Stay ConnectedThis is the Archive for the old Not Crazy Feed. If you are looking for the current Not Crazy podcast, keep searching or visit psychcentral.com/notcrazy for all the links.
Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-crazy/id1510583099
Thank you and enjoy the archives!
Copyright: © 2018 (c) Psych Central
A mental illness diagnosis doesn’t mean you can’t date or make new friends. It does mean – at some point -- that you need to tell all the new people in your life that you’re living with depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, or whatever your mental health concerns are.
In this episode, our hosts discuss telling the new people in our lives about our health issues – including the people they’ve dated.
Highlights from ‘Mental Illness, Friends, Love Interests’ Episode
[2:20] Being public and vocal about mental illness.
[3:30] What is the right (and wrong) way to tell people you have a mental illness?
[4:00] How soon is too soon? How late is too late?
[7:00] Michelle shares her story of telling romantic partners.
[11:30] We discuss when would we not share our diagnosis.
[15:30] Some people don’t believe we have mental illnesses.
[18:30] If we talk more about mental illness, people will understand it more.
[20:30] People should still respect your boundaries when it comes to mental illness.
[23:30] Michelle’s friends all knew she was schizophrenic before she was diagnosed.
While depression is a common mental health issue, it’s not even close to being the most common. Listen in to hear our hosts discuss how loneliness can make a person feel unwanted and uncared for – even if they are standing in a crowded room.
Highlights from ‘loneliness’ Episode
[0:30] Loneliness kills more people than depression.
[3:30] Michelle explains loneliness she has experienced.
[5:20] Gabe explains loneliness he has experienced.
[8:00] We always bring up our moms – so why stop now?
[16:30] What can help people feel less lonely?
There is an assumption among many Americans that doctors are pretty darn smart and always know what they’re talking about. Psychiatrists work with the mentally ill, so they are certainly smarter than their patients. Because, after all, their patients are “crazy.” Right?
In this episode, our hosts discuss all the times that psychiatrists and therapists didn’t live up to the hype – or stereotype.
Highlights from ‘Psychiatrists and Therapists Questions’ Episode
[1:00] What is the strangest thing a psychiatrist has ever said to Michelle about her illness?
[6:00] What is the strangest thing a therapist has ever said to Gabe about his illness?
[17:00] Michelle’s first psychiatrist was . . . not great.
[19:30] Gabe once had a legal issue with a therapist.
[26:30] What you should do if you’re dealing with a bad psychiatrist and/or therapist.
Most of us are to blame for our failures, believe it or not. We didn’t practice enough, plan ahead, or work hard enough. If we are honest, we could have done more to succeed, but something stopped us. In this episode, our hosts, Gabe and Michelle discuss why people sabotage their own success and fess up to whether or not they are sabotaging their own.
Highlights from ‘Self-Sabotage’ Episode
[2:00] Do we sabotage ourselves?
[3:00] Some reasons for self-sabotage.
[6:30] Private rejection vs. public rejection.
[11:30] Failure and self-sabotage.
[17:30] As is our way, our mothers come up.
[19:00] Working hard and yet not succeeding.
[20:00] How do you stop self-sabotaging?
Psychiatric medication gets a bad rap when it isn’t deserved, while simultaneously being seen by some as the end-all treatment for people living with mental illness. Our hosts both need their prescribed medication to live well, and that makes people around them ask questions ― some of which are weirder than others.
Tune in to this episode to hear what they have to say.
Highlights from ‘Meds’ Episode
[1:00] What happens when Gabe and Michelle don’t take their medications.
[4:00] People just love to ask us for our medications.
[8:00] Stigma from medical professionals.
[14:00] Please don’t buy pills from people to self-medicate.
[16:30] Michelle’s medication journey.
[19:00] Which works better: treadmill, yoga, or medication?
[21:00] Anxiety of the day makes it hard to get up in the morning.
[24:00] Gabe and Michelle both admit to stigmatizing themselves about their own medications.
Just because your living with mental illness, doesn’t mean you don’t believe in all the weird superstitious customs our society loves so much. In this episode our hosts discuss their hopes for the new year, the resolutions they made, and how to have a good 2019 in spite of living with bipolar or schizophrenia.
Listen in now!
Highlights from ‘Bipolar & Schizophrenic New Year’s Resolutions’ Episode
[1:00] What are a Michelle and Gabe doing For the New Year? [3:00] What are our New Year’s resolutions?
[9:00] Personal opinions on New Year’s resolutions
[14:30] Gabe and Michelle pick resolutions for each other (hilarity ensues)
[21:00] Should we thank people from the past?
[23:00] What are some nice things we can do for ourselves?
“I’m in recovery from mental illness,” is a common phrase in our circles. Sure, mental illness is replaced with the specifics – schizophrenia, bipolar, or depression, to name a few – but the idea that people consider themselves to be living a life free from the symptoms of mental illness is a common one. However, is it true? Is recovery actually a thing? Or are all these people just deluding themselves?
Gabe and Michelle discuss this – and more – on this episode of A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast.
Highlights from ‘Recovery’ Episode
[1:40] Are Michelle and Gabe in recovery? [4:30] What is recovery and where did that term come from?
[7:00] Should we be policing language or context surrounding mental illness?
[11:00] What’s all the fuss over person first language?
[16:30] Why do we think people dislike the word “recovery”?
[19:00] What word should we use instead, if not “recovery”?
Resident schizophrenic, Michelle Hammer, is a different person when she first wakes up. Before taking her psychiatric medications, she isn’t as coherent, engaged, or energetic as we are accustomed to her being. For this episode – in a controlled environment – Michelle speaks with Gabe before taking her morning psychiatric medications so she can give the audience a small glimpse of how she feels when she starts each day.
Listen in to this episode of A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast now!
Highlights from ‘Schizophrenic Before Medication’ Episode
[0:30] Recording first thing before Michelle (schizophrenic) has taken her psychiatric medicine. [2:00] Michelle answers a list of questions from Gabe.
[8:00] Gabe explains to listeners how Michelle is behaving while off her medications.
[09:50] Show is paused and resumes after time has passed; Michelle has now taken her meds.
[12:00] Michelle answers more questions from Gabe – this time, medicated.
[15:00] How does Michelle feel about the ‘off med’ recordings?
[19:00] Michelle has confidence in her recovery, but still has feelings.
Those of us with mental illness are asked many questions about our feelings. For a lot of us, the most difficult one to answer is, “Are you happy?” It’s a difficult question to answer because happiness isn’t an easily defined concept.
Most people assume that in order to be in recovery from mental illness a person must be happy. But is that really the case?
Listen in to this episode to hear our thoughts on happiness, regret, and even a side story about Gabe’s first marriage.
Highlights from ‘Happiness’ Episode
[1:00] Gabe & Michelle discuss happiness and mental illness.
[3:30] The most annoying questions we have ever been asked.
[5:00] Gabe’s story of never being satisfied with his life.
[10:00] What makes Michelle unhappy.
[12:00] What makes Gabe unhappy.
[17:00] Do people try to ruin our happiness? – A discussion.
[19:00] Michelle says she has confidence – but does she?
[23:00] Dealing with mental illness and negativity.
Living with mental illness means accepting that some things are out of our control. It also means tolerating annoyances like pillboxes, regular doctor visits, and the symptoms we just can’t quite get under control.
But, does living with mental illness mean we have to keep toxic people around us? Do we, as people who are managing a severe and persistent illness, just have to take the abuse that people heap on us because at least we aren’t alone?
In this episode, Gabe & Michelle explore tolerating toxic people and whether or not it’s a good idea. Listen now!
Highlights from ‘Toxic People and Mental Illness’ Episode
[1:00] Michelle and Gabe talk about toxic people. [3:30] Michelle shares how her mental illness improved after removing a toxic person from her life.
[14:30] Gabe tells a story of removing a toxic person from his life to improve his mental illness outcomes.
[25:00] A touching story from someone who loves this podcast.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
