Very Happy Stories

Most of us relate endurance to our physical health: it’s just as important to our mental health. Liza’s mental endurance helped her to stay positive while guiding her daughter through struggles with hallucinations. How does mental endurance help you? And how can you build yours? Believe it or not, it involves both taking breaks and superpowers! Find out more in the 5th episode of the Very Happy Stories podcast. This story contains descriptions of hallucinations: please consider listening without children present. To start healing with Liza, listen, and subscribe today.

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• Download Liza’s free Thrive Guide for more of Liza’s best practices on empowerment and happiness.
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• Read Liza’s Very Happy Stories Blog.
• Find out if Liza can help you by clicking here and schedule your free consultation through her calendar.

Grateful for our sponsor - Green Valley Nutrition

Have you heard of all-natural CBD products by Green Valley Nutrition? This company was founded by an entrepreneur who overcame PANDAS. Get 20% off. Click the link below and use the code VERYHAPPY.

https://greenvalleynutrition.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Panic, hallucinations, intrusive thoughts! These are all symptoms of PANS / PANDAS. It’s a terrifying ordeal to live through when your child is stricken with such a complex and mysterious condition. No one knows this better than Brandi Dean, Lyme advocate and founder of the Dean Center for Tick-Borne Illness at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Brandi has been a passionate advocate for patients with Lyme disease since 2011. Most recently she advocates for children and adolescents with PANS and PANDAS, as her 10-year-old son, Finn, was diagnosed with PANS in 2020. In this episode, Brandi shares her son’s story including his sudden onset, the complexity of his illness which also included a diagnosis of Lyme and other tick-borne illness, as well as his treatment plan. She credits her physicians for his remarkable recovery. His story is featured on Lymedisease.org and Fox News Boston. Learn how she managed to cope through this extra challenging period in her life and how they made it to the other side.

Grateful for our Sponsor!

The presenting sponsor of Very Happy Stories is Fruitful Yield Health Foods, a family-owned business serving Chicagoland since 1962. Find all your health & wellness essentials in-store or online at www.fruitfulyield.com. You can save $5 off $25 online - valid for Store Pickup, Curbside Pickup, Same Day Delivery, or standard shipping. Use code VERYHAPPY at checkout.

About Liza’s Guest, Brandi Dean

In 2015, Brandi Dean founded the Dean Center for Tick-Borne Illness at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Her personal experience as a young mother with Lyme disease led her to identify a need for a multidisciplinary center to treat individuals suffering from persistent tick-borne illness. Acting as an advisor and advocate, she joined hands with both physicians and leadership at Spaulding Rehab to help open the first center embedded in a major academic medical institution focused on treating patients with chronic tick-borne illnesses. Brandi continues to serve as an active Advisory Board member for the Dean Center for Tick-Borne Illness. Her story has been featured in the Boston Globe, DoctorOz.com, Good Housekeeping, and WCVB. 

Brandi has been a passionate advocate for patients with Lyme disease since 2011 and most recently for children and adolescents with PANS and PANDAS. Her 10-year-old son, Finn, was diagnosed with PANS in 2020, whom she credits her physicians for his remarkable recovery. His story is featured on Lymedisease.org and Fox News Boston.

Brandi’s determination to make a positive difference in the lives of patients with Lyme disease is additionally demonstrated in her leadership of Ride Out Lyme, a charity event she designed and that raises financial grants for adults with the tick-borne illness. The event is held annually at SoulCycle in Boston, NYC, and Los Angeles with expansion into other cities. She also serves on the Board for the Alex Manfull Fund.

Prior to her work in the field of Lyme disease, Brandi's professional life included a four-year tour of duty in the United States Coast Guard. Brandi also has a decade of experience in leadership in the hospitality industry and has a degree in Business from Boston University.

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MAY IS LYME AWARENESS MONTH!

Very Happy Stories has partnered with The LymeLight Foundation. Their mission is to provide grants to enable eligible children and young...

It’s easy to celebrate the wins of our kids when they score points at a game or come home with an A grade. But, can you celebrate the wins even when your child struggles with impulsivity, emotional dysregulation and chaotic outbursts?

In this episode, Liza shares the story of how her son’s painful decline with Lyme disease opened the window of gratitude and allowed her to find and celebrate the everyday wins of his ADHD. Through a series of stories spanning one day, Liza demonstrates how her new family constitution allows her to celebrate the daily wins, while parenting from a place of neutrality with no shameful tactics. Learn how a family constitution stops parents from projecting their own fears onto their kids. Listen to this episode to start celebrating the wins of your kids and celebrate them authentically, every single day.

Subscribe to Podcast

Follow Liza and Very Happy Stories on Facebook and Instagram

• Download Liza’s free Thrive Guide for more of Liza’s best practices on empowerment and happiness.
• Subscribe to Liza’s newsletter on VeryHappyStories.com.
• Read Liza’s Very Happy Stories Blog.
• Find out if Liza can help you by clicking here and schedule your free consultation through her calendar.

Grateful for our sponsor - Green Valley Nutrition

Have you heard of all-natural CBD products by Green Valley Nutrition? This company was founded by an entrepreneur who overcame PANDAS. Get 20% off. Click the link below and use the code VERYHAPPY.

https://greenvalleynutrition.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When was the last time you took a break? Liza emphasizes the importance of taking breaks before your regularly scheduled breakdown. Her secret? Listen to your body. Liza also pays tribute to her daughter’s Lyme disease, which taught her the importance of taking breaks before the big event (in this case, the holidays) as opposed to after life events. Liza announces her plan to take a short break with her podcast and encourages you to pre-plan your break in advance!

Subscribe to Podcast

Follow Liza and Very Happy Stories on Facebook and Instagram

• Download Liza’s free Thrive Guide for more of Liza’s best practices on empowerment and happiness.
• Subscribe to Liza’s newsletter on VeryHappyStories.com.
• Read Liza’s Very Happy Stories Blog.
• Find out if Liza can help you by clicking here and schedule your free consultation through her calendar.

Grateful for our sponsor - Green Valley Nutrition

Have you heard of all-natural CBD products by Green Valley Nutrition? This company was founded by an entrepreneur who overcame PANDAS. Get 20% off. Click the link below and use the code VERYHAPPY.

https://greenvalleynutrition.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feeling judged sends most of us on a tailspin of shame, embarrassment, and defensiveness. After years of feeling judged, Liza created a checklist to help her move from the judgment hot seat to the empowerment seat. Would you like to free yourself of the burden of being judged? What would your world look like if you weren’t afraid of being judged? Try Liza’s checklist and practice, practice, practice. Find out more in the 6th episode of the Very Happy Stories podcast. This story contains mention of alcohol: please consider listening without children present. To start healing with Liza, listen, and subscribe today.

Follow Liza and Very Happy Stories on Facebook and Instagram

• Download Liza’s free Thrive Guide for more of Liza’s best practices on empowerment and happiness.
• Subscribe to Liza’s newsletter on VeryHappyStories.com.
• Read Liza’s Very Happy Stories Blog.
• Find out if Liza can help you by clicking here and schedule your free consultation through her calendar.

Grateful for our sponsor - Green Valley Nutrition

Have you heard of all-natural CBD products by Green Valley Nutrition? This company was founded by an entrepreneur who overcame PANDAS. Get 20% off. Click the link below and use the code VERYHAPPY.

https://greenvalleynutrition.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.