Mental Note

In this engaging discussion, therapist KC Davis shares her journey through motherhood and mental health during the upheaval of the pandemic. After her ADHD diagnosis brought clarity to her struggles, she reveals insightful strategies for managing daily tasks. KC explores the complexities of adult ADHD, especially in women, and emphasizes the importance of redefining societal expectations around care tasks. She also introduces a gamification approach to boost motivation, helping listeners tackle even the most tedious chores with creativity and joy.

American culture praises weight loss. A quick scroll of social media, magazine racks, or even the news will yield numerous “transformation” stories documenting how a fat person turned their life around by shedding pounds.  But at what cost? Today, we’re exploring an eating disorder so camouflaged, you probably didn’t even know it exists - Atypical Anorexia. Or, more accurately, anorexia in people with larger bodies. With our guide - recovery advocate Joanna Nolen - we will unpack how fatphobia impacts the medical system, insurance, and even treatment centers. Plus, Joanna will share her most practical wisdom about navigating this weight-loss-obsessed world as a person in recovery living in a larger body.  ____________________________________________________________________________________ Resources: Mental Note Podcast: www.mentalnotepodcast.com Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com  Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com Free Group Support: eatingrecoverycenter.com/support-groups Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist:  (877) 850-7199 "Don't Weigh Me Cards" https://ggle.io/5X7x 

Discover how to create a healing space at home and foster community. Explore the challenges of setting boundaries, finding calm, and virtual therapy. Hear from elders in the community who have integrated recovery into their homes and living spaces.

As a teenager, Kea Yamamoto’s behaviors transformed from being respectful, creative, and empathetic to ones that alienated the people she cared most about. Not only did she lash out, but she also stopped sleeping, began hallucinating, and felt immune to consequences.  Kea’s eventual diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder proved to be both a relief and a frightening look into the unknown. Would she be able to enjoy the relationships and experiences that make life worthwhile? Or would she move deeper into isolation and pain? Today’s episode - in collaboration with the podcast I Know Lonely and the non-profit Only 7 Seconds - explore’s Kea’s 10-year journey towards a fulfilling life. We cover how she mended relationships, what dating with a Bipolar diagnosis was like, and why she decided to become a mother despite the hereditary nature of her disorder.  Resources: Help with Loneliness and Isolation: only7seconds.com  I Know Lonely Podcast: only7seconds.com/podcast  Mental Note Podcast: www.mentalnotepodcast.com Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center Website: https://www.pathlightbh.com/  Free Group Support: https://www.pathlightbh.com/support-groups  Free Evaluation with a Trained Pathlight Therapist:  (877) 850-7199

Discover how your personality can be both your biggest asset and greatest stumbling block on today’s fascinating episode.  When Dr. Laura Hill first encountered research showing that a person’s temperament - the baked-in personality traits dictated by their genes - dramatically influences the type and expression of their eating disorder, she was thrilled. For decades, she had felt that eating disorder treatment only focused on external behaviors, while ignoring root causes. But through brain-based research, she was finally able to see how and why disorders begin growing in the first place. This excitement compelled Dr. Hill to devote the next ten years of her career to working alongside colleagues and patients in developing the first-ever eating disorder treatment focused on genetic traits. The result? Temperament Based Treatment with Supports - TBT-S for short. Influenced by Dr. Hill’s playful and inquisitive spirit, this approach promises thrilling possibilities for long-term recovery.  Resources: Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Free mental health assessment: (877) 850-7199 Her Book - https://amz.run/61EQ  Dr. Hill’s TED Talk: Eating Disorders From the Inside Out: https://ytube.io/3WsY  Video of Wire/Re-Wire Activity: https://ytube.io/3WsZ  Three levels of TBT-S training from tbtstraining.com Level 1 Training - https://bityl.co/F0f7 Level 2 Training - https://bit.ly/3STzrMe Level 3 Training - https://bit.ly/3CmHfPz Eating Recovery Center Website: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com Free Group Support: eatingrecoverycenter.com/support-groups

Suicide is one of those words that stops us in our tracks. Often, we treat it tenderly — acting like saying it too loudly will inspire someone to do something awful. But the truth is that not talking about suicide is what actually increases the chance a person with suicidal thoughts will act on them.  So how do you have such a loaded conversation? Well, it helps to get advice from people who’ve been there before. September is Suicide Prevention Month and in recognition of that goal, we reached out to the experts on dialoguing about difficult mental health topics - an organization called Hope for the Day. Hope for the Day is a non-profit movement empowering conversations on proactive suicide prevention and mental health education. While based in Chicago, their resources are global. Their whole approach focuses on peer-to-peer led conversations that are guided by clinical oversight. It’s incredibly effective. So today, I’ll speak with five members of their team about tools, programs, and mindsets that can help prevent suicide in the communities we love.   Also, be sure to check out our resources list below for an abundance of ways to get the help you or a loved one may need.  Resources: Hope for the Day’s Website: www.hftd.org A searchable, international list of resources for suicide prevention and mental health help:  www.hftd.org/find-help The Things We Don’t Say Program: www.hftd.org/get-educated/learn-more Project R.E.D. Team: www.hftd.org/red-team Identity & Orientation Resources: www.hftd.org/lgbtq Proactive Workplaces Program: www.hftd.org/proactive-workplaces Free Live Educations via Zoom or In-Person: www.hftd.org/events E-Learning On-Demand Education: www.hftd.org/e-learning/requestform Emergency Resources: National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Dial 988 Mental Health Emergencies: Dial 911 and say, "I need an ambulance, at this address, for a mental health crisis." Our Show’s Resources: Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Free mental health assessment: (877) 850-7199 National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Dial 988

Researching anxiety and mood disorders can be daunting - and deciding who is credible and what research holds up under scrutiny is even harder. That’s why we made today’s episode! Welcome to our little one-stop-shop-overview of the basics for anxiety and mood disorders. We’ll spend this episode asking an expert in the field the most common questions about anxiety disorders, mood disorders, the treatment experience, and treatment methods. Sound good? Dr. Howard Weeks will be our gracious question answerer. He is the Chief Medical Officer at Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center. Most importantly, he has a special way of communicating complex information that brings clarity rather than getting lost in the weeds. Since this episode is a little longer than our typical show, we’ve included time stamps for different subjects below. Subjects Timestamps Anxiety 2:20 -15:00 Types - 6:00  Generalized Anxiety Disorder Phobias OCD PTSD Panic Attacks Getting help - 10:30  Treatment Options Is Recovery Possible? Mood Disorders 15:00 - 29:30 Overview - 15:15  Depression Mania Genetics Getting help - 22:35  When to Get help Hotlines Support Groups Is Recovery Possible? Treatment 29:30 - 42:00 Overview - 29:30  Acute Residential Partial Hospitalization Intensive Outpatient Virtual Intensive Outpatient Traditional Outpatient Pathlight - 34:30  What Sets it Apart? What Treatment Looks Like Age Categories Insurance Resources: Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Free mental health assessment: (877) 850-7199 National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Dial 988 Pathlight Behavioral Health Center Website: www.pathlightbh.com Free Group Support: www.pathlightbh.com/support-groups Family Involvement Link: Family Resources

Former dancer Jayne Mattingly shares her journey of coping with limited mobility due to chronic illness. She discusses reframing relationships with her body, tips for living a values-centered life, and mindful movement strategies for different ability levels.

Lor Sabourin knows a thing or two about resilience and the power of thoughtfully approaching a relationship - be it with a sport or gender. A professional rock climber who grew up in Detroit, they spent years figuring out how to not hide their queer identity in a very male, heteronormative, and competitive world. Lor now works to spread the wisdom they’ve gathered by creating affirming spaces in outdoor communities and also training other climbers on mental stability. They are also the subject of a recent documentary film put out by Patagonia called They/Them.  We invited Lor  to talk about their personal journey, creating inclusive spaces, and how to simply find more Joy in the lives we choose. We also hear from Sand Chang, PhD (They/Them) about the relationship between our society and mental health trends in the Queer Community.  RESOURCES: Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Free mental health assessment: (877) 850-7199 Trans Lifeline: A crisis hotline staffed by all-trans operators (877) 565-8860 The Trevor Project: a resource specifically for LGBTQ youth in crisis FEDUP Collective: Support and education for people with marginalized bodies who have disordered eating National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network The Gender Affirming Letter Access Network - Find a free provider who will write letters to help you receive gender-affirming healthcare.

Growing up, Carrie Zhang - the founder of The Asian Mental Health Project - felt as though she had no right to talk about her mounting struggles with sadness and anxiety. 
You see, her parents - two immigrants from China and Taiwan - could simply not understand why their child might be unhappy. After all, they had sacrificed so much in order to give her a chance at prosperity and success. As a result, Carrie did not find help processing trauma, depression, and anxiety until much later when her university offered mental healthcare services. She now spends her time aiding other Asian Americans to overcome cultural and systemic barriers to mental health through the Asian Mental Health Project.  In this episode, we talk with Carrie about her personal awakening to mental health hygiene, the cultural stigmas & institutional bias preventing the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community - APIDA for short - from receiving the help they need, and finally what we all can do about it. 
 Resources: Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Free mental health assessment: (877) 850-7199 Asian Mental Health Project Instagram:  @AsianMentalHealthProject OCA National: OCANational.org