Why can we understand exactly why we do something—and still struggle to stop doing it?
In this episode of The Kelly Healing Project, Kelly sits down with Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Trauma and Anxiety Specialist, and Transformational Coach Leanna Lapidus for a conversation about the subconscious mind, childhood experiences, survival patterns, addiction, shame, self-trust, and what it can take to create lasting change.
Leanna’s work is deeply connected to her own story. Growing up in Ukraine in a home affected by alcoholism, fear, and emotional instability, she began developing beliefs and survival strategies that followed her into adulthood. Her own healing journey eventually led her to hypnotherapy, and she went on to spend nearly a decade working in addiction treatment at Passages Malibu.
Together, Kelly and Leanna explore how experiences from childhood can shape beliefs about who we need to be in order to feel safe—whether that means becoming agreeable, perfectionistic, independent, controlling, or constantly taking care of others.
They also discuss why recognizing a pattern doesn't automatically change it, why willpower may not be enough, and the difference between changing a behavior and understanding what the behavior may have been helping us cope with in the first place.
Leanna explains her approach to hypnotherapy and the subconscious mind, including why she believes new beliefs and behaviors need reinforcement over time. Kelly and Leanna also explore an important question: Can we deeply heal and still occasionally experience triggers connected to our past?
The conversation goes deeper into shame, self-trust, emotional healing, the nervous system, and the identity shift that can happen when patterns we've carried for years begin falling away.
Because healing may not be about creating an entirely new version of ourselves. Sometimes, it’s about discovering who we are underneath everything we learned we had to be.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- How childhood experiences can shape subconscious beliefs
- Why people-pleasing, perfectionism, and other patterns can begin as protection
- Why understanding a pattern doesn't always make it disappear
- Addiction and coping mechanisms
- What hypnotherapy is—and what happens during a session
- Shame and self-judgment
- Why healing doesn't necessarily mean never being triggered again
- The role of the body and nervous system in change
- Rebuilding self-trust
- Identity after survival patterns begin falling away
Connect with Leanna:
Leanna Lapidus: leannalapidus.com
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Thank you so much for being here and listening today.
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Your healing, your growth, and your power truly matter—and I'm so grateful you're here.
