🔎What if the world saw autism not as a neurological disorder in need of fixing, but as a brilliant, "outside the box" way of thinking? In this episode, Sam Mitchell, creator of the Autism Rocks and Rolls podcast, joins the show to share his first-person perspective on living on the spectrum. Sam breaks down the creative strengths of the autistic mind, such as unique problem-solving skills and intense motivation, while also providing an honest look at the daily challenges of rigidity and the high levels of anxiety that often accompany it. He illustrates these experiences through personal stories, from the comfort found in a dentist's parking lot to the importance of literal communication when metaphors like "pulling your leg" fall flat.

💙💛💚❤️The conversation also dives deep into the practicalities of advocacy and support for the autism community. Sam offers invaluable advice for parents, emphasizing the need for unwavering support during periods of regression and the importance of ignoring societal judgment. He also addresses the staggering 85% unemployment rate among autistic Americans, sharing his own journey of entrepreneurship after facing workplace neglect and encouraging others to create their own paths. From his upcoming children’s show to his mission of education and stigma reduction, Sam’s message is clear: success comes in many forms, and it begins with embracing who you truly are.

Main themes: Autism awareness, neurodivergent perspective, autism spectrum, Living on the autism spectrum, first-person autism interview, parent advice for autism regression, understanding autism rigidity, creative strengths of autism, Neurodiversity affirming, autism acceptance month, neurodivergent employment, autism and anxiety

Sam Mitchell

http://autismrocksandrolls.com/

FREE resources for Autism Awareness & Support:

(click here to receive both of these for free - English or Spanish)

Autism: Facts vs Myths

Empowering Parents: Understanding Autism Spectrum

Disorder

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0:00 Introduction to Sam Mitchell

1:15 Defining Autism: A different way of thinking

3:45 Understanding masking and rigidity

5:20 Handling anxiety and schedule changes

8:10 Advice for parents on autism regression

9:45 Navigating the workforce and starting a company

😓Are you feeling like you're grieving "wrong" because you keep cycling between anger, sadness, and fleeting moments of acceptance? Stop comparing your journey to a checklist. Social psychologist Jamie welcomes Lisa Rites, a certified grief educator and former respiratory therapist with 40 years of experience, for a deeply honest conversation that dismantles the biggest myths about grief and loss. Lisa shares her unique perspective, gained from working with dying patients and navigating her own difficult divorce. You'll learn why the so-called "five stages" of grief are not a linear checklist, why you might be grieving a job loss or a divorce without realizing it, and why it's completely normal to fall back down the ladder of healing. This episode is essential for anyone experiencing loss, including loss of a loved one or loss of a future vision.

🫂We dive into what support for grief truly looks like, moving beyond the unhelpful platitudes like "just move on" that society constantly offers. Lisa offers valuable coping strategies and actionable self-care tips, emphasizing the importance of talking and listening without judgment. Learn the warning signs of related mental health struggles, such as depression and suicidal ideation, and how to spot them in yourself and others. We also explore the deeply touching phenomenon of elderly couples passing shortly after one another. Whether you are looking for advice on how to deal with grief and loss, seeking to support a friend, or ready to begin healing from a breakup or divorce, Lisa Rites offers a compassionate, honest guide to the complex, non-linear path of true healing.

Lisa Rites:

website:  Lisaritesgrief.com 

FREE ebook to listeners of this podcast: lisaritesgrief.com/resource   

IG: angelsamonguslisa

FB: angelsamongusgrief

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📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

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🧠Are you feeling scatterbrained, forgetful, or struggling to follow through on your goals? Your lifestyle might be to blame! In the final episode of our six-part series on Executive Functioning, host Jamie welcomes back special guest Dr. Jared Brown to dive deep into Lifestyle Medicine and its direct impact on brain health and mental well-being. Discover why our modern way of living - marked by stress, sleep deprivation, and poor diets - is contributing to rising rates of mental illness and chronic low-grade inflammation. Dr. Brown, certified in lifestyle medicine, breaks down the critical connection between your physical habits and your cognitive capacity, explaining why ignoring factors like nutrition, sleep, and social support can lead to poor health outcomes and worsen executive function impairments.

📊This episode provides a holistic framework for better health, outlining the Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine: physical activity, avoidance of harmful substances, stress management, nutrition, promoting positive social connection, and restorative sleep. You'll also learn about the Life's Essential Eight (from the American Heart Association), how to adopt a health coaching lens to improve motivation and self-reflection, and the revolutionary concept of social prescribing, where doctors prescribe activities like dance or knitting classes instead of defaulting to medication. Dr. Brown and Jamie stress that physical and mental health are interconnected - what's good for the heart is good for the brain. By understanding and taking responsibility for these dimensions of wellness, you can strengthen your executive functions and achieve a higher quality of life.

Dr. Jerrod Brown

6-part series on executive functioning

1. Executive Function: Introduction and Overview

2. Executive Dysfunction: Clinical and Forensic Considerations

3. Executive Dysfunction: Implications for Poor Health Outcomes

4. Executive Dysfunction: A Neuroscience Perspective - Neuroplasticity

5. Executive Function: Self-regulation

6. Executive Function: Healthy Lifestyle Practices/Lifestyle medicine

Forensic Mental Health: A Source Guide for Professionals by Dr. Jerrod Brownhttps://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Mental-Health-Source-Professionals/dp/154713237X

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📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

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📙 Managing Clinical Depression

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☕From struggling to make coffee to almost giving up entirely, Rob Baugh learned the hard way how to survive a new reality.

🧠This episode dives deep into the invisible struggle of living with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) through the powerful and candid story of guest Rob Baugh. After a seemingly minor head injury forced him to step away from his dream of opening a bakery, Rob endured five years of chronic, debilitating migraines and profound cognitive challenges. He shares the shocking reality of being released from the hospital with minimal guidance and having to navigate the complex, often unhelpful, healthcare system - where "concussion" is used instead of the more accurate, long-term diagnosis of TBI. Rob's journey highlights the critical need for greater awareness, as his pain and the loss of his identity led him through a period of intense depression and suicidal ideation. This segment is a raw, emotional look at the mental health crisis that often accompanies physical trauma, showing how TBI is truly a life-altering event that requires sustained support, not seasonal attention.

📘Rob's story ultimately transforms into a testament to resilience and the power of finding purpose through pain. He recounts the moment his counselor challenged him to create the resources he wished he had, which led to the creation of his podcast, "Life Rewired," and his book, My Life Rewired. He details the daily cognitive challenges he faces - from struggling to complete simple tasks like making coffee to forgetting his destination while driving - and reveals the effective "life hacks" he developed to cope, such as using a "memory station" and sticky notes on his steering wheel. Beyond his personal recovery, Rob has dedicated himself to being a lifeline for others, fostering a community where TBI survivors feel seen, heard, and validated. Listeners will be equipped with key resources and inspired by his commitment to spreading joy, making this episode a must-watch for anyone seeking to understand the TBI experience, offer compassionate support, or find hope in their own invisible battle.

Rob’s links:

Youtube: Life Rewired podcast

Website: My Life Rewired – A book by Rob Baugh

JAN - Job Accommodation Network

https://askjan.org/

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📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

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🔥Ever wonder why some people just "fly off the handle" or can't stick to a healthy habit? Welcome to Part 5 of the Managing Mental Health Podcast's series on Executive Functioning, where social psychologist Jamie and Dr. Jerrod Brown dive into the crucial, yet often underrated, area of Self-Regulation. This episode unpacks self-regulation as your brain's internal parking brake, exploring its multiple dimensions, including emotional control, behavioral inhibition, attention, and physiological response. You'll learn that self-regulation is the foundation for key life skills like Grit and is closely tied to Theory of Mind (perspective-taking). The discussion highlights concepts like Effortful Control and Inhibition as essential components that determine everything from finishing a major project to deciding against a fourth plate at the buffet.

😵The conversation then tackles complex real-world implications, especially its multifaceted role in addiction, where self-regulation issues intersect with trauma, fractured attachment, and lifestyle factors like blood sugar and sleep. The doctors also provide vital considerations for educational professionals, emphasizing that high self-regulation is key to school readiness and academic success, and suggesting that movement and holistic factors like diet and sleep be prioritized in the classroom. Finally, Dr. Brown shares practical, actionable steps for parents - including the famous Marshmallow Test - and provides encouragement that self-regulation can be taught and improved at any age through positive experiences, modeling, and repetitive practice, driven by neuroplasticity.

Dr. Jerrod Brown

6-part series on executive functioning

1. Executive Function: Introduction and Overview

2. Executive Dysfunction: Clinical and Forensic Considerations

3. Executive Dysfunction: Implications for Poor Health Outcomes

4. Executive Dysfunction: A Neuroscience Perspective - Neuroplasticity

5. Executive Function: Self-regulation

6. Executive Function: Healthy Lifestyle Practices/ Lifestyle medicine

Forensic Mental Health: A Source Guide for Professionals by Dr. Jerrod Brownhttps://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Mental-Health-Source-Professionals/dp/154713237X

Get your Managing Mental Health ebook here: 

managingmentalhealth.net

📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

📙 Managing Everyday PTSD

📙 Managing Clinical Depression

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🔥 Are you ready to break free from generational trauma and find your purpose? 🔥

In this powerful episode of the Managing Mental Health podcast, host Jamie welcomes Earnest James - father, podcast mentor, and speaker. Earnest shares his dedication to helping families "deal, heal, and fulfill," specifically focusing on healing fatherless mothers and daughters from the impact of father wounds. He explains the profound and often painful effects of growing up without a present or consistent father, noting that it often manifests as a deep feeling of abandonment and can lead to extremes like people-pleasing or self-sabotaging relationships. Earnest, a "Girl Dad" himself and host of the Deal to Heal and Girl Dad Discussions podcasts , discusses how the generational pattern of fatherlessness is passed down and why it takes intentional, proactive work to change that reality.

The conversation takes a vulnerable turn as Earnest shares his own struggle with suicidal ideation, divorce, and depression. He introduces the powerful acronym FUN (Focus, Unite, and Normalize) as the strategy he developed to overcome his struggles and find a path forward. He stresses his mission: "We must heal ourselves. When we heal ourselves, we heal our families. Our families heal our communities and our communities heal our world." Listeners will find hope, courage, and practical steps to fight their own battles , find their new normal, and be the generation that breaks the cycle of pain.

http://www.earnestjamesspeakslife.com

https://www.dealhealfulfill.org/

Ebook: The Core Four - EbooksByEJames.com

Get your Managing Mental Health ebook here: 

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📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

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📙 Managing Clinical Depression

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💥Are you ready to discover your brain's secret weapon for healing and change? In part four of our six-part series on executive functioning, social psychologist Jamie and returning guest Dr. Jared Brown, an expert in the field, dive deep into the underlying neuroscience - specifically, the profound concept of neuroplasticity. This episode offers powerful hope for mental health interventions by exploring the brain's inherent ability to adapt, reorganize, and create new pathways. Learn how this capacity is strategically important not just for recovery from brain injury or severe mental health challenges, but also for enhancing overall cognitive performance, memory, attention, and learning capabilities. The discussion covers core concepts like neurogenesis (the development of new neurons) and synaptic plasticity (the effective communication junctions between neurons).

💪The emphasis is on the critical difference between positive brain change and maladaptive plasticity, which is how chronic negative environments, like childhood trauma, stress, or abuse, physically sculpt the brain into patterns like anger, rumination, depression, or anxiety. But the good news is you can fight back! This segment provides concrete, evidence-based strategies for stimulating positive neuroplasticity and rewiring the brain. Dr. Brown and Jamie share actionable lifestyle choices, including the importance of exercise, good sleep, the negative impact of the Western Diet, and techniques like journaling, self-compassion, and intentionally "putting down gadgets" to counteract negative factors. The core takeaway is the importance of consistency: true, life-altering change is a long-term investment, not a quick fix. Don't miss this crucial episode to understand the biological mechanisms that govern your mental health and how to harness your brain's power for growth and resilience.

Dr. Jerrod Brown

6-part series on executive functioning

1. Executive Function: Introduction and Overview

2. Executive Dysfunction: Clinical and Forensic Considerations

3. Executive Dysfunction: Implications for Poor Health Outcomes

4. Executive Dysfunction: A Neuroscience Perspective - Neuroplasticity

5. Executive Function: Self-regulation

6. Executive Function: Healthy Lifestyle Practices/ Lifestyle medicine

Forensic Mental Health: A Source Guide for Professionals by Dr. Jerrod Brownhttps://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Mental-Health-Source-Professionals/dp/154713237X

Get your Managing Mental Health ebook here: 

managingmentalhealth.net

📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

📙 Managing Everyday PTSD

📙 Managing Clinical Depression

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☠️What happens when the system designed to heal you nearly kills you? In this powerful episode of the Managing Mental Health Podcast, host Jamie welcomes mental health advocate Maddie Andrews to share her deeply personal and inspiring story. Maddie discusses the roots of her struggles, beginning with a childhood trauma that led to a painful pattern of "living in silence.” She walks us through the years of escalating psychosis, multiple diagnoses (from OCD to Bipolar I Disorder, and eventually Schizoaffective Disorder), and the profound experience of grieving the person she thought she was as her life changed. Maddie also details the exhausting practice of "masking" her illness in public and the heavy toll it took on her day-to-day life.

🔥Maddie then bravely recounts the catastrophic event where a reckless medication change led to life-threatening lithium toxicity and a severe near-death experience, illustrating the devastating consequences of systemic failure when a patient's self-advocacy is ignored. Following this medical crisis, Maddie describes her difficult, self-directed recovery from a brain injury, culminating in the moment a "fire burned in her belly" to turn her survival into a mission. She shares how this journey led her to found the J&E Support Group, a nonprofit dedicated to building healing, accessible, and 100% free mental health support for others, ensuring no one else has to live in silence or break the bank to survive.

J&E Support Group

https://www.jesupport.org/

Get your Managing Mental Health ebook here: 

managingmentalhealth.net

📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

📙 Managing Everyday PTSD

📙 Managing Clinical Depression

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🏋️In this essential episode of the Managing Mental Health Podcast, host Jamie welcomes back Dr. Jerrod Brown to explore the deep, reciprocal link between executive functions (the brain's self-regulation skills) and physical health. They explain that strong cognitive control (which includes skills like inhibition, planning, and abstract reasoning) is key to making beneficial lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise, mindful eating, proper sleep, and getting preventive care like yearly physicals and dental check-ups. Dr. Brown details how impairments like disinhibition can lead to harmful behaviors such as overeating, blowing off exercise, poor sleep, poor hygiene, and substance misuse, noting that poor self-control is a significant factor in health and longevity. The discussion emphasizes that developing good habits forms positive neuroplasticity, which reinforces the ability to practice delayed gratification and successfully weigh the future consequences of our present decisions.

🧠The conversation also highlights the reverse effect: how poor physical health can profoundly impair executive function. Factors such as untreated hypertension, high cholesterol, chronic depression, and physical inactivity are shown to negatively impact cognitive health. They examine the role of chronic inflammation (often linked to obesity) and hormonal imbalances (like ghrelin and leptin) in cognitive control, particularly in individuals with a history of trauma. To improve both mental and physical well-being, Dr. Brown recommends practical strategies, including effective stress management, prioritizing sleep health (getting checked for issues like sleep apnea), adopting the Mediterranean diet over the Western diet, and learning about holistic approaches such as Lifestyle Medicine and Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes. The concept of Executive Function impairment is also important to those with ADHD, Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), Organizational Deficits, Overtraining Syndrome, and Circadian Rhythm Misalignment.

Dr. Jerrod Brown

6-part series on executive functioning

1. Executive Function: Introduction and Overview

2. Executive Dysfunction: Clinical and Forensic Considerations

3. Executive Dysfunction: Implications for Poor Health Outcomes

4. Executive Dysfunction: A Neuroscience Perspective - Neuroplasticity

5. Executive Function: Self-regulation

6. Executive Function: Healthy Lifestyle Practices/ Lifestyle medicine

Forensic Mental Health: A Source Guide for Professionals by Dr. Jerrod Brownhttps://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Mental-Health-Source-Professionals/dp/154713237X

Get your Managing Mental Health ebook here: 

managingmentalhealth.net

📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

📙 Managing Everyday PTSD

📙 Managing Clinical Depression

✅ Join the #1 free community for mental health education and encouragement:

https://www.skool.com/managing-mental-health-3053/about?ref=8ca4dc83b44b478689446364c28b82e4

✨support and encouragement from a group of your peers (your community)

✨thousands of free resources, workbooks, worksheets - all to boost mental well-being

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⚡Dive into a raw and critical conversation with Lisa Conway, author of “Shocked” and a long-time medical social worker, as she exposes the hidden impact of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). For years, Lisa endured over 100 shock treatments for her bipolar depression, believing it was her only option, only to discover the severe truth: the procedure caused brain damage and significant cognitive side effects. Lisa shares her terrifying experience of losing 20 years of long-term memory, struggling with multitasking, and frequently becoming disoriented and lost in familiar places, a plight she learned to manage with the unwavering assistance of her service dog, Teddy. This interview is a must-listen for anyone surprised to learn that ECT is still widely used in most hospitals across the country.

🏃🏼‍♀️Hear how Lisa eventually found her path to recovery, relying on the rhythmic solace of running to stabilize her mood and cognitive function, noting that the increase in blood flow to her brain helped lessen her depression - a breakthrough that has kept her out of the hospital for over six years. She discusses the challenges of being an ECT survivor and the shocking resistance she faced from medical professionals (including a neurologist who refused to treat her) who deny that the procedure causes brain injury. Lisa's powerful story is a vital call to action for patient-centered mental health care and greater transparency regarding ECT's risks, underscoring the necessity of treating the cognitive aftermath as a legitimate traumatic brain injury (TBI).

“Shocked” by Lisa Conway:

authorlisac.com

Get your Managing Mental Health ebook here: 

managingmentalhealth.net

📗 Managing Everyday Anxiety

📘 Managing Adult ADHD

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