Mental Health Hope and Recovery

07/25/2024

Eating disorders are damaging and dangerous, but it is possible to live a life in recovery with these disorders. Helen and I had the honor of sitting down with Cailin as she shared her journey of just that—a life-long struggle with eating disorders and her subsequent triumph and recovery. Cailin affords us the rare opportunity to hear the long-term impact of an eating disorder on a person’s life, and she tells her story with grace and humor. This episode offers skills and strategies—and HOPE—for those, and their loved ones, struggling with an eating disorder. It’s an episode not to be missed, and one to be shared with others.

Eating disorders are pernicious and powerful, with dangerous symptoms and sometimes lethal consequences. However, researchers and scientists are developing...

07/16/2024

Therapy with horses and dogs? Yes, the healing power of animals and pets has been scientifically proven and is regarded as a legitimate treatment method. Helen and I explore pet-assisted therapy in the latest episode of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery. Through in-depth conversations with guests Rebecca Hubbard of Pecan Creek Ranch and Max Woodfin of Divine Canines, we enter the world of transformative equine-assisted psychotherapy and the world of volunteer owners and dogs bringing therapy and joy to thousands. Please join us for this uplifting episode!

The Healing Power of Animals and Pets is a revelation and celebration for Helen, Valerie and listeners everywhere. The positive impact of animals on people...

05/03/2024

“Really? I have bipolar disorder and you’re telling me I can THRIVE?” That would have been my sarcastic answer during my years-long psychiatric crisis if I’d been told it was possible to go from surviving to thriving while living with a mental health condition. Now I know it is possible, because it’s my TRUTH! Celebrate Mental Health Month by joining Helen and me for this month’s episode on thriving—our stories, the research that confirms its possibility, the strategies toward achieving it, and the voices of some of our favorite thrivers. This month we are honored to have Kelley Reid and Cailin share their brilliant insight into their thriving journeys, and to have Karen Ranus offer her wisdom and hope. Listen and be inspired!

In this episode, Valerie and Helen pursue the holy grail of recovery—thriving in the aftermath of mental illness. For centuries, the ability to thrive would...

04/30/2024

Please join me on May 15 as we celebrate Communities for Recovery’s 20th Anniversary! The luncheon is May 15th at the Austin Country Club, and this annual gathering of recovery friends, families, professionals and peers is one of my favorite events of the year. Tickets are still available at https://betterunite.com/communitiesforrecovery-2024lifebuilderluncheon. See you there!

03/02/2024

The loneliness and isolation that often accompanies mental illness was profound in both my journey and Helen’s as we fought through our own mental health crises. So when the Surgeon General declared loneliness and social isolation a national health crisis, Helen and I were compelled to devote an episode of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery to this issue that affects one in two adult Americans. The first episode in our two-part look at the loneliness epidemic in America is available below, or wherever you access your podcasts.

Helen and I would appreciate it if you would share this post to help as many as possible learn about this important topic. Thank you!

In May 2023, the US Surgeon General declared loneliness a national epidemic. Greater than one in two adult Americans report being lonely. Given the damaging an...

02/17/2024

The two most recent episodes of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery examine the role gender plays in the symptoms, course, and treatment of mental health disorders. Now Helen’s blog about the episode on Women and Mental Health is available on our website. You can access all of Helen’s blogs there, and all our episodes. Our broad range of mental health episode topics may offer the resource you are seeking for yourself or to share.

Women and Mental Health and Power By Helen Sneed After I realized something was wrong with me, the first person to treat me was my GP. When I went to him, ...

02/06/2024

Connecting with other podcasters was the highlight of attending the Signal Awards Celebration in New York, and led to Valerie and Helen as guests on the fellow Signal Award-winning podcast 2 Lives. The latest episode of the 2 Lives podcast features Valerie's story, and Helen will be the guest on an upcoming 2 Lives episode. 2 Lives Producer Laura Morales does a beautiful job sharing Valerie's journey with listeners. Here's what listeners are saying about the episode: “Gut-wrenching and profoundly honest.” “Amazing testimony for others to hear and embrace hope.” Please listen, as it is indeed an inspirational episode. Thank you, Laura!

‎Show 2 Lives, Ep How One Woman Stopped Drinking, Stopped Dissociating, And Started Finding Her Way Back To Herself - Jan 29, 2024

02/02/2024

Join Valerie and Helen as they take a deep delve into the complex, unique issues of women and mental health issues. The episode examines what it is like for a woman today as a patient, parent, caregiver and employee faced with mental health challenges, and a wide range of other topics. Tune in for a chance to learn about women, mental health, and a new hope for recovery.

Women and Mental Health is an episode with explosive revelations about women and their mental health journeys. The cruel biases of the past, enlightened advanc...

01/25/2024

Mental Health: Hope and Recovery is heading into its fourth year on the wings of three awards! Helen and Valerie are excited to share that their podcast has won a Positive Change Podcast Award from Speak Up Talk Radio for its contributions to mental health recovery. Being recognized as a forceful, positive voice in the mental health arena, a landscape often viewed negatively, is extremely rewarding. Winning this award, and the two Signal Awards in October, is the topic of Helen’s latest blog, https://mentalhealthhopeandrecovery.com/blog/losing-and-winning-and-learning. Helen takes a look at the role of recognition, validation, praise and approval in the battle for mental health recovery. It’s a must-read!

07/07/2023

Our latest episode, The Great Abyss of Depression: The Background, the Battle, and the Breakthroughs, is now available! Join Helen and me as we take a deep dive into the mental health disorder depression—a fierce and powerful illness that will strike one in six Americans at least once in a lifetime. In the first episode of this two-part series, we explain the different types of depression, and explore the phenomenal impact of depression on individuals, families, society, and the economy. We also share intimate accounts of our journeys with the illness, and what it’s like to live with it and fight against it. I hope you will listen to this powerful episode, and share it with your network. Thanks!

‎Show Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Ep The Great Abyss of Depression: The Background, the Battle, and the Breakthroughs -- Part One - Jul 6, 2023

09/07/2022

Our latest episode is a powerful look at sobriety, mental illness, and creativity. Anders Osborne and Ben Anderson join us to discuss these topics and the role the healing power of song plays within them. It’s an episode you don’t want to miss!

‎Show Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Ep Sobriety, Mental Health, and Creativity: A Conversation with Anders Osborne and Ben Anderson - Sep 7, 2022

11/14/2021

Episode Ten explores eating disorders—one of the most complex and the most deadly of all mental health conditions. In this episode, Valerie and Helen investigate eating disorders with specialist Neathery Falchuk, LCSW. They reveal that these illnesses can be overcome with treatment and support. Join them for a riveting journey of courage and hope.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mental-health-hope-and-recovery/id1552306225?i=1000541172392

‎Show Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Ep Understanding and Overcoming Eating Disorders: Personal and Therapeutic Perspectives - Nov 8, 2021

08/28/2021

https://megaphone.link/POD1444132042

Suicidal thinking is the most dangerous aspect of mental illness. The outcome is literally the tragic possibility of a lost life.

07/24/2021

“There are friends, there is family, then there are friends who become family.”

Please join me and Helen for Episode Six! It’s Part Four of our series on relationships, this time focusing on friends and intimate relationships. Happy listening!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mental-health-hope-and-recovery/id1552306225?i=1000528423362

‎Show Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Ep Relationships Part Four: Friends, Intimate and Romantic Relationships - Jul 9, 2021

06/11/2021

Please join me and Helen as we navigate the tricky terrain of family relationships in Episode Five. We share our own experiences of relationship challenges and growth on our decades-long recovery journeys.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mental-health-hope-and-recovery/id1552306225?i=1000524275517

05/26/2021

Recovery is always a two-way street. We’d love to create a dialogue with you! Let us know what topics you’d like us to cover on future podcast episodes, or give us feedback on past episodes. Share with us what you’ve learned on your own mental health journey. Reach us at [email protected]

05/08/2021

‎Show Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Ep The Therapeutic Relationship - Apr 29, 2021