SHOW NOTES
About the Guest
Dr. Anna Marie — known as the Mindset Doctor — is a visionary leader with two decades of expertise in human health and mindset transformation. She holds a PhD in natural medicine and is a certified expert in brain health and traditional naturopathy. She is the founder of Happy Whole You, a wellness company and brick-and-mortar center in Bakersfield, California that she describes as a spa for your brain. She also hosts the Happy Whole You podcast. Find her at happywholeyou.com, @happywholeyou on Instagram, and @dr.annamarie on Instagram.
Episode Summary
In this deeply moving and scientifically grounded conversation, Jen Aks sits down with Dr. Anna Marie — the Mindset Doctor — for an episode that opens with one of the most powerful cold opens in the series: Dr. Anna walking out of a psychiatrist’s office at 23, throwing three prescriptions in a gray trash can, and feeling the sky turn blue for the first time. From that moment of radical self-advocacy, Dr. Anna traces her path to building Happy Whole You — a wellness center built to remove all stigma from mental health care. She unpacks the neuroscience of the limbic system vs. the prefrontal cortex, the 150-millisecond biochemical shift possible through thought alone, the power of open-ended questions, re-envisioning the past, and what it cost her to stay in an 18-year career that was screaming at her to leave. This episode is a masterclass in listening — to your body, your calling, and the parking lot moment you haven’t forgotten.
What You’ll Learn
• How Dr. Anna recognized something was wrong inside despite having friends, being an athlete, and showing no obvious signs of depression
• What happened in a psychiatrist’s office at 23 that became her most defining moment of self-advocacy — and what she did with three prescriptions on the way out
• Why the body speaks louder and louder until we’re in full dis-ease, psychotic breakdown, or can’t get out of bed — and what it’s trying to tell us
• The difference between living in the limbic system (fear and worry) vs. accessing the prefrontal cortex (executive function and big-picture thinking)
• How open-ended questions physically redirect brain activity — and the exact questions Dr. Anna used to start healing
• Why we can shift biochemistry, hormones, and chemical messengers in 150 to 300 milliseconds through thought alone
• How re-envisioning the future also allows you to re-envision the past — and extract value gained instead of staying a victim
• What Dr. Anna discovered about her body two years before leaving an 18-year government career: autoimmune markers, sleeplessness, dread
• The deathbed question that finally made her decision clear — and how she 10x’d her income within two years of leaving
• The one step to take when your body is screaming but you’re paralyzed by fear: embodiment, body gratitude, and breathwork
• What to look for in a coach or guide — and the one non-negotiable quality that separates a good one from the rest
Key Concepts Introduced
• The Body Always Follows the Mind — conscious and unconscious programs are constantly signaling the body; the body validates whatever you’re telling it
• Limbic System vs. Prefrontal Cortex — living in fear and worry keeps you in the emotional brain; breathwork, stillness, and open questions bring the executive brain back online
• The 150–300 Millisecond Shift — the body can shift its entire biochemical makeup in under a third of a second through a single thought change
• Open-Ended Questions — questions that force the brain toward the prefrontal cortex: ‘What if it wasn’t true that I had depression? What’s available to me?’
• Re-Envisioning the Past — just as you can create a new vision for your future, you can give your past a new meaning; extract the value gained instead of staying in the victim lens
• Dis-ease — Dr. Anna’s use of the hyphenated term to describe the state the body enters when its messages are chronically ignored
• The Deathbed Question — would you regret staying, or would you regret going? A powerful decision-making tool Dr. Anna still uses today
• Embodiment + Body Gratitude — Dr. Anna’s one-step practice for anyone paralyzed by fear: hands on heart, breathe, and move through each part of the body with specific, detailed gratitude
• Happy Whole You — Dr. Anna’s philosophy and company name: everyone wants to be happy; to be happy we must be whole; that choice is ours
Resources & People Mentioned
• Happy Whole You — Dr. Anna’s company and wellness center in Bakersfield, California; happywholeyou.com
• Happy Whole You Podcast — available on all major platforms
• @happywholeyou — Instagram for the company
• @dr.annamarie — Dr. Anna’s personal Instagram
• Courtney McDermott — mentioned as a mutual connection; her concept of ‘playing a character’ is referenced (Courtney appeared in Episode 5)
• The concept of the quantum atom — Dr. Anna references that inside every cell, at the deepest level, only energy remains
Open-Ended Questions From This Episode
Dr. Anna shared these questions as tools to redirect the brain toward the prefrontal cortex. Put these in your journal:
• What if it wasn’t true that I had depression? What’s available to me?
• What if my body was just experiencing this — not that I have it?
• If I didn’t have this, how would I show up differently every day?
• What is it costing me to stay the same?
• What will it cost me if I don’t make this change?
• If I were on my deathbed, would I regret staying — or would I regret going and following my dreams?
Quotes From This Episode
“And I walked outside, and it was like this weight came off of me. The sky was blue for the first time. The trees were green.”
“If we don’t listen to those subtle messages the body is giving us, our body is going to speak louder and louder and louder — until we are in full dis-ease.”
“We can shift the biochemical makeup of our body in 150 to 300 milliseconds by shifting a thought alone. That’s the power that we have.”
“I can’t do the work I do today without going through that moment in my early 20s. I am amazing because of my past — all the things I went through.”
“I didn’t realize what it was costing me to stay. What is it costing me to stay the same?”
“Every organ system, if you put it in the right environment, has the capacity and the capability to heal itself.”
“Get into embodiment. Get into gratitude for every aspect of your body. It’s available to each and every one of us — we just have to remember to tap into it.”
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Cold Open: Breaking Out of Jail
Dr. Anna’s own words open the episode — walking out of a psychiatrist’s office and feeling the sky turn blue for the first time.
00:20 Welcome & Podcast Intro
Jen Aks introduces the show and Dr. Anna Marie — the Mindset Doctor — PhD in natural medicine, two decades in health and transformation.
01:52 Depression Since High School — With No Apparent Cause
Dr. Anna describes feeling not okay inside despite having friends, being an athlete, and checking all the boxes. She kept chasing the next carrot.
03:00 Three Prescriptions at 23
The psychiatrist’s office: gray walls, hunched patients, a doctor who doesn’t make eye contact, a phone call mid-session, and prescriptions already written before she arrived.
04:15 I Don’t Appreciate You Taking a Call During My Session
The hardest thing she had ever voiced — standing up for herself in front of her doctor. And the moment everything changed.
04:45 The Gray Trash Can
Dr. Anna takes the three prescriptions, walks out past the front desk, and throws them in the trash. Then steps outside.
05:04 The Sky Was Blue for the First Time
The weight lifting. The trees turning green. A body that felt lighter — like she had just broken out of jail.
05:18 If We Can Rewire Computers, We Can Rewire Our Brain
The mission is set. Dr. Anna decides to fix from within — and everything around her starts to change.
06:04 Was That the First Time You Listened to Your Body?
Jen asks the deeper question. Dr. Anna reflects on years of pushing things down — and the body’s escalating signals she kept ignoring.
07:05 The Body Speaks Louder Until You’re in Full Dis-Ease
If we don’t listen to subtle messages, the body escalates — to breakdown, to disease, to not being able to get out of bed.
08:17 How Do You Make This Real for People?
Jen asks Dr. Anna to bridge the science and the woo-woo. Dr. Anna starts with the brain’s operating system.
08:50 Unconscious Programs Running Your Life
I’m not good enough. I’ll always be broke. These programs are running constantly — and your body shows up to validate every single one.
09:30 The Limbic System vs. The Prefrontal Cortex
Living in fight-or-flight keeps you in the emotional brain. You make every decision from fear — and can’t access the big-picture thinking you need.
10:19 Open-Ended Questions That Redirect the Brain
What if it wasn’t true that I had depression? What’s available to me? The questions force the brain to shift from the limbic system to the prefrontal cortex.
11:20 150 to 300 Milliseconds — The Body’s Pharmacy
We can activate our own internal pharmacy and shift our biochemistry in under a third of a second through thought alone.
11:50 The Breath That Changes Everything
Activating the vagus nerve, the parasympathetic system, the rest-and-digest state — where creativity, safety, and connection all come online.
12:40 When We’re in Fear, We Go on an Island
Fear and worry cut us off from our primal needs of belonging and connection. The nervous system shuts the door.
12:40 The Open Questions — In the Show Notes
Jen flags that she’s capturing Dr. Anna’s open-ended questions for the show notes. They’re listed above.
13:44 Play a Character — Courtney McDermott’s Concept
You get to choose who you show up as. Start acting in the energy of who you desire to be. You can do that right now.
14:30 Re-Envisioning the Future — and the Past
If you can re-envision a future at any moment, you can also give your past a different meaning. Extract the value gained.
15:30 The Parking Lot on Her Knees
Dr. Anna’s lowest moment: bawling on the pavement in a parking lot while her mom visited, not wanting to be here. The moment that happened for her.
16:09 I Am Amazing Because of My Past
The reframe: not a victim of what happened, but a more compassionate, open, understanding person because of it.
17:22 Everything Happens For Us, Not To Us
Jen shares her own truth — and acknowledges how triggering this can be. The compassionate lean into curiosity.
18:59 The Work: Tongue, Eyes, Ears, Hands, Energy
Dr. Anna describes her multi-modal approach: reading the body’s physical signals, holding hands, feeling energy, listening to words and how they’re said.
20:30 We Are More Energetic Than Physical
At the quantum level, inside every cell, only energy remains. The energetic body is where much of the work happens.
21:01 High-Tech Meets Old-School Holistic
Biofeedback, visualization, breathwork, nutraceuticals, Chinese medicine, energy medicine — combined around what the person’s body calls for in the moment.
22:55 The Happy Whole You Podcast
Started as a client education tool — one episode per condition or topic. Now a full community resource. Knowledge is a gateway, but it must meet action.
24:48 A Spa for Your Brain
The brick-and-mortar center in Bakersfield, built in direct response to the gray walls of that psychiatrist’s office. Zero stigma. No one knows why anyone else is there.
26:40 Have You Had Moments of Misalignment Since?
Jen asks the honest question. Dr. Anna says yes — and opens up about leaving an 18-year career.
27:31 Wellness Director for the Largest High School District in California
Dream job. Six figures. Full retirement. Reducing a $54 million healthcare expenditure. And two years before she left, autoimmune markers showing up in her blood.
28:45 My Body Was Screaming Louder and Louder
The tug to create the brick-and-mortar. The misalignment with the organization’s values. The fear of walking away from every safety net.
29:30 The Deathbed Question
Would you regret staying, or would you regret going? The answer was clear. She walked away at 40 and 10x’d her income within two years.
30:44 What Is It Costing Me to Stay the Same?
The question that changes the frame. Not what will I lose by going — but what am I already losing by staying.
31:15 Coaches Coaching Coaches
Dr. Anna has two coaches of her own. She doesn’t know everything. The best practitioners point you back to yourself.
32:38 Jen Shares Her Own Deathbed Moment
Leaving a 20-year marriage. Her body screaming. The choice to listen — or face dis-ease. Human stories that people can hold on to.
34:18 The One Step: Hands on Heart, Body Gratitude
Dr. Anna’s answer for anyone paralyzed by fear: put your hands on your heart, close your eyes, breathe, and go through each part of your body with specific gratitude.
36:30 If You Can’t Do It Alone, Hire Someone
Breathwork classes, coaches, practitioners — and how to find the right one. The non-negotiable: they must keep pointing back at you.
38:30 The More You Do This, the More Your Biochemistry Shifts
This isn’t one-and-done. The more you return to embodiment and gratitude, the more your baseline changes. It’s available to every single one of us.
39:10 Where to Find Dr. Anna
happywholeyou.com, @happywholeyou and @dr.annamarie on Instagram, and LinkedIn.
39:48 Closing With Gratitude
Jen closes with love and thanks. See you next week on Wisdom From Within — where human stories awaken the leadership within.
CONNECT WITH DR. ANNA MARIE
• Website: happywholeyou.com
• Instagram (company): @happywholeyou
• Instagram (personal): @dr.anna.marie
• LinkedIn: Dr. Anna Marie
• Happy Whole You Podcast — available on all major platforms
• Wellness Center: Bakersfield, California — described as a spa for your brain
If this episode moved you, share it with someone whose body has been trying to tell them something. This might be the permission they need to listen.
