Inside Mental Health

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 views of Carrie’s life and end with how her activism can help inspire our own. 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 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 keeping your resolutions much, much easier, including the key factor of knowing yourself better... with a little help from PsychCentral blogger, Sharon Martin, LCSW, and her article, "26 Questions to Help You Know Yourself Better." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Ultimately, they offer their own opinions on whether mental illness is more of a giver or a taker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 complaints of side effects?  And does stigma prevent many from getting the treatment they need?  Gabe and Vincent give advice and reassurance on how to cope with the many pitfalls of being “med compliant.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 illness is something that happens to us, not something we do to ourselves, so why do we feel like failures?  How do we help our loved ones understand, and how do we move past this self-condemnation? Listen in to learn more.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Care Companion CNS Disorders. She was the winner of the Beatrice Stern Media Award presented by Didi Hirsch for her work in reducing prejudice against the those with mental illness. Natasha writes the award-winning blog Bipolar Burble at NatashaTracy.com and her writings are also featured on many other sites. She recently released the book Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar which one reviewer said will “certainly save lives.” Her book is being received very positively by those with bipolar disorder or depression, their loved ones and even healthcare professionals. Lost Marbles and its reviews can be found on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 common warning signs that indicate possible suicidal thoughts and what a person can expect when calling a suicide hotline. The conversation includes a brief history of American automobile safety standards, as well as some surprising statistics about death in in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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). Our hosts discuss the relative merits and disadvantages of this supposedly empowering strategy. They question whether this is needed, whether it’s helping, or whether it is just one more way to stigmatize people who have been diagnosed with mental illness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Psych Central Show, our hosts discuss how society sees different mental health diagnoses. Gabe Howard has bipolar disorder and Vincent M. Wales has persistent depressive disorder (also known as dysthymia). In addition to each discussing his diagnosis, they compare how the conditions are similar and how are they different, and what each thinks of the other’s diagnosis. Ultimately, they ask the question:  Is one worse than the other? And if so, in what ways? Listen to this excellent conversation that is sure to provide many points to consider when it comes to thinking about and reacting to people living with mental illness.   Show Webpage: PsychCentral.com/show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices