Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning

ADHD in women is far more complex than being distracted, forgetful, or unable to sit still. In this episode, Dr. Jolene Brighten, ND, author of ADHD and Women, breaks down how ADHD actually presents in women, why so many women are first diagnosed with anxiety or depression, and how estrogen, progesterone, dopamine, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause can influence symptoms. We explore executive dysfunction, time blindness, rejection sensitivity, procrastination, medication, hormone therapy, exercise, sleep, nutrition, caffeine, meditation, and practical strategies for working with an ADHD brain instead of constantly fighting against it. Ultimately, Dr. Brighten reframes ADHD not as personal failure, but as a different operating system that requires different tools to thrive.
Follow Jolene @drjolenebrighten
Follow Chase @chase_chewning
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00:00 What science gets wrong about women and ADHD
02:32 Why studying the female brain is so complicated
04:18 Hormones and ADHD medication effectiveness
06:45 Can we recover decades of missing female health data?
08:01 Estrogen, dopamine and the menstrual cycle
09:32 Personality flaw or ADHD symptom?
11:50 Why women are diagnosed with anxiety and depression first
13:56 Why female ADHD doesn't always look hyperactive
14:42 Time blindness explained
16:33 ADHD is really a problem of dysregulation
17:27 What ADHD actually is—and isn't
20:03 Are you born with ADHD?
22:56 Hormones, masking and the female ADHD experience
26:37 When ADHD begins showing up in girls
27:50 ADHD medication in children
30:03 Can a brain scan diagnose ADHD?
31:13 Procrastination vs. task paralysis
33:47 ADHD in high-performing women
36:32 Rejection sensitivity dysphoria
39:07 Can changing your self-talk improve symptoms?
40:08 How to interrupt negative ADHD thought loops
44:46 Dopamine, phones and doomscrolling
45:54 Why ADHD brains need pleasure
48:24 What Parisian cafés can teach us about attention
51:02 ADHD medications: what women should know
53:42 HRT, estrogen and ADHD symptoms
57:30 Should the goal be getting off ADHD medication?
1:00:03 When medication becomes a bigger conversation
1:02:10 Exercise, sleep, environment and nutrition—ranked
1:03:05 20 minutes of exercise and focus
1:03:42 Iron deficiency, sleep and ADHD
1:04:12 Why nutrition comes last—but still matters enormously
1:06:01 Are women simply not eating enough?
1:09:31 Rapid fire: the best and worst ADHD morning habits
1:15:51 The "different operating system" approach
1:19:06 What Ever Forward means to Dr. Brighten
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Episode resources:
FREE sample of MitoPure from Timeline
Strong Coffee Company code CHASE for 15% off
Get Jolene's new book on Amazon

Actress Erika Christensen joins us for a thought-provoking conversation about self-trust, identity, emotional resilience, and breaking free from the experiences that quietly shape how we think, feel, and behave. Erika shares how Dianetics and its concept of the "reactive mind" have influenced her understanding of trauma, fear, shame, external validation, and the beliefs we carry from our past, while exploring what it takes to become more present and trust yourself again. Together, we unpack the difference between faith and proof, why painful experiences can cause us to learn the wrong lessons, how self-trust can transform decision-making and relationships, and why changing your mind can actually be a sign of growth. Erika also reveals how these principles changed the way she approaches acting and ultimately explains why true freedom, for her, comes down to one powerful idea: possibility.
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00:00 Welcome to Ever Forward with Erika Christensen
01:00 Knowing Her Purpose at 12 Years Old
05:19 "I Knew I Was Going to Make It"
07:16 Losing Yourself in Other People's Perception
07:53 Dianetics and the Reactive Mind
09:28 Can People Actually Change?
12:36 Are We Given Answers—or Better Questions?
13:57 Understanding the Reactive Mind
15:44 Why Self-Discovery May Require Another Person
19:08 How Do You Know the Difference Between Theory and Truth?
20:00 Faith vs. Proof
22:22 How Erika Developed Faith in Herself
23:42 Trauma, Self-Trust and Whether People Are Inherently Good
24:45 What Shame Really Says About You
26:49 How Much of Our Suffering Is Self-Created?
28:25 Erika Shares Her Husband's Experience With Dianetics
30:58 How Dianetics Changed the Way Erika Sees Other People
34:11 How Self-Trust Changed Erika as an Actress
37:01 A Practical Tool for When You Feel Triggered
39:59 Who Are You Beneath Your Conditioning?
42:09 The Trap of External Validation
44:07 Why Self-Trust Makes You a Better Decision-Maker
47:36 "You Are Exactly Where You're Supposed to Be"
49:31 Why Changing Your Mind Is a Strength
50:51 Rapid Fire: Fear, Anger, Forgiveness & Freedom
53:55 What "Ever Forward" Means to Erika

Najwa Zebian returns for a powerful conversation about healing after heartbreak, betrayal, toxic relationships, manipulation, self-worth, boundaries, closure, and learning how to let go of someone who hurt you. Inspired by her book The One Who Broke You Can't Heal You, Najwa explains why waiting for an apology, accountability, or validation from the person who caused your pain can keep you emotionally attached to them—and why real healing begins when you stop giving them control over your recovery. We explore why we ignore red flags, how toxic relationships distort our sense of self, the difference between taking responsibility and blaming yourself, why someone's intention doesn't erase their impact, how narcissistic and manipulative dynamics weaponize your best qualities against you, and why knowing who you are may be one of the most important tools for reclaiming your life. 
Follow Najwa @najwazebian
Follow Chase @chase_chewning
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00:00 — The One Who Broke You Can't Heal You
00:42 — Why We Wait for the Person Who Hurt Us
03:36 — Were You Naive—or Were You Manipulated?
07:20 — Stop Blaming Yourself for What They Did
10:24 — Does It Matter If They Intended to Hurt You?
13:10 — Why "I Didn't Mean to Hurt You" Isn't Enough
16:44 — The Problem With "Just Let Them"
19:16 — "That's Just Who I Am" Is Not an Excuse
24:34 — Why the Person Who Broke You Cannot Heal You
27:27 — They Are Their Own Karma
28:51 — Life Isn't Fair—Now What?
30:45 — How Hope Can Keep You Stuck
33:28 — The Thread Analogy: Why You Can't Let Go
36:49 — How to Cut the Emotional Bond
38:00 — Why People Stay in Toxic Relationships
41:14 — How Much Suffering Will You Accept for Love?
43:17 — Stop Trying to Prove Who You Are
47:23 — When Love Makes You Question Yourself
50:25 — "I Don't Want to Be Loved That Way"
50:53 — Communication, Boundaries & Reevaluating Relationships
53:14 — When Your Kindness Is Weaponized Against You
57:27 — Know What You Bring to the Table
59:04 — Knowing Your Worth Isn't Arrogance
1:00:00 — You Don't Need Their Apology
1:03:06 — Najwa's Emotional Definition of "Ever Forward"
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Episode resources:
Najwa's first appearance in episode 811
Get her new book on Amazon

What if pleasure isn't a luxury, but a biological signal that your nervous system finally feels safe? Regena Thomashauer, aka Mama Gena, is here to explore the powerful connection between pleasure, nervous system regulation, trauma, grief, desire, and our ability to feel fully alive. Regena challenges the idea that pleasure is purely sexual or indulgent and instead reframes it as a daily practice for reconnecting with the body, processing difficult emotions, cultivating creativity, and breaking free from a culture obsessed with productivity and struggle. She shares how her own journey through childhood trauma led her to discover the transformative power of pleasure and is here to help you explore how to move emotions through the body, bring more pleasure into relationships and everyday life, and ultimately learn to love your life—even when you hate what's happening.
Follow Regena @
Follow Chase @chase_chewning
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00:00 – Is Pleasure a Measure of Nervous System Safety?
01:13 – Why Pleasure Is a Necessity, Not a Luxury
03:08 – Redefining Pleasure Beyond Sex
05:08 – Unlearning Our Cultural Conditioning Around Pleasure
06:42 – Why a Pleasurable Life Requires Discipline
09:18 – What Pleasure Does to the Brain and Body
15:23 – The Connection Between Pleasure and Relaxation
17:11 – Making Pleasure a Daily Practice
19:20 – The Divine Feminine and Reconnecting With the Body
20:23 – Navigating Heartbreak, Worry, and Difficult Emotions
27:17 – A 3–5 Minute Practice for Processing Difficult Emotions
31:10 – Combining Grief With Life Force and Pleasure
34:02 – Moving From Victim to Victor
35:05 – Loving Your Life Even When You Hate What's Happening
35:44 – How "Ever Forward" Helped Chase Survive Grief
38:41 – How Regena Used Pleasure to Heal From Trauma
41:25 – The Pleasure Exercise That Changed Regena's Life
45:37 – How to Build a Consistent Pleasure Practice
48:15 – What If Your Partner Isn't on the Same Journey?
52:15 – Are We Actually Afraid of Who We'll Become?
54:40 – Why We're Conditioned to Resist Pleasure
56:35 – Rapid Fire: Safety, Burnout, Desire & Success
58:43 – What Your Inability to Feel Pleasure Is Teaching You
59:26 – What "Ever Forward" Means to Regena
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Episode resources:
FREE 30-day trial of Audible
Watch and subscribe on YouTube

What if the reason you keep struggling to lose weight has less to do with discipline—and more to do with the way you've been taught to think about fat loss in the first place? Today we welcome nutrition scientist Dr. Joey Muñoz, PhD for a refreshingly honest conversation about what actually works for sustainable fat loss, building muscle, improving metabolic health, and creating a body you can maintain for life. Joey breaks down why "going on a diet" may be one of the biggest mistakes people make, how your environment can overpower willpower, and why changing your identity and daily habits matters more than finding the perfect meal plan. He challenges the obsession with clean eating, protein-everything, restrictive diets, seed oils, and other nutrition trends that often distract people from the fundamentals that matter most. We also dive into GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, the growing trend of GLP-1 microdosing for longevity, peptides, muscle loss during weight loss, protein requirements as we age, chronic stress and inflammation, and why Joey remains skeptical of health claims that sound compelling mechanistically but lack meaningful human evidence.
Follow Joey @dr.joeymunoz
Follow Chase @chase_chewning
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00:00 The Most Profitable Lie in Fitness
02:27 Why Getting in Shape Takes Longer Than You Think
04:28 The Uncomfortable Truth About Losing the Last 10 Pounds
08:43 Why "Going on a Diet" Keeps You Stuck
12:33 The 80/20 Rule for Better Health
15:09 Your Environment Is Controlling More Than You Realize
16:31 Identity Change: Becoming a Healthy Person
22:06 Why Maximum Effort Doesn't Guarantee Maximum Results
23:38 Discipline vs. Environment
31:08 Is Your Health Actually a Priority?
34:00 The Problem With "Clean Eating"
38:13 Seed Oils, Alcohol and Nutrition Hypocrisy
42:10 When Health Optimization Becomes Unhealthy
45:32 How Your Environment Shapes Your Health
47:40 Audit the People Around You
50:03 Turning Adversity Into an Advantage
53:34 Chase and Joey on Their Childhoods and Fathers
57:47 Stop Looking for the Perfect Diet and Start Becoming the Person
1:00:26 Why You Don't Need a Perfect North Star
1:01:48 Has Protein Become the New Diet Religion?
1:03:12 How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?
1:06:22 Aging, Menopause and Accepting Your Changing Body
1:08:25 Chronic Stress, Inflammation and Disease
1:13:23 How Your Beliefs Change Your Outcomes
1:19:43 Peptides: Promise, Hype and Long-Term Safety
1:25:09 GLP-1s, Ozempic and Microdosing for Longevity
1:27:47 GLP-1s, Muscle Loss, Libido and Motivation
1:30:02 Why Joey Is Skeptical of the Next "Miracle" Health Intervention
1:35:17 Why Fitness Is About So Much More Than Your Body
1:37:41 Fat Loss Rapid Fire
1:39:15 What Does Ever Forward Mean to Joey?
1:42:35 Self-Improvement, Joy and Finding Peace
1:45:20 Realizing You May Already Have the Life You Want
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Episode resources:
Learn more at StrongStandard.com
Watch and subscribe on YouTube
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