Mental Note

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

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