Ready to Talk

That's a wrap on season 1!

For the finale, I have my good friend Jasmine interview me about the podcast and talking about mental health on the interwebs! We are nearing the end of #PTSDAwarenessmonth so I felt it was even more important to speak for the finale. I am a person living with PTSD who has a podcast. I am a person who has a mental illness, but I am way more than that illness. I am a person who likes to hear other people's stories. I am a person who wants to be heard and wants other people to be heard. I am a dog lover. I am a dancer. I am a Filipino woman. When you listen to the episode, I don't necessarily talk about all of those things, but please note them. My hope that when people listen to the podcast, all the topics we speak about get humanized. Mental health and mental illness always get dehumanized somehow. It becomes this abstract concept that people don't know how to approach so we just end up pushing it away.

All my guests who have come on my show are human beings with whole lives. They are real people sharing their real experiences and stories. I am forever grateful for the opportunities I have had to listen and open my own mind. Thank you!

If you want to support the show, you can go to my website in my bio and donate. Also, I am preordering my Golden Goddess Affirmation cards for Asian women on my site. That money will also help support the podcast. If you want to be on the next season, hit me up! I love talking about mental health!!!

Hi and welcome to the ready to talk podcast! I am your host the thoughtful beast. Today we are going to be listening to a very dear friend of mine about his struggles with loneliness as a gay asian man @EdrianPenguino . It's pride month, which makes this even more important. Please remember that Pride month isn't just about parades and fun. The first pride was a riot, and our LGBTQ+ community still needs our support. 

It's PTSD awareness month so I am actually going to rerelease a podcast episode that we had earlier on. It's about living with cPTSD, and I want to have it again because living with cPTSD is a big part of my life. It shaped a lot of who I am growing up in mostly horrible ways. It took a long time for me to discover who I am outside of what that illness made me. There are still parts of myself that I am still untangling from my cPTSD today.

Experiencing trauma is not like experiencing stress. There is not good trauma like there is good stress aka stress that is normal and helps you build your mental or physical stress. Trauma is debilitating. It might be the origin story for many super heroes in cartoons, but in real life, most people end up struggling to live their lives as normal as possible. Abuse, rape, seeing people die, having to kill someone for your job, being maimed and all those horrible things are not normal. They do not make you stronger. Mental illness is not a super power Remember, not everyone survives trauma. Not everyone lives a good life or even normal life after trauma. Some people live in fear the rest of their lives. Some people become lonely horrible people. Some people will never be able to hold a job again.

Does that mean people cannot be strong or live normal lives after trauma? No, but they figure out how to be strong despite the trauma. People can cope and survive trauma with support from family, friends, society and professionals. Stigmatizing PTSD, cPTSD and trauma helps no one. We need to understand what these things are so we can help each other, stop intergenerational trauma, break the cycles of abuse and just be better as a people. 

Today, we are going to listen to one of my first live shows I recorded during 2020 because I think it's a perfect way to end Mental Health Awarness Month and AAPI month. Ignatius @iii.ignatius , my fellow Asian mental health advocate is on the podcast today. He is one of my favorite people to discuss mental health with, and today we are going to talk about exploring mindfulness. Link in bio!

Everyone has mental health, including our children!

Today, I have Lisa on the podcast to talk about not just her mental health, but how she as a teacher introduces the topic to her students. This episode was recorded in 2020 so think about how our kids' mental health was doing then. Though people are getting vaccinated and we are able to see each other more, let's think about how their mental health is still important to talk about now! Link in my bio!

In this week's episode of the "Ready to Talk", Tanya is with me to talk about living with anxiety!!! Honestly, this talk is hilarious because we had technical issues while we were recording the episode. Don't worry because I will edit all that out, but it was so funny because it was an anxiety inducing situation. Irony, my friends!  

In this week's episode of the "Ready to Talk", I have Flex  to talk about colonial mentality! It's a thing, and if it a thing you do not know about, then this episode will be super helpful for you. Understanding colonial mentality will help us understand how we might continue to uphold white supremacy without knowing it. Take a listen and tell me what you think! Link in bio!

Find Flex: 

In this week's episode of the "Ready to Talk", I have Toni @toniiilynnn  to talk about self-preservation and protecting your mental health. This is such a relevant talk because we live in a hustle culture so please take a listen! Link is in my bio!

Find Tina:

In this week's episode of the "Ready to Talk", I have Tina @blueowlcounselin on to talk about therapy!!! Tina is a therapist. I am a gal who goes to therapy and therefore I think this will be a very helpful discussion for those looking interested in going to therapy or wondering what it's like. 

Find Tina:

In this week's episode of the "Ready to Talk", I have Rich @akosir1ch on to talk about men's mental health! You should listen to it because one, men's mental health is largely dismissed by society even by medical professionals. Two, you and I don't have to be a part of that dismissive group. LINK IN BIO!

Find Rich:

In this episode of the "Ready to Talk" podcast, I have a recording of my wonderful friends, Marissa and Edrian with me! It's from from the summer of 2020 and it's about reflecting on our own mistakes and things we need to do to be better allies to Black people. I'm still too livid to publicly speak about the Asian hate happening, but I am so happy that the Asian community is standing in solidarity. To everyone who is asking where BLM is now for Stop Asian Hate? They have been showing their support! Stop asking where they are and start looking at where you are. Asian people definitely stereotype each other and that is so wrong. So let's listen and see if if this past reflection can help us reflect on today.

Chronic pain affects your mental health!

The way Black people are discriminated against is a mental health issue.The trauma created by racism is real. Mentally ill Black people being shot because the police don't know how to handle the situation properly is real. The lack of empathy is real. In this episode of the podcast, we have Todd @todd.alexx  on talking about what he's experienced in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. He also speaks to taking the BLM hashtag and making it a lifestyle. Though this episode is about very important and serious issues, it's a really fun episode. Take a listen. Link is in my bio!

Hands up in the air if you also live with functioning depression!

In this episode of the "Ready to Talk" podcast, we have Averee talking about her experience with functioning depression. Link is in my bio! Yo, it's a good one because functioning depression sucks and not enough people know about it or understand it. Therefore...take a listen!

Who dates someone who has a mental illness?

My boyfriend does! In this interview, I don't talk to my boyfriend, but I do talk to a good friend of mine, Ramon , who dates someone living with anxiety. Link in in my bio! If you date someone with a mental illness, I think this will be a great episode for you to relate and get some words of wisdom. If you have a mental illness like me, this is also a great look into the other side.

Time Stamps

10:43 - 14:51 Experiencing an anxiety attack with his partner 

34:50 - 36:58 Energy currency in dance  37:07 - 38:48 

How working out and weight lifting helps  

38:51 - 45:05 How should someone go about talking to their partner about getting professional help?

How do breakups affect you?

Our episode today features my very good friend, Marissa Roxas! She is here to talk about self-love after a breakup. It's such a great topic because breakups can really mess with your head and your heart. It's such a wonderful and sincere talk so please take a listen.

Who else is struggling?

We all are and in this episode, Eposi joins us to talk about her struggle with the pandemic and how she has been handling it as an artist.

Find Eposi: 

Do business ethics relate to mental health?For this episode I have Erica as my guest talking about business ethics and social responsibility because I really believe the answer is yes. If you want to hear the conversation and know how, the link the podcast is in my bio.

Find Erica on Insta @dance_with_erica

Find me 

Are you in need of some mindfulness in your life?

If yes or if you aren't sure, then this is a great episode for you! MaJhané is our wonderful guest who introduces mindfulness and how it can help you cope with stresses in your life. Take a listen and enjoy some honest truths and helpful conversation.

Find MaJhané:

What do you know about Bipolar Disorder?

Is it that people with bipolar people are just moody people? That's a myth. In this episode, Kay comes on to talk abvout her first experiences getting diagnosed and treated. I'm going to tell you now that it is not all a pleasant story, and that Kay shares her experiences only to help prevent others from suffering like she did.

How much does social media affect your mental health?

It's a good question, and Laray and I give our answers in this episode of "Ready to Talk". We also talk about how our mental health has been hindered and helped by the schools went to. This episode is I feel can be really relatable to people who struggled with their mental health through their youth and actually parents as well. Take a listen!

To find Laray: YouTube: LaRaydiance IG: dancingrayoflight

"A lot of people just thought it was sadness...I was not sad. It was emptiness."