Triumph After Trauma

Anxiety disorders are common, but for many years just how common wasn't realized because we didn't talk openly about it. Mental health has always had a stigma around it; although I can recognize steps toward ending it are going in the right direction I feel there is still a long way to go in ending the stigma around mental health in general.

Today I want to share with you friends what anxiety disorder is exactly (the definition and what it can look like in a person), as well as a situation that recently caused me a great deal of anxiety and how I worked through it. We'll also talk about a few ways you can support yourself when anxiety tries to take over, and you can support someone you care about struggling to cope with their anxiety.

If this episode resonates with you or is helpful to you, please message me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey is my handle) so we can connect more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share it  and make sure to tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about my new podcast! :)

Credit goes to CAMH and their website for the information shared on this episode. Click the link to read the full article, and check out more of their website if you'd like!

https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/anxiety-disorders

Some people may think (or assume, possibly) that getting a mental illness diagnosis is all good things. And while there is relief, a little clarity on what direction to go to get the right help and it does feel good to get answers, it can be hard as well.

How the news is delivered (tone, body language of a psychiatrist), what kind of support a person has, and ones mental/emotional state can all play a roll in how receiving a diagnosis feels. If someone is in a bad enough state - like I was at the time I got diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and dysthymia - one might feel like it's confirmation they're crazy. 

That feeling and some other not so nice ones is what we talk about in today's episode. I just want to shine light on a range of feelings that can come with someone receiving a mental illness diagnosis, and keep the conversation about mental health (support) going!

If you know something isn't right and you want to get an official diagnosis but are scared, please remember it's brave to admit you need help and reach out. Not only that, if you feel something is wrong but never get diagnosed correctly (mentally, medically, or otherwise) then you won't be able to get the right support and get to a better place which you damn well deserve. 

Don't hesitate to reach out on Instagram if this episode resonated with you at all (my handle is @thisiskaitey), I'd love to connect with you more! If you know someone who needs to hear this, make sure to share it and tag me on social media so I can thank you for helping spread the word about Triumph After Trauma! 

Comparing ourselves - to others or past versions of ourselves - while not fun, is something that happens frequently. I always saw comparison as a negative thing, and for most of my life I let my struggles with comparing stop me from things like finding different avenues to take care of my mental health and going for big opportunities. 

In this chat I share with you a specific story of how comparing myself to others, for many years, meant I wasn't focused on taking proper care of myself. I also share a few things I've recently decided to try doing that I find are helping me combat the negative feelings that come with comparison as I continue to work through it!

If you can relate to my story, please don't hesitate to message me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey) so we can chat and connect more! If you know anyone who may need to hear this, please share this on social media and tag me so I can thank you for helping spread the word about my podcast! I'm so happy to be connected with you!

Today's episode is all about how to cope with feeling stuck or like things aren't moving forward for you how you'd like, and you can feel the frustration really taking over. 

I'm in this season of life right now, which is why this is what we're chatting about in today's episode. I want you to know if you feel stuck you're not alone, and you're going to stay stuck forever. The three things I'm doing to help combat that frustration and the "why is this happening to me?" question that keeps popping up in my head are tangible to try/do and are things I recently gave a try which are already helping me. I hope my story and the tips I give are helpful to you!

If you connect with this episode please message me, so we can better connect! If you  know someone who needs to hear this, screen shot the episode then share it on Instagram and tag me so I can thank you properly for helping get the word out! @thisiskaitey is my handle :)

ALSO: If you don't know who Kacia Fitzgerald is but would like to, you can find her on Instagram via the handles @kacia.fitzgerald and @shegoes.company!

TW: the topic of this episode of self harm. While it's a positive story of how I've stayed cleans, I know this topic generally can be touchy and possibly triggering for people, so I'm putting up this warning to be safe!

I've always struggled with my mental health, but I was at my worst through my teens and into my early 20's. Today I share with you where I was mentally when I was self harming the most, and what habits helped get me to a good enough place I wanted to reach out for help. I also share what some of the resources were that got provided to me, and truly have helped me stay clean!

The habits/tips I share do not make you better overnight BUT they can help, if you give them a real chance and can get yourself to a place you feel comfortable reaching out for help. If you are seriously struggling, hotlines are available worldwide and my DMs on Instagram are always open!

If you related to this episode or it helps you in any way, please message me so we can better connect! If you know someone who needs to hear this, screenshot the episode and share it on Instagram so we can reach more people together! My Instagram handle is @thisiskaitey :)

Quote Credit: Lisa Olivera, writer and therapist. You can connect with her on social media (@_lisaolivera)! The link to her first book, Already Enough, is in her bio if you want to read it!

If you're dealing with prolonged stress, are experiencing burnout right now, or know someone who is burnt out then this episode will be for you! 

To start off 2022 I share my experience of burnout with you, and the things I did to eventually get myself out of it. Burnout seems to be prevalent right now, so I wanted to share details of my experience with it in hopes that my story may in some way help you! 

If you connect with this episode, message me and let me know! If you know someone who needs to hear this, share it on social media and tag me so I can properly thank you for helping getting my podcast out there! @thisiskaitey on Instagram is where to find me!

This week we have a conversation about seasonal affective depression/disorder.

Winter just arrived and for many this form of depression is starting to or already has set in, so I thought it would be a great topic to end 2021 with. Mental illness in general isn't taken seriously be enough people, so I feel season affective depression has heavy stigmas around it. I want to help end that!

During our chat I explain what this form of depression is, how it affects me, and what three things really help me keep my seasonal affective disorder in check as much as possible. 

If you enjoy this episode let me know! If you know someone who needs to hear these things, share it on social media and tag me so I can properly  thank you for helping get the word out about Triumph After Trauma. @thisiskaitey is my handle on Instagram :)

I only launched December 6th but it's been great, and I would like to thank you all for that! I hope you're able to make the most out of these last few days of 2021, and have a safe New Years Eve whether you do nothing like me or go out to celebrate! Happy New Year to you all, I can't wait to be back here with you in 2022! 

I used to enjoy the holidays and I still try to, but how I feel about them has changed over the years. In our chat today, you'll learn what exactly has made the holidays hard for me but what things I've done and still do to try and have a positive mindset when they roll around!

I hope if you don't care for holidays or find them hard for any reason, this conversation will help you (even in the slightest) find ways to still make the most of them. 

If you can relate to my situation at all, feel free to message me on Instagram (@thisiskaitey) so we can really connect! And if you love the episode, please share it on social media and tag me to help get the word about my podcast out and so our community can grow!

So thankful for you being here!

Society expects a lot of us, and we're taught that from a young age. 

You've heard it too many times before I'm sure, "women belong in the kitchen", "sports are for guys", "you can give birth, you should want to". I could go on, but I know I don't have to. Expectations and limiting beliefs are thrown onto us from a young age, so it's not really a surprise to me that so many of us grow up to question things then have a lot of work to do so we can change how we think, what we believe, and how we act. 

For years I struggled with believing in gender roles, that being female automatically meant I would want to have kids someday, and that only big achievements are worth celebrating. In my first chat with you I share how these three things affected me most growing up and all the things I did/do that have helped me change and grow for the better!

You're supposed to be YOU, not a version of you others are expecting for their own internal reasons! I hope this chat will remind you of that, or help you believe this if you don't already!

If you enjoy or relate to this episode, share it on social media and tag me (@thisiskaitey) then come say hello so we can connect! I'm so excited to be on this journey called life with you! :)

Welcome to my podcast, Triumph after Trauma! 

I'm beyond excited to officially be launched! Thank YOU so much for tuning in!

I created this podcast to prove to you that whether you're struggling to cope with a mental illness or work through a traumatic experience, you will find ways out of that dark place and thrive! I won't just tell you that you're capable, but make you really see that you are by sharing my own stories and tangible tools/resources that pulled me out of places I truly thought I wouldn't come out of. I want to be not just someone who supports you through hard patches of life as a podcaster, but I want us to feel like friends!

If you think this will be for you, introduce yourself via Instagram (@thisiskaitey) so we can start connecting! If you know people who will enjoy and benefit from Triumph After Trauma, share this on your Instagram story and tag me to help me get the word out!

I truly can't wait to share my stories and get to know you as we navigate the unavoidable obstacles life will throw at us all so we can heal, grow, and all thrive in this one life we get together!