Judging Meghan

In this episode I’m joined by writer and former Wall Street professional Joanne Redding to discuss her powerful memoir House of Pretend, releasing May 19th. Joanne shares the heartbreaking story of losing her father to suicide when she was just six years old, growing up in a home where grief was silenced, and later discovering the truth her mother had hidden from her for years. She speaks candidly about emotional neglect, family trauma, losing her brother to suicide as well, and the long journey of healing through trauma therapy and self understanding.

Together we talk about the survival mechanisms so many people develop after trauma, including pretending everything is okay, emotional armor, perfectionism, and pushing through pain in high pressure environments. We discuss how grief never truly disappears but instead comes in waves, the importance of crying and releasing emotion, the impact of EMDR therapy, and how mental illness should be treated with compassion rather than shame. Joanne also shares the signs and moments of connection she still feels with the loved ones she has lost.

This episode is an honest and emotional conversation about resilience, healing, kindness, and learning how to keep going even after unimaginable loss. If you or someone you love is struggling, please know there is help available and you are not alone. Reach out, talk to someone you trust, and remember that healing is possible. For questions, topic ideas, or stories 

Learn more and pre-order Joanne’s book House Of Pretend: A Memoir here: https://joannereddingauthor.com/ 

I’d love to hear from you. If you have questions for me, topics you’d like discussed, or stories you want to share, please reach out through my website at judgingmeghan.com or send me a message on Instagram at @judgingmeghan. Your questions may be featured and answered in an upcoming episode. And if you’re enjoying the podcast, leaving a review really helps support the show and helps more people find these conversations.

This podcast is a place for trauma survivors as well as their friends and family. This is a safe environment to be vulnerable but it's also a place for celebration and moving forward. Let's all start to embrace who we are becoming by #mentalhealth #selfcare #self #judgingothers #judgingmeghan #suicideawareness #suicideprevention #survivor #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #MentalHealthMatters #HealingJourney #TraumaHealing #ChildhoodTrauma #Grief #GriefJourney #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #988Lifeline #YouAreNotAlone #HouseOfPretend #JoanneRedding #TraumaRecovery #EMDR #Therapy #Healing #Resilience #EmotionalHealing #BreakTheSilence #MentalIllnessAwareness #KindnessMatters #SelfReflection #HopeAfterLoss #PodcastEpisode #MentalHealthPodcast #WomenWhoWrite #Memoir #AuthorInterview #GriefSupport #CPTSDAwareness #EmotionalWellness #HealingIsPossible #SurvivorStory #ChooseCompassion #RealConversations #PodcastCommunity #JoanneRedding #HouseOfPretend
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I welcome wellness advocate Kavita Sahai, founder of Vibe Tribes, along with Dr.Azin Shah Shaw, a gynecologist and urogynecologist specializing in perimenopause and menopause, for an honest and empowering conversation about women’s health, hormones, mental health, and what it really means to thrive in midlife. I talk openly about my own experiences with fibroids, my hysterectomy, weight gain, depression, and hormone therapy, while sharing why I believe mental health, fitness, nervous system regulation, and hormone health are all deeply connected.

Kavita shares how her own struggles with symptoms like brain fog inspired her to create Vibe Tribes, a daily wellness platform designed to help women feel more balanced, energized, and connected to themselves again. We discuss how simple, bite sized practices like breathwork, meditation, movement, mindfulness, and education can help regulate the nervous system and create meaningful changes in both physical and emotional well being. 

Dr. Shah brings both medical expertise and compassion to the conversation as we discuss the realities of perimenopause and menopause, including sleep struggles, anxiety, mood changes, and the importance of self advocacy in women’s healthcare. She explains how progesterone and magnesium can support better sleep and nervous system health, while also emphasizing the powerful connection between the mind and body. 

Find out more on: https://vibestribe.co/ 

Follow Kavita on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavitasahai/  and Find out more about Dr. Shah: https://asktia.com/team/Azin-Shahryarinejad/ 

I’d love to hear from you. If you have questions for me or any topics you’d like discussed, please reach out through my website at judgingmeghan.com or send me a message on Instagram @judgingmeghan. Your questions may be featured and answered in an upcoming episode.

This podcast is a place for trauma survivors as well as their friends and family. This is a safe environment to be vulnerable but it's also a place for celebration and moving forward. Let's all start to embrace who we are becoming by #mentalhealth #selfcare #self #judgingothers #judgingmeghan #suicideawareness #suicideprevention #survivor #JudgingMeghan #MeghanJudge #WomensHealth #Perimenopause #Menopause #HormoneHealth #HormoneTherapy #HRT #MentalHealth #MidlifeWellness #WellnessJourney #HealthyAging #SelfAdvocacy #WomenSupportingWomen #VibeTribes #KavitaSahai #DrShaw #Gynecology #Urogynecology #NervousSystemRegulation #MindBodyConnection #HealingJourney #TraumaHealing #CPTSDAwareness #BrainFog #SleepHealth #Magnesium #Progesterone #EstrogenPatch #HormoneBalance #MidlifeWomen #MenopauseSupport #FitnessAndWellness #MentalWellness #WomenOver40 #WomenOver50 #EmpoweredWomen #SelfCare #Mindfulness #Breathwork #Meditation #HolisticHealth #WellnessPodcast #PodcastEpisode #HealthPodcast #WomenEmpowerment #Healing #ThriveInMidlife #YouAreNotAlone

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I sit down with award winning trial lawyer, civil rights advocate, and podcast host Robert “Bob” Simon for an urgent and deeply honest conversation about justice, truth, activism, and the state of our country. What begins as a discussion about politics becomes something much bigger as we talk about right and wrong, human dignity, and why staying silent is no longer an option. Bob shares his journey from a working class upbringing in Pittsburgh to becoming a respected attorney who fights for survivors, victims, and communities harmed by abuse and injustice.

We discuss the power of the courtroom, the importance of accountability, and how ordinary people can create real change when institutions fail them. From immigration and the treatment of vulnerable communities to ICE abuse cases, corporate negligence, and misinformation, Bob offers insight into the battles happening behind the scenes and why advocacy matters now more than ever. We also talk about propaganda, media influence, and the dangerous rise of artificial intelligence being used to spread fear, lies, and division.

I open up about my own journey from avoiding politics to becoming increasingly outspoken about the issues shaping our everyday lives, especially as a mother and trauma survivor living with complex PTSD. Protecting democracy, empathy, and human rights feels deeply personal to me, and this conversation reflects why. We also dive into California politics, homelessness, mental health, voting, consumer protections, and how local leadership can create meaningful change faster than many people realize.

Follow Bob here: https://www.instagram.com/planetfunbob/ 

Listen to Bob’s podcast Bourbon Of Proof on all podcast platforms.

This podcast is a place for trauma survivors as well as their friends and family. This is a safe environment to be vulnerable but it's also a place for celebration and moving forward. Let's all start to embrace who we are becoming by #mentalhealth #selfcare #self #judgingothers #judgingmeghan #suicideawareness #suicideprevention #survivor #RobertSimon #BobSimon #Podcast #PodcastHost #NewEpisode #MustListen #JusticeMatters #Truth #TruthWins #SpeakTruth #UseYourVoice #YourVoiceMatters #BeTheChange #ChangeStartsLocal #StayInformed #CivicEngagement #Vote2026 #VoteLocal #ElectionSeason #DemocracyMatters #ProtectDemocracy #HumanDignity #CivilRightsAdvocate #Equality #WomenMatter #EndMisogyny #ProtectFamilies #ProtectChildren #ParentingToday#OnlineSafety #SocialMediaAwareness #MentalHealthAwareness #HealingJourney #TraumaRecovery #CPTSDAwareness #Resilience #Strength #HopeInHardTimes #CompassionWins #CommunityMatters #StandUp #DoTheRightThing #BourbonOfProof #RealTalk
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I sit down with mental health advocate and founder Juliette Blake of Moxies for a candid and wide-ranging conversation about resilience, empathy, and raising children in a rapidly changing digital world. Juliette opens up about her childhood in Connecticut and how early experiences, including her time as a Girl Scout and being raised by hardworking parents, shaped her drive, empathy, and entrepreneurial spirit. She reflects on how those foundations carried into adulthood, influencing both her career path and her perspective as a mother of three.

A major focus of the conversation is the impact of technology and social media on mental health, especially for children and teens. Juliette breaks down how many platforms are designed to maximize attention and engagement, often creating addictive patterns that can negatively affect mood, confidence, and emotional regulation in developing brains.

She also introduces Moxies as a safe-by-design digital platform for tween girls that prioritizes well-being over screen time and engagement metrics. Together, we explore the challenges parents face in navigating technology today and emphasize the importance of empathy, digital literacy, and intentional design in building a healthier digital future for the next generation.

Follow Julliette at: https://www.instagram.com/julietteblake_/ 

Learn more about Moxies here: https://joinmoxies.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnGKLmsmGKADlOPaIlQgWhgW947h9fm5vk9xX_2UlWgFFm9Su4Qn5Ny_wBkhY_aem_xhFo-FhW6Iu5sc1EKIRo6g 

This podcast is a place for trauma survivors as well as their friends and family. This is a safe environment to be vulnerable but it's also a place for celebration and moving forward. Let's all start to embrace who we are becoming by #mentalhealth #selfcare #self #judgingothers #judgingmeghan #suicideawareness #suicideprevention #survivor #JudgingMeghan #MeghanJudge #JulietteBlake #MoxieApp #Moxie #PodcastEpisode #NewPodcast #ListenNow #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #ChildrensMentalHealth #TeenMentalHealth #DigitalWellbeing #DigitalSafety #OnlineSafety #SafeByDesign #TechAndKids #KidsAndTechnology #SocialMediaAwareness #SocialMediaImpact #ScreenTime #ParentingInTheDigitalAge #ModernParenting #ConsciousParenting #ParentingTips #RaisingGirls #TweenGirls #GirlEmpowerment #ConfidenceForGirls #KindnessMatters #EmpathyMatters #EmotionalWellness #Resilience #HealingJourney #TraumaHealing #ComplexPTSD #GrowthAndHealing #WomenSupportingWomen #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounder #MomLife #WorkingMoms #GenAlpha #FutureOfTech #AIandKids #DigitalLiteracy #HealthyHabits #PositiveParenting #MindfulTechnology
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this revisited episode from November of 2025 I had sat down with Dr. Celeste Birkhofer, a licensed clinical psychologist, longtime Stanford educator, mother, and upcoming author whose work centers on grief, suicide prevention, and the emotional weight of perfectionism. Dr. Celeste opens up about growing up in a military family, navigating a parent’s alcoholism, and how her own experiences with depression, compulsive exercise, and an eating disorder eventually led her into psychology. She also shares her forty–year marriage, a partnership strengthened through separation, therapy, and hard-won healing.

The heart of our conversation is the greatest loss of her life: the death of her son, Wiley, who fought bipolar two disorder with everything he had for nine years. Dr. Celeste speaks with heartbreaking honesty about his vibrant childhood, his acceptance into Stanford, the onset of his illness, and the unpredictable nature of suicidal ideation. She talks about the day Wiley died, the grief that reshaped her family, and the fears she faced returning to work as a therapist while questioning everything she believed about mental health treatment.

We explore the complexity of suicide grief, the stigma that deepens the pain, and the small everyday mercies that slowly help you breathe again. She shares how her loss softened her, slowed her down, and shifted her spirituality, including the signs from Wiley that still show up in the most beautiful ways.

This conversation is honest, grounding, emotional, and filled with compassion. It is for anyone who has lost someone to suicide, loves someone living with mental illness, or simply wants to understand grief on a deeper, more human level. It is a reminder that healing is not about perfection but about awareness, connection, and extending kindness to ourselves, especially on the days we feel anything but kind.

Stay tuned for more information on Celeste’s upcoming book ‘Beyond Quick Fixes: Essential Inner Resources for Good Mental Health & A Fulfilling LIfe’ on her site: https://www.drcelestebirkhofer.com/ 

This podcast is a place for trauma survivors as well as their friends and family. This is a safe environment to be vulnerable but it's also a place for celebration and moving forward. Let's all start to embrace who we are becoming by #mentalhealth #selfcare #self #judgingothers #judgingmeghan #suicideawareness #suicideprevention #survivor #resilience #traumahealing #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #podcasts #MentalHealthMatters #HealingJourney #GriefSupport #SuicideAwareness #MindfulLiving #EmotionalWellness #SelfCompassion #MentalHealthAwareness #Resilience #LifeAfterLoss #TherapistTalks #HumanExperience #InnerStrength #MentalHealthResources #OvercomingLoss #MentalWellness #TraumaRecovery #ParentingThroughLoss #BipolarAwareness #MentalHealthEducation #EmotionalHealing #FindingHope #CopingWithGrief #HealingTogether #EndTheStigma #Wellbeing #MentalHealthCommunity #SelfCareJourney #PersonalGrowth #FaithAndHealing #DrCelesteBirkhofer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices