Crazy Bitches

Imogen our favorite ED Warrior joins us this week to talk eating disorders, eating disorder recovery (including how it's not always a straight line) and the eating disorder community on social media. Find Imogen on instagram @im_powering

Leslie McBain, cofounder of Moms Stop the Harm and tireless advocate for drug policy change joins Kendra this week. She shares how the loss of her son Jordan over 7 years ago led to cofounding this constantly growing support network of Canadian families that also advocate for change in the hopes that others won't have to experience the grief of losing a loved one to drug related harms. We also discussed the opioid crisis in Canada and where change is needed. 

Alexis joins us this week to discuss her childhood trauma including losing her father to a drug overdose as a teenager. She also shares her coming out journey and how finding safety and love that feels right has helped her feel ready to confront her past. 

1 out of 3 new mothers will experience some degree of post partum depression or anxiety but it remains one of the most difficult experiences for women to talk about. Kendall joins us this week as we engage in a raw, honest and very emotional discussion about this issue. We discuss our own journeys and also address the unnecessary shame that is attached to post partum mental health issues as a result of societal and internally driven pressures placed on mothers. 

Join us this week as we are joined by Lore Rey, Host of The Wellness of Madness Podcast.

Lore takes us on her fascinating journey of migrating from Mexico to the US and back again. She describes her lifelong struggle with OCD, Tourette Syndrome and Borderline Personality Disorder as they joined her on her travels across borders. 
She also opens up about the trauma she endured at the hands of bullies and related these experiences to her activism in Narc controlled Mexico.
Lore has channeled her struggles and the tragic loss of her best friend into a healing journey that focuses on sharing fitness and nutrition as a means of recovery and holistic wellbeing. 

Check out The Wellness of Madness here: https://podcasts.apple.com/mx/podcast/the-wellness-of-madness/id1515801585

Elite hockey player Kendra Fisher joins us this week to discuss her difficult decision to walk away from Team Canada due to mental illness, the dark years post diagnosis, and how she has found a regimen today that allows for her to have more good days than bad. She also discusses her advocacy work as well as Mentally Fit, the community action plan she has created and launched in Ontario to support mental health in rural communities. Kendra's a bad ass crazy bitch who believes in action over words and left us feeling challenged and motivated and we think you will feel the same after listening. 

In this very emotional episode Sherry shares about her sister Lisa's struggle with both the mental and physical pain that ultimately led her to make the decision to take her own life 5 years ago as well as her own subsequent mental health journey. This episode touches on several topics such as schizoaffective disorder, PTSD, caring for a family member with a mental illness, stigma and lack of proper mental health services. 
*Trigger warning: This episode deals with suicide and may be triggering to some 

Kirsten shares how she used self-harm (in her case cutting) as a coping mechanism as a teenager and into young adulthood, how this served her at the time as a tool to help control negative emotions when she lacked healthier tools and the shame and stigma surrounding this issue. She also discusses the physical scars that remain and the way these scars still affect her life today as she navigates new relationships, her career, etc. 

Our guest and good friend Skye shares her journey into the world of online sex work  and how the stigma of the profession has affected her mental health. She discusses how she has moved from a place of shame and self-doubt to a place of acceptance but also how sometimes the choices we make aren't black or white and there needs to be space for continued self-appraisal. 

Our guest this week is Sarah, a social worker in the field of mental health and addiction. I guarantee you won't be able to hold back the laughter as she shares her story of OCD, phobia and anxiety and be inspired by how she has used her afflictions as valuable tools of growth, and connections in her job. We discuss the the fear of judgement from colleagues that we carry as mental health workers who also struggle with mental health conditions despite telling our patients they shouldn't bear any shame, and we imagine a world where our experiences would be seen as the assets that they are instead of liabilities.