Cracked! The Podcast: Slaying the Dragons of Mental Health

How to Rise Up from Rock Bottom, Heal the Hard Stuff, and Fix Your Life with Iyanla Vanzant

We’ve all had moments in our lives when we’ve felt deflated, defeated, life has confronted us with one challenge too many, we’ve run out of steam, and don’t know where we’re going to find the strength to even fight one more day. One person who is very familiar with such scenarios, and indeed has become the doyen of helping others rise up from rock bottom, fix their lives, and find something to celebrate even in the challenging times, is internationally bestselling author IYANLA VANZANT.

In this episode, Iyanla Vanzant joins Rebecca and Sandie to share some of the harrowing ups and downs she’s had to face in life along with the powerful insights and practical tools that she shares in her best-selling books, courses, events and TV programs to help us rise up from rock bottom, heal the hard stuff, and fix our lives.

Over 40 years ago, Paul Levy, had a life-transforming spiritual awakening that was misdiagnosed as a psychotic break. repeatedly hospitalized and told he was mentally ill, the abuse he subsequently received from psychiatry destroyed his family and almost killed him.

However, over time Paul Levy extricated himself from psychiatry and continued to unfold and integrate his awakening, and, paradoxically, he now has psychiatrists consulting him!

Healing Our Wounded Parts with the Internal Family Systems Model with Dr. Richard C. Schwartz

“There are no bad parts.”

We’ve all been taught to believe that we have a single identity or personality, and to feel fear or shame when we can’t control the inner voices that don’t match the ideal of who we think we should be. Yet according to Dr. Richard Schwartz’s research, “All of us are born with many sub-minds—or parts,” and it’s perfectly natural to think that some of them are so bad they must stay hidden.

But the fact is, says Dr. Schwartz,  there are no bad parts… for the simple reason that every single part has a purpose.

Richard Schwartz joins Rebecca and Sandie this week to share why his IFS model has been so effective in areas such as trauma recovery, addiction therapy, and depression treatment and how this new understanding of consciousness has the potential to radically change our lives.

Author and mental health advocate Bethany Yeiser and Mary Beth De Bord, an attorney, author, advocate, wife and mother Join Rebecca and Sandie to discuss schizophrenia and their foundation CURESZ and their passion to educate others about and eradicate the stigma of mental illness and to advocate for greater support and cures for those afflicted with mental illness.

With statistics showing that stress, depression, anxiety and fear are fast becoming a major global problem, more and more people are turning to medical marijuana to help lift their low moods, calm chronic tension, ameliorate withdrawal symptoms, and ease their physical, mental, and emotional pain.

But how effective is medical marijuana really? And, perhaps more importantly, how safe?

With the cannabis debate being such a hot topic of late, Rebecca and Sandie have invited experts Dr. Rasean Hodge and Nick McCauley to Cracked! The Podcast this week to unravel some of the many myths and misconceptions about cannabis in general, and the question of medical marijuana being a safer alternative to opiates and NSAIDs in treating PTS, depression, anxiety, addiction, mental health issues, and pain.

We all know people whose lives would be so much better if only they would listen to our advice and change…

So how do we get people to change? According to the latest neuroscience, there is a secret biological key to coaching genuine, lasting change in the lives of others and in us. Joining Rebecca and Sandie this week to explain the mechanisms that affect our ability to let go of behaviors, habits, thought patterns, and addictions that don’t serve us and open to new ideas and change is an expert in the field of emotional intelligence, behavioral change, and competence, Professor Richard Boyatzis.

Richard Boyatzis Ph.D. is the author of over 200 papers and nine books including one that reveals the secret we’d all like to know… Helping People Change: Coaching with Compassion for Lifelong Learning and Growth.

"Trauma is not what happens to you, it’s what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you. "  In this episode of Cracked! The Podcast, Rebecca Schaper and Sandie Sedgbeer speak with group and individual psychotherapist and author, Malcolm Stern about understanding, moving beyond, and healing emotional, physical, and psychological trauma.  MALCOLM STERN originally trained in Humanistic Psychology and has been working as a group and individual psychotherapist for more than 30 years.

At a time when so much is uncertain, the world is isolated, nations are divided on a variety of issues, and depression, stress, and anxiety are on the rise, it can be challenging to stay motivated, or maintain our emotional wellbeing.  

Sister Jenna is a prominent motivational speaker, teacher, spiritual leader, author, and founder of the Meditation Museum I & II in metropolitan Washington, DC. A renowned radio host and TV personality she spearheads a variety of initiatives for youth, women, governments, and communities, and is the founder of the popular syndicated radio show America Meditating, which focuses on wellness, current events, healthy living, spirituality, self-help, meditation, and empowerment.  

Sister Jenna joins Rebecca and Sandie this week to share her professional and personal insights on several important current topics, including mental and emotional wellness, the power of meditation, and coping with loved ones who are experiencing cognitive decline.  

Worldwide, depression will be the single biggest cause of disability in the next 20 years. but treatment for it has not changed much in the last three decades. In the world of psychiatry, time has apparently stood still…until now…

This week, Rebecca and Sandie talk to a world expert in neuroscience and mental health, Professor Edward Bullmore whose game-changing bestseller… The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression reveals the breakthrough new science on the link between depression and inflammation of the body and brain.

Mental illness doesn’t just affect the individual it’s happening to; it affects their friends, colleagues, and every single member of their family. In this episode, former Washington Post journalist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and author of the NY Times bestselling book CRAZY—A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness returns with his son Kevin to share their individual perspectives on Kevin’s mental health journey; how it affected their relationship, Kevin’s journey through several recovery failures to ultimate success, Pete’s mental health advocacy, and Kevin’s training as a peer-to-peer specialist helping others with mental health issues find their way back to mental health.