In the Open

It’s raining at America’s house so she and Theresa try to bring in some light on a dark day by discussing how they try to stay positive. The perception of positivity is different for everybody and these two go to completely different places to distract themselves and try to stay upbeat. They talk about the impact of having positive people around you, what they do to pull themselves out of a negative place and how sometimes being positive is just trying to hurt a little less.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

It’s officially been a year since we launched the podcast! If you’re new to the show or want to learn a little bit more about your hosts Theresa and America; they answer five questions so that you can get to know them a little bit better. Those questions are: What are you most proud of? What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? What’s one word your friends would use to describe you? What’s one word you’d use to describe yourself? What’s your favorite condiment? We appreciate everyone who has listened and joined us on this journey together.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

Theresa and America are talking about the benefits of owning pets and the effects on your mental health. One is a pet owner and the other one is not so they both dive into their current situations and all the pets they’ve owned throughout their lives. Pets can be a real companion in life but finding the pet that matches your needs is key.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

Theresa and America talk about the correlation between body pain and mental health. They explore how their pain comes on, how it’s progressed with age and what the causes may be including stress, lack of sleep or gaining weight. You can’t get rid of your physical pain if you don’t work through your emotional pain; we can only help others until we help ourselves.

Theresa and America are joined by Caren Howard who is the Advocacy Manager for Mental Health America and the three of them discuss how to push through a crisis. Caren shares how she felt stuck and how she eventually got motivated to do her work. They talk about adjusting to this new reality, honoring the grieving process during a crisis and the importance of vocalizing your feelings.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

Nothing works anymore. Most of us are having a hard time coping during this time and America and Theresa are no different. They discuss how their brains are handling this stressful environment and how they are trying to adjust, how it’s critical to try to be aware of what your limit is and the benefits of setting up a schedule or routine. Every coping skill you’ve learned along the way is now put aside while you try to just manage but you are not alone.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

A lot has changed since America and Theresa last recorded and they talk about how they are dealing during this pandemic. There is a discussion about ways in which people feel trapped in this and in other times of crisis and how people's self-care routines have shifted. They both share how they are coping during this time, the stress of feeling isolated and Theresa’s concept for her “bag of flour.”

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

Theresa and America share the ways in which they are critical of themselves and how others can pick up on those feelings. They talk about how that attitude affects the ones around us, how criticism looks from their perspective as women and how the self-criticism can become a habit. Theresa talks about what she beats herself up about the most, America gives examples of what her critical voice sounds like and how they try to silence that nagging voice in their head.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

America and Theresa discuss the struggles that come with dealing with grief. They get into the different stages of grief and how you can grieve more than just death. Theresa recalls the first time she dealt with grief, America talks about the experience of loss that came with her divorce and the difference between healthy and unhealthy grieving.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org

Why can’t I have that? America and Theresa talk about the mind trap of comparing yourself to others. The two of them talk about their experience comparing themselves to others and ways in which they try to shift their focus. They warn about the certain dangers in social media, why we need to focus on those particularly jealous feelings and concentrate on what it is that you may want or could be lacking but most importantly they emphasize trying to honor the best parts of who you are.

To take a mental health screen, or to find mental health information and resources, visit mhascreening.org