In Part 2, Tracy Otsuka digs into ADHD with candor and science, pulling apart the “disorder” narrative and replacing it with a focus on strengths, interests and purpose. We also walk the tightrope between ADHD and bipolar disorder where misdiagnoses often happen in college. Racing thoughts, impulsivity, and sleepless nights can mimic hypomania, but context matters: dorm food, lost structure, no movement, and constant stress create a similar picture of poor mental health. Tracy as...

What if your productivity no longer defines you? That question anchors a candid conversation with Tracy Otsuka—host of the ADHD for Smart Ass Women podcast and author of the best-selling book ADHD for Smart Ass Women: How to Fall in Love with Your Neurodivergent Brain. We talk about how midlife hormones collide with ADHD traits and force us to reshape identity. As estrogen fluctuates through perimenopause and menopause, dopamine signaling gets shakier, and the classic ADHD pain points—working...

Do you find yourself stressed and anxious when it comes to giving holiday gifts? Have you lost the joy of the experience? We sit down with financial wellness expert Crystal Flores to learn ways to stop the anxiety and disconnection of gift giving. Cyrstal explains how she gives gifts based on her values: thrift, creativity, connection, and environmental stewardship. When your values lead, the pressure fades and gifts start to feel like gestures of care rather than tests you can fail. We start...

Join me for a behind the scenes look at my private bedtime medication routine, in which I fight through intrusive thoughts and fears before falling asleep. For me it's a battle with Seroquel and the strange paradox where it stirs up my mind before putting me to sleep. I talk through what insomnia means for mania risk, why psychosis feels closer in the dark, and how intrusive, even spiritual, panic can crash in before sedation takes hold. We get practical about my 9:15 wind-down, how to read e...

What if you stopped measuring your worth by output and started honoring your reality? Today I sit down with Dr. Portia Preston, public health scholar and professor on the front lines of inclusive wellness, and the author of Hustle, Flow, or Let It Go—to explore a humane, shame-free approach to mental health and daily life. After a sudden kidney disease diagnosis and late ADHD/autism diagnoses, Portia rebuilt her framework for thriving. She learned to look at her energy as fluctuating capacity...

Today I sit down with Crystal Flores to trace the line from her father's suicide to her early marriage that led to depression and codependency. Crystal broke free from her picture-perfect, yet miserable marriage, to carve out a new life built on values, clarity, and fiercely practical money care. The reset wasn’t flashy. She moved to a quaint country home, complete with a flock of chickens, and chased non-negotiables like connection, thrift, resourcefulness, creativity, and environmental stew...

For Bianca, the catalyst of her Borderline Personality Disorder was the cultural pressure of living in a Middle Eastern family that provided the basics in life, but no emotional connection or support. With eldest-daughter expectations, and the heavy silence that comes when a family outsources its pain to one child, Bianca became the out-of-control truth bearer in her family system. After her tumultuous upbringing that included self-harm, suicidal thinking, and an abusive relationship, Bianca ...

Picking up from Part 1, Gregg is now stuck in what he calls “two years of bipolar hell.” But when he is finally prescribed lithium, within a week his depression lifts. Coming out of depression, he still had work to do—repairing familial and professional relationships. Greg had also been angry with God for abandoning him and forcing him to live in misery. Lithium not only put Gregg’s depression at bay, but it also allowed him to repair his relationship with God. As treatment begins worki...

Major General Gregg F. Martin had, for the most part of his life, lived with hyperthymia, a continuous low-level mania that ultimately helped his military performance because he was energetic, creative, and driven. But after commanding a 10,000-soldier combat brigade in Iraq, Gregg’s descent into mania and depression would span a decade. With a late diagnosis at age 58, Gregg challenges our understanding of bipolar disorder, revealing his belief that mental illness can progress along a ...

The first time I lost my mind was at Dartmouth College. By my junior year I was walking through campus with psychosis. A movie camera followed me wherever I went. I imagined myself dying in beautiful and surreal ways. And ultimately I wanted my life to end. In this episode with fellow writer, JD, I share my first experiences with bipolar disorder. When I welcome guests on the show, I want them to know I've had hard times as well. Memory is imperfect. Old delusions and imagination swirl togeth...

In the original episode "Raw My Doctor Violated Me," Madelynn revealed how her psychiatrist of three years gradually started to make sexual advances. Her marriage was falling apart and she was vulnerable. How could this doctor who had provided counsel and care become inappropriate? With humor and even wondering if his words and physical contact were some form of cutting edge therapy, her confusion and shame ran deep. Wanting to find solace with a physician after her dad died, she pushed the a...

When I rescued a dog, I never imagined the impact she would have on my mental health. Sure, her presence and warmth was calming and healing, but my dog Amber taught me a crucial lesson about how to handle my bipolar disorder. Happy to have a rescue dog in my life, things went downhill when a doctor put me on an antidepressant (which is a risky medication move if you have bipolar illness). And for me, it sent me into mania and then psychosis. In order to get care, I had to leave Amber home al...

What happens when bipolar disorder collides with unexpected pregnancy? For Betsi it was a frightening time knowing a bipolar episode can be triggered by pregnancy and that bipolar illness has a genetic component that may be passed down to your child. And Betsi had already endured several hospitalizations in her early adulthood. She also was under the care of a doctor who misdiagnosed her and took her off all psychiatric medications, only to result in an episode that could have been prevented....

What happens when the joyful arrival of a baby triggers an unexpected mental health crisis? When Susan returned home with her newborn, she was in a manic state. Fueled by little sleep with an infant to care for, her behavior became erratic--rushing around the house, even handling her baby carelessly. Her husband David told Susan that it felt like he was suddenly living with two strangers--a wife he didn't recognize and a child he didn't yet know. It would take their doula's observation and ad...

At age thirty-two, Tara Cousineau, PhD, had it all. But when a mysterious illness disrupted her life, her doctors blamed it on stress. Knowing something else was at play she searched until she discovered a pinched nerve that was indeed a physical ailment, but also exacerbated by stress. Looking inward and discovering her own perfectionistic tendencies, Tara knew she wanted to help high achievers prevent burnout and illness. As a therapist, she set out on a path to improve the mental health of...

Kris Rice, founder of The ChillPod, joins me to share her transformative journey with deliberate cold exposure. Growing up with a grandmother who battled bipolar disorder and later supporting her daughter through mental health challenges, Kris developed a deep appreciation for wellness practices. While meditation and yoga provided benefits, they demanded significant time commitments she couldn't sustain as a busy parent. When a persistent friend suggested cold plunging, Kris initially resist...

What happens when you receive a life-changing mental health diagnosis at 50 years old? For Matty Staudt--broadcast veteran, podcast pioneer, and current co-host of Alice Radio’s Sarah & Vinnie Show--it explained a lifetime of highs and lows. Matty was an anxious kid, but he assumed everyone experienced anxiety to the same extent. As an adult, he was treated for ADHD and also for depression by primary care doctors. To manage, Matty self-medicated with alcohol until a major cra...

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month (existing since 1949!!), I sit down with Ava to talk about how to talk to friends and relatives about mental illness. Ava has had her own mental health journey, particularly with her father who witnessed a genocide at age six. With signs of a soul in agony, she has yet to engage him in a conversation about his mental health and deep pain. When it comes to finding therapy and support--yes, the times are actually changing--but most people living with i...

Today I sat down with Amy Vincze of Soar With Tapping and had an enlightening and somewhat controversial conversation. Amy, a certified Emotional Freedom Release (EFT) practitioner or "tapping coach," holds a strong belief that depression doesn't just appear out of nowhere—it's often the result of our earliest experiences and the vital emotions we've pushed away to survive. She believes that if we connect to deep feelings, such as anger, through tapping we can let go of those thoughts and emo...

Today I continue my conversation with Dr. Susan Swick. Dr. Swick explains the dialogic method of therapy, developed in Finland for schizophrenia patients, which brings family and community into treatment sessions to improve outcomes through enhanced connection and understanding. Finland's application of this approach led to lower hospitalization rates and better medication compliance. Now the Ohana Center is using this method for various mental health issues in children and teens. Coupling ...