Episode 16: Ep 16: How Mindfulness Can Help You Move From Living On Autopilot to Feeling Calm, Present, and Less Overwhelmed

This week, Shannon chats with Dr. Angele Close who is a clinical psychologist and a certified mindfulness meditation teacher. Her academic studies included graduating with a Double Honors in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Carleton University in Ottawa and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. She was awarded prestigious National Scholarships when pursuing her doctoral studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto where she received her Ph.D. in 2014.

As a practitioner of mindfulness meditation for over a decade, she received her certification as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher when completing Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield’s Two-Year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program in Scotts Valley, California, in 2019.

Topics discussed:

1. Dr. Close's personal story about substance abuse, personal struggle, how she overcame it, and why she does the work she does today
2. How to feel more present, calm, and self-aware
3. What mindfulness means, and the benefits of it
4. How and why to practice mindfuless and meditation
5. How mindfulness and meditation helped Shannon heal from PTSD and a debilitating panic disorder
6. What Shannon says was the hardest part of starting and practicing mindfulness
7. How to pull yourself out of living on autopilot and become calmer, more present, and less overwelmed
8. How to be compassionate with yourself and let go of needing to be "perfect"
9. Acknowledging your own faults for self-improvement and to get to know your true self
10. The simplest way to calm your nervous system in less than one minute, as well as how to practice the STOP technique
11. Building confidence and living life YOUR way

Links mentioned in this episode:

• www.drangeleclose.com
• https://www.instagram.com/getthegunkout/
• https://www.instagram.com/drangeleclose/