Send us a text

Today on The Hardcore Therapist, I’m honored to welcome Kevin Seconds. Kevin is the frontman of the legendary hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, a group that helped define the sound, values, and heart of hardcore. For over four decades, his voice, lyrics, and presence have championed authenticity, community, and emotional honesty long before those conversations were mainstream. He is a prolific artist and you can check out his art at https://rivingloomarts.bigcartel.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pmax&utm_campaign=21775906273&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=

Support the show

Send us a text

In this episode of The Hardcore Therapist, I explore why overeating, bingeing, or restricting so often develop in people who grew up emotionally undernourished even when their basic needs were met. Parents may have been physically present but emotionally unavailable, leaving food to become one of the earliest and most reliable forms of regulation.

This is not an episode about diets, discipline, or fixing yourself.
It’s about understanding how the nervous system adapts to emotional absence and why willpower alone can’t heal an attachment wound.

I cover:

• Why food becomes a nervous system regulator
  
  
  
• The difference between “food addiction” and emotional neglect
  
  
  
• How restriction and bingeing can come from the same unmet needs
  
  
  
• Why shame, rules, and control don’t create lasting change
  
  
  
• What real healing actually involves; including grief, safety, and self-compassion
  
  

No numbers. No meal plans. No moralizing.

Just a clear, trauma-informed conversation about why your relationship with food makes sense and what it’s been trying to protect you from.

Trigger note: This episode discusses eating behaviors and emotional neglect. While no instructions or numbers are given, the topic may be activating for some listeners. Please pause or return when you feel resourced.

Support the show

Send us a text

Today’s guest is Maria, the force behind Dollfest in Oakland, California. Maria created Dollfest as a radical act of space-making, centering women, femmes, and marginalized voices in a scene that hasn’t always made room for them. This isn’t just a festival; it’s community care, resistance, and creativity wrapped into one loud, defiant weekend. Maria is proof that when women build their own platforms, they don’t just participate, they change the culture. I’m really excited for you all to hear about her power, visibility, and what it means to build something on your own terms.

Support the show

Send us a text

In this episode of The Hardcore Therapist, I explore why emotional safety can feel uncomfortable especially after trauma, intense relationships, or nervous systems conditioned to unpredictability.

You’ll learn how trauma impacts attachment, dopamine, and emotional regulation, why calm can feel unfamiliar or dull, and how boredom in long-term relationships doesn’t mean something is wrong. We also discuss how to rebuild connection and emotional aliveness without recreating chaos.

This episode is for anyone healing from trauma bonds, navigating healthy relationships, or learning how to tolerate peace without self-sabotage.

Support the show

Send us a text

Today’s guest is Scott Winegard — bassist for Texas Is the Reason, chef, author, and expert in plant-based cuisine.

Texas Is the Reason helped shape the emotional core of 90s hardcore, creating space for vulnerability and introspection long before most of us had language for our nervous systems or grief. That music held a lot of people through formative years of intensity and becoming.

Scott’s work, whether in music, food, or writing carries a clear throughline: care matters. What we take in, emotionally and physically, shapes how we move through the world. In this conversation, we talk about identity beyond roles, creative evolution, nourishment, and staying grounded while continuing to grow.

This episode is for anyone who found emotional safety in hardcore — and for anyone learning how to care for themselves after survival.

Support the show

Send us a text

Eating disorders are not choices or failures of willpower. They are serious, brain-based mental illnesses that emerge when genetic vulnerability meets environmental pressure.

In this episode of The Hardcore Therapist, I breaks down what the research actually shows about eating disorders. Why some people are more biologically vulnerable, how dieting, trauma, and body-based pressure can activate a sensitive nervous system, and why blame (of individuals or families) delays recovery.

This episode is for clinicians, parents, people in recovery, and anyone who has ever asked, “Why did this happen?”

⚠️ Trigger-aware note: This episode discusses eating disorders and recovery themes. No numbers or instructions are shared. Please prioritize your window of tolerance.

📚 Recommended Reading
Sick Enough — Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani
Eating in the Light of the Moon — Anita Johnston

🧠 Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches
CBT-E (Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
FBT / Maudsley Method
DBT
ACT

🏥 Support & Resources
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
National Alliance for Eating Disorders
Project HEAL

🚨 Crisis Support (U.S.)
Call 911 in an emergency
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988

Eating disorders are not about food—they’re about the brain.
And recovery is possible.

Support the show

Send us a text

Today on The Hardcore Therapist, I’m really excited to welcome Cindy Hulej. Cindy is the builder behind Cindy Hulej Custom Guitars, where she handcrafts instruments that are as intentional, expressive, and individual as the musicians who play them. Her work lives at the intersection of artistry, precision, and deep respect for music culture especially the underground and hardcore scenes that value authenticity over polish.

Cindy’s journey into guitar building is rooted in passion, patience, and learning the craft from the inside out. In this conversation, we’re talking about creativity, discipline, identity, and what it means to build something meaningful with your hands in a world that often rushes past depth.

Support the show

Send us a text

We love to say pets heal us but what does neuroscience actually say?

In this episode of The Hardcore Therapist Podcast, I break down how animals affect the brain and nervous system, from stress reduction and emotional regulation to trauma and attachment. We also explore the limits of pet therapy when animals help, when they don’t, and how pets can sometimes increase stress or reinforce emotional avoidance.

This is an honest, research-informed look at the human–animal bond without romanticizing it or demonizing it.

Support the show