Mental Health and Wellness Radio

There are 1.25 million Chinese living in California. Many of them are in the Bay Area. Like other groups, certain cultural factors and experiences can affect Chinese Americans and their mental health. In this episode we'll cover how issues such as stigma, immigration, generational differences, assimilation, family, community, access to care,  the Model Minority Myth and more have an influence on Chinese Americans and their mental health.   Host Jenee Darden gets insight from Larry Yang, psychologist and associate professor at Columbia University. 

Grandparents raising grandchildren is becoming more common in the African-American community. With that responsibility comes a need for support. It can also raise other personal issues of trauma that call for healing and mental wellness. A special project called Healing Trauma and Overcoming Stress is helping grandparents work through these challenges. Host Jenee Darden speaks with guests and psychologists Dr. Cheryl Johnson, president and co-founder of CJM Associates in Berkeley, California; and her fellow co-founder Dr. James Mensing.  

In a previous show, Host Jenee Darden took you on a geeky journey through the MacWorld/iWorld Conference in San Francisco. Now she’s exploring wearable devices and devices that help manage your health at the conference. Jenee speaks with Jeff Gamet, managing editor of The Mac Observer magazine. He says some of these devices helped him lose weight. Listen as they discuss wearable technology, smart scales and gadgets that even can send info about your vital signs to your doctor. 

Host Jenee Darden was in geek heaven when she attended the MacWorld/iWorld Conference in San Francisco. It’s a fun conference where you can find out what’s new and what’s up with Apple and technology. Jenee look for gadgets that could also be wellness tools.  She learned about making her own custom cell phone cases with VivoPrint.   Then she played with a device from Livescribe that brings handwritten notes to your iPad.  And a small camera from the company Closeli helps you keep an eye on things through your phone, while you’re away.  

Have you ever been in such a deep depression that you didn’t have the mental energy to dress yourself? Or maybe you were hurt in an accident and standing up to cook is hard on your body. Well, your state may be able to send someone to your home to help you.  In Minnesota they’re called personal care assistants or PCAs  Andre Best’s agency helps people with physical and mental health challenges stay in their home and gain independence. He is the founder of Best Home Care in Minnesota.  Andre explains the PCA program and how you may have access to these services in your state.    

Mental Health and Wellness Radio salutes mental health advocate and PEERS Board President Luther Jessie, 54.  Luther died at the beginning of the year. Host Jenee Darden reflects on his work in the community and shares an interview she did with him last year about his own wellness.

Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden noticed a recurring theme of “Taking a Chance” came up for her frequently in 2013. As we head into 2014, Jenee reflects on 2013. She shares why being open to taking chances can be a positive thing and good for your wellness for 2014. 

Mental illness doesn’t care about your race, culture or age. However, culture can play a role in how we view mental health. And it can affect our access to proper care. Health journalist Katherine Kam did a three-part series on Asian-American students, depression and suicide for New America Media. She's also a 2012 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow. Katherine reports that according to the CDC, 19% of Asian Americans students said they have seriously considered suicide during the past year.  Katherine looks at how academic pressures from family and society, along with cultural stigma can affect the mental health of Asian American high school and college students.  

Documentary filmmaker Kathy Leichter moved back into her childhood home where her mother, Nina, committed suicide in 1995. Nina had bipolar disorder. She was charming, witty and a mental health activist. Kathy gained greater insight into Nina’s joys and struggles when she found her mother’s personal audiotapes.  Kathy chronicles her mother’s life and bouts with bipolar in the film “Here One Day.” She speaks with Host Jenee Darden about the film, her mother and how family members cope when a loved one lives with a mental illness.  

In the story Words for Warning, protagonist and poet Alaina Down struggles with a family secret. The pain and anguish she has kept buried for years is starting to unravel. While her silence has driven her to a strong desire to end her life. Nash is the author of Words for Warning and a student at South Carolina State University. This is her first book.  She’s speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden about her book. She also shares her own story of abuse. Nash made a video  with a friend for a school project called “Behind the Smiles, Beyond the Letters”that  went viral and sparked discussion about mental health in the black community.  

When you think about your mental illness, how would you describe it? Challenging, a struggle, treatable? Would you ever call it a blessing? Dick Peterson does. He lives with bipolar disorder, major depression and generalized anxiety disorder. The former journalist is now a peer recovery support specialist for a homeless center in the Chicago area. He’s also a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) facilitator and in seminary.  He wrote about his struggles and triumphs with mental health in the Northwest Herald article, “Mental Illness-My Life’s Blessing, Not Curse.” He spoke with Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden about why he sees his challenges as blessings.  

June has been a busy news month.  From Nelson Mandela reportedly on his deathbed to historical Supreme Court rulings and Junteenth celebrations.  For Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden, all of these big stories share a common theme: freedom. Jenee reflects on the importance of freedom, the individual and the mental health movement. 

What are the activities or people in your life that gave you balance and peace of mind? Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden took her recorder to the Alameda County 10x10 Walk/Move for Health for answers.  Hear from a woman who lost 350 pounds with diet and exercise, and gained self-esteem.  And a man says his co-workers keep him well. Plus Jenee makes her hip- hop debut…sort of. The 10x10 Wellness Campaign is a national initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA. People with mental health challenges live 25 years less than the general population. Their lives are cut short by preventable health issues like obesity, diabetes, HIV, etc. The goal is to increase the lifespan of mental health consumers by 10 years, within 10 years. 

Tanya J. Peterson’s novel Leave of Absence takes readers into the broken, genuine hearts of two patients in a behavioral health center. Oliver is suicidal and deeply depressed after the loss of his wife and baby. Penelope is a young woman recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and doesn’t feel she deserves her fiancé’s love. Both are mourning the loss of their happy, balanced lives. But a thread of hope runs through each page as Oliver and Penelope help each other get through each day. Tanya J. Peterson speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio Host Jenee Darden about her novel, living with bipolar disorder and writing. 

Ryan Macasero opened up about his battles with depression and anxiety in an essay for The FilAm, a Filipino magazine. The essay is titled “Young journalist opens up about overcoming depression: The Asian American in isolation.” His story recently won him a journalism award. Ryan speaks with host Jenee Darden about his journey to recovery, obstacles immigrant families face, and mental health stigma in the Asian & Pacific Islander community. He also speaks on the pressures some Asians face from the Model Minority Myth. Ryan is a social media producer and reporter for Rappler.com.  

Lucinda Bassett rose to success as the founder of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety. But her personal life has been far from an easy journey. She grew up poor in Ohio with an abusive father, who was also an alcoholic. She battled anxiety disorder and her husband of 25 years committed suicide in 2008. Lucinda speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden about her life and inspirational new book, Truth Be Told: A Memoir of Success, Suicide, and Survival. 

We end our series on the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World with a look at WRAP’s future in Ghana. WRAP stands for Wellness Recovery Action Plan. There are 22 million people in the African country. But mental health services are dire. Only 3 psychiatric hospitals and roughly 12-14 therapists are available to those in need. Inhumane treatment of people with mental illness continues to be a serious issue. Host Jenee Darden speaks with WRAP facilitator Wali Mutazammil. He is working to bring hope and mental health awareness to his country through WRAP. Mutazammil is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and CEO of Transformational Development Consortium. 

In her continuing coverage of the WRAP Around the World Conference, host Jenee Darden takes a look at mental health and sex. Two topics that may seem unrelated, but actually coincide with each other. After all, the brain is the biggest and most powerful sex organ. Audrey Garfield is a WRAP facilitator in Vermont and President of the Copeland Center Board. The Copeland Center is the lead organization for WRAP trainings and programs. She talks to Jenee about the WRAP and sex discussion group she facilitated at the conference. They’ll also discuss sexual empowerment, medication effecting libidos, pleasure and wellness.    

Can’t seem to throw things away? Are you or someone you know living in an extremely cluttered environment? People who love WRAP, Wellness Recovery Action Plan, say you can use it for anything to better your life. That includes hoarding or severe collecting.  In the next installment of our series about WRAP and the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World Conference, we discuss severe cluttering, collecting and hoarding.  Host Jenee Darden interviews Lee Shuer. He talks about his current journey to recovery from over-collecting. Lee is the Director of Mutual Support Services at ServiceNet in Northampton, Mass. He is also the co-author of a free facilitator’s guide for The Buried in Treasures Workshop.    To get a better idea of how the WRAP plan works for mental health, listen to our first show “What is WRAP?” 

For the next few weeks we’re going to discuss various ways to use WRAP, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan. It’s a plan that was developed by people with mental health challenges. It helps people manage their own mental health and wellness.  But it can be applied to various parts of life and even business. The book is written by Mary Ellen Copeland. To get a basic understanding of WRAP, host Jenee Darden interviews BJ North, International Master WRAP Mentor and Master WRAP Facilitator.  Missed the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World Conference? Keep visiting www.peersnet.org/radio for interviews on workshop topics from the conference. 

Mental Health and Wellness Radio looks into what it’s like living with generalized anxiety disorder. In this energetic discussion, we get personal accounts of living with anxiety from host Jenee Darden and guest Jay Scott Smith, a reporter with TheGrio.com. In the second segment of the show Jenee discusses a treatment that helped her with anxiety called ACT or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She speaks with her ACT group facilitator Dr. Eugenie Hsu, a psychologist based in Berkeley, CA.  

Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden heard a lot of good things about Zumba from her friends. She decided to see how the Latin-inspired dance workout is good for the body and mind.  Jenee and PEERS intern Kelly Tong visit Just Dance Ballroom in Oakland. They get their Zumba on with instructor and professional dancer Eduardo Vargas.  *Photo is of Eduardo Vargas. 

Mental Health and Wellness Radio looks back on the lives of mental health activists Darnell Levingston, 54 and DeWitt Buckingham, 64. Both men are the founders of the speakers bureau, Black Men Speak. The members of Black Men Speak deliver speeches and talks about mental health and share their own stories of recovery.  Host Jenee Darden speaks with Gigi Crowder, Ethnic Services Manager for Alameda County Behavioral Healthcare services; and Black Men Speak members Joe Anderson and Kenneth Davis. The show concludes with Jenee's final interview with DeWitt Buckingham. 

Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden is in Portland, Oregon for the Alternatives Conference. She looks back on a short interview that packed a punch. Jenee speaks with Walter Hudson, a veteran and mental health advocate who shares his wellness plan. Have you heard of Post Traumatic Growth? If not, you have to listen. And if you have, you've got to listen. 

Mental Health and Wellness Radio is at the Alternatives Conference in Portland, Oregon.  Host Jenee Darden sits in on a workshop about a program offering free wellness and counseling services to veterans and military families. The Returning Veterans Project is based in Portland and serves people statewide. Jenee chats with Executive Director Belle Landau and volunteer clinician Margaret Eichler. 

Mental Health and Wellness Radio travels to Portland, Oregon for the 26th annual Alternatives Conference. Alternatives is the oldest conference run by and for consumers (people with mental health challenges). Host Jenee Darden drops by the "Helping Our Communities Get Back On Their Financial Feet" workshop.  She talks to presenter Joe Powell about how financial stability and financial literacy can make a great impact on one's wellness. Joe Powell is the executive director of the Association of Persons Affected by Addiction (APAA) in Dallas, Texas. He also serves on SAMHSA's Wellness Initiative Steering Committee. 

Have you or a loved one with mental health challenges experienced euphoric spiritual enlightenment? What about deep spiritual bleakness? These are examples of spiritual psychosis or spiritual emergency.  Last month a groundbreaking conference on this issue was held in Oakland, Calif.  The event, "Psychosis as a Spiritual Crisis and Opportunity for Growth," was hosted by Alameda County Behavioral Healthcare Services and the California Mental Health and Spirituality Initiative.  Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden interviews Dr. Michael Cornwall, a psychotherapist who has helped people in spiritual psychosis. He was one of the speakers at the conference. Dr. Cornwall blogs at www.madinamerica.com. Photo from Flickr comedy_nose  

The PEERS documentary Shine follows the lives of three East Bay youth recovering from mental health challenges caused by trauma.  One is a survivor of sexual abuse, another overcame depression after being paralyzed from an armed robbery and the third youth speaks on coming to the realization in her teens that she had a mental health challenge.  The entire cast speaks with Jenee Darden about youth, mental health recovery and how the community can be more supportive of young people.  Guest are Markeeta Parker, a mental youth advocate, Arthur "AR" Renowitzky, a rapper and founder of the Life Goes On Foundation; and Brianna Williams, Lead TAYi Coordinator for PEERS. TAYi stands for Transitional Age Youth Initiative.  Photo credit: Jan Sturmann (L-R)Arthur Renowitzky, Brianna Williams, Markeeta Parker

Members from the Pool of Consumer Champions share touching stories of how Jay Mahler has changed their lives. The POCC is a group launched from Jay's vision and leadership. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for people in Alameda County living with mental illness.

Mental health rights advocate Jay Mahler is retiring from his position as Consumer Relations Manger for Alameda County. As one living with schizophrenia and an advocate for others with mental health challenges, he has seen the good, the bad and the hopeful in the mental health system. He speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden about his 40 years of activism and what's next in his life.

In the United States, an estimated 3 million people with severe mental illness have a 25-year shorter lifespan than the general population. Alameda County aims to eradicate this problem locally through the 10x10 Wellness Campaign. "Mental Health and Wellness Radio" host Jenee Darden speaks with the campaign's Manager Cardum Harmon.

"Mental Health and Wellness Radio" attended the 2012 CASRA Conference in San Mateo, Calif. to catch up with award-winning journalist and science writer Robert Whitaker. He speaks with host Jenee Darden about the pharmaceutical-drug industry, how some studies show short-term medical use results in higher rates of recovery than long-term use and why there is a growing trend of children being prescribed psychiatric medication. Whitaker is the author of "Mad in America" and "Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America." Photo: Robert Whitaker Gives a Lecture at the 2012 CASRA Conference.Photo Credit: Jenee Darden 

**This story won a 2012 New America Media Award for Outstanding Community Reporting-- Radio.*** A small film generating big buzz is "Dark Girls." The documentary brings to light the issues of colorism and its effects on darker-hued women in the black community world-wide. In this special episode of "Mental Health and Wellness Radio" host Jenee Darden explores the psychological impacts of colorism on black women. Darden interviews "Dark Girls" producers/directors Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry; psychologist Dr. Dietra Hawkins, and she has a candid conversation about growing up a dark-skinned black girl with PEERS Empowerment Assistant Christal Byrd. 

Head next door to the Paramount Theatre in Downtown Oakland and visit PEERS' "See Me, Not My Diagnosis" mask display. While participating in a mask workshop created by activist and artist Adella, mental health consumers created the pieces. They express their bouts with stigma and perseverance through self-love. "Mental Health and Wellness Radio" host Jenee Darden explains the purpose of the exhibit and introduces the artists' inspirational stories.   Mask by Jader Tadefa

"Mental Health and Wellness Radio" visits a conference on Asian Americans, spirituality and mental health. In part one of our coverage, host Jenee Darden learns about the martial art Qigong and how it can be used as a wellness tool for such diagnosis as depression and anxiety. She interviews Dr. Randy Sugawara of Qi Recovery. Dr. Sugawara is a psychologist and martial arts instructor.  Photo by Mr. Moses Ma

After a divorce, the sudden death of his grandmother and a near-fatal car accident, writer and comedian Brian Copeland  sunk into a deep depression. His one-man show “The Waiting Period” is a humorous and dark look at Copeland’s bout with depression. The play covers 10-days Copeland waits for the arrival of a gun he plans to use for suicide. “The Waiting Period” is a follow up to his smash autobiographical play “Not a Genuine Black Man,” which holds the record for the longest running solo play in San Francisco. Copeland hosts Bay Area television talk show “7 Live” and “The Brian Copeland Show” on KGO radio in San Francisco. 

On Saturday October 1, 2011, PEERS hosted its first Mental Health and Wellness Walk at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley. PEERS Podcast host Jenee Darden gives you an audio tour of the day.

The PEERS Podcast is on location at the 25th Annual Alternatives Conference in Orlando, Florida. Host Jenee Darden takes time for giggles at a laughter yoga workshop led by Grace Karen Sweet, Director of The Average Miracles Foundation near Santa Cruz, Calif. Sweet explains why this type of yoga helps those with mental health challenges. Photo by Jenee Darden

The PEERS Podcast is in Orlando, Florida for the Alternatives Conference. Host Jenee Darden drops by the “Restoring the Spirit” workshop about spirituality as a mental-health wellness tool. Can Truong, director of the National Asian American Pacific Islanders Empowerment Network, explains how his spirituality brought him through recovery. Photo by Jenee Darden

Michael Schratter has been traveling the world on his bicycle for just over a year. The Canadian schoolteacher is cycling the globe to raise awareness about mental health stigma through his “Ride Don’t Hide”campaign. Schratter is now wrapping up his tour in Canada and expects to roll up to his Vancouver home next month. PEERS Podcast host Jenee Darden spoke with him during his stop in Montreal.  Photo of Michael Schrattter cycling in Mexico.   

Armed with sharp wit and serious snark, journalist Danielle Belton dissects pop culture and politics on her blog Black Snob. Belton shared her story on living with bipolar disorder in the Summer 2011 issue of BP magazine, a hope-filled publication about bipolar disorder. She talks with PEERS Podcast host Jenee Darden about her life, career and mental health stigma in the African-American community. Photo provided by bp magazine. 

In its debut podcast, PEERS focuses on one of the most covered stories of the summer, the Casey Anthony trial. Three years after the death of two-year-old Caylee, a jury found the 25-year-old Florida woman not guilty of the murder of her daughter. Shortly after the verdict was announced, those still in disbelief of Anthony's innocence struggled with how and why a mother could allegedly kill her child. Many trying to make sense of the terrible act were quick to question the subject's mental state. Noticing the prevalence of the term "bipolar" in online forums about Casey Anthony around the globe, mental health advocate and writer Andy Behrman decided to write about the issue in the About.com article, "The Casey Anthony Trial Adds to Misunderstanding Mental Illness." Responding to others' questions about whether he thought Anthony had bipolar disorder, Behrman writes about the stigmatization of the condition. In the very first PEERS podcast with host Jenee Darden, Behrman discusses his thoughts on the Anthony issue and his perspective on the high use of psychiatric medication in the U.S., including why he quit acting as a spokesman for the drug Abilify. Behrman authored a memoir about his early journey through bipolar disorder called Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, and is currently working on a second book that exposes how major pharmaceutical companies operate.