Bipolar She with Janine Noel

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What happens when bipolar disorder collides with unexpected pregnancy? For Betsi it was a frightening time knowing a bipolar episode can be triggered by pregnancy and that bipolar illness has a genetic component that may be passed down to your child.

And Betsi had already endured several hospitalizations in her early adulthood. She also was under the care of a doctor who misdiagnosed her and took her off all psychiatric medications, only to result in an episode that could have been prevented. After finding stability with the right psychiatrist and medication, she and her husband had made peace with not having children. But when she unexpectedly became pregnant after nine years of marriage, Betsi soon found herself in the psychiatric ward, experiencing a break from reality while carrying her child.
 
The recovery process during pregnancy and her daughter's first year was exhausting, but Betsi discovered unexpected reservoirs of strength. Her small-town Ohio community, supportive husband, and Mennonite church provided crucial stability. Most powerfully, she reveals how confronting her own childhood trauma, growing up with an alcoholic father, has been essential to her healing journey – and her determination to break that cycle for her daughter.
 
Now stable for thirteen years, Betsi's story challenges simplistic notions about bipolar disorder being purely biological, highlighting how childhood environments can influence brain chemistry and mental health outcomes. Her journey offers hope that with proper treatment, support, and courage to face the past, living well with bipolar disorder – even through unexpected challenges – is absolutely possible.

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Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

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What happens when the joyful arrival of a baby triggers an unexpected mental health crisis? When Susan returned home with her newborn, she was in a manic state. Fueled by little sleep with an infant to care for, her behavior became erratic--rushing around the house, even handling her baby carelessly. Her husband David told Susan that it felt like he was suddenly living with two strangers--a wife he didn't recognize and a child he didn't yet know.

It would take their doula's observation and advice that Susan was not just a fatigued new mother, but that she needed immediate help.

However, without effective treatment, Susan went back to work completely manic, losing her job. She would then alternate between a depressive fog and a manic state, ultimately landing her at McLean hospital for a harrowing three week stay. Rebuilding her life would include ECT, years on disability, and finally getting care from expert providers.

Susan's mothering instinct now shines through by coaching those living with bipolar disorder and helping them design lives and careers. Perhaps most movingly, Susan developed a profound bond with her child, now eighteen years old despite such rough early years.

At the top of the show I mention Susan's dedication to Bipolar Social Club, and online support group with weekly meetings, special programming and an online discussion board. As a member, I am grateful for the support BSC offers!

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

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At age thirty-two, Tara Cousineau, PhD, had it all. But when a mysterious illness disrupted her life, her doctors blamed it on stress. Knowing something else was at play she searched until she discovered a pinched nerve that was indeed a physical ailment, but also exacerbated by stress.

Looking inward and discovering her own perfectionistic tendencies, Tara knew she wanted to help high achievers prevent burnout and illness. As a therapist, she set out on a path to improve the mental health of others and to educate those striving for excellence at all costs.

In this episode we learn Tara's working definition of perfectionism and how it can have a severe impact on one's quality of life.

Today, Tara works with students at Harvard University and she leads groups on Befriending the Inner Critic and Overcoming Perfectionism through Self-Compassion. She breaks down the parts of ourselves--that self-talk that includes the inner judge, inner bully, inner detective, and the inner joy thief.

She offers insight on how procrastination is linked to perfectionism, how perfectionism has a 40% genetic cause, and how internal family systems can be a breakthrough treatment for many--and how recovery begins by simply learning to sit in one's body, take inventory, and begin to feel.

Tara's The Perfectionist Dilemma, shares research and practical tools for striving for excellence with room for discovery, curiosity, and healthy mistakes along the way.

Listeners can find Dr. Tara’s book, The Perfectionist's Dilemma: Learn the Art of Self-Compassion and Become a Happy Achiever, at online book retailers and access to free Happy Achiever tools at https://perfectionistsdilemma.com.

They can also find more in "The Peaceful Perfectionist" Substack, https://taracousphd.substack.com

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

TEXT US: Have a Story? Feedback for the Show?

Kris Rice, founder of The ChillPod, joins me to share her transformative journey with deliberate cold exposure. Growing up with a grandmother who battled bipolar disorder and later supporting her daughter through mental health challenges, Kris developed a deep appreciation for wellness practices. While meditation and yoga provided benefits, they demanded significant time commitments she couldn't sustain as a busy parent.

When a persistent friend suggested cold plunging, Kris initially resisted, but eventually filled a horse trough with cold water, took the plunge, and experienced immediate mental clarity, focus, energy, and mood lift.

This episode is primarily Kris's lived life experience, with science sprinkled throughout. I also share my first-hand experience trying cold plunging at different temperatures, and we discuss common myths surrounding cold therapy, particularly for women. Kris explains how her passion for cold plunging led her to design the ChillPod—a cold plunge specifically created with women's bodies and aesthetics in mind, though suitable for everyone.

This conversation breaks down cold plunging, and makes it feel accessible to anyone in good physical shape (always consult with a doctor before deliberate cold exposure). Are you ready to take the plunge?

Check out The ChillPod HERE

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

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What happens when you receive a life-changing mental health diagnosis at 50 years old? For Matty Staudt--broadcast veteran, podcast pioneer, and current co-host of Alice Radio’s Sarah & Vinnie Show--it explained a lifetime of highs and lows.
 
 Matty was an anxious kid, but he assumed everyone experienced anxiety to the same extent. As an adult, he was treated for ADHD and also for depression by primary care doctors. To manage, Matty self-medicated with alcohol until a major crash and relapse at age 50 forced him to see a psychiatrist who finally stepped in and said, this is clearly bipolar 2 disorder.

Matty had been able to live the entrepreneurial lifestyle--which is very common among those with bipolar 2 (where your manic highs never flip into psychosis). He was ultra productive, getting weeks’ worth of work done in a day. Before he considered his rapid cycling between depressed and manic states as just how he operated and a personality flaw as his outbursts made him difficult to deal with at times, in both work and his personal life. 

This moment began a transformation and with therapy and medication and support from the bipolar community, Matty has found some calm—even contentment. But he works hard to keep his life balanced, especially when mania still feels alluring. And it’s tough. Stigma is real. For those 50 and up, mental illness was not talked about in our culture and sometimes they are the group needing the most help to push past stigma and shame.

It's never too late to see a mental health professional. It’s never too late to support and encourage a friend or loved one to see a psychiatrist. If you’re seeking a community, please visit BipolarSocialClub.org.

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

TEXT US: Have a Story? Feedback for the Show?

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month (existing since 1949!!), I sit down with Ava to talk about how to talk to friends and relatives about mental illness.

Ava has had her own mental health journey, particularly with her father who witnessed a genocide at age six. With signs of a soul in agony, she has yet to engage him in a conversation about his mental health and deep pain.

When it comes to finding therapy and support--yes, the times are actually changing--but most people living with illness must navigate the complicated decision to disclose one's diagnosis, with whom, and how much detail to provide. 

As host of Bipolar She, there's no more hiding my diagnosis. Perhaps there will be judgement. But one place I've found support is through friends that have treated me on good days and bad with simple acts of kindness. Sharing an article they read as a way to connect to my experiences. Or being a steady support, taking life moment to moment, while my manic mind was not my own. Compassion is often the best medicine.

Whether you're living with mental health challenges or supporting someone who is, this episode offers practical insight into creating spaces where healing becomes possible through speaking our truths. Ready to break the silence around mental health? Join Ava and me for this chat.

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

TEXT US: Have a Story? Feedback for the Show?

Today I sat down with Amy Vincze of Soar With Tapping and had an enlightening and somewhat controversial conversation. Amy, a certified Emotional Freedom Release (EFT) practitioner or "tapping coach," holds a strong belief that depression doesn't just appear out of nowhere—it's often the result of our earliest experiences and the vital emotions we've pushed away to survive.

She believes that if we connect to deep feelings, such as anger, through tapping we can let go of those thoughts and emotions in away that brings us better mental and physical health. Amy shares a personal story of being abandoned by her father and falling into performative and perfectionistic behaviors. By adulthood Amy had completely lost touch with her authentic self and suffered from bulimia and was diagnosed with breast cancer.

And Amy's idea about how breast cancer emerged in her life is a little controversial for those who adhere strictly to Western Medicine. Amy believes that negative stored up emotions since childhood manifested as breast cancer. And she believes that tapping work will prevent illness, both mental and physical.

Throughout our conversation, Amy demonstrates how tapping works through a powerful combination of meridian stimulation, cognitive processing, and somatic experience. She explains how tapping counterintuitively leans into difficult emotions like anger, creating a safe container for their expression and release. Our real-time tapping session on embracing anger shows how acknowledging these shadow emotions frees us from their grip rather than making them worse. And please visit Amy's app, Soar with Tapping, or her website here for a generous discount on a year subscription of this fantastic resource: Soar With Tapping Podcast Discount.

Follow us at bipolarshepod.com or @bipolarshepod on Instagram to continue the conversation.

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

TEXT US: Have a Story? Feedback for the Show?

Today I continue my conversation with Dr. Susan Swick. Dr. Swick explains the dialogic method of therapy, developed in Finland for schizophrenia patients, which brings family and community into treatment sessions to improve outcomes through enhanced connection and understanding. Finland's application of this approach led to lower hospitalization rates and better medication compliance.

Now the Ohana Center is using this method for various mental health issues in children and teens. Coupling the dialogic model with the belief that mental fitness can be built, Ohana's model sets up our youth to lead more emotionally resilient lives. Dr. Swick believes mental fitness includes being able to clearly perceive your inner world, others' feelings, and your external reality.

Family-centered care accelerates recovery by also teaching parents the skills their children are learning. And insurance companies are supporting this new form of treatment. Ohana also has extensive prevention programs and workshops for parents, grandparents, and anyone close to a young person in need. Ohana also provides free virtual workshops accessible to parents anywhere.

And check out their Instagram page, which offers content for adolescents to share with parents about mental health topics. Dr. Swick hopes to soon see that mental wellness strategies in youth are as simple and accessible as daily brushing/flossing your teeth.

Ohana Montage Health

Ohana Parent Education

Ohana Crisis Resources

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

TEXT US: Have a Story? Feedback for the Show?

Today I sit down for a two-part episode with Dr. Susan Swick. Dr. Swick, a psychiatrist specializing in child and adolescent health, first shares her personal connection to mental illness through her mother's late-onset psychotic illness. For Dr. Swick, getting her mother good care shaped her approach to youth mental health and her development of programs at the Ohana Center in Monterey, California.
 
Dr. Swick highlights how mental illnesses are very common in children, and they are always treatable, and most often preventable. Psychiatric illnesses affect 20-25% of children before age 18, and are twice as common as asthma. Unfortunately, anxiety and mood disorders have increased by 50% among 12-24 year-olds in recent decades and Ohana’s mission is to bend the curve and decrease mental illness in youth.

Mental illnesses are diseases of youth, with 50% of lifetime mental illnesses emerging by age 15, and 75% by age 25. Ohana's innovative approach includes family-centered therapy and building mental fitness--which works like a psychological immune system--helping youth manage adversity. Interestingly, 50% of children with pre-pubertal depression may develop bipolar disorder. Structured sleep, regular biorhythms can even protect against manic episodes.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Ohana Montage Health

Ohana Parent Education

Ohana Crisis Resources

Please like us and rate us and leave us a review wherever you find your podcasts, especially on Apple Podcasts. Find us online at BipolarShe.com or at BipolarShePod on Instagram.

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.

TEXT US: Have a Story? Feedback for the Show?

Today I sit down with Kathleen Adams, a pioneer in therapeutic writing since 1985, who has transformed our understanding of how putting pen to paper can change our brains and improve our mental and physical health. As founder of both the Therapeutic Writing Institute and the Center for Journal Therapy, Kay shares her expertise and innovative journaling techniques.

Kay provides an alternate to what we think of as "journaling" or "free writing," which can be intimidating to many. "Structure, pacing, and containment" are at the core of Kay's method--critical elements that emerged from her work with psychiatric patients who found that free-writing or "rage on the page" worsened their symptoms.

For those managing bipolar disorder, Kay offers guidance, specifically on  ways to build in reflection time to create emotional balance, greater self-awareness, and genuine healing. Your journal is flexible and forgiving. You are in charge - discover what works for you.

Therapeutic Writing Institute

Center for Journal Therapy

Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth - Open the Door to Self-Understanding by Writing, Reading, and Creating a Journal of Your Life by Kathleen Adams

Support the show

Bipolar She is dedicated to real conversations for women living with mental illness. Hosted by Janine Noel, the majority of episodes give voice to a woman who has lived-life experience with mental illness--or who has experienced the illness of someone close to them. Along the way, I interview experts in the field that address additional mental health concerns.

Frankly, coping with a mental health condition can be exhausting. Here's a place where you can land and find an episode that resonates with you. Some topics we've covered: being a bipolar mom or having a bipolar mom. Anxiety, agoraphobia, chronic depression, ECT, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, a psychiatrist that breaks your trust. A therapist who goes above and beyond to help you. The impact of trauma on your brain. 

Bipolar She couldn't have thrived without guitarist, JD Cullum's original music.

Editor Brandon Moran makes everyone's voice sound both crisper and smarter.

Sponsored by Amy Vincze's Emotional Freedom Technique App: Soar With Tapping.