Tag: depression

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#35 It’s Time To Talk About Suicide

talk about suicide says olga

Olga is a Technical Program Manager at Expedia. She is originally from Venezuela and now lives in Montreal.  Olga is also an active YouTuber with her channel Cronopio.  Growing up in a Latino community with an alcoholic father and a stoic mother, Olga learned that you don’t complain and you don’t talk about your feelings.  Because of that, Olga was emotionally isolated. At 15 she decided to commit suicide by playing Russian roulette.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:41 — 23.0MB)

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, Olga shares the difference she sees between someone serious about suicide and someone using it as a cry for help.  She speculates why mental health is a taboo subject in the Latino community.  And finally she exhorts us all to open up and talk about our feelings, especially employers. For her, it’s time to talk about suicide.

Links

  • Olga’s Cronopio Website (link)
  • Olga’s Cronopio YouTube Channel (link)

About Suicide

Suicide, taking your own life, is a tragic reaction to stressful life situations — and all the more tragic because suicide can be prevented. Whether you’re considering suicide or know someone who feels suicidal, learn suicide warning signs and how to reach out for immediate help and professional treatment. You may save a life — your own or someone else’s.

It may seem like there’s no way to solve your problems and that suicide is the only way to end the pain. But you can take steps to stay safe — and start enjoying your life again.

Due to these factors, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by thoughts of not wanting to live or you’re having urges to attempt suicide, get help now. Please, it’s time to talk about suicide.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their own views about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment plan.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#30 Just Talk About It – Managing Anxiety and Depression

managing anxiety and depression silent superheroes mental health podcast

David is a former radio personality from Malta who is managing anxiety and depression. As an infant, David’s mother took him from Malta to Australia to start a new life. Unfortunately alcoholism and abuse followed them. After a difficult childhood David returned to Malta, the place of his birth, at 19 looking to start a new life. As he built a career and a family, the wounds of childhood continued to fester leading him to finally confront anxiety and depression.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:24 — 30.0MB)

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, David shares his life story and speaks about the impact of trauma on children. He gives a personal example of wearing “the mask” all Silent Superheroes wear when working while ill. Finally, David will share his recipe for managing anxiety and depression with simple tools he’s found that help.

Links

About Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. This disorder is also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression. Depression affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Because of those problems, you may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living.

More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out of”. Depression may require long-term treatment but don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both. People fare best when they commit to working with depression.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#27 The Flywheel of Mental Wellness

mental wellness on mental health podcast with jonathan shooshani

Jonathan Shooshani is the co-founder of HR tech company Joon, that makes it easy for employees to self direct their benefits. For HR and finance teams, Joon eliminates the administrative burden of physical and mental wellness initiatives.

Listen To Episode 27

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:46 — 18.9MB)

For some people, total wellness is something that comes to them as part of a wellness kick during adulthood.  That’s not true for Jonathan, he has been experimenting with ways to improve his body and mind since finding a workout book in his Dad’s closet as a kid.  That discovery set him on a lifelong journey of experiments to improve his physical and mental wellness to help him live the life he wants to lead.  A life that has led to co-founding a business to help others improve their wellness and lives.

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, we’ll hear how Jonathan started his wellness journey.  He’ll share how two moments of astounding clarity helped him fend off addiction and depression.  He’ll share the list of unusual things he does right now to develop physical and mental wellness.  Most important of all he’ll tell us how his wellness journey led him to co-found Joon as a way to help employers meet their employees wellness needs, wherever the employee is on their journey.

Links

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#26 Doing The Hard Work – Panic Disorder, Anxiety and Depression

panic disorder anxiety depression mental health podcast

Andrew is the CEO of mental health startup Heard who are creating a trusted space for therapists.  Becoming a CEO wasn’t always on the cards for Andrew.  Early in life, he was beset with panic disorder, anxiety and depression and as a teenager he did drugs and ran with the wrong crowd.  At his worst he had a stomach full of pills and a revolver in his mouth.

Listen To Episode 26

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:32 — 25.9MB)

Everyone likes a good rags to riches redemption story, the homeless person who becomes a radio presenter again, the kid from the projects who becomes an international musician.  Andrew started on the wrong path but that’s not the story here.  This is a story about putting in the work and grinding it out.  Some of the work is stuff we all do to build a life, like studying at college and climbing the corporate ladder.  The real story is the work Andrew has done and is doing on the inside to face and come to terms with his mental illness, and working on the scars of a traumatic past.

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, Andrew gives an inside look at his panic disorder, anxiety and depression.  He talks about the mental health resources PWC offered, and also some of the gaps in their offering.  Finally, he tells what he and his co-founders at Heard are doing to bring mental illness out of the shadows.

Links

About Support

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. Panic attacks can be very frightening. When panic attacks occur, you might think you’re losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.

Many people have just one or two panic attacks in their lifetimes, and the problem goes away, perhaps when a stressful situation ends. But if you’ve had recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and spent long periods in constant fear of another attack, you may have a condition called panic disorder.

Although panic attacks themselves aren’t life-threatening, they can be frightening and significantly affect your quality of life. But treatment can be very effective.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#25 Situational Depression With Taylor Comeau

taylor comeau mental health podcast

Taylor Comeau ‘s retirement from professional soccer helped her realized mental health is as important as physical health. At the end of her she started experiencing situational depression and sought help from a therapist. Situational depression is a short term, stress related type of depression.

Listen To Episode 25

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:12 — 18.5MB)

Show Notes

I’m a huge fan of soccer. I don’t remember the exact moment I became a fan, but it feels like forever.  As a fan, I sit on my couch or in the stadium, following the rollercoaster journey of supporting my team.  I’d always wondered, what’s it like to be on the pitch with thousands of fans watching.

I connected with Taylor via some friends at Modern Health, where she is working in sales.  After looking her up on LinkedIn I learned that she’d paid professional soccer. Excited, I reached out and set some time to meet.  I know it takes a lot to reach the pro level in most sports.  Even talented athletes that work incredibly hard don’t make the grade.  As I started to ask Taylor about her journey and how it affected her mental health, I started to understand the relentless drive it takes to make it and the sacrifices you make along the way.  Sacrifices that surely affect your mental health.

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, Taylor Comeau shares her experience growing up in a family of athletes and the competitive culture of the Bay Area.  After that, she talks about the drive it took to succeed and the difficult decisions and tradeoffs she made. She talks about the conflict between her desire to continue to grow her career and the need to be able to spend more time with family and friends.  Finally, she recalls how she had to confront her situational depression and shares how she’s doing now.

About Situational Depression

Situational depression is a short-term, stress-related type of depression that can develop after you experiencing a traumatic event or series of events. It can make it hard for people to adjust to everyday life following a traumatic event. Situational depression is also known as reactive depression. Situational depression can be triggered by problems at work or school, illness, death of a loved one, moving and relationship problems.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#24 Calming the Tornado of ADHD

tornado of ADHD mental health podcast

From time to time, I get requests through LinkedIn from people I don’t know to go for coffee.  I often decline but sometimes my curiosity kicks in and I say “Yes”. When I got Jim’s message, something piqued my interest, and I said Yes.  We arranged to meet at Miro Tea in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. On the day of our meeting, I’d been in a depression for several days and was feeling pretty miserable.  I bought a pot of green tea with two cups and waited for Jim to arrive. Eventually he walked in and looked around, trying to find the stranger he’d never met. I remember he was wearing a knit cap.

Listen To Episode 24

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:53 — 31.4MB)

Show Notes

Blind business meetings are a tricky business.  Will you have anything to talk about? Fortunately it was Jim who started asking the questions.  His questions were insightful and more powerful than I’d expected from a typical “business get to know you meeting”.  After a while, Jim started to share his own story including his experience with the tornado of ADHD and his time spent in a Buddhist monastery studying under well-known Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.  Suddenly I understood why he was asking such good questions. I understood why he was so patient and curious.

By the time our hour was over, I could feel my depression lifting.  There was something about Jim, his authenticity, his presence and his calm that helped ground me and brought me back into the real world.  I mailed him later and asked him to share his story on the show.

In this episode, Jim shares his personal journey, from leaving Vietnam on a military plane to the USA to leaving the University of Washington and moving to Hawaii to escape anxiety and depression.  Finally, ending up living for a year in a Buddhist monastery.

On the way, Jim shares why he played truant for 45 days and what happened when he was caught. He reflects on a series of geographic and work changes that fed the tornado of ADHD and how that made his Anxiety and Depression worse.  He explains how a near death experience led him to pursue peace at a monastery. Finally, after calming the tornado of ADHD, Jim shares why he left the monastery and what career he discovered that could use what he had learned.

Links

  • Peace Is Every Step – Thich Nhat Hanh (book)
  • Being Peace – Thich Nhat Hanh (book)
  • When Things Fall Apart – Pema Chodron (book)
  • The Wisdom Of No Escape – Pema Chodron (book)

About ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic condition that affects millions of children and often continues into adulthood. ADHD includes a combination of persistent problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior.

Children with ADHD may also struggle with low self-esteem, troubled relationships and poor performance in school. Symptoms sometimes lessen with age. However, some people never completely outgrow their symptoms and experience ADHD at work. But they can learn strategies to be successful.

While treatment won’t cure ADHD, it can help a great deal with symptoms. Treatment typically involves medications and behavioral interventions. Early diagnosis and treatment can make a big difference in outcome.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#14 Drums, Depression and a Dog, with Kristina Schiano

depression Kristina Schiano mental health podcast

Kristina Schiano is a professional drummer who at 23 years old has built a following of more than 750,000 subscribers to her Youtube channel. Her most popular video has been watched more than 10 million times.  These are remarkable achievements and even more remarkable when you consider periods of anxiety as a teenager left her housebound. In a fan Q&A session, one of her fans asked about her mental health which lead Kristina Schiano to reveal her depression to her fans.

Listen To Episode 14

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:52 — 24.1MB)

Show Notes

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, we’ll hear about Kristina’s on again, off again relationship with treatment. She’ll explain how anxiety and depression mix with a life lived on camera and social media. We’ll hear how Kristina Schiano manages her depression and anxiety, and she’ll share practical advice for getting through the more difficult times.

Links

About Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. This disorder is also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression. Depression affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Because of those problems, you may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living.

More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out of”. Depression may require long-term treatment but don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both. People fare best when they commit to working with depression.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#12 Purgatory in Paris – The Road To A Mental Health ERG

mental health ERG mental health podcast

Max was 20, in an unfamiliar neighborhood in Paris, thousands of miles from home, desperately unhappy and in tears. More than a decade later he was founding a mental health ERG. This is his story.

Listen To Episode 12

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:14 — 31.0MB)

Show Notes

Depression can take a grip on anyone, at any time. Imagine being a 20 year old student, doing an internship in a foreign country that involves calling hairdressers all day and asking them how much a haircut costs. In addition to a boring internship, your family, friends and new girlfriend are thousands of miles away, and your host family is mainly in it for the money. These are the circumstances that overwhelmed Max and lead him to wander the streets of Paris in his depression. Fortunately, Max is the son of a clinical psychologist and he recognized the signs of depression. On returning to the US, he sought care and began a program of treatment.

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, Max tells the story of his internship in Paris that lead him to seek treatment for depression and anxiety. Because he’s tried many medications, he’ll talk about some of the more serious side effects he’s experienced with them. He’ll also talk about some of the questionable therapists he’s worked with and we’ll discuss the complexity of mental health care under the US healthcare system. Max will share his plan for his Mental Health ERG (Employee Resource Group) at Limeaid.

CORRECTIONS : Max asked to correct two things he said in the recording. Klonopin is a Schedule IV drug, not Schedule I as he said in the recording. In addition to that correction, Gregory Peck was chairman of the American Cancer Society.

Note. If you organize a mental health ERG at your workplace I’d love to talk to you. Please reach out at [email protected].

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#8 Getting Men’s Mental Health Out of The Shadows

men's mental health podcast

Competitive, adventurous, life of the party, a rock.

All things friends might have said about Reid before, through the course of a year, he experienced a series of setbacks: a close friend died, he was laid off and he broke his arm while snowboarding.  Those setbacks put him in a depression that robbed him of his interest in family, friends and getting up into the mountains.

Listen To Episode 8

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:07 — 29.5MB)

Show Notes

Armed with a diagnosis, Reid tackled depression like any injury: repair, rehab and build the muscle that reduces the risk of further injury.  Now, as a result of directing the video “Shadows : A Conversation About Men’s Mental Health”, Reid has become a mental health advocate. He encourages men to share their experience of struggling with mental health.

In this episode of Silent Superheroes, Reid and I discuss why men aren’t good at talking about their feelings.  We make the case that mental and physical health are the same. Reid shares the support he got for mental health at the tech company he works for, and gives a template for the experience everyone should have managing mental health at work.

Links

About Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. This disorder is also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression. Depression affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Because of those problems, you may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living.

More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out of”. Depression may require long-term treatment but don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both. People fare best when they commit to working with depression.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.

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#7 Resoul Revolution – Anorexia and Working With Depression

working with depression mental health podcast

Meet Rachel. She’s a coach and the founder of the Resoul Revolution, a transformational retreat for women in leadership.  Rachel is one of millions of people working with depression. In this episode, Rachel tells us about the dark force she experienced as a child but because she didn’t understand it, she described it as a curse that followed her into her adult life. The dark force came and went without obvious cause and she didn’t know what it was. The dark force showed itself in different ways, for example anorexia, bad relationships and getting laid off from work.

Listen To Episode 7

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:51 — 26.1MB)

Show Notes

Rachel tried to escape the dark force by making jewelry and becoming a coach, but when it didn’t go away she turned to face it. Following that experience, she now calls it by a different name, depression. She coaches other people working with depression. Then, she tells us how working with depression influences her as a coach, and introduces her new project, the Resoul Revolution.

Links

About Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. This disorder is also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression. Depression affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Because of those problems, you may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living.

More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out of”. Depression may require long-term treatment but don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy or both. People fare best when they commit to working with depression.

Getting Support

Remember, the people you hear on Silent Superheroes are sharing their opinions about mental health and mental illness. They are not giving advice. For that reason, please consult with your care provider before making a change to your treatment approach.

It’s important to take your mental health seriously. Consequently, if you need to speak to someone you can call 1-800-273-8255, or text crisistextline.org on 741741. Both provide 24×7 confidential counseling to people in the United States. Worldwide visit http://iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Because you listened to the  podcast, you can help others find it by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or if you don’t use iTunes, leave a review on your favorite podcasting service.