On today's show Patrick Venetz who is an Officer in the United States Coast Guard joins us to talk about suicide. Pat is currently also working toward his MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. He wants to help end the stigma surrounding mental health and seeking help. Pat has lost several friends to suicide, and has one friend who made a miraculous recovery from his suicide attempt. Suicide is generally not any easy topic to talk about, but Pat was very open with us. He shared stories about his friends, and he shared about his own experience. Patrick, thank you for having the courage to shine light on this dark topic. People all over are struggling, and they need to know that they are not alone. Better days will come. Be kind. Ask for help... and keep talking!

Connect with Patrick on Instagram: patrick.h.venetz

National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800)-273-8255

www.NickandTricia.com

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that". -Martin Luther King Jr.

In this show we check in to see how the mood tracking has been going. We both discovered it is difficult, but we were able to get some practice doing it and will hopefully keep at it. Then we reflect on how we both experienced a car ride we took the day before. It is so interesting how we can perceive things so differently. We continue to work on awareness of our feelings, and we definitely are still working on improving communication. It is a work in progress. Thanks for listening to us fumble our way through it. We hope you will also keep trying and keep talking!

Also, find us on Facebook. We would love for you to join our Facebook group "Regular People Talking About Mental Health".

www.NickandTricia.com

Sarah Tietje-Mietz is an artist, freelance writer, and the director of Hilltop House and Studio. In this episode she is very open and forthcoming about her own mental health struggles. Her vulnerability is inspiring. Sarah talks about how OCD, social anxiety, and alcoholism have affected her throughout her life. She admitted to almost cancelling on us and not doing the podcast. We are so grateful that she didn't. Sarah truly gave us a gift by joining us and sharing about her experiences so openly. Again Sarah, thank you so much!

Instagram: @sareteej

In today's show we talk about Nick's current struggle with his mental health. Nick is overwhelmed by a combination of factors that are contributing to his emotional roller coaster. He is dealing with seasonal depression, a lifelong disdain for Christmas (and all holidays), closing his business...and of course we can't forget that complication multiplier, Covid-19. Nick had taken a break from mental health treatment and medication that didn't seem to be getting him the relief he was seeking. Now he seems to be ready to try getting help again. This time Nick is going to try tracking his moods with Tricia's help to hopefully be able to gain some insight into his patterns and provide whichever psychiatrist he meets with a better snapshot of his mental health struggle.

 

www.NickandTricia.com

Musician Dave Bellevue joins us to talk about his journey struggling with mental health and anxiety after losing his best friend to suicide. Drawing from his own experience Dave became a story teller for The JED Foundation, a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. Then Dave saw a need for more mental health resources in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community, so he founded a mental health organization called Swag for Stigma earlier this year. Swag for Stigma's mission is to share relevant BIPOC statistical data, resource information on where to get help, and access to identify therapists who are also BIPOC. Their ultimate goal is to launch the “It Takes a Village” initiative to donate cost-covered therapy sessions and support for under served communities. As we all know, it does take a village! Thanks, Dave! You can find more information at www.swagforstigma.org.   or   @SwagforStigma on Instagram

Also be sure to check out Dave's band, Oxymorrons (with 2 "R"s) on YouTube.

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

And hey, and if you are on Facebook, we invite you to join our Facebook group "Regular People Talking About Mental Health". Hope to see you there!

www.NickandTricia.com

In this episode we dive into the subject of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria once again. The show has highs and lows. There are moments when we are unified and moments where we are each triggered. We are not acting. RSD is very much a part of our lives. This ADHD struggle is real.

We invite you to join our "Regular People Talking About Mental Health" Facebook group to connect with us and start talking to other regular people in the community about mental health.

In the show Nick talks about an article from additudemag.com. Here is the link

https://www.additudemag.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-and-adhd/

 

NickandTricia.com

We cover a lot of topics in today's show. High school teacher, improv teacher, and podcaster Andy McIntyre joins us to talk about getting sober and dealing with depression. We end up talking about that and more. We touch on what grieving is like during Covid, what his experience has been like teaching during Covid, and we even get into talking about the benefits of doing improv and the power of "Yes, and...".

Be sure to listen to Andy's podcast, "Silver Linings Playback" wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out Andy's improv on highwireimprov.com.

@bigandymac on Instagram

We always struggle with holidays. This year Thanksgiving was different for us because of Covid-19. We stayed home and had dinner with just the two of us. The holiday season is always a stressful time of year, but this season is already proving to be especially emotional...and we are just getting started.

Grief is something we all experience, yet it is so difficult for many people to talk about. In today's show we move towards this uncomfortable topic and explore the subject of grief with Caron Grossman who is an End of Life and Grief Coach. We chat about the importance of grieving, and we discuss some ways of approaching the conversations and making the space to grieve.

To hear more from Caron Grossman, watch Caron's TED Talk: Permission to Grieve.

https://www.ted.com/talks/caron_grossman_permission_to_grieve?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

 

www.carongrossman.com

 

www.NickandTricia.com

We are joined by Becky Ruben-Navarro whose commitment to personal development and self-care, has helped her manage her anxiety and the stresses of life. Becky has many roles including being a mom, a wife, an Employee Benefits Consultant, and a student, yet she also manages to somehow juggle a couple side hustles and do fundraising with "Extra Life" for the Children's Miracle Network. Unbelievable! How does she do it?!

Check out "Extra Life" on Facebook.

FB.com/phoenixoverdrive