Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories

Craig sits down with LA-based Cuban American storyteller, author, BFTA super-advisor, and longtime dear friend Antonio Sacre to explore the art and power of storytelling, their personal abyss moments, friendship and vulnerability, and their shared love of air conditioning. Antonio Sacrehttps://www.antoniosacre.comBFTAhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

Life would be so much easier if we each came with an individual instruction manual, to both guide us and also warn us of how our inherited temperament and predilections might cause us great suffering. The first page of Emily's manual would have started with a capitalized bold face warning:"You are a highly sensitive soul, you will feel others' hurt and anger and sadness as if it were your own....you will experience the world as if you had no protective skin, no shield....you will need to find people who see you and understand who you are, who can help nurture the beautiful flower that you can and will become." Emily eventually found her healthy place in the world, but in the process the darkness almost took her.BFTA/ Dr. Hhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

Just after starting his career, Dr. H met Matthew, a middle school student in the midst of a horrifying psychotic break.   Here Dr. H sits down with Meg and Phil, Matthew's parents, to explore their 15 year journey of grief, acceptance, recovery, and eventually becoming a source of support, connection, and wisdom for other families on this brutal and often deeply isolating journey.NAMI Family to Family classeshttps://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Mental-Health-Education/NAMI-Family-to-FamilyNAMI support groupshttps://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Support-GroupsBFTA/Dr. Hhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

12 step programs have helped millions of people, but they can't address everything. Randy got clean and sober and found a supportive community in AA....yet something was missing. He couldn't find peace, he couldn't connect in intimate relationships, he felt deeply broken and spiritually empty.  It turns out that when Randy's little brother drowned when Randy was just 4 years old, his family became a numbed archipelago of grief, leaving him to grow up without the mirroring and attachments that he desperately needed. Enter ayahuasca, followed by psilocybin....Randy was finally able to reach the parts of his unconscious where his childhood trauma was blocking his attachment and safety circuitry.BFTA/ Dr. Hhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

We're back!!Sometimes it's irresistible, necessary even, to lose ourselves into the greater collective, to become a honeybee buzzing with the ecstatic singular purpose of the hive.In this season 3 opener, Jamie tells Dr. H her story of trying to save herself by losing herself, then finally coming to face the fact that she had to plumb the depths of her trauma alone, culminating in a high dose DIY psilocybin session and the rediscovery of herself.A heads up-- this episode contains a description of a sexual assault. BFTA/Dr. Hhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

In this final episode of season 2,  Chris and Craig explore the highs and lows of the last year and plans for season 3.Craig discussing the psychedelic revolution in psychiatry on the Modern Therapist Survival Guide podcasthttps://therapyreimagined.com/modern-therapist-podcast/psychedelic-assisted-therapy/BFTAhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, stimulants.....READY SET GO!Med cheat sheetSSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)-- Prozac, Lexapro, Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft, Luvox, Trintellix, Viibryd-- They are generally NOT antidepressantsMainly helpful for OCD, body dysmorphia,  panic (if not from trauma), depression if postpartum or fueled by neuroticism or ruminative anxietySNRIs (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)-- Effexor/venlafaxine, Cymbalta/duloxetineMostly helpful for combined depression/anxiety, especially with insomniaWellbutrin/bupropion-- very stimulating (prison crack!), true antidepressant; can trigger/worsen anxietyMAO  (monoamine oxidase) inhibitors-- powerful antidepressants, lots of side effects and med interactionsLamictal/lamotrigine-- definitely ALL THAT and a bag of chips (see My Desert Island Meds in Season 1)Atypical antipsychotics-  Abilify/aripiprazole, Latuda/lurasidone, Seroquel/quetiapine, Saphris/asenapine, Vraylar/cariprazine, Risperdal/risperidone, Zyprexa/olanzapine, Geodon/ziprasidone, Invega/paliperidone Generally good mood stabilizers (in contrast to the putative "mood stabilizers" below); typically more helpful for severe depression and bipolar disorder than true psychosis (Zyprexa and Risperdal excepted)"Mood stabilizers"- (big misnomer, most effective for  mania/agitation, not depression)-- Depakote/valproic acid, Trileptal/oxcarbazepine, Tegretol/carbamazepineLithium- it's not clozapine, but gets the silver medal as a true mood stabilizer (see My Desert Island Meds in Season 1)Clozapine- the winner of the psychiatric med decathlon in most every event; needs weekly blood monitoring and has a few very serious potential side effectsBenzodiazepines- Xanax/alprazolam; Klonopin/clonazepam, Librium/chlordiazepoxide, Ativan/lorazepam, Valium/diazepamStimulants- Adderall/amphetamine; Vyvanse; Ritalin/Concerta/Focalin/methylphenidateAmphetamines are more euphoria-inducing, thus more abused and addictive and also tend to have more side effects; both amphetamines and methylphenidate are roughly equally effective for ADD/ADHDBFTAhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

How do you show up for others when you are facing the loss of everything you have ever known and loved?Here Leah Barrett, a Colorado-based psychotherapist, opens her heart and shares her story of managing the careful dance of witnessing her clients' pain and trauma while she faces her own unfolding medical nightmare.  Leah and Craig explore this immediacy and the implications for doing the sacred work of psychotherapy. Leah Barrett's podcast --Precarioushttps://www.leahbarrett.com/precarious-podcastBFTAhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

Dr. Hillary McBride, psychotherapist, researcher, and author opens up about her years of psychiatric treatment, discussing what worked and what didn't. Topics include healing through a therapeutic relationship, understanding guilt and shame in eating disorders, and the journey to self-understanding and embodiment.

How can we stop the heartbreaking and horrific spiral of addiction? Dr. Jeremy Dubin, the Medical Director of Colorado's Front Range Clinic, sits down with Dr. H to discuss their top five things that actually work....and the five factors which most predict jails, institutions, and death.Dr. H and BFTAhttps://www.craigheacockmd.com