Motor City Hypnotist
Motor City Hypnotist
Self-Care Isn’t Luxury: It’s The Work
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Need a clean reset for the new year without the hype? We’re back from a short sabbatical with a focused year in review that trims the fluff and doubles down on what actually helps: clear therapy tools, real self-care, and stories that rewire belief. We kick off with a jaw-dropping Winner of the Week—Hari Budha Magar, a British veteran and double above-knee amputee, who completed the Seven Summits—then unpack how his achievement models adaptation, grit, and purpose for anyone facing hard goals.
From there, we get practical. We talk about the mental health power of deep-focus hobbies—like model building and family puzzles—and how to use flow states without slipping into burnout. Structure beats willpower: time-box your focus, set hard stops, and keep your recovery just as intentional. We revisit our most-requested therapy Q&A insights: how to choose the right therapist, define a goal in one sentence, and measure progress you can feel. We also return to golf therapy, where breath, movement, and attention under gentle pressure become portable regulation skills for anxiety and focus.
Autism and emotional regulation earned a big spotlight this year, and for good reason. The spectrum is diverse, strengths are real, and support works best when it’s tailored. We dig into practical tools for overstimulation, clearer communication, and routine-building that honors autonomy. The throughline across everything is simple: self-care isn’t luxury, it’s the work—small systems repeated consistently, with compassion.
If you’re ready to build a steadier 2025, hit play, take what serves you, and leave the rest. Subscribe for new episodes, share this with someone who needs a hopeful nudge, and leave a quick review so more people can find these tools.
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FREE HYPNOSIS GUIDE
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Change your thinking, change your life!
Laugh hard, run fast, be kind.
David R. Wright MA, LPC, CHT
The Motor City Hypnotist
Welcome Back And New Year Setup
SPEAKER_01In this episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast, it's been a while, folks. Had a little sabbatical, took a couple of months off, but we're going to talk about the 2025 year in review. Since we're into the first into the new year, starting fresh. So we're going to look back at some of the things we've looked at. It does this does a couple things. One, it's going to give you a lot of information about what we've talked about in case something applies to you that you can go back and find it and listen to it. Sure. And it just kind of revisit, you know, all the things that we covered over the last year, including our winners of the week, which we had some great ones during the year. So we're going to revisit that. Man, it's good to be back. And as usual, we'll give away free stuff. Hang in there, folks. We'll be right back. Woo.
SPEAKER_02Get ready for the motor steady hypnotist David R. Wright, originating from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He has hypnotized thousands of people from all over the United States. David R. Wright has been featured on news outlets all across the country and is the clinical director of an outpatient mental health and hypnosis clinic located just south of Detroit, where he helps people integrate using the power of hypnosis.
SPEAKER_00New Year.
Booking Shows And Free Hypnosis Guide
SPEAKER_01That is a term that you want to use very loosely. Yes, I do want to use that loosely. Yeah, just you know, things got busy. I had stuff to do, and hey, things happen. You know, things happen. Things shut down, things pick up. It was over the holidays, you know, a lot of stuff going on. So you I don't need to bore you guys with my life story, but but anyway, we are back here with another episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast. So happy you're here. Yep. Glad to be back. Matt, let me tell you first where you can find me, folks. My website is motorcityhypnotist.com. This is the perfect time, especially for your high school looking for an all-night entertainer. Grad and prom season starts in April. So we're just a few months away and I'm already booked up through I think I probably have 10 shows booked now for the season, and that will just add on as time goes on. But if you have a show, it's important to because dates are filling up and and especially for grad nights. Because sometimes I'll be I'll do double headers. I've done triple headers some nights for grad nights. Yeah, I've done three shows in a night before.
SPEAKER_00That's a lot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's a lot. But my point being is that if you have a date, reach out right now so that we can get you locked in. Even if you're in even if it's the same night as another school, as long as we have an hour difference, we'll be good. So sure, or a couple hours difference, you know, as far as start time and end time. So you start time on 11 a.m.
SPEAKER_00or 11 p.m., 1 a.m. 3 a.m.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that could work. Yep, yep. And and I've done that before. Yep, absolutely. Got it. My social media, Facebook and YouTube, are both motor city hypnotists, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok are all Motor City Hypno. Oh H Y P N O TikTok is still a thing.
SPEAKER_00All right.
Winner Of The Week: Seven Summits
SPEAKER_01It it's still there. I mean, I'm not, I'm in there, but you know, I don't I you know, honestly, I I I don't utilize a lot of like social media as far as just like communications, but but I do post things that go out to social media. That's fair. So all right, have fun. And as we've done every episode going back to number one, text the word hypnosis to 313-800-8510. In a few minutes, you will get a text message from me automated with a link with your free hypnosis guide. It's a couple page PDF I wrote regarding hypnosis, kind of gives you a general idea of what it is and what it's not, dispel some miss and misconceptions, but is yours for free. You will also get a link to the Google page for my business, Motor City Hypnotist. The great thing is if you could leave a review of the podcast or even me if you've seen the show for me, or if you've seen me in person as a client, either way, it'll go to there. All the reviews cover everything. All right, look at it, leave a review, that'll be great. The other thing, wherever you're listening, what whatever platform you're on, be it you know, iTunes, Spotify, whatever, it's important that leave a message or I'm sorry, leave a review on the site there and also subscribe, connect, link whatever you need to do on your platform so that you get the show whenever they drop. All righty, it's time, Matt. It's been a while.
SPEAKER_03It has been that's how winner is done.
SPEAKER_01Woo! Yes, all right, this is a great one. So before I start this story, and it really kind of like like clicked with me because I've always been fascinated with mountain climbing. I've never done it, I probably never will do it since I'm old, okay, but it's always been like just intrigues me. I've watched everything and read everything you can on Everest. I'm serious. Wow. I've watched every documentary, I've read every book. The best one is John Cruck Hours Into Thin Air. I don't know if you've ever read it. I have not. So, very long story short, not to get sidetracked, but that was the year there was a big weather issue, and I think eight climbers died on that summit. There's been so many people that have perished on that mountain. But that one was really significant because the John Crookhauer, he is a journalist, and he went along to document what climbing Everest would be like.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01So he wrote the story, uh wrote the book into thin air, and that's what you know chronicles that whole thing that happened. And that's the that's the uh the story that Cliffhair came out of. Oh, I don't know. I don't know. That's a good question. But I mean, hey, yeah, who knows? So here's a great story, and and it it's it's fascinating because doing it able-bodied is something, but let's get into the story. All right, a British war veteran who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan has become the first above-the-knee double amputee to reach the summit of the highest peaks on every continent in the world. Damn. On Tuesday, 46-year-old Hari Buda Magar submitted the high summited the highest mountain in Antarctica, Mount Vincent, the final peak in his epic mission, after a grueling three-day climb that saw him battle through 13 degrees below zero temperatures.
SPEAKER_03Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01The summit not only marked another mountaineering world's first for the climber, but also a major landmark in Hari's admission to boost disability awareness and inspire others to climb their own mountain, whatever that might be. Upon completing the world record, the veteran from Canterbury, Kent said the climb was very tough. The conditions and difficulty meant I was literally crawling on all fours, battling my way up the mountain. Jesus. But crawling along, he was able to look up and take in the incredible views where spectacular, spectacular Antarctica mountain peaks pierced a thin layer of clouds below. Disability shouldn't limit the size of your dream or your ability to achieve it. Yes, you might need to adapt to your approach, get help, or think differently, but you can do it, he told SWNS News Agency. If a family man like me from Canterbury can do it, anyone can. I just walked my stairs from the basement to the upstairs today. Just the thing of this Harry found a new purpose in the world of adventure and sports, starting with skydiving and skiing, and then he decided to conquer a childhood dream to climb Mount Everest. And he's from Europe, British Columbia, or he is from you said at the very beginning.
SPEAKER_00Canterbury, Kent. Okay. Yep. So you know, on the US side, it's the Wounded Warrior Project, right? Yeah, it could be. And it's you know, veterans that have been wounded in war and lost their legs or what have you. I've met a number of folks from the Wounded Warrior Project, skied with them on prosthetic side. Right, yes. What these guys have seen, what they've experienced, and for them to continue to want to fulfill life experiences, it's amazing to see these individuals do what they do because they have to for their own for their own for their own mental health, yes, for their own, for their own well-being.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So just just as a question, Matt. Yeah, the seven summits. That's that's the pin like like the pinnacle, no pun intended. How many people ever do you think have have summited seven summits? I would say less than 50. 500. Okay. Yep. Fewer than 500 people have ever climbed the seven summits. That's amazing. The tallest on each continent.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_01Hari's seven summit journey took only six years. So he did seven summits in six years. Because you could. And officially started in 2018 when he first applied to climb the world's highest mountain, the only one to be denied by the Nepalese authorities who banned climbers with disabilities, a ruling he was key on challenging and overturning in a high court. Wow. So they turned him down when he applied, first of all, because he was disabled. And then he went to the and then he went to the courts and they they let him let him do it. Let him do it. He's gonna sign the waiver anyways, so let him go. So a fantastic story. Here's a photo of Hari on look at this guy the mountainside. Again, he's a double amputee. Yeah, he's got prosthetic legs. Uh-huh. He's climbing a mountain with a smile on his face. Yeah. That this this story blows me away. That's crazy. I love it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's great. So oh man, that is, I got I got let me read the last.
SPEAKER_01Because courage, determination, unwavering commitment to creating positive changes reflect everything we stand for as an organization, said one of the charities, team forces that he is supporting. So he is supporting charity. He's doing this to raise money for charity as well. Okay. So to Hari, what what uh definitely winner of the week material there for sure.
Life Updates And Priorities
SPEAKER_03That's how winning it's done.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_03So back to it.
SPEAKER_01All right, we're here again, Matt. It's been a while. Where the I want to keep in. Well, okay, so long I I'll give a long story short to maybe listeners were at least. I know I know where you're I know where you've been. So my father-in-law had some health issues. Long story short, he had a he had a heart attack back in June, had to have a have a quadruple bypass. You you had mentioned that way back in the day, but then he fell in October, I believe, and had to be rehospitalized. He fractured a vertebrae in his neck. But anyway, he's had some health issues. And again, not that you guys need to know all of this, but my wife is a government employee, so we went like three months with no with no income. The shutdown did affect of a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00Shut down affected a lot of people who we're connected. I appreciate you setting your priorities straight. This is so you know, doing your podcast is something that you do for fun. It is it is it is something that helps elongate your your business model, your business. Yeah, but this takes time out of your day, and the most important thing is making sure that your household is stable, that Kendra has what she needs, you right? So I I appreciate you prioritizing what you needed to do. I've missed you, yeah, absolutely, and it really helped me prioritize a few things as well for the holidays and what have you. But I'm glad you're back. Yep, I'm happy to continue our conversations that we've uh absolutely.
SPEAKER_01So let me let me just throw some personal stuff out there since we're since we're just kind of getting back into the saddle, sort of sort of speak. So I always talk to my clients a lot about self-care activities. And when I talk about self-care, I'm thinking like things that you can like get involved with or enjoy or activities that that kind of just take your mind out of the world. Sex? I mean, no, no, don't shut me up. What's that, Matt?
SPEAKER_03What the fuck is it with you?
SPEAKER_01So so I talk a lot about again, self-care things, things that you can get involved with, things that bring you joy. So, one of the things that I did as a kid a lot, looking back, I used to build a lot of models, model cars, model planes. One of my favorite models as a kid was the the aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. Oh, yeah. And it was probably about two feet long, but but again, I was really into it. So so fast forward to to yeah, I'm in year 60 now of my life. Nerd alert, and I just started getting involved. And I don't know, Matt, if you've been following my Facebook, I have been. I have nerd alert. So I completed an original series enterprise. I'm working now on the Jupiter 2 model. Long story short, I don't know if you saw the last video I posted. I had I had 90% of it done, like all the walls were up. Yeah, and I fried a circuit board, everything went dead. Oh so to find to to flipping that model over and looking at the bottom of it, it was just like a nightmare of spaghetti wires everywhere, and it was impossible to find out where this came from. Oh boy, so I am redoing it, but here's the big thing you're rewiring the energy, the uh the Jupiter 2? Yes, I I have to rewire everything, right? So it's gonna take a while, right? But I posted a video, a pan shot, and I'll show it to you when we're done with show, Matt. Uh-huh. It's the interior, and I pan around. I'm in a I'm in a group on Facebook called Lost in Space Fans, okay, or Lost in Space Group or Fans of Law, whatever it's called. So hundreds of hundreds of of responses and comments on this model, it's because the whole interior was done except for the flight deck. Guess who's guess who commented on my post on my video? Matt LeBlanc. Bill Moomie. Really? Yes. From the original Lost in Space. Yes, Will Robinson from Lost in Space commented on my post. That's brilliant. He said, This is fantastic. I should know. Yeah. It was awesome. That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_00He was the engineer, wasn't he? It was like, no, he was the kid. He was a kid. Yeah. Oh, he was actually Will Robinson.
SPEAKER_01Will Robinson, yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's fun. So the reason I bring that up is again, I I focus a lot on self-care and things that you enjoy and just getting your mind occupied. And it just it's enjoyable. Again, even with challenges, even after frying that board, which just threw me into a tailspin mentally. I'm like, oh no. I right to that point. But it's fine because it this is what you get with modeling, especially when you're wiring and soldering and doing all of that work. The ankle bone goes to the footbone, the footbone goes to the headbone, the headbone. And it's in the in the track, all of these, and plus I'm running things, and again, not to geek out everybody, but the whole model runs out of nine volts. But the circuit boards that the the the Adafruit trinket boards I have in only run on five volts, they have to have a separate power supply. And what I did was I accidentally put nine volts into this board that's meant for five volts, and I fried it. Excuse me.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Houston, we have a problem.
SPEAKER_01That's exactly it. Houston, we have a problem. Uh-huh. Yeah, exactly. All right, get in there. We have nine volts to work with. Okay, that's two. So, anyway, folks, we're we're talking about I in and we're talking about again therapy, mental health, all of the things associated with what I do.
SPEAKER_00Aside from you know, you having to pivot with you know the fire, the the frying of the board. Yeah, but when you sit down to do a model, it puts you into a mental space.
SPEAKER_01Matt, I am telling you, I get into a place where it could be eight hours, and I will have not eaten or done anything because I'm so locked in. You are just so focused into it.
SPEAKER_00It's not focused, it's hyper-focused. Yeah, you're hyper-focused on the task at hand, you are engaged, you are really committed to making to making this work and to making it look the best way that you know how it can. Yeah, that's mental health care. However, I'm gonna throw a caveat in there. Okay, go ahead. When folks get into that mental state, they forget about the outside world, yeah. And that could pose a problem, it could down the road, not at that point in time, but down the road if they if they continue that behavior. So, what do you do to take yourself out of that hyper focused state?
SPEAKER_01Well, here's the thing, and and and this is kind of built in and it just works for me. I only I only work on this while I'm in my office, I don't work at it at home. See how and that answers the question. That that gives me my home time to be focused on home and family, see, and then work time, like like for example, sometimes I'll have eight clients in a day, but sometimes I might only have four, and I could have a two or three hour break. Sure, and then you so then I use that break to kind of work on things in between clients.
SPEAKER_00That's the answer to the question. Yeah, and you have to be able to separate for lack of a better term, church and state. Yeah, absolutely. So when you when you're focused, it's it's there, and then you have your client, and then you go home, and then you're focused there, right? You're you're taking your energy, yes, and you're putting it where it belongs at that point in time, right?
SPEAKER_01That's mental health care, yes, absolutely. So, so what whatever it is for you, I don't care what it is, exercise, puzzles, uh, movies, whatever it is for you, yeah. You know, focus on something that makes you feel good. It just gives your your mind an opportunity to focus and block everything else out.
Family Puzzles And Mental Health
SPEAKER_00So, let me share with you speaking of puzzles, yes. So, our our boy got a new puzzle from his from his grandmother for uh his birthday this year, back in November, and it's a rubber chicken puzzle. Oh no, and there are so many freaking rubber chickens in this puzzle, it's crazy. So we pulled it out, you know, going into the holiday. We always love working on a puzzle in the home. It keeps everyone, you know, we do it together and what have you. Go back two years ago. I got a gift from the boy who was a rubber chicken that when you squeeze it, it makes noise. So when we find a puzzle piece that fits this puzzle that we're making, we squeeze the rubber chicken. So everyone in the home knows you got a piece. Found a piece. Fantastic. That's awesome. We're still working on this damn puzzle, and it's just it's mind-blowing how many legs go on rubber. Oh my god, chicken.
SPEAKER_01It's wild. Well, and that's what makes a puzzle so difficult because the colors are all the same on every piece. Yeah, just about getting it reorganized.
SPEAKER_00We're about 85% done. Nice, and it's almost there, it's just these last few, but it takes us. To that mental space. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. Not just that mental space, but now you're spending time with your family and you're doing things. My New Year's Eve, Dave. My New Year's Eve, my partner and I, we spent the evening putting that puzzle together. That's how we spent our New Year's Eve. Fantastic. It was just the two of us. And you know, we we like to imbibe here and there. You know what we did? Every time we got a piece, we did a shot. Absolutely. We we had fun. It was so it was just two people enjoying each other's time, doing something fun together. And that to me is mental health care as well. Absolutely, it is. It's just I've had so many great experiences over the past month and a half, yeah. You know, around mental health. And I I I'm pinpointing these these items just to share with you that I am in total agreement with taking care of oneself.
SPEAKER_01Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Now I gotta go to the gym.
Year In Review Overview
SPEAKER_01So, yeah, that's always that's a that's another challenge, yeah. Of course, so we're here, folks, and in in as far as is the podcast goes, we're talking about last year in review. It's the end of the year, it's a beginning of a new year. Typically, we do a review of what we've talked about over the past year. Please, so we've had some great, great podcast things. We started out the year with therapy QA, and that lasted, I think, seven. Gosh, that was a long series. It was it was it was quite a few, but but people have a lot of questions about therapy. How does it work? What should I look for? What you know, what do we look for in a therapist? But but if you have any of those questions, go back to the early in 22 2025. That was our first series of the year last year. We talked about golf therapy. We did, yes, and we even talked about the possibility of combining therapy with golf. Now, putting that into practice is a lot more challenging than than one would expect, but it I think the idea is there. I think it's like prime to kind of flesh out, and and you know, as weather gets better, we'll we'll look at that.
SPEAKER_00Little did I little did I know that that conversation would lead me to hitting a hole in one hole in one last year.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yes, that we did that podcast, and then Matt and I golfed together later in the later in that spring. Yeah, and we uh yeah, it was that was fun. Yeah, hole 10 at Westburn Golf Course. Yep, yeah, one one one stroke wonder.
SPEAKER_04There you go, that's it.
Therapy Q&A And Golf Therapy
SPEAKER_01We did a series on personality disorders, and again, there are a lot of different personality disorders, and they all you know kind of show themselves in different ways, but but we covered a lot of that. We talked about autism and mental health, we did being on the spectrum, what that means. And again, the big thing with autism, it's it's and and when people say you're autistic, the the the assumption is oh, they're severely disabled. But no, no, it's because that's why it's called a spectrum. You could be you could be severely autistic and be and be quote unquote disabled, but you could be on the low end of the spectrum and just have some emotional regulation issues. So being on being autistic is not it's not a negative, it's as far as the way you perceive yourself, because there are a lot of people on the spectrum, more than you would even know, because it's not really tested. There is really no blood test, there's no specific test, it's all based on behaviors and reactions and symptoms.
SPEAKER_00There are a lot of scans, brain scans, brain, you know, questions that you answer while you have, you know, electrodes linked to your head.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like any eg.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, right. Whether you're on the medication or off medication, there are a lot of ways to determine where you at where you're at, you know, development-wise and yeah, and how you are behavior-wise at the same time. I know the smartest kid in the world, yep. And he's genius, he's a genius, and he's an absolute genius, he knows more about the world than he absolutely knows. He doesn't know that though, right? Right? Yes, he's a genius. He could put together a 2000-piece Lego set in one day. Yeah, he he's he's amazing, yeah. And to hear that that whole series on autism, yes, that really turned me around in a lot of different ways.
Autism, Spectrum, And Emotional Regulation
SPEAKER_01And here's the thing a lot of autistic people are super high IQ. Yes, and and here's the problem. I I mean, I guess it's not a problem, it just is what it is, but and I say this all the time stupid people are are seldom unhappy and on the roads because they don't know any better, because they're on the roads. Well, I'm just saying, if you're if you have a low IQ, there there's there you don't have a lot of of stuff going on in your head. And people who are super intelligent tend to overanalyze and get too involved and get their mind involved, but anyway, with the autism and mental health, go back and listen to those episodes because we cover a lot of that. Yeah, the overthinking, the the overstimulating, and there's a lot that we talk about, and a lot of the issues with with emotional regulation, that is the biggest challenge a lot of times with autism. And when you say, you know, repeat that again. I said there are a lot of emotional challenges associated with autism, and with the emotional side, it's not acting out, it's closing off.
SPEAKER_00It could be both, it could be closing off, it could be acting out, yeah. But a lot you for from my experience, it's a lot of closing off. There's not a lot of acting out, it's getting quiet, it's just you know, kind of doing what they do by themselves.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, isolating is a big thing, it's huge. I and and and again, I and this is not a bash on video games, but again, things like that where it's just individual, you're just locked in doing your thing.
SPEAKER_00And and and as a someone who wants them to be able to work through those things, I want them to talk through it. I want them to share with me what you are thinking, what is going through your head, how can I help you move to that next step to bring you out of this quote unquote funk, if you will. Yeah, funk.
Closing And Next Episode Tease
SPEAKER_01That's a good that's a good word for it. So go on. Cool. So here's what we're gonna do, folks. I know we typically when record, we do two sessions. We're we're all we're already out of time for our first session, but we're gonna come back and we're gonna finish up our 2025 year in review with a lot of the other things that we've talked about, and we're gonna hit some of our highlights of winners of the week for the year. Oh, so stay tuned for that. Those of you on Facebook Live, stick around. We're gonna do another episode. Those of you listening wherever platform you're on, skip ahead to the next episode, or it will be there next Tuesday or Thursday. Love it. All righty, folks. Change your thinking, change your life, laugh hard, run fast, be kind. We'll see you next time.