Vital Signs (Aired 09-25-25) The Future of Aesthetics and Longevity with Dr. Nicholas Nikolov

[00:00:00] Speaker A: SA. [00:00:31] Speaker B: Welcome to Vital Signs where we explore breakthroughs shaping health, wellness and longevity. I'm your host, Jen Goday and today we're diving into an evolving world of aesthetics with Dr. Nicholas Nikoloff. He's a board certified plastic surgeon, a chief medical officer of CellSound and founder of his center for plastic surgery in Beverly hills in Madrid. Dr. Nikoloff, welcome to the show. [00:00:57] Speaker A: Well, thank you, thank you for having me. [00:01:02] Speaker B: Well, you're known for pioneering subtle natural results and your work with new technologies like cell sound and embrace RF suggests aesthetics is no longer just cosmetic. It's actually a part of the longevity conversation. How would you define this shift? [00:01:22] Speaker A: Well, I think over the years we have evolved a great deal and that's a very important part. Whatever you do, you want to evolve. And of course, in a positive way. Initially, surgeries were a lot more invasive. Trying to achieve a cosmetic result did a lot, but patients had to go through huge procedures. With time, we have been fortunate enough to find ways to tweak techniques and to make a difference in people's appearance without necessarily always having to be that invasive. So surgeries are still performed, of course, but we're doing it in a more subtle way where the recovery is much faster. There are fewer signs of having head surgery, which is just as important because you go and you have a facelift. It doesn't matter if you don't have any more wrinkles. What matters is if you're pulled too tight and you look like you had a facelift, sometimes they can make you look older, not younger. So it's not a positive. We've managed to evolve enough to give patients a natural appearance. They feel better, they look better, and it looks like maybe they didn't make us stop at the plastic surgeon's office. And that for me is the total win. That philosophy itself is what has led me also to look for more minimally invasive and non invasive devices that truly work. And yes, a lot of them probably fall short, but yes, there are some that really work and make a difference. [00:03:24] Speaker B: Well, you know, I've looked at some of your work and you sort of talk about a least to most ladder of care. So the viewers watching, what does it look like to start with prevention and small non invasive steps before jumping to surgery? Can you kind of break that down for our viewers today? [00:03:46] Speaker A: Well, whenever you're looking at anyone, you don't want to say, oh my God, let's go and do a facelift. You want to see how you can get to that improvement in the easiest way possible. And easiest not because I'm lazy and I don't want to do the work. It's easiest for the patient. And that, I think, is the start of all this. However, if it's an easy approach now, you can start improving the health of the body, the face, the skin. You can start improving that at a much earlier age. And if you use technologies, for example, one of the companies, excuse me, that I'm involved with is cell sound aesthetics, where you're not damaging the skin, you're not causing any inflammation whatsoever, you're not killing any cells of any kind, but at the same time, you can improve blood flow and more blood flow, healthier tissue. The skin is healthier, but not just the skin. The deeper the muscles, the fat, they're healthier. We're reducing congestion from lymphatics. So now you also have a lot better health. And no, it's not lymphatic massage where they press on you. You're also improving collagen formation. As a result, cells are dividing at a more youthful rate. And the beauty of it is you're not causing any damage. So it's not like frying your skin that you can fry it only so many times and you look better. But after a while, okay, it's time to stop, or I'll have no skin or we'll start looking like leather. This is somewhere where you're improving the health, not just of the skin and deeper tissues. And I think the shift has been towards healthier. It's also more beautiful when you give your body a chance to function more normally at a more youthful level. Of course, you're going to look younger and you're going to feel more youthful, act more youthful. And what matters to a plastic surgeon also look more youthful. [00:06:15] Speaker B: I couldn't agree more. I'm a huge fan of beauty from the inside out and taking care of our bodies. So let's get a little bit more granular for everybody watching today. What are the top two things someone could start today that will help their skin? Health and longevity without even stepping into a clinic? What are some things that we maybe don't know about or many people don't realize actually can help from the inside out? What does that look like that someone could do today? [00:06:46] Speaker A: That is very easy answer, very simple, and unfortunately, most of us don't pay attention to it. And I can speak for myself, I don't follow my own advice frequently, but the most important things are, number one, wash your face not with something that is harsh. Just make sure you wash your face now we can get into what's good and bad, but even if it's just plain water, that's still good, keep it clean, keep the pores unplugged, and don't use anything harsh. Don't damage it. The second one, I love the sun. I'm in Southern California, but the sun, as great as it is, and it's great for vitamin D, it's not good for our skin. And the rate at which it's going to age and show age, but also function as older skin is significantly greater the more sun exposure you have. So you have to be careful with the sun. And no, I don't expect people to walk around with an umbrella covering everywhere or wear gloves because they're outside and it's sunny. But at the same time, use common sense. Don't be one of those planter peanut commercials where you're laying on the beach and flipping trying to be roasted. Not a good idea. So use common sense. And the more sun exposure there is, and I mean direct sun exposure, the more your skin is going to age. So take your battles, enjoy the outdoors, but also protect yourself. [00:08:46] Speaker B: I really appreciate that advice and we're all guilty of not practicing what you preach at some point in time. Now let's move to the next part, the safety and patient care part. With so many devices and trends and you talk about like, let's not damage the skin, let's be minimally invasive or non invasive first. But there's a lot out there. How does someone know what's real? Innovation versus hypersnake oil. [00:09:13] Speaker A: Well, again, excuse me again, Allergies, Southern California, not best time of year, but looking at most devices, a lot of it is it's using common sense and what I can tell patients when they look at things, and most of it, oh yeah, this is newest best. Well, what is the actual energy and most devices out there, There are very few types of energy. And you want to know how the desired effect desired by you as a patient, how is that being achieved? So number one, we are either heating up the skin and how we heating up the skin could be radio frequency, could be laser. And by heating up the skin, you're causing tightening. And the extent to which you do that, at some point it can cause damage. So how is it being done? How much of that is being done? What's the endpoint? The other part is ultrasound. And there are two different forms of ultrasound. One is focused, one is unfocused focused. Basically the beams come to a point, it's usually high energy and Wherever they meet at a predetermined depth that it. I said death, which is the Freudian slip. It does cause death to the cells because it basically kills everything at that point. And that can be very useful. But in cosmetics, we don't want to destroy tumors or kidney stones. We want healthy tissue. We don't want to kill tissue. Unfocused ultrasound, which is what I mentioned earlier, one of the devices, cell sound, that does not cause any damage, but it still has a lot of the positive effects of improving blood flow, lymphatic drainage, and whenever we want to, it actually decreases the layer of fat without killing the cells, but just making them shrink down and get rid of all those lipids inside. So now you look thinner, but your cells are still healthy and you still have the same hormonal benefit. Fat cells are important. They're not just extra storage units to be thrown away. So that is the other form of energy. And the last one would be laser. Laser. Again, there are many forms of lasers. And the last we've heard about coolsculpting, which is freezing, and that mainly applies to fat. But you freeze the fat. Interesting slogan. You do, and eventually the cells die. But then you have a lot of potential reactions to that, including hypertrophy, where instead of getting rid of it, ok, occasionally. I'm not saying it happens all the time, and I don't want to scare anybody and be irresponsible, but there are occasions when you actually get more fat cells versus less. So again, those are the forms of energy and you have to use something to make a difference. And I think it's important to know how much damage are you doing to the skin or deeper tissue. Now we can go into all kinds of details where with lasers or radio frequency, you can actually cause a controlled burn, that the tissue tightens. The tissue being skin, most of the time it will tighten. And it's a controlled burn. Yes, that happens as well. A lot of it depends on the anticipated or this diet outcome that we have planned. And as a patient, you always want to discuss that with your surgeon. [00:13:43] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you for that. We do have to take a brief break, but you've painted a powerful picture. Aesthetics are a part of living longer and better. But technology isn't just changing treatments, it's transforming the patient experience. So, folks, if you've heard what Dr. Nikoloff has said, it's know what you are getting into, know what energy is causing, know the the downsides as well as the upsides and make sure you're the right provider. Don't go anywhere because up next, we're going to dive deeper into the future of patient care and what it really means to be treated like a partner in your own longevity. We'll be right back after these messages. Welcome back to Vital Signs. Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to Vital Signs and every NOW Media TV favorite live or on demand, anytime you like. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock nonstop bilingual programming in English and Spanish on the move. You can also watch the podcast version right from our website at www.nowmedia.tv. from business and news to lifestyle culture and beyond, Now Media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are. Now, let's get back to our conversation du jour. Here's a provocative thought. The future of aesthetics might not be about the procedures at all. It might be about the experience, how your care is carefully planned, delivered, executed and followed up. And that could determine not just how you look, but how long your results last and how you feel. I'm here with Dr. Nicholas Nikoloff, and we're going to take a little sneak peek. Look ahead into the future of aesthetic medicine, from personalized diagnostics to holistic longevity approaches. So, Dr. Nikoloff, you've said that technology isn't just about devices, it's about patient care. Talk to me a little bit about how the journey for patients is different now, before, during and after treatment with the approach that you're taking. [00:16:18] Speaker A: The goal in achieving a happy or having a happy patient is to provide them, number one, a beautiful result. But as you said so eloquently, it is very important for the journey to that result to also be something that they feel in control. They feel comfortable, and it's something that they enjoy the process. They feel engaged. They have control over the journey and which direction they take. And it's no longer, oh, the doctor will come in and look at you and say, you need this, this and this. And sure enough, that's what you'll have done. These days, what I look is the patient to be my partner in the decision making, for us to make those decisions together, and even more so for the patient to make those decisions. With my job being mainly educating them. I think that puts the patient in control. And more importantly, as things are developing, they know what's happening, why that is. They've made the choice, they feel at ease, and it makes the experience so much better. You're no longer anxious. You know what's coming to me. That's a huge difference. Now on the other hand, we're fortunate enough to have new technologies that we can achieve a lot of the results in a much less painful way. Recovery time is much shorter, and as a result, of course, you're going to have a lot happier patients. They don't have to be bandaged like someone who is a victim of violent crime for three months and look terrible, or they can go back to work a week later and still feel good and not miss a step. And those are also important things we're able to do that I had mentioned earlier, and again, not to go back to it. I'm just using it as an example. The device from Cell Sound Aesthetics, which is unfocused ultrasound. The beauty of it is it does not cause pain with the treatment. Well, it does not cause pain because it doesn't kill any tissue and doesn't cause any damage, doesn't cause any inflammation. But patients like the fact that it's comfortable. They don't have to dread coming to the office. It's like, oh, my God, I've got to go in. They actually can relax, have the treatment and see an improvement. That is an important change. If patients all of a sudden can expect this not to be, oh, there's a price for beauty, and the price being pain. They can expect that they can see a result without having sweat on their brows and dreading every minute of what's about to happen. [00:19:47] Speaker B: Well, and let's talk about that from a holistic standpoint, right? If we're not worried about downtime, we're not worried about pain, and we have less stress, we're gonna have a better outcome anyway because stress only exacerbates the negative aspect of our treatment. So let me ask you this, because I think this is a really important question. I know I'm gonna get it from my viewers. For the people who are watching right now, and they're curious but cautious, what's the first question they should be asking a provider before saying yes to any treatment in aesthetics? [00:20:22] Speaker A: Well, I don't think it's one question. I think you need to understand what is being done, what the goals are, what is going to be the end result and how. What is the plan to get there? What are you going to have performed to get there? It could be a laser, it could be radio frequency, it could be ultrasound. It could be a surgery. But know the process, understand the journey, the recovery before you commit. It's not an emergency surgery. You're not going there and, oh, my God, we got to go in and save your life. This is a procedure you're undertaking because you want to look better and you want to look better because you want to feel better. So what else can make you feel better than understanding what the end result will be, feeling comfortable, getting into it. And I think education is the key. So it's not one question, unfortunately. It's many questions that you have to ask and get proper answers. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Right. I really, I really can appreciate that. As a former healthcare provider, like full education, understanding is very important. Let me ask you this. When you look five to 10 years ahead of today, what breakthroughs in aesthetic medicine excite you the most when it comes to health span, vitality and looking and feeling our best. [00:22:04] Speaker A: I probably can't even imagine how many things we're about to change. Excuse me, that was actually excitement over it. I think the important changes are going to come in from less invasive, non invasive technologies that improve the health of the tissue. The next thing would come from hormonal manipulation, being able to treat tissues with naturally occurring, obviously artificially produced hormones, peptides, etc. Where we can heal a lot faster. And most of that is going in that direction. Also robotic surgery for some procedures, I think it's definitely coming while it's here for some procedures already. But in aesthetic surgery it's going to be a little slower to be implemented. There is some artistic component to plastic surgery and the last thing is a lot of implants. We're already doing 3D printing to have the proper implants and design so they fit properly and the face is changed to the true shape we want. So 3D printing I think is going to go to literally 3D printing of the face where we can change the face based on what we decide and pick it on the computer and eventually get to a point where we can get there 100%. [00:23:54] Speaker B: That's fascinating. I see a lot of the same things across different aspects of medicine as well that you mentioned. For everyone who's watching, you've heard a vision of the future of aesthetics. Not quick fixes, but true personalized regenerative care that supports how we live and age. For those who are watching who want to get in touch with you, how can they reach you? [00:24:15] Speaker A: Number one, my website, it's Dr. Dr. Nicole-R N I K O L O V.com also my office number 310-247-1932. And for those interested in cell sound and the technology which I have mentioned, I happen to have drunk the Kool Aid and I think it's amazing. It's cellsoundesthetics.com and a lot of information can be obtained on that just because I've used so many examples of a breakthrough in technology and a total shift in how we approach things. [00:25:00] Speaker B: Thank you so much for your time and your expertise today. I really appreciate you being on. [00:25:05] Speaker A: I appreciate you having me on. And this has been a lot of fun and there's so much more to talk about and so little time. [00:25:14] Speaker B: Absolutely. Okay, folks, so you've heard from Dr. Nicholas Nikolaeff and his work. Be sure to reach out, learn more. Remember, true vitality is not just about changing who you are. It's about investing in the healthiest, longest lasting version of yourself. We do have to take a brief break, but we'll be right back after these messages. Welcome back to Vital Signs. We are going to shift gears just a little bit to welcome our next guest. Here's the truth. You don't need a car crash, a diagnosis, or a pink slip to burn out. Most of us are living with silent stressors, the ones you can't see but that quietly eat away at your health and performance every single day. Today I'm joined with Garrett Wood, a national board certified health and wellness coach, a clinical hypnotherapist and executive functioning specialist for nearly two decades, he he has helped high performing leaders tackle burnout, chronic stress, and imposter syndrome. We're talking about how silent stressors push us into survival mode and more importantly, how to shift into thrive mode even with the demands of work and home life. Garrett, welcome to the show. [00:26:55] Speaker C: Hey, thanks for having me on, Jen. I'm excited to be here. [00:26:58] Speaker B: Me too. Let's just dive right in. Talk to me about this. What are the silent stressors? What are some everyday examples that executives, parents, anybody watching is overlooking until they're already in burnout? [00:27:12] Speaker C: I love that you brought in parents in there because there are a lot of executives that happen to be parents and I think those identities kind of get split. There's an audience that talks to the leaders and then there's the audience that talks to the parents. And it's like these are the same people here. We have little bosses at home running around, and then you have your team at work and trying to care for everybody's emotion and your own is a real challenge. And I think that piece is when you get a promotion, you go to work, you're in charge now, you're the big boss. And then at home you have even more demands. Those little moments where you'd have a time to recover, start getting eroded, and so it gets Smaller and smaller, you get higher and higher stress loads, and the longer you're in that state, the harder it is to get out of it. And so people end up getting stuck in that on mode, and they never feel safe enough to be able to turn it all the way into that off mode. And then once you've been there for so long, every little bit of effort you make doesn't get as big of results as you wanted, and it costs you more in your nervous system. So then we get kind of into that downward spiral that usually results in burnout. [00:28:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So talk to me a little bit about the high masking that you speak of. I've looked you up. I've been. I followed some of the stuff that you're doing, and you say that leaders are high masking. What does it look like when someone is functioning really well on the outside, but they're sort of stuck in survival mode internally? [00:28:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:28:30] Speaker C: Once you've been on that cycle for a while, it doesn't mean you stop performing or start looking like you have it all together. Most of the people I work with, if you looked at the spreadsheets, if you looked at their bank account, they'd be really happy and everyone be like, oh, from the outside, it looks great. But on the inside, the way they feel, they're not satisfied, they're not fulfilled, they're overwhelmed, they're tired, exhausted, and they don't feel like they have a place to actually kind of take that mask off and let themselves be seen for that. They have to kind of keep it all together at work. You know, they got their shareholders have to worry about. They have their team members, they have their colleagues, even where it doesn't feel always safe to kind of let that down. And then when you go home, you're right there, you have your partner that you have to put on a brave face for, your kids that you have to put on a brave face for. So we're masking that internal feeling. And what's interesting about that is when you're trying to cover that up, that takes extra energy, too. And that is where we actually see the biggest contribution to burnout coming from, is pretending like everything's okay, even when it's not. [00:29:24] Speaker B: You know, I mean, I feel like you're talking to the me from about 10 years ago. I. This was. You know, everybody looks at you and your life goals and you have everything on the external, but inside, you're not taking care of yourself. You're overwhelmed. You. You're not on the back burner. You Fell on the floor. So let's talk about what are some of the early signs and signals that we should be noticing that tells us, hey, I'm just sort of coping here before it gets to that I'm on the back burner or on the floor scenario. [00:29:55] Speaker C: Yeah, most of the time, our body kind of gives us clues. Sometimes we'll have some like little aches and pains that don't go away. You know, you take a hot shower, you drink some extra water, and that ache campaign is still there. That's usually a. Your nervous system doesn't feel safe to fully relax. It's still bracing for something. And when you try to move around with that tension in your body, it'll show up as a backache, hip pain, neck pain, tension in your shoulders. And so that is usually the most common sign. Sometimes it's having a shorter temper with people. You know, for me, I have a cute little dog, and some days she's not so cute. And I'm like, well, she's the same dog she was yesterday. What's the difference here? And it's really, how much stress and load have I been carrying and how little care I've been taking care of myself? You know, she's still getting her walks every day, but maybe I'm not. And so those little things are kind of those subtle hints. And typically when they show up, we tell ourselves, oh, it's just a phase. Like, I'll just get through this week and it'll be fine. I got that vacation next week. But even when you come back from that time and you're back into it, it still doesn't go away. That's a good hint that you are well on your way to burning out. [00:30:57] Speaker B: So let's talk about the tech side of this too, because we are in an increasingly digital world. Tech is a stress amplifier. Let's just call a spade a spade. So can you kind of weigh in on this? Because especially if we're dealing with this at work, we're dealing with this at home. How is this constant tech exposure? Phone, slack, AI tools, yada, yada. How is that compounding stress in ways that we really maybe don't recognize? [00:31:24] Speaker C: Such a great question. There's a couple of gentlemen, I forget their names, but they have a book out there called Connected and they talk about the benefits of being able to be hyper connected and, and then some of the costs. We have this high tech, but we don't have high touch. So we can send someone a text or an email and we can get really quick responses or expect to at least, or hope to respond to them. But we end up just trying to get to that outcome instead of being present with that person in front of us. So we end up starting to treat people as like part of the process instead of a person and we lose that connectedness. And we're social creatures, so when we have to perform high stakes things with out feeling like we're connected with the people around us, we get in trouble. It feels like we're on our own team, isolated from everybody around us. And that actually contributes to burnout as well. So whether it's your phone or whether it's something else, you might be hyper connected to everybody and all their problems and maybe a little animal video here to like mix it up a little bit. But that's not enough for our nervous system to feel relaxed because we do most of that with and through other people. So whether that's like, you know, unwinding with a couple of friends and having a conversation, whether that's holding your dog and petting it, playing with your kids, or doing something that you just enjoy by yourself, that you can truly relax, if we don't have that built into our day and everything is through electronics and there's no face to face contact with other humans, we get in trouble. [00:32:43] Speaker B: And I'm, I'm not. The irony is not lost on me that we are connecting virtually at this moment. [00:32:48] Speaker C: Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. [00:32:51] Speaker B: So let me ask you a question, and I want to get to moving beyond burnout, but is it really possible for us to stay high performing in a tax saturated world without sacrificing our mental health and well being, without moving and pushing that stress level even higher, is that a possibility? Because we're looking at the future. When you think about how much is coming down the pipes, this is a, we're rolling down that mountain and it's more and more digitized and less and less high touch, as you say. [00:33:24] Speaker C: So I love that question because the question there is like, can we actually create a sustainable system for success? And I think that if we don't include the idea of our well being being a part of success, the answer is no. Because you're going to be successful in this very contained little container of what success mounts for. But what you have to give up to get there is where the cost comes in at. And if that results in burnout, losing the position, losing the title, sacrificing relationships, is it really success at all? I actually think that true lasting success is built through your well being, not at its Expense because then you get more time under tension, you get more at bats. It may not be this project that was closed or this company that you exited from, but you'll still have the same partner. You'll still have these other healthy, enriching relationships. Maybe it'll be the next company that you're going to sell instead of this one. But you're not going to be not there for it. You're not going to be curled up in bed in a ball, not living a life worth living. And so in the long run, that wellbeing is a key component to having sustainable success. [00:34:24] Speaker B: You know, I really, I really like this conversation because I mean, I come from sports medicine, I spent 20 years there and we talked about the lifelong athlete. And too many times we train for the Olympic event or we train for the, you know, pros and then after our body is not able to be a lifelong athlete. And so you're basically saying this but in the mental health and well being and resiliency space. So I'm, I'm definitely hearing what you're saying and I'm in complete agreement. So thank you for sharing that. So let's talk about. I'm here. I just realized that I'm in burnout. Maybe I'm on the back burner. Maybe I've been knocked onto the floor. What are one or two practical tools that someone watching today who's like, man, I am really feeling like I am surviving and coping and barely doing so. What are one or two tools that someone watching can use right now to reset from survival mode into thriving? [00:35:17] Speaker C: Anything you can do to get yourself out of that chronic state of like fight or flight and get back into a parasympathetic state of rest and digest state is paramount. If you're not able to sleep, you're not able to restore. It does not matter what activities you choose to do. On top of that, you're going to continually to do it. In fact, the more activities you do, the worse it's going to be. It'd be like if you had an athlete that was so anxious before the game that to deal with their anxiety they went out there and took more shots and like, yes, they're doing something with anxiety, but they're putting their body in harm's way. They're not going to last that entire tournament. It's more wear and tear the more they do. So we're looking for something that they can do less of that still feels active. And like you mentioned, whether you're on the back burner or on the floor is a big difference on what type of strategy we'd use. Because someone's on the floor, the strategy we're going to use for them is going to be very different than someone's on the back burner. But for both of them, something they can both do is look at what's actually given. Giving them the best lift in their life right now, in this very moment. Like, think about the last 24 hours. What was the easiest, most enjoyable part of your day? Can you double down on that today? Can you do more of whatever that was today? And can you commit to doing even more of that tomorrow, even if it is just less? Maybe it's 10 more minutes of scrolling on something that's less distressing, where you can just have a moment to yourself and take some deep breaths. It can be as simple as that, depending on how far down someone is on that burnout cycle. But if they're doing pretty well and they're trying to, like, really go for it, there's a bunch of things that are really interesting that we could do. We can look at emotional regulation techniques. We can look at sensory intelligence. We can look at their bio budgets and how to increase that, make their sleep better, food better, nutrition better. There's a lot of moving pieces that insulate people from burnout. The question is, what's right for them in that moment is different for everybody. [00:37:00] Speaker B: Oh, thank you for sharing that. So, folks, we have unpacked silent stressors. We've talked about survival mode, but how you take those breakthrough tools and actually build a life of sustainable success and fulfillment, that's where we're headed next. So you're going to stick around because coming up, Garen and I are going to deep dive into the path from burnout to fulfillment. How to rewire your brain for performance, joy and connection, even in the busiest seasons of life. We will be right back after these messages. Welcome back to Vital Signs. Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to Vital Signs and all of your favorite NOW Media TV shows or on Demand, anytime, anywhere. Download the Free Now Media TV app on Roku or an iOS if you're on the move. You can also catch the POD version right from our website at www.nowmedia.tv. from business and news to lifestyle culture and beyond, we are streaming around the clock. Ready when you are. Without further ado, let's dive right back into our topic today. Burnout doesn't mean you're weak. It means you've been strong for too long. But here's the Shift burnout can be the doorway to your biggest breakthroughs if you know how to move through it. So I've got Garrett Wood here. His work is blending neuroscience coaching and clinical hypnotherapy to help leaders rewire how they relate to stress. So let's dive really deep into moving beyond just coping and create that fulfillment, clarity and connection even in high pressure situation. Garrett, what does fulfillment look like for high achieving professional who feels like they should be happy but they're just not? [00:39:13] Speaker C: Yeah, usually when people are get all the trappings of success on the outside, they have everything they've always wanted and that still doesn't feel like they arrived. There's something that's keeping them there. It could be the emotional piece. Maybe they haven't practiced what gratitude feels like or appreciation, or they're not skilled at giving themselves some compassion and like attaboys for doing a good job. That might not be a skill that served them well in the past that's allowed them to be successful. They're always driving, hitting, pushing, like a cognitive athlete almost. But even in addition to that, to really be able to stay present and receive those emotions, sometimes we have subconscious beliefs or ideas about ourselves and others in the world that get in the way. So even if they start to come up, another part of ourselves comes in and kind of stops those thoughts and feelings from being able to be received, let alone compliments from other people, but even from ourself. And that kind of stops people from getting that fulfillment from their life. [00:40:06] Speaker B: So really what I'm sort of hearing, and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm hearing that we're confusing achievement with actual worth. Like we're basing our worth and our value on what it is that we're doing. Instead of being. Instead of being really am. I have, I have. I got the, the number. Okay. And so talk to me about how hypnotherapy helps people move past this kind of autopilot and, and break through some of these things. [00:40:34] Speaker C: Yeah, hypnotherapy is a great tool. I love it because one, it gets you out of that on switch into an off switch. So it's restorative in of itself. Just being in that state is relaxing and restorative. But while you're there, you can kind of sneak by some of these filters that our brain uses to keep us moving forward. Consistently telling that same story. You get a little bit more creative and you also access a part of yourself that is where you store your autobiographical memories, your stories about yourself, your past the world, your beliefs, and you can actually kind of change how they feel to you. You don't change the belief itself, but you change how it feels. So if you're watching a scary movie and they change the soundtrack, maybe it goes from being frightening to being silly or absurd. If you change the lighting, all of a sudden it can go from spooky, almost like sitcomish. And when we recall a memory or a story, we're not recalling when it actually happened. We're recalling the last time we remembered it. So whatever story you're telling, or whatever memory you're recalling, the state your body's in when you're recalling, it changes how that memory feels to you the next time that you recall it. So when we're in hypnotherapy and we're doing a hypnosis journey, we can actually anchor in those positive experiences and grow them and make them bigger and easier to feel. And by definition, we can also minimize or shrink a little bit of the intensity or those more scarier moments that when they do overwhelm us, we go to that 10 real quick and make it a little bit easier to stay around a five or six. So it's not so distressing when those things do show up in our life. [00:42:02] Speaker B: Oh, that's fascinating. So talk to me. Talk to me a little bit about what we can do at home. Like, I'm hearing this, and what if, like, we're trying to get in and we're listening and we're like, wow, hypnotherapy sounds really awesome. [00:42:14] Speaker A: And. [00:42:15] Speaker B: And I don't have access to that yet. It's going to take me three weeks or longer to get in. What are some of the things we can start doing today to maybe start to soften that loop, that story that we're telling ourselves, maybe at home? [00:42:31] Speaker C: Great question. So my favorite part about hypnosis is all hypnosis is self hypnosis. It's choosing to give yourself the permission to relax into that focus state. And that's a natural state. You pass in and out of it every day, multiple times a day. Sometimes it's when you're doing the dishes or driving your car, watching a movie, if you're ever doing the dishes, thinking about something else, watching a movie, laughing or crying, or you drove home and you don't like, I'm so glad I got here safely. That is a state of hypnosis. Also, when you're going to sleep and waking up, you travel through a state of hypnosis. So when we're in that daydreamy state, sometimes our mind wanders off to some, like, negative experiences or to some problems that we're currently feeling that are stressing us out. But in that moment, maybe you can actually focus on something positive that happened the day before that you had a part in, or last week, something that you were really grateful that you got a chance to experience and be present for. And even within that moment, you didn't feel gratitude, but you're like, oh, this is really cool. Now, in this moment today, you can call it up to mind and experience those feelings and let them wash over you. That in and of itself, you can double down on the restorative process of that parasympathetic response and you can make it easier to feel that gratitude in the moment later, spontaneously, without having to do all of this extra work to make it feel easier for you in the moment. [00:43:47] Speaker B: Oh, I love that. What a great exercise. So folks like you just got some sage advice there. That's a great action item to add to your day. So let me ask you, because I hear this a lot and I work with entrepreneurs and founders all day long. And so a lot of times I hear I just can't add one more thing to my day. When we're talking about self care or, or joy or fulfillment or something that you know is not related to the deadline, the whatever is going on in life. So for. And I know people who are watching are thinking that they're like, yeah, this is great, but that's just one more thing I have to add. So if someone has that super packed career and home life, what's a realistic habit? They can either add or subtract. That'll move them forward powerfully. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Yeah, if they want to subtract something, their mind's already doing this anyway. It already goes into the hypnosis state and it may be envisioning negative outcomes in the future, which is forcing them more into that parasympathetic sympathetic state. In that moment, you could try to call your attention back and be like, hey, maybe this isn't for me. I can take a deep breath, I can hold it. I can squeeze everything nice and tight, let it go and do a progressive muscle relaxation. When that mind is wandering already and it's really easy, take a deep breath in, squeeze your jaw, fists, pelvic floor, diaphragm, hold it all real nice and tight and let it go. You can do it in a meeting, you can do it on a zoom. If you were listening or watching, you wouldn't notice if I was even doing it in this moment or even when you've been speaking earlier. Because I have super secret. And it's something that kind of calms you down and gets you in there. And it's not extra because it's not something you have to do where you set a time side and time block it. It's something you add into your moments throughout your day. And it's really simple, really easy and super effective. [00:45:34] Speaker B: And in fact I was doing that while you were speaking just to see. [00:45:38] Speaker C: There you go. [00:45:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I love it. So we touched on technical stress earlier. We talked about some of the unique mental health challenges of this hyperconnected era. We talked about lack of connection. Kind of let's, let's connect the dots before we close. What does that path to connection look like as we're navigating? How do we protect ourselves from being over hyper connected digitally? What, what? Connect the dots on how we can move forward in a positive light. [00:46:15] Speaker C: So we used to have a lot of incidental interactions with people in a world where everybody that was in the same room with you, we were all sharing the same experience. So even if it was at home growing up, there was one tv, five people, that's five people all watching that one episode together. And you know, it was live. So everybody at office the next day or at school the next day, they were all talking about the same episode because they all watched it. So a lot of that tech facilitated opportunities for us to connect because it gave us speaking points. You weren't left out if you watched that new Game of Thrones episodes live when it was on there. Now that we have TiVo, which was dating and then on demand now streaming, it kind of erodes some ability to be present with people. So you have to be super intentional about it now more than ever. But you can go to a concert, everyone there is singing the song lyrics along with everybody else. We're all in that same moment together. If you're listening to this, know that you're not alone. Other people are listening. If you're watching other people are watching, you won't see them, you won't feel them, but they're there doing it with you. But if you can enlist anybody to join in on shared experience together, that connection around something else. So if you have a friend that listened to the podcast or watched the show and you want to make a comment about it with them, that engagement is the most important part. [00:47:27] Speaker B: Oh, I love it. So how can we build in those engage then those intentional engagement moments by sharing and it, it what calls to mind is like, we have book clubs or like, we used to. We used to all read the same book so that we could discuss it or whatnot. And. And now we can leverage technology in much the same way. So this has been really awesome. And if you're watching, Garrett has showed us that burnout isn't the end of the story. It's the a signal for us to rewire our brains and our bodies for a healthier, more connected life. Thank you for reminding us that success without health and joy is not sustainable success at all. So how can people reach out to you if they would like to learn more or continue this conversation? [00:48:06] Speaker C: Yeah, if they're on LinkedIn, they can follow me there. It's gnosis therapy. That's G N O S I s therapy. Gnosis is the G is silent. But that's also true for my website, gnosistherapy.com and if they're on Instagram and they want to follow me there, same thing. Gnosis therapy. [00:48:21] Speaker B: Be fantastic. Thank you so much. For all of our viewers, today's discussions have been just a powerful reminder that burnout isn't just about doing too much. It's about losing connection with yourself. And fulfillment begins when we redefine success, set healthier boundaries, and give ourselves permission to thrive, not just survive. Thank you so much for being here with us today, Garrett. [00:48:44] Speaker C: Thanks for having me. Really appreciate it, John. [00:48:46] Speaker B: Absolutely. And you just. Yes, all good things come to an end, including this show. Just know that you can take one action, pick one thing you heard from from our guests today and put it into action in your life so that you can start to live that more fulfilled life and thrive. And remember, peak performance isn't just about what you achieve. It's truly about how fully you le you're living while you're achieving it. We will be back same time, same station, next week. So until then, have an amazing rest of your day there.