At first, Mimi Cole couldn’t understand why she was so terrified of going to hell. She did all the right things, prayed often, and continually confessed sins but her fears only got worse. Pretty soon, she also began obsessing about accidentally running someone over with her car - what was going on?!

Just as she started to feel crushed by cascading illogical behaviors, she received a diagnosis - OCD - and began working with a treatment team to get her life back.

Now, this North Carolina grad student has taken her experiences and used them to spread mental health awareness as a social media influencer and clinician in training. We talk with Mimi about her journey and also hear from Dr. Charles Brady about what happens to someone with OCD and what treatment options are available to help people find recovery.

Sponsor: Mental Note Podcast is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and Anxiety Center.

• Reach a trained therapist at (877) 850-7199
• Register for their online annual conference: www.pathlightbh.com/event/pbh-conference

Resources: Website: www.mimi-cole.com Instagram: the.lovelybecoming Website (Dr. Brady): www.kitsapocd.com

With infection rates falling and vaccination rates rising in the United States, it seems like the summer has almost returned to normal. But maybe it’s easier said than done…

What are ways that prolonged loneliness and isolation may affect us? What self-knowledge can we glean from the worst pandemic in 100 years?

Dr. Zach Rawlings will guide us in taking a deeper look at the various ways people respond to loneliness + solitude and how those responses influence our post-pandemic mental health.

Sponsor: Mental Note Podcast is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and Anxiety Center.

• Reach a trained therapist at (877) 850-7199
• Register for their online annual conference: www.pathlightbh.com/event/pbh-conference

Resources: Website: www.zachrawlings.com

Have you ever felt the need to hide your true self? Shame, fear, and self-hatred are powerful forces, and breaking free from them is worthy of the grandest party you can imagine.

In celebration of pride month and the joy of self-expression, we’re sitting down with choreographer and recovery advocate Ryan Walker Page to share his story of coming out, shedding shame, and finding recovery.

Along the way, Ryan invites us to reconsider the parts of ourselves we are the most ashamed to reveal. In fact, he counts those "imperfections" as the precious source of wisdom that catapulted his successful career into working with people like Lil Nas X, Renee Zellweger, Samuel L Jackson, and many many more. In Ryan’s world, coming out isn’t just a singular event, but a beautiful lifelong unfolding.

Sponsor: Mental Note Podcast is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and Anxiety Center.

• Reach a trained therapist at (877) 850-7199
• Register for their online annual conference: www.pathlightbh.com/event/pbh-conference

Resources: Website: https://www.ryanwalkerpage.com/

Jen Ponton possesses seemingly boundless energy: 

Most known as the fiercely feminist fat activist 'Rubi' on AMC's critical darling Dietland, she is an award-winning actress and body liberation activist. With a television resume that includes 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, Law and Order: SVU, The Blacklist, and Blue Bloods, she also starred in the late Ash Christian's body-positive romantic comedy, Love On the Run. In 2020, she delivered the TEDx Talk "Hollywood's Fatphobia Problem." She also hosts All the Fucks, a storytelling podcast about caring too much.

On top of all that - she's simply wonderful to spend time with. With quick wit and relatable storytelling, she has the rare ability to communicate hard truths while also not taking herself too seriously. She sits down with host Ellie Pike to discuss Fatphobia, activism, Hollywood, and practical ways to push back against the marginalization of fat people. 

Links:

• www.jenponton.com
• www.mentalnotepodcast.com

_____________________

Mental Note is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center. To speak with a trained therapist for free to see if treatment is right for you, call (877) 850-7199

Register for the all virtual annual conference below: REGISTRATION LINK

It’s no secret that a lot of us are uncomfortable with the shape and size of our bodies -thanks in no small part to the $72 billion dollar a year weight loss industry devoted to the thin ideal. Even most health care providers will ask patients to drop weight if their BMI is above "average." But why?

The Health at Every Size movement - HAES for short - invites us to reconsider our obsession with weight and instead focus on health behaviors. HAES principles seek to advance social justice, create an inclusive and respectful community, and support people of all sizes in finding compassionate ways to take care of themselves. But what do those principles look like in daily life? 

To cut through a lot of the misinformation out there, we’ve invited Meredith Nisbet, L.M.F.T., C.E.D.S. to answer some of our most common questions when it comes to body size.

HAES Resources:

• HAES Website
• Database of HAES aligned businesses and medical providers
• Social Media Accounts:
  • @thenutritiontea
  • @bodyimagewithbri
  • @colleenmwerner
  • @therapywithmere
• Meredith Nisbet

Therapy Resources:

• Eating Recovery Center (877) 850-7199
• Insight Behavioral Health (877) 850-7199

In our last episode, Dr. Charlynn Small and Dr. Mazella Fuller took us through some of the history and impact of the mental health profession’s relationship with the black community. While that episode helped set the context for today’s conversation, you can also listen to this episode as a stand-alone podcast.

Today is all about exploring practical tools for becoming more inclusive and equitable in supporting mental health. We hope it gives you some ideas for growth!

Sources:

mentalnotepodcast.com

Dr. Mazella Fuller Bio

Dr. Charlynn Small Bio

Treating Black Women With Eating Disorders: A Clinician’s Guide

Treatment Assessment Hotline: (877) 850-7199

How does the history of race impact your mental health?

To get a better idea, we’re spending the next two episodes with Dr. Mazella Fuller and Dr. Charlynn Small - two leading thinkers on Black mental health.

Today’s show is all about the history and definitions of Black mental health. Part 2 will focus on how to make change happen - whether you’re part of the Black community or not. It will feature practical tools to evolve the mental health community by making it more equitable and inclusive.

Sources:

mentalnotepodcast.com

Dr. Mazella Fuller Bio

Dr. Charlynn Small Bio

Treating Black Women With Eating Disorders: A Clinician’s Guide

Historical Sources

• “Historical Attitudes on Black Mental Health”

  Virtual Presentation for Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services (DBHDS)

  Karen Sherry, Ph.D. Curator of Museum Collections, Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) [email protected]

Rachael Steil formed an early and joyful bond with running - she loved the movement, competition, and exhilaration it gave her. Yet, within a decade, her drive for perfection demolished that love and replaced it with isolation, an eating disorder, anxiety, and health issues. 

Now - as a running coach, author, and speaker - Rachael runs towards being an "imperfectionist". This new practice has transformed her relationship with both herself and the up-and-coming athletes she now coaches. 

Before Colorado Public Radio's Vic Vela launched his own podcast about overcoming adversity, he faced a crippling substance use disorder that threatened to end his career, relationships, and even his own life.  

But Vic found a way out and he's here to walk us through the journey. We are also joined by clinician Leah Young to show us how finding recovery is attainable for anyone open to professional help. 

_______ To find more Mental Note Podcast episodes, visit our website: mentalnotepodcast.com

Vic's Back From Broken Podcast can be found here.

Our show is sponsored by Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center. To receive a free assessment from a trained therapist, call 877-411-9578. 

We’ve all been there: Adult brings child a meal. Child refuses to eat it. Everyone’s anxiety spikes and an epic standoff ensues. Sound familiar? Most of us probably assume that fighting over what kids eat is normal.

Not according to Keira Oseroff of The Ellyn Satter Institute. She claims that kids of all ages should be able to feed themselves…and thrive! Doubtful? We were too. So, we sat down with Keira to hear all about how to avoid the dinner table battle of wills and transform the whole family’s relationship with food in the process.

Sidenote - this is not an episode about eating disorders. Rather, it’s about everyone’s relationship with food and how to build a more joyful connection to our plates. We’ll unpack what intuitive eating is, why Keira emphasizes the evidence-based Satter Feeding Dynamics Model + Eating Competence Model, and practical steps to make mealtime more enjoyable.

LINKS:

The Ellyn Satter Institute

Keira’s Bio 

Mental Note Podcast