Stress Therapy with Cheri Flake: Meditation & Stress Relief for Real Life · Meditation Teacher & Mental Health Counselor, Cheri Augustine Flake, LCSW: Meditation, Stress Relief, Healthy Habits, Spirituality, Mental Health, Self-Care, Self-Help, Happiness, Mindfulness

The Help You Give by Asking

·30 min·3 clips

Cheri discovered neighbors mowing her lawn and friends delivering meals when her husband had cancer surgery.

This episode of Stress Therapy with Cheri Flake focuses on the psychological and practical aspects of asking for help. Host Cheri Flake, a psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience, shares personal stories and professional insights on the topic. She argues that asking for assistance benefits both the receiver and the giver. Flake recounts a business mistake where she targeted stressed moms, a group her coach warned would struggle to admit they needed help. She references a saying she attributes to Mother Teresa, that the act of asking for help should be reason enough to give it. A central personal story involves her husband's cancer surgery and difficult recovery, during which friends organized a meal train and neighbors mowed their lawn. She initially felt she didn't need the help but later realized it was essential. Flake explains that allowing others to help makes them feel useful and is a proven way to combat one's own depression. She describes her Catholic upbringing and the practice of praying to specific saints, like St. Anthony for lost items, as a form of seeking help. She also mentions the "placemat exercise" from Esther and Jerry Hicks, which involves writing down what you want and what you will let the universe handle. A surprising claim is that asking for help does a favor for the helper, as caregiving and providing assistance reduces personal stress. During the guided meditation, Flake incorporates ambient construction noise as a lesson in non-judgmental awareness. She references author Anne Lamott's book, which categorizes prayers into three words: "Help," "Thanks," and "Wow." The episode concludes with an anecdote about a harmonium class where a man told Flake her aura was gold and yellow, signifying she is sunny and bright. She reiterates that her husband needed the same surgery five years later, and they were able to both receive and provide help to others in a similar situation. The tone is conversational, empathetic, and blends personal storytelling with therapeutic advice and spiritual concepts. The style is educational but informal, incorporating a guided meditation and promotional messages for the host's services. Listeners interested in self-help, mindfulness, and overcoming the stigma of vulnerability would appreciate this episode. Those uncomfortable with spiritual or "woo" concepts, like auras or praying to saints, might find parts less relatable.

As heard by us

A practical case for asking for help without pretending control is ever complete.

Sherri Flake's episode on asking for help keeps its focus tight: the habit of holding everything together can become its own kind of strain. She treats the subject plainly, and that plainness helps.

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Why you'd press play

When asking feels like failure, this makes the move gentler.

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