Above Ground Podcast

Entering into the mental health system is an often traumatic experience. People are often left to navigate the system and get well at the same time. What happens when they Collide.

Andrea Onstot, is our guest this week. She is a LMSW. She is a PhD Candidate in Social Welfare and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Albany. Andrea has an extensive background in working with people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Autism. 

We go over why autonomy is a paramount in wellbeing. Why it springs out in individuals. It is a great conversation. We discuss self determination theory. We hear about the coolness of skunks and gophers. 

Thank you for joining us on this week's Above Ground Podcast. Please follow, like share, rate and review. We appreciate you listening and downloading. 

Until next time..be Well, be Safe be Above...

For many of us, it's not easy to put our strengths into words. Regardless of what level Jedi you are. This week Will and TPP discuss character strengths and their views on each others choices. 

We came across a list of 24 Character Strengths identified in the 2004 book entitled, Character Strengths and Virtues. It was written by Martin Seligman and Chris Peterson. Developed to provide common language for a list of core capacities in human beings for use in positive pyschology. 

TPP chose self-control, social intelligence and bravery as his core three. Humor and integrity were his bonus picks.

Will chose hope, creativity and wisdom as the core three. Forgiveness and spirituality were part of the supplemental list.

What are your picks? Let us know by posting to our socials and mention 137 or email us at [email protected]

Thank you for your continued support as we walk together on this journey. We appreciate all the reviews and ratings. If you'd like to buy the boys a coffee or two use the link below

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Until next week...be Well, be Safe, be ABOVE

Dig for the Light and be Above. Dig into loss and grief and the healing begins. Our guest this week is Annah Elizabeth. Creator of the 5 Facets of Healing, author, speaker and healing specialist. 

I Will Survive has got to be Annah Elizabeth's theme song. Life gave her a lot of lemons. She found an inner capacity and drive to make lemonade. The bitter can create the sweet. 

Overcoming the loss of a child, is tough enough. A six week stay in the hospital for extreme depression. Then to find out your husband is not being faithful with your best friend and your marriage is over. Left in a heap of despair and empty on the floor. She started a journey of self discovery and creation. 

Her website, AnnahElizabeth.com, will bring you to her life's work,The Five Facets of Healing. A groundbreaking guide to finding resolution to conflict and grief across each of your five facets. 

Please check out her book Digging for the Light. 

Thanks for listening. 

Until next week...be well , be safe, be Above

The process of healing with mental illness is not a straight line. Partial Remission is possible. Is a complete remission in the realm of possibilities? This week Will and Tim discuss whether or not it's possible. What it might look like and some tools for your utility belt.

How do we get over the hurdles of healing with a mental illness? One at a time.How things may never be fully healed and how it lies dormant inside of us…. It’s never that far away. Cue JAWS theme. 

Thanks for listening to another week. We greatly appreciate your time, feedback, reviews, shares and likes.

Please visit our Buy Me a Coffee and donate if you like what you hear. We look forward to bringing you more awesome episodes week after week. 

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Until next week.

be Well, be Safe, be ABOVE

Makayla is a 5-1-8 teen ambassador for Colorado based nonprofit, Robbie's Hope. A nationwide movement committed to ending teen suicide and bringing mental health awareness to their friends, schools and communities. 

Teenagers are often blamed, overlooked and under valued. Robbie's Hope was started to bring the voices of teenagers to other teenagers. To spread awareness amongst the youth, by allowing peers to talk to their peers. 

By sharing resources and amplifying the voices of the youth, it provides a purpose and a feeling of being less alone. The teenagers today are far more insightful and empathetic. These teens are further along than we were.

Need proof that the internet isn't all bad? Just follow these ambassadors and listen to what they have to say. Be open and connect with new voices. You will learn about yourself. But, you need to be willing. 

Please donate or if you're a teen and want to get involved, click the link below and find out what Robbie's Hope is all about. Also, you can hear Kari Eckert on episode 130

https://robbies-hope.com

Thanks again for listening. Happy New Year and we look forward to bringing you the best conversation from the PEERspective.

Until next week be Well, be Safe, be ABOVE

Why do you value your failures over your successes? What's your end game? These are questions that lead us to record this episode. Life is built on the QUESTions you are willing to ask, receive the answers and take part in the process.

This week's conversation surrounded a couple questions that had come up in recent weeks, for various reasons. Got us chatting about how our cognitive biases, culture and mental health play into our answers. If we can answer the questions we ask at all. 

The only way to excavate our experiences is to ask the why's, what's, how's, who's and the when's. We must be willing to except our answers and do what we can with the information. Making changes is hard work. Change is scary. But without change there is no growth. Growth is what we all must strive for in order to live a full life. Without growth we die. Staying above requires work. What are you working on?

Thanks for listening this week. We wish you all a wonderful, healthy, wise and prosperous new year. We cannot thank you enough for your support. If you like what you hear, please go to 

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Memoir (Despair & Mayhem) [feat. Kevin Maloney] - Single by Will Foley

https://music.apple.com/us/album/memoir-despair-mayhem-feat-kevin-maloney-single/1569777715

Retired racehorses can find new purpose and meaning as an equine assisted therapy horse. Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga supports these horses with rescuing and retraining. Providing them a peaceful, safe and meaningful life. Laura LaRue shares her experience with us this week. 

Laura’s love for horses began at a very young age when she competed in English riding and learned the ins-and-outs of horse care throughout her childhood. This interest extended to compassion and understanding for people and the ability of animals to comfort them. Because of these passions, Laura completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University at Albany with the intention of getting into the counseling field. During college, she interned at a local non-profit which specialized in rescuing neglected horses and using them for hands-on work with individuals in need. After running summer camps with at-risk youth through Parsons Family Center, Laura knew that this was the career for her.

Laura LaRue is the Director of Equine Care at THS. Laura combines her knowledge and love of both horses and people. She works with the therapy horses to provide safe and meaningful space for clients with the use of consistent desensitization training. She then assists in equine-assisted learning sessions. Laura’s role in the paddock is to ensure safety and provide feedback by reading both the client and horses’ body language and looking for useful metaphors that can be used in real-life situations.

EAT is a complimentary alternative modality to experience a pure and nonjudgmental relationship. Equines are sentient, intuitive beings who create a space that is emotionally safe and comfortably challenging to individuals in need. 

THS works in partnership with local certified equine therapists who provide equine-assisted therapy (EAT) to our community’s most vulnerable populations. This includes adults and children with mental illness and social difficulties, veterans, families and couples, victims of domestic violence and others in need of care.

To increase our impact on the community, THS has partnered with ECS Psychological Services, P.C. to increase access to equine-assisted therapy in Upstate New York.

https://thsaratoga.org

https://ecspsychological.com

Thank you for listening to Above Ground Podcast. We appreciate each and everyone of you who help make the show what its is. If you'd like to contribute you can buy Will & Tim a Coffee at the link below.

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Happy Holidays to everyone. No matter what you celebrate. Remember everyone has mental health. Not everyone has a mental illness.

The process of making or becoming sound or healthy again is a dirty process called healing. We all have something that has hurt us that we need to heal from. It is often a painful and arduous task to excavate the wrecks of our human experience. Remember Everybody Hurts ,everybody cries. But hold on. 

Healing can often be a painful process to take part in. That hurt makes us human. We all play hurt. Can you face what has hurt you? Have you started? If not, why? You don't heal without a willingness to acknowledge and recognize you can't heal without you. 

Healing asks you to shed. Shed your beliefs, your attitudes, your habits, your reasons. It can shake you to the core. Healing doesn't happen without self awareness or a readiness. It is not for the faint of heart. 

We can only heal ourselves but we need not go it alone. Every week we talk about tools. We hope you enjoy listening. Thanks again for another week. Follow the links below to find us anywhere. Until next week be Well, be Safe, be Above.

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Memoir (Despair & Mayhem) [feat. Kevin Maloney] - Single by Will Foley

https://music.apple.com/us/album/memoir-despair-mayhem-feat-kevin-maloney-single/1569777715

In 2018 Robbie Eckert died by suicide at the age of fifteen. In the pain and anger of losing their son, Jason and Kari Eckert found a new mission. To speak to teens and learn what they missed, what teens need from us and to allow them to guide us.  Robbie’s Hope was born to empower teens to hold on pain ends.  

This week our guest is Kari Eckert, Robbie's mother and half of the dynamic duo behind Robbie's Hope. But, they would say it's all about the teens. After all, it is a movement of teens helping teens to end the epidemic of suicide in their peer group. Notice I say peers. 

What Kari wants everyone to know is that teens are incredible, resilient, smart and the future leaders. Let's empower them not handcuff them. They need to be listened to, respected and loved for who they are and who they will become. 

We thank Kari for taking the time to speak with us. Please follow Robbie's Hope at the links below. Until next week be Well, be Safe, be Above...

https://robbies-hope.com

https://www.instagram.com/robbieshope1/

https://twitter.com/RobbiesHope1

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcG4PDbNTaOlYFpsgGkik2g

https://www.facebook.com/robbieshope2018

https://www.linkedin.com/company/robbieshope/

https://www.snapchat.com/add/robbieshope

Borderline Personality Disorder is a very convoluted diagnosis that confounds professionals and laypeople alike. This a conundrum of mood disorders. Every lens you view your world through is effected. Battling the mind and the blue screen of death. 

The traits mimic other disorders and conditions. ADHD, depression, OCD, eating disorders, substance use disorders are often co-pilots through the turbulent skies of BPD. 

Abandonment issues seem to take a lead role in the output of a person with BPD. Emotional deregulation and fragmentation damage and negatively effect your relationships to others, career, and most yourself. 

DBT and CBT are very affective treatments for changing your outlook. You need to do the work. Therapy is something we highly suggest and encourage. No one can do this work for you. Make friends with your demons. They are here to teach us about ourselves. 

Big shout out to Missy. She is a friend of the show and lives with BPD. Brandywine Farm is her sanctuary away from the world. She was very forth right to share some of her real life experiences. Grateful to call her friend. 

Thanks for listening to another episode and supporting us along the way. We appreciate the reviews, donations, likes and follows. Here is a list of our links if you want to share or find us on the World Wide Web. 

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Memoir (Despair & Mayhem) [feat. Kevin Maloney] - Single by Will Foley

https://music.apple.com/us/album/memoir-despair-mayhem-feat-kevin-maloney-single/1569777715