Sylvie Mae Baldwin performed her one-woman show, Skinny Crazy Small six days a week, first in Seattle and then in New York City. Then she sporadically performed for healthcare professionals. Each time, she had to go back to sixth grade, when her eating disorder took over her life. She couldn't just perform. It had to be authentic. She had to go back there and relive it, to make the audience feel her pain, her struggles, and her triumph.

Name a role in producing a show, and Sylvie has filled it. Her CV reads like a scroll. But while she loves acting, her greatest achievement is creating a show that has helped countless people and swung the needle on the stigma surrounding mental health and eating disorders. After last performing Skinny Crazy Small about 5 years ago, she's now resurrecting it and looking forward to directing a new incarnation with a new cast.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes discussions of mental illness and eating disorders.

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This episode was presented by Mindful Marathon. Exercise is medicine, and pediatrician/running coach Michelle Quirk is ready to write a prescription. Whether you’re training for your first 5K or looking to tackle an ultramarathon, she will build an individualized plan and be at your side from start to finish. Schedule a free consultation today at mindful-marathon.com.

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Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

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If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for our free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

It took former heroin addict Morgan Godvin going to prison for her to realize her purpose. She did 5 years for selling the drugs that killed her close friend. Now she’s shaking up the criminal justice system and leading substance abuse treatment reform. Morgan founded Beats Overdose, a collaboration with hip-hop icons like Cypress Hill and Atmosphere, through which she and her crew provide harm reduction education and resources at concerts.

Among Morgan's many accomplishments: Through her work as a commissioner on Oregon’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, she helped pass a measure that decriminalized drug possession.

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This episode was presented by Lyn Health, human-centric healthcare for people with multiple chronic conditions. Lyn delivers clinical, advocacy and care coordination services, combining the best parts of virtual and in-person care. Lyn can help you find a doctor or specialist, schedule appointments, manage medicines, and talk to your insurance company. If you are an employer or health plan, Lyn is a benefit your employees and members deserve, and can also provide a cost savings for you. Lyn is on your side, at your side, as a friend. Visit lynhealth.io to learn more.

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Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email us at [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for the free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

Clint Malarchuk nearly bled out on national television when an opponent's skate came up and slit his jugular. Years later, he pointed a rifle to his chin and pulled the trigger. If the skate or the bullet had traveled another centimeter, he would not be here today.

Clint made an NHL All-Star team. He coached some of the greatest goaltenders of our generation. Yet he considers his book, "A Matter of Inches: How I Survived in the Crease and Beyond", his crowning achievement. In it, he tells all: about the abuse he endured as a child, his battles with OCD, depression and addiction, and how he became a pioneer for mental health awareness in hockey.

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This episode was presented by Gateway Foundation. If drugs and alcohol are starting to take over your life, or the life of someone you love, it’s time to be honest and enlist some help. Gateway offers life-saving inpatient services, as well as virtual treatment. Call 877-505-HOPE to schedule a consultation, or visit gatewayfoundation.org for more information.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for the free newsletter and read Christopher's regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

Elaine "The Real English Elaine" Sephton is an author, a fierce mental health advocate and educator, and a two-time suicide survivor.

Elaine spent 30-plus years in corporate America before she bet on herself and dived into a career in advocacy. Now she's published her book "My Crazy Summer", she has another on the way, and she's working to open a recovery retreat. She also educates students on how to become mental health ambassadors. 

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions about mental illness and suicide attempts.

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This episode was presented by DUI & Behavioral Health Counseling Centers, which has offices here in northern Illinois – in Sycamore, Plano, and Crystal Lake. If you suspect you or someone you love has a problem with drinking, drugs, mental illness or anger, call 815-895-9000 today and set up an evaluation. Visit duisycamore.com for more information.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email us at [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for the free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

Megan Hammis is a registered dietitian and a runner who recently finished her 100th race. She's also an advocate for recovering addicts. After all, she's been sober since Oct. 10, 2020. And her mother would have celebrated 24 years of sobriety this month - if she hadn't died unexpectedly in April 2021.

Megan's running resume includes six marathons, nine half-marathons and 85 races of other various distances. She's also an Ambassador of Still I Run, a group of runners stomping out the stigma surrounding mental illness.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes discussions on substance abuse, mental illness, eating disorders and suicidal ideations.

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This episode was presented by Mindful Marathon. Exercise is medicine, and pediatrician/running coach Michelle Quirk is ready to write a prescription. Whether you’re training for your first 5K or looking to tackle an ultramarathon, she will build an individualized plan and be at your side from start to finish. Schedule a free consultation today at mindful-marathon.com.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for our free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

Steve Andrzejewski is grateful that running was there for him after he lost his 20-year-old son, Ryan, to suicide. Ryan convinced his parents to get a husky, who now runs with Steve every single morning, "before everyone else is awake," Steve said. "It's a time for me to cry, and to scream, and just to run. Honestly, it was the only thing that got me through those first 3 to 6 months."

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions about suicide and mental illness.

The Andrzejewskis have made it their mission to raise awareness of the threat of suicide, and Steve bravely opens up about Ryan's struggles, and his empathetic soul.

Steve is Chief Commercial Officer of Lyn Health, a healthcare start-up that's working to address patients with multiple chronic conditions. The company places an emphasis on behavioral health which, as Steve knows all too well, contributes to many other chronic conditions.

If you or someone you love is under duress, call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

If you're grieving and want to talk to someone who's going through the same things, email Steve: [email protected]

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This episode was presented by Gateway Foundation. If drugs and alcohol are starting to take over your life, or the life of someone you love, it’s time to be honest and enlist some help. Gateway offers life-saving inpatient services, as well as virtual treatment. Call 877-505-HOPE to schedule a consultation, or visit gatewayfoundation.org for more information.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for the free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

Nita Sweeney is the award-winning author of "Depression Hates a Moving Target". As the title suggests, she uses running (with her amazing doggo) to overcome mental illness.

Nita's new book, "How to Make Every Move a Meditation", comes out this summer. And it's already been mentioned in a list of anticipated workout books in the Wall Street Journal.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions about mental illness, substance abuse, and suicidal ideations.

************************************

This episode was presented by DUI & Behavioral Health Counseling Centers, which has offices here in northern Illinois – in Sycamore, Plano, and Crystal Lake. If you suspect you or someone you love has a problem with drinking, drugs, mental illness or anger, call 815-895-9000 today and set up an evaluation. Visit duisycamore.com for more information.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email us at [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for our free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

Dave Scarpello has endured enough trauma for multiple lifetimes. He was abused as a child. He was caught in crossfire in Germantown, a poverty-riddled neighborhood in Philadelphia. He was hit by a car driven by a drunk driver who had no insurance, and was told he'd never walk again. He lost his job. His home.

But he never lost his hope, or his belief in himself.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions about mental illness and suicidal ideations.

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This episode was presented by Gateway Foundation. If drugs and alcohol are starting to take over your life, or the life of someone you love, it’s time to be honest and enlist some help. Gateway offers life-saving inpatient services, as well as virtual treatment. Call 877-505-HOPE to schedule a consultation, or visit gatewayfoundation.org for more information.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for the free newsletter and read my regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

I'm Christopher, and I'm a recovering alcoholic, marijuana abuser, people pleaser and so much more. More importantly, I'm a mental health advocate thriving in sobriety. I figured with so many new listeners tuning in, and seeing as how I've never done so, I'd lay out my story to kick off Season 2. I grew up completely opposed to alcohol and drugs, yet I became an addict in college. I went through rehab in the spring of 2019, got sober for good May 21 that year.

It hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows, but I've reached a point where I virtually never think of alcohol. I have deeper relationships with all my loved ones. I've completed an ultramarathon. Check this out. I actually really like myself. Crazy, right?

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes discussions on mental illness, suicidal ideations, and substance abuse.

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This episode was presented by Mindful Marathon. Exercise is medicine, and pediatrician/running coach Michelle Quirk is ready to write a prescription. Whether you’re training for your first 5K or looking to tackle an ultramarathon, she will build an individualized plan and be at your side from start to finish. Schedule a free consultation today at mindful-marathon.com.

************************************

Catch me on IGTV (@40000_Steps) and Facebook Live at 11 a.m. CST every Tuesday and Thursday. Join the discussion. Bring your own snacks.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for our free newsletter and read Christopher's regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.

If it weren't for one last, desperate cry for help, Ellis Miller might not be here today. After years of struggling with undiagnosed bipolar disorder and wrestling daily with suicidal ideations, she set out to end it all in the dead of night when she was a high school senior. But Ellis' friend picked up the phone when she called, and now she's on a mission to help others muster up the strength to make that phone call.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes discussions on depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and suicide.

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This episode was presented by DUI & Behavioral Health Counseling Centers, which has offices here in northern Illinois – in Sycamore, Plano, and Crystal Lake. If you suspect you or someone you love has a problem with drinking, drugs, mental illness or anger, call 815-895-9000 today and set up an evaluation. Visit duisycamore.com for more information.

************************************

If you or someone you know would like to star on the podcast, or be interviewed on IGTV, email us at [email protected].

************************************

Sign up for our free newsletter and read Christopher's regular musings in The Big Blog at 40000steps.com, where you can also read about and listen to every episode of 40,000 Steps Radio.