The Best of You

Dr. Alison Cook

Join therapist and author, Dr. Alison Cook, as she guides you through some of your toughest challenges with wisdom, kindness, and grace. Together with friends and experts we'll unpack the best of psychology from a faith-based perspective. You’ll discover how to break free from painful patterns, mend your past, and discover what brings out the best of you.

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Top 10 The Best of You Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Best of You episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Best of You for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Best of You episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Episode 22: How to Build Trust with Yourself

The Best of You

09/29/22 • 32 min

On this week’s podcast we’re talking all about building trust with yourself. This *internal* work is so important to the work of setting healthy external boundaries. I share with you an example from my own life and walk you through a process of connecting more deeply to what’s actually happening inside of you.

As you connect more deeply to yourself, the boundaries you set with others will flow from a calmer, clearer place within. Here’s what we cover:

1. A promise I made to myself and how it went

2. What to do when you’re activated by someone or something

3. The importance of understanding your own areas of wounding

4. What is a You-Turn?

5. Meeting & honoring the protective parts of you (before acting out of them)

6. How to get to the root of your own hurt (before taking action)

7. Learning to find your voice from that place of clarity deep within

Thanks to our sponsor Organifi —Go to www.organifi.com/bestofyou and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today!

Thanks to our sponsor Better Help —Go to www.betterhelp.com/bestofyou and use code BESTOFYOU for 10% off your first month!

Get your print, ebook, or audio copy of The Best of You anywhere books are sold.

Find a list of resources and the full transcript for this episode here.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

While Dr. Cook is a counselor, the content of this podcast and any of the products provided by Dr. Cook are not specific counseling advice nor are they a substitute for individual counseling. The content and products provided on this podcast are for informational purposes only.

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Episode 15: CPTSD—The Pain of A Million Paper Cuts

The Best of You

08/11/22 • 42 min

Today’s podcast episode is packed. Phew! You wanted to talk CPTSD (or complex trauma) so that’s where we’re going, with a side note on trauma & faith communities and some thoughts on what it *really* means to find safety in other people.

1. What is CPTSD?

2. What are the symptoms of CPTSD?

3. How does it impact healthy self-trust & an experience of safety in other people?

4. Why I don’t believe you are a label

5. My thoughts on trauma and faith communities

6. 4 key ways to heal from CPTSD

Thanks to our sponsor Organifi —Go to www.organifi.com/bestofyou and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today!

Preorder The Best of You

Find a list of resources and the full transcript for this episode here.

Sign up to receive Dr. Cook’s weekly email and receive 2 free e-books and a guided prayer reflection at https://www.dralisoncook.com/books/boundaries-for-your-soul.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 98: I Shouldn’t Feel Alone in My Grief—Why Your Grief Matters & How to Support Those Who Are Grieving with J.S. Park

The Best of You

04/11/24 • 54 min

What do you do when you're grieving?

How do you support others through grief?

Grief shows up in all of our lives—whether you’re grieving the loss of a person, a relationship, or a dream. We need each other to grieve well. It’s not something we were designed to do in isolation. My guest today, hospital chaplain, J.S. Park, is a powerful story teller and grief catcher. His viral posts about grief and death have revealed an incredibly important need. So many of us long to give voice to our grief in a culture that often rushes to push it aside.

If you're feeling grief, or if you love someone who's grieving, please do not miss this episode.

Here’s what we cover:

1. Why parts of us fear grief (5:20)

2. Why naming grief is so important (9:50)

3. How sitting with loss impacted Joon's faith (23:56)

4. The prayer Joon says before walking into a room (26:20)

5. The #1 thing you can do for someone after a loss (30:56)

6. How to set grief boundaries (36:40)

7. How to support someone who is grieving & what *not* to do (41:07)

8. The one word Joon wants for all of us (48:46)

Order Joon's new book here.

Find a list of resources from this episode here.

Related Episode:

Episode 97: I Shouldn't Feel This Anxious—Insights on Trauma & Healing with Monique Koven

Thanks to our sponsors:

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BESTOFYOU and get on your way to being your best self.

Go to thrivemarket.com/bestofyou for 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift!

Make the switch and build a starter kit. 15% off AND free shipping when you buy a Notes starter kit at notescandle.com/bestofyou.

Right now LMNT is offering a free sample pack with any purchase. The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavor. This is the perfect offer for anyone interested in trying all of our flavors or who wants to introduce a friend to LMNT. Get yours at DrinkLMNT.com/BestofYou.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 67: The Inextricable Link Between Faith & Emotional Healing—Gen Z & A Hidden Search for Meaning

The Best of You

08/24/23 • 51 min

Today’s episode is straight up 🔥🔥🔥. I got to know Cindy Gao last year, when she reached out to me about an internship. As a student at Harvard College, she experienced a crisis of meaning and found her way to faith—and—to emotional healing. I have loved getting to know Cindy, and I know you are going to love her too.

This episode is raw and inspiring. It’s packed with insight into faith, mental health, and Gen Z. Here’s what we cover:

1. The phrase Cindy Googled in a moment of desperation & what she found

2. What to do—and not do—when a young person expresses interest in faith

3. Why emotional healing & faith cannot be separated

4. The core belief that almost kept Cindy from faith

5. The challenges & longings of Gen Z

Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here.

Do you have questions for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 66: The Truth About Anxiety & How to Become a Worry Free Parent with Sissy Goff

Episode 33: People Pleasing & Developing Your Own Inner Compass: Thoughts on Depression, Mental Health & the Church, and Finding Hope in Dark Places

Episode 27: 7 Ways We Manage Perceptions Instead of Forging Real Connections

Episode 28: The Pain of Performing For Others and How to Claw Your Way Out with Toni Collier

Thanks to our sponsors:

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

Go to www.simplemodern.com/bestofyou and by sharing your email you’ll get a unique discount code just for you or bundle and save for back to school. This should be your go to brand for your family.

Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to SundaysForDogs.com/BESTOFYOU or use code BESTOFYOU at checkout.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BESTOFYOU and get on your way to being your best self.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 63: Spiritual Direction, the Power of Listening, & How to Attune to Yourself and to Others

The Best of You

07/20/23 • 67 min

Imagine if someone sat with you and listened to you attentively for as long as you needed. That’s what I experienced through a series of spiritual listening retreats. And today, I invited the Rev. Dr. Stephen Macchia and spiritual director in training, Rowena Day to talk with us about the practice of spiritual direction and deep listening as one component of your mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

This episode is so rich, so soothing, and so deeply nourishing. As a therapist, I have found spiritual direction to be a powerful part of my own mental health practices. It’s also taught me how to become a better listener in my relationships with others. Here’s what we discuss:

1. The deepest need we all have

2. How to attune to your own soul

3. The neurobiology of presence

4. What to do if quiet is hard for you

5. The links between spiritual and mental health

Connect with Dr. Stephen Macchia and Spiritual Formation resources here.

Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here.

Do you have questions for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 31 and Episode 44 with Rowena Day

Episode 36: An Update on My Social Media Detox & How to Create Boundaries With Toxic Distractions, Numbing, & Unhealthy Coping Tactics

Episode 47: Spiritual Bypassing vs. Embodied Faith & How Not to Harm Those Who Are Hurting, Including Yourself

Thanks to our sponsors:

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

If you've been searching for a better alternative to traditional healthcare and want to take your health to new heights, visit www.WildHealth.com/Premium to apply for membership.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BESTOFYOU and get on your way to being your best self.

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code BESTOFYOU to receive UP TO 39%!

Visit hiyahealth.com/BESTOFYOU and get your kids the full-body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 62: Your Questions About Friendship—How to Test a New Relationship, Manage Your Capacity Through Different Life Seasons, & Become a Friend to Yourself

The Best of You

07/13/23 • 51 min

Today we're trying something new! We've gathered up your most-asked questions about friendship and discuss them on the podcast. These are such thoughtful and real questions, and I love thinking through them with you. Here's what we cover:

1. The mother wound and female friendships

2. Managing expectations through your own healing season

3. Assessing trust in a new friend

4. Navigating a terminal diagnosis with friends

5. What about helping others who can't reciprocate friendship?

For communication scripts check out, ⁠⁠check out The Best of You⁠⁠.

Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here.

Do you have questions for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here.

Want to receive free bonus content? ⁠⁠Sign up for my free weekly email here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 58: How to Find Friends Who Bring out the Best of You, Why it Matters, and How a Good Friend Can Transform Your Life with Dr. Curt Thompson, Amy Cella, and Pepper Sweeney

Episode 59: Finding Your People, Overcoming Past Hurt, & Deepening Friendships Through Intentional Community with Jennie Allen

Episode 60: How to Make New Friends, Overcome People Pleasing, Identify Red and Green Flags, & Extract Yourself From an Unhealthy Situation with Aundi Kolber and Dr. Monique Gadson

Episode 61: Reconnecting With Old Friends—Healing the Past, Naming Regret & Bringing Your Whole Self into the Future

Thanks to our sponsors:

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

Go to www.simplemodern.com/bestofyou and by sharing your email, you’ll get a unique discount code just for you.

Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to SundaysForDogs.com/BESTOFYOU or use code BESTOFYOU at checkout.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 61: Reconnecting With Old Friends—Healing the Past, Naming Regret & Bringing Your Whole Self into the Future

The Best of You

07/06/23 • 69 min

This episode is so special! I sit down with my 3 childhood friends, including my older sister, as we describe what happens when you bring your past self into your present. We were close all through high school, but life took us on different paths, to different cities, and through different experiences of faith, marriage, and family life.

Over 2 decades later, we reconvened and replayed the tape of our lives—each one of us bearing witness to the other. Today, we share with you what we discovered about the power of reclaiming your past.

I pray this episode sparks your imagination and ignites your desire as you consider pulling in old and new friends as companions on your journey toward wholeness. Here's what we cover:

1. Why 4 childhood friends reconnected to each other—and our past selves

2. How diverse perspectives strengthened, not divided, our rekindled friendships

3. Confronting & overcoming regret

4. How revisiting my sister’s teen pregnancy became a catalyst for healing

5. What we'd each say to our younger selves now.

Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here.

Do you have questions for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here.

Want to receive free bonus content? ⁠⁠Sign up for my free weekly email here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 58: How to Find Friends Who Bring out the Best of You, Why it Matters, and How a Good Friend Can Transform Your Life with Dr. Curt Thompson, Amy Cella, and Pepper Sweeney

Episode 59: Finding Your People, Overcoming Past Hurt, & Deepening Friendships Through Intentional Community with Jennie Allen

Episode 60: How to Make New Friends, Overcome People Pleasing, Identify Red and Green Flags, & Extract Yourself From an Unhealthy Situation with Aundi Kolber and Dr. Monique Gadson

Thanks to our sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BESTOFYOU and get on your way to being your best self.

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

Visit hiyahealth.com/BESTOFYOU and get your kids the full-body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 60: How to Make New Friends, Identify Red and Green Flags, & Extract Yourself From an Unhealthy Situation with Aundi Kolber & Dr. Monique Gadson

The Best of You

06/29/23 • 52 min

Making new friends is hard as an adult! We’ve been hurt. We’ve changed and outgrown old ways. So how do we find new friends? And how do we learn to trust after trust has been broken?

Today, I’m joined by 2 of my new friends, Aundi Kolber and Dr. Monique Gadson, as we discuss how to overcome past hurts and brave the work of finding new friends. This episode is packed with practical tips, and I was so touched by the raw emotion that surfaced at the end as we each reflect on our own experiences.

Here’s what we cover:

1. Friendship red flags

2. Green flags that indicate safety

3. The impact of trauma on friendships

4. Breaking free from people pleasing

5. How to “break up” with a potential friend

6. Is friendship about quality or quantity?

Connect with Aundi Kolber and Dr. Monique Gadson

Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here.

Do you have questions about friendship for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here.

Want to receive free bonus content? ⁠⁠Sign up for my free weekly email here.

Related Episodes:

⁠Episode 14⁠: The Fawn Response and the Hidden Root of People Pleasing

Episode 33 with Dr. Monique Gadson

Episode 58: How to Find Friends Who Bring out the Best of You, Why it Matters, and How a Good Friend Can Transform Your Life with Dr. Curt Thompson, Amy Cella, and Pepper Sweeney

Episode 59: Finding Your People, Overcoming Past Hurt, & Deepening Friendships Through Intentional Community with Jennie Allen

Thanks to our sponsors:

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

Go to AquaTru.com and enter code BESTOFYOU at checkout to get 20% OFF any AquaTru purifier!

Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to SundaysForDogs.com/BESTOFYOU or use code BESTOFYOU at checkout.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 59: Overcoming Past Hurt & Deepening Friendships Through Intentional Community with Jennie Allen

The Best of You

06/22/23 • 53 min

I loved this beautiful and honest conversation about friendship with Jennie Allen, bestselling author of Find Your People and founder of IF:Gathering. She shares candidly about a painful season where she felt alone and how she’s learned to lean into deep community, even when it's messy.

If you’ve ever struggled with feeling lonely, misunderstood, or like it’s hard to trust other people, please listen to this episode. There are so many gems in it, including:

1. Our greatest fear in friendship

2. How to say “that hurt” to a friend

3. What prompted Jennie to close off to friendship for a season

4. How she found her way into trusting relationships again

5. The healing power of knowing others & being known by them

Order Find Your People here.

Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here.

Do you have questions for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here.

Want to receive free bonus content? ⁠⁠Sign up for my free weekly email here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 58: How to Find Friends Who Bring out the Best of You, Why it Matters, and How a Good Friend Can Transform Your Life with Dr. Curt Thompson, Amy Cella, and Pepper Sweeney

Episode 33: People Pleasing & Developing Your Own Inner Compass: Thoughts on Depression, Mental Health & the Church, and Finding Hope in Dark Places

Episode 17: What is Church Hurt and How do I Heal?

Thanks to our sponsors:

Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today.

Visit hiyahealth.com/BESTOFYOU and get your kids the full-body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BESTOFYOU and get on your way to being your best self.

Music by Andy Luiten

Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 11: How to Start Loving Your Body

The Best of You

07/14/22 • 62 min

If you struggle with body image or how to make wise decisions on behalf of what you *actually* want out of your life, please do not miss this episode.

Christy Meeks provides such grounded, thoughtful, and focused insight into how she overcame the pain of weaponizing her body and learned to work with her body as a beautiful and unique gift. She is a wife, a mom of 5 children, and a body image coach.

1. How one painful moment in childhood changed the way she viewed her body for decades

2. The way exercise can be both a weapon and a superpower

3. How to find ways to physicalize emotional pain, so that it flows through our bodies

4. The pain of miscarriage

5. Why she decided to leave social media

6. How to translate self-awareness to action, so that we’re living our lives with intention.

7. How true freedom comes from the inner conviction that you are living the life that is right for YOU.

You can find a list of all the resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Best of You have?

The Best of You currently has 165 episodes available.

What topics does The Best of You cover?

The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Mental Health and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on The Best of You?

The episode title 'Episode 67: The Inextricable Link Between Faith & Emotional Healing—Gen Z & A Hidden Search for Meaning' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Best of You?

The average episode length on The Best of You is 46 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Best of You released?

Episodes of The Best of You are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Best of You?

The first episode of The Best of You was released on Apr 19, 2022.

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The Best of You

Dr. Alison Cook

Top 10 The Best of You Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does The Best of You have?

What topics does The Best of You cover?

What is the most popular episode on The Best of You?

What is the average episode length on The Best of You?

How often are episodes of The Best of You released?

When was the first episode of The Best of You?

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