The Umbrella of No Judgment

Some people call it paint by number, I call it my depression obsession. Whatever it is called it is a coping strategy. During the spring semester of high school students are stressing out in record numbers about the future and the present. We dive into what our group does to cope with stress in a frank and open conversation about coping strategies.

Teen often experience seasonal depression due to the low light of winter.  How do  you cope with it?  Open Mind takes you inside their strategies in our first podcast of the new year.  Sorry we haven't done a pod in a while.  With finals and the holidays dominating our lives we have been on hiatus.  But we are back.  We have a new podcast studio and are welcoming some new equipment.  So buckle up and get ready to dive into the year of mental health, 2020!

How to be there for someone who is having a hard time being there for themselves.

It's back to school time and that means books and teachers dirty looks.  In this episode our group dives into what makes school so hard for so many students.  Why anxiety is at an all time high among students and maybe just maybe why many districts around the country are granting mental health days to their students.  Join Laila, Haven, Maurine, Magdala, Jessica and introducing Jordan our newest member as we kick off season 2.  Also a special surprise guest at the end of the pod so stay tuned.   Please rate our pod and leave feedback.  Also visit our website and follow us on social media. https://sites.google.com/view/openmindjtown/home?authuser=0

It's been a long and amazing summer. We are back and stronger mentally than ever. Just the act of saying our problems out loud has given us so much freedom. So buckle up and get ready for season two. We will be releasing and previously deleted pod and bringing you all new content. Please take a listen as Haven reads the essay so eloquently written by Las Vegas Aces star center Liz Cambage that she published through the Players Tribune on her struggle with her own mental health. We are seeing an onslaught of professional athletes and other people of fame and influence open up about mental health issues and self care like never before. Our podcast couldn't come at a better time! Enjoy and look out for season 2 coming soon!

We share ways in we cope with a myriad of feelings. Feel free to drop us an anchor voice message. This is our season finale. We will be doing a bonus pod while we are in Aspen. Sites.google.com/view/openmindjtown --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This is an interview with a special young man who has dealt with difference his whole life. In my interview we talk about finding out how his father actually died and what it means to not be the "typical" male in high school. We talk past, present and future in my interview with Tre. https://sites.google.com/view/openmindjtown/home?authuser=0 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Thanks to one of our listeners we bring you this weeks podcast about the differences between sadness and depression. Our crew talks about what those two very different words mean to them and how their lives are affected. Also as always our wins for the week and half full or half empty. Please check out our website https://sites.google.com/view/openmindjtown/home?authuser=0 Follow us on social media and don't forget to hit that subscribe button and leave us some feedback! If you just heard Rachel Dratch from Wine Country saying the word feedback we can be best friends. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Women are not the enemy of gender equality, women are. This week we look at why women are mean to other women. Also our wins for the week and half full/half empty. As always thank you for listening and be sure to subscribe. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Join Laila, Jessica, Maurine, Zach, and Miguel as they navigate anger and the impact it has on their lives.  They discuss expressing it and the perception their anger has and the role race, ethnicity and gender have on that perception.  Also as always they get completely off topic in what we are now calling "ADD with Me" as well as our new segments "Half Full" and "My Win For The Week."  There is also a surprise guest as Mrs. D shows up to hurry us along and she ends up sharing some middle aged white lady anger with us.  Hunker down and enjoy this weeks episode of the Umbrella of No Judgment.  

How did we make it to Aspen?  Why were we chosen to speak at the prestigious Aspen Ideas Festival? Here our presentation during competition that wowed the judges.  Enjoy the bonus pod!

Why does everything we deal with have to be responded to with "It's going to be ok."  When is that OK going to happen.  To answer this question Laila, Haven and Miguel talk with a special guest about their journey to OK and trying to figure out what is OK.  Warning this episode deals with the topics of self harm so if you do feel vulnerable please contact someone for help.  

Coaches D and Howard reflect on the competition the kids rocked and give our wins for the week, recap the Aspen Challenge experience and reveal what working with this project has done to our mental health.

An honest squirrelly conversation about how the social media generation feels about the impact it has on their mental health as well as a couple new segments.

How do you recognize when a person is toxic to your mental state? How can young people navigate these people and work to put their mental health first. An honest conversation about toxic people and the effect they have your mental well-being and relationships. There are some choice words.

A new take on mental health and the conversations it needs to be in. Starting with our amazing young people. Flipping the script on how we approach a healthy mind.

Our team interviews therapist Mike RoBards and his therapy puppy Jack. Jack was the star of the show and any jingling you hear during the pod was his collar. I came to the realization right before we started recording the pod that we spend more time as a society talking about every aspect of injuries to big time athletes than we do to the health of our mind. Our mind is the most important part of our body and in the last month I have heard more about a players knee due to a blown out shoe than I am comfortable with. We need to finally treat our brains with the same enthusiasm we reserve for the knees and ankles of athletes.

In this episode we talk to an eleven year old middle school student who is open and honest with the difficult conversation regarding his own mental health. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in kids ages 10-24 and in our society boys and men aren't supposed to feel things and def not talk about it. This courageous step forward into the public eye is the bravest thing he can do. We are proud to present our conversation with Brooks. Please drop us a line or question at one of our social media sites Twitter - @aspenjtown Instagram - @aspen_challenge_jtown Snapchat - aspenjtown

This is the inaugural episode of The Umbrella of No Judgment podcast.  It introduces our moderators and our purpose.  The intention of this podcast is to open a conversation around the biggest barrier for so many of our youth when it comes to dealing with their mental health and that is the fear of judgment.  On this podcast our moderators introduce themselves and talk about the lies that they tell themselves to get through the day.  Enjoy and leave feedback.  You can follow us on instagram at aspen_challenge_jtown