This latest episode of Quintessentially Mental: The Podcast features Nicole Germond. This podcast is hosted by SureEyes.

Transcript

SureEyes: [00:00:00] You're listening to quintessentially mental a podcast hosted by SureEyes , please note that this host is not a mental health practitioner or professional, and this podcast is not made for treatment of any mental illness.

[00:00:37]spudcaster: [00:00:37] Baobulb.org is a podcasting platform and a medium for storytelling. This podcast is also available on all the major podcasting apps, including Apple and Google podcasts, podcast your life with baobulb.org.

[00:00:57] SureEyes: [00:00:57] Hey, y'all this is quintessentially mental, the podcast, and I'm your host SureEyes . Today's episode is called nothing to see here, folks, um, inspired by, you know, just thinking on the early parts of my journey on, on mental health and how, you know, our families almost ignore what's going on, um, or pretend it doesn't exist.

[00:01:25] Um, And so that's kind of what I'd like to chat about today, um, is really how we cope when we feel unseen or unheard, or like what we're going through. Isn't acknowledged. Um, especially by the people closest to us, our family, you know, the people we live with, the people we identify or the first people we identify with, um, And I think, you know, it, and, and obviously the effect of that on our, on our mental health.

[00:02:04] Um, so for today's episode, I'll be chatting to a very good friend of mine. Um, her name is Nicole Germond . She is, we've probably been friends for about 20 odd years. We met in our first year of high school way back in 2000. Um, and yeah, I think, you know, we, we we've, we've watched each other grow and support each other along our, our individual mental health journeys.

[00:02:38] Um, and obviously as teenagers watching us struggle with anxiety, as we navigate depression, anxiety, um, again, in our early adulthood and here at university in Cape town, um, going through quite tumultuous relationships. Um, and then again, as adults, you know, or more matured adults, um, And so we, we have a pretty long history together and have quite a strong understanding of each other's family responses to our individual mental health journeys.

[00:03:22] Um, if I, if I reflect on my own, um, my own journey, I remember as a teenager feeling like I didn't belong, um, feeling. You know, as I, as I've mentioned in a previous podcast, I'm my mother's middle child. And growing up with, you know, my older and youngest sibling, um, before the, the three youngest siblings came along after, my parents divorced, I, I really struggled with.

[00:03:55] Anger anger towards my parents and the relationship specifically, my father and the abuse I witnessed specifically my mom and resenting or not even realizing I resented my mom only realizing that in later years. Um, but just feeling a sense of anger and feeling like. You know what I was experiencing, wasn't normal and long time feeling embarrassed by the events in my family.

[00:04:26] And I remember being probably in about grade nine. Um, and back in those days, we called it standard seven, even just a giveaway to, to my age. And, you know, I, I remember. Feeling lost, unseen. Unheard. Um, just like, as I said, like I didn't belong and you know, I would go on hunger strikes. So to show my, you know, disgust and upset with the way that my father was treating my mom and our family.

[00:05:05] Know, I would refuse to eat any of the food that he bought or refuse to wear any of the clothes that he bought. Um, and this would cause. Obviously going without food for all, you know, infrequent periods of food would affect one's mood. As I, as I now know. Um, and I think that added to my general sense of moodiness.

[00:05:30] And I remember my mom saying to me, you