Emotional Potty Training for Adults
OCTOBER 16th 2024
EPISODE 64: Emotional Potty Training for Adults
In this episode of The Gently Used Human podcast, Dr. Scott Lyons sits down with psychotherapist and author Rachel Kaplan to explore her unique and powerful approach to emotional healing. Rachel is a psychotherapist, emotional educator, and host of the Healing Feeling Sht Show* podcast. She’s also the author of the amazing book Feel, Heal, and Let That Sht Go*, which introduces the concept of “emotional potty training” — and yes, it’s exactly as clever and transformative as it sounds. Rachel's method encourages us to reconnect with our feelings, process them in real time, and ultimately release the emotional backlog that so many of us have built up over the years.
Rachel dives into the idea that just as we learned to manage our physical needs as children, we need to "train" ourselves to process emotions in a healthy way. With humor and a relatable perspective, she explains how most of us were taught to repress our emotions early on, leading to what she calls "emotional constipation." This buildup of unprocessed pain and feelings can manifest in our lives as stress, numbness, or even physical illness.
Dr. Lyons shares his own experiences of struggling to fully feel emotions, resonating deeply with Rachel’s insights on how avoiding feelings leads to greater suffering. Together, they discuss practical tools for releasing emotions, including how to "schedule" emotional release and why it’s essential to be with our emotions, rather than intellectualizing or bypassing them.
This conversation is filled with humor, wisdom, and practical guidance for anyone who feels emotionally stuck, numb, or overwhelmed. It’s about learning to move toward discomfort, release emotional baggage, and cultivate a deeper, more compassionate relationship with ourselves.
This episode is perfect for anyone seeking more emotional balance and resilience, and it will leave you inspired to reconnect with the parts of yourself you may have hidden away for too long.
Topics We Break Down
How decades of unprocessed emotions affect our physical and mental health, and how to begin releasing them.
The importance of reintegrating the parts of ourselves that we’ve hidden away and learning to let them express their pain.
Dr. Lyons and Rachel explore why repressing emotions leads to greater suffering, and how facing them head-on can lead to lasting relief.
How to schedule emotional release sessions, and techniques to allow emotions to move through the body naturally.
Why healing isn’t just about trauma recovery, but about creating a sustainable relationship with your emotions so you can face life’s challenges with strength.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
Show Notes
Episode Links:
Feel, Heal, and Let That Sh*t Go
Healing Feeling Sh*t Show Podcast
Discount Codes:
Save 10% at Omala with offer code DRSCOTT10
Save 10% on The Embody Lab’s live and online workshops and certificate programs* with the offer code GENTLYUSED10
*Does not apply to in-person events or best-sellers.
Special Guest
RACHEL KAPLAN
Rachel Kaplan, MFT, is a licensed psychotherapist and respected educator with a thriving practice based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Her first book, Feel, Heal & Let That Sh*t Go: Your Guide to Emotional Resilience and Lasting Self-Love is coming out through the New World Library on October 15th. Kaplan is the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast Healing Feeling Sh*t Show, Kaplan has studied yoga, meditation, and hands-on healing practices in India and Nepal, earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and trained in cutting-edge trauma modalities such as EMDR. She divides her time between Oakland and Joshua Tree, California.
CONNECT WITH RACHEL:
Your Host
DR. SCOTT LYONS
Dr. Scott Lyons is a licensed holistic psychologist, educator and author of the book Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others, with Hachette publishing. Scott is also the host of The Gently Used Human Podcast, a delightfully depthful and often hilarious exploration of what it is to be human, to have lived life, and come out gently used.
As a renowned body-based trauma expert, Doctor of Osteopathy (Spain) and Mind-Body Medicine specialist, Scott helps people to break free from cycles of pain, limited beliefs, and trauma. Scott is an innovator in transformative wellness and trauma therapy, teaching over half a million people internationally over the past twenty years how to relieve stress and restore vitality. Scott has worked with many of the country’s top leaders and CEOs as an executive coach and wellness consultant.
Scott is the creator of The Embody Lab—the largest online learning platform for body-based trauma therapies—and developer of Somatic Stress Release™, a holistic process of restoring biological resilience, taught in over 20 countries. Scott is also the founder and progressive designer of Omala, a wellness brand dedicated to creating sustainably sourced tools for transformation.
About the Podcast
THE GENTLY USED HUMAN
Dr. Scott Lyons and his world renowned guests take us into the delightfully depthful and often hilarious exploration of what it is to be human, to have lived life, and come out gently used. From passion to pain, glory to defeat, comedy to drama to tragedy, we’ve all been through it. This show unpacks the psychology and humor needed to keep you thriving on the roller coaster of being human.
