Mental Note

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  

At the beginning of 2020 Mackenzie Carmichael flew to Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado determined to finally overcome a persistent eating disorder. The plan was to slowly step down from residential treatment to an outpatient program where she would commute to therapy and meals several times a week as her healing progressed.  However, the growing pandemic soon placed extra restrictions on that traditional outpatient model. So, her treatment team pivoted and instead recommended attending ERC & Pathlight’s Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (VIOP).  In today’s episode, we’ll explore Mackenzie’s experience doing treatment from her family’s home and discover how VIOP impacted her recovery. We’ll also speak with Kaila Peak-Rishel, the Director of Eating Recovery Center’s virtual treatment program to better understand what goes into the patient experience.  ________________________________ Mental Note Podcast is brought to you by Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center and Eating Recovery Center. If you’d like to talk to a trained therapist or learn more about their programs and free support groups, please call them at (877) 850-7199 or visit our website mentalnotepodcast.com Resources: Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Virtual Treatment:  www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/virtualcare  www.pathlightbh.com/virtualcare  Weekly Q&A Session about Virtual Services: For potential patients: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/1464790792 For Caregivers: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/1479777474 

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses suicide On March 11, 2005, Kevin Berthia became famous…For all the wrong reasons.

 As he stood on an exposed pipe - with only the wind holding him up from plunging into the waters below San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge - a photographer captured Kevin discussing his desire to attempt suicide with Sergeant Briggs of the California Highway Patrol. That photo landed on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle the very next day.  Today, Kevin's perspective is much different than 17 years ago. Rather than contemplating the end of his life, he now speaks up for mental health and suicide prevention with a message that has made it around the world. We sit down with Kevin to take a wild ride through his story and the serendipitous events that lead to becoming a nationally renowned storyteller. Along the way, we’ll also chat with Dr. Thomas Joiner of Florida State University about depression, suicidal thoughts, and available tools to get help today.  If you or a loved one is in crisis, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK, or the Crisis Text Line (Text TALK to 741741) or to talk to someone who can help.
 Mental Note Podcast is brought to you by Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center and Eating Recovery Center. If you’d like to talk to a trained therapist or learn more about their programs and free support groups, please call them at (877) 850-7199 or visit our website www.mentalnotepodcast.com RESOURCES  Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com Kevin Berthia Foundation: www.kevinberthiafoundation.org Documentary mentioned in the episode: https://bityl.co/BDhP  

So perhaps your child - or even you or another adult - is really particular about food and refuses to eat but you just cannot understand why. You can tell their mealtime anxiety is not normal but how do you know if it adds up to a full-blown eating disorder?  That's why we made today's episode. It's an introduction to one of the least understood eating disorders - ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). ARFID remains underdiagnosed and can even be dismissed as simple picky eating. But ignoring it can have deadly consequences. So join us as we cover the basics about ARFID and the next steps needed for getting help: taking action, talking to doctors, and understanding different approaches to treatment. ________________________________ Mental Note Podcast is brought to you by Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center and Eating Recovery Center. If you’d like to talk to a trained therapist or learn more about their programs and free support groups, please call them at (877) 850-7199 or visit our website mentalnotepodcast.com Resources: List of ARFID Resources:  www.eatingrecovery.com/arfidresources Our Website:  www.mentalnotepodcast.com Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com  Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com

Picture this: a warm July breeze stirs my hair as I sit on the back porch. My toddler, illuminated by moonlight and the twinkle of fireflies, gently spins in circles, hands waving in the air as she moves to the strumming of a guitar mixed with the call of cicadas in the trees. It’s the sort of moment that feels infinitely removed from the typical noise of daily life. Here, there are no email alerts, traffic jams, or checklists. Only laughter and contentment. So, at the start of this new year, I’m asking, “how do I get more of these moments and less of the hamster wheel? How can I stop living on other people’s terms and tune in to my inner voice?” To explore these questions, I can think of no one better than the strummer of the guitar from that moonlit summer night - my friend and 71-year-old neighbor - Vollie McKenzie. Vollie is a man of many outlets. He spent over 40 years as a mental health professional, plays tennis daily, and is a known performer in the Southeast. He also has a recovery journey of his own that includes life-long struggles with anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia. I invited him on the podcast to talk about the process of finding his own voice and how that intersects with his mental health journey. Along the way, Vollie will sing and play pivotal songs to guide the narrative. ________________________________ Mental Note Podcast is brought to you by Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center and Eating Recovery Center. If you’d like to talk to a trained therapist or learn more about their programs and free support groups, please call them at (877) 850-7199 or visit our website mentalnotepodcast.com Resources: Our Website: www.mentalnotepodcast.com Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com  Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com

What do you do when prayer is not helping your depression but actually making it worse?  For author and speaker Abraham Sculley, answering this question and finding lasting freedom from his mental illness meant rethinking and challenging a lot of the ideas he grew up believing. But this son of Jamaican immigrants knows how to persevere. Join us as we explore Abraham’s transformation into the person he is today — a mental health advocate with a special passion for showing how accessing mental health care doesn’t mean going against your faith. ______ Also, be sure to check out Abraham’s book and podcast! Links are in the resources list below. Mental Note Podcast is brought to you by Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center. If you’d like to talk to a trained therapist or learn more about their specialty track for OCD, depression and trauma, please call them at (877) 850-7199. Resources: Our Website: www.mentalnotepodcast.com Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com  Abraham Sculley’s Website: www.abrahamsculley.com  Abraham’s Book: Unlearn The Lies: A Guide to Reshaping the Way We Think about Depression - Purchase Here  Abraham’s Podcast: Unlearn The Lies Podcast - Listen Here

Here's the thing about sleep - one in three American adults simply do not get the sleep they require on a regular basis. That's not ok! Sleep deprivation kicks off a cascading series of consequences for our physical health, relationships, sense of self, and emotional stability. But finding our way to a better night's sleep is no easy task - that's why we created this episode. We speak with two people about reigning in sleepless nights. First, we meet paramedic Sydney Fitzgibbons who finally recovered from chronic insomnia. Second, we sit down with Dr. Karima Clayton - a professor at NYU and sleep expert who works with veterans in New York to overcome sleep disorders. Through Dr. Clayton, we'll learn the 8 steps of sleep hygiene and why getting better sleep is crucial to a well-rounded life.  Sponsor:Mental Note Podcast is brought to you by Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and anxiety center. If you’d like to talk to a trained therapist to see if treatment is right for you, please call them at (877) 850-7199. Resources: 8 Sleep Hygiene Suggestions + Timestamps: Mind the caffeine consumption - 18:50 Designate the bed as a sleep-only zone - 19:55 Find a sleep routine that winds you down - 20:40 Follow consistent times for both falling asleep and waking up - 21:00 Sleep space ambiance - 24:26 Mindfully Move your body but keep it relaxing if you like to be active before bed - 25:25 Avoid napping if possible - 26:10 Get out of bed if you can’t sleep - 27:45 mentalnotepodcast.com

Kim Gould Fry is on a mission to help restore your relationship with your body and introduce you to intuitive movement - no big deal, right? Her approach focuses on both physical and mental health through training and partnering with fat and large-bodied instructors, offering counseling that connects mind and body, and creating resources like the free “Essential Guide to Enjoying Exercise” We sat down with her and one of her favorite barre instructors, Natalie Sanders, to talk about what it takes to enjoy body movement outside of diet culture. Sponsor: Mental Note Podcast is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and Anxiety Center. Reach a trained therapist at (877) 850-7199 Resources: Website: www.autonomytherapyatx.com Autonomy Resource Page:  https://autonomytherapyatx.com/favorite-reads Intuitive Movement Masterclass e-course: https://courses-autonomymovement.teachable.com/p/debunking-movement-myths24 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autonomytherapyatx/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutonomyTherapy Natalie Website: https://www.bodyposibarre.com/ Natalie Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodyposibarre/  

At first, Mimi Cole couldn’t understand why she was so terrified of going to hell. She did all the right things, prayed often, and continually confessed sins but her fears only got worse. Pretty soon, she also began obsessing about accidentally running someone over with her car - what was going on?! Just as she started to feel crushed by cascading illogical behaviors, she received a diagnosis - OCD - and began working with a treatment team to get her life back. Now, this North Carolina grad student has taken her experiences and used them to spread mental health awareness as a social media influencer and clinician in training. We talk with Mimi about her journey and also hear from Dr. Charles Brady about what happens to someone with OCD and what treatment options are available to help people find recovery. Sponsor: Mental Note Podcast is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and Anxiety Center. Reach a trained therapist at (877) 850-7199 Register for their online annual conference: www.pathlightbh.com/event/pbh-conference Resources: Website: www.mimi-cole.com Instagram: the.lovelybecoming Website (Dr. Brady): www.kitsapocd.com

With infection rates falling and vaccination rates rising in the United States, it seems like the summer has almost returned to normal. But maybe it’s easier said than done… What are ways that prolonged loneliness and isolation may affect us? What self-knowledge can we glean from the worst pandemic in 100 years? Dr. Zach Rawlings will guide us in taking a deeper look at the various ways people respond to loneliness + solitude and how those responses influence our post-pandemic mental health. Sponsor: Mental Note Podcast is a creation of Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight mood and Anxiety Center. Reach a trained therapist at (877) 850-7199 Register for their online annual conference: www.pathlightbh.com/event/pbh-conference Resources: Website: www.zachrawlings.com