Mental Note

Welcome to part two of our Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Discussion with Leah Young where we focus on the proactive steps you can take to find recovery from a SUD.

Today’s episode is all about what to do once you realize you have a problem with substances or addictive behaviors. We’ll discuss topics like:

• Different strategies for ending destructive behaviors spanning from abstinence to harm reduction
• How to develop boundaries to enable healthier behaviors
• Easy ways to measure the success of your approach

If you missed our last episode, you can easily find it in your podcast feed or by clicking the link in the show notes below. You don’t necessarily need to listen to Part 1 to understand Part 2. However, you may want to pull it up if you are trying to figure out whether or not you have a substance use issue.

Resources:

• Brief video overview about Substance Use Disorders from the Center for Disease Control:Click Here
• Infographic: 2022 Survey on Drug Use and Health -Click Here
• Book: Sober Curious by Ruby Warrington -Click Here
• Podcast: Sober Curious with Ruby Warrington -Click Here
• Mental Note Podcast:www.mentalnotepodcast.com
• Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center:www.pathlightbh.com
• Eating Recovery Center:www.eatingrecoverycenter.com
• Free Group Support:https://www.pathlightbh.com/support-groups
• Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199
• Nearly all substances and many addictive behaviors have 12-step meetings. Below are some examples, but you can search online for the national and local chapters nearest you.
  • www.aa.org
  • www.marijuana-anonymous.org
  • www.thesira.org- Self Harm
  • www.slaafws.org&www.slaa4poc.neocities.org- Sex and Love Addicts
  • www.recoverydharma.org
  • www.smartrecovery.org
  • www.celebraterecovery.com
  • www.lifering.org
  • www.moderation.org
  • Plus many others that may not be as well known, available, and/or regional

In our next two episodes, we will explore a disorder affecting nearly one in five Americans - Substance Use Disorder (SUD). From knowing when your patterns are problematic, to building new neural pathways, to measuring success - we want to dig deep. And we’ve got the incredible expertise of Leah Young to show us why there’s so much reason for hope when dealing with addictive behaviors and substances.

You can think of today’s podcast as Substance Use Disorder 101. It answers the questions, “How do you know if your use of alcohol or drugs is a problem?” and “Are you exhibiting problematic addictive behaviors?” We will cover topics like

• Early warning signs
• Denial
• Sober curiosity
• Next steps for getting support.


Our second episode will examine recovery models for SUD - abstinence, moderation, and harm reduction - and how to know what works for you.

Resources:

• Brief video overview about Substance Use Disorders from the Center for Disease Control: Click Here
• Infographic: 2022 Survey on Drug Use and Health - Click Here
• Book: Sober Curious by Ruby Warrington - Click Here
• Podcast: Sober Curious with Ruby Warrington - Click Here
• Mental Note Podcast: www.mentalnotepodcast.com
• Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com
• Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com
• Free Group Support: https://www.pathlightbh.com/support-groups
• Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199
• Nearly all substances and many addictive behaviors have 12-step meetings. Below are some examples, but you can search online for the national and local chapters nearest you.
  • www.aa.org
  • www.marijuana-anonymous.org
  • www.thesira.org - Self Harm
  • www.slaafws.org & www.slaa4poc.neocities.org - Sex and Love Addicts
  • www.recoverydharma.org
  • www.smartrecovery.org
  • www.celebraterecovery.com
  • www.lifering.org
  • www.moderation.org
  • Plus many others that may not be as well known, available, and/or regional
    

Close relationships set the tone for how we experience love and security. Yet, keeping those relationships healthy is rarely easy. Fortunately, Attachment Theory researchers have spent decades scrutinizing why we connect the way we do and what actions help make friendships, partnerships, and family bonds flourish.

For therapist, mama, and author Eli Harwood - aka Attachment Nerd - her journey into understanding attachment patterns was deeply personal. Her early life programmed her to believe that she could not consistently rely on her needs being met. As an adult, this belief severely impacted her ability to connect with others, prompting Eli to find the best tools for healing and growing new attachment patterns. She benefited from that growth so much that she spent the past 17 years inviting others to discover how fun and stress-free this transformation can be.

Today’s show is all about understanding basic Attachment Patterns, how they affect our relationships, and how we can enjoy becoming more secure parents, friends, and humans.

Resources:

• Website - Click Here
• Instagram - @attachmentnerd
• Podcast - Click Here
• Book - Securely Attached - Click Here
• Free webinar - Click Here
• 2 Minute Attachment Quiz - Click Here
• Collection of coaching tips - Click Here
  
  
• Mental Note Podcast:www.mentalnotepodcast.com
• Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center:www.pathlightbh.com
• Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com
• Free Group Support:https://www.pathlightbh.com/support-groups
• Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist:(877) 850-7199

Today, we investigate Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) - a diagnosis that can be as confusing as its name suggests…

But fear not! We are lucky to have Dr. Michelle Jones as our guide. As a clinical psychologist who studied ARFID since it first became a diagnosis, she's uniquely qualified to distill years of research into succinct explanations. Together, we unpack all the fascinating ways ARFID affects our relationship with food, plus what to do if you or someone you love is diagnosed with it.

Resources:

• Book -Guide for Parents and Carers by Rachel Bryant-Waugh
• ARFID information: videos, resources, and treatment options -Click Here
• Quiz if you think you or a loved one have ARFID - Click Here
  
  
• 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

One chilly Maine morning, enveloped in a snowed-in cabin, musician DW sat at a piano recording a melody that had just popped into his brain. As he played, the phrase “I deserve to be well” tumbled out of his mouth in song.

He immediately broke down in tears asking, “Wow, do I really believe this?”

That question, and the ensuing album he created with his band The Collection, fueled an artistic journey to make sense of depression, the stigma of psychiatric medication, and asserting self-worth.

We sit down with David to hear his mental health story, why he chose to share it publicly, and enjoy a special performance of two new singles from The Collection’s upcoming album.

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Resources:

David’s Links

• The Collection's Website: www.thecollectionband.com
• TikTok: @thecollectionband
• Instagram: @collectionband
• Link Tree: linktr.ee
  

Mental Note Podcast & Mental Health

• 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

The end of the calendar year packs a lot into a short amount of time and it can be easy to deprioritize your mental health in all that noise. One of the best ways to refocus on your values is to remember the ways you’ve grown this past year.

So to honor the journey of 2023, we created an audio mural using six short stories from listeners and past guests. Storytellers focus not only on specific challenges but also on how they have built resilience, fostered mental health, leaned on therapy, and tapped into community. Ultimately, these collective vignettes whisper a comforting reminder that we are not alone and that hope is stronger than defeat.

Storytellers

• Alex
• Carrie Zhang
• Eric Dorsa
• Gloria
• Jen Ponton
• Shay

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

Today’s episode is all about giving you an incredibly practical tool for navigating emotion-focused conversations anywhere and with anyone. To do that, we’ve invited Dr. Allison Chase to walk us through Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT for short).

Mostly, we will focus on Emotion Coaching - a skill that creates shortcuts between two very different parts of the brain. The results are powerful and can help you and your loved one feel connected and empowered rather than confused and upset.

It’s important to note that Dr. Chase discusses EFFT skills in the context of a caregiver’s relationship with someone battling an eating disorder, but you can take EFFT skills into any relationship that gets sidetracked by intense emotional outbursts - be they at work, home, or out in the world.

Resources:

• Dr. LaFrance’s book: What to Say to Kids When Nothing Seems to Work: A Practical Guide for Parents and Caregivers
• Free Self-guided EFFT Learning Series
• EFFT Basics: Video
• Mental Note Podcast
• Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center
• Eating Recovery Center
• Navigating the Holiday Season with Resilience & Community Support Group
• Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199

Have you ever been told that you’re too emotional? Or felt the need to hide your heart in order to be accepted and productive? Community builder and writer Nōn Wels can relate.

As a sensitive kid growing up in an environment that didn’t always feel safe, Nōn learned to guard his heart so that nobody could find their way in. This led to a lot of pain and struggle: substance abuse, an eating disorder, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and depression.

Along the way, Nōn realized that empathetic communities play a crucial role in finding wholeness, love, and nourishment. As a result, he started creating projects and groups designed to empower each of us to grow our capacity for empathy, vulnerability, and emotional curiosity.

Today, we talk with Nōn about the journey that prompted him to create the Feely Human Collective and why we should even care about empathy and community in the first place.

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Resources:

Nōn’s Website
Feely Human Collective
You, Me, Empathy (Nōn's Podcast)

Mental Note Podcast
Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center
Eating Recovery Center
Free Group Support
Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199

Have you ever wondered why our culture treats fat and fat bodies with such vehement scorn? What about the experiences of people who are fat? What does it mean to exist in a thin-obsessed society?

With humor, personal stories, and research Aubrey Gordon & Kara Richardson Whitely - two fat authors and storytellers - explain how the world works differently for people depending on their size. Along the way, we talk about the unintended and sometimes deadly consequences of weight stigma in the medical world as well as what you and I can do to end weight discrimination.

Resources:

Campaign for Size Freedom
Aubrey’s Website
Kara’s Website
Maintenance Phase Podcast

Mental Note Podcast
Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center
Eating Recovery Center
Free Group Support
Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199

Have you ever noticed that you simply notice more? Therapist, author, consultant, and Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) April Snow wants you to know that you are not alone.

In fact, the genetic trait responsible for Sensory Processing Sensitivity - aka what makes HSPs more attuned to the world around them - is present in 20% of individuals, regardless of gender. It can be both a superpower and an Achilles heel. And that’s why we are so excited to talk with April.

April built her career by helping highly sensitive individuals move beyond feelings of overwhelm and guilt to discover the best parts of being more aware of their surroundings. Together, we examine HSP Characteristics, misconceptions, and how to thrive as a highly sensitive person.

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Resources:

• April’s Website - aprilsnowconsulting.com
• April's Instagram - @sensitivetherapist
• HSP Self-Test - Click Here

• Mental Note Podcast: mentalnotepodcast.com
• Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center: pathlightbh.com
• Eating Recovery Center: eatingrecoverycenter.com
• Free Group Support: eatingrecoverycenter.com/support-groups
• Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199