Our Fractured Minds

In this episode I speak with a woman, whose real name we've withheld, about her experiences dealing with depression with psychotic features. She presents her past experiences for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the area she lives, but her concern is that people will learn her story before she can tell it. in a world of stigma, that's a concerning proposition. In the episode we speak about mental hospitals, seeking help, medication, and diagnoses, as we work together to show that you're more than your diagnosis, even in the darkest of days.

In this week's episode, I sit down to talk with Bree Palmer, a woman who advocates on behalf of the mental health community because of tragedy within her own life. We discuss suicide, depression, personal value, the importance of finding the correct doctor, the potential mental health dangers of social media, and we soapbox for a few minutes on who is properly qualified to diagnose a person with an illness.

I sit down to speak with Raffael "Dr. B" Boccamazzo, a doctor of clinical psychology and the clinical director of TakeThis.org, where we talk about the stigma that not only surrounds suffering from an illness, but the stigma that surrounds visiting a doctor. We touch on the difficulties of sometimes getting in to see someone, the speed dating game of finding the right doctor for you, offering help to those in need, and a lot of nerd related things like Redshirts, D20s, and comic cons.

Hawke is the founder and president of RPG Therapeutics LLC and is registered with the Washington State Department of Health as a Recreational Therapist. He and I discuss how Role Playing Games can be used for therapy, and who, based on his research, is most likely to find growth through gaming. We also discuss suicide, ADHD, depression, bi-polar disorder, and how stigma isn't just exclusive to mental illness.

In this week's episode we touch on issues related to depression, stigma within the family and, at times, your doctor's office, the bizarreness of the human mind, and how sometimes forgiving yourself can be the hardest thing, and the best thing, you can ever do.

As we recognize PTSD awareness month, we spoke with Darrell Pruden, former submariner, as he discusses his own experiences with the disorder, how he worked to deny himself the help he now knows he needed, the process of seeking help, and how it's helped him no longer feel like a stranger in his own home.

Author of the Girl From Everywhere and Ship Beyond Time, Heidi Heilig, joins the show to share experiences relating to bi-polar disorder, finding personal redemption, trying to do no harm, the impact of sleep on our mental health and how similar our differences can be.

Nicole is a social media maven, and the new social manager of our podcast where she'll be developing content on IG, Twitter, and Facebook. She’s spent a lifetime exercising emotion through poetry and is now working on a full-length collection. Nicole believes in creating a lifestyle that is uniquely her own and encouraging other to do the same.

In this week's episode, our new social media manager sits down to share her story as we discuss suicide, anxiety, severe depression, healing, therapy, and the impact that curiosity can have on defining one's self.

After starting his own company and growing it from a single person start up to a five person business, Eric began to struggle with his mental health. After stepping away for several months, and getting things sorted out once he'd been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he realized he didn't only have to battle against a disorder he now faced, but a stigma that was keeping those around him from letting him step back in as head of the business he created. He and I speak on the lack of a conversation that exists regarding mental health and business, the impact bipolar disorder can have on the mind, psychotic breaks, paranoia, sleep, and how man's best friend became an entrepreneur's best friend.

In this episode I speak with social technophile, Geli Mata, where we discuss the stigma surrounding mental health, why you should always have an upcoming mental health appointment on the calendar–regardless of who you are–and how, when you’re down, even the happiest place on earth can’t always pick you back up.