The Broken Brain

It's US Thanksgiving, and in Broken Brain Tradition we are busting out an episode on the use and effects of gratitude on psychological health. We discover some deeper insights into what gratitude means, how to access it, circumvent our own defensiveness, and what it has to do with acceptance. This is a Broken Brain Round-Up Panel Discussion with former guests. Everyone on our panel is also neuro-divergent, representing Bipolar DO, ADHD, PTSD, Anxiety, and BPD. Joining today are: Abi Perez of the Friends of Freinds Podcast Hannah Boone of the Disordered Podcast Meg Boberg, professional writer, mental health advocate, and anticipatory-grief blogger Chris Revill of Let's Chat with Revill and Friends and the Let's Chat podcasting community

The Loki series from Marvel Studios is pretty fantastic, but what can two mental health nerds discover hidden within its storyline? Turns out it is quite a bit. We discuss redemption, narcissism, self-loathing, healing, dysfunctional relationships, fear, and probably some other stuff. Friend of the show Sharon Blady is here to talk about insights into these psychological elements of Loki. Follow Sharon's work with superpower-based mental health at www.speak-up.co

This is a re-play of an episode recorded about a year-and-a-half ago with Dr. Hayes. Great guy, great conversation. Our recent episode on neurodiversity reminded me of this chat. Enjoy! Dr. Stephen Hayes is the creator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a discipline founded in Cognitive Psychology that includes powerful methods for dealing with depression, anxiety, and trauma. He's also a fun-spirited guy, and a joy to talk to. His passion for people and his outlook on "why it's so hard to be a person," is helpful and healing. ( www.stevenchayes.com ) Our featured charity this week is the Posse Foundation, a group that helps students through high school all the way past college, training youth to be tomorrow's leaders. Check them out at possefoundation.org

Sydney Aronin is an entertainer, actor, screenwriter, and an individual who has been diagnosed with Autism & ADHD. She is starting the "How (Neuro)Typical" podcast, where she and a NeuroTypical (NT) individual will be talking, joking, and educating about the differences in the way they view the world. Follow her on Instagram @sydsvery. She joined me to discuss Autism, neurodiversity, the depiction of Autism in media, educational accomodations, and some more stuff. A fun and informative conversation, glad to share it with you. There is a bonus segment with Sydney available on the Patreon for subscribers, with the Do's & Don'ts of NTs and NDs living together. Go to www.patreon.com/brokenbrain to subscribe. ALSO, the first 5 people who share a link to this episode on Twitter will receive a copy of Temple Grandin's "The Autistic Brain."

Replay of my interview with Chris Revill, who has just placed the LEt's Chat podcast on temporary hiatus. Chris still joins me for The Broken Chat, a regular Patreon only show about pop culture recommendations, career goals, and podcasting. Chris joins me today to discuss his powerful experience with PTSD following the near-death of his wife Victoria at the birth of their daughter. His journey through this psychological crisis was aided by supportive family, therapy, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy.

Happy Halloween 2021 Braniacs! Darryl Mansel, The Seed himself, stopped by from Poprika Reviews to introduce us to his favorite scary-times movie: John Carpenter's The Thing from 1982. You may recognize it as the classic horror movie that you felt vaguely reminded of when you first played Among Us. Check out Darryl's movie reviews and more at the Poprika Reviews podcast feed in your podcatcher of choice. Then join the Poprika FaceBook group for fun, non-problematic fandom, and check out www.patreon.com/poprikareviews for bonus materials.

In some ways Marvel's "What If" series on Disney + is the most comic booky of comic book properties. Marvel projects have been on the small and big screen so much that we are playing out alternate timelines and what-if options like...well, like a comic book series would do. And if we are talking comics, we are talking with Sharon! Frequent Broken Braniac Sharon Blady is here talking about he alternate timelines in "What If," the psychological elements contained in these stories, and how they can help[ with processing emotions and improve mental health.

The Broken Brain check-in with our man in the UK Himself: Josh Wood! A regular guest on the podcast, Josh is a Healthcare Advocate and the Business Manager for Improving Lives, a nonprofit organization in Nottingham. We discuss the status of the COVID crisis, relaxation and comparison of safety measures, Employment trends, and probably some other things... Learn more about Josh's work and Improving Lives at improvinglives.org.uk

One symptom of ADHD that isn't discussed as widely is Time Blindness. This is a quick tip episode defining Time Blindness and giving two suggested ways that people deal with this in their day-to-day life.

Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings contains a story filled with psychological elements, including trauma, death, loss, anger, and (very) complicated family dynamics. Sharon and Dwight break it down on today's episode. Sharon Blady is a frequent guest on the Broken Brain Podcast. She is the former Health Minister of the Province of Manitoba, and is the founder of Speak Up with Sharon Blady. Learn more about her work at https://www.speak-up.co/