A podcast about creativity as the path from surviving to thriving. Real, authentic, and unfiltered conversations surrounding the creative act—daily practices, small moments, and bold leaps that cultivate a better life.
For those of us who've mastered survival but are ready to do more than just get by. Hosted by Jon Murphy, PMHNP-BC—exploring how embracing creativity in ways both small and large becomes the bridge from enduring to flourishing.
Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. The views expressed are my own, drawn from clinical experience and personal perspective. If you're in crisis, please seek support from a licensed professional or emergency services.
SURVIVAL NOTES: Channeling Creativity as a Healing Practice
In this episode of Survival Notes, Jonathan Murphy, PMHNP explores the intersection of creativity and adversity, sharing insights on how spontaneous creative expression can serve as a powerful healing tool. Learn how consistent creative practice can help you process emotions rather than internalizing them.
Key topics covered:
How to turn on your creativity through small, consistent practices
The distinction between genuine emotions and stress responses
Using creative outlets to channel difficult feelings
Adapting to challenges through creative expression
Updates on the Compass Point Institute podcast network
Announcement of the upcoming Focus Path YouTube channel for long-form educational content
Whether you're naturally creative or looking to develop this skill, this episode offers practical guidance for using creativity as a path toward healing and authenticity.
For more insights on habit formation, CPTSD, boundaries, and other topics, visit myfocuspath.blog.
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
3 Sept 2025
Creativity, Survival, and Healing
In this deeply personal episode, psychiatric nurse practitioner Jonathan Murphy explores the paradox of creativity - how we turn something meant to be joyful into a painful exercise in perfectionism. Drawing from his own journey with ADHD, multiple sclerosis, and creative blocks, Jonathan shares how releasing the need for perfection transformed his relationship with creativity, leading to a surge of songwriting and renewed energy. He reflects on the childlike wonder we once brought to creative endeavors before perfectionism took hold, and invites listeners to reconnect with the simple joy of creating without judgment.
This episode offers insights on:
How creativity can become a healing force for mental health struggles
The surprising connection between creative flow and managing chronic illness fatigue
Breaking free from perfectionist patterns that block creative expression
Finding your authentic voice in a distraction-filled world
Whether you're battling creative blocks or looking to reconnect with your innate creative spirit, this episode reminds us that the most powerful creative act is simply beginning.
📚 Ready to transform your relationship with your brain? Discover more insights in Jonathan's book "CHEAT CODES: How I Hacked My ADHD Brain" - available now on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Learn the practical strategies that helped Jonathan overcome executive dysfunction and unlock his creative potential. Get your copy today! (https://www.amazon.com/CHEAT-CODES-Hacked-Brain-Transformation-ebook/dp/B0FMJLQKBW)
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
20 Aug 2025
The Creative Cheat Code: How to Use AI Without Losing Your Soul
Jon breaks down the relationship between creativity and healing, sharing his personal breakthrough with daily songwriting and how he uses AI as a tool—not a replacement—for creative work. Plus the ADHD cheat code you need to hear: the things that are good for you are probably hard for other people, and vice versa. Learn how to externalize emotions through creativity, reduce friction in your creative process, and why your lived experience is your greatest asset in the creator economy. Warning: don't let technology turn your brain off when you should be thinking.
Links & Resources: 📚 Get Jon's book "Cheat Codes: How I Hacked My ADHD Brain": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJLQKBW?ref_=ast_author_mpb (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJLQKBW?ref_=ast_author_mpb)
👤 Follow Jon's author page: https://amazon.com/author/myfocuspath (https://amazon.com/author/myfocuspath)
🎥 Quick ADHD tips: @adhdquickwins on TikTok
📝 Read more at Focus Path blog: myfocuspath.blog
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
17 Aug 2025
The Lucky Ones
Jon reflects on becoming a published author with his first book "Cheat Codes: How I Hacked My ADHD Brain" and the deeper realization that sparked the writing. From sitting across from ADHD patients and finally recognizing his own struggles, to understanding that medication is just the beginning—not the solution. This episode explores the shame-soaked reality of ADHD, the power of writing your survival story, and why having empathy after surviving dysfunction makes us "the lucky ones." Plus thoughts on navigating social media algorithms, choosing your community, and responding rather than reacting to the world around us.
Links & Resources: 📚 Get "Cheat Codes: How I Hacked My ADHD Brain": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJLQKBW?ref_=ast_author_mpb (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJLQKBW?ref_=ast_author_mpb)
👤 Follow Jon's author page: https://amazon.com/author/myfocuspath (https://amazon.com/author/myfocuspath)
🎥 Quick ADHD tips: @adhdquickwins on TikTok 📝 Read more at Focus Path blog: myfocuspath.blog
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
8 Aug 2025
The Scapegoat's Story: Why Being the Family Outcast Saved My Life
Title: "The Scapegoat's Story: Why Being the Family Outcast Saved My Life"
Description:
This is raw, unfiltered, and real. Jon Murphy shares an excerpt from his memoir and opens up about being the family scapegoat - the outcast, the "weird one," the truth-teller who couldn't fit into toxic family dynamics.
In this deeply personal episode, you'll hear about:
• What it's really like growing up as the scapegoat child • How being "different" became a survival advantage
• The journey from $10/hour psych tech to psychiatric nurse practitioner • Why no contact was necessary and what came after • Finding your "pack of weirdos" and true belonging • The creative process of writing your survivor story • Turning unworthiness into purpose
This episode is for the outcasts, the misunderstood, the ones who were told they were "too much" or "not enough." Your story matters. Your truth matters. What you feel matters.
Jon gets vulnerable about toxic family dynamics, the voice that tells you "don't think you're a good person," and how being pushed to the periphery actually gave him the clarity to see systems for what they really are.
Raw memoir excerpts, clinical insights, and real talk about healing - this is Survival Notes at its most authentic.
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
5 Aug 2025
"there's been some hyperfocus, not gonna lie"
Jon emerges from months of creative hyperfocus to give a raw update on where he's been and where Survival Notes is heading. After building out the entire Focus Path/Compass Point ecosystem - practice, podcasts, frameworks, content systems - he's finally ready to get into a real production groove.
This episode is pure stream-of-consciousness processing: MS soft disclosure, the "allergy to toxic people," why he had to live in two worlds for so long, and what happens when you try to share genuine excitement with people who can't handle it.
No script, just Jon turning on the mic after a marathon creative building phase to say: I'm still here, the work is deeper now, and Survival Notes is about to get way more intimate.
"When the going's good, the going's good."
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
25 Jul 2025
Reducing Friction, Reclaiming Energy
In this episode of Survival Notes, Jon Murphy, PMHNP, shares a raw, reflective update on his professional evolution, creative awakening, and how lived experience informs his clinical work. From the early days at a psych hospital to founding the Compass Point Institute, Jon explores themes of burnout, system navigation, incremental change, and healing from narcissistic abuse. Ideal for clinicians, creators, and anyone balancing personal growth with professional purpose. Hosted on the CPI Podcast Network at cpipodcasts.transistor.fm (https://cpipodcasts.transistor.fm).
★ Support this podcast ★ (https://focuspath.substack.com)
5 Jul 2025
All Emotions Are Normal (But That Doesn’t Mean They’re Comfortable)
The host explores the normalcy of all emotions, how emotional suppression manifests, and how incongruence between feelings and reality causes internal struggles, offering insights into stress physiology and emotional development.
2 Jul 2025
When Structure Feels Unsafe
The host discusses how individuals adapt to group dynamics where emotional expression is unsafe, exploring the roles of the Operator and the Watcher.
19 Jun 2025
General becomes the Diplomat
This episode explores the shift from 'The General' to 'The Diplomat' within the Survival Code, a clinical tool, revealing how understanding neurological modes advances therapy.
11 Jun 2025
You Survived. Now What?
The host explores the distinction between surviving and thriving, focusing on how early group dynamics and nervous system responses influence adult life, which lays the groundwork for trauma healing.
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