OKAY-ISH PODCAST

As 2022 comes to a close, everyone is talking about their goals and resolutions; but we're not going to talk about that here. Instead, Maryellen wants to talk about how freaking hard change is. She discusses:  How we avoid change   How she thinks change is difficult because it's uncomfortable, and we don't like feeling uncomfortable   Some big personal news/personal change: she sold her therapy practice   Needing time to sit with that change and recover   How she's dealing with change, including reminding herself that uncomfortable does not equal bad, and that taking a step back can be a good thing to propel you forward   Lastly, Maryellen explains that she needs to also take a step back from the podcast in order to properly rest and reconfigure. She truly believes this isn't goodbye, but see you later. It's all going to be okay—no ish.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

For many of us, the holidays are full of joy and love. However, holidays where grief and sadness dominate are also a reality for many, yet far less discussed. As the holiday season approaches, Maryellen wants to talk about grief. She hopes this episode sheds light on all the different faces of grief, and how, even during the most wonderful time of year, it's okay not to be okay. This episode highlights:   Holidays without a loved one  How people grieve more than death   Grieving differences in family dynamics, and the reality of our expectations    How holidays are ripe with traditions and pressure to be in the holiday spirit, which can trigger people   What to do with our grief   That grief needs time   How, if we ignore our feelings, they don't go away, but instead come out in different ways    That grief looks different for everyone    How, often people grieving want to be alone, but the number one thing we need when grieving is other people    Common symptoms of grief    That it's okay to distract yourself from grief, too  How grief is so much more complicated than just the 5 stages commonly identified  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

You've heard it a million times: your physical health is important for your mental health, and vice versa. But do you know why, or what exactly they do to one another? Today, Maryellen wants to talk about that link, and discuss a few more details that you may not think of, including:   The importance of sleep  Eating patterns  Heightened autonomic nervous system = our brain releasing cortisol into our blood stream  Parasympathetic nervous system being repressed   Frustrations with the random gimmicks that promise to “cure all”   Forgetting when we need to do the simple things for ourselves   The value of therapy    Tired as F*ck: Burnout at the Hands of Diet, Self-Help, and Hustle Culture by Caroline Dooner    Knowing when your body needs rest    How our bodies communicate to us, but it's up to us to listen    Taking the time to check in with yourself    How, if we can start to be aware, we can take better care of ourselves    If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

Trauma is serious, scary, and there are not enough services in place to support those suffering. Today, Maryellen wants to normalize it a bit more, show a different perspective, and explain why some people will suffer in situations that maybe you wouldn't. In discussing trauma Maryellen covers:  The subjective nature of trauma and how it lacks a clear definition   DMing an influencer to correct them on a trauma comment   Big T's and little T's   How, for each person, different things can be traumatic and that's okay   EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): a trauma therapy based off of Structural Dissociation Theory  Excerpts from My Dark Vanessa by Elizabeth Russel (TW: sexual assault)   The importance of recognizing the little T's  How little T's affect us and change our behavior  If you're struggling, please reach out to a therapist. Visit psychologytoday.com or therapyden.com for a good place to start.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

Maryellen has had to make some big decisions lately, and a friend asked her how she was making them. That made her stop and question just how exactly she was making these decisions, and if she was listening to herself as much as she was to everyone around her. When people suggest you listen to your gut, it can be difficult; especially if you struggle with anxiety. What was helping Maryellen the most was actually journaling, something she's gotten back in to recently, and speaks about today. She discusses:   How we make decisions   The ways we can journal in non-productive ways   Her history with journaling   Journaling as a tool to understand yourself and organize your thoughts   Different types of journals   Tips to avoid spiraling when journaling   How we operate on autopilot   Understanding what is a gut instinct vs. what is anxiety     Processing events and making decisions  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

Today the creative mind behind the brand Adulting With ADHD, Sarah Snyder-Castañeda, joins Maryellen to discuss what ADHD really looks like. When you hear ADHD, many people instinctively and stereotypically think of a young child who can't sit still, but it's far more nuanced and affects people of all ages. The two discuss:   How Sarah came up with the brand  What ADHD truly is   The lack of diagnoses and treatment with adults   The difficulty and grief that can come with being diagnosed at an older age   Medication and the polarizing opinions surrounding it    The importance of talking about your struggles   Common ADHD symptoms in adults  The relationship between ADHD and hormones   Advice for adults being diagnosed for the first time, or for parents whose child is being diagnosed   The importance of being careful with the information you consume…TikTok is not a reliable source    Their Okay-ish moments of the week!   To learn more visit adultingwithadhd.com and check out The Adulting With ADHD podcast.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

Have you noticed a change in your workplace culture or your personal stress levels since the pandemic? Working from home has caused many organizational shifts, in both good ways and bad. Organizational psychologist Dr. Shanna Teel joins Maryellen to discuss leadership coaching, burnout, and more, including:  What an organizational psychologist does  If organizations are really willing to bring on an organizational psychologist  Changes within organizations as a result the pandemic   How leaders who practiced empathy prior to Covid succeeded at leading during the pandemic  Dr. Teel's thoughts on the quiet quitting trend   The high expectations of the next generation in the workplace   Misuse of stress vs. burnout   Signs of burnout   If burnout has changed with people working from home  Cognitive fatigue and how it depletes us  Be sure to follow Dr. Shanna Teel on social media @drshannateel and visit drshanna.com  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

Licensed marriage and family therapist Kelley Stevens joins Maryellen on the pod this week to discuss being both a private practice therapist, and a consultant for therapists! This episode is as hilarious as it is informative, and we hope it inspires you to “do the thing!”—whatever that may be. Maryellen and Kelley get in to:   Working remotely  Opening a private practice    The difference between private practices and settings such as hospitals or clinics  Issues with insurance   Everything that goes in to a therapist's rate  Advocating for yourself with your insurance company  Marketing for therapists   How the first therapist you meet might not be the best fit, but to not give up    Advice Kelley offers to therapists the most   The intimidation of making a business plan    Okay-ish moments of the week (warning: they both involve poop...)  If you don't want to use your insurance but need a lower rate, be sure to check out Open Path Psychotherapy Collective at openpathcollective.org.  Be sure to follow Kelley on Instagram @theprivatepracticepro and visit theprivatepracticepro.com.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources.

This week is all about mindfulness! And before you roll your eyes and pause the podcast, bear with us. Maryellen used to feel the exact same way! But since she's come to understand it more, she really appreciates the value it can bring to your life. However, mindfulness is something she's been letting fall to the wayside lately, so she wanted to make a conscious effort (hey, mindfulness!) to discuss it today. This episode gets into:   The definition of mindfulness   How it started in religious beliefs  Jon Kabat-Zinn bringing it to the western world  How one of his books helped to change her view on mindfulness   What mindfulness means to Maryellen    How our brains filter information in order to keep moving  How, in order to de-stress, sometimes we actually need to notice everything around us   How mindfulness helps people with anxiety by bringing them in to the present  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

TW: self-harm, bipolar disorder, psychosis, suicidal thoughts  Today Maryellen is joined by a special guest, bipolar advocate Tatyana Frost. Tatyana runs the popular Instagram account, @havingbipolar, and opens up to the OKAY-ISH community about her journey of acceptance and advocacy. The two discuss:   Tatyana's first experience talking about her diagnosis  Starting her Instagram during quarantine  How she felt when she was first diagnosed  Her parent's reaction to the diagnosis and their relationship   How disorders such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD are widely accepted and discussed, but bipolar didn't make it on the “acceptance train”   How, while a lifelong condition, bipolar disorder is still treatable  The importance of taking your medication when you have bipolar disorder  How Tatyana keeps herself stable  How the introduction of lithium changed the game for bipolar disorder   What psychosis means and how it can manifest  Advice for someone who was just diagnosed with bipolar disorder  Advice for family members of someone who was just diagnosed with bipolar disorder  Be sure to follow Tatyana on Instagram @havingbipolar.   If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

This week is a big one as Maryellen celebrates her birthday! Be sure to send your best wishes over on Instagram! In the spirit of celebration, your host takes a moment to sincerely thank everyone who listens to and supports the show. We couldn't do this without you!!   The episode today is all about communication, something most of us do all day, every day, in a bunch of different ways! Maryellen explores:  Why do we communicate?   Is making your point productive?  How often are we communicating without listening?  How often are we communicating the same thing in different ways?  How often are we actually communicating about different things?  How much of our communication is about the other person?  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources. 

The commercials are rolling, the panic is setting in, it's that time of year again — back to school! If you're like us and have no idea where the summer went, worry not, because registered social worker, Brianna Urquhart, is here to talk about how to keep ourselves okay-ish when the seasons are changing. The two chat:  Common things people do in this change of season that don't work  How to get prepared and start off strong without setting yourself up for failure  Realistic “self-care” strategies  Debunking common fears about back to school  The pressure of doing everything perfectly  Anti-therapy therapy advice  How rigidity is never going to benefit you   Okay-ish moments in their lives  You can follow Brianna on social media @simply_socialwork and check out simplysocialwork.ca for links to her blog, YouTube, and how to work with her virtually across Ontario, Canada.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow your host on Instagram @maryellendance. To submit questions or stories, send her a DM! Plus, be sure to check out maryellendance.com for more resources.

If you find yourself so focused on other people's needs that yours aren't a priority, this episode is for you! This week is a big one as we're celebrating 2 years of OKAY-ISH! We are so excited for what's in store, including some really awesome guests. Maryellen has been seeing ads all over social media lately to “learn how to stop being a people pleaser” which serves as the episode inspiration for the week! Maryellen chats:   What is a people pleaser?  At what point is it a bad thing?   We are in charge of our own happiness Signs of being a people pleaser  Boundaries — they're meant to keep people in, not push them away  No is not a dirty word & uncomfortable is not bad   Loved ones don't want us to be people pleasers  Keeping our own needs a priority helps our relationships with others  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories, send us a DM! 

We're going back to the basics again this week and chatting about self-regulation! Unfortunately, we can't throw tantrums in the grocery store (I mean, you can, but...), so most of us have learned to self-regulate, or simply push things down — which is NOT what we want to do. So today, Maryellen gives everyone a refresher course on how to get up close and personal with our feelings and tried and true techniques to start exercising self-regulation. She dives into:  What is self-regulation?   Talked a lot about with little kids, not enough with adults  Are we actually learning techniques or just learning to hide our true feelings?   How do we actually self-regulate?   How do we know when to do these self-regulating techniques?  How do we know we are self-regulating in a way that's productive?  The first step to regulating ourselves is recognizing what's going on   Start to learn how you respond to your feelings  HALT: hungry, angry, lonely, tired; if you are too much of any of these, it's going to be more of a trigger   We have become so used to functioning when we haven't had our basic needs met, but that is not a badge of honor   When we have to bite our tongue in a moment, it's important to remember to come back and address the feeling  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories, send us a DM! 

This week Maryellen is super excited to do an episode full of listener questions! Doing episodes like these helps her to discover what type of content you want to hear! Enjoy this rapid-fire episode covering topics like:  How do you know if something is a chemical imbalance or something you can work through?   What is the difference between being really sad and being depressed?   How to encourage a friend to see a therapist   When to stop overthinking and trust your gut How to know if I should see a counselor, therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist  I think I'm in love with my best friend, what do I do?   My best friend is marrying someone I can't stand and I don't know how to act   Advice for parents/friends/partners of someone dealing with severe anxiety/depression   I'm in love with my best friend's fiancé, and I don't know what to do  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com or send us a DM on Instagram! 

This week Maryellen opens up about a topic close to home, burnout as a therapist. While you may not be a therapist, you may be able to relate in your own way, as burnout has become all too common in this always-on culture. She also introduces a new segment, Therapissed, all about things that rub her the wrong way as a therapist, especially when she's burnt out! Maryellen discusses:   “Leaving work at work” isn't as easy as it sounds   Burnout won't go away if you ignore it   Try to anticipate when you'll need a mental health day; look out for yourself   Vicarious trauma that comes with engaging empathetically with survivors of trauma   We need to normalize and own our burnout  Substituting yoga/gym for therapy? No!  Frustration of being caught off guard and asked to provide advice   If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen goes back to the basics, with therapy 101! There is so much misinformation out there that getting started can be overwhelming. We hope this episode is a useful resource that can give you some confidence in reaching out for help.    Having a mental health diagnosis doesn't mean there is something wrong with you    There doesn't have to be something “wrong with you” to go to therapy    We can't diagnose ourselves    Online therapy resources & platforms: proceed with caution   Life coaches, empowerment coaches, and mental health coaches aren't therapists  What to talk about at your first session  Therapists are not mind readers    It's okay if you're not a match with your first therapist, don't let that deter you    Starting therapy or medication is not a life sentence   Going to a therapist is not the best thing for emergencies  Psychiatric emergency line: 988   Lifeline if you're feeling suicidal: 211   For help finding a therapist, visit psychologytoday.com, your primary care doctor, and contact your insurance company.   If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

We're begging you, please don't self-diagnose from memes on the internet... Especially not codependency, because, heads up, codependency isn't even a diagnosis!! This week Maryellen talks all about codependency and rewrites some “inspirational” quotes to reflect the truth:  What do people mean when they say "codependent"? Codependency originated from alcoholics anonymous  Popularized with romantic relationships, but can be in all types of relationships  Unhealthy relationship dynamics don't automatically make the relationship codependent  Ask yourself: does the power dynamic in this relationship feel equal?    The good news? We can change unhealthy relationship dynamics!  If you're suffering from abuse in your life, please call for support    National Domestic Violence Hotline (open 24/7): 800-799-SAFE. Text START to 88788  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

TW: Domestic violence   This week Maryellen is joined by her sister-in-law to analyze the domestic violence portrayed in Colleen Hoover's popular novel, It Ends with Us:  Why they thought it was a good depiction of a violent relationship  Trauma is not an excuse for abuse   There should be more therapy talk in this book    Correlation/schemas – the cycle of abuse  Romanticizing abuse and toxic sex  Red flags and green flags from the characters  Manipulation vs. trying to do something nice  Victim blaming    National Domestic Violence Hotline (open 24/7): 800-799-SAFE. Text START to 88788  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen talks all about the federal government's ruling that abortion will now be decided by the states, and offers tips on keeping ourselves okay-ish throughout this scary time. This episode is all about: Validating your feelings  The importance of not catastrophizing Trauma Triggers How to keep yourself “okay” Living in a gray world   Being careful about how we talk about this  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com!

What do you do when life absolutely pummels lemons at you? This week Maryellen chats with Tay Dome all about her mental health resource, Lemons:  Why Tay created Lemons  The stigma around mental health  The goal of the foundation  Connecting people to the resources they need  Self-diagnosing from social media  Men's mental health  You can follow Tay on Instagram @taydome and learn about Lemons by Tay on Instagram @lemonsbytay and www.lemonsbytay.com  To learn more about Operation Happy Nurse visit www.operationhappynurse.org  To get the lemons bracelet, made with Erica Woolston, visit https://ericawoolston.com/collections/ew-x-the-lemons-foundation/products/ew-x-the-lemons-foundation  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen talks all about various financial topics:  How to take a step back from financial feelings to make good decisions  Normalizing money decisions  Helping yourself become better prepared for uncertainties  The different forms of financial abuse  How problem debt and mental health are connected   Relationship patterns with your money  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! Follow Tara on Instagram @taramariemurphy. 

TW: self-harm, psychiatric emergencies  This week Maryellen talks all about psychiatric emergencies:  Why psychiatric emergencies are important to talk about  The mental hygiene law  The importance of safety relating to psychiatric emergencies  The problem with current resources   Systemic issues within health care  If you need assistance locating long-term mental health resources, talking through a problem, or exploring mental health treatment options, call 211 to speak with someone who can help. Additional resources include the help hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Always call 911 first if you or someone you love may be a danger to themselves or others. If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen talks all about trauma:  What is trauma informed care?  The mental health movement  Dissociation due to trauma  EMDR trauma treatment   Structural dissociation theory  How sleep helps us process trauma    If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen talks all about happiness:  What is happiness?  What does happiness look like?  Comparison having a direct effect on our happiness  The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky How our outlook affects our happiness  Toxic positivity  How we're doing happiness wrong    How we're really bad at predicting our own happiness  Be sure to check out The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen talks all about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial:  What is an abusive relationship?  How watching this triggers people and what to do about it  We will never know what really happened  What Borderline Personality Disorder looks like   What Histrionic Personality Disorder looks like   Is this an abusive relationship?  Men can be victims of abuse, and this abuse can sometimes look different   Can a relationship be abusive to both parties?   If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com!   

The week Maryellen talks all about boundaries:   How boundaries first came about   Definition of boundaries   Types of boundaries: physical, emotional, sexual, financial, etc  Knowing when to set a boundary  How to set a boundary  What to look at before you set boundaries    If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

Emily and Stephanie are the hosts of Cycle Chats, a podcast that destigmatizes what it means to be a woman. In addition to sharing some hilariously honest couch confessionals, they join Maryellen for part 2 of their conversation where they destigmatize and discuss a wide-range of topics, including:  Differences between men and women   Men and mental health  Social media and mental health  Toxic positivity   Listen to Cycle Chats where ever you listen to podcasts, check them out on Instagram @cyclechats and visit www.cyclechats.com  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

Emily and Stephanie are the hosts of Cycle Chats, a podcast that destigmatizes what it means to be a woman. They join Maryellen today to destigmatize and discuss a wide-range of topics, including:  mental health  self-care  anxiety  traditional gender roles  Johnny Depp and Amber Heard  some people are just assholes (not necessarily gaslighting you, a narcissist, or a sociopath)  the importance of awareness If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to tune in to part 2 next week. Listen to Cycle Chats where ever you listen to podcasts, check them out on Instagram @cyclechats and visit www.cyclechats.com  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen breaks down the toxicity of diet culture:  What is toxic diet culture?  How do you lose weight in a healthy way?  Why diet culture is so bad?  Serotonin/gut health misinformation  Be sure to check out Maryellen's other similar episode: Never Tell a Woman She Looks Pregnant & Other Things Not to Say to People.  Plus, be sure to check out Tired as F*ck: Burnout at the Hands of Diet, Self-Help, and Hustle Culture and The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy by Caroline Dooner.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen talks all about perfectionism:  What is perfectionism?  Black and white, extremist thinking   Personal stories: college, first jobs, soccer   Fixed mindset and growth mindset   Connecting self worth to performance   Be sure to check out Tired as F*ck: Burnout at the Hands of Diet, Self-Help, and Hustle Culture by Caroline Dooner.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen chats all about supporting someone with anxiety:  Difference between the emotional brain and logical brain    Letting them know they don't need their anxiety   Letting them know their anxiety is not what makes them who they are  Anxiety is based on the past and future, not the present   Hard for people struggling with anxiety to focus on the present and be mindful – try to bring them down to the present   Not our job to know when someone is anxious – but we can take some hints   Don't engage with the anxious thoughts, wait until it calms down   Anxiety never shows up to the party alone – what else are they struggling with?  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen chats codependency, love, lust, sex, and mommy issues...  Why are men are congratulated when they hook up with a lot of people, but women are shamed?  Why is lust so exciting?  The socio-biological view of sex  Passionate vs. companionate love   Attachment styles: come from our mothers and show up in our romantic relationships  Why do people cheat?  Codependent relationships  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen breaks down the pros and cons of diagnosing in the mental health community. She discusses:  How diagnosing works  The DSM  Reasons why mental health clinicians diagnose  Adjustment disorders  Overlapping symptoms  Self-diagnosing  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen and dating coach Stacy Perry discuss:   What a dating coach is  Listener questions from last week's episode on narcissism   Why we date people who are narcissistic  Confidence in dating   Ghosting  Dating apps and advice   How to not be a d*ck to yourself   To keep up with Stacy, follow her on Facebook and Instagram @stacyperrycoaching and visit stacyperrycoaching.com  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen breaks down narcissism:  What it really means  Differences between being narcissistic and having narcissistic personality disorder  A popular example of narcissistic personality disorder in pop culture  Manipulation and gaslighting (and her frustration with the culture of calling people narcissists and gaslighters)  Importance of setting boundaries, keeping yourself safe, and reaching out for help if you feel someone is abusing you  Plus, tune in next week when Maryellen is joined by a dating coach to dive into this topic even more.  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

Let's talk about stress, baby! This week Maryellen:  Defines stress  Explains the evolutionary stress response  Highlights the information stress gives us  Explains what stress does to the body  Discusses the 3 phases of stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion (crying in Target) Emphasizes the power of believing you will get through it  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen chats:  Social comparison and social comparison theory  Social media and highlight reels  Benefits of comparison  Cons of comparison  Setting boundaries   If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen fact-checks 10 common assumptions...  1: People only use 10% of their brain   2: Inkblot tests reveal a lot about people's personalities   3: People with schizophrenia have multiple personalities   4: Hypnosis can be used to retrieve suppressed memories   5: Some people are right brained, some are left brained   6: Opposites attract   7: Eye witness testimonies work   8: Mentally ill people are dangerous    9: Mentally ill people never recover   10: It's bad to talk about suicide if you're worried a person is suicidal   If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week Maryellen chats:  Hustle culture   Associating your value with your productivity  Toxic positivity   New segment: Unspirational! Where she changes up famous “inspirational” quotes...  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

Happy Valentine's Day! This week Maryellen chats:   Why it's a terrible idea to get back with your ex  A personal, “unhinged” story and lessons learned   “I'm sorry you're upset” isn't an apology!   Familiar does not mean good   Reasons you should get back together...  Relationships are a verb; active!   LASTLY: Don't sleep with them!!!  If you haven't already, please follow, rate, and review the podcast, and follow us on Instagram @okayishpodcast. To submit questions or stories (anonymously if you'd like) visit okayishpodcast.com! 

This week, Maryellen comments on the difference between performing self love (kind of like the way we perform self care...) and actually loving yourself. Plus, a very important and exciting announcement.Connect with Maryellen:maryellendance.comIG: @okayishpodcast

Today, Maryellen chats with fellow therapist Alaina Brubaker, LMFT. They get into the nitty gritty of how rewarding hard work on your mental health can be. A sustainable relationship with the world is better than a perfect one.Connect with Alaina:IG: @alaina_talks_therapyConnect with Maryellen:maryellendance.comIG: @okayishpodcast