Mental Health Moment

Welcome back everyone! Did you miss us? We're back from our "sabbatical" by featuring an awesome interview with Amanda. She shares her personal mental health journey dealing with anxiety, depression, a divorce, and childhood trauma. We discuss prioritizing mental health, finding the right therapist, and how to get out of your own way to get the help you need. Together we'll discover the power of being vulnerable, being open, and finding a safe space in therapy. Listen in to find out why therapy is sometimes like spring cleaning.

This episode we welcome Emily's youngest sister Becca to the podcast as she shares her story of her lifelong struggle with mental illness. As part of her journey we discuss major depressive disorder, self harm, and anorexia, along with a myriad of treatments like as therapy, inpatient hospitalization, and the sometimes controversial electro convulsive therapy or ECT. In the end, we learn the importance of focusing on the big picture of mental health and never giving up.

On today's show we welcome author, musician, painter, and hypnotist Darren Griffin to share his remarkable story of mental illness and his unconventional path to wellness. Without any previous mental health diagnoses, a severe medication mishap resulted in his brain injury and several mental health conditions. Suddenly his previously clinical study of the mind and mental health became his reality. Listen in as we discuss the trials of dealing with depression, anxiety, memory loss, and hallucinations brought on a brain injury. More importantly we celebrate the triumph in forgiving your weaknesses and embracing your strengths.

This week on MHM we discuss mental health in our marriages and relationships. We're also happy to welcome a special guest, Emily's friend Melanie, who shares her point of view and experiences from having an open marriage. Not to spoil the episode but it turns out there's a lot the same no matter how you define your relationship. To that end we talk about communication, boundaries, insecurities, stressors, anxieties, and the sometime endless "what ifs" that accompany any happy union. 

This week we present Emily's presentation at BYU Women's Conference, titled: "When We Feel Like a Broken Vessel: The Challenges of Anxiety and Depression." We invite you to follow along with the presentation slides. We're super happy (and lucky) that the presentation audio was recorded and that we're allowed to share it with everyone on the podcast. It certainly was a surreal experience to be invited to speak to such an amazing group.

We're back with a great episode about shame! Bet you never thought you'd ever read that. This week Emily's sister Jenny joins us on the podcast to talk all things shame. We discuss the difference between guilt and shame, where guilt is feeling bad about your actions, shame is a poor view of self that is not beneficial. Additionally we discuss how men and women feel shame differently, how we can allow ourselves to make mistakes, and how empathy is the antidote to shame. Plus we talk *a lot* about sociopaths.

This week we get introspective, like really really introspective, as the clinicians become the clients and talk about their own stuff. One of the goals of the podcast is reducing the stigma of mental health and what better way than to get vulnerable and talk about ourselves. Personal challenges aside, we talk the need for every individual to start with themselves and be honest about managing mental health. Remember compassion is vital...that and take your meds.

Ever wonder why certain thoughts or ideas about yourself affects so much of your motivation and decision making? On this episode we talk all about core beliefs—or the ideas of how you perceive yourself that are built over time based on your life experiences, both for the positive and the negative. Many times in therapy what blocks a person from becoming their best self are negative core beliefs such as: "I'm broken", "I'm ugly", "I'm unlovable", "I'm a failure", or "I can't do anything right." We talk how to discover what your negative core beliefs might be, and how they are affecting your ability to becoming your better self. We also share some thoughts on challenging negative core beliefs with positive and realistic reframing.

On this show we tackle one of the most frequently asked questions to therapists: does my kid need therapy? Claire joins us one again to talk about the most common issues affecting kids and when seeing a therapist might be a good idea. If you find yourself thinking "I don't know if my kid needs therapy but..." then this episode is a great place to start. We also discuss the importance of parents supporting their kids in therapy and the fallacy that just sending them to therapy once a week will magically fix their problems. Finally we examine kid-friendly therapy modalities, why it looks different than adult therapy, and why it's a good thing if your kid's therapy session involves a lot of toys and sand.

This week Claire joins us again and we talk boundaries, what they are, why you need them and how we can all do a better job of sticking to them. We discuss how safe and healthy relationships are created and maintained with proper boundaries, whether those relationships are with coworkers, friends, and yes, even family. Learn about rigid boundaries and flexible boundaries and how to choose which one is best in various situations. Finally we explore how the "setting boundaries" discussion varies with different audiences, e.g. peers, children, and adult parents.

On this episode friend of the program and fellow therapist Claire McKeon joins us to talk about perfectionism. Let's face it, we generally have a laundry list of expectations that we create for ourselves and the necessity to be perfect in all aspects of what we are and do. We need to be the best mom or dad, husband or wife, son or daughter, employee, friend, neighbor, school or community volunteer, the PTA president... and pretty soon the list is daunting. Combine that with comparing our average self to other's best selves (especially as portrayed on social media) and it's all so overwhelming. We talk about how to overcome the feeling of always needing to be perfect by accepting the reality of the situation without judgement. Plus ways to combat toxic perfectionism by taking a moment of down time to help you be your best self, and by focusing on something positive in your today, no matter how small.

Hey all, we've teased this episode for a long time but now it's here! How to dump your therapist! I mean, what is the proper way to end the therapeutic relationship. While it would be great if therapy could go on forever, in reality a therapist's goal is to help you deal with your stuff and insurance companies may limit the number of session they'll cover, so let's end therapy the right way. Most people aren't great at ending things in general but in general don't "ghost" (just stop showing up without telling your therapist). We share 10 tips how to achieve a smooth end to therapy, and ensure a respectful transition.

On this week's show we talk about dealing with people that don't apologize. First and foremost don't be that person that either cannot or will not apologize, but after that what can you do when dealing with an individual who cannot seem to bring themselves to say they are sorry. Learn the mistakes people make when they don't get the apology they think they deserve. Finally, because no one has control over other people, we talk how your primary responsibilities are not being a jerk, self-awareness, and to keep your side of the street clean.

This week we ask the question "how do therapists professionally care?" As we build to our "breaking up with your therapist episode" we pause along the way to explore how to ensure your therapist truly cares about you and how you can make sure they are more than just someone who takes your money to hear your problems, a term that we loving refer to as an "emotional prostitute." Plus an inside look into how "caring" therapists differ from "caring" lawyers.

We're back! And to welcome ourselves back from our summer break we did the smart thing and dove right in to the subject of the mental health of sexual assault victims. Friend of the show Heather joins us to share her story and the wide range of complex feelings and emotions that stem from a sexual assault incident. Together we discuss how feelings of guilt, loneliness, shame, and others are normal, but not universal to sexual assault victims.

Another episode taken from our Facebook Live sessions. This time we talk more about sharing our feelings with those around us. Learn why it's important to own your emotions and why there's "no blaming" when sharing with others. Finally, tips on how to be brave and share feelings in a more positive way, how someone can be a "litmus test" for sharing particular feelings, and why you can share certain feelings with some people but not with others.

On today's show we're joined by James. He's a licensed massage therapist, but also our meditation/spiritual guru. We talk setting your intention, getting into the "flow", and the amazing benefits and results of meditation. As an added bonus you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the soothing sound of James's voice.

Continuing from last week's episode on trauma, this week we talk trauma modalities and different ways to process, understand, and generally just figure out your trauma. Modalities include EMDR, TF-CBT, Hypnotherapy and more!

This week it's all about trauma. We discuss what's happening in the brain of someone who has experienced trauma and how a trauma survivor can know if they are dealing with PTSD brought on by their traumatic event. For those who work with trauma survivors we provide some tips on how to help without re-traumatizing or making things worse. Plus candy!

This week how to keep yourself balanced brain-wise. We talk about the science of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system, and how to get yourself out of the primal, panicked state of the sympathetic into the calm, relaxed state of the parasympathetic. Plus we share tips and tricks that our subscribers shared about what calms you down.

Yay for recording the podcast while broadcasting on Facebook Live! This week we talk comorbidity, which despite how it looks is just a fancy word for having multiple chronic conditions, which in this case would be multiple mental health disorders that commonly accompany ADHD. Listen in about what it looks like when someone with ADHD also has anxiety, depression, or sensory processing disorder. Finally, check out the live recording of this episode on our Facebook page to see all the juicy, scandalous details we edit out of the episodes (like we would ever say those kind of things

We have another special guest with us this week! While visiting sunny San Diego we recorded an episode with our friend Becca Harris. We talk kids (and a little about adults) with Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD. Listen in as we discuss both forms of SPD, both sensory seeking and sensory defensive, what to look for if you suspect someone might be affected by SPD, and what resources are available to help you attend to someone with SPD.

This week we–oh look a squirrel! But seriously we talk ADHD, and more specifically adult ADHD; how to recognize the signs of ADHD and diagnose yourself better than WebMD ever could. We also discuss the stigmas and myths behind ADHD and how you can be functional and even super successful living with it.

On a very special episode of Mental Health Moment we are joined by Emily's sister Jenny (also a social worker) and Felix Salazar. Felix tells his story of his wife who completed suicide about 5 years ago. Felix recounts the pain and emotions of the suicide of a family member and what he learned in his grieving process. Learn how everyone has their own way of grieving and there's no perfect recipe to the emotional rollercoaster of suicide. Felix helps us all understand how family members of those who have died by suicide deal with the grief by embracing the grief.

This week we tackle the important subject of eating disorders and body image with special guests Heather Litster and Camille Kennard. Heather tells her story of her emotions and fears in struggling with an eating disorder while Camille, a licensed therapist, shares her tips for creating a positive self image.

It's part two of our discussion about feelings. Now that you know the purpose of feelings, learn about what to do with them. We talk finding the right time and place to stop and reconcile your emotions, what to do when your outward appearance doesn't match your inner feelings, and increasing your emotional vocabulary.

What is the point of feelings? Wouldn't it be better if we didn't feel feelings at all? Sometimes the answer may seem like "yes" but feelings play an important role in what makes us human. This week we talk the purpose of feelings and why processing what you feel is a healthier alternative than avoiding them.

More about what makes a good therapist. While most therapists are good at what they do, that doesn't necessarily mean they are all created equal. We talk about what working with a good therapist feels like and why a therapist that was a good fit for someone else might not be the right therapist for you.

This episode is all about sleep hygiene. We discuss feeling your feelings, avoiding screen time, and having a nighttime routine so you get to sleep when you need to and avoid worrying about earthquakes at all hours of the night.

This week Emily's husband Ben is our guest co-host as we discuss the mental health challenges associated with being the parent of a special needs child. Plus strategies for preparing and dealing with high-stress life situations.

We talk PANDAS, not panda bears, but pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (say that 3 times fast). Our guest Raquel Salazar talks with us about her son with PANDAS, her journey understanding the disorder, and the frustration in trying to get proper treatment.

On this episode we delve further into what's going on in the brain when dealing with anxiety. Plus we talk about a variety of skills to alleviate anxiety and why having a broad range of mindfulness activities in your "toolbox" is a good idea.

We talk about recognizing and dealing with one of the most common mental health problems: anxiety. And why your loved ones probably aren't dead in a ditch.