Birth doula Ahna Mikl joins Dr. Lipov to share how trauma shows up in the female body — and how SGB may offer a new path to healing, fertility, and nervous system repair.

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In this deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Eugene Lipov speaks with birth doula and regenerative health practitioner Ahna Mikl, who shares her own healing journey—and the profound impact of the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) in unlocking long-held trauma stored in the body. Together, they explore nervous system dysregulation, infertility, painful menstrual cycles, and how unresolved trauma can affect everything from digestion to sexual health to generational wellbeing.

Ahna offers intimate reflections on postpartum depression, orgasms as healing, and the need to center maternal health in conversations about collective wellness. Dr. Lipov responds with accessible science, linking PTSD and sympathetic nervous system overdrive to infertility, IBS, vaginismus, and disrupted bonding.

This episode lays the groundwork for an emerging collaboration between Ahna and Dr. Lipov to bring the benefits of SGB to women suffering from postpartum depression—offering hope, connection, and a reminder that healing is possible.

Marine veteran and retired officer Juan Perez joins Dr. Lipov to talk identity, chaos, and why PTSD isn’t a life sentence — it’s an injury with a path to healing.

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In this raw and revealing episode of Brain Hope Reality, Dr. Eugene Lipov sits down with Juan Perez, a Marine Corps veteran and retired Chicago police officer better known as JP, The Veteran Coach. A combat veteran of Afghanistan and former scout sniper, JP opens up about the long arc of trauma in his life—how military culture taught him to suppress pain, how years in law enforcement kept him in survival mode, and how admitting he had PTSD felt like admitting defeat. Together, he and Dr. Lipov unravel the damaging narrative that PTSD is a life sentence, instead presenting it as a biological injury that’s both measurable and treatable.

JP shares his experience receiving a stellate ganglion block (SGB) as part of his journey toward healing, reflecting on the immediate sense of calm he felt and the possibilities it opens for veterans still suffering in silence. Dr. Lipov details the science behind SGB and the fight to change the name from PTSD to PTSI (Post-Traumatic Stress Injury)—not just for accuracy, but to save lives by reducing stigma. Their conversation ranges from chaos addiction and secondary PTSD to the physiology of trauma, aging, and norepinephrine overload. With clarity, conviction, and mutual respect, the episode is a rallying cry for change, a dose of science-backed hope, and a powerful reminder that trauma may be part of your story—but it doesn’t have to define your future.

Dr. Lipov and bestselling author Lauren Ungeldi discuss storytelling, neuroscience, and why hope — not stigma — should define how we talk about trauma.

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In this inspiring episode of Brain Hope Reality, Dr. Eugene Lipov welcomes Lauren Ungeldi — 10x bestselling author and Lipov's co-writer of the soon-to-be-released The God Shot — for a lively discussion about writing, healing, and the science of storytelling. Known for her work with global leaders and elite military veterans, Ungeldi brings a unique perspective to the conversation, rooted in human triumph and emotional truth. Together, they reflect on their collaboration for the upcoming Brain Hope Reality book, which aims to make neuroscience and trauma recovery both approachable and empowering for everyday readers.

Ungeldi shares insights from her past work with subjects like Bibi Aisha (the Afghan woman once featured on the cover of TIME) and former Delta Force operators, touching on identity, chaos addiction, and the ripple effects of trauma. Dr. Lipov explains the biological reality of PTSI (Post-Traumatic Stress Injury), the importance of changing the name from PTSD, and how modalities like Stellate Ganglion Block can reverse the physiological damage caused by trauma. The two speak candidly about inter-generational wounds, the science of hope, and how metaphor, humor, and visual storytelling can help make the invisible visible. At its core, the episode—and the forthcoming book—is a declaration: trauma is real, healing is possible, and you are not alone.