From childhood, Dr. Friedemann Schaub battled anxiety, low self-esteem, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. What once felt like lifelong struggles ultimately became the foundation of his mission: helping others turn emotional challenges into catalysts for growth and empowerment. Trained as a physician and cardiologist, and later earning a PhD in molecular biology, Dr. Schaub saw firsthand both the limits of allopathic medicine and the extraordinary intelligence within the human body. His own healing came when he learned to consciously work with the subconscious mind—the source of our deepest feelings and untapped potential. Today, as a best-selling author and Breakthrough and Empowerment Coach, he guides people to release emotional blocks, connect with their authentic truth, and step into their power as leaders of their own lives. Join Mystic Mag and read more.
You’ve shared that anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors shaped much of your early life. Looking back now, what do you see as the hidden wisdom or “gift” in those struggles?
I think overall, it really set me on the path toward my work. Early on, I realized, wow, this is tough—dealing with anxiety, dealing with OCD. I was very young and I didn’t get any help. No one sent me to a psychologist or anything like that. So I pretty much had to learn how to deal with it on my own.
Looking back, I think it helped me find my purpose and passion—which turned out to be very different from what I originally thought. I started out in cardiology, but in truth, my struggles showed me something much deeper. They showed me what anxiety is really about. A lot of people want to help, but they don’t necessarily know what it feels like or what it truly means. Because of my own experience, I can empathize on a much deeper level.
Another important realization was that I was able to put a face to my anxiety. So often, we demonize it. We give it labels like “mental health issue” or “chemical imbalance,” but we don’t look at the root cause. For me, the root was clear: I was just a little boy, overwhelmed, feeling like life was out of control, carrying the burden of my parents’ marriage on my shoulders as a peacemaker. Whenever I feel anxious now, I can picture that little boy. I no longer fear anxiety because I recognize it as a part of my subconscious—maybe the 7-, 8-, or 9-year-old me. That child isn’t someone to run from, but someone to comfort and reassure. This shift dissolved my fear of anxiety, which I believe is one of the biggest challenges people face. Many are too afraid of the emotion itself to face it, but I can say with certainty: there is no need to be afraid.
Finally, the third thing I learned is that I overcame it. I found a way to heal myself, and that in itself is empowering. If I can do it, anyone can. I’m not special—I simply discovered one way of healing anxiety, and now I can share that path with others.
In the end, what once felt like a burden turned out to be a gift.
You describe the subconscious mind as the source of our emotions. What’s the most common misconception people have about the subconscious—and how does that limit their healing?
I think a lot of people are afraid of the subconscious because they feel it’s out of their control. They blame it for procrastination, addictive behaviors, nightmares—anything they don’t want. In their mind, that’s the subconscious’ fault. And since most people don’t really know what to do with the subconscious, they just ignore it.
But the truth is, the subconscious is incredibly powerful. It runs about 70–80% of our daily life. For example, when you got up this morning and brushed your teeth, you were probably thinking about something completely different. You didn’t have to focus on the brushing itself. It happened automatically—that’s the subconscious at work.
The subconscious does a lot for us, but it needs a leader. Without leadership, it just repeats whatever it learned early in life. And what it repeats may no longer be appropriate for us as adults. For example, if your subconscious learned that meeting strangers is dangerous—because when you were five and went to kindergarten the other kids were mean—you may still carry that old pattern into adulthood. Without conscious leadership, we don’t outgrow those outdated beliefs.
This leads to several common misconceptions about the subconscious. People think it wants to harm us. It doesn’t—it’s actually trying to protect us. People think it doesn’t listen. It does—we just need to communicate with it clearly. Another misconception is that it takes a long time to change. In reality, when we’re consistent, the subconscious can shift very quickly. The key is not to force it, but to negotiate with it and convince it that this is truly what we want, not something unsafe.
Take dating, for example. Many people are afraid to date after having their heart broken. Their subconscious steps in and says: Don’t go on dates. It’s dangerous. You’ll get hurt again. To move forward, we have to reassure the subconscious: This time, I am safe. I won’t take rejection personally. If it doesn’t work out, that simply means this wasn’t the right person. I’ll be better prepared next time. When we send those messages consistently, the subconscious eventually understands: Okay, I don’t need to hold this person back from finding love. Their adult, conscious self can handle this.
But if we don’t prepare and communicate with the subconscious, it will still try to protect us. It may give us a headache, trigger a panic attack, or make us feel bad about ourselves—anything to keep us from stepping back into what it perceives as danger.
What type of services do you offer?
I mainly do one-on-one sessions, such as breakthrough programs. I also offer video courses, like the Fear and Anxiety course, where people can go through the main steps at their own pace, supported by preparation and consolidation materials.
In addition, I host a weekly podcast, which is available on my YouTube channel, and there are plenty of resources on my website as well. Many of them are free and designed to help people get started and build momentum.
In your experience, what role does the body itself play in healing emotional wounds, and how can we learn to “listen” to its intelligence more consciously?
My business used to be called Cellular Wisdom—the wisdom of the cells. Through my research, I discovered that our cells are far more magnificent than what I ever learned in medical school. Medical school doesn’t really teach us how powerful our cells are, and therefore how powerful we are.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, the body is not very practiced at healing emotions. Animals do it naturally. When a dog or a cat is stressed, they shake, run, or expel the energy through physical movement. We don’t do this anymore—but we should. We should shake, move, and let things go. That alone would help us release so much more immediately.
Instead, the body often stores emotions. As the well-known phrase goes: the body keeps the score. Things we haven’t fully digested—mentally or emotionally—often get transferred into the physical body. When the body responds with pain, autoimmune disease, or other symptoms, it’s like an alarm signal, a messenger telling us that something unresolved is still inside—some struggle or trauma we’re still holding onto.
In those moments, it helps to see the body as a partner: Thank you for sharing. I guess I need to find out what’s really behind this physical symptom. What emotional issue do I need to address in order to heal physically as well? In this way, the body becomes a powerful force that shows us when we’re out of balance.
I’ve also noticed this in my own life. Whenever I accomplished something major—finishing an exam, completing a book—I often got sick. It was as if my body forced me to rest, because otherwise I would have just kept going to the next thing. That, too, is the wisdom of the body: it reminds us when we’ve had enough, when we’ve been living too much in the sympathetic nervous system (the stress and action mode), and need to shift into the parasympathetic nervous system (the relaxation and rejuvenation mode) to recharge.
This is where the subconscious also comes in. It acts as the bridge between our intellect and our physical body. The subconscious listens to both, and it often communicates through the body, giving us hints and signals. That’s why listening to the body is so important in practices like meditation.
On my YouTube channel, for example, I share a meditation called Listen to the Messages of Your Body. It’s very effective because all you do is enter a relaxed state, scan through your body, and listen to what each part has to say. Whenever people try this—whether they have an illness or not—they’re amazed at the insights they receive. The subconscious speaks directly through the body, giving us valuable information.
So yes, we should absolutely listen to our bodies. They are always communicating with us.
You transitioned from a medical doctor and researcher into guiding others through subconscious work. What was the pivotal moment when you knew this was your true path?
I remember one moment when I knew I wasn’t satisfied with my work in research, but I didn’t know which direction to take. Then a good friend of my wife and me said, “I just did a course on the subconscious mind—maybe that would be interesting for you.” It hit me like lightning. Subconscious—wow. I had always been curious about it, but when someone actually suggested it, I enrolled in the course. It helped a lot.
Overall, it felt like a transition. As a physician, you tend to look at facts and treat the physical illness; you don’t always look underneath it. As a researcher I became more open to the idea that there is far more wisdom in the cells than I had believed as a doctor. Then I discovered yoga and meditation and realized how much a shift in energy can help healing. Sometimes I would go to a yoga class with a raging headache, and after a few yoga and meditation exercises the pain would be gone.
All these experiences began to tie together for me—and the subconscious became the connecting thread. When the pieces started to fall into place and someone suggested exploring the subconscious, everything clicked.
That said, I believe there is more than the subconscious. There is also higher consciousness—something beyond the physical and emotional—that deserves attention. I’m speaking about a spiritual dimension, not necessarily religious, but a spiritual perspective that sees us as part of a larger whole rather than as isolated little entities. Aligning with that perspective is a powerful addition to the healing path.
