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Sit Around the Fire

Sit Around the Fire

Ashlea Dillard 63 Episodes Aug 4, 2026

Sit Around the Fire is a podcast about stories that inspire transformation, hosted by a former first responder who is now a licensed professional counselor and certified hypnotherapist. Episodes blend real-life experiences, teachings, and practical tools for mental and physical health. Listeners are invited to slow down, reflect, and explore mindfulness, stress management, trauma recovery, and PTSD healing. The show features raw conversations with first responders, veterans, mental health experts, and other people with powerful stories. It aims to help people move from burnout to balance and from survival mode to thriving.

Episodes

#061 Rest Is Not A Reward
#061 Rest Is Not A Reward Aug 4, 2026 00:22:03 Have you ever finally had a chance to rest, only to realize you could not actually relax?Your body may be sitting still, but your mind is making lists, scanning for what needs to be done, and reminding you of all the ways you could be more productive. You are resting, but you are not at rest.In this solo episode, Ashlea explores why slowing down can feel so uncomfortable, especially for those of u
#060 Resilience Can Be Learned: The 4-Part FUEL Model with Dr. Rose Aghdami
#060 Resilience Can Be Learned: The 4-Part FUEL Model with Dr. Rose Aghdami Jul 27, 2026 00:51:51 What if resilience is not about being tougher, pushing harder, or pretending that difficult things do not affect you?What if resilience is actually a collection of skills that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened?In this episode of Sit Around the Fire, Ashlea sits down with Dr. Rose Aghdami, coaching psychologist, resilience specialist, and author of How to FUEL Your Resilience, to explore
#059 Don’t Wait Until You’re Healed to Be in a Relationship
#059 Don’t Wait Until You’re Healed to Be in a Relationship Jul 7, 2026 00:27:42 So many people believe they need to be fully healed before they can be in a relationship.But what if that belief is actually keeping us isolated?In this episode of Sit Around the Fire, Ashlea Dillard explores why relationships are not just something we enter after healing — they are often one of the places healing actually happens.Drawing from psychodynamic theory, Jungian psychology, attachment t
#058 Start With Five Minutes: A Real Talk on Meditation with Mark Blacknell
#058 Start With Five Minutes: A Real Talk on Meditation with Mark Blacknell Jun 30, 2026 00:55:56 What does it actually take to go from survival mode to a settled nervous system? In this episode, I sit down with Mark Blacknell — who grew up navigating a tough childhood in Philadelphia, served in the Marines, and found his way to meditation and a life built around balance.This conversation is for anyone who's ever thought meditation "isn't for them," or tried it once, white-knuckled through 30
#057 The Perfectionist and the People Pleaser
#057 The Perfectionist and the People Pleaser Jun 23, 2026 00:22:10 Once upon a time, there was a girl named Ashlea. She was good at everything, she was the one who kept everyone okay, and from the outside she looked like she had it all figured out. She was also exhausted all the time and had no idea who she actually was.In this solo episode, I'm telling that story — mine, and maybe yours too — and unpacking the two survival patterns that ran my life for a long ti
#056: Breaking the Silence: Trauma and Healing in First Responders — with Keven McNeill
#056: Breaking the Silence: Trauma and Healing in First Responders — with Keven McNeill Jun 16, 2026 00:58:49 Most of us think the clock on trauma starts the first day on the job. Keven McNeill is here to tell you it started a long time before that.In this episode, Keven shares his journey through law enforcement, a defining 2016 incident, and the depression and PTSD that followed — and the long road back. What makes his story land isn't just the hard parts. It's the honesty about how trauma accumulates q
#055 The Most Important Investment You'll Ever Make
#055 The Most Important Investment You'll Ever Make Jun 9, 2026 00:20:04 We pour money, time, and energy into everything outside of ourselves — our kids, our businesses, our homes, the people who depend on us — and then we wonder why we feel so depleted. In this episode, Ashlea makes the case that investing in yourself isn't the luxury you get to once everything else is handled. It's the foundation everything else is built on.Drawing on her background in emergency serv
#054 From Trauma to Triumph: Packy Dempsey Shares His Journey Through the Fire
#054 From Trauma to Triumph: Packy Dempsey Shares His Journey Through the Fire Jun 2, 2026 00:40:22 This episode hits hard. Packy Dempsey, a retired law enforcement officer, takes us deep into the moment that changed everything — and how he turned that crucible into a mission of healing, not just for himself, but for first responders and military alike.We don't skip past the hard parts. Packy walks us through the four seconds that nearly ended his life, the chaos on scene, and the aftermath that
#053 Be the Queen You Already Are
#053 Be the Queen You Already Are May 28, 2026 00:12:04 Most women are waiting for permission to fully step into their power — but what if confidence isn't something you build? What if it's already inside you, ready to be claimed?In this special release episode of Sit Around the Fire, licensed professional counselor and clinical hypnotherapist Ashlea Dillard delivers a fiery, unfiltered message for every woman who's been playing small, waiting for the
#052 The Power of Mindfulness in Trauma Recovery: Adrianne Lind's Journey
#052 The Power of Mindfulness in Trauma Recovery: Adrianne Lind's Journey May 26, 2026 00:41:58 In this insightful conversation, Adrianne Lind shares her journey through trauma, healing, and the transformative power of mindfulness and yoga. Discover practical tools for managing PTSD, grief, and stress, and learn how to cultivate a resilient nervous system for a healthier, more balanced life.Topics Discussed:Trauma and PTSD recoveryThe role of yoga and mindfulness in healingNervous system reg
#051 The Real Reason Willpower Isn't Working
#051 The Real Reason Willpower Isn't Working May 19, 2026 00:20:44 Have you ever known exactly what you should do — and still found yourself repeating the same patterns anyway?That frustration isn't a character flaw. It's neuroscience.In this episode, Ashlea Dillard breaks down why the subconscious mind holds onto emotional patterns — even painful ones — and how modern hypnotherapy gives us a direct pathway to change them. Drawing on the foundational clinical wor
#050 Why Constant Fixing Keeps You Trapped—Shift from Doing to Being ft. Mitch Webb
#050 Why Constant Fixing Keeps You Trapped—Shift from Doing to Being ft. Mitch Webb May 14, 2026 00:55:44 Are you exhausted from trying to fix yourself? More supplements, better routines, stricter discipline—and still your body feels like it's working against you. In this episode, I sit down with Mitch Webb to talk about something most healing conversations miss: the idea that your body isn't broken—it's actually doing exactly what it was designed to do. Your symptoms, your anxiety, your need to contr

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