DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast Jazmine Russell

The language we have for describing mental health challenges and suffering can constrict or expand the realm of possibilities for how we define ourselves. Sascha Altman DuBrul has spent his life challenging mainstream assumptions about mental health, what’s normal and abnormal, and built a community around shifting the narrative. Drawing from his personal experiences of getting locked up in a psych ward, he co-founded a radical mental health support group and media project (The Icarus Project) which proliferated the language of mental health concerns as ‘Dangerous Gifts,’ to be harnessed and worked with rather than obliterated and erased. Today we talk about lessons learned, the challenges and necessity of community organizing, developing ethical values as a provider outside the system, and visions for the future of mental health.

In this episode:
02:30 Sascha’s Story & The Icarus Project07:53 From Punk Rock Subcultures to Radical Mental Health 11:11 Challenges and Transitions in Mental Health Organizing 17:14 Dangerous Gifts and other language 26:46 Using Internal Family Systems to Process Shame42:35 Self-reflection in Community Organizing 51:30 A Vision for the Future



Bio

Sascha DuBrul is a writer and educator that has been facilitating workshops and community dialogues at universities, conferences, community centers and activist gatherings for more than two decades. From the anarchist squatter community in New York City to the Lacandon jungle of Chiapas, Mexico, to the Earth First! road blockades of the Pacific Northwest, Sascha is a pioneer in urban farming and creative mental health advocacy. He is the co-founder of the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library, the first urban seed library in North America, and The Icarus Project, a radical community support network and media project that’s actively redefining the language and culture of mental health and illness. He is currently working in private practice and raising two children in Oakland, California.

Sascha’s Website & Private Practice: https://www.saschadubrul.com/

Underground Transmissions Substack : https://undergroundtransmissions.substack.com/

The Icarus Project Archive and Resources: https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/about-us



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Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Are most mental health concerns a result of issues with cellular metabolism? In this episode, I discuss Dr. Chris Palmer’s 'brain energy theory,' which draws on decades of cross-disciplinary research, positing that metabolic dysfunctions throughout the body may underlie various mental health conditions. I explore how mental health, chronic illness, stress, modern lifestyle, and cellular metabolism are all related in an ongoing feedback loop. I review a landmark pilot study from Stanford on the ketogenic diet, and other research supporting this theory. This is a really exciting time for psychiatry as we move beyond neurotransmitter imbalance theories and understand the complex nuances of brain and body health. Studies such as these can promote more agency to make healthy choices and options to intervene at many levels in service of our health.

00:00 Introduction
00:26 Challenging the dominant paradigm
01:23 The Brain Energy Theory of metabolic health explained
06:00 The Role of Cellular Metabolism & Mitochondria
11:25 How our environment sets the stage
14:16 Nutritional interventions and the ketogenic diet
15:42 Case Studies and Research Findings



Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠⁠



Links


Brain Energy by Chris Palmer https://brainenergy.com/
Metabolic Mind https://www.metabolicmind.org/
Stanford Pilot Trial description: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2024/04/keto-diet-mental-illness.html
Case study of depression and anxiety: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1396685/full
Review of Keto for Mental Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11122005/



Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

“Our mental health is a cumulative product of the story of the body.” Why do mental and physical health concerns seem to go hand in hand? At which levels can and should we intervene and develop more agency in our whole health trajectory? Too many people are getting more sick with traditional interventions, but many are taking their power back and finding ways that basic and sustainable changes can change our outcomes. In this episode, I share personal and professional lessons in healing from over a dozen chronic conditions (celiac, depression, IBS, Lyme, anemia, schizophrenia, PMDD, etc.), revealing how they were all connected and how I came to understand the importance of sustainable changes. I am not here to offer a “magic pill” kind of story, but rather to reveal and embrace the complexity of healing and offer a different framework for understanding mind-body health.

In this episode we discuss:


chronic illness and mental health overlap
early cascades of symptoms that lead to chronic health crises
surprising roots causes no one ever told me about
why getting diagnosed is not enough to determine interventions
interpreting the body’s messages
why western world has worse rates of chronic illness and mental health concerns
determining the most basic and sustainable interventions



Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠



Links


chronic illness rates : https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletter-article/study-chronic-disease-increased-25-percent-over-last-decade
global chronic disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6214883/
c section and swabbing : https://www.science.org/content/article/swabbing-c-section-babies-mom-s-microbes-can-restore-healthy-bacteria
effects of overuse of antibiotics: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4939477/
pans and step bacteria: https://www.psych.theclinics.com/article/S0193-953X(22)00101-0/abstract



Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

“A new order will emerge from within the chaos” - Sara Avant Stover

Being human means experiencing loss. If we let it, these moments can propel us towards a deeper, richer inner journey. In this episode of the Depth Work podcast, Sarah Avant Stover shares her profound experiences through many circumstances of grief and heartbreak, detailing the events that led her to write her latest book. She discusses the unique nature of betrayal trauma, the transformative power of grief, and the significance of ritual and communal support in healing. Her exploration into Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and its impact on her is also highlighted. In fact, she was generous enough to demonstrate an IFS session in real time with yours truly

00:06 Sara’s story
02:13 Betrayal Trauma and Its Unique Challenges
04:14 The Transformative Power of Grief
12:16 Navigating the Early + Later Stages of Grief
14:51 Collective Grief and Community Healing
19:48 The Role of Rituals in Healing
25:20 Exploring Internal Family Systems (IFS)
32:29 Demonstrating a session - Jazmine’s parts
48:35 Understanding Inner Child Dynamics

Bio

Sara Avant Stover is an author, Certified Internal Family
Systems practitioner, and teacher and mentor of women’s
spirituality and entrepreneurship. Her work—integrating
Buddhism, embodiment, and psychology—has uplifted the
lives of countless women worldwide. She has taught at
Kripalu, 1440 Multiversity, and Shambhala Mountain
Center and has been featured in Yoga Journal, HuffPost,
Newsweek, Natural Health, and more. She lives in Boulder,
Colorado. For more, visit saraavantstover.com.

Links


Handbook for the Heartbroken: A Woman's Path from Devastation to Rebirth
By Sara Avant Stover https://www.soundstrue.com/products/handbook-for-the-heartbroken?variant=43436021809351
Website https://saraavantstover.com/about
Programs: https://saraavantstover.com/offerings
Podcast: https://saraavantstover.com/podcast/

Resources Mentioned


Jody Day https://gateway-women.com/
Sobonfu Some https://www.sobonfu.com/
Daniel Foor https://ancestralmedicine.org/bio/

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

https://depthwork.substack.com/

Its becoming more well known that gut health impacts mental health, but with the rise of ‘wellness culture’ how do we separate fact from fiction? Dr. Supriya Rao of Gutsy Girl MD bridges the gap between medicine and lifestyle to give patients simple and effective support for gut health, motility, and nutrition. We talk about the topics patients are often too embarrassed to discuss (elimination!), what trauma has to do with the gut, and the things we can do each day to support ourselves.

In this episode we discuss:


how gut health is linked to mental health
the enteric nervous system and trauma
why it’s important to screen for sexual abuse
motility and issues with constipation and diarrhea
simple effective nutrition tips
6 pillars of lifestyle medicine
dispelling wellness myths

Bio

Dr. Supriya Rao (she/her) is a quadruple board-certified physician in internal medicine, gastroenterology, obesity medicine and lifestyle medicine who focuses on digestive disorders, gut health, obesity medicine, and women's health and wellness. She received her undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after which she graduated from Duke University School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine from the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to complete her fellowship in Gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center. She joined Integrated Gastroenterology Consultants in 2014 and is now a managing partner. She completed further certification in obesity and lifestyle medicine and is the Director of Medical Weight Loss at Lowell General Hospital and runs the Metabolic & Lifestyle Medicine Program at IGIC. She also runs the motility program, which focuses on disorders of the esophagus, irritable bowel syndrome and anorectal disorders. She is passionate about empowering people to improve their health through sustainable changes in their lifestyle. She enjoys cooking, traveling, running, yoga and spending time with family and friends. You can also find Dr. Rao on Instagram @gutsygirlmd.



Links

https://www.gutsygirlmd.com/



Sessions & Information about the host:

Get bonus episodes now on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/

⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.