In the powerful return of The Alchemy of Pain, Brenda Viola sits down with transformation coach and Catching Thoughts creator Jayne Boggs for a deeply honest conversation about emotional healing, self-awareness, and the science behind naming our feelings.

Brenda opens up about growing up in an environment where emotions were suppressed rather than processed; a reality many listeners will recognize.

Inspired by neuroscience research showing that simply naming emotions can reduce activity in the brain’s fear center, the conversation explores how emotional honesty can become a pathway to freedom.

Jayne shares the story behind her interactive game Catching Thoughts, a tool designed to help children — and adults — understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors through principles rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and faith.

Together, Brenda and Jayne walk through a real-life example of how negative thoughts can spiral into shame, paralysis, and emotional pain and how replacing lies with truth can bring peace, clarity, and healing.

The episode also dives into deeper themes of codependency, boundaries, marriage struggles, authenticity, and the courage it takes to stop abandoning yourself to keep others comfortable.

Jayne vulnerably shares how her own painful season ultimately led to transformation, creativity, and purpose.

This heartfelt conversation is a reminder that pain does not have to define us. It can refine us. And sometimes, healing begins with something as simple and brave as telling the truth about how we really feel.

Learn more at www.catchingthoughts.com

"Santa! I love you!" Those words, yelled out by a random car passenger driving past him brought clarity to a man whose white beard and demeanor immediately evoked the classic image of Santa Claus. He'd been praying about "what to do with all this." Playing the role at Christmas was one avenue he pursued, but the whole "ho ho ho" and commercialism didn't fulfill his spirit. "Santa! I love you!" Something about those words resonated. He went to the courthouse the very next day and had his name officially changed. "Having the name Santa Claus makes my work as an advocate for children more effective." That work; his life's purpose, as is often the case in this podcast series, emanated from his own painful childhood. An overweight child with a disability, he was bullied. And he determined that one day he would stand up for children who couldn't protect themselves. Santa lives in North Pole, Alaska (which is different from The North Pole), and the essence of his message is love: "We can't save people. But we can love them." You'll feel the love throughout this interview, with encouragement to ask for help and laugh more - and how the dark times help us appreciate the light even more. Learn more about Santa Claus at www.santaclausnorthpolealaska.com.

"My mother didn't like me." Born ten months after her older brother died, Stephanie Smith grew up feeling like "the replacement baby." Only she wasn't a boy and her talkative, creative, and effervescent personality broke the mold of her mother's expectations and preferences. From passive-aggressive attempts to "marry her off" to refusing to sign the papers that would allow her to attend the dream college she was accepted to - Notre Dame - much of Stephanie's adult life focused on winning her mother's elusive approval. A prominent government analyst and municipal clerk, the list of her accomplishments could fill volumes. Still, her mother remained cold and disapproving. It wasn't until well into adulthood that, while attending a professional retreat, a leader delivered an "Aha!" moment. "Stop making yourself unhappy trying to make your mother happy." That realization dislodged her from a lifelong cycle of futility. From that point on she says, "I began leaning into who I really was." Stephanie shares three solutions to life's challenges: "You can accept what is, change it, or leave it. If you don't choose one of those, that's the definition of a martyr." Stephanie chose to accept her "mother wound" and now even considers it to be the very tool that made her who she is today. A best-selling author and sought-after speaker, she can be contacted at StephanieDee@ThePinkBriefcase.com. Her book, Values-Based Goal Setting: How to Dream Big and Live the Life You Were Meant To Live can be purchased on Amazon: https://a.co/d/aGQNYs9