Happy Thursday! We hope this week has been kind to you, or at the very least, that you've been kind to yourself.
This week's episode drops at 3 AM ET, and honestly, we're still sitting with this one. Jeff Luther's story isn't just about surviving sudden cardiac arrest at a CrossFit gym in front of his 16-year-old son. It's about what happens after your body betrays you, after the world says you can't, and after you decide to rebuild your entire life 30 seconds at a time.
This conversation goes deep. Jeff doesn't hold back about the trauma responses that show up in everyday life, the brutal challenge of comparison, or what it takes to let people in when everything inside you wants to shut down. If you've ever felt like you're not good enough, if you've ever measured your worth by your to-do list, or if you're still learning how to "be easy," this episode is for you.
This Week's Episode
Jeff Luther on Surviving Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Trauma, and Rebuilding Life After Death
πΈ Grab Your Free $20 Wellness Credit from Maavee
We've partnered with Maavee, a wellness platform doing amazing things in mental health.
2οΈβ£ Use activation code β STG20 (required to unlock the credit)
3οΈβ£ Download the app and explore
π₯ SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT TO A PREVIOUS GUEST
π Michael Cortina, LCSW, LCAC
We want to give a huge shout-out to Michael Cortina, who appeared on our podcast and is now giving a webinar sponsored by PESI, one of the largest and most well-known providers of mental health education.
In the webinar, Michael will cover:
Practical tools you can integrate immediately - Brain-based reset phrases, body-based techniques, and neuroscience-informed strategies you can use the very next day.
A fresh lens for working with trauma, without re-traumatizing - Especially helpful for clients who haven't made progress with traditional approaches.
Live demonstrations + real examples - You'll see the techniques in action and get guided experiential practice.
The webinar is taking place February 16, 2026 and you have the option to sign up for the live online webinar or for the recorded replay to watch another time.
The investment is $169.99, but when you use Michael's exclusive link and coupon code CORTINA at checkout, you can get it for just $49.99.
To sign up, you'll have to create an account with PESI unless you already have one.
Michael Cortina, LCSW, LCACβ CEO/President - The Cortina Method, LLC Founder & Creator β The Cortina Method βoptimize@michaelcortina.comβ
π¬ Mental Health Quote of the Week
"You decide who you are. Do not let that motherfucker define you." β Jeff Luther
π This Week's Podcast Reflection Worksheet
Podcast Reflection Worksheet: Jeff Luther on Surviving Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Trauma, and Rebuilding Life After Death
This week's worksheet invites you to explore your relationship with control, worthiness, and the stories you tell yourself about who you are. Download it, print it, journal through it, whatever feels right.
Jeff Luther's heart stopped in front of his teenage son. Eight minutes passed before he came back. The diagnosis that followed turned his entire world upside down, but what he built in the aftermath is what makes this conversation unforgettable.
This isn't just about surviving cardiac arrest. It's about the trauma responses that show up in daily life long after the crisis ends. It's about measuring your worth by what you accomplish instead of who you are. It's about the way we let comparison steal our growth and the brutal honesty it takes to say out loud, "I feel guilty when I rest."
Jeff doesn't hold back. He talks about the tattoo on his palm with his kids' initials that became his reason to get out of bed. He talks about Saturdays, when he tries to "be easy" but can't shake the voice telling him he's wasting time. He talks about rebuilding his relationship with his own body after it betrayed him in the most terrifying way imaginable.
G-Rex and Dirty Skittles bring their own experiences into the room, sharing what it's like to tie your identity to productivity, to feel like you're never doing enough, and to slowly learn that letting people in might be the hardest and most important work of all.
This conversation will challenge what you think strength looks like. It will make you question the stories you've been telling yourself about your worth. And if you're in the middle of rebuilding something, whether it's your health, your sense of self, or just your ability to get through the day, this episode will remind you that the view from the bottom on the way up is nothing like the view on the way down.
At the center of this conversation is a question most of us avoid: What do you do when everything you believed about yourself stops being true?
For Jeff, the moment his heart stopped wasn't just a medical event. It was the collapse of an entire identity built on pushing harder, doing more, and proving his worth through relentless productivity. When he woke up, he didn't just have to relearn how to trust his body. He had to dismantle every story he'd been telling himself about what made him valuable.
This episode reframes what healing actually looks like. It's not this beautiful, Instagram-worthy journey where you get better every single day. It's messy. It's inconsistent. Sometimes it's measured in 30-second increments where all you can do is breathe and tell yourself you're still here. And that has to be enough.
Jeff names something so many of us carry quietly: the belief that comparison will make us better. We measure ourselves against who we used to be, against people we admire, against some future version of ourselves we're convinced we should already be. But comparison doesn't motivate growth. It suffocates it. It keeps us so busy looking everywhere else that we lose sight of who we actually are in this exact moment.
This conversation makes space for contradictions. You can be proud of how far you've come and still feel shame about how far you think you should be. You can be committed to healing and still terrified it won't work. You can rebuild your entire life and still worry it's not enough. All of those things can be true at the same time.
π« A quote that stuck with us
"The scenery coming up from the bottom is not the same as the scenery going down to the bottom." β Jeff Luther
ποΈ Real Talk from Us
"When Jeff talked about comparison limiting growth, I felt that in my bones. I've spent so much of my life measuring myself against some imaginary finish line, and hearing him say that out loud felt like permission to stop running a race I never signed up for." β G-Rex
"The moment that gutted me was when Jeff said, 'You decide who you are. Do not let that motherfucker define you.' I needed to hear that. We all need to hear that. Nobody else gets to write your story." β Dirty Skittles
π Reflection Prompts to Sit With
What stories are you telling yourself about your worth, and who taught you those stories?
Where in your life is comparison keeping you stuck instead of moving you forward?
What would it look like to "be easy" with yourself, even for just one day?
If you could rebuild your life 30 seconds at a time, what would the first 30 seconds look like?
π± Gentle Reminder
You are not failing because you need to rest. You are not weak because healing takes time. And you are not defined by anyone's expectations except your own. The scenery on the way up is different because you are different, and that difference is your strength.
π Meet Our Guest: Jeff Luther
Jeff Luther is a father, podcast host, and someone who learned the hardest way possible that the stories we tell ourselves about who we are matter more than we think.
A couple of years ago, Jeff's life changed in eight minutes. What followed was a journey across the country looking for answers he wanted to hear but mostly finding the ones he didn't. Through extensive research, deep self-reflection, and a whole lot of trial and error, he figured out how to rebuild his life on his own terms, one small decision at a time.
That process taught him something powerful: our beliefs don't just shape our future. They shape right now. The way we talk to ourselves, the expectations we carry, the comparisons we make, all of it creates the reality we're living in today.
Jeff is a father to three boys (ages 20, 18, and 16), and his dedication to them shows up in everything he does. He's also the host of The Inspector Alliance podcast and is currently on a mission to have 50 one-hour conversations with 50 different people over the next three months. Why? Because connection, vulnerability, and honest dialogue are at the core of who he is and what he believes can change lives.
Healing happens in 30-second increments, not giant leaps. Progress doesn't have to be dramatic to be real. Sometimes survival looks like getting through the next 30 seconds, and that is enough.
Comparison doesn't motivate you, it limits your growth. When you measure yourself against who you used to be, who others are, or who you think you should be, you lose sight of who you actually are right now.
You decide who you are, no one else. The world will try to define you by your trauma, your limitations, or your worst moments. Don't let them. You get to write your own story.
The difference between fear and excitement is a breath. Anxiety isn't the enemy. It's information. Learning to pause, breathe, and choose how you respond changes everything.
Rest is not weakness, and "being easy" is not selfish. If you tie your worth to your productivity, you'll never feel good enough. Learning to let the day show up without a list is an act of self-compassion.
The scenery coming up from the bottom is different than the scenery going down. When you rebuild your life after hitting rock bottom, you see everything differently. That perspective is your superpower.
π οΈ Actionable Steps You Can Take Right Now
Practice 30-second increments. When you're overwhelmed, don't think about the whole day or the whole task. Just get through the next 30 seconds. Then the next. Then the next.
Audit your comparison habits. Notice when you're comparing yourself to others, your past self, or your future self. Write it down. Ask yourself: Is this thought helping me grow, or is it keeping me stuck?
Create a "be easy" day. Pick one day this week where you don't make a list. Let the day show up as it is. Notice the guilt, and sit with it. You don't have to fix it, just notice it.
Rewrite one story you've been telling yourself. What's one belief about yourself that you've been carrying that might not actually be true? Write it down, and then write a new story.
Let someone in. Reach out to one person this week and share something real. It doesn't have to be your deepest trauma, just something honest. Practice letting people see you.
Decide who you are. Write down one thing that defines you, something true and strong that nobody else gets to take away from you. Put it somewhere you'll see it every day.
π¬ We Want to Hear From You
What landed with you in this episode? Was it Jeff's story of survival, the conversation about comparison, or something else entirely? Hit reply and let us know. We read every single message, and we'd love to hear from you.
And if this episode resonated with you, tag us on Instagram @grex_and_dirtyskittles and share your biggest takeaway. Let's normalize these conversations together.
π§ Subscribe, Rate & Review
If you haven't already, please subscribe to Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a rating and review, it helps more people find us, and it reminds us why we do this work.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for showing up for yourself, for leaning into hard conversations, and for believing that healing is possible even when it feels impossible.
We know what it's like to feel stuck, to measure your worth by impossible standards, and to be so tired that rest feels like failure. If that's where you are right now, we see you. You're not alone.
Jeff's story reminds us that the journey up from the bottom is never the same as the journey down. You're not the same person you were when things fell apart, and that's your strength. You are rewriting your story with every choice you make, every breath you take, and every 30 seconds you survive.
You decide who you are. No one else gets that power unless you give it to them.
Take care of your mental health. Go find your joy. And if you can't find it today, that's okay too. Just keep breathing.
With so much love,
G-Rex & Dirty Skittlesβ βChanging the way we talk about mental health, one real convo at a time.
β
β
β
G-Rex & Dirty Skittles
It's ok to be not ok, just make sure you're talking to someone
β