Mequell Buck: Thriving with Mental Illness

Mequell and Adam respond to a listener question of how to handle things when the situation is reversed and the husband (and sometimes primary provider) is the one who struggles with mental illness. There are a whole different range of feelings, challenges and hurdles when figuring out how to provide for and support your family in all the ways when traditional roles might need to be reexamined. The...

Mequell and Adam discuss the pros (and cons) of having an emotional support animal (our cavapoo Leonora) along with some research and studies that have been done about the benefits. Pros: lick licks and puppy cuddles Cons: lady pants and extra responsibility when you're down Would we recommend? Still yes   

Mequell and Adam respond to a question several listeners have posed recently which is "How do I help my struggling child?" These kids are in  situations where their parents are afraid for their safety and trying to keep them alive but the question becomes "How do I balance expectations in helping my child progress while still ensuring their safety?" Obviously a complicated question which requ...

Mequell and Adam discuss the reality that there are no ready made heroes who come to the table with all of the tools in place to be an amazing  cheerleader to the mental illness warriors. Everybody starts off as a remedial hero and learns through both education and proper tools and also from stepping in it along the way. All it takes to become a great support person though is a desire to do s...

Mequell and Adam are joined by Sam Stapley (the lovely Eliza's husband from a few episodes back) as he shares his experience, wisdom and knowledge gained by his exposure to mental illness. He shares how invaluable the tools and communication learned through therapy have been for both of them. We say all the time how mental illness has made both our marriage and our lives better and Sam confirms th...

Mequell and Adam are joined by author and goal setting expert Skye Fagrell who walks us through successful goal setting principles ..... aaaand then Mequell translates them into what someone with mental illness may feel like when going through the whole goal setting exercise. Hopefully listeners understand the best kind of goals for them, how to balance aggressive goals so they're motivating and n...

Mequell and Adam are joined by Eliza Stapley a young married BYU student to talk about her own experience with mental illness and how it affected dating her now husband Sam, going through pregnancy and ultimately losing her babies. Even though the experiences have been heartbreaking Eliza shares a message of hope about how learning to live with her mental illness prepared her in a way to deal with...

Mequell and Adam discuss the top five reasons people stop treatment citing the NAMI study. Yeah figuring out the right treatment is hard. Yeah it takes time. Yeah there will be course corrections along the way. But yeah it's also worth it when you finally feel good again.

Mequell and Adam are joined by Spencer Holt PhD. Spencer is corporate business leader and executive coach who teaches and trains CEOs and business executives around the world in ways to be more effective both as leaders and as people. Spencer has developed part of his coaching to address anxiety and guide corporate leaders on how to effectively deal with it in the workplace. He draws on valuable i...

Mequell and Adam are joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Joel Beckstead to discuss more in depth about how to be vulnerable in a healthy way. He answers listener questions about how to respond, appropriate ways to share and how to come out still feeling okay even if the response isn't what we wanted. He discusses how to have successful relationships and deep connections regardless of the type of s...

Mequell and Adam answer some listener questions and situations about how to handle all the "critics" in your life. You know, the ones who tell you to choose to be happy or try harder to cure your mental illness. 'insert eye roll here' It's a tricky situation because we do want to help educate those we love and interact with but we also need support while being a warrior. Then there are some people...

Mequell and Adam are joined by The Vegas Therapist Ryan Wynder, LMFT for a discussion about the specific challenges that can be faced by men when dealing with depression and other types of mental illnesses. Cultural and societal expectations can create more difficulties for men at work and in relationships with vulnerability, emotion and asking for help. 

Mequell and Adam follow up on the discussion with Mark Bell LMFT who joined us a few episodes ago about sexual and emotional intimacy with significant others. The discussion today is more of a practical application for parent/child and other types of relationships because when mental illness is involved it can be trickier than normal.

Mequell and Adam are joined by Amanda Merrill who lost her AMAZING brother Todd to suicide. She dispels some misconceptions people may have about those who lose their life this way and also generously provides insights, feelings she dealt with and suggestions for those wanting to help.

Mequell and Adam are joined by licensed marriage and family therapist Mark Bell who is a sex addiction specialist to discuss the topic of how mental illness can affect sexual intimacy. They answer listeners questions about both lack of desire in down cycles along with addressing issues of hypersexuality during mania. Good thing we had an expert for this one! 

Mequell and Adam discuss the recently published NAMI study (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and the differences between what those with mental illness say are the biggest difficulties living with it vs. what those who have no experience with mental illness think the hardest things are. The difference is eye opening!

Mequell and Adam start Season 3 with a discussion about how supplements can affect medication answering the question "What in the heck happened in July???" They also talk about why people may not reach out when they're feeling down.

Mequell and Adam talk about how mental illness and depression are not a static thing. It's a constant balancing act to regulate and manage your cycles with the ups and downs of life and sometimes you find yourself at the bottom. Again. And it sucks.

Mequell and Adam discuss how to show love and support to somebody after a suicide attempt including both what to say and also what not to say. PS this episode was really hard to record and made us cry

Mequell and Adam have a lawyerly discussion from Adams side and a practical discussion from Mequells side about things to do to succeed at work and the protections offered to those with mental illness by the ADA. Give it a listen and then go be your baddie self and rock it at work.

Mequell and Adam discuss the difficulties of mania. Even though the extra energy feels AHmazing the distorted thinking makes it very difficult to control your thoughts kinda like upside down world in Stranger Things.

Mequell and Adam discuss the differences between mania and hypomania and how to spot and manage triggers

Kendra Karren joins Mequell and Adam to discuss how to recognize mania, her diagnosis of Bipolar Type 1 and things that she's learned along the way.

Mental Health Advocate Darlyn Remington join Mequell and Adam for Mental Health Awareness Month to discuss ways to be a strong advocate for mental illness warriors

Mequell and Adam discuss the additional difficulties mental illness can create when helping your teen and offer ideas to come out of it with your relationship intact