I Am Broken Leg
If you had a broken leg how would you tell someone? Would it be “I AM broken leg” or “I HAVE a broken leg”? Unless you are a caveman it would likely be the latter.
Podcast: Packing for a Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital Stay
"Isn't a pool cue like extremely dangerous in the psych ward? Like, you can't have any hooks on the walls. But here's a pool cue?"
~Michelle Hammer
Being in the psychiatric ward is not the ideal way to spend a night, weekend, or longer. However, sometimes we find ourselves there.
What should you pack? What should you ask your friends and family to bring? What is generally allowed versus never allowed? Learn all this -- and more -- on the season three premier of A Bipolar, A...
Eric Youngstrom Ph.D.
Dr. Youngstrom is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is also the Associate Director of the Center for Excellence in Research and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Delaware.
Dr. Youngstrom is a licensed psychologist who specializes in the relationship of emotions and psychopathology, and the clinical assessment of children and families. He teaches courses on assessment and therapy, developmental psychopathology, research design, and multivariate...
Podcast: One of us Was Naked! Truth or Lie?
"I zone out on a train and I talk to myself on the trains and I was out of it on the train. I kind of left that part out, didn't I?"
~Michelle Hammer
For the final episode of season 2, we play Two truths and lie. Gabe covers eating disorders, inappropriate behavior, and his hatred of language policing. Michelle covers zoning out, disclosing her diagnosis, and takes us back to her freshman year in high school.
Two stories are true, one is a lie. The rules...
Podcast: Nail Biting and Hair Twirling (Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors)
Why you gotta turn my nail biting into some big mental thing. I just bite my nails, why are people making it such a big thing?
~Michelle Hammer
Nail Biting. Hair Pulling. Skin Picking. All of these "bad habits" fall under the category of Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors or BFRBs. In today's episode, Gabe and Michelle discuss their issues with BFRBs and some potential solutions -- though they readily admit sometimes the solution can be worse than the habit.
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Betterhelp. Save...
Podcast: We Are Frauds (Talking About Imposter Syndrome)
"Don't get mad at your friends when they don't tell you what you want to hear. Because what you need to hear is often more important than what you want to hear."
~Gabe Howard
Gabe spoke at Oxford University in England and hosts multiple award-winning podcasts. Michelle owns a clothing line that is incredibly popular and has spoken for TEDx. Both of them are widely recognized and respected across the country as advocates.
They also both believe themselves to be failures.
Listen now as Gabe and Michelle discuss why they feel this...
Podcast: Is Mental Illness Trendy Now?
"Have we gone so far that the actual definition of mental illness has been lost and it has been sort of retconned to mean different?"
~Gabe Howard
"Hauntingly beautiful," "ride the lightning," and even famous quotes like "we're all mad here" are often used to positively describe mental illness. It's the "every cloud has a silver lining" mentality.
But is it true? Does mental illness have a positive side that is used to create things like incredible art and great literature? In this episode, our hosts...
Podcast: To Therapy or Not to Therapy?
"People don't want to see a therapist because they think that means they're crazy. But, who decided that?"
~Gabe Howard
Today, we discuss the pros and cons of therapy. What it is, why it works, why it doesn't work, and every tangent in between. Spoiler Alert: One host loves therapy and the other host doesn't love therapy. Listen in now.
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Betterhelp. Save 10% on your first month with the discount code "BSP22" or by clicking here.
About the Hosts of A Bipolar, A...
Podcast: Trauma and Mental Illness
"I believe like 99.9999% Of people have experienced some type of trauma. You think you haven't. The statistics say that not everybody has, but I disagree with that. Everyone's experienced some type of trauma.
~Michelle Hammer
People with mental illness have almost certainly experienced trauma -- whether they are aware of it or not. Having a life-long serious illness like bipolar disorder, depression, or schizophrenia, can be traumatic.
In this episode, Gabe and Michelle share their personal trauma stories and discuss why people think that only people...
Podcast: Loved Ones Distrust Us Due to Our Mental Illness
". . . nobody wants to walk through hell, come out the other side and say, Well, but you're mentally ill.
How garbage is that? It's garbage."
~Gabe Howard
Recovery is hard to both achieve and maintain when it comes to mental illness. It's a long journey and in its wake are mistakes, missteps, and relapse. But, once you come out the other side and start living the life you were meant to live, everyone gets on board with the new you. Right?
Join our hosts...