Experts Connect with HelpMeSara - because mental health matters

On this podcast, my guest is Francene Gillis, author of Where Did i Go?, written after her career as a high school English teacher came to an unexpected end following a slip and fall on black ice that caused a brain injury.

Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• What happened to Francene and when
• How her life changed following the accident
• What she has done to improve and rehabilitate
• How reading her memoir can help you and your loved ones if you've acquired a brain injury or concussion

Listen as I chat with Lynn Himmelman, expert in New Decision Therapy and Laughter Yoga Leader & Trainer. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• What "the body remembers" means
• What impact may this have on you - physically and emotionally
• How to connect with memories and past events
• New decision therapy and how it works
• How unresolved trauma may impact you, if not addressed
• Forgiveness and what happens if we hold onto past resentments
• How to know if you have healed from your past and living in the present

In this podcast, my guest is Marsha Jacobson, Author of To Depression, with Love. Marsha authentically and openly shares her personal journey with depression to help you, and your loved ones, too. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Why she wrote this book
• What it's all about
• Who will benefit from reading (or listening) to it and why

In this podcast, my guest is Dr. Brendan Byrne, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of LifestyleRx, a diabetes reversal program, designed to reverse Type 2 Diabetes. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• The Lifestyle Rx program, where its being offered and how it got started
• Different types of diabetes, why and when they occur
• What topics are covered in the Lifestyle Rx 12 week program
• The relationship between blood sugar levels and stress (both physical and emotional)
• Factors that create more or less stress in people's lives
• What you can do to reduce stress

In this podcast, my guest is Dr. Joanne Leung-Yee, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and psychiatrist at St Michaels Hospital, in Toronto. She is also a clinical associate at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre working at the Frederick Thompson Anxiety Disorder Centre specializing in the care of patients with body focused repetitive behaviour disorders. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Body focused repetitive behaviour (BFRB) such as dermatillomania and trichotillomania
• If not oneself, who else can help someone determine if one has a BFRB
• If there's a connection between a BFRB and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
• The cause of someone engaging in a BFRB
• Whether there are specific triggers for people who are engaging in these behaviours
• Why one would want to stop engaging in this behaviour
• The challenges when trying to stop
• Some strategies that might be effective when working on stopping
• Whether there are any medications or supplements that might help

Resources to help:

• Overcoming Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors
• Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre
• The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

I'm in conversation with Tom Dozier, a behaviorist who has researched and provided treatment for misophonia since 2013. Since that time, he has worked with more than 1,200 misophonia patients and families. He is the author of Understanding and Overcoming Misophonia and nine journal articles.

Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Misophonia and some of its characteristics
• Typical age of onset, how common it is, how its diagnosed
• How it impacts people in regards to daily functioning
• How it impacts the people that they live with
• Treatment options and how to manage it

I'm in conversation with lawyer Anna Marie Musson, and financial planner, Eva Sachs, about cohabitation agreements and prenups. This is a tricky subject to navigate, especially if one partner is more concerned about protecting their assets, or if their partner feels that such an agreement is an indication of a lack of trust. My two experts will help you navigate these uncharted waters in a calm, logical way.

Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Why and when an individual or a couple might be interested in creating a prenup
• What's typically included in a prenup contract
• Why one partner might be interested in a marriage contract and the other be concerned or opposed to creating one
• Whether prenups actually strengthen a relationship and if so, why
• The difference between a prenup and a cohabitation agreement

Sara Dimerman in conversation with actor and writer, Noam Tomaschoff, about family secrets and how his life changed when his family's secret was revealed to him. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Noam's family's secret - how and why he chose to share it with others
• How other family members felt about him sharing the secret
• Noam's advice to parents in regards to keeping secrets from their children, especially when it directly impacts them
• How learning about the secret changed his life

Sara Dimerman in conversation with psychotherapist, Natalie Haynes, about how to help people become more comfortable when talking about race. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Natalie, why and how she developed a program to get people talking about race with one another
• The comfortable race conversation process program
• How the program helps people learn to develop a common language when talking about race, diversity and inclusion
• Ways to reflect on our personal biases and feelings
• How to increase people's sensitivities and create foundations for safety

To learn more about Natalie's program and when the next one begins, go to The Comfortable Race Conversation Process.

Sara Dimerman in conversation with Allan Gonzales. Over the course of this episode you will learn more about:

• Allans' life experience as an autistic child, and now adult
• Whether it has affected the way he learns
• How it affects his interaction and socialization with others
• Whether it impacts his relationship with family members
• What he'd like you to know for when you're interacting with people who are autistic