Giving Voice to Depression

If you thought it was hard to get work done when you "just" battled depression or anxiety, now we're trying to be productive with our mental-health challenges AND new, strange and uncertain conditions including a global pandemic and racial-injustice protests. In the second of a 2-part interview with writer Sarah Fielding, we look at more strategies to get our work done even when struggling mentall...

Whether you're continuing to work from home, returning to a job that looks different than before, are looking for new work, or running your home, it can be really hard to get things done when struggling with your mental health. In the firs of a 2-part discussion about "Tips for Getting Work Done When You're Strugglind, ," our guest, Sarah Fielding, offers some help.

A psychiatrist who has treated more than 3,000 people with depression, says it's time to re-frame how we characterize, treat and view people with depression. The current way is not only stigmatizing and potentially dangerous, but flat-out wrong in his experience. Link to Dr. Cantopher's book if you're interested in learning more: www.amazon.com/Depressive -Illnes…ems/dp/1847092357

Let's just take a moment, a breath and ask... WTH? (That's "what the hell" for anyone wondering.) The minute it was clear COVID-19 was something that would change our lives and threaten our mental health, we devoted a full season to how to monitor, protect and prioritize our mental health during this global pandemic. From top-level, national mental-health resources to a trusted therapist's advice,...

In these strange and disconnected times, it can be grounding to be reminded we are all connected. We may not be in the same boat during this pandemic, but we are in the same unfamiliar and unpredicatable ocean. In this episode, Dr. Barbara Moser, a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, guides us in an excercise of connection and strength. It's a bonus episode we hope you'll download and use a...

In these upside-down and unpredictable times, mindfulness and self compassion are two readily-accessible tools to help us regulate and cope with difficult emotions. And when this pandemic ends, they'll still be valuable tools in our self-care and depression-management toolboxes.

How far would you go to protect your mental health during the COVID pandemic? Would you move in with someone you'd only met twice? That's what Glenn did, in an effort to keep depression under control during this strange and stressful time. It's a "Social Experiment of The Times," and one that had co-host Terry laughing for much of the interview. This episode is intentionally lighter, since we all...

How are you? Really? Is this whole pandemic causing you stress? Anxiety? Loneliness? Is your depression worse? It may be normal to feel exhausted and a number of other things in these strange and unsettling times, but it doesn't make it easy. Or healthy. In this podcast episode we talk with a man who says his feelings and emotions are on the surface more than ever.

Author and psychologist Dr. Melanie Greenberg writes: "The novel coronavirus epidemic has hit the world with a vengeance, creating widespread illness, fear, panic, uncertainty, and death. In many ways, it is the perfect storm of conditions to trigger automatic, primitive brain reactions to danger." Greenberg offers 5 ways we can rewire our brains to regain some control in these out-of-control time...

In times of distress and challenge, we all need a trusted advisor to guide us through the maze of anxiety, changes, losses and fears. That's what Psychologist Anita Sanz is during this pandemic. Her first episode last week got more plays more quickly than any other episode we've posted. We don't all have a good, calm, reliable therapist. And if we do, a second one (who doesn't charge) is welcome!...

Whether you live with a mental health challenge or not, the speed and scope of the changes we're all experiencing are affecting our mental health. According to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 4 out of 5 adults say the coronavirus pandemic has affected their mental health. So we asked a therapist to share how she's counseling her clients through the pandemic. The 15 minutes...

Season 13 Episode 2 Mix by Giving Voice to Depression

You do not have to go through this global healthcare crisis alone. Mental Health America has created and curated trusted and current mental-health information and online self-help resources from a network of reliable sources. Links below for free, confidential screenings to determine the effects this pandemic is having on your mental health, and to access individualized support recommendations. ht...

As parents, we have a responsibility to prepare our children for life. And there's a strong possibility that future will include mental-health struggles. Speaking openly about mental illness reduces fear, misinformation and stigma. In today's episode, TJ talks about a recent conversation he had with his 9-year-old son. Now is the perfect time to start. https://www.webmd.com/depression/qa/what-are-...

A 17-minute summary of this season's episodes, including: a father's journey of education and enlightenment from thinking depression was a bad choice to understanding it as an illness; a discussion of how pets play a protective role in our lives; the story of a widow who was convinced to keep the cause of her husband's death by suicide a secret- and the personal cost of that decision; to discussio...

The time between inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care is a very fragile one for people who may be suicidal. In the second of our 2-part conversation with Becky Stoll, we discuss some of the best-practices that have been identified, and the ways she and others are working to raise the care bar, and prioritize not only saving lives, but helping patients create and maintain lives they find purpo...

As the psychiatric patient, we want to leave the hospital well. Not in crisis. Certainly not suicidal. As the care facility, you want to believe your patients will continue care and recovery. And as the families and loved ones of the people who needed emergency care. we want to exhale and declare the danger passed. But none of those are guaranteed realities in the current mental-health system. In...

The thoughts we have and the words we chose not only define depression, but predict it. In this episode, we speak with a researcher who anaylyzes online mental health forums and other writing samples. Using computers to analyze the words, he finds a direct connection between "absolutist" words and depression, anxiety and suicide. It's good to know the words so we can recognize them in ourselves an...

Losing a loved one to suicide is very different from death by other causes. It can be made even worse by thoughtless or hurtful comments. Likewise, because many don't know what to say, they offer no condolences leaving the grieving person/people feeling shunned, further perpetuating stigma around suicide. In "Words Matter When Discussing Suicide," Deb Sherwood shares the outrageous comments that w...

"Shame festers in dark places. The more the family hides, or denies, that their loved one died by suicide, the more the shame will grow inside of them. By keeping the suicide secret, they are buying into the idea that their loved one did something shameful, and that it brought shame to them." That's a quote from Dr. Stacey Freedenthal, a researcher, author, and suicide educator. It sounds academic...

Preventing Depression Relapse (Douglas Bloch) by Giving Voice to Depression

A candid conversation with a father and grandfather about his journey to understanding and accepting depression as a real and serious illness. Though he grew up believing we could all "chose to be positive," when his own daughter was diagnosed and hospitalized, he quickly realized he'd been wrong.

If you have a pet, you understand the value of the connection you have. In today's episode, we speak with a woman about the integral role her dogs play in her mental health. Whether or not you're an animal lover, it's a good reminder of the needs for companionship, exercise, acceptance, a schedule, etc. Lori's matchmaking website: www.smartfunnysingle.com Two articles on pets and mental health: ht...

We miss what we were before depression moved in; hopeful, vital, positive, connected. In a wide-ranging conversation, GVTD speaks with Savannah Wall about her experience of depression and the things she missed the most-- including herself.

A young woman stops during a magical holiday moment to tweet her 14-year-old suicidal self that the fight IS worth it, that recovery is possible and that you will not always feel the way you do now. It's a New Year's message of hope and recovery that we are re-broadcasting in the hopes you'll listen, internalize and share Charlotte's message. May 2020 bring you peace and mental health.