Inside Mental Health

In 2011, Jennifer Marshall started chronicling her challenges of living with mental illness while raising two young children. This became the very beginning of ‘This Is My Brave’ – a nonprofit with the mission of bringing stories of mental illness and addiction out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Jennifer is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of This Is My Brave, a mental health storytel...

When Pauline Dakin was 10 years old, her mother took the family into hiding to escape imminent danger. At first accepting of this explanation, Pauline’s doubts increased as she grew older until she could no longer deny the truth: that there was no danger and the entire story was false. Listen now to hear this fascinating, true story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus Content from the Inside Schizophrenia podcast from the PsychCentral.com website. An in-depth look at violence and its relation to schizophrenia. Is violence a symptom of schizophrenia? Do mass attackers always have schizophrenia? Are schizophrenics dangerous?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While searching for a way past her own childhood sexual abuse, Rachel Grant learned that many people don’t understand what, exactly, sexual abuse is and how to recover. Using her counseling background, Rachel was able to research and learn valuable coping skills to improve her own life. Rachel Grant is the owner and founder of Rachel Grant Coaching and is a Sexual Abuse Recovery Coach. She is also...

Rachel Star Withers tells us about her history with schizophrenia and details how she first started in activism. Originally started to let other people know that they were not alone, her YouTube channel has become the longest existing chronicle of a personal experience with schizophrenia. Rachel creates videos that document her schizophrenia, share ways to manage mental illness, and let others lik...

In this episode, a professional cellist shares her story of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the steps she took to ensure that she would have a successful, fulfilling career, despite her illness. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on your favorite podcast player. Learn more abo...

What is schizophrenia? What are the symptoms? What’s it like to experience it? How is it managed? The answers depend on who you ask. Pop culture has one view. Doctors have another. And Rachel Star Withers has a first-person experienced view. In this episode of Inside Schizophrenia, Dr. Ali Mattu joins Rachel and co-host Gabe Howard to explore this often misrepresented illness and how social media...

Living in the “information age” that’s filled with “fake news,” how do we know what to believe when it comes to information about mental health or mental illness? This episode explains how you can determine whether the information is fact or fiction. Listen and learn how. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psyc...

There is often a disconnect when it comes to caring for the psychiatric patient, who is already in a crisis even before entering the overwhelming hospital atmosphere. Today’s guest shares some insights on her work to improve this relationship. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on your...

Pulling from his years as a psychologist and hundreds of personal interviews, this week’s guest discusses the different forms of trauma, the correlations between trauma and psychosis, and much more. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on your favorite podcast player. Learn more about you...

Modern psychiatric care is thankfully nothing like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This week’s guest worked for years in a psychiatric emergency facility and joins us to share his thoughts about the experiences he had while employed there. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on your fav...

We all know what a first aid kit is. We pull them out and grab the bandages or whatever we need. But what about first aid for the mind? It’s not a kit you can pick up at the pharmacy, but there is mental health first aid that you can learn. Find out more about it in this episode. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found...

Most of us are familiar with PTSD largely due to soldiers returning from service. But most people have experienced trauma in one form or another. Learn about the differences between PTSD and other forms of trauma, how to identify it, and what can be done about it. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral...

All our lives, we’re told that being selfish is a bad thing. But is selfishness wrong in all situations? Can it be that, sometimes, being selfish is a healthy thing, even in relationships? This week’s guest believes this to be so. Listen in to learn why. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show...

Tony Hoffman went from teen BMX star to homeless addict, followed by a prison sentence. After his release, Tony returned to the BMX world, taking the silver medal in the 2016 BMX World Championships. Today, he helps those with addiction issues via his motivational speaking and special projects. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episod...

Social media has many positive benefits, but it also has a dark side, such as making it easier for things like bullying to proliferate. For something that has become so integral to our lives, how can we reduce the stress it creates? Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on your favorite po...

What do we really mean by “moral character”? Are morals and character two different things? Is this something that exists only in the abstract, philosophical sense, or something that can be shown in everyday life? We examine these questions and more in this week’s episode. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psy...

It’s likely that we’ve all, at one point or another, tried to break one or more of our bad habits – whether it be smoking, emotional eating, or something else – only to have the break be temporary. Listen to learn the secret to lasting habit change. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on...

This week’s guest shares how she dealt with Tourette Syndrome, OCD, anxiety, depression, and many other things, by using her “mental illness super powers.” Better still, she gives advice on you can tap into your own super powers to improve your own life. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show...

Why are most of us unable to maintain lifestyle changes for the long-term? Why do we get out of habits, once they’ve been established? In this episode, you’ll learn different reasons for this, but even better, how to make changes stick for the long term. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show...

We’ve all experienced that feeling of smug happiness at another person’s misfortune. There’s something satisfying in seeing a jerk receiving a dose of instant karma. Why is that? Should we feel guilty about feeling it? And how do we say it in English? Listen in to find out! Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at ps...

Toxic relationships can include physical abuse, emotional abuse, and more. They can include romantic, platonic, and even familial relationships. So what do we do when we realize that we’re in such a relationship? Listen for some excellent advice and information. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.c...

Service animals are animals (usually dogs) trained to assist persons with disabilities of one sort or another. This week’s guest explains the difference between service animals and emotional support animals, including some surprising laws (or lack thereof) pertaining to them. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at...

We know that addiction, severe depression, and other conditions change our personalities, but not typically how profound that change can be, nor how difficult (and scary) it can be to try to become “ourselves” again. Listen and learn more. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found at psychcentral.com/show or on your favo...

Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy joins our hosts to talk about mental health and addiction parity. They speak candidly about the problems faced with regard to parity by those who live with mental health or addiction issues. And they talk about how anyone can become an advocate. Hosted by Gabe Howard (www.gabehoward.com) and Vincent M. Wales (www.vincentmwales.com). Previous episodes can be found...