FWD JOY by Chrissy Rutherford

Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acne Healing, and the Ritual of Stillness with Dr. Felice ChanThis week on FWD JOY, we are diving into the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Dr. Felice Chan, a board-certified Chinese medicine doctor and acupuncturist who blends eastern wisdom with western neuroscience. She leads an integrative health space in Los Angeles and is the founder of both @feliceacupuncture.clinic and @moonbow_skin, where she brings classical Chinese medicine into modern wellness and skin routines.If you've ever wondered why ice-cold drinks can wreck your digestion, why your tongue says more about you than you might think, or how acne can actually be an invitation to slow down and rebalance, this conversation is going to feel like a warm cup of tea.Chrissy and Dr. Felice explore everything from qi and meridian pathways to why cosmetic acupuncture may be the next big alternative to injectables. They get into breakfast rituals that support hormonal health, how to understand the messages your skin is sending you, and why stillness is often the medicine we resist the most. Dr. Felice also shares stories of her upbringing in Hong Kong, the generational wisdom woven into her work, and the inspiration behind Moon Bow, the skincare line she created with her sister using time-honored Chinese herbs in gentle, modern formulations.If you're curious about holistic healing, fascinated by the connection between gut and skin, or simply craving a more intuitive relationship with your body, this is an episode to curl up with.Perfect for your morning walk, your skincare routine, or the first quiet moment you give yourself all day.

Renee Rouleau never followed the rulebook. She skipped college, opened her first skincare studio at 21, and built her line before “indie beauty” was even a term. She redefined how we talk about skin with her nine skin types and taught a generation of adults that acne and moisture are not enemies.Then life shifted. When her husband and business partner was diagnosed with cancer, Renee faced six months of love, loss, and learning to let go. She shares the surreal beauty in those final days, the lessons grief handed her, and the way surrender shaped her into a new kind of leader.Now, nearly three decades into her brand, Renee has rebuilt her business and her life with clarity and joy. She opens up about what freedom really means, how she found love again through what she calls “the contacts method,” and why living intentionally is the ultimate skincare secret. This is a story about skin, yes, but more than that, it’s about starting over and choosing joy on purpose.

With her first book, Ask a Matchmaker: Matchmaker’s No-Nonsense Guide to Finding Love, the 4th-generation matchmaker encourages people to be honest about what they’re looking for in a partner, communicate their wants and needs directly, and stop wasting time on people who are inconsistent, unclear, or, as she calls them, “time thieves.” She delivers the kind of tough love that few people—outside of maybe a good therapist—are willing to give. Her theories aren’t vapid trends like “black cat/golden retriever” or “high value man/high value woman.” Instead, she offers frameworks like green theory (her belief, based on color theory, that wearing green increases your success rate on a first date), or the Stanley Tucci theory (that men who like Stanley Tucci are more likely to be secure, sex-positive, and generous in bed). But perhaps her most impactful philosophy is the 12-date rule. Maria advises that, when dating with the intention of marriage, women should wait until 12 dates before sleeping with someone. She counts any in-person meet-up or phone call of at least 20 minutes up to 3 hours as one date (and says you can have a maximum of two dates in one day if you went on a marathon date). The idea is to give yourself space to actually focus on long-term compatibility and getting to know a person—without letting sexual chemistry cloud your judgment. Every day, Maria receives messages from women all over who say that the 12-date rule has helped them enter their healthiest relationship and has also led to engagements—and what’s a better endorsement than that? 

For my first solo podcast, I'm reflecting on a persistent theme I see in a lot of my Q&As which is about how to feel okay about your life looking different from the "norm" or how to feel okay about "less than ideal" life circumstances in the context of dating or within your friend group if you're the odd person out.

Attachment Theory has been a viral topic in the world of online pop psychology over the last several years. I've struggled with anxious attachment since my twenties and only in the last two years now have I felt like I'm moving closer to the secure attachment end of the spectrum. It has not been easy to get here. I was really inspired by an Instagram video I came across from Dr. Jacob Ambrose, and I had to reach out to him immediately to discuss his approach to healing anxious attachment.

Do you want to make decisions to feel aligned with your highest self? Today I'm talking to Human Design Expert, and founder of Human Design Bluprint, Erin Claire Jones, about her debut book "How Do You Choose?" on how to use our human design to navigate work, love, and everything in between for a more aligned life. You can also feel this kind of alignment with a little help from Human Design Expert and founder of the Human Design Bluprint, Erin Claire Jones, in her debut book, How Do You Choose? It’s an essential guide for figuring out how to apply Human Design to your own decision making, and it will also help you understand how to best work with the coworkers, friends, family, and lovers around you. First step, find our your human design type here: https://humandesignblueprint.com/Subscribe to FWD JOY newsletter: https://fwdjoy.myflodesk.com/

Dr. Judith Joseph is a beyond impressive board-certified psychiatrist. She has degrees from Duke and Columbia University. She’s a clinical assistant professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center. She has conducted several clinical research studies in pediatric, adult, geriatric and women’s mental health as the Principal Investigator of her own research lab: Manhattan Behavioral Medicine where she leads a diverse all-female team. She also received a congressional proclamation from the US House of Representatives for her social media advocacy and research on mental health. And now, she is the author of the book High-Functioning: about overcoming Hidden Depression and Reclaiming Your Joy. We talk about the signs of hidden depression and how to heal it.

If you've ever felt too responsible for the emotional wellbeing of a family member, found yourself fixing a friend’s problem they didn’t ask you to fix, or said yes when your whole body screamed no, this conversation today is for you! I sat down with boundary expert and psychotherapist Terri Cole to talk about what she calls high-functioning codependency. It's the subtle, socially acceptable ways we overgive, overfunction, and override ourselves in the name of being “nice,” “helpful,” or “reliable.” But underneath it? Exhaustion, bitterness, and a creeping sense of being unseen or taken for granted. In October 2024, inspired by her own life experiences and that of her clients, Terri released her second book, Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency, where she breaks it all down with clarity and compassion—from the compulsive urge to offer advice (guilty!) to the “auto-accommodating” habits that chip away at our peace. We also talk about the cost of constantly managing other people’s feelings and what it means to love someone without turning their pain into your personal project. Whether you’re deep in people-pleasing recovery or just starting to recognize the patterns, this is a conversation that invites truth, humor, and above all, choice.