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Realizing what your human needs are is a total game-changer. It's what I talk about in my program's 3rd principle. Back when I didn't even know what 'needs' meant, I'd just push mine aside and focus on everyone else. But here's the kicker: that whole cycle of neglecting our own needs? It's a trap. We may not realize how we've suffered by neglecting our needs as we try to understand why we self-sabotage ourselves on a daily basis. But when your sense of self is built upon a system of survival and your personality is shaped by trauma responses, all while trying to obtain something you've never had and don't know how to get, it's one of the most helpless states to be in. Let me tell you, I used to have no clue what I even needed. And surprise, surprise, I ended up with partners who couldn't meet those invisible needs either. It's like we're playing this weird game of emotional hide-and-seek without even knowing the rules! Think back to when you were a kid—what did you really crave? Or what didn’t you have that you've now normalized as non-existence? Maybe it was love, or just feeling safe and cared for. Those unmet needs often shape how we act as grown-ups. Maybe you're always putting others first, forgetting about yourself in the process. Crazy thing is, we can still get our needs met, but sometimes it's in counterproductive ways like people-pleasing. But hey, that's where my latest podcast comes in. Well, my latest podcast dives deep into this stuff. It's not just a chat—it's a game-changer. Trust me, it'll make you rethink how you look at yourself and those around you. Kate Hastings Podcast  Phenyx Fit Kate Hastings Podcast  Mental Health Coach      ----------------------------------------------   Experience Virtual Regenerative Medicine, dedicated to optimizing your health with Mission Med+. Say goodbye to hassle and hello to safe, effective, and efficient care—the Mission Med Way! As our valued listener, you can enjoy a generous offer: receive $100 off your first month, plus complimentary shipping when you mention KH Podcast. Getting started is easy—reach out to them via call, text at 305-748-2517, or DM @missionmed.plus, and the dedicated team will handle everything for you!   Dr Kristen Oakes  305-748-2517 @missionmed.plus https://missionmedus.com

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This week, we have an interview with Monica Cassani. Monica has seen the mental health system from both sides – as a social worker and as a person whose life was severely ruptured by psychiatric drugs. She writes critically about the system, as well as holistic pathways of healing without medication. 

Monica’s website, Everything Matters Beyond Meds, is comprehensive library of information containing more than 5,000 blog posts, information articles, videos, personal experiences and shares many natural methods of self-care for finding and sustaining health in body, mind and spirit. Her blog also deals with wider issues in the socio/political and spiritual realms as they pertain to mental health and human rights issues surrounding psychiatry.

I was keen to ask Monica about her own experiences of the psychiatric system, how a persons sensitivity can be affected by psychiatric treatment and how she helps and supports others to achieve health in body, mind and spirit.

In this episode, we discuss:

▪How Monica came to be involved with the psychiatric system

▪How treatment was repeatedly forced on Monica

▪That the lack of information available meant that Monica felt she had no alternatives to the standard model of treatment

▪That she was threatened with committal to a State Asylum

▪How, because of the medications, Monica became non verbal and had difficulty walking

▪The betrayal that Monica felt after trusting and being failed by the medical system

▪How she has been drug free for more than 8 years after being on a substantial cocktail of five different medications for over 25 years

▪That Monica became focussed on getting past the drugs and on her work and took a harm reduction approach to getting off her medications

▪How Monica saw her withdrawal from the drugs as a rebellion and felt emancipated once she was medication free

▪That Monica witnessed clients struggling with the drugs and even, tragically, dying from their effects

▪How Monica views hypersensitivity and its relation to her healing

▪That Monica feels, in some ways, far healthier now than before the drugs but in other respects she feels that she struggles with things that others may find easy

▪That hypersensitivity seems to be common in those who have taken or withdrawn from psychiatric drugs

▪That most in the mental health system do not have the necessary experience to help those who have struggled with their medications

▪How Monica came to set up and invest time in her blog: Everything Matters Beyond Meds

▪How Monica was inspired by the work of the journalist Philip Dawdy and motivated by her family

▪How Everything Matters Beyond Meds combines science and holistic approaches in presenting options for people to support their health and wellbeing

▪That Monica takes a hands off approach to helping  and supporting others because she recognises the coercive nature of medical approaches and respects the right of the individual to choose for themselves

▪How people taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs tend to neglect their bodies and that preparation is important before tapering off medications

▪That diet is particularly important when considering withdrawing from psychiatric drugs

To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt

Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/oTo3g1

To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com

© Mad in America 2017