Mental Health Uncovered

In this episode of Mental Podcast, Michelle and Seth engage in an extended mental minute as they kick off this month's focus. Michelle shares some challenges she's been facing at home as well as her prep work for 4 body building competitions! There's a whole conversation around self-esteem and self-confidence.

Seth shares how things have been going over the last few weeks. Notably, things have work have heated up and he experienced a grand mal (tonic-clonic seizure) in Denver, Colorado at a suicide intervention train the trainer event. There is a discussion around the physical and emotional impact of such a traumatic experience.

Keeping in line with Seth's experience, Michelle and Seth will be focusing on psychological trauma caused by chronic physical illnesses for the month of June.

*If you have experienced a chronic physical illness and would be willing to share parts of your story, please reach out to our hotline at 314-690-5005 (text/call).

You can learn more about Mental Podcast at mental-podcast.com.

This is an episode you don't want to miss!

Michelle and Seth skip Mental Minutes entirely in order to sit down with psychotherapist and author Mark Karris. Mark is the author of notable books such as "Religious Refugees" and "Season of Heartbreak."

In addition to writing, Mark is a psychotherapist, with a focus on religious trauma and couples counseling. In this episode, Mark walks us through the process he would walk someone through in recovering from religious trauma. This path of recovery from religious trauma includes the following stages: 1. Safety and Stability, 2. Remembrance and Mourning and 3. Reconnection with the Self and Integration. You can learn more about Mark and his work at: https://markgregorykarris.com.

Michelle and Seth sat down with famous author, Matthew Distefano, to discuss his lived experience after deciding to come out as bisexual. Matthew is a best-selling author, blogger, podcaster, long-time social worker, and hip-hop artist. He is an outspoken advocate for nonviolence and is happily married with one daughter.

Parts of this interview were shared in Episode 56. However, since there is so much discussed that may be helpful to others, this is being released as its own interview.

Michelle and Seth spend the first 20 minutes catching up on their Mental Minutes. Michelle is beginning prep for another body building competition and Seth was recently in Denver, Colorado for a suicide intervention train the trainer event. This episode was recorded before the event so there will be much, much more that is shared next week.

At about 20 minutes into the episode, Matthew's conversation with Michelle and Seth is released. Matthew is married, has kids, and has no plans of stepping out on his marriage. However, he had decided to own his sexuality and identify himself as bi-sexual. Listen in to learn how well this played out. I'll give you a hint: it did not go as well as he had planned.

This episode is a continuation of May's focus on Religious Trauma Syndrome which is part of the Trauma Trials Series. Learn more at mental-podcast.com.

In this episode of Mental Podcast, Michelle Collins and Seth Showalter continue their discussion on Religious Trauma Syndrome as part of the Trauma Trials Series. To refresh, Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is a group of symptoms that arise in response to traumatic or stressful religious experiences. RTS is not an official diagnosis in the DMS-5; however, it is a common experience of those involved in fundamentalist religious groups, cults or abusive religious settings.

In their mental minutes, Michelle admits to being "sassy." Michelle accuses Seth of being annoying and Seth accuses Michelle of yelling at him. All in good fun. Michelle acknowledges that depression has been lurking and describes a feeling of impending doom. Seth details a weekend at home where he was able to visit family. The plan was to engage in the True False Film Festival but plans changed.

For this week's subject matter, Michelle and Seth discuss spiritually abusive messages. Seth begins the discussion by clarifying the distinction between bashing religion versus addressing traumatic experiences caused by religious institutions and culture. Not all churches are abusive nor Christians bad people. Don't get it twisted. However, there are abusive situations centered around religious (including Christianity) and people do get hurt. That is what we are speaking about.

To address the topic of abusive situations, Michelle and Seth review spiritually abusive messages that are a common pattern of commentary that over time lead to trauma. A sample of abusive statements covered include: "Don't question the anointed," "Don't question," and “Don’t trust yourself or your instincts. Trust me—I’m the spiritual, smart one.” Many others are reviewed.

For this week's lived experience, Michelle and Seth sit down with prolific author and podcaster, Matthew Distefano. Matthew's books can be found at allsetfree.com. Such books include but are not limited to Heretic!, From the Blood of Abel, and the Bonfire Sessions. Matthew is also one of the hosts of the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.

To illustrate the power of abusive messages, Matthew shares how his wife's family has responded to coming out as bisexual. Matthew is married, is remaining married and is not polyamorous. Nothing is changing in the bedroom. He is simply standing up and taking pride in his true identity (which is wife is on board with). However, the response of his wife's family has caused grief. In fact, he's been accused of having affairs and his wife's family have cut ties; essentially ex-communicating them. His wife's family's actions are likely rooted in religious messaging that are so strong they're willing to remove their daughter and granddaughter and son in law due to fear and lack of understanding. Religion can certainly complicate things.

For more information about Mental Podcast, check out the website at: mental-podcast.com

In this week's episode of Mental Podcast, Michelle and Seth talk a bit longer than what is standard. The first 10 minutes of the show includes a promotion for Michelle's new debut book, "Into the Gray: The Mental and Emotional Aftermath of Spiritual Deconstruction." She also was published as a contributor to a new book entitled "Before You Lose Your Mind: Deconstructing Bad Theology In the Church." In discussing these books, the team reviews the basics of Religious Trauma Syndrome and the purpose behind this month's focus.

During their Mental Minutes, Seth reports being self-conscious; explaining how the pressures of a big project have been stressful. Michelle reports feeling rushed after quality time with her children. Her daughter is pregnant with triplets!

At around 17 minutes, they begin the discussion on this episode's topic: The Sequence of Religious Abuse.The sequence of religious abuse consists of 3 steps: Step #1: Control by claim of infallibility and perfection, Step #2: Mind Control or Groupthink and Step #3: Threat of Punishment. Michelle and Seth go through each of the steps and explore look how these play out in-depth.

At around 56 minutes, the team answers questions that were asked live during the discussion. The questions result in discussions involving: church attendance (why neither Michelle or Seth are frequent attendees), differences between religious leaders and cult leaders, and discovering a new cultural identity post leaving church.

Michelle and Seth then listen in to Ben DeLong's story. Having grown up as a pastor's kid, Ben had a unique experience. He shares how he understood the potential consequences on his family from simple childhood experiences due to Church judgment. Further, he shares a disturbing story from church camp. Lastly, he explains some of the expectations that were placed upon him due to who his father is.

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Text/Call and Leave a Voicemail on the Mental Hotline: 314-690-5005

In this episode of Mental Podcast, Michelle and Seth catch up during their Mental Minute. It had been two weeks since they have sat down together so there was a bit to talk about. For example, Michelle has published her debut book, Into The Gray: The Mental and Emotional Aftermath of Spiritual Deconstruction and is a contributor for a new book, Before You Lose Your Mind: Deconstructing Bad Theology in Church! Both books are available on Amazon now.

Then the discussion around Religious Trauma Syndrome begins. This is a very large topic; so large that it could in fact be its show. Dr. Marlene Winell, a leading research coined "Religious Trauma Syndrome" and defined it as: the condition experienced by people who are struggling with leaving an authoritarian, dogmatic religion and coping with the damage of indoctrination." Whether you are currently involved in a faith or not, RTS refers to the psychological damage that is the result of religious experiences, messages, doctrines and teachings.

Michelle and Seth review frequently experienced symptoms of people suffering with RTS and then spend time reviewing examples of the different aspects of religious/spiritual abuse. For example, "it's possible that you've experienced religious/spiritual abuse if: You have left a religious institution and as a result have lost relationships and/or been punished in some way."

This week's lived experience story is brought to you by Karl and Laura Forehand. Karl was Seth's pastor for a year or so while he was in high school. Karl started deconstructing and shares what this process has been like over the years. Laura shares how her children were impacted and how her personal relationships changed as a result.'

Information in this series is being drawn from the following books:

Traumatized by Religious Abuse by Connie Baker

Sacred Wounds by Teresa Pasquale

Leaving the Fold by Marlene Winell

Coming Up Next: For the month of May, Michelle and Seth will be highlighting Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS). Next week will likely involve the cycle of trauma.

In this episode of Mental Podcast, Seth sits down with a good friend and former colleague, Anne Stelter MSW, LMSW. To wrap up this month's focus on child abuse, Anne shares situations she encountered when working for Children's Division.

Anne is a former Children's Division Investigator; she worked for the state for 15 years. 13 of the 15 years was focused specifically on child abuse and neglect investigations. She worked in the Out of Home Investigation Unit where they investigated incidents of abuse/neglect that occurred outside of the home such as: schools, daycares, foster homes, residential facilities, juvenile detention, and even juvenile psych hospitals.

Anne shares incidents that she encountered working for Children's Division which shines a light on what is happening to kids everyday in this country. Since her years at Children's Division, Anne has shifted her focus to mental health. She currently works as a Mobile Outreach Crisis Counselor which is where she met Seth.

Coming Up Next: For the month of May, Michelle and Seth will be highlighting Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS).

In this episode of Mental Podcast, Michelle and Seth continue the discussion on child abuse. The team shares their Mental Minutes; Michelle has been experiencing headaches with the IRS while Seth has been struggling with the post office. Seth makes an announcement that he is giving up drinking for awhile.

The subject matter: why does child abuse occur? Last week, Michelle and Seth spent a lot of time laying down a foundation on what the definition and functional aspects of a family. This week, they center the conversation on two specific types of abuse: sexual abuse and emotional/verbal abuse.

To illustrate the points being discussed, portions of a lived experience story are shared throughout the episode. The lived experience featured in this episode is from Samson Latchison.

In this episode of Mental Podcast, Michelle and Seth continue on to the second episode of this month's focus on Child Abuse. The episode kicks off with some humor and banter due to a scheduling mistake made by Seth. The team shares their Mental Minutes; Michelle has started going to the gym early and Seth processed his concerns around relationships.

The subject matter: why does child abuse occur? There was a lot of information covered in this episode. Time was spent defining family; including subsystems, boundaries, roles, communication, attachment and rituals. After breaking down the varying functions of the family, the ways in which families fail was explored: failure to complete basic tasks, failure in dealing with changes associated with developmental tasks, failure to deal with crises and failure to deal with societal pressures.

Having laid a strong foundation, Michelle and Seth then review the definitions of Neglect and Physical Abuse from last week and then discuss some of the potential causes or situations that increase the likelihood of neglect/abuse.

Next Week: Michelle and Seth will continue onto Part #2 to discuss Sexual Abuse and Emotional/Verbal Abuse and expound on the reasons why these abusive situations occur.

To get involved, check out:

***Website: www.mental-podcast.com

***Call or Text Hotline: 314-690-5005

***Interested in bonus content + direct access?: https://www.patreon.com/mentalpodcast

In this episode of the Mental Podcast, Michelle and Seth provide an overview of Child Abuse, including statistics, a review of the different types and a lived experience story to summarize it all. However, this happens after Michelle and Seth review their weekly mental minute.

Michelle and Seth recently interviewed a Child Abuse survivor: Frank Garcia and segments/clips from Frank's interview was then organized and are discussed on show. Frank shares stories of what it was like growing up and how his father's abuse impacted him growing up.

To get involved, check out:

***Website: www.mental-podcast.com

***Call or Text Hotline: 314-690-5005

***Interested in bonus content + direct access?: https://www.patreon.com/mentalpodcast