Episode 46: Susie McCartney; From A Deadhead to Chilkat Guide to Hypnotherapy

Send us Fan Mail You can hear the exact moment a life story turns into a healing practice. Susie McCartney grew up outside Philadelphia in a family shaped by Vietnam-era fallout, alcoholism, and the kind of “everything is fine” chaos that looks normal until you’re old enough to feel your own nervous system. We trace how that early wiring shows up later as the urge to flee, the need to belong, and the lifelong project of figuring out who you are beneath the roles you inherit. Susie takes us from college and communication studies into the wild education of Grateful Dead tour life, Rainbow Gatherings, and the culture shock of being judged by appearances. Then the map flips north. She lands in Haines, Alaska, trains as a Glacier Point guide, learns the economics of seasonal work, and explains why this town rewards flexibility, humility, and real boundaries. Along the way, she shares the “act as if” mindset that helps her move through uncertainty without spiraling. Then the hardest chapter: her brother’s stage four cancer, her husband’s lymphoma, and Susie’s own diagnosis of stage three HER2-positive breast cancer. We talk stress, grief, epigenetics, autoimmune patterns, and what it feels like to finally admit you need a team. That’s where hypnotherapy enters, not as stage tricks, but as guided relaxation and self-hypnosis to work with the subconscious mind, change old programs, and support mind-body healing. If you’ve ever wondered how hypnotherapy can help with anxiety, trauma, pain, confidence, or recovery, this conversation makes it real. Subscribe for more long-form local stories, share this with someone who’s carrying too much, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s one “old program” you’d want to rewrite? ------------ Thank you for liking and subscribing to all of Doug Has Questions  Visit Doug Has Questions Facebook Page  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580983432868 Visit Doug Has Question Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/doughasquestions Visit Doug Has Questions YouTube Pagehttp://youtube.com/@doughasquestions