Living Authentically Through Trauma, Addiction & Disability | Free & Open Mind Podcast

In this episode of the Free & Open Mind podcast, hosts Hardy Brooklyn (life & business coach, Brooklyn, NY) and Stan Nelson (moving forward & goal success coach, Perth, Australia) sit down with Gudrun Schmidt, a psychologist and coach from Germany who specializes in resilience, burnout, and traffic psychology.Gudrun shares her powerful story of: Growing up with a mother who struggled with alcoholism and a suicide attempt Building resilience from a difficult childhood and learning to cope rather than escape Working in traffic psychology, alcohol- and drug-related driving offenses, and stress reduction Facing a life-changing lymphoma diagnosis, partial paralysis, months in hospitals, and infection complications Maintaining her authentic self and continuing to coach online through cancer, disability, and depression Moving from running ultra-marathons and Berlin marathons to redefining joy through cooking, meaningful work, and helping othersShe offers practical tools for living more authentically, including: Accepting what you can’t immediately change Using music and connection with others to manage stress and pain Mind mapping to sort mental chaos and find solutions Journaling each morning to structure the day Taking care of the basics: sleep, movement, nutrition, and self-compassionKey messages: Never give up hope. Resilience can be learned at any age. Even when walls appear—illness, disability, loss—you can find new paths to live in alignment with who you are.🔗 Connect with Gudrun:Website: https://www.coach-gudrun.comSearch: “Gudrun Schmidt Germany” on social media to find her profiles.🎧 This audio episode is part of the Free & Open Mind podcast, where we feature real people from all walks of life sharing their journeys toward authentic living.📅 We stream live every Friday at 9am Eastern Time at FreeAndOpenMind.com (redirects to our YouTube channel).