Suicide is something most folks just don't bring up... Yet, the problem is palpable. Statistically, someone completes an attempt every 40 seconds. The good news is that suicide is 100% preventable and that you don't need to be a professional to help. You just need resources.

Welcome to QuaranTimes - a special series by Mental Note Podcast about the big worlds we inhabit in our suddenly smaller daily lives. Each episode will give a new perspective on mental health, social distancing, and coping with isolation. Our first episode brings us to the digital stage of our favorite drag queen, Eric Dorsa aka Fonda Koxx.

Secrets are one of the heaviest burdens we will ever carry. And while their release can feel euphoric, it's hard not to worry about the fallout from sharing what's inside. Along our mental health journeys, secrets often play a sinister role in keeping us locked into shame.

Growing up gay, Christian, and the son of a church pastor in The South, author and podcast creator BT Harman knew how to suppress his own voice in order to fit in. Yet, at what costs?

Treatment for mental health issues rarely receives the same level of community support that a more visible struggle, like major surgery, does. But our friend, Shay, is out to change that. A straight male who received treatment for anorexia, Shay experienced push back from some of his closest friends when he made the choice to seek professional help.

Today's episode features the trailblazing expert on difficult to treat cases of eating and mood disorders, Dr. Delia Aldridge. We'll discuss your questions for her about why diets don't work, how self-harm and eating disorders are connected, what treatment looks like, and the long term complications of restrictive eating - so please pass this along to anyone you know who will benefit from her knowledge!

Lindsey Hall feels like a giant, eight-year-long black hole devoured her late teens and 20's. Years that should have been spent figuring out who she was and what she cared about were erased by something called "Drunkorexia" - a nonmedical term for the fusion of alcoholism and anorexia.

Back in 2011, Jennifer Pharr Davis set the record for fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail for both men and women. Afterward, she backpacked over 14,000 miles on 6 different continents, wrote 8 books, and started Blue Ridge Hiking Company in Asheville, NC.

Most people assume athletics and healthy bodies are synonymous. But the truth is much more complicated. For researcher Traci Carson, sports were her world - from elementary school through college she excelled at soccer, track, football, and women's rowing.

Author Alisa Kennedy Jones woke up to a seemingly normal day, oblivious to the fact that it was the last day of her "normal" life... No stranger to tough jobs, Alisa had worked hard to build a thriving career as a copywriter and brand strategist for the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, General Electric, Coca-Cola, Disney, and Marvel.

23 - You! Every year in honor of Eating Recovery Day, we flip the script and devote our whole show to the recovery letters of those who listen. Today you'll hear from people in recovery, family members, service providers, and other loved ones.

What if your story has the potential to reshape the world? Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild, the New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, and the novel Torch.

Have you ever felt crippled by anxiety and the traumatic effects of life? If so, join us for this enlightening episode as we hear from McCall Dempsey (you may remember her from episode #14). She shares the process of choosing to stay in eating disorder recovery even in the midst of depression, trauma, and PTSD.

Johanna Kandel grew up the daughter of parents who survived the Holocaust and with roots in deep poverty - traumas that continued to shape her life even though she was born long after they occurred. We explore how her body image issues and eating disorder unfolded and why it took years to receive a diagnosis and find treatment.

It takes an incredible amount of will, talent, and work to become a major league baseball player. So why did the former catcher for the Seattle Mariners, Mike Marjama, give it all up to share his story?

Before starting your New Year's diet, you'll want to check out this episode as we dip our toes into the world of Christie Dondero Bettwy. After a long history of dieting to get others' approval while also falling into an eating disorder, she is fighting back against assumptions about "health" that hurt people far more than they help them.

What happens when your child is diagnosed with an eating disorder? Where do you go for help? How does it affect your community? When Beth Ayn's daughter received a diagnosis of anorexia, she set out on a journey that led her to unexpected places.

Binge Eating Disorder is grossly underdiagnosed and can leave dramatical devastation in its wake. So how do you find your way in a culture that makes it so difficult for us to rise above diets, shame-based choices, and self-hatred?  We sit down with Andy McLoughlin and talk about his lifelong journey to shed the darkness of his disorder and embrace a fulfilling life.  Mental Note is sponsored by Eating Recovery Center and Insight Behavioural Health Centers.

Sunnie never knew she had OCD. Rather, this mom of six simply soldiered on - doing her best to ignore the disturbing voices in her head. That is until a diagnosis finally opened her eyes to a whole new world where she could be free from her mental prison.  Join us as we journey with her through the process of dividing her own identity from that of the disorder.

There once was a 14-year-old girl named McCall who didn't know how to fit into her own body. Her resulting sadness launched a 15-year long journey through the pitfalls of dieting pills, along the cliff edge of weight loss to the point of an eating disorder diagnosis, down the narrow path of making a choice to recover, and into the breakthrough of discovering an antidote to shame.

We often deal with firsthand stories on this podcast and what happens when a person finally decides to tackle a seemingly insurmountable mental health illness. But what about those who walk alongside such a person in struggle? Where's their story?

Just imagine feeling out of place in your own skin - that the actual physical container of your person just doesn't mesh with what you know to be true.

On this special episode, we listen to you in celebration of Eating Recovery Day on May 1st! The responses we got from your gratitude letters were simply too good not to share and we wanted to present them back to you, allowing their power to speak for themselves.

On today's episode, we are sitting down with Shannon Kopp. She made it through a family divided by alcoholism, personal struggles with bulimia, and into a future where she is thriving - all with the help of some friends who barely understood a word she said, yet generously gave the love they had with wet noses and furry kisses.  Check out our website for a free values sort!

We all see the dramatic photos of celebrities looking toned and thin immediately following the birth of their child... Is that really what we should strive for? Join us as we talk frankly with Lauren Hill about her experiences with body image and pregnancy.

Professional athletes gain or lose potentially millions of dollars based on the way their bodies look and perform. But what happens when the pursuit of perfection shipwrecks your life? Patrick Devenny walks us through how he suddenly found himself - a 6'3", muscled, and fine-tuned athlete - facing a diagnosis of bulimia...

Ana Agarrat fills up the room. She's bubbly & gregarious-the type of person that, upon meeting her, you assume she's one of those people who has it all together. Yet, perceptions are misleading.

The holidays are not always Hallmark-card-perfect. Sometimes they are just as much a reminder of who we have lost in our lives as those we are grateful to have. Join us as we talk with Laura and her Mom, Mary Ellen, about how to honor loss and make space for hope in our holiday celebrations.

Robyn Cruze has lived an adventurous life to say the least - an actor from an early age, she's chased big dreams, failed in even bigger ways, and not only survived but has discovered a fullness of life she never thought possible.

How often do you associate binge eating with trekking to the top of the highest peak in Africa? We thought so... Join us as we talk with Kara Richardson Whitely, author of the book Gorge, about her lifelong journey towards recovery from Binge Eating Disorder and it's ramifications in her life.

Life for someone like Eric Dorsa can look pretty fabulous. He's one of San Antonio's hottest drag queens, his TED talk has been viewed over 240,000 times, and he has a host of people who love and support him daily. Yet, getting to this place proved far from easy.

Kelli's life seemed perfect from the outside : mother of two, active in church, a successful career, and loving husband. However, her story is a little more complicated than that. She's 8 years into recovery after nearly 30 years of anorexia, alcohol addiction, over exercise, depression and suicidality.

Nicole had big plans from an early age - excel at school, take the Ivy League world by storm, and never stop exploring. But when an eating disorder prompted her to drop out of high school, she was left wondering if she'd ever dream again.

Meet Mental Note - a new podcast highlighting both the work and the beauty of mental health recovery. Stories will span a variety of mental illness struggles, introduce you to relatable personalities, and dive deep into how they chose health amidst daunting illnesses. At the end of it all, we will provide hope that recovery is possible-and worth it.