Pretty Mental

Pretty Mental

By Pretty MentalHealth & FitnessMental Health
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Pretty Mental episodes

  • 42. Taoism, Surrendering, & Thriving in Uncertainty with Jason Gregory
    Today we spoke to the amazing Jason Gregory who is an author, philosopher, and spiritual teacher specializing in Eastern and Western philosophy, comparative religion, psychology, cognitive science, metaphysics, and ancient cultures. In this conversation we covered:
    - How to get beneath the conditioning of socialization to really know our true selves
    - Tapping back into our pure instincts and intuition
    - Learning to surrender to the the wisdom of the natural world
    - The power of releasing the social pressure to be “extraordinary” and embracing an ordinary life
    - How a conscious and intentional lifestyle can help us balance out the harmful effects of social media
    Jason Gregory IG: @jasongregoryauthor
    Jason Gregory Twitter: @JasonGregory33
    Jason Gregory YouTube
    The Art of Effortless Living by Jason Gregory (watch it!!!)
    Website: PrettyMental.Com
    IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial
    Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal
    Support Pretty Mental on Patreon
    1 hr 7 min
  • 41. Finding Strength in Flexibility with Kier Gaines
    Today we had an impactful, unfiltered, and super real conversation with Kier Gaines of @kierandthem. Topics mentioned in this episode:
    Getting real about building psychologically flexible systems for our mental health
    The art of building and maintaining healthy relationships
    His journey into the space of mental health advocacy
    Transcending the cultural conditioning and narratives of toxic masculinity
    Practicing and redefining joy
    Kier IG: @KierandThem
    Kier & Them YouTube
    Website: PrettyMental.Com
    IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial
    Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal
    Support Pretty Mental on Patreon
    1 hr 8 min
  • 40. Trauma, Ayahuasca, & the Power of Community with Carlos Aviles

    Today we talked to our good friend Carlos Aviles all about his healing journey. In this conversation we covered:

    • The psychological impact of shutting down his emotions in order to survive military service
    • Challenging the negative stereotypes and cultural narratives that encourage men to suffer in silence
    • Moving through the grief of losing his son and what healing from this has looked like
    • The ayahuasca experience that turned his life around

      • Carlos Aviles IG: @the_real_carlosaviles

      Carlos Aviles Twitter: @Body_MarkedUp

      Website: PrettyMental.Com

      IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial

      Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal

      Support Pretty Mental on Patreon

      53 min
    • 39. The Truth is Somewhere in the Middle

      Happy Monday family! We are back with a new podcast today talking about:

      💃🏻 V led P through her first breathwork session experience

      💃🏻 Letting go of the rational mind and leaning into embodied practices to make more room for joy 

      💃🏻 Different methods for challenging the thoughts and compulsions that keep us trapped in anxious and depressed loops 

      💃🏻 How to raise our tolerance for uncertainty

      Donate to our GoFundMe to help Andrill & Azariah  

      Website: PrettyMental.Com

      IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial

      Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal

      Support Pretty Mental on Patreon

      47 min
    • 38. We’ve All Experienced Trauma - Let’s Talk About It!

      We're normalizing the conversation on trauma - Big "T" and little "t". In our latest conversation, we covered:  New insights and research we’ve been learning from on trauma and depression  Understanding the impact of temperament on the manifestations of trauma Why we love embodiment practices like breathwork when it comes to healing trauma  

      Donate to our GoFundMe to help Andrill & Azariah  

      Website: PrettyMental.Com 

      IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial 

      Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal 

      Support Pretty Mental on Patreon

      45 min
    • 36. Redefining "Goals" and Flowing with the Mystery of Life

      In today's conversation we are challenging old paradigm of goal setting with an approach that is more sustainable for our mental health. A few of the topics covered:

      • Gearing up and coping ahead for the mood changes that come with the colder seasons
      • Updates on our personal therapy journey
      • Creating  “goals” that are mental health informed aka goals that are aligned with inner peace
      • Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke

        • "God speaks to each of us as he makes us,

        then walks with us silently out of the night.

        These are the words we dimly hear:

        You, sent out beyond your recall,

        go to the limits of your longing.

        Embody me.

        Flare up like a flame

        and make big shadows I can move in.

        Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.

        Just keep going. No feeling is final.

        Don't let yourself lose me.

        Nearby is the country they call life.

        You will know it by its seriousness.

        Give me your hand.”


        Website: PrettyMental.Com

        IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial

        Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal

        47 min
      • 35. How We Healed from Eating Disorders & Body Dysmorphia

        Get ready for one of the most vulnerable, raw and honest podcast episodes we’ve done so far. Today we cover:

        • V’s journey with looking for a therapist and our insights into finding the right match
        • Our lived experience with eating disorders and body dysmorphia and our journey to healing
        • Common patterns that take place in eating disorders and how these patterns are extremely similar to those in OCD
        • The social conditioning that’s important for us all to challenge in order to heal our relationship with our bodies, what we consider “beautiful” and the way we care for ourselves

          • Website: PrettyMental.Com

          IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial

          Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal

          55 min
        • 34. Normalize Being Human
          •  Integrating insights from Vale’s trip to Mexico
          •  Navigating the rigidity we experience in America relative to our experiences in other countries
          •  Paula’s thoughts on the rules she’s encountered in the mental health system
          •  Why love is a basic need for mental health
          •  The importance of addressing context whenever we talk about mental health “conditions”
          •  Why it’s so misguided to blame everything on genetics 
          •  Finding the balance between challenging ourselves to adapt and honoring our authentic selves
          •  Moving towards the people that we feel safe with and whose values are aligned with us
          • How coming more fully into our body leads to a more authentic expression of our personality


            • Website: PrettyMental.Com

            IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial

            Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal

            46 min
          • 33. Resting Back into Our Worth
            • Remembering our inherent value beyond productivity
            • The necessity of intentional rest and challenging narratives of rest as “laziness”
            • What it means to us to live a lifestyle that holds rest as a sacred practice
            • How to practice healthy emotional/energetic boundaries while being there for those we love
            • Learning to not be scared of ours and others’ heavier emotions

              • Show Notes:

              The Nap Ministry 

              Website: PrettyMental.Com

              IG: @PrettyMentalOfficial

              Twitter: @PrettyMentalVal

              47 min

            About Pretty Mental

            From the publisher's feed

            Pretty Mental is about accepting our full selves and inspiring others to do the same by being daringly unfiltered. This means completely normalizing all things mental health and the wild journey that has brought us here. We are challenging the stigmatization of normal human suffering. We are done pretending and subscribing to the notion that it’s taboo to have challenging mental health experiences.