Mental Health: Hope and Recovery

Apr 30 2024 68

Mental Health: Hope and Recovery Podcast artwork

Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn have both fought and overcome severe, chronic mental illnesses, and offer an insider’s approach to mental health. They share inspirational true stories and a host of recovery skills. Episodes examine conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance use and eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, and other major illnesses. You’ll learn about treatment options, coping skills, goal setting, relationships, and mindfulness. Helen and Valerie are your peers. They are not a substitute for qualified counseling or other mental health resources. They are not professionals, but they are experts through their own lived experience with multiple mental health conditions. Please join them on their journey.

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Thriving and Recovery: It is Possible to Move from Surviving to Thriving with a Mental Illness!

Apr 30 2024 60 mins

In this episode, Valerie and Helen pursue the holy grail of recovery—thriving in the aftermath of mental illness. For centuries, the ability to thrive would seem almost inconceivable, as traditional treatments focused on the cessation of symptoms and basic survival. But recent studies prove that thriving is possible, even for those who’ve suffered from severe, long-term illness

Loneliness Part Two: Pathways to Connection

Mar 25 2024 47 mins

Loneliness has been declared the new American epidemic by the U.S. Surgeon General. Its destructive impact on an individual life and on society as a whole was explored in the previous episode. Nowhere is loneliness more debilitating and dangerous than for those with mental health challenges. In this second part, Valerie and Helen provide multiple methods for overcoming loneliness t

Loneliness: The New American Epidemic

Feb 29 2024 53 mins

In May 2023, the US Surgeon General declared loneliness a national epidemic. Greater than one in two adult Americans report being lonely. Given the damaging and sometimes lethal impact that loneliness can have on mental health, Valerie and Helen take listeners into the deep-rooted causes and destructive consequences of loneliness within the individual and society. Rampant lonelines

Women and Mental Health

Jan 30 2024 72 mins

Women and Mental Health is an episode with explosive revelations about women and their mental health journeys. The cruel biases of the past, enlightened advances in to the present, promising breakthroughs for future treatment and recovery. Valerie and Helen delve deep into the complex, unique issues of women with mental health challenges, and the long journey of progress over preju

Valerie's Mindfulness Favorites of 2023

Dec 13 2023 29 mins

Mindfulness is an effective tool for achieving serenity in any moment. At this hectic time of the year, honing our mindfulness skills is especially helpful. In this third annual Mindfulness Favorites episode, Valerie shares her favorite exercises of 2023. Pulled from one of the exercises that ends each episode of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, the first exercise this year is The

Men and Mental Health: The Facts and a Personal Perspective

Dec 02 2023 74 mins

This is the first of an unprecedented two-part series. Valerie and Helen dig deep into the similarities, differences, and clashes between the genders as they deal with mental health challenges. In this episode, they begin with Men and Mental Health. As they explore the male response to symptoms, treatment, and relationships, some surprising and often disconcerting differences come

The Healing Synergy of Creativity and Recovery

Nov 14 2023 43 mins

In ancient times, the prevailing belief was that madness and creativity were sublime gifts from the gods. Who knew the opposite would prove to be true today? Creativity and art are reliant on mental health, mental health is reliant on creativity and art. In this exciting episode, Valerie and Helen reveal the cutting edge science that proves creative expression has a direct healing

The Need for Grit and Determination in Achieving Recovery

Sep 29 2023 63 mins

Who knew grit and determination could be so essential to the pursuit and achievement of recovery from mental health issues? Valerie and Helen begin with a brilliant book, "Grit," by Angela Duckworth, and go on to explore the impact of grit on mental health. They begin with the basic definition: "Grit is a combination of passion and perseverance for a long-term goal." From there, th

Powerful Stories of Recovery: The Journeys of Stacy and Kimberly

Aug 26 2023 82 mins

If you're searching for inspiration and uplift, look no further. Valerie and Helen will provide you with an escape from the doldrums needed by all of us after a long, hot summer. In this episode, two extraordinary guests, Kimberly and Stacy, tell their powerful stories of recovery from mental health challenges. Due to dramatic conditions and setbacks, they have overcome many severe

Dissecting Depression: The Background, the Battle, and the Breakthroughs -- Part Two

Aug 08 2023 69 mins

Join Valerie and Helen as they delve into the second half of their examination of depression. While Depression Part 1 presented an in-depth look at the many facets of the illness and its profound impact on the individual and society, Part 2 focuses on the expanding potential for recovery. Through treatment methods and strategies, relationships, and dazzling breakthroughs in science