Braaains

Amie Archibald-Varley, Nurse, Health Equity Specialist, and co-host of the Gritty Nurse Podcast, joins us to talk about stigma, where it comes from, and how it leads to discrimination. This episode (which is part one of our three-part series) will inform you on how to prevent and address stigmas as well as be a good ally.

You're Not Alone: Navigating Life with Mental Illness is a three-part series for Mental Illness Awareness Week 2023 (October 1 - 7) that explores mental illness, the barriers that can block your journey to good mental health, and how stigmas, diagnoses, and disclosure are represented on film and TV.

TRANSCRIPT

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

GUEST BIO

Amie Archibald-Varley is a thought leader, Speaker with the National Speakers Bureau, Health Equity Specialist, and upcoming author of "The Wisdom of Nurses" with Harper Collins (April 2024). She is also a podcaster, mental health & health equity advocate, and quality improvement and change management specialist. She inspires others to speak their truths and brings communities together to engage in "courageous conversations."

Amie is a medical contributor who has been featured on numerous television, radio, and news outlets nationally and internationally. She is a Freelance Journalist with the Canadian Broadcaster Corporation (CBC), and regularly contributes to conversations on a wide variety of topics such as: Healthcare, politics (local, national, and international), climate change, health equity, racism and antiracism, mental health issues, and popular culture.

She is also featured on the Smart Speakers Series on Newstalk1010's The Rush with Reshmi Nair. Amie has also written for The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and the Toronto Star and is currently writing a book with Harper Collins for 2024.

As the co-host of the successful Gritty Nurse Podcast, Amie discusses hot topics in healthcare. The podcast has hit #2 in Apple Podcasts in Medicine for Canada. She also is starting 2 new podcasts in 2023: DEFIANT and Too Opinionated Podcast launching in Feb/Mar 2023.

In her role as a Health Equity Specialist, Amie provides leadership, advisory, and strategic consultation related to anti-racism, and equity in the culture, policies, and practices of a large health system, with a specific focus on promoting respect for equity-deserving groups.

Launching October 3rd, Braaains's three-part mini-series, You're Not Alone: Navigating Life with Mental Illness, explores mental illness, the barriers that can block your journey to good mental health, and how stigmas, diagnoses, and disclosure are represented on film and television. It's out October 3 - 5 for Mental Illness Awareness Week 2023.

See more here: https://braaainspodcast.com/miaw2023

Episode One: How Stigma Hurts Everyone

RELEASE DATE: Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Interviewee: Amie Archibald-Varley, Nurse, Health Equity Specialist, and co-host of the Gritty Nurse Podcast

Amie Archibald-Varley, Nurse, Health Equity Specialist, and co-host of the Gritty Nurse Podcast joins us to talk about stigma, where it comes from, and how it leads to discrimination. This episode will inform you on how to prevent and address stigmas as well as be a good ally.

Episode Two: The Journey to Diagnosis

RELEASE DATE: Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Interviewee: Dr. Lily Le, Registered Psychologist & Director of Clinical Innovation at DiveThru

Dr. Lily Le, a registered psychologist and Director of Clinical Innovation at the mental health tech company, DiveThru, discusses how to take the next step when you need help with a mental illness or are looking to improve your mental health. We also get advice on what to do when it's difficult to see a therapist due to affordability or long wait times and the importance of having a support system in place.

Episode Three: When and How to Disclose

RELEASE DATE: Thursday, October 5, 2023

Interviewee: Stephanie Fornasier, psychologist and host of Psychocinematic

Steph is a psychologist and host of the Psychocinematic podcast who currently working in Disability Inclusion in schools in Naarm (Melbourne) and has her own mental illness lived experience. Steph joins us to discuss how you approach disclosure, concerns around discrimination about disclosure and how to address it, and why some people incorporate their mental illness or disability into their identity after disclosure.

A counselor and advocate, Mark Power works with former inmates to help them reintegrate into life after prison. In Mark's words, the slippery slope around "the company we keep" or worse "relational disconnection" re-emerges in most second chancer's stories. The pull to reunite with old associates, friends, and even criminal families is often the path of least resistance.

We discuss a wide range of topics today around justice, reintegration, and forgiveness. This includes conversations around the mental health implications of prison and the impact incarceration has on both those locked away and the families they leave behind. We also discuss programs such as Blindspotting and Orange is the New Black, amongst others. Mark's dream is that we start building reintegration programs that are so effective that recidivism radically goes down, and we can start closing prisons.

CW: Discussions around crime and suicide.

TRANSCRIPT

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Our guest Rae McDaniel is a non-binary Speaker, Author, Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, Coach, and Transgender Diversity and Inclusion Educator.

In this episode, we talk about gender identity, exploration, expression, AND freedom and how your mental health is overwhelmingly better when you can authentically be yourself. We also discuss TV shows like Pose, Sense8, The Politician, and Mae Martin's Feel Good that include or showcase stories of transgender and non-binary individuals and explore the impact of that representation.

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

In 2017, Canadian director Lindsay MacKay had a brain aneurysm that almost killed her. She joins us today to talk about that experience, the warning signs that can happen (but sometimes don't), and what the aftermath and recovery were like.

We also discuss how Lindsay used the experience of her brain aneurysm to inform her direction of Kate Hewlett's The Swearing Jar and how Lindsay adjusted her work environment to better serve her brain.

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Nafisa Moallim, a therapist and Registered Social Worker with a Clinical Master of Social Work, joins us to talk about immigration and bicultural identity. As a Somali-Canadian refugee, Nafisa has extensive lived experiences navigating two identities and learning the language of trauma. Her biggest passion is for advocating for how to discuss mental health in immigrant and refugee populations.

We dig deep into the series Virgins on CBC Gem in Canada. Set in Toronto, virgins! is a dramatic comedy created by Aden Abebe that follows the lives of four 20-something-year-old women who are too modest for the big city and too provocative for the East African homes they come from. We also discuss the impact immigration can have on someone's mental health, what it's like to be part of the 1.5 generation, and the effects of post-migration trauma.

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Today is the episode you've all been waiting for – ADHD! Our guest, Rach Idowu was diagnosed with ADHD Combined Type on January 2020 at the age of 26. Shortly after her diagnosis, she decided to start her AdultingADHD substack newsletter to document her own personal experience. Rach has been featured in the NYTimes, BBC, Stylist, and Mashable among others. She has also created flashcards to help adults with ADHD learn more about ADHD traits including coping strategies.

We discussed the long road to Rach's ADHD diagnosis and what it meant for her, the impact of ADHD stigmas on getting the help you need, and what kind of accommodations you can ask for in the workplace. We also talked about the representation of ADHD in films like Everything Everywhere All At Once and the TV show Grey's Anatomy.

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Today's episode is about diabetes and we are excited to talk with writer, science communications professional, and podcast producer and host, Krista Lamb, who recently released her book 'Beyond Banting: Decoding Canada's Diabetes Research Superstars.'

During our conversation, we discussed the different types of diabetes that present (type one and type two), the stigmas associated with diabetes, and the impact this chronic illness has on a person's mental health. Together, we also explore how we currently see this disability on film and television in films like Turning Red and shows like The Baby-Sitters Club and what we'd like to see on the screen in the future!

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

On today's episode, we dive into the world of autism with Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt who is a writer, actress, and consultant/advocate for diversity, autism, and disability representation in entertainment.

We discussed how Ava got her autism diagnosis and what it meant for her, what stigmas she and other autistics often face, and how she would like to create inclusive autism representation on and off screen. We also talked about the representation of autism in television shows such as As We See It and Everything's Gonna Be Okay.

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Respectability alum, Michael J. Dougherty, talks with us about Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus and disability representation in Guillermo del Toro films such as The Devil's Backbone and The Shape of Water. Michael is a film person, screenwriter, essayist, occasional actor, and advocate living & working in Hollywood. He's also the co-founder of the ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles, entering its 6th year, which presents films and discussions by and about the disability community.

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast