Inside Mental Health

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales chat with Jacob Moore, founder of NoStigmas.org, a social movement for mental health awareness and peer support. NoStigmas is a place for people to connect, share stories, and learn about mental health without feeling alone or ashamed. Jacob speaks and writes on the topics of mental wellness, suicide prevention, stig...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, host Gabe Howard talks with Glenn Holsten and Gabriel Nathan. Glenn is the award-winning director of OC87, the groundbreaking film that led to the OC87 Recovery Diaries website, of which Gabriel is the editor-in-chief. The OC, in this case, refers not Orange County, but Obsessive-Compulsive. The website features mental health music, art, interviews, movie...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss anxiety disorders, which can be debilitating on many levels and strain even the closest relationships, often due to a lack of understanding of what anxiety disorder is like. Listen as our hosts describe what it’s like, from mild social anxiety to full-blown, sweat-dripping panic attacks. Learn more about your...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales address the frequently ignored and often misrepresented aspect of bipolar disorder – hypersexuality. Many seem to view this as a desirable state, believing it to be little more than having frequent sex. It is often treated as a punchline (when it is addressed at all). In reality, it is a horror of compulsion and pain...

In this episode of The Psych Central Show, our hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss abandonment issues & attachment disorder. Listen in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales conclude a 3-part series about the Palo Alto suicides and some of the things that came about after and, at least partially, as a result of them. Returning this episode is Sammy Kotmel, joined by Nadia Ghaffari, founder of TeenzTalk a teen-run peer support website with users all over the world. Listen as she shares ho...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales continue a 3-part series about the Palo Alto suicides and some of the things that came about after and, at least partially, as a result of them. Returning this episode is Sammy Kotmel, joined by Michael Fitzgerald, Executive Director of Behavioral Health Services at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. Sa...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales begin a 3-part series about the Palo Alto suicides and some of the things that came about after and, at least partially, as a result of them. The guests on this episode are Sammy Kotmel and her mother, Maja Nelson. Sammy was one of the teens who attempted suicide. She and her mother speak openly of the events leading...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales look at the subject of suicide and the many myths and misconceptions that surround it. A few of the missives addressed are: suicide barriers on bridges are ineffective, since the person will just find another method to take his or her life; suicide is a selfish act; if a person talks about suicide, he or she won’t ac...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales welcome guest Julie Fast, a world-renowned mental health expert and bestselling author of multiple books, including Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, Get It Done When You’re Depressed, Bipolar Happens!, and The Health Cards Treatment System for Bipolar Disorder. Listen as she disc...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss depression and why so many people don’t understand this insidious disease. They speak of their own versions of depression (bipolar depression and persistent depressive disorder) and why terminology matters. Despite hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffering from depression, the average person still th...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales have a candid discussion about narcissists with Ramani Durvasula, PhD. In this information-packed interview, she gives the harsh truth about narcissists, including addressing the questions: What’s the difference between narcissism and self-confidence? Can women be narcissists? Are there more narcissists today than in...

Are you friends with an ex? Is your wife friends with an ex? What if your wife was friends with your ex? How would that work out? Is it even possible? In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales share the microphone with two special guests: Gabe’s wife, Kendall, and Gabe’s ex-wife, Lisa. The unlikely trio discusses the surprising amount of criticism they recei...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss the pros and cons of disclosure with regard to mental illness. Should you “come out” as mentally ill?  And if so, to whom? These are questions everyone living with a metal illness has to answer eventually.  There are benefits to being completely honest about your medical history (e.g., not having to hide, hel...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales speak with Sarah Schuster, mental health editor for The Mighty, Psych Central's partner and story-based health community focused on improving the lives of people facing disease, disorder, and disability. The Mighty publishes real stories about real people facing real challenges. Sarah graduated with a journalism degr...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss the perception that mental health is fundamentally different from physical health. They discuss the lack of biochemical “markers” that can identify physical illnesses and whether we will ever have a simple lab test to diagnose depression, for example. They discuss how physical illness can affect mental health...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales welcome mental health researcher and Psych Central Founder, Dr. John Grohol, to discuss the newly passed 21st Century Cures Act. In addition to other bills, the Act integrated parts of what was previously known as The Murphy Bill or Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.  There has been a lot of talk in the me...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss the recent passing of Carrie Fisher. To most, she was Princess Leia from the Star Wars films. To some, she was a witty novelist. But to many, she was a staunch mental health advocate, unapologetic and committed to helping make things better for those with mental illness. Our hosts discuss their own personal v...

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss New Year’s Resolutions: why we make them, but frequently abandon them long before the year is over. They share some interesting statistics on the most common reasons for such failures. In addition to talking about their own personal failures with resolutions, Gabe and Vincent share some easy ways to make keep...

In this week’s Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss how some individuals with mental illness view their condition as beneficial, such as giving them enhanced creativity, deeper empathy, more insightful, and so on. They share their own personal stories and anecdotes heard from others. They discuss the reasons behind why some people believe this and why others do not. U...

In this week’s Psych Central Show, our hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss why so many people stop taking medication for psychiatric disorders or even refuse to start on them at all.  In a society that is always searching for a “magic pill,” why are so many people resistant to the idea of taking medication to treat mental illness?  Why do doctors and others so easily dismiss the complai...

In this week’s Psych Central Show, Our hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss feelings of guilt surrounding a mental illness diagnosis.   Lots of us feel guilty about our diagnosis or our symptoms.  We feel badly for the effect it has on our loved ones, especially when they don’t sympathize.  Where does this stigma come from?  Why does society make us feel guilty for being sick?  Mental il...

In this week’s Psych Central Show, Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales interview popular bipolar author and blogger, Natasha Tracy. Natasha Tracy is an award-winning writer and speaker living with bipolar disorder. She has written more than 1000 articles on mental health and is considered a subject matter expert in bipolar disorder. She has also been published in the peer reviewed journal, Primary Ca...

In this week’s Psych Central Show, our hosts Gabe and Vincent address the persistent and widespread myth that suicides increase during the holiday season. They discuss which seasons see the highest suicide rates, what month has the lowest rate, and what we as a society can do to educate ourselves about, and ultimately prevent, suicide. Vincent, a former suicide hotline counselor, covers some commo...

In this week’s Psych Central Show, Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales discuss the use of person-first language in mental health advocacy. Person-First refers to a form of etiquette that calls for language to be structured “person” first, “disability” second. For example: “people with diabetes” versus “diabetic.” It changes language to replace “to be” (mentally ill) with “to have” (mental illness). O...