In the Open

Theresa rejoins America to discuss the ways in which we are hard on ourselves and how we can try to turn those negative thoughts around. It’s easier for most people to rely on those negative emotions, especially when looking inward, but it is vital to attempt to break the cycle. They both talk about how they are hard on themselves but how they’ve learned forgiveness, acceptance and love.

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

America is joined by MHA’s Director of Development Sachin Doshi to explore the common sentiment of feeling lonely in a crowd. Sachin shares a recent encounter where he felt the pressure to connect with others and gives examples of shortcuts on how he tries to insert himself when he’s feeling social anxiety.  If you are feeling lonely in a crowd, odds are you’re not alone. It helps to try to find someone in that space to be lonely with together but be patient because not everyone is comfortable being in social situations, it takes work.

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

Theresa and America discuss their own personal battles with attempting to get motivated and how they try to push past that lack of desire to get anything done. In order to get motivated you need to have a desire, ability, reason and needs. What are yours? Getting motivated is a mixture of taking action and dealing with the thoughts that get in your own way.

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

Theresa speaks with Princess Asia and Mario to talk about their personal experiences with pressure and expectations. As former athletes, these two best friends found commonalities in their sports backgrounds and consistently connect their struggles and experiences to their playing past. They talk about mental health in sports and just everyday life plus they give insight on how they developed the confidence to overcome their personal pressure and expectations.

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

Theresa is joined by Nathaniel who is the Associate Vice President of Policy at Mental Health America and also a person who lives with insomnia. They both discuss their current and past relationships with sleep and how anxiety and depression play an integral part in sleep patterns. They chat about sleep recommendations and what techniques work for them and what doesn’t; it takes time to find your sleep solutions but it is also important to let go of your sleep expectations.

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

Theresa and America are not having a good day so they use this platform to try to talk out their feelings. They are both working through some raw emotions on some recent tragedies while also dealing with their own personal troubles and it all seems like too much. They pose the question: how can you get mad at the world when you’re the one setting the expectations? Bad feelings come from some misalignment with expectations so they both are just trying to take one thing at a time and talking it out on the podcast helps.

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

On this episode we discuss the feeling of not belonging, not fitting in or having trouble connecting with people. Making friends at any stage of life can be difficult so Theresa and America talk about their own personal struggles to develop friendships throughout their life and how they’ve tried to be better. The process of beginning to feel like you belong is the process of trying to identify who you are.

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

There is a common comment about how people struggle with having an open dialogue about their mental illness because those who are close to them don’t believe them. People might have difficulty with their diagnosis or might not even know what is specifically going on within them which makes it hard to articulate that to other people.  The way in which you communicate is important when speaking to others about your mental illness and no matter how the other party might react to it, we believe you.

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

Last episode Catherine took us through her mental health journey and on this podcast she shares her experience of what it’s like to go to the hospital. She describes the events leading up to her hospital visits, what it was like during her stay and the benefits of the entire experience. Catherine gives her opinion on when it is a good time to go to the hospital and the importance of setting up these small day-to-day goals for her mental well-being.

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

In this episode Theresa and America are joined by Catherine Reynolds who “thrives with” Bipolar Disorder.  She talks about what it’s like living with Bipolar and how she has succeeded in spite of it. Catherine shares her mental health journey including how she first revealed it to her family, how she got connected with a therapist, weighing her treatment options and ways in which she tries to identify her triggers.

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