High Functioning

Almost exactly 1 year after we released our very first episode, we wrap up our second season. We have put out 21 episodes, over 15 hours of content that has been listened to over 3000 times! Thank you for joining us on this journey and we hope you enjoy this episode where we chat recording a podcast during a pandemic, answer some questions from our audience, and reflect on another season done!

** Special Extended Episode **

Friendships are arguably some of the most important relationships in a person’s life...but they often aren’t treated as such. Inspired by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman’s podcast “Call Your Girlfriend” and book “Big Friendship”, we’re talking about how friendships (good and bad) have shaped our lives. Ameera reflects on their pitfalls as a friend, and mistakes they’ve made over the years with friends and explores both the impact and causes of friendship break-ups. Britt discusses how she has moved from relying solely on romantic partners for love and support, to reaching out to friends more as part of her growth. We share our thoughts (and fears) about how we see our friendship evolving as we enter different stages of our life, and talk about how we navigate being friends with others in various life phases. Finally, after a year of racial reckoning, Ameera shares the challenges they experience with their white friends and how interracial friendships need to look different. Want to connect with a close friend on a deeper level? Share this episode with them and discuss!

Ameera and Britt have become experts at navigating the best and worst parts of the mental health system. In today’s episode, we talk about what makes a good doctor for us and think about our good experiences as well as share some cautionary tales about the not-so-good parts. Ameera shares what it was like to be held in a psychiatric ward at a hospital on multiple occasions, and the trauma and isolation they experienced as a result of that. We discuss the unknowns of having to navigate a confusing and overloaded mental health care system, and explore the limitations of a system that can put Black and brown bodies in more danger. Although we’ve had some disappointing experiences, we are so grateful to the health care professionals that work tirelessly every day to make the scariest times in our life a bit easier, and recognize that an overloaded system is just as unfair to them as it is to us.

Christmas is just around the corner, and who better to talk about the ups and downs of this time of year than a Muslim and a Jewish person?! This week, we’re talking about what we love and hate about this time of year - from the presents to the pressure, the holidays can be a complicated time for a lot of people (including us). Britt opens up about how her perfectionist tendencies always lead to an emotional roller coaster on New Year’s Eve and Ameera shares how a tragic holiday season last year makes this year that much more important to enjoy. We know things are going to look a little different this year given the current state of the world and talk about how some of our usual traditions are adapting to these uNpReCeDeNtEd TiMeS.

From us to you and your loved ones, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Khushiali Mubarak, and Happy New Year!

**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode contains candid discussions about suicide. We recommend ensuring your own safety before engaging with this episode. If you’re in crisis, call 911 or 833-456-4566 if you are not in need of immediate medical help.

This episode has been one we’ve been trying to record since season 1. It’s arguably one of the most important episodes we’ve ever done. Our society doesn’t talk about suicide enough, nor are we given the tools about how to talk about suicide safely - we want to change that. We use proper terminology, don’t talk about the method, and break the stigma and shame around suicidal ideation and attempts. After surviving three suicide attempts, and then losing a friend to suicide, Ameera discusses the trauma around that and the hardship of the aftermath of suicide. We talk about the importance of safety plans, a support system, and navigating the in between passive/casual ideation state where you’re not in crisis, but you’re still not okay. We touch on the dangers of calling 911, especially for BIPOC, when there have been so many police killings during wellness checks while also recognizing that crisis supports are needed when someone’s life is in danger.

Both of us struggle with emotions - feeling them, acknowledging them, expressing them. Most of the time, we suppress them (we’re getting better at this). In this episode, Ameera talks about the dangers and toll suppressing emotions took on them and introduces a fancy term called “Alexithymia” while Britt introduces one of our favourite tools: The Feels Wheel (http://feelingswheel.com/). Understanding our emotions not only helps us figure out what we’re going through - it also helps us communicate our needs to others, leading to deeper connection. We talk about how emotions can be such a physical experience in our bodies vs contained in our minds. If you struggle with this, or have been conditioned not to express your feelings, you’re not alone! Learning to feel the feels takes time and sometimes even when we don’t want to suppress, our minds do it automatically.

This episode is all about how well-adjusted we are...or not. Taking care of our mental health requires constant pivoting and tweaks in order to stay afloat. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow, and what hasn’t worked in the past might work today. We touch on transitions that lead to us having to readjust (like COVID-19), and the discomfort that arises when we make changes that we know will be better for us in the long run (like finding a new therapist or changing medications). Ameera touches on the importance of having a daily, monthly and quarterly check ins with themselves, and being aware of life events that might be coming up that require an adjustment.

Today we’re talking SAD - as in Seasonal Affective Disorder. Both of us have experienced SAD in very different ways, and we get into how it looks for each of us. We talk about what happens as seasons change, what makes it worse, and what coping mechanisms might look like. Ameera talks about their trauma resurfacing annually, and Britt chats about her experiences with the lack of sunlight having a significant impact. We actually struggle in different seasons; Ameera finds the winter comforting and calming, while Britt gets energized in the warmer months. Does your mood change with the seasons? Is it related to a particular season, sunlight amount, or a significant life event? Slip into our insta DMs! (@highfunctioningpodcast)

We’re back! Thank you so much for joining us for season 2 of our favourite venture. We’re so excited to be bringing you this season from the comfort of our own homes. We’ve got 10 fresh new episodes to get you through this winter and we can’t wait to share them with you. In this episode, we talk about Season 1, COVID-19, and how we see High Functioning evolving. Ameera chats about the impact of COVID on their writer’s block, and their frustrations with COVID,  and Britt sparks a short discussion on racism and the reckoning that reached a height this past summer. We get into self care vs. community care, and how we need to show up for one another while still showing up for ourselves.