Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington

If you’re walking through a hard season, or love someone who is, this one will stay with you.

Dr. Jody Carrington sits down with Chance Toder for an unforgettable conversation about resilience after childhood stroke, medical trauma, and rebuilding a life that looked nothing like the one he expected. Born at 1 pound 15 ounces, Chance survived multiple heart surgeries, went into a coma after a stroke at 11, and had to relearn how to talk, walk, and breathe on his own.

But this isn’t just a survival story. It’s a conversation about what happens next: the long rehab, the grief of watching other people move on, the fight for accessibility, the courage to keep asking for a chance, and the kind of family love that holds you together when everything changes.

You’ll also hear about Chance’s wheelchair hockey journey, his lawn care business Leave It to Chance, his dream of public speaking, and the mindset that keeps him aiming for anything and everything.

In this episode:

- Chance’s resilience story after stroke and heart surgery
- What recovery really looked like after coma and rehab
- The emotional toll of disability, dependence, and delayed independence
- Why accessibility matters in everyday life
- How sport, work, and speaking gave Chance new purpose
- The message he wants every listener to remember: just give people a chance

This one is raw, practical, funny in places, and deeply human.

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Links & Resources:
• Dr. Jody Carrington: https://www.drjodycarrington.com/
• Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington: https://www.drjodycarrington.com/podcast
• Dr. Jody Carrington on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjodycarrington/
• Dr. Jody Carrington Linktree: https://linktr.ee/drjodycarrington

• North American VOLT Hockey Tournament / VOLT Hockey Canada: https://varietyontario.ca/event/north-american-volt-hockey-tournament/
• Art for the Heart (Variety Manitoba / historical event reference): https://mayberryfineart.com/blog/96/art-for-the-heart-gallery-media-release-1
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re a parent, partner, helper, or human who feels like you’re holding it all together by a thread, this conversation is for you.

Dr. Jody Carrington sits down with Dr. Brooke Weinstein - occupational therapist, nervous system educator, and expert in sensory and emotional regulation - to talk about why so many parents are emotionally dysregulated right now, and what it actually takes to come back to yourself.

They unpack the impact of social media, pressure, burnout, and self-neglect on parent mental health, why understanding your own brain and body has to come before trying to “fix” your child, and how nervous system regulation changes the way we show up in our relationships.

This is a deeply honest conversation about emotional regulation for parents, single motherhood, partnership, grief, and the slow, brave work of choosing yourself without abandoning the people you love.

You’ll hear:
- Why modern life keeps parents in a dysregulated state
- What occupational therapy sees that many mental health conversations miss
- Why self-regulation is the foundation of supporting your kids
- How to stop taking a partner’s needs personally
- Why caring for yourself is not selfish—it’s necessary
- What small, sustainable regulation work actually looks like
- Why doing your own work often helps the whole family rise

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re so exhausted, reactive, or checked out, and why quick fixes never seem to stick, start here.

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Links & Resources:
• Dr. Jody Carrington: https://www.drjodycarrington.com/
• Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unlonely-with-dr-jody-carrington/id1708644669
• Dr. Brooke Weinstein: https://drbrookeweinstein.com/
• Dr. Brooke Weinstein on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookeweinst/
• Carrington Practice: https://carringtonpractice.com/
• Dr. Jody Carrington Courses: https://drjodycarrington.teachable.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Loneliness isn’t just uncomfortable - it’s costly. And the scariest part? Most of us are living it without calling it what it is.

Dr. Jody talks with Ken Stern (*Healthy to 100*, *Century Lives*) about the loneliness epidemic and the link between social isolation and mortality risk - plus the practical shift that changes everything: building your social life with the same intention you’d bring to nutrition or exercise.

They get into what “lonely” actually looks like in real life, why we’re spending less time with friends than we did a generation ago, and how proximity, community design, and technology have quietly pulled us apart.

This is a call back to connection - with a plan, not just a wish.

Links & Resources:
ABOUT CENTURY LIVES The Longevity Project: https://www.longevity-project.com/centurylives
Healthy to 100: Secrets from Countries Where Retirees Age Best: https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/happy-retirement/healthy-to-100-secrets-from-countries-where-retirees-age-best
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review (PLoS Medicine, 2010): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2910600/
Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon Generals Advisory (May 3, 2023): https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re exhausted by the tension - at work, online, even with people you love - this episode is for you.

Dr. Jody and Rachel DeAlto talk about what’s driving the empathy dip (and the “why is everyone so mean lately?” vibe), how social media trains us out of critical thinking, and why more options in dating/work/friendship can actually make us choose worse.

This is a real-talk episode about rebuilding emotional intelligence, finding your way back to the kind of connection that actually regulates your nervous system, and learning when to dig in and do the work - versus when it’s time to go.

Links & Resources:
Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington (podcast page): https://www.drjodycarrington.com/podcast
Dr. Jody Carrington (official website): https://www.drjodycarrington.com/
Rachel DeAlto (official website): https://www.racheldealto.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve built your whole life around being capable, dependable, and “fine”… what happens when your body says otherwise?

Dr. Jody talks with Malaysia Harrell about the hidden cost of being the helper—how childhood trauma can fuel achievement, how high-stakes service roles stack layer upon layer of vicarious trauma, and why so many women stay in fight-or-flight until something finally forces a reckoning.

This episode connects the dots between:
Overfunctioning and emotional shutdown
Repeating patterns in work and relationships
Trauma that’s neatly “packed away”… until it isn’t
That unsettling moment of success without satisfaction

Content notes: childhood abuse, death row/corrections, murder of a family member, severe illness/sepsis, near-death experience.

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Links & Resources:
• Malaysia Harrell | Sepsis Alliance: https://www.sepsis.org/faces/malaysia-harrell/
• 413: Rising from the Ashes with Malaysia Harrell - The PBT Institute: https://thepbtinstitute.com/risingfromashes-malaysiaharrell/
• HOME | Malaysia Harrell: https://www.malaysiaharrell.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.