Mental Health: If We’re Being Real podcast

TW: MENTAL HEALTH

I’m a strong believer in alignment, and my original release date for this mental health podcast was February 14th. However, the perfectionist in me kept working on the project, just as I have for almost a whole year. Coincidentally, I decided to release it today which happens to be February 2nd (2/22/22). When I investigated the importance of this day, I realized it signified the start of a new beginning. 222 is a number that is thought to represent the state of perfect balance. According to Carl Jung (a Swiss psychiatrist), it is the union of masculine and feminine principles. The meeting place between the conscious and subconscious mind. This podcast is a passion project, which means my heart and soul goes into this.

The Inception (How it all began)

In 2020, I started an IGTV series called Mental health Monday. When I started mental health Monday, it was because something inside of me was connected to the way the human mind functioned. I didn’t know that 2020 would be the year that sparked one of the biggest mental health crises that the US has ever seen. In college, I received a bachelors degree in psychology. I was interested in the topic and wanted to study it. After working at a Neurobehavioral health facility for about 2 years, I realized that I’d like to purse my other passions (Makeup artistry, Fashion, Visual art etc) Check out this blogpost for more.
This was the full circle moment. After I started Mental health Mondays, It became increasingly difficult to upload my 20 minute episodes to IGTV.  I noticed a couple of people talking about me starting a podcast. I immediately got excited, not knowing the amount of research, time and effort that actually goes into creating a podcast.

The Perception Switch

I had my second child in May 2020. I promptly got back to work without giving myself adequate time to heal after birth. What could go wrong right? In July, I began to act extremely erratically. After almost two weeks of erratic behavior, my symptoms included being abnormally upbeat/ jumpy or wired, having an exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria), a decreased need for sleep, Unusual talkativeness and more.
My husband had been referred to take me to a special facility, where they finally told him I was having a manic episode .Which led me to being admitted into a mental hospital. On getting there, I was extremely confused at what was going on. Additionally, Taking medications made me even more disoriented. My diagnosis was post partum psychosis and bipolar disorder. This lead to the deepest, darkest, rock bottom I had ever experienced in my life. I went from being the most lively, happy go lucky girl I knew I was to a shell of my former self. It was really tough, but thanks to friends and family I was able to slowly start the recovery process. It’s different talking about mental health from a person who knows the technical terms in comparison to someone who has actually suffered through it.

The Healing Process

What changed? How did I get back to being my “regular self” I took my own healthcare into my hands and figured out a way to get back to a better place. First, I switched medications. After having periods of time where I just didn’t want to exist in the world anymore. However, If there’s a problem that only you can feel ALWAYS trust your intuition.
Through that time I started meditating, listening to podcasts, watching videos of people who just kept talking about hanging on. That’s exactly what I did. I held on, I powered through and when I came out I felt different. STRONGER, WISER, more willing to learn and grow.  Now I’m ready to step into a different purpose, not wanting ANYONE to have to go through their dark times alone. Finally, I don’t want my community to go through what I did due to lack of knowledge and resources, hence me starting this podcast.

Final Thoughts

One of my favorite quotes from Ghandhi is “be the change you want to see in the world.” Well, I am that change, I want the ‘if we’re being real podcast’ to be a place that we remove the stigma of mental illness and have conversations surrounding self development. Although I’m still on my journey, but if I can help just one person, then I feel accomplished already. I want to share peoples stories, discuss real issues and make this a community of healers.

Welcome to the if we’re being real podcast. A mental health/ self development podcast unpacking all the real aspects of life. You can listen on Spotify, Amazon music and Apple podcasts, if you’d like to be a guest or want to share your story email ifwerebeingreal@gmail.com and follow the community on instagram @ifwearebeingreal.
If we’re being real, thanks for being here with me on this journey.

Signing off,