Getting Over the Wrong Relationship with Sean Bridges

ReThreading Madness

#Fitness #Mental Health #ReThreading Madness Radio

24:35

It’s the very first episode of The Big Pitch with Jimmy Carr and our first guest is Phil Wang! And Phil’s subgenre is…This Place is Evil. We’re talking psychological torture, we’re talking gory death scenes, we’re talking Lorraine Kelly?! The Big Pitch with Jimmy Carr is a brand new comedy podcast where each week a different celebrity guest pitches an idea for a film based on one of the SUPER niche sub-genres on Netflix. From ‘Steamy Crime Movies from the 1970s’ to ‘Australian Dysfunctional Family Comedies Starring A Strong Female Lead’, our celebrity guests will pitch their wacky plot, their dream cast, the marketing stunts, and everything in between. By the end of every episode, Jimmy Carr, Comedian by night / “Netflix Executive” by day, will decide whether the pitch is greenlit or condemned to development hell! Listen on all podcast platforms and watch on the Netflix Is A Joke YouTube Channel . The Big Pitch is a co-production by Netflix and BBC Studios Audio. Jimmy Carr is an award-winning stand-up comedian and writer, touring his brand-new show JIMMY CARR: LAUGHS FUNNY throughout the USA from May to November this year, as well as across the UK and Europe, before hitting Australia and New Zealand in early 2026. All info and tickets for the tour are available at JIMMYCARR.COM Production Coordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries Production Manager: Mabel Finnegan-Wright Editor: Stuart Reid Producer: Pete Strauss Executive Producer: Richard Morris Executive Producers for Netflix: Kathryn Huyghue, Erica Brady, and David Markowitz Set Design: Helen Coyston Studios: Tower Bridge Studios Make Up: Samantha Coughlan Cameras: Daniel Spencer Sound: Charlie Emery Branding: Tim Lane Photography: James Hole…

about a year ago 1:00:01

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Sean Bridges, award-winning screenwriter and author, had never been married until at the age of 55, he found, what he described as, the love of his life. He was about to be married. He was her fourth husband (to-be). Then something in his gut started shaking him awake to the realization that his life and his own personage had morphed into something he didn’t recognize; didn’t feel comfortable in. He packed his bags and left the million-dollar home he and his fiancé lived in. Traded it for a bartending job in a small town. And slowly found himself again. He talks with us about what happened and what he did to put the pieces back together.
Sean Bridges is a Stephen King Dollar Baby with his festival winning audio production of One for the Road. His latest screenplay, Beginner's Luck, is a 2024 award-winner at the San Antonio and Austin Film Festivals. His new novel, Gunbarrel Highway, will be released as a paperback, e-book and audio book on November 20th. He lives and works in the Texas Hill Country, in central Texas USA
Music by Fearless Soul and Shari Ulrich

98 episodes

Getting Over the Wrong Relationship with Sean Bridges

ReThreading Madness

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

98 episodes

#Fitness #Mental Health #ReThreading Madness Radio

All episodes

1
Therapy Harm Resistance Project with Natalie Russ 59:59

11 days ago59:59

59:59

Therapy Harm Resistance Project with Natalie Russ Natalie Russ is a psychologist and psychotherapist, with a background in dialogue and deliberation, training pedagogy, and community organizing. She was harmed in a twelve-year psychodynamic therapy beginning in adolescence, as well as in post-harm therapies with well-meaning therapists who, like most in the mental health industry are not trained to support therapy harm survivors. In addition to content creation, she writes and publishes poetry on her therapy harm and post-abuse therapy experiences. Her particular areas of interest include post-abuse therapies and therapist education on working with therapy harm survivors. (taken from https://www.natalierusspsyd.com/therapy-harm) Natalie Russ joins us to discuss her recent work establishing the Therapy Harm Resistance Project (THRP), an advocacy and support endeavor to address therapy harm as a disavowed reality in the mental health field. We are creating content and resources for survivors, clients, and therapists, hoping to support a broader and ever-growing therapy harm resistance movement. We seek to join others within the therapy harm resistance space to build conversation and capacity. This movement needs a thriving ecosystem of activism, advocacy, scholarship, training, and victim/survivor support infrastructure. Music by Shari Ulrich, Jann Arden,…

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Nothing About Us Without Us with Caroline Mazel-Carlton from Wildflower Alliance 1:00:00

17 days ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Nothing About Us Without Us with Carolie Mazel-Carlton Caroline Mazel-Carlton is a suicide attempt survivor who, since moving out of a staffed psychiatric group home in 2009, has worked tirelessly to create change in the mental health system and has developed and re-defined peer roles in a number of settings in the public and private sector. She works with Wildflower Alliance, which “supports healing and empowerment for our broader communities and people who have been impacted by psychiatric diagnosis, trauma, extreme states, homelessness, problems with substances and other life-interrupting challenges.” They do this through peer support, alternative healing practices, providing education, and advocacy. Essential to their work is “recognizing and undoing systemic injustices such as racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, transmisogyny, and psychiatric oppression.” On this program we talk about the incredible healing value of peer support and harm reduction around suicide. Music by Shari Ulrich and We Three…

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Mad Pride Art Café 2025 with Richard Lett, CR Avery, and Lea Taranto 1:00:00

25 days ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Mad Pride Art Café 2025 with Richard Lett, CR Avery, and Lea Taranto Trigger Warning: some of the language used in creative material may be offensive to some people. These three artists performed live at the Mad Pride Art Café at the Gathering Place in downtown Vancouver, BC. Richard brought his particular form of comedy and spoken word. CR performed musical/spoken word pieces that can only be heard to fully appreciate. And Lea gave us a reading from her new book A Drop in the Ocean. Music: Shari Ulrich, Shawn Mendes, Jelly Roll, and Scott…

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Living Your Truth w Tavares and Bernadine 36:12

7 weeks ago36:12

36:12

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Building Self-Worth with Tavares Garrett 1:00:01

9 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Building Self-Worth with Tavares Garrett Tavares A. Garrett CNC, CPT, BCS is a “Health & Transformation Educator, Motivational Speaker, Mentor, Author, Servant Leader, Energy Giver/Healer, Podcast and TV Host. He's certified by NASM (National Academy Of Sports Medicine) and is the owner of The Body Synthesis.” As you listen you will recognize that Tavares is someone who uses his skill to connect and listen with people to create an environment to help that individual build self-worth. He comes and chats with Bernadine to talk about what are the ingredients to transform pain and trauma into rediscovering self and building self-worth: necessary for taking action and making change happen. “He loves to help others re-build & rediscover themselves through nutrient-rich, preventative medicine coaching, behavioral change, fit-nutrition, sobriety support and enlightenment.” Tavares has published several books including, “Kissed by the Wind” “A book of Poems and Passions” Volumes 1, 2 & 3 and “I Like That” A Book of Inspirational quotes, The Body Synthesis - Guide To A Better Mind, Guide To A Better Body, The P.F.O. Method and is the Host of Living Your Truth w/ Tavares & The Black Love Xperience Podcast.” Music by Shari Ulrich, Ana Clendening, Omar Rudberg…

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Raising Drug-Resistant Kids with Elisa Fortes Christiansen 1:00:40

10 weeks ago1:00:40

1:00:40

Raising Drug Resistant Kids with Elisa Fortise Christiansen Elisa Fortise Christensen joins RTM to discuss her 30-year history of addiction with prescription drugs which she developed after a back injury. She has been clean for many years but that addiction spurred her on to examine how to protect her kids from the same fate. Elisa is an American author, poet and public speaker who has been through some real-life challenges but who lives her life with gratitude, love and passion. She has written 8 books all of which focus on approaching life with what she calles “crazy courage and deep gratitude.” We sat down to discuss the material she has outlined in her book “Teen Warrior: Raising Drug-Resistant Kids” You can find more information about Elisa at https://www.authorelisa.com Music by Jelly Roll and Shari Ulrich…

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Judy and I on Dissociative Identities 1:00:01

12 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Judy and I on Dissociative Identities This program comes out of seeing one more untrained therapist postulate that folks with dissociative identities (formerly known as multiple personalities) are rare and dysfunctional or simply do not exist. Judy and I are here to push back against this assumption that couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you are a woman in Canada and haven’t heard of Judy Rebick, you haven’t been paying attention. Judy is a Canadian writer, journalist, political activist, and is considered one of Canada’s leading feminists. She was the former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) and held the Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy. She rubbed elbows and engaged with politicians in intense discussions. She has been the TV host for CBC programs and was the founder and publisher for rabble.ca. Judy is known as a vocal spokesperson to legalize abortion and taking on a protestor with a pair of garden shears pointed at Dr. Morgentaler. She is the author of Heroes in My Head (2018) which outlines not just her political life but that of her personalities. And while my audience has come to know me over the years, for the purpose of this program it is important that I fill you in a bit more. I am a graduate of Emily Carr University and an established visual artist, curator, and instructor. I worked as a film production manager before becoming a peer support worker and consultant for those with childhood trauma and dissociative identities. For 30 years, I have been an award-winning mental health advocate and am the host of this program which is Canada’s longest-running syndicated show on mental health where we disregard colonial-based ideas about mental health and the DSM. I am a survivor of human trafficking and spent years speaking out against organized crime. I currently provide peer support through TELL the Therapy Exploitation Link Line to survivors of therapy abuse and exploitation. I am a public speaker providing workshops on TAE and facilitating peer support groups for fellow survivors. And I have, like Judy, authored a memoir, Coming to Voice, which chronicles surviving an abuse therapist and the role my dissociative identities played in saving my life. So to dispel the myth that folks with DI are fragile and dysfunctional, Judy and I are here to answer the questions sent into ReThreading Madness listeners of what DI is from our lived experience.…

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ADHD, PTSD, and Autism with Randi-Lee Bowslaugh 1:00:01

13 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

ADHD, PTSD, and Autism with Randi-Lee Bowslaugh Randi-Lee Bowslaugh is a fellow warrior out there around the issue of mental health awareness fighting the inappropriate stigma we face as folks who live with mental health challenges. Randi-Lee is an author and outspoken advocate for mental health. She has lived with depression from the age of 14 years and was eventually diagnosed with autism and PTSD as an adult. She is the host of the Write or Die Show a podcast that you can find on You tube. And of course, like so many of us, as a well-rounded person she has other sides to her. One of them is kickboxing in 2015 she was a Canadian National Champion and in 2016 she won silver in Pan-Am games. Randi-Lee is also a mother and grandmother. Music by Shari Ulrich and Brandi Carlisle…

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Connection Salon & Gathering Place, Crisis Centre of BC & Kagan Goh 1:00:00

14 weeks ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Connection Salon & Gathering Place, Crisis Centre of BC & Kagan Goh In today’s program we speak with Pierre Leichner from the Connection Salon here in Vancouver BC and Carrie Campbell from the Gathering Place about their collaboration to ensure that art comes to those who live with mental health challenges. We also speak with Mark Sheehan, Program Director, and Paul Vincent, Volunteer, about the Youth Education projects bringing mental health information to youth through the Crisis Centre of BC. And then Kagan Goh joins us to talk about his upcoming documentary on mental health entitled Common Law . Music by Shari Ulrich…

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What does Mental Health, Psychiatry, and the Ouija Board have in Common? 1:00:01

16 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

What does Mental Health, Psychiatry, and the Ouija Board have in Common? Dan Nelson , is the author of Ouija Board and the Skeptic (Mad In America) and holds a BA in Philosophy, MA in Human Resources and Industrial Relations. Through twenty years of working in management systems, he knows that systems are designed to output a particular product or service and that the system was the cause of any and all undesirable results the system outputs. In this article, he states that the mental health systems are responsible for their lack of ability to assist some who live with mental health challenges. Dan writes, “Psychiatry's practices are so entrenched, its methods so accepted, that skeptics and outsiders are often dismissed as uninformed or unqualified simply because they haven’t undergone the same training that instills confidence in its frameworks. But skepticism, especially from those with lived experience, isn’t just valid—it’s necessary. It forces us to question whether our tools and methods truly serve those they claim to help.” We respond to our lives, our challenges, our struggles. Too often mental health issues are a normal and nature response to trauma. As Dan points out if the psych industry isn’t looking at the systems around their clients and changing those systems, and instead they medicate and work with the client to be able to tolerate the difficulties they are dealing with – they aren’t solving the morning. They are applying a band aid. A good example of this is how our systems are designed to pathologize the victim is schoolyard bullying. Too often the victim is expected to learn to develop new skills to deal with the bully. Often they must be extricated from the school to be protected. The bully, too often, is not confronted or restricted in ways that would prevent the bullying. Dan demonstrates how we can take that same example and apply it to the mental health system where victims come forward with mental health challenges caused by environmental factors and yet the industry will medicate the victim instead of looking at how to change the environment. The DSM and psychiatry is accepted to often without including the possibility (like with a Ouija Board) that perhaps it is not truth. Music by Shari Ulrich and Jelly Roll…

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Spotting a Coaching Scam with youtube creator Danielle Ryan 1:00:11

17 weeks ago1:00:11

1:00:11

Spotting a Coaching Scam with youtube creator Danielle Ryan Danielle Ryan describes herself as a youtube channel creator and “just a troll on the internet covering topics related to the business & life coaching industry.” As she says, part of the problem is lack of regulation and then what happens when coaches coaches to become coaches. She spends a lot of time sharing “my silly little opinions as I deep dive into *allegedly* problematic people, organizations, and techniques used to manipulate people in the space while also sprinkling in the occasional small business video.” Her channel is a mix of educational & commentary content. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsdanielleryan Website: https://danielleryan.me Music by Shari Ulrich, David Laronde, and Elizabeth Wallace…

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How Past Lives and Spiritual Experiences Impact our Mental Health with Kerie Logan 1:00:01

18 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

How Past Lives and Spiritual Experiences Impact our Mental Health with Kerie Logan While there doesn’t seem to be any scientific consensus of past lives, the correlation between them, present-day conflicts, and/or emotional baggage is significant. And the anecdotal stories include resolving problematic patterns that one has around behaviors, phobias, relationship, relationship difficulties among others. In addition, we have individuals who when they have spoken about past lives or spiritual experiences are dismissed with labels of being crazy by people around them and professionals in the mental health industry and some are simply shipped off to the psych ward. So we decided it was time to take a look at what this was and how it manifests in people's lives. Here in Western culture where so much is based on Christianity and white culture, we experience a pronounced dissonance. On one hand we are taught to believe in the bible and that Jesus rose from the dead. The Holy Ghost is recognized as a witness of God and Jesus and confirms the truth. And yet, we are told that ghosts are not real and reincarnation is the stuff of snake oil salesmen. We are taught that according to the bible angels exist, but if someone sees them, a psychiatrist will likely define that as delusions. There is nothing offered that explains those two opposites beliefs. The other truth here is that not everyone is situated in white culture and we have the benefit of learning from others where reincarnation, ancestors, and ghosts are integral to their lives. Award-winning hypnotherapist, Kerie Logan joins Bernadine to explain how our past lives or spiritual experiences may impact on our mental health. Logan has spent the last 40+ years working with people using meditation, NLP, creative visualization, relaxation, inner child work and hypnosis. She has won awards for her hypnotherapy work. ReThreading Madness talks with her about the impact past lives and spiritual experiences has on our mental health and how we might be able to resolve them. So if you have experienced past lives or angels in ways that have impacted your mental health this program is for you. Music by Shari Ulrich and Born More information about Kerie Logan at: Website: https://mastertheupperrooms.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mastertheupperrooms Podcast: On all platforms Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastertheupperrooms/ https://www.empoweredwithin.com/…

1
With Matt Sandoval from FreeArts AZ and Kagan Goh producer/director of Common Law 1:03:52

19 weeks ago1:03:52

1:03:52

With Matt Sandoval from FreeArts AZ and Kagan Goh producer/director of Common Law Matt Sandoval, is the new Executive Director for FreeArts in Arizona. FreeArts AZ provides traumatized children and their families with a means of creative expression and as means of establishing resilience and offering mentorship. And Kagan Goh talks with ReThreading Madness about his new film, Common Law, a biographical account of his experience of learning he had BiPolar and how this impacted on his relationships with his long-time girlfriend and family. Through this we learn how individuals who receive Persons With Disability in BC, are unable to keep this benefit if they enter into a common-law relationship and how that changes the relationship and their own sense of self. Kagan also talks about his preference for the term manic/depressive instead of BiPolar.…

1
I "Married" My Therapist: Ken Schultz talks about the damage he suffered 1:00:00

20 weeks ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Trigger Warnng: This episode includes information about therapy abuse and may be triggering for some folks. I Married my Therapist: Ken Schultz is an advocate for mental health reform and a survivor of therapy abuse and exploitation. He is using his personal experience of harm to raise awareness about unethical therapeutic relationships and their lasting impact. Through his story, Ken aims to inspire change in laws and practices to protect others from similar experiences. If we want to examine the power and authority mental health professionals have over their clients – Ken’s story is a prime example. He saw this therapist for 3 months and in that time frame, he went from someone who had zero attraction to being sexually exploited by her all the while believing how she defined it as ok. If we want to examine how the institutions should be assisting us after we have experienced therapy abuse and exploitation, Ken is another prime example. The therapist he was seeing reported her, then left him to deal with the fallout on his own. The Texan state licensing board narrowed his complaint down to violating one aspect of the statutes: the timeline. His “therapist” dragged out leaving the ‘marriage’ to prevent a complaint based on the allotted time. But the licensing board ignored another statute that their social workers are not allowed to have sexual contact with a current or former client – of which she clearly had violated and of which had done so within the statute of limitations. And his church and police believed her statements without any corroboration and victimized him again. Things must change. We all need to wake up to harm perpetrated against those who have experienced therapy abuse and exploitation so that we are not inadvertently exacerbating that harm that is already catastrophic in too many cases. Music by Shari Ulrich and Shawn Mendes…

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It's a New Year 1:00:01

22 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

It’s a New Year Today’s program is a slightly different structure. As we walk into the next year, several people came to share their hopes for themselves, their family and friends - with all of you. It is an uplifting show that demonstrates the amount of care and generosity that exists all around us. The program is our personal thank you to all who have been a part of the ReThreading Madness family whether as a guest or behind the scenes making sure the show goes out each week. This has been a hell of a year – monumental even. A big part of that was being able to chat with some of the most incredible people from around the world. As the host of ReThreading Madness, I consider myself blessed because of it. But also because of you, our listeners, who join us each week. Today we are joined by Jodi Grey, Charlene Hellson, Kayle Ackerman, Jackie Crowchild, Michelle Oucharek Deo, Peter Morin, Kagan Goh, Alex Sangha and Amy Avalon. Our inspirational music today was by the Animals, Sara Barielles, Anna Glendening, Rachel Platten, Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Zach Williams, Scott Callum, Peter Morin, and as always Shari Ulrich sings us into and out of each program each week. Bernadine’s personal message to our listeners: So here is wishing you a year full of caring, compassionate and supportive people, safe and gentle havens, along with personal growth, brave new insights, spontaneous, joyful fun and a trust in yourself that grows every day. But most of all she wishes for you a peace which settles into your heart as though it has always belonged there.…

ReThreading Madness

1
Importance of Lived Experience in Mental Health Issues: A Conversation with Matthew Jackman 1:00:01

24 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Importance of Lived Experience in Mental Health Issues: A Conversation with Matthew Jackman Matthew Jackman has an intense conversation with Bernadine about the importance of the recognizing the immense value of those with lived experience as we examine mental health challenges. Matthew Jackman is a mental health advocate promoting human rights, social justice … he is activist from an academic science from a public health and mad studies knowledge base. He trained as social worker and has partnered with different marginalized and disadvantaged communities which focus on mental health. Matthew is a representative, ambassador or advisor with the Global Mental Health Peer Network, the World Economic Forum, the Australian Association of Social Workers, Generation Mental Health, and the World Health Organisation on key global mental health documents requiring lived experience perspective. He is a certified peer specialist and a visiting scholar in Psychiatry at Yale and Harvard University. He focuses on alternatives to psychiatry. Most recently he has accepted the role of Commissioner on Lived Experience in Mental Health Research for the Lancet Psychiatry. For those of who do not know the Lancet is one of the oldest peer-reviewed medical journals.…

ReThreading Madness

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Getting Over the Wrong Relationship with Sean Bridges 1:00:01

27 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Sean Bridges, award-winning screenwriter and author, had never been married until at the age of 55, he found, what he described as, the love of his life. He was about to be married. He was her fourth husband (to-be). Then something in his gut started shaking him awake to the realization that his life and his own personage had morphed into something he didn’t recognize; didn’t feel comfortable in. He packed his bags and left the million-dollar home he and his fiancé lived in. Traded it for a bartending job in a small town. And slowly found himself again. He talks with us about what happened and what he did to put the pieces back together. Sean Bridges is a Stephen King Dollar Baby with his festival winning audio production of One for the Road. His latest screenplay, Beginner's Luck, is a 2024 award-winner at the San Antonio and Austin Film Festivals. His new novel, Gunbarrel Highway, will be released as a paperback, e-book and audio book on November 20th. He lives and works in the Texas Hill Country, in central Texas USA Music by Fearless Soul and Shari Ulrich…

ReThreading Madness

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A Conversation on grief... that morphs into one about death 1:00:01

29 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

A Chat about Grief… that Morphs into one about Death Rebecca Coleman joins Bernadine to chat about grief. Layers of grief the represent what she is experiencing currently in her life. However, as these things go, one conversation morphs into another and by the end of this program they are looking at the issue of death: facing it, planning for it. It is a frank, easygoing, and important conversation. Music by Shari Ulrich…

ReThreading Madness

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Theatre for Living with David Diamond 1:00:01

31 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Theatre for Living with David Diamond David Diamond joins Bernadine on ReThreading Madness to discuss his Theatre for Living Workshops. TFL, as the website states, is about empowerment. Taking the living organism, which is a community, and providing a platform for its expression to create “creative, community-based dialogue.” It sounds esoteric until you are inside the dialogue and then, as you will hear David describe, it becomes a natural process for learning, listening, healing, and recovering. As Gina Beltran commented, “The Theatre for Living workshop was a wonderful and profound experience for me. It allowed me to realize the potential of people coming together and connecting in genuine and honest ways that build meaningful and lasting relationships. In other words, it allowed me to see what a strong community can look like.” David facilitates these workshops for all sorts of groups including indigenous, recovery,…

ReThreading Madness

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Post Traumatic Growth with Joanne R. Green 1:00:01

32 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Post Traumatic Growth: Joanne Green Style Joanne R. Green joins Bernadine on ReThreading Madness to talk about what inspired her book: By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go. Joanne shares her journey through a variety of personal losses: mom, sister, father, brother and struggles like anorexia and cancer. In the midst of all that it was a car sliding into her, a pedestrian, at an ungodly speed that brought her to the place where she embraced stillness and learned to let go. Joanne talks about transforming the negative self-take we all experience, how to use gratitude in the moment, and how to turn adversity into an opportunity and that into strength.…

ReThreading Madness

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Tools for Change and Employing Forgiveness 1:00:01

36 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Tools for Change and Employing Forgiveness Rhonda Parker Taylor talks about how she learned how to support herself and cultivate meaning in the relationship she had with herself after the murder of her son. In that she used writing as a tool for change. Rhonda tells us about her journey and her fictional book Crossroads and her workbook coming out in December of 2024. Then Katharine Giovanni talks about her book, “The Ultimate Path to Forgiveness: Unlocking Your Power “giving us insight into the process of forgiveness and why it might be important for some of us to look at it.…

ReThreading Madness

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Art and Peer Support at the Coast Mental Health Resource Centre 1:00:01

37 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Art and Peer Support at the Coast Mental Health Resource Centre. Bernadine heads down to Coast Mental Health Resource Centre on Seymour St in downtown Vancouver and speaks with folks about the Art Studio which is open to anyone with a mental health challenge. Betty Yan tells us about the Peer SupportTraining Program that Coast Mental Health has developed and runs. Shahal Bozorgzadeh was trained here as a Peer Support Worker and she describes why this job is so vital to her and those she works with. Shawna Butterwick is a volunteer at the Art Studio and fills us in on the day to day activities there and then artist, Leef Evans, talks a bit about his process, his depression and Margaret, the “spider” inside him (represents his depression) and how he has come to resolve that Margaret needs to get out every once and a while. Music by Shari Ulrich, Jack Harris, and Milanda…

ReThreading Madness

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Pathologizing Trauma 1:00:01

39 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Pathologizing Trauma Trigger Warning: Description of sexual assaults. Andrea takes us on a journey through what her childhood, in the 60s and 70s, was like coping with sexual assaults from several males around her from a very young age both in and outside her family. Like other women growing up in this era, she was assaulted, blamed for it, and then punished for making men do this to her. Andrea fought back. Sexual assaults happened and her family along with the social constructs and institutions, of that time, enabled abusers and covered up their crimes while victims who were disclosing, like Andrea, were made into the problem. Her drive to survive made her doggedly save her money so she could escape her family. After graduation, she moved away to college. But physical ailments, again rooted in the sexual abuse she experienced, made her so ill the College sent her home: back to the abusive environment she had worked so hard to break free. She always knew that her difficulties were rooted in those assaults but instead of recognizing this truth the mental health industry, from whom she sought help for being unable to eat and being underweight, pathologized what were her normal reactions to trauma. Her disclosures of sexual abuse were dismissed as schizophrenic delusions. It was a diagnosis that gave everyone carte blanche to harm her with impunity. Ultimately, Andrea was put on 58 different forms of psychiatric medications including large doses of anti-psychotic meds and given ECT. Several times, doctors were shocked by the large doses she had been prescribed but didn't change it. She received no assistance, no therapy. She wasn’t regularly seen by a psychiatrist or therapist. No one talked to her. No one mentioned the abuse she had endured. Andrea broke free. This time from the mental health industry. On her own, over ten years, she weaned herself off of all the psych meds she had been prescribed. She has been med-free now for a year and is focusing her time on working to ensure other people don't go through what she did. Music by Shari Ulrich…

ReThreading Madness

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Coping with Mental Health Challenges with JaneA Kelley 1:00:01

40 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Coping with Mental Health Challenges with JaneA Kelley JaneA Kelley has throughout her life gathered mental health diagnoses. She has Bipolar 2, PTSD, and ADHD. JaneA candidly talks about these diagnoses; what they mean to her; how they complicate or add to her life; and how she copes with them. She talks about finding herself at rock bottom and the things (mostly her cats) who have brought her back forward. She talks of betrayals and of stigma that originate out of misunderstandings and the impact of her challenges. As a writer, it is no wonder she uses writing to work through these issues and find herself again. Music by Shari Ulrich, Jann Arden, Brandi Carisle…

ReThreading Madness

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Can't Eat Love with Leslie Davis 1:00:01

42 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Can't Eat Love with Leslie Davis Leslie Davis’ life moved through a haze that didn’t include her own feelings. After what she has deemed an Emotional Tsuunami, she developed a means of accessing her feelings, sorting through them, and then accepting them. For decades now, this process has proven to be a powerful healing tool. Join us as Leslie describes what this process is and how you can do it as well. music by Shari Ulrich…

ReThreading Madness

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Door knobber Diagnosis: Misdiagnosed Borderline Personality 1:00:02

46 weeks ago1:00:02

1:00:02

Door knobber Diagnosis: Misdiagnosed Borderline Personality When a client drops a therapeutic bombshell as they are leaving a session, counselors call this a “door knobber”. Lynn came to talk with Bernadine about her experience with the Borderline Personality and the door knobber that her therapist laid on her at the tail end of a phone conversation to terminate therapy. Just before she hung up, Lynn was shocked to hear the therapist say she should consider getting a therapist who works with borderline personality. After working together for 2-years where this was never mentioned, it was a casual, quick comment at the end of therapy. This is a door knobber done by the therapist. My ex-therapist told me at one point that she didn’t believe borderline existed and that therapists only give it to the clients they don’t like. And certainly, in therapy abuse it has become cliche. One after another, survivors are describing being labelled borderline after confronting an abusive therapist. Why would therapists employ borderline so often? Because one of the things people believe about those who are borderline is that they lie and make up things: ergo, victims won’t be believed that the abusive therapist did harm or sexual assault them. And once you have that label it is a sticky thing – even if it is wrong. Worse, professionals make assumptions about folks with that label – even when it is a misdiagnosis. Like Lynn’s experience, people have described being told they are borderline after the first 15- to 20-minute session. Given the level of stigma that is attached to diagnoses like this, applying them should be done with the utmost care. In fact, according to the DSM, a BPD diagnosis must be based on assessing the functioning and behaviour of the patient over a length of time AND after other diagnoses have been ruled out. What they mandate for this diagnosis is a “thorough evaluation” that provides a “comprehensive assessment” which “considers multiple sources of information, including personal history, collateral information, and a mental status examination.” Clearly this is not possible in an initial 20-min session or during a first consultation. But nonetheless, we hear of it over and over where this diagnosis is being applied all too quickly. And those who have been misdiagnosed with BPD, in particular, suffer even more from the stigma the medical and mental health community. We all need to be more careful about our professional work and our attitudes. Lynn wrote an article on this issue. It is on Medium.com and entitled “Dear Therapists: This is what BPD Stigma looks like”. Music by Shari Ulrich, Anna Clendening, Brandi, Carisle…

ReThreading Madness

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Dispelling Myths about BC Mental Health Ace with Rob Wipond 1:00:01

47 weeks ago1:00:01

1:00:01

Dispelling Myths about the BC Mental Health Act with Rob Wipond It is so very often that we hear misinformation about the BC Mental Health Act. It is so widely held and believed in some of our BC communities, that if you check yourself into a psych ward voluntarily you can leave when you want and you can refused any treatment that you feel won’t work. Rob Wipond, author of Your Consent is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships joins Bernadine Fox to discuss the BC Mental Health Act and how what we have been led to believe or told is true and what actually plays out in the psych ward are not the same. Voluntary can become involuntary just because you refuse the treatment they tell you to take. And once you are committed, here in BC, you essentially lose all human rights to advocate for your own welfare. And while you can appeal a commitment, you can be forced to take treatments for the 3 weeks it takes to actually have that hearing. And, by then whatever you were forced to take may in fact leave you unable to fully comprehend what is occurring in that hearing leaving the judge to perceive you as incompetent. After finding a pamphlet that repeated the myths to a vulnerable population, it was important to dispel these myths most likely being produced in other places across the province by well-meaning individuals. In comparison to the rest of Canada and many places in the world, BC has what many consider to be the harshest mental health system: one that eliminates the human rights of the patient. If not living in BC, we suggest that If you are someone who accesses or relies on the mental health system, it is advisable to research what is true about your mental health system when it comes to commitments (voluntary or involuntary), forced treatments, and the appeal processes so that you can better advocate for yourself or your loved ones where you live.…

ReThreading Madness

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Mad Pride Cabaret Vancouver 2024 1:00:01

47 weeks ago1:00:01

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Mad Pride Cabaret Vancouver 2024 Have you ever stepped into a room and had a bunch of mad people celebrating the chance to freely be who they are? Well that is what Mad Pride is. In 2024, Vancouver celebrated Mad Pride through the Connection Salon at the Gathering Place downtown. And this program not only talks with three of the performers at Mad Pride it showcases their work. Kagan Goh, curator and artist, brings us his spoken work, Nothing is Forged without Fire. Sandra Yuen, artisit, and David Xhediku, musician, form the band Beautiful Lizards talk about what they see Mad Pride as and then share a piece of their rock/surf music, Psychopath. And last but not least, iveno, who is a multi-media artist, counselor, and theARTist chats with us about his work in the community and then shares his piece of music, Wala20, and what he calls sound bathing. Other music by Shari Ulrich, Henry Moodie, and Fearless Soul…

ReThreading Madness

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Randy Tait on Recovery and Ceremony 1:00:01

48 weeks ago1:00:01

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Randy Tait on Recovery and Ceremony If you had gone to the 33rd Annual Women’s March it would have been hard for you to miss Randy Tait in his red jacket with matching red John Fluevog shoes. He circled the crowd bestowing eagle down on the heads of elders, guardians, and organizers. Randy is from the Nisga’a / Gitksan Nation. He has made Vancouver his home with few interruptions for many decades. He talks with us about his childhood, his addiction to alcohol, how his family and community stepped in and helped get him into recovery and how he hasn’t really looked back. He uses his recovery to help those who are continuing to struggle. Music by Shari Ulrich…

ReThreading Madness

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When it is a Therapist who Experiences Therapy Abuse and Exploitation 1:00:01

50 weeks ago1:00:01