Strength Check

It's really common for people to feel constrained by the choices they've made and limited in the choices they can make in the future. In reality, we have a lot more options than we tend to realize we do. This is especially important for people who are suffering from mental health problems, past or current victimization, or substance use disorders -- and think their suffering is going to last forever -- to hear. Plus, we hear from a Play for Progress volunteer about why she thinks mental health advocacy is important and why D&D is good for everyone. Finally, what choices are in the future for Strength Check?

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It's ok to admit you're stressed and under a lot of pressure, and so this week we're going to talk about the power of taking inventory of your work and why it matters. Talking about our mental health publicly before the pressure gets too great can be helpful, especially when it gives us an opportunity to think about what we're actually trying to accomplish. Plus, we talk about the murder of Stanford White in 1906 and what we can learn from cases over a century old. 

Find The Girl on the Velvet Swing: Sex, Murder, and Madness at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century by Simon Baatz on Amazon.

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It's been a rough week because of the unrelenting weather and baffling and horrible violence around the world. Just like it's important to be mindful of your emotions and ask why you're responding to things the way you are, it's also important to think about how things outside your control are dragging you down, and how best to respond to this negativity: Love your people and fight forever. Plus, an update on the Play for Progress project and a quick introduction to a few of our first characters. 

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In light of the sentencing of Paul Manafort and the public reaction to that, this week's episode discusses how important it is to understand our anger when we hear about criminal justice issues and to question why it is we're reacting the way we are - beyond just looking for revenge. This idea is talked about with regard to Al Capone, Kip Kinkel, and Jerry Sandusky, and how sad these stories are and how important it is to be hopeful in the face of such darkness. 

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The opioid epidemic has claimed so many lives, but we don't get to hear the stories of people who've been lost nearly enough. This week, Andy talks about a personal loss and tries to understand the loss of a dear friend, and talks about how the opioid epidemic fits into other public health crises in the U.S. today. Plus, a brief update on Play for Progress and how Dungeons & Dragons can be used to help young people dealing with mental health problems.

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The official launch of Strength Check! How much do we care about people? Are we concerned about people, or just their bodies? The cases of Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia) and Marty Bergen are discussed with this question in mind. What can we do better for each other?

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Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck

The unofficial introduction to Strength Check and a discussion of how Dungeons & Dragons might be used to help young people recovering from violence or living with mental health problems and a recap of introducing D&D to the Play for Progress volunteers and what happened during their very first campaign.

E-mail the show: [email protected]

Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck