The Hardcore Self-Help Podcast with Duff the Psych

Hello, everyone! Super excited because this week I have my beautiful wife, Joelle Duff on the podcast again. You always have such great feedback when she's on the show and it's honestly just nice to have a good excuse to sit and talk with my favorite person. We talk about her getting back into her career after taking a mental health, baby, life-clarity break. We talk about communication in our relationship. We talk about harnessing the power of bipolar and planning for the inconsistencies. We talk about a lot of awesome stuff. You'll love it. Next week will be a normal Q&A or single topic episode, so shoot me your ideas to duffthepsych@gmail.com

Hello, friends! This week, I have an interview with the wonderful Bipolar Barbie. She is a mental health advocate from Australia. In this interview, she describes her experiences with bipolar and talks about why she is passionate about being a mental health advocate. We cover topics from her first manic episode during law school to the importance of medication in her journey. I think you'll really enjoy this one. Congratulations to the winner of this week's free book, @kellydutrisac! If you'd like to win a free print copy of one of my books, just share your favorite quote from this episode on social media and tag me. I pick one winner each week. If you have a question or topic for a future episode, send it to duffthepsych@gmail.com

This week, I have a nice Q&A session for you. Three really great questions that cover a variety of topics. Some of the content in here is sexually related and there is also plenty of talk about trauma. Be advised. I forgot to announce it during the episode, but this week's free book winner is @inkblot_ace on twitter. Congrats! If you want to win a free print copy of one of my books, simply share your favorite quote from this episode on social media and tag me! Here are the questions I cover in this episode: What can I do when I feel myself slipping back into depression? Are my BDSM fantasies unhealthy given my trauma history? How can I support my partner with severe PTSD? As always if you have questions or topics that you'd like to submit, just send them over to duffthepsych@gmail.com

On this episode, I have an interview with Larry Gifford from the When Life Gives You Parkinson's podcast. He was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at age 45. This was a serious curve ball for someone with a spouse, a child, and a blossoming career in radio. We talk about his show, coping with a Parkinson's diagnosis, honest conversations with family, and misconceptions about Parkinson's disease. As a reminder, if you'd like to win a free print copy of one of my books, just like @passtlivess did this week, share your favorite quote from the episode on social media and tag me! I'll pick one each week. Next week should be another solo-show. If you have a question or topic that you'd like discussed on the show, send it to duffthepsych@gmail.com

Hello, friends! I have a Q&A episode for you today. This is an extra special episode for a couple reasons. First off, I'm starting a new weekly tradition. If you share your favorite quote from the episode on social media and tag me, you might be selected to win a free copy of one of my books! Second, my nearly one-year-old kiddo, Leo was very present in this episode. I had to squeeze in the recording between other appointments, so you hear some babbling and such in the background. In terms of the questions, here what I covered: How can I move on from the guilt caused by ending family relationships due to an extreme fundamentalist upbringing? How can I balance significant psychological issues and still be a good parent? What can I do about my recurrent panic attacks? As always, if you have a question for the show, please send it to duffthepsych@gmail.com.

Hello, all! This was an episode that was supposed to air a while back. I postponed it due to a shooting at my alma mater's college night at the Borderline night club in Thousand Oaks. I felt that the topic just wouldn't be appropriate for that day. However, now that we are in a new year, it's the perfect time to think about your values, your goals, your aspirations, and how to live better in the now. That's exactly what we talk about in this interview. In this episode, I interview Kate Manser from You Might Die Tomorrow about the concept or mortality awareness and how that can be used to help you make decisions and appreciate the present. As always, you can send me questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com and if you like what you've heard, please rate or share the show on social!

This is a short and sweet episode that I recorded before leaving for an end-of-year vacation with my family. We talk about making goals for the new year. At the end of the year, many people start thinking about goals and resolutions. I see absolutely no problem with that. However, it's important to try to do them in a way that sets you up for success rather than failure. Here are a few quick tips: Establish goals as part of an overall year-end review. Keep your goals reasonable. You can also include larger overall aspirations, but use those as guiding lights rather than attainable goals. If you have too many goals, or goals that are too far from your starting point, you can set yourself up for success and continue the negative feedback loop. Subdivide your goals into small manageable steps. Even if you're not starting with your full capacity in any given goal, you are still doing more than you did before. Start small and build from there. 2018 was a great year and I'm so pumped to knock 2019 out of the water. Thank you so much for all of your support, and for contributing your questions to the podcast. This would not be possible without you. Please continue sending me your questions, feedback, and ideas to duffthepsych@gmail.com.

The last episode of 2018! Wowwwww. It's been an awesome year and I thank you so much for all of the support, attention, and of course questions. I thought that I would end things strong with a nice Q&A episode. Here are the topics covered: What is Neuroptimal (neurofeedback)? How can I help myself when depression steals my motivation? How do I know if therapy is working? I am so excited to get back into the swing of things in January. Please keep sending me your awesome questions and topic requests to duffthepsych@gmail.com!

This is part 2/2 for my series of interviews about Ketamine treatments. In this episode, I interview Jamie AKA "The Gloomy Optimist" about her personal experiences with the treatments that she says saved her life. We go deep into her life-long struggles with anxiety and depression. Jamie is someone who has put in the work. She has tried numerous medications and therapy, but nothing seemed to stick until Ketamine. She describes going into the first infusion suicidal and coming out with hope for the future. Powerful stuff. Please say hi to Jamie... On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegloomyoptimist/ At her website: http://thegloomyoptimist.com And as always, you can find the full show notes for this episode at http://duffthepsych.com/episode138

Friends. If there is one interview of mine that you listen to, let it be this one. In this interview, I talk to Dr. Steven Mandel, the founder of the Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles. Ketamine is one of the most effective mental health treatments that very few people seem to talk about. To me this is a shame. It's amazingly effective treatment for depression, suicidality, PTSD, and bipolar. In the interview, we talk about why Ketamine works, what an actual session looks like, and how it is a very low-risk procedure. We also address some common misconceptions and even get into the nitty gritty of cost/feasibility. Please share this episode with your friends, families, and networks. This is the first of a two-part series. Next week, I will be sharing an interview with an individual who describes their personal experience and amazing benefit from Ketamine treatments for depression. I should note that I have no personal stake in the Ketamine Clinics. I simply believe that it's a treatment that should gain more exposure.