Find Your Voice, Change Your Life
Psychologist and Host, Dr. Doreen Downing, invites guests who have suffered from public speaking anxiety to tell their story of struggle and how they overcame fear. They took an inner journey, found the voice that is truly their own, and now speak with confidence.
Episodes
183 episodes
#184 From Painfully Shy to Unshakeable Leader
Today, I interview Andrea Horvath who struggled to speak up for most of her life due to a fear that using her voice would lead to rejection. She followed expectations, stayed quiet, and avoided conflict, which affected her confidence and abilit...
#183 She Left Everything to Find Her Voice
Today, I interview Rachel Radway who spent years in corporate leadership, showing up, performing, and doing what was expected, while quietly carrying the sense that something about it did not fully fit. Like many who struggle with confidence an...
#182 A Diagnosis, a Divorce, and a Decision to Speak Up
Today, I interview Karen Rudolf who believed she wasn’t enough and learned early on to stay quiet, especially after being told as a child to stop asking questions. That moment shaped how she saw herself. She became very quiet, carried that into...
#181 Silence Kept Her Safe… Until It Didn’t
Today, I interview Dori Eversmann who grew up in a family where speaking up could lead to disconnection, learning as a young girl to stay silent, watch people’s faces, and only speak when it felt safe.That pattern followed her into schoo...
#180 When “You Can’t” Becomes “Watch Me”
Today, I interview Mikki St. Germain who grew up being told to “keep your mouth shut” and made to feel like her voice didn’t matter. At 14, her mother left, and she stepped into adult responsibility, working, caring for her siblings, and eventu...
#179 Success that Hides the Truth
Today, I interview Robin Goad who grew up believing that if her own mother did not love her enough to protect her, then she must be unlovable. From a young age, she learned to perform. Achievement was praised. Expectations were high. On the out...
#178 The Hidden Cost of Being the Strong One
Today, I interview Shelly Grimm, who reflects on growing up alongside chronic illness and learning, from a very young age, how to take care of herself and others.Much of Shelly’s childhood unfolded in hospitals, financial strain, and ong...
#177 The Cost of Living in Systems Not Designed for Women
Today, I interview Katrina van Oudheusden, who reflects on how early family dynamics, expectations, and learning to be capable from a young age shaped the way she learned to push through, stay productive, and quiet parts of herself.Growi...
#176 When Staying Quiet Was Survival and Listening Became Healing
Today, I interview Desislava Dimitrova, who grew up learning to stay quiet in order to keep the peace. She shares what it was like growing up in a strict home where it did not feel safe to speak, and how being quiet became a way to protect hers...
#175 Layers of Awakening: What It Means to Truly Have a Voice
Today, I interview Manya Gittel who lost her voice during a stroke and woke up to something far more unexpected than the crisis itself. She describes that moment as an inner awakening she didn’t see coming, one that shifted her sense of who she...
#174 From Disfigurement to Discovery: Building Real Confidence
Today, I interview John Kippen who spent years hiding after a surgery left half of his face paralyzed. His story is one of deep courage, transformation, and learning what it really means to be seen.As a child, John grew up in a successfu...
#173 Unraveling the Layers to Remember Your Truth
Today, I interview Robin Humphreys, who once felt her voice caught in her throat and her body tense with fear. She shares how creative expression became her lifeline, helping her release what she couldn’t say out loud.Growing up sensitiv...
#172 Finding Safety in the Body and Freedom in the Voice
Today, I interview Heidi Fischbach who grew up in a strict, high-control environment where fear and rules shaped how she learned to speak and exist. From an early age, she carried the weight of right and wrong, heaven and hell, and learned to s...
#171 Turning Breakdown Into Breakthrough: A Journey of Awakening
Today, I interview Catherine G. Lucas who opens up about losing her voice in the midst of a painful breakdown. In her late teens she was already standing on stage for public speaking competitions, but by the time her parents divorced during her...
#170 Finding Freedom in Letting Go of Perfection
Today, I interview Liz Sweet, who spent years feeling the pressure to be polished and perfect, even when it left her exhausted. Growing up in Los Angeles, she was encouraged to use her voice, but only her polished side was welcomed, while her v...
#169 Intrusive Thoughts, Anxiety, & the Journey to Everyday Bravery
Today, I interview Renee Zukin who spent years caught in fear and intrusive thoughts that silenced her voice. For much of her life, anxiety and self-doubt made her question whether she could ever step into leadership or express herself authenti...
#168 Transform Stage Fright Into Human Connection
Today, I interview Michael Grant and Lee Glickstein. Michael once struggled with stage fright, from freezing in high school to facing the daunting role of speaking at his uncle’s memorial service. His voice, long held back by anxiety and fear, ...
#167 Letting Go of the Rules to Reclaim my Voice
Today, I interview John Briggs, who once believed that working harder and earning more was the ultimate measure of success, until the cost of that belief showed up at home.He grew up as the youngest in a religious family, often singled o...
#166 Rooted in the Heart: From Shyness to Bold Expression
Today, I interview Eric Atwood, who spent decades trapped in self-doubt, believing he had nothing of value to say. Labeled as the “shy, scared, stupid kid” after a traumatic moment in school, he carried that identity into adulthood, silencing h...
#165 Authenticity Begins Where Performance Ends
Today, I interview Jonathan Reynolds, who learned that voice isn’t something you perform, it’s something you live from. Growing up in a small town shaped by rigid roles and quiet expectations, Jonathan learned early on to silence parts of himse...
#164 She Stood Between Her Past and Her Future—and Chose Love
Today, I interview Junie Moon, who grew up bright and bubbly, until one look from her mother made her feel unloved. Her free spirit met a controlling household where even a glance could silence her. By eight, she had learned to dim her light ju...
#163 From Hiding to Healing and Wholeness
Today, I interview Elisa Negroni, who grew up silenced—not just by family secrets and trauma, but by a culture that told her to stay small, stay quiet, and never question authority.Raised in Puerto Rico and Jamaica, Elisa learned early t...
#162 Heart First, Camera Second: Speaking Up in the Digital Age
Today, I interview Kristina Milosevic, who once struggled with shyness and fear of speaking up. As a child growing up in Serbia, she often felt more comfortable staying in the background. She was the responsible older sister, creative and obser...
#161 She Built 400 Steps and Found Her Voice
Today, I interview Patty de Vries, who grew up in a challenging environment where she felt the weight of constantly meeting expectations, pushing herself to succeed while disconnecting from her own needs.She learned early on to stay quie...
#160 The Heroine’s Journey to Her True Voice
Today, I interview Joan Perry, who once built a life filled with achievement, only to realize she was climbing the wrong ladder in the wrong building. Outwardly, everything looked perfect—career success, recognition, and status—but inwardly, sh...
