Your body was designed to heal. But modern food, hidden sugar, and processed ingredients are getting in the way.

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, clinical nutritionist and wellness advocate Dr. Aaron Chapa joins Melissa to unpack the powerful connection between nutrition, gut health, inflammation, and the body's natural ability to heal.

Dr. Chapa shares his personal story, from being an overweight teenager to becoming a clinical nutritionist after losing his father to heart disease, and explains why so many people today feel confused about what is actually healthy.

Together they discuss:

• why sugar may be one of the biggest drivers of chronic disease
• how ultra-processed foods disrupt gut health and metabolism
• the connection between digestion, brain health, and inflammation
• why what you don't eat can matter just as much as what you do
• how simple changes can help your body return to balance

This conversation is both practical and eye-opening, challenging common nutrition advice and encouraging listeners to return to the basics of real food, hydration, and intentional living.

If you've been struggling with fatigue, inflammation, digestive issues, or confusion about nutrition, this conversation will help you understand how everyday food choices can either support or disrupt your body's ability to heal.

And if you're ready to go deeper and begin supporting your own healing journey, Melissa's Mind Body Healing Workshop walks you through practical steps to help regulate your nervous system and support true healing.

Learn more and sign up here:
https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

Connect with Dr. Aaron Chapa here: drchapawellness.com

Sign up for his newsletter here: portal.drchapawellness.com/news-letter

Twenty-five years ago, a single day changed everything for Melissa. In this deeply personal episode, she shares her experience surviving a school shooting at her high school in San Diego and what the years of healing after that have taught her about trauma, the nervous system, and what it really means to feel safe again.

This is a vulnerable one. Melissa talks about the guilt and shame she carried for years, the flashbacks, the anxiety, and the hypervigilance that followed her well into adulthood. She also opens up about something that made this experience even more complicated: the shooter was her friend, and he had been at her house the night before.

But this episode is not just about what happened. It is about what is possible.

Melissa walks us through what trauma actually is (hint: it is not the event itself), how it gets stored in the body, and why healing means rewiring your nervous system to feel safe, not just knowing that you are. She also guides you through a simple somatic breathing practice you can use right now to start calming your nervous system.

If you have ever felt like your body is stuck in a moment that your mind has already tried to move past, this episode is for you.

Trigger warning: this episode includes a detailed personal account of a school shooting. Please take care of yourself as you listen.

Topics covered:
- What trauma is and how it lives in the body
- Hyper vigilance, anxiety, and fight or flight
- The connection between mind, body, and identity
- Somatic work and breathwork as healing tools
- Rooting your identity in truth and in Christ
- A guided breathing practice to regulate your nervous system

Join the 3-day Mind-Body-Healing Workshop:
https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with functional nutrition counselor and registered nurse Katie Kirklin for an honest conversation about diet culture, blood sugar regulation, nervous system health, and what it really means to nourish your body.

Katie shares her personal journey from chronic symptoms, food fear, and restrictive eating to discovering functional nutrition and a more personalized, whole-food approach to healing. Together, Melissa and Katie explore how food, stress, trauma, and lifestyle patterns shape your physical and emotional health and why shifting your mindset from restriction to nourishment can transform the way your body responds to stress, cravings, and fatigue.

In this episode, you'll learn:
• how under-nourishing keeps your nervous system stuck in survival mode
• why blood sugar balance impacts cravings, mood, and energy levels
• the difference between whole foods and ultra-processed foods
• practical ways to nourish your body even when life feels busy
• shifting your mindset from food fear to nourishment
• simple strategies like ingredient prepping to support sustainable wellness

This conversation blends functional nutrition, nervous system awareness, and practical lifestyle tools to help you simplify nutrition and better understand how everyday nourishment supports your body.

If you feel overwhelmed by conflicting nutrition advice, stuck in cycles of restriction, or unsure how to nourish your body in a sustainable way, this episode will bring clarity, encouragement, and actionable steps you can start today.

Join the 3-day Mind-Body-Healing Workshop:
https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

Connect with Katie
Website: KatieKirklin.com
Instagram: @katiekirklinnutrition

Environmental Working Group
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend and leave a review to help more women discover holistic, root-cause healing.

In a culture that glorifies hustle and self-sacrifice, many Christian women feel guilty for resting. But is burnout really biblical?

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, we unpack what Scripture actually says about self-care, humility, and stewardship. Using Philippians 2 and 1 Corinthians 6:19, Melissa explores the difference between selfishness and obedience and why caring for your body, nervous system, and emotional health is not vanity, but worship.

You'll learn:

• Why so many women feel guilty for resting

• The difference between biblical humility and self-neglect

• How hustle culture impacts your nervous system and long-term health

• The four pillars of biblical self-care (spiritual, physical, nervous system, and emotional)

• Why burnout is not a badge of honor

• How chronic stress leads to gut issues, anxiety, inflammation, and fatigue

If you've ever felt torn between serving others and taking care of yourself, this episode will help you reframe rest as stewardship - not selfishness.

Healing is possible. Sustainable service is possible. And rest is not weakness - it's obedience.

Join Melissa's 3-Day Mind Body Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Reverend Christine Vaughan Davies, hospital chaplain, spiritual director, and leader of a hospital spiritual care department, for an honest conversation about grief and spiritual distress.

Together they unpack why grief isn't only about death, how life changes create real loss, and why comparison ("the suffering Olympics") keeps women stuck in shame and isolation. You'll also hear a compassionate, practical guide to supporting someone in acute grief - what helps, what harms, and why well-meaning religious phrases can deepen pain rather than heal it.

This episode blends faith, emotional care, and nervous system awareness, with grounded takeaways for anyone carrying unprocessed grief, whether it happened last week or decades ago.

In this conversation:

• What hospital chaplains actually do (for patients, families, and staff)
• Why we don't "move on" from grief - we move through it
• The grief myths that create shame and emotional suppression
• Toxic religious platitudes vs trauma-informed spiritual support
• Simple ways to show up well for grieving people (without putting pressure on them)
• Why naming loss is often the first step toward healing

If you've been feeling alone in your pain, this episode will help you feel seen, understood, and less isolated.

Connect with Christine:

Her newsletter is https://journeyingalongside.substack.com/
She can be booked for individual spiritual direction sessions via www.christinevdavies.com.
https://journeyingalongside.substack.com/
https://www.christinevdavies.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-christine-davies/
https://www.instagram.com/cvdavies/

Join Melissa's 3-Day Mind Body Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

In this episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 2 practitioner Nathan Cooley to explore how trauma, anxiety, and nervous system dysregulation are stored in the body and how true healing is possible.

Together, they unpack how childhood trauma, religious trauma, emotional abuse, and generational patterns create "unfinished loops" in the nervous system that keep us stuck in survival mode. Nathan explains Internal Family Systems therapy in a grounded, accessible way and guides Melissa through a live IFS mini-session, offering listeners a powerful real-time example of somatic healing in action.

This episode blends neuroscience, somatic work, self-compassion, and faith-based healing to help you understand why anxiety, inner criticism, emotional shutdown, and chronic stress persist and how to release them.

If you're craving emotional freedom, nervous system regulation, healing from trauma, and deeper self-leadership, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

Join the 3-day Mind-Body-Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

Connect with Nathan Cooley at https://www.deepwatersoulcare.org/ | nathan.cooley@deepwatersoulcare.org | 720-369-4630

In this powerful and deeply honest episode of Holistic Health with Melissa, Melissa sits down with Amanda Dykes, host of Unedited Faith, to talk about trauma, faith, healing, and what it really means to surrender to God when prayer alone feels insufficient.

Amanda shares her journey as a preacher's kid raised in rural East Tennessee, navigating sexual assault, domestic violence, church hurt, deep grief after losing both parents, and the quiet depression that followed. She opens up about how unprocessed trauma shaped her identity, distorted her relationship with God, and left her feeling unseen, unworthy, and angry, even while deeply rooted in faith.

Together, Melissa and Amanda explore why "just pray about it" often falls short for trauma survivors, how the body stores unresolved pain, and why healing requires honesty, embodiment, surrender, and safe human connection. Amanda also shares how jail ministry became a turning point in her life, teaching her that trauma is a prison long before bars ever appear, and how God used her own pain to lead her toward purpose.

This episode is for anyone who loves Jesus but feels stuck, angry, numb, disconnected, or ashamed. It is a reminder that God meets us at eye level, not perfection, and that healing happens when faith, action, and compassion come together.

If you've ever wondered why prayer hasn't brought the healing you hoped for, this conversation will speak straight to your heart.

Join the 3-day Mind-Body Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop

Interested in coaching? Connect with me here: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/discovery-information-form

Healing is ALWAYS possible!

What if your emotions were not the problem, but the pathway to healing?

In this powerful conversation, Melissa sits down with licensed psychologist and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist Dr. Audrey Davidheiser to explore how trauma healing, faith, and emotional health are deeply connected.

Dr. Audrey breaks down Internal Family Systems in a simple, accessible way, explaining how we all have "parts" within us and why that does not mean we are broken. She shares how the IFS concept of the Self aligns with a Christian understanding of God-given wisdom, calm, compassion, and healing power that remains untouched by trauma.

Together, Melissa and Dr. Audrey discuss:

• Why emotions are not your enemy and what happens when you suppress them

• How trauma survivors often stay stuck in their head and avoid deeper healing

• The role of protector parts, nervous system regulation, and somatic awareness

• Common misconceptions about IFS, therapy, and faith-based healing

• How IFS can support grief, religious trauma, and emotional healing

• Practical ways to begin listening to your emotions with curiosity instead of judgment

This episode is especially for women who feel overwhelmed, disconnected from their emotions, or unsure how faith and therapy can work together. If you have ever felt like you were "too much," "too sensitive," or broken, this conversation will remind you that healing is already built into how God designed you.

Mind-Body Healing Workshop: https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/MindBodyHealingWorkshop
Interested in working with me? https://holistichealthbymelissa.com/discovery-information-form

Connect with Dr Audrey:
https://aimforbreakthrough.com
https://Facebook.com/DrAudreyD
https://www.instagram.com/draudreyd/
https://draudreyd.substack.com/
Buy her book- Grieving Wholeheartedly: Bringing Healing to Every Part of Your Soul https://amzn.to/46gPdd8