What if we approached psychosis with more curiosity, compassion and connection?

In this episode, I talk with Anneke Sips, community psychiatric nurse, integrative trauma therapist and author of The Wisdom of Psychosis. Drawing from nearly three decades of experience in mental health and crisis care, Anneke offers a broader perspective on psychosis—one that considers not only psychiatric symptoms, but also trauma, spirituality, the nervous system and the individual person's lived experience.

Anneke shares how her own experiences with spiritual abuse, loss and leaving the religious community she grew up in influenced her approach to healing. We discuss the stigma surrounding psychosis, how to recognize when someone may need additional support, and why connection can be so important when someone's experience of reality differs from our own.

We also explore the LEAP method—Listen, Empathize, Agree and Partner—and Anneke explains how listening without judgment can help someone feel seen rather than immediately corrected or controlled. Later, we discuss embodiment, nervous-system regulation and how Anneke began integrating yoga into psychiatric settings.

This is a thoughtful conversation about mental health, trauma, spirituality and what can happen when we approach another person's experience with curiosity rather than fear.

Connect with Anneke: https://annekesips.com/

THINKING TIME: https://www.livebrighter.info/thinking-time

Get Your FREE Unravel Notebook Chapter for This Week: https://www.livebrighter.info/lead-collection

Book your FREE consultation HERE: https://www.livebrighter.info/

Get the Unravel Notebook HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Unravel-Notebook-Tara-Wolfe-Schaan/dp/B0CTPDWJ8L

PODCAST CHAPTERS:

00:00 Meet Anneke Sips

00:56 Religious trauma and Anneke's early story

06:46 Nearly 30 years working in psychiatry

11:04 Tara's experience with psychiatric care 1

2:13 What is psychosis?

15:30 Psychiatry, spirituality & the middle path

18:10 When does someone need help?

24:17 The LEAP method 29:25 Embodiment, yoga & the nervous system

35:20 Trauma and altered states

36:36 The Wisdom of Psychosis

39:58 Working with Anneke

Follow us on our Socials!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livebrighterwithtara/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Live-Brighter-with-Tara/61552844352218/

Grow 1% each day, I believe in you! Thank you for Listening!

psychosis, understanding psychosis, trauma and psychosis, psychosis recovery, mental health, mental health recovery, trauma healing, trauma informed care, spiritual emergency, spirituality and mental health, holistic mental health, nervous system regulation, embodiment, yoga therapy, psychiatric care, mental health stigma, compassionate mental health care, LEAP method, human connection, The Wisdom of Psychosis #MentalHealth #Psychosis #TraumaHealing #MentalHealthAwareness #TraumaInformed #NervousSystemRegulation #HolisticHealing #SpiritualityAndMentalHealth #HumanConnection #LiveBrighterWithTara

In this deeply personal episode, I share about my recent divorce and some of what I'm learning as I move through a season of grief, healing, and letting go.

I didn't leave because all the love disappeared. There was genuine friendship, connection, laughter, healing, and beauty in our marriage—and there were also patterns I eventually realized I could no longer live with. Both can be true. An ending doesn't require us to rewrite the entire story or turn another person into the villain.

I talk about learning to pay attention to behavior rather than only intentions, recognizing the difference between compassion and continued access, listening to what our bodies and intuition may be communicating, and understanding the difference between trying to control another person's choices and establishing our own boundaries.

Most of all, this conversation is about learning that loving someone doesn't require abandoning yourself. Sometimes we can have compassion and still say no. We can appreciate what was beautiful and still grieve what wasn't. And we can give another person the freedom to make their choices while giving ourselves the freedom to respond honestly to them.

THINKING TIME: https://www.livebrighter.info/thinking-time

Get Your FREE Unravel Notebook Chapter for This Week: https://www.livebrighter.info/lead-collection

Book your FREE consultation HERE: https://www.livebrighter.info/

Get the Unravel Notebook HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Unravel-Notebook-Tara-Wolfe-Schaan/dp/B0CTPDWJ8L

PODCAST CHAPTERS:

00:00 Navigating Divorce: A Personal Journey

02:01 Understanding Relationship Dynamics

04:06 The Language of Behavior

06:28 Emotional Safety and Self-Preservation

09:02 Listening to Your Inner Voice

11:11 Grieving Without Rewriting the Story

16:25 Finding Freedom in Choices

Follow us on our Socials!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livebrighterwithtara/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Live-Brighter-with-Tara/61552844352218/

Grow 1% each day, I believe in you! Thank you for Listening!

#EmotionalHealing #DivorceRecovery #SelfTrust #HealthyBoundaries #SelfAbandonment #RelationshipHealing #GriefAndHealing #PersonalGrowth #FaithAndHealing #LiveBrighterWithTara

divorce, healing after divorce, divorce recovery, getting divorced, life after divorce, self abandonment, how to stop abandoning yourself, losing yourself in a relationship, loving someone and letting go, when love isn't enough, relationship patterns, unhealthy relationship patterns, emotional safety in relationships, healthy boundaries, boundaries in relationships, control vs boundaries, trusting yourself, trusting your intuition, people pleasing, recovering people pleaser, grief and loss, grieving a relationship, emotional healing, Christian divorce, Christian relationships, faith and healing, personal growth, Live Brighter with Tara, Tara Wolfe Schaan

In this personal episode, the tables are turned as Sarah J. Thiessen and Heather Hughes interview me about the experiences that shaped who I am today.

I share parts of my journey through a destructive marriage, emotional and spiritual abuse, psychiatric hospitalization, losing trust in myself, and the beliefs about faith and kindness that kept me trying harder instead of recognizing what was happening.

We talk about what eventually changed, how I began rebuilding my life, and why learning to listen to my emotions, establish boundaries, love myself, and trust God differently became such an important part of my healing.

I also share how that journey led me to life coaching, hypnotherapy, Hope Harbor Transitional Living, and eventually Splankna.

Sarah, Heather, and I explore what it means to move from overly kind to empowered kindness—loving others without abandoning yourself in the process.

Splankna Podcast Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCtsxg9yQ6Jr2wb1f4G1LBew

THINKING TIME: https://www.livebrighter.info/thinking-time

Get Your FREE Unravel Notebook Chapter for This Week: https://www.livebrighter.info/lead-collection

Book your FREE consultation HERE: https://www.livebrighter.info/

Get the Unravel Notebook HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Unravel-Notebook-Tara-Wolfe-Schaan/dp/B0CTPDWJ8L

PODCAST CHAPTERS:

00:00 Tara's Journey to Coaching and Splankna

05:05 Understanding Emotional and Spiritual Abuse

07:29 The Impact of Misdiagnosis and Mental Health

18:57 The Role of Faith in Healing and Recovery

29:26 Discovering Splunkna and Its Transformative Power

32:45 Significant Shifts and Trusting Oneself

36:24 The Gentle Approach to Healing

40:33 Empowered Kindness and Overly Kind Dynamics

49:34 Literature on Kindness and Boundaries

56:13 Listening to the Holy Spirit and Practicing Trust

Follow us on our Socials!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livebrighterwithtara/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Live-Brighter-with-Tara/61552844352218/

Grow 1% each day, I believe in you! Thank you for Listening!

self abandonment, how to trust yourself again, losing yourself in a relationship, emotional abuse, spiritual abuse, religious abuse, Christian relationships, unhealthy Christian marriage, people pleasing, Christian people pleasing, overly kind, empowered kindness, when being too kind hurts you, finding your voice, learning to trust yourself, emotional healing, faith and healing, Christian healing journey, healing with God, relationship with God, boundaries for Christians, Christian boundaries, healthy self love, self love and Christianity, emotional abuse recovery, healing from emotional abuse, rebuilding your life, breaking unhealthy patterns, generational patterns, listening to your emotions, mind body connection, Splankna, Splankna therapy, Sarah J Thiessen, Heather Hughes, Holy Spirit healing, listening to the Holy Spirit, personal growth, Christian personal growth,

#SelfAbandonment #EmotionalHealing #PeoplePleasing #EmpoweredKindness #FaithAndHealing #EmotionalAbuse #ChristianHealing #SelfTrust #PersonalGrowth #LiveBrighterWithTara