Live Happy Now

As we enter May — which is Mental Health Awareness Month — it’s the perfect time to talk about recent findings about Gen Z. Multiple recent studies show that Gen Z has unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.  In this episode, host Paula Felps sits down with Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah Heisz to talk about what’s causing this mental health crisis among young people and what we all can do about it. In this episode, you’ll learn: What recent research shows us about Gen Z’s mental health. How social media and traditional media are contributing to the problem. Why it’s important to be aware of this mental health crisis. 

In a time when we are increasingly distracted and overwhelmed, many people are rethinking what’s important and how to achieve it.  In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with acclaimed psychologist Emma Seppälä, author of the new book, Sovereign, who explains how our we can overcome the chaos around us and take steps to live a more vibrant, courageous life that aligns with our true desires and potential. In this episode, you’ll learn: The danger of self-criticism and how to overcome it. The importance of becoming more aware of the information you’re exposing yourself to. How self-care improves every area of your life — and where to start.

As we get ready to celebrate Earth Day on April 22, it’s the perfect time to talk about how we can better care for our planet. In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Live Happy Marketing Manager Casey Johnson, who created the Earth Day Happy Acts campaign and is a fierce advocate for the planet. She talks about the daily practices she uses to help preserve and protect Mother Earth. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why Millennials and Gen Z are so passionate about environmental issues. Small steps we all can take to help improve the health of the planet. The importance of being in nature and learning to appreciate it.

What if thinking about death could give more meaning to your life? In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Jodi Wellman, who founded Four Thousand Mondays to help people make the most of the time they have left on this planet. Her new book, You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets furthers that mission by providing readers with a roadmap to live each day to the fullest. Find out how and why Jodi started this mission and how we all can live better by counting the Mondays we have left. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to prevent deathbed regrets. Why reflecting on death can help us start living the life of our dreams. How counting down the Mondays you have left can make them more valuable.

We know that a positive mindset is good for your health, but did you realize it can change how you age? In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with lifelong adventurer and New York Times bestselling author Caroline Paul about her new book, Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking — How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. In Caroline’s book, you’ll meet inspiring women in their 70s, 80s and beyond who combine a positive mindset with outdoor adventure to defy common beliefs about aging. Caroline also shares the science and psychology of how outdoor adventure affects both your brain and your body — and can help you become more active, joyous, and adventurous later in life. In this episode, you’ll learn: How a negative view of aging changes your brain. Why outdoor adventure isn’t usually encouraged for older women—and why it should be. The five pillars for fulfilling aging and the role going outside plays in them.

Each year, the release of the World Happiness Report gives new insight into global well-being. On this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Dr. Lara Aknin, a distinguished professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University and one of the editors of the report. Lara explains why the U.S. fell out of the top 20 happiest countries for the first time in the report’s history, which age group is thriving in the U.S., and shares some encouraging findings about how benevolence is changing worldwide. In this episode, you’ll learn: What age group is happiest around the world — and how it differs in the U.S. What is driving unhappiness among America’s young people. Good news about well-being and dementia.

Plenty of research shows that pets can help us heal, and now even hospitals are warming up to the idea. On this episode, host Brittany Derrenbacher sits down with Heather Stohr, a certified child life specialist at Norton Children’s in Louisville, KY.  Heather manages the facility dog program at Norton Healthcare, which allows animals to play a very important role in the healing process for patients, families, and caregivers. Find out how they are changing lives one hospital bed at a time. In this episode, you’ll learn: What a facility dog does in a hospital — and how it changes the way patients heal. How dogs are trained to become facility dogs. How dogs are also changing the lives of prisoners as they are being trained.

March 20 is the International Day of Happiness, and that makes it the perfect time to meet Will Thomas, a Happy Activist who founded Good News magazine during the pandemic to give people a break from the steady stream of negative news. What was supposed to be a one-off publication has grown into a thriving media brand with magazines in eight communities. In this episode, Will joins host Paula Felps to explain how it evolved and why it’s so important to spread positivity in your own community. Then, Live Happy’s Casey Johnson and Laura Coppedge talk about how you can celebrate the International Day of Happiness and share some of their favorite ways to make the most of the day.  In this episode, you'll learn: How sharing positive stories can change the way people see their community. Why it’s important to celebrate the International Day of Happiness. How to spread happiness on Live Happy’s Digital Happiness Wall.

If you feel like you’re stuck in survival mode, this week’s episode is just what the doula ordered! Host Paula Felps sits down with life doula and author Brandi Sellerz-Jackson to talk about her new book, On Thriving: Harnessing Joy Through Life’s Great Labors, which is part memoir, part roadmap to leading a happier, healthier life. She’s here to offer tips on how each of us can go from surviving to thriving and discovering true joy. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why we should treat ourselves like a houseplant. The four labors of life that everyone experiences. Brandi’s three tips for cultivating joy.

This week, we celebrate International Women’s Day, which makes it the perfect time to talk about how women can help empower and support each other. In this episode, host Paula Felps talks with Amber Olson Rourke, an award-winning marketing executive, mom, co-founder of the direct sales company Neora, and co-host of the Built to Win podcast. Amber is passionate about empowering women to step into their full potential and reach for more than they think is possible, and she’s here to talk about how we can look for opportunities to support one another — and how that can change the world. In this episode, you’ll learn: The importance and value of women supporting each other. How raising girls to support one another can change their future. How to create your own community of supportive women.  To hear more from Amber follow her on Instagram and subscribe to the Built to Win podcast.  

Throughout March, Live Happy celebrates Happiness Month with 31 days of happy actions that we call #HappyActs. This week, host Paula Felps talks with Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah Heisz about how we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary of #HappyActs and how you can share happiness with our new digital wall on the International Day of Happiness on March 20. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why practicing happiness with intention is so good for you. What a #HappyAct is — and how you can practice them. New ways to celebrate the International Day of Happiness.

Music has the power to help us heal, and that’s why one Musicians on Call delivers music where it might be needed most: the hospital. This volunteer organization connects musicians with hospitals to provide live and recorded music to patients. In this episode, host Paula Felps is joined by Katy Epley, executive vice president at Musicians on Call, to learn how this program came about and how it has changed the lives of both patients and the musicians who perform for them. In this episode, you’ll learn: The physical, emotional, and mental benefits of experiencing live music in a hospital setting. How this program has changed the landscape for accessing live music in the hospital. How to get involved with Musicians on Call.

Enduring the Loss of Love With Clare Mackintosh Grief and loss are an inevitable aspect of love, and this week, best-selling author Clare Mackintosh sits down with host Paula Felps to discuss her new book, I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This. Written years after the death of her son, it’s filled with important insights about love, loss, and the journey to healing — and shares hope for those who are walking through a painful time.   In this episode, you’ll learn: Why grief and love are two sides of the same coin. The importance of understanding grief before losing someone. How writing about grief can help with healing.

This week, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, so today, we want to talk about the greatest love of your life — yourself. In this episode, host Paula Felps is joined by Brittany Derrenbacher and Sarah Pavey of The Healing Collective in Louisville, Kentucky. In their practices, Brittany and Sarah teach clients how to discover a deep lasting love for themselves, and they also hold workshops on creating self-love vision boards. Today, they’re sharing some insights on how self-love improves our lives and our relationships and offer some tips for starting your own self-love practice. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why self-love is the foundation of all our relationships. How practicing self-love changes the way you interact with others. Simple ways to begin practicing self-love.

It’s February, which means the message of love and Valentine’s Day is all around us. But did you know this is the make-or-break time for many couples? This week, host Paula Felps welcomes Dr. Julia DiGangi, a neuropsychologist and author of Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power. She’s here to discuss some common mistakes we make in our relationships and how we can improve those relationships by learning more about what our brains – not our hearts – are doing to complicate things. In this episode, you’ll learn: The three styles of attachment and how they affect your relationships. How the patterns in your brain affect how you respond to your partner. Why self-love is a vital part of every relationship.

As we approach February, our minds turn to love. For the next few weeks, Live Happy Now will look at the many ways love shows up in our lives and how we can create more of it. To kick it off, host Paula Felps talks with Maria Baltazzi, author of Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct and Produce the Life You Want. In her book, Maria outlines eight happiness essentials and, not surprisingly, one of them is love. In this episode she talks about some of the practices we can use to build more love into our lives. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to use journaling to build more love in your life. Using photography to retrain your brain to look for love. How a loving kindness meditation can create more love for yourself and others.

Throughout January, we’ve been sharing practices that can help you create habits that increase your wellbeing. And now, it’s time for an adventure! This week, host Paula Felps talks with Steve Taylor, a best-selling author and senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in England. Steve has devoted his life to investigating spiritual awakenings for himself and others and his new book, The Adventure: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Awakening, provides a roadmap to walk through practices to help you embark on your awakening journey.  In this episode, you’ll learn: Why awakening is the greatest adventure any of us will ever experience. The eight qualities of wakefulness and why they matter. How embracing our mortality improves our spiritual awakening. 

As we venture a little farther into the new year, it’s a good time to pause, take a breath, and – if you have three minutes – learn to meditate! This week, host Paula Felps is joined by  Richard Dixey, a lifelong student of Buddhism who has devoted the past 15 years of his life to teaching meditation. His new book, Three Minutes a Day: A Fourteen Week Course to Learn Meditation and Transform Your Life, is designed to teach readers how to change their lives with simple meditation practices that truly do take just three minutes a day. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why meditation is so good for us. How learning to meditate for just three minutes a day can transform us. Simple practices to begin your meditation journey.

Dr. Joanne Cacciatore knows first-hand the trauma caused by grief and loss. And she also knows how animals can help us heal. On this episode, host Brittany Derrenbacher sits down with Dr. Jo, founder of the Arizona-based Selah Carefarm, which provides a compassionate, healing space for those who have suffered trauma and loss. Listen in as they discuss how humans and animals help each other heal from abuse, trauma, and grief. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why animals are such experts at helping us heal from trauma. How working with abused animals has had a profound effect on Dr. Jo’s life. What a day on Selah Carefarm is like.

What’s so funny about 2024? You’re about to find out! This week, host Paula Felps talks with Paul Osincup, a speaker, corporate trainer, and author of the forthcoming book The Humor Habit. Paul recognizes the importance of humor as a tool to relieve stress, improve our physical and mental health, and to make the world more enjoyable for ourselves and those around us. He’s here to tell us how to create a humor strategy for 2024 and make it a healthier, funnier, and happier year. In this episode, you’ll learn: What humor does for your mental health. The value of finding your Humor Homie. How to become hardwired for humor.