02 And make sure you use the code FOUNDERS, F-O-U-N-D-E-R-S, founders, and you get your 10% off. So check out biooptimizers.com to learn more. And back to the show. With technology or with these experiences of AI, the more concerning that becomes to me. Now, on the other hand, and I shared with you right before we jumped on the call, I've been following AI for a long time, and I have a love relationship with AI. I think it can do some incredible things for humanity, and I'm very hopeful about some of those experiences. On the other hand, if humans divorce themselves from themselves and therefore one another, our species will not survive. Our species is based on these relationships we have, the one-on-one, the community, the group, the village.
Starting point is 00:10:57 And if we stop intentionally creating that, we will foundationally biologically change and possibly phase ourselves out of existence as we know ourselves to be. Now, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this. Some people might say that's not so bad. What do you think? Yeah. Many years ago, I bought a website, datrobots.com. This is back in like 2015. Before the movie? No didn't i just at the time i'm like you know what i think just i just think about the future in a different way than i think most people right and i go to these bizarre like tangents in my own brain of like what the future will be but i've really been thinking about this we know population's already been declining people are
Starting point is 00:11:41 having less kids in most countries not all but many and you have now with with ai being so real and lifelike it can be your perfect mate your perfect person the perfect relationship what we think is perfect but human to human it could be complicated it's complex so i wonder how this is going to play out when it comes to what are your thoughts around just the future of relationships? Yeah. Well, you know, Dr. Romney, who I believe is a guest on your show, she talks a lot about the idealization of the Disney relationship. And how we're taught to have an expectation of somebody turning around and fawning on us and being in the spotlight. And she's got an entire thing in her book.
Starting point is 00:12:29 And so when I think about AI, and I've been exploring AI since, of course, one of his first books came out. I've been following him since he originally published. The idealization is lovely and our brain does have a certain predisposition to love being told we are OK, we are right, we are good. I see you. I feel you. I hear you because that it does feel good. And it's a very in a healthy, balanced relationship for a toddler, okay space to be. And yet as adult humans who are living in a larger plane of existence, the complexities and the nuances of the human relationship allow us to do what you said as we started this conversation, be the best version
Starting point is 00:13:19 of ourselves. We level up and grow through each other. It's a core part of how our brain is designed from day one and there i believe evolution gets some things right and i think that's one of them and again it's a high five to the brain we need one another even if it's just to learn more about who we are we don't have the ability to see all the layers of ourselves. And I do wonder, and this is just a philosophical pondering, because you're an innovator, I'm an innovator. I think about these different layers of complexity and I go, won't we get bored if we have a robot or a machine that's constantly telling us all the things we think we want to hear? Don't we eventually get sick of the candy and want something a little bit different?
Starting point is 00:14:07 What then? We type in, make me, you know, interest me. And then it's like, I don't know how. What happens next? Maybe we, it's like pendulums seem to swing and throughout human history, the swings one way with the creation of something and we realize we want something different.
Starting point is 00:14:22 Like now the 90s is popular again. Now we're swinging back to the 90s and everything is like people are going back to flip phones. It's very interesting as a society. I love the name of your book, Keep Breathing. It reminds me of the tools and things that I tried to do, but I'm not always great at, but breath work, meditation. And i've heard so many good things about the fact that we just don't breathe like we like we need to or we have to but what are you seeing in terms of or are you looking at like other tools or are ways to combat stress or anxiety yeah well and may i give a little context on the title? Please. Yes. The title is multi-layered. So the book opens up with a very traumatic loss where
Starting point is 00:15:12 I found my partner before a wedding and he had passed on and I couldn't make him breathe. And as I started writing the book, there was this really deep awareness in my own psyche going through my trauma journey that there are moments where breath is fundamentally the only thing that we feel like consciously we can do. And how quick we are to bypass the very natural rhythms of our humanity. These fundamental things that we are designed to do like breath and to keep breathing is our brain and our body, especially in our darkest moments, turning around and saying, I love you. I am going to continue to breathe even when everything else feels impossible or untenable. That 1% is our system caring for us and loving us. And so when we look at our healing journey, our personal empowerment work, those moments where we say, I know all the tools and I'm not doing anything. And I know I've been there. All of my clients have been there.
Starting point is 00:16:32 Everybody I know in my life has had one of those moments. That actually can become a doorway if we can open up to the very real reality. We're still breathing. There is something inherent within us that is saying, you can keep moving forward and maybe today this is all we've got. And self-compassion can be a little seed that gets planted in those quiet moments. Because self-compassion is a skill. We're not taught to be self-compassionate. We're taught to actually prioritize other people and we're hardwired to be compassionate towards other living beings, but not towards ourselves.
Starting point is 00:17:13 That's taught. And so that is the door that I find opens so many other doors when it comes to those moments when we're reaching for the tools but find that we can't. And through the field of neuroscience now there's a whole host of other opportunities that we can leverage to partner with our brain and sculpt our brain. What I call healing the past, building the present, and creating the future we want to live with. As we now know that we can actually partner with our brain with intention. And that's what my first book is all about is that partnership because therapy is lovely, but it's a privilege and mental health is a right. So what if we teach brain partnership and neuroplasticity and put
Starting point is 00:18:00 healing in people's hands so that they can do their own work without reliance on one of me or one of my colleagues. Sorry, colleagues. Wow. I commend you. I mean, I can tell that you are truly about impact and that it's much bigger than what you went through, what I went through. It's really, you know, as a society, as a whole, as a human species, that we really need to get together and figure these things out. And I hope people pick up the book. I mean, the fact that you are willing to dive into that gives me inspiration to tell my story to people. I think other people are going to feel the same way that, you know, we find solace or we find almost compassion in hearing other people's stories yeah and feel seen we feel seen and other people and that's yeah and that can save lives
Starting point is 00:18:55 it does save lives in fact I know it saves lives and we can say me too in so many different layers and levels and know that we're not alone that can save lives and it does amazing so what's the future this i know this book just came out but what's next for you yeah i think the what's happened since my memoir came out in April is even just the simple reflection of the construct of keep breathing and people sharing with me how much more permission they're giving them to themselves to simply be human. I feel like we are in a world where being human is no longer good enough. And that does pull us back into that AI conversation. We are good enough. And that does pull us back into that AI conversation. We are not enough. And so many of us are raised through this framework of performance and expectation and pressure and taught at a foundational level, we're not enough. And then we bring in all the societal cultural constructs of what that means and privilege and
Starting point is 00:20:00 pressure, all of it. It's like, what happens then? So the opportunity is to just say, hey, wait a minute. Being human means that it's messy and there's permission within the mess. There's connection. Imagine that connection within the mess. And if I can be one more voice that's saying, hey, I've had a lot of things happen and just kind of lay out my very real stories on the line and pretty raw and vulnerable ways. And they are pretty raw and vulnerable. Because I get messy, I get real. And then also say, and this is why the brain's doing the thing. So if your brain's ever done this, this is why. That can bring us back together in some really wholehearted ways, which I think then uplevels us for what's coming around the bend with the incredible
Starting point is 00:20:58 opportunities of AI, of technology, of advancement to make the impact we really want to see and know is possible as opposed to going around the other bend. Well, I like meeting other messy people because I can be very messy. So I appreciate that. If people want to get the book, they want to find out about you. I believe that your practice is in Los Angeles. How can they get in touch? So I have a group clinic here in Los Angeles, brick and mortar in Pasadena. We treat throughout Los Angeles and a couple other states. DrTruett.com if anybody's looking for some additional support on their journey. I have a training institute that's global. That's the Truett Institute. And we do workshops, training, seminars to put these tools into people's hands. We work at it, like I said, an international level, and also train everything from physicians into
Starting point is 00:21:53 ourselves to help our brains be better brains. And of course, I'm on social media. So please, look me up on Instagram or YouTube, tons. I'm very shareware. My goal is to empower humanity. And so lots of psychoeducation, lots of guided exercises, healing videos. It's all about brain-based work, neuroscience-based, trauma-informed, resilience-focused, brain partnership. That's our model.
Starting point is 00:22:19 And then the books, the memoir is all about helping us as humans say brains get messy and like i said it's been called a thriller and a love story which is pretty good for a scientific book i'll take it and then my first book is a personal healing journey for anybody who really wants to get to know their brain in some pretty deep and powerful ways and curate and cultivate intentional neuroplastic change for themselves. And that's called Healing in Your Hands. And both of them are available at all your major booksellers.
Starting point is 00:22:50 Well, Healing in Your Hands. Keep breathing. Dr. Kate Truitt, thank you so much for today. I'm just really inspired by everything that you're doing and all the impact that you're creating. And I hope that we can also do that same thing here. But thank you for joining us today on Founder's Story. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a joy. Thank you for tuning in to Founders Story. Keep exploring, keep dreaming, and join us next time for more inspiring
Starting point is 00:23:16 entrepreneurial journeys.

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