I Have Sh_t to Say

About I Have Sh_t to Say

Therapist turned leader sharing real shit. Mental health, access and real life. No fluff. No gatekeeping.

Publisher

Megan Campbell

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

24 Jan 2026

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   IHSTS - Ep. 18 - Live in Your Now

   Denise Smith left home at 17 with a baby and no roadmap, built a chosen family out of her community, and went on to open Essential Smoothies in downtown Kankakee. Then the business she built to keep other people healthy cost her her own routine, her sleep, and time with her kids. Denise and Megan get into the mind-body connection, perimenopause and being told to "ride the wave," food access and education, mothering without a model for it, parenting adult kids who blame you, and the 21-day mental cleanse that stripped away every distraction and sent her back to have a hard conversation with her father. Heads up: covers depression, childhood abuse and neglect, addiction, and child loss. Frequent strong language. KEY TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [00:23] Meet Denise Smith [01:05] Why She Started Essential Smoothies [03:15] Check-In: Your Perfect Day [07:31] Mind, Body & What We Eat [08:45] Losing Herself While Building the Business [09:52] Book Clubs, Boundaries & Counseling [11:18] When Health and Fitness Is the Mask [12:05] Perimenopause on Top of Everything [14:35] "Ride the Wave" [16:31] If It Doesn't Grow From the Earth [17:41] Food, Culture & What We're Taught [19:21] Access vs. Education [20:44] Leaving Home at 17 [22:04] Building a Chosen Family [23:35] ACEs, PCEs & Why Community Matters [25:42] Still Yearning for a Mother [28:42] When Your Adult Kids Blame You [31:11] Accountability Has an Expiration Date [32:00] Three Daughters, Three Versions of Her [33:47] Mothering Looks Different Now [35:40] Equal vs. Equitable [37:04] The 21-Day Mental Cleanse [40:10] The Conversation With Her Father [42:10] Relationships & Filling the Void [43:10] Too Much of a Good Thing [45:40] Missing Coworkers and a Paycheck [47:15] Learning to Be the Boss [48:10] Letting Go of Control [49:30] Biggest Takeaway: Live in Your Now [50:30] Wrap-Up STANDOUT QUOTES "If you want positive, you got to go out and find it. If you want negative, you will find it." - Denise "I realized if I give up on myself, none of that will work." - Denise "We can't judge our past self with future knowledge." - Megan "I didn't do that for him. I did it for me." - Denise "Live in your now." - Denise DENISE'S TOOLKIT: GETTING BACK TO YOU Denise says she's about 25% of the way back. Here's what's getting her there: 1. Set boundaries, even with the people you love. She told her partner and her kids she had to step away to figure herself out. 2. Find your people on purpose. Book clubs, chosen strategically, plus weekly counseling. 3. Take away the noise. No phone, no TV, no music to drown it out. What's underneath comes up when there's nothing left to lean on. 4. Close the circle for you, not for them. Asking for the answer can be about your own peace. 5. One day at a time. You don't have to control what comes next. RESOURCES - Essential Smoothies Cafe, downtown Kankakee: https://essentialsmoothiescafeil.com/ - Essential Smoothies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LivingHealthy815/ - HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences), home of the Positive Childhood Experiences research: https://positiveexperience.org/ - Good Hang with Amy Poehler, the source of this episode's check-in question Denise's 21-day cleanse was her own experience, done with guidance. Talk to your doctor before any fast. CRISIS SUPPORT 988 - Suicide Prevention Lifeline Text HOME to 741741 - Crisis Text Line Find a Therapist: Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us Rise & Thrive Wellness: https://riseandthrivewellness.net/ CONNECT Email: ihavesh1t2say@gmail.com @ihavesh_ttosay (Instagram) | IHaveSh_tToSay (TikTok) - Host: Megan Campbell, LCPC, ATR-BC - Producer: Brian T Prairie - Operations Manager: MacKenzie Cloy - Guest: Denise Smith, Owner of Essential Smoothies New episode every two weeks on Tuesdays.

2. 

   22 Sept 2026

   IHSTS - Ep. 17: WTF Is Trauma, Anyway? (Part 2)

   show

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   Episode 17: WTF Is Trauma, Anyway? (Part 1)

   No guest this time — just Megan and Brian tackling a topic Megan's wanted to cover for a while: trauma. What is it, really? After the usual check-in chaos (a stolen DoorDash order, a car-seat food disaster), they dig into the Adverse Childhood Experiences study, the doctor who took it from research to clinic, why an ACE score isn't a life sentence, and the four nervous-system responses to danger — fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. It ran long, so it's split in two. This is part one. Heads up: covers trauma, frequent strong language. Producer's apology: Brian forgot to post last week, so we're back two weeks in a row to make up for it. Key Timestamps [00:00] Intro: Duo Episode & F-Bomb Warning [02:12] Check-In: Weirdest Fast-Food/Delivery Story [04:44] Brian's DoorDash Order Gets Stolen [08:07] Megan's Sub-in-a-Bowl Car Disaster [14:10] Why Brian Wanted to Talk Trauma Today [14:44] The Tornado & the Day Trauma Snuck Up on Brian [16:17] Heart Attack Turns Out to Be Anxiety — and Trauma [16:51] The ACEs Study: Where Trauma Research Began [17:18] The Doctor Who Took the Research to Her Clinic [19:37] Her TEDx Talk & the Shift to Positive Childhood Experiences [20:26] The Problem With Treating an ACE Score as Fate [20:52] Trauma Without PTSD [21:13] Retiring Big T and Little T Trauma [22:00] Resilience: Why Some People Bounce Back [24:25] What Is PTSD, Officially? (The DSM, Explained) [25:06] PTSD's Origin: Vietnam Veterans [26:09] Neuroplasticity: The Brain Can Heal [26:35] Least-Trained Clinicians, Most Traumatized Clients [28:41] Vicarious Trauma & We're All Connected [29:30] What Trauma Actually Is, in the Body [30:03] Fight, Flight, Freeze... and Fawn [31:15] Fawning: The Trauma Response Nobody Talks About [32:54] Adrenaline, Cortisol & the Body's Overreaction [33:15] Hypervigilance, Defined [34:21] The Tornado's Ripple Effect on the Whole Community [35:54] Producer's Note: Why This One's Split in Two Standout Quotes "It's going to include curse words, because you cannot talk about trauma without using F-bombs." "Everyone experiences trauma, but not everyone gets PTSD." "[Fawning is] the way that you're getting out of the abuse... it's their only choice. The safest option is to make the abuser feel like you are on their side." "We are all connected to each other. When one person isn't good, it impacts everybody — and it ripples out." Megan's Toolkit: The Four Trauma Responses When your nervous system detects danger, it picks one of four automatic responses: 1. Fight — confront the threat. 2. Flight — run from it. 3. Freeze — shut down, unable to act. 4. Fawn — appease the threat to stay safe; looks like agreement from the outside, but it's the nervous system's survival strategy. Bonus term: Hypervigilance — an ongoing, heightened scan for threat, and a hallmark PTSD symptom (see: a whole school district closing over any hint of bad weather the week after the tornado). Resources - Dr. Nadine Burke Harris's TED Talk: [How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime](https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime) - The ACE Study researchers: Dr. Vincent Felitti and Dr. Robert Anda. Their CDC-Kaiser Permanente study was published in 1998 (corrected from the on-air guess). [About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study](https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html) Crisis Support 988 - Suicide Prevention Lifeline Text HOME to 741741 - Crisis Text Line Find a Therapist: [Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us) | [Rise & Thrive Wellness](https://riseandthrivewellness.net/) Connect 📧 ihavesh1t2say@gmail.com 📱 @ihavesh_ttosay (Instagram) | IHaveSh_tToSay (TikTok) - Host: Megan Campbell, LCPC, ATR-BC - Producer: Brian T Prairie - Format: Duo episode (no guest) — Part 1 of 2 - Length: ~36:20 (Part 1) New episode every two weeks on Tuesdays — except this time, we're back next week too.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Contact I Have Sh_t to Say

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.