Speak Out Loud

This panel discussion with several of Stacee's closest friends looks at the challenges, joys and realities of supporting and loving a friend who struggles with mental illness. Stacee and her friends talk about breaking through what to do when you don't know what to do or say, growing in understanding and compassion for those struggle with mental health, and the role of accountability in friendships. Whether you struggle with mental health or love someone who does, this episode is for you. Hope is found when we journey together.

Culture is often quiet about mental health treatment, or worse, the media and entertainment make fun of treatment and those who seek it. In this episode, Stacee and Doug shed light on Stacee's inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment experiences, discussing its value, its challenges, and the commitment needed to stay the course.  Stacee and Doug recognize that each person's circumstances and need for help may be different, but in this episode they hope to break through some of the stereotypes of mental health treatment by sharing about it's life-saving and life-changing impact. Asking for help takes courage, but its where recovery begins. Hope is available for those who struggle with mental health and for those who love and support them!

"Depression can feel like you are swimming with all your clothes on- like you are being overwhelmed and drug under and that it's impossible to get back to the surface" (Stacee). In this episode, Stacee and Doug talk candidly about the overwhelming power of depression and its impact on their life, marriage and family. The battle with depression is an ongoing medical challenge, but Stacee and Doug help to bring deeper understanding out of their experience of this illness and talk about finding help and hope in the darkest of days. If you struggle with depression, you'll connect with Stacee's story. For those who love someone battling this disease, Doug's lessons learned the hard way help to bring a deeper compassion for your loved one or friend. There is hope to be found in the dark tunnel of depression! Together we can build a community of hope and encouragement for those who battle depression and struggle with mental health and for those who love and support them.

It's no secret the ongoing pandemic is taking a brutal toll on people's mental health around the world. Anxiety and depression are ramping up and being experienced across the globe as isolation, loneliness, fear and worry continue to increase and eat away at our hearts, minds and souls.  In this episode, Stacee and Doug talk about their own experience with continuing in recovery despite this incredibly difficult season for those who struggle with mental health. Pressing on in recovery is attainable. Overcoming the overwhelming power of anxiety, depression and isolation is possible. Hope is available for those who struggle with mental health and for those who love and support them - even in the midst of a global pandemic!  

Episode 2 continues our story from the pilot episode, picking up with the point where our mental health recovery begins. Recovery is an ongoing journey, but it doesn't have to be completed for your story to matter. God has not abandoned you in your mental health recovery; He is not waiting for you to reach some point of completion before He loves and accepts you. In the struggle, in the fight, God is sustaining us and can sustain you and your loved one as they walk this recovery road. Together we can build a community of hope for those who struggle with mental health and for those who love them.

The Speak Out Loud podcast is bringing hope and encouragement to those who struggle with mental health and to those who love and support them. In the pilot episode, hosts Stacee and Doug share the beginnings of their mental health and recovery journey and about the grace, love, resilience, and even joy they've discovered along the way. You are not alone in your or your loved one's mental health struggle - let's experience hope together!