The Upside of Bipolar: Conversations on the Road to Wellness

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In this uplifting and encouraging episode Tom Ballard “The Heart Rock Guy” shares:

• His incredible story beginning to help others by sharing “heart rocks”,
• The beautiful, uplifting ideas he shares with students in school assemblies,
• How heart rocks become an “artifact” that helps remind you that you matter and your life has value,
• How reaching outwards in kindness has helped him with his bipolar symptoms,
• The joy that spreads through sharing heart rocks, or finding your own unique form of kindness,
• The benefits of finding purpose in your life to your mental health.

Website:  www.takeheart.rocks
Instagram: @takeheart.rocks

Be a supporter!
Patreon: Take Heart Rocks
GoFundMe: Heart Rocks for Suicide Prevention

Bio:

Tom Ballard is "The Heart Rock Guy." He is a kindness specialist, motivational speaker, and stone carver. His way of being kind? Making and distributing hundreds of thousands of heart rocks. He believes that people can use heart rocks to strengthen family ties, deepen friendships, and save lives. He's a dynamic storyteller and loves sharing experiences he's had making and distributing heart rocks. As someone living with mental illness, bipolar disorder, Tom believes that using creativity and kindness is how we lift ourselves and others out of the darkness and struggles that we all experience. His goal is to distribute one million heart rocks by 2029. Learn more about Tom's work and mission at takeheart.rocks. 

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this incredibly enlightening episode Rapid Resolution Therapy founder Dr. Jon Connelly shares:

• The experiences with trauma survivors that led him to question the generally accepted approaches to trauma healing,
• How he developed Rapid Resolution Therapy (RRT) as a form of therapy that doesn’t retraumatize people, 
• Ways that RRT differs from other forms of therapy,
• How RRT helps to replace guilt, shame and resentment with clarity,
• The flaws in the mental health system that are preventing healing,
• How RRT helps to resolve trauma without reliving the trauma,
• The unique approach to training RRT practitioners that makes the training so effective, and
• How to assess a therapist to determine if they will assist you effectively.

Website Link:  Rapid Resolution Therapy®

Instagram: @rapidresolutiontherapy

Facebook: Rapid Resolution Therapy

Twitter/X: twitter.com/cleartrauma

LinkedIn: Rapid Resolution Therapy®

Link to books and other free resources:  Resources — Rapid Resolution Therapy®

RRT Solutions Group: FREE EVENT

Every Monday 7-9 pm EDT (also held once a month on either Wed or Thurs in the afternoon)

Register here:  RRT: Solutions! — The Institute for Rapid Resolution Therapy, Inc.

You can attend as often as you like and at no charge. These are micro-sessions and not as comprehensive as the private sessions, but we have found attendees have had breakthroughs in the short amount of time.

Upcoming Events - Discount code CLEAR25

Transformation & Healing — Rapid Resolution Therapy®

Clinical Hypnosis & RRT — Rapid Resolution Therapy®

Bio:

Jon Connelly first founded the Institute for Survivors of Sexual Violence, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization engaged in research and development of cutting-edge treatment for survivors of trauma.  His early career experiences as a child protective service worker and clinical supervisor in a program for traumatized teens helped shape the creation of Rapid Resolution Therapy.  Jon is the author of Life Changing Conversations with Rapid Resolution Therapy, a book demonstrating that a single conversation can dramatically improve one’s life.  He recently published another book, Grief is Not Sacred, demonstrating how grief can be resolved in a single meeting.  He also developed innovative training programs designed to teach Rapid Resolution Therapy to people looking to relieve suffering.  Doctors, dentists, mental health professionals, teachers, coaches, nutritionists, lawyers, caregivers, nurses, business owners and others have become Rapid Resolution Therapy members with the intention to learn and apply the fundamentals of Rapid Resolution Therapy to themselves and their field. 

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this mindset shifting episode I share:

• How three of the top beliefs about bipolar disorder are actually myths,
• The truth about what causes bipolar symptoms to occur, and 
• The integrated, research-based treatment model that leads to healing bipolar.

Links mentioned in the episode:

EP 21: Investigating Psychiatric Suffering with Award Winning Author Robert Whitaker

Micronutrients:
EP 13: The Power of Nutrition in Treating Mental Illness with Dr. Bonnie Kaplan
EP 15: True Hope for Healing Bipolar with David Stephan, VP Truehope Canada

Holistic Psychiatrist:
EP 8: The Holistic Path to Healing Bipolar with Dr. Jennifer Giordano

Trauma healing and therapy:
EP 28: Understanding Trauma and How to Heal with Therapist Julie Sickles

Bipolar Disorder: Six Tips for Getting the Most Out of Therapy

Mindfulness meditation:
EP 22: The Healing Power of Mindfulness with Best Selling Author Dr. Danny Penman

Ready for a Year of Healing with bipolar? Join the Upsiders’ Tribe!

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this insightful conversation Suzanne Catlett, the mother and caregiver of a daughter with bipolar, shares:

• Her story of her daughter’s symptom onset and diagnosis with bipolar,
• How therapy helped her understand how to have realistic, healthy expectations for her relationship with her daughter,
• What helped her finally accept her daughter’s diagnosis and develop compassion,
• The tips that helped her not dwell on the stresses of her daughter’s bipolar right before bed in order to facilitate healthier more restful sleep,
• How acknowledging for the potential challenges of her daughter’s bipolar symptoms helped her prepare to make better decisions in stressful situations,
• The process of identifying and setting healthy boundaries improved her relationship with her daughter, and 
• Her top tips for loved ones and caregivers.

Facebook: Suzanne Catlett

LinkedIn: Suzanne Catlett

Bio:

Suzanne Catlett is a 49-year-old mother of 4 in a blended family that added 4 more. She's always been an entrepreneur in business like real estate and insurance along with her creative endeavors as a wedding cake designer. She's also worked as an Operations Director at a youth residential behavioral treatment center in her small town of Escalante, UT. The last 10 years of living there she has been active in the community on the Chamber of Commerce and Travel Council Boards as well as serving on the Student School Community Council.

Her (2) oldest children, who are now ages 32 and 31, have mental health conditions. For the conversation today she'll be focusing on the sudden onset of Bipolar with her daughter. (Son has been struggling with Major Depressive Disorder for 14yrs and a late diagnosis of schizo-effective Disorder)

Suzanne is currently working on her first book. Its working title is "Keeping Your Healthy Mind While Your Loved One is Losing Theirs". It's her story of how mental illness affected her family, what she learned along the way, and how she overcame a state of crisis to be healthy and hopeful. By sharing that with the world and by visiting with me today, she hopes to positively impact the lives of those who are navigating the precarious journey through life when mental illness steps in and disrupts life and changes everything.

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this powerfully enlightening conversation therapist Julie Sickles shares:

• How understanding how the unconscious mind works facilitates change and healing,
• The way trauma memory works and how it continues to trigger symptoms,
• How resolving trauma can lead to healing, transformation and change,
• Tips for finding an effective therapist,
• One of the drawbacks of EMDR therapy,
• Additional trauma therapy modalities to consider
• Rapid Resolution Therapy
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Additional trauma modalities—Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Somatic Therapy,
• How to be patient with the process of healing, and
• How immersing yourself in hope will help you move towards healing

Facebook: A Courageous Life Counseling
Psychology Today Profile: Julie Sickles
Podcast: Your Courageous Journey (also found on all major podcast platforms)

Podcast Facebook: Your Courageous Journey
Instagram: @yourcourageousjourney

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this illuminating conversation Dr. Ghada Osman shares:

• Her discovery of the healing power of yoga for mental health,
• The fundamental purpose of yoga,
• How tuning into the feelings in your body helps you process and release emotions,
• How to understand the different aspects of yoga practice and how they can serve you in emotional regulation,
• Her three-pronged model and how it can help you move towards emotional and mental healing,
• How yoga can help enhance the effectiveness of therapy,
• How connecting with your body helps connect you to the present which is grounding, 
• The difference between general population yoga and a trauma informed yoga class,
• How yoga practice can translate into your daily life to help you meet and handle difficulty, and
• How to recognize what aspects of yoga serve you best.

Website: www.ghadaosman.com

Book on Routledge: Mental and Emotional Healing Through Yoga: A Guiding Framework for Therapists and their Clients

Book on Amazon: Mental and Emotional Healing Through Yoga: A Guiding Framework for Therapists and their Clients

Check out Ghada's 2024 online training on using yoga to work with mental health here: Yoga for Mental Health Certification Course

Bio:

Ghada Osman, PhD, LMFT, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is a licensed psychotherapist, yoga teacher, yoga therapist and AFAA-certified aerobics instructor who has worked with a wide range of populations, from college students to hospice patients to private practice clients. She currently oversees the mental health counseling program at a community college district, where her specialties include supervising  counselor trainees, providing workshops and trainings, and helping her own clients work with anxiety and depressive disorders, eating disorders, trauma, grief and loss, and chronic/ serious physical illness. Ghada is certified as a yoga therapist by the International Association of Yoga Therapy, and completed her 500-hour yoga teacher training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. A Professor Emerita at San Diego State University, she holds a doctorate degree from Harvard University and a Master’s in psychology from Chapman University. Dr. Osman is the author of Mental and Emotional Healing for Yoga: A Guiding Framework for Therapists and Their Clients, available on Amazon.

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this empowering conversation LMSW counselor and TEDx speaker Tanisha Shedden shares:

• Her personal story as a transracial adoptee and trauma survivor,
• How her personal experience led her to becoming a counselor and social worker to help others who have been hurt by trauma,
• The healing power in processing trauma,
• What trauma processing looks like and how to navigate it,
• How learning about what therapy is and how to use it can make it more effective,
• Tips for beginning therapy and being effective with the tool,
• What to expect from an effective therapist,
• Learning to recognize what you need to heal,
• The importance of allowing yourself to feel emotions and express them safely,
• How to recognize trauma in your life, and
• Her number one tip for setting yourself up to be successful in beginning therapy.

Instagram: @foundbytanisha

LinkedIn: Tanisha Shedden

TikTok: @foundbytanisha

Website: www.foundproject.org

Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/FoundByTanisha/

Bio:

Tanisha Shedden is a counselor, educator, and speaker guided by her passion to help people heal. Tanisha advocates and educates about trauma, healing, and mental health. As she fosters community through her work, Tanisha uses her voice to create meaningful understanding around the issues that affect us all. Guided by her own experience as a trauma survivor, transracial adoptee, and social worker, Tanisha leverages real life to create healing tools that really work. Tanisha is a Tedx speaker, an advocate for change, and a creator focused on the healing power that lies within us all.

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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In this revealing conversation holistic healer and mindset coach Lindsay Ranson shares:

Her story of depression and psychiatric treatment that led to her bipolar diagnosis,

• The disruption to her life that was caused by her symptoms,
• The surprising experience she had with an injury that put her on the path to healing,
• The discovery of holistic treatments that began helping her heal her symptoms,
• Knowledge she’s gained in her holistic training about resolving underlying causes of symptoms and how she advocates for education to facilitate healing,
• How she was able to get completely off of medication prior to giving birth and the tools that help her stay mentally healthy, and
• How we can discover the power to heal within us.

Instagram: @poff.lindsayranson
Facebook: Misty Mountains Holistic Therapy
TikTok: @lindsay.poff.ranson
Website: MistyMountainsHolisticTherapy.ca

Bio:

Lindsay Poff Ranson is a Holistic Healer and mindset coach. She specializes in healing both mental and physical illness, chronic pain, nerve damage and anxiety disorder. She enjoys helping people heal and then fine tune their body and mind to get the most from their life and feel their best.  

Lindsay studied Holistic Therapy and Iridology with the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing.  She believes there are many ways to heal but it all comes from within us and our connection to the earth and greater energy. Having experienced bipolar disorder for over 16 years without any hope for recovery, and now being healed, she strives to share her knowledge and guidance to help others. To give people the care she wishes she’d had when she was first diagnosed.

Lindsay loves connecting with people all over the world. She lives on Vancouver Island with her beautiful family and spends as much time as she can outdoors in nature or creating art and music.

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

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Is bipolar disorder really chronic and incurable? In this episode I share the surprising answer to this question.

Episodes referenced:

EP 21: Investigating Psychiatric Suffering with Award Winning Author Robert Whitaker

EP 22: The Healing Power of Mindfulness with Best Selling Author Dr. Danny Penman

Links to the free Mood Cycle Survival Guide and Facebook group mentioned are found below.

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/

Send us a message!

In this empowering conversation author and podcaster Paris Scobie shares:

• Her experience being diagnosed with bipolar disorder,
• What motivated her to learn how to manage her bipolar,
• How critical healthy boundaries were to her mental health,
• What motivated her to start her podcast,
• The keys to managing her bipolar effectively,
• How she successfully navigated a year of major life changes,
• How she learned from her mood swings to manage her bipolar more effectively,
• Some of the habits that help her have a intentional, beneficial self-care routine, and
• The inspiration for her book.

Book: Crooked Illness: Lessons From Inside & Outside Hospital Walls

Instagram: @livewellbipolar

Podcast: Live Well Bipolar

Bio:

Paris Scobie is the host of the top 2% globally ranked podcast called Live Well Bipolar ™ and Best-selling Author of her memoir, Crooked Illness: Lessons from Inside & Outside Hospital Walls. Paris was first diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder at 19 and went back to work at the same hospital she was a patient at when she was 22. She is a speaker for NAMI and has been featured on ABC15, bphope magazine and over 50 podcasts sharing her experiences living with bipolar and how it is possible to Live Well Bipolar ™ with the right tools.

FREE Mood Cycle Survival Guide: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/free/

 The Upside of Bipolar: 7 Steps to Heal Your Disorder: @upsideofbipolar | Linktree

website: https://theupsideofbipolar.com/

email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar/

TikTok: theupsideofbipolar (@theupsideofbipolar) | TikTok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theupsideofbipolar/