Sexually Speaking with Shannon
Shannon Hamaker
Recent Episodes
I am so excited about my guest, Author, and award-winning gynecologist, Dr. Susan Hardwick-Smith! In this episode, she shares her insight and wisdom on how you can feel empowered to live your best life through the transition of menopause.
Dr. Susan Hardwick-Smith is a Board-Certified Gynecologist specializing in women's midlife wellness, hormone optimization, and sexual wellness. She is the founder of Complete Midlife Wellness Center in Houston, TX, and the best-selling author of "Sexually Woke- Awaken the Secrets to Your Best Sex Life in Midlife and Beyond." She also hosts a popular podcast and YouTube show called "Empowering Midlife Wellness."
Dr. Susan is the recipient of the Texas Super Doctor award over a dozen times and a multiple-time recipient of H-Texas magazine's Top Doctor and Top Doctor for Women awards. She also has been chosen as one of Houston's "3 best rated" gynecologists for several consecutive years. Dr. Susan is also an ICF-certified life and leadership coach, multiple-time marathoner and Ironman triathlete, and mother of 3 teenage daughters.
In this podcast episode:
01:00 - About Dr. Susan and focusing on menopause and perimenopause
04:00 - Dr. Susan’s journey
10:00 - 7% of women are “sexually woke” and the common trends among them
12:00 - Be open to all possibilities and know yourself first; view your second half of life as a magical opportunity
15:00 - Attention and intention
19:00 - What is co-dependence?
25:00 - Choosing to be out of relationships and choosing a time for self-investigation
28:00 - What does perimenopause look like?
34:00 - Educating yourself about perimenopause and hormone therapy
40:00 - The best sex tip from Dr. Susan
42:00 - Sex is an active generosity
IG: @drsusanofficial
Visit the Complete Midlife Wellness Center here:
https://completemidlifewellnesscenter.com/
Purchase the Sexually Woke book here:
https://amzn.to/3GiY3sl
Subscribe to Dr. Susan’s YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSsAoV6KrfZZ71Kkwb_GWVA
Listen to her podcast here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empowering-midlife-wellness-with-dr-susan/id1519320996
Please welcome back, Leighanna Nordstrom! Leighanna is a relationship and sex therapist from Northern Colorado. She embodies all things sex positive and loves to break down and restructure problematic patterns instilled in us by our culture. As a therapist, she is passionate about working with the queer community, individuals with sexual trauma, and couples/relationships struggling with sexual dysfunction.
Outside of therapy, Leighanna is a a super nerd who loves fantasy, video games, and board games!
This episode is timely after last weeks conversation with Stephen Bravemanc about men survivors of sexual abuse. Leighanna talks about co-regulation and how to reclaim bodily autonomy.
In this podcast episode:
01:40 - Who is Leighanna Nordstrom?
05:00 - What is bodily autonomy?
08:00 - Co-regulation and survivors of sexual trauma
10:30 - Ways to reclaim your bodily autonomy and sexuality
13:30 - Externalization and internal family systems
18:00 - What triggers live in different senses
21:00 - The 3 minute game
25:00 - How do you reclaim bodily autonomy without a partner?
27:30 - What do you know about your body?
29:30 - Intervention and Trauma Trees
35:00 - Play as a co-regulation technique
38:30 - Comparative suffering
You can reach Leighanna Nordstrom through:
https://www.pivotalcounseling.com/leighanna
Or via email at [email protected]
Please welcome, Stephen Braveman to this episode to talk about the difficult topic of male survivors of sexual abuse.
Stephen is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and AASECT Certified Diplomate and Supervisor of Sex Therapy with a Private Practice in California, USA.
He started and maintains one of the first psychotherapy groups for Adult Males Molested As Children in the US.
He is also the creator of the first full-length documentary on this subject, "Boyhood Shadows: I Swore I’d Never Tell.
In this podcast episode:
08:00 - Sexual problems appeared around 2 years after getting married
09:30 - How did Stephen start his men’s group?
11:00 - Lessons of play from geese - honk, honk, honk
16:00 - Men and sexual abuse
21:00 - The difference between a pedophile and child molesters
25:00 - Pedophiles and shame
32:00 - Myths on men and sexual abuse
41:00 - Books and steps for couples to help in healing from sexual abuse
43:00 - Healing through tantric practices
47:00 - Sexual abuse survivors are sometimes misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder
52:00 - How to take action against male sexual abuse
You can find Stephen Braveman on:
Books mentioned:
Allies in Healing by Laura Davis - https://amzn.to/3wp6TjH
Healing Sex by Staci Haines - https://amzn.to/38mVOI3
The Sexual Healing Journey by Wendy Maltz - https://amzn.to/3NfzQVW
Are you or a loved one suffering from erectile dysfunction? In this episode we have Brooke Hazen, author of You Are Not Broken who shares his wisdom on the causes of erectile dysfunction and how to heal the devastating effects without relying on medication.
Brooke Hazen is an organic farmer, life-long athlete, physical coach, and a health and fitness enthusiast. A Southern California native, Brooke grew up loving the ocean and the natural world. His affinity for the land, healthy living, and natural foods led him to study Agriculture at Humboldt State. In 2001, Brooke realized his vision to grow nutritious, organic, farm-to-table foods under his own brand when he purchased 88 acres of pastureland in the beautiful Northern California farming region of Sebastopol. He now cultivates apples, citrus, medicinal herbs, and high polyphenol olives. Walking the rows each day, he meticulously hand-tends his orchards and presses award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil on his West Sonoma County farm and olive mill, Gold Ridge Organic Farms.
Now an author, You Are Not Broken: A Holistic Guide for Men and Women to Heal the Pathways of Sexual Dysfunction and Restore Relational Harmony Together is his first book.
In this episode:
03:00 - Brooke’s story on coping and fixing his erectile dysfunction
06:30 - Stillness and letting go of addictions, and how they helped Brooke with his erectile dysfunction
08:00 - Getting led to a website through the will of God
10:15 - Porn-induced erectile dysfunction
16:30 - The book - Dopamine Nation
19:00 - How do you support your partner if they have a porn addiction?
21:30 - Easy solutions for porn addiction
23:30 - Mating behavior and bonding behavior
26:30 - Using bonding behaviors to satisfy urges because of addiction
32:30 - Having a plant-based diet to heal addictions
37:30 - Cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction
39:30 - Western medicine is misdiagnosing erectile dysfunction
41:00 - Brooke Hazen’s book - You Are Not Broken
You can find Brooke on:
Not sure what to say to your kids about s3x?! You aren’t alone! Today we have Tory Mills here to talk about the importance of sex ed in schools and what parents can do at home to support a future healthy relationship for their children.
Tory Mills is currently the Director of Community Engagement for Planned Parenthood of Tennessee & North Mississippi here in Knoxville. In her 10 years with Planned Parenthood, she has provided comprehensive sexuality education to hundreds of young people, parents, and professionals in East Tennessee, and for the last few years, she has focused her energy on organizing communities for reproductive freedom and training new organizers. She is a proud, life-long Tennessean who is dedicated to building equitable communities in our state that value sexual health & education.
Tory is about to embark on a new career journey at the end of April which is yet to be determined, but for now will involve spending quality time in the mountains, making all those recipes which have been open for at least 6 months in her internet browser, finishing 23 half-completed home projects, a trip to Dollywood, and continuing social justice work in a volunteer capacity. She spends most of her time these days in newlywed bliss with her husband, Derek, and two cute mutts, Daisy & Ella.
In this podcast episode:
03:30 - Who is Tory Mills and how did she get into sex ed?
11:00 - Talking about values in sex ed
14:00 - Should schools teach sex ed?
18:00 - The usual age young people have sex
24:00 - How do parents handle sex ed with their children?
28:00 - Websites and books for sex ed
Resources:
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/