Even Tacos Fall Apart

MommaFoxFire
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  • MENTAL HEALTH
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The "Even Tacos Fall Apart" talk show includes interviews with actual mental health professionals and conversations where real people talk about the messy side of mental illness, disabilities, wellness and life in general. My goal is to normalize mental health conversations and reduce the stigma around illnesses. We all struggle at different times in our lives, but that doesn't mean we're unlovable - after all, Tacos Fall Apart and WE STILL LOVE THOSE! mommafoxfire is a MH advocate and variety gaming streamer on Twitch: twitch.tv/mommafoxfire tacosfallapart.com

  1. The Troubled-Teen Industry with Dr. Corey Jentry

    4 DAYS AGO

    The Troubled-Teen Industry with Dr. Corey Jentry

    If you're a parent of a struggling teen, work with young people, or just want to understand how billion-dollar industries profit from family desperation, this episode pulls back the curtain on the troubled-teen industry with survivor and author Dr. Corey Jentry. More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/dr-corey-jentry Most people who survive the troubled-teen industry want nothing to do with it ever again. Dr. Corey Jentry is not most people. On this episode of Even Tacos Fall Apart, Corey takes us through his journey from survivor to advocate. He didn't set out to be a voice for reform because of some grand altruistic calling. He got pissed off. And honestly, that's probably the most human reason there is. After escaping one of these so-called therapeutic programs as a teenager, Corey did what a lot of survivors do. He tried to move on. He went to Europe for his education and earned a PhD from the London School of Economics studying power structures and systemic violence. His European friends would hear his story and shrug it off as "so American" because these facilities simply don't exist in countries with regulated healthcare systems. That cultural distance actually helped him heal for a while. But life has a funny way of pulling you back. Corey ended up working as a business consultant in the behavioral health industry. Seeing these operations from the inside reactivated trauma he didn't know he still carried. He started recognizing faces from his past. Former practitioners still running programs. Other survivors still fighting to be believed. Then Paris Hilton went public with her story. Corey watched industry insiders dismiss her as a troublemaker and a liar. That's when something clicked. He had insider access and academic credentials. He was a survivor himself. And he realized that most of the stories getting attention were from female survivors. Male victims of these programs needed a voice too. The result is his book "Selling Sanity: The Troubled Teen Industry, The Insane Profits, and The Kids Who Pay the Price." But Corey didn't want to write just another survivor memoir... He also wanted to expose the business mechanics behind these operations and the macro-level problems that allow them to thrive. During our conversation, Corey breaks down how America's fragmented healthcare system creates what he calls "a target rich environment" for facilities preying on desperate middle-class families. He explains the anti-regulation mindset that lets everyone pass the buck on oversight. Federal agencies point to states, states point to counties, counties point to cities... and nobody takes real responsibility. We also talk about the myth of quick fixes in mental healthcare. Corey references a book by Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield called "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry." The title says it all. Mental health isn't something you microwave. It's like brushing your teeth. You don't see the benefit because you do it every day, but stop and you'll notice real quick. The troubled-teen industry banks on parents believing there's a shortcut. Send your kid away for a few months and they'll come back fixed. It's a lie that makes billions while traumatizing the very kids it claims to help. Corey's story is proof that survivors can turn their pain into purpose without losing themselves in it. Check out "Selling Sanity" on Amazon and connect with Corey through his website and LinkedIn to learn more about the work he's doing to expose this industry and push for real reform.

    1h 27m
  2. Productivity Management & Mental Illness with Elizabeth Climis

    3 FEB

    Productivity Management & Mental Illness with Elizabeth Climis

    Listen to this if you've ever felt like a failure because productivity tips designed for neurotypical brains don't work for yours. More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/elizabeth-climis Managing productivity when you're dealing with ADHD or depression feels impossible some days. Elizabeth Climis came back to Even Tacos Fall Apart to talk about why our brains work against us and what we can actually do about it. Elizabeth is a marriage and family therapist who's been doing in-home family work for eight years. She's also someone who got diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. That combination of professional expertise and personal experience makes her perspective valuable in ways that go beyond textbook answers. The conversation started with a truth bomb: time blindness is real and it's brutal. When you have ADHD your brain simply doesn't register time passing the way neurotypical brains do. You look up from a task and three hours disappeared. Or you think five minutes passed but it's been thirty seconds. Elizabeth explained that this happens because ADHD brains struggle with executive function. We're not lazy or careless. Our brains genuinely can't hold onto time awareness while focusing on other things. Depression adds its own layer of difficulty. When you're depressed everything feels heavy and meaningless. Productivity becomes about survival rather than achievement. Elizabeth pointed out that we need to stop treating productivity like a moral issue. Your worth isn't measured by your output. Elizabeth talked about external systems being far more helpful since our internal ones are unreliable. Timers and alarms become essential tools. She mentioned using visual timers that show time as a shrinking pie chart because seeing time helps when you can't feel it passing. Breaking tasks into stupidly small steps matters too. Not "clean the kitchen" but "put three dishes in the dishwasher." The concept of body doubling came up as a game changer for many people with ADHD. Having another person present even if they're doing their own thing creates accountability without pressure. It's why study groups work or why you suddenly clean when guests are coming over. Your brain needs that external anchor. Elizabeth stressed that systems need to be stupid simple or they won't stick. Complicated planners and elaborate routines fail because they require the exact executive function you don't have. She uses her phone for everything. Reminders go in immediately or they're gone forever. One powerful point she made: stop fighting what actually works for you just because it seems weird or childish. If fidget toys help you focus then use them. If you need to pace while on phone calls then pace. If Star Wars music helps you concentrate then blast that soundtrack. What matters is finding your specific combination of supports. The conversation also covered medication honestly. Elizabeth noted that medication isn't cheating and it's not a cure-all. It's a tool that can help level the playing field. For some people it makes an enormous difference. For others it's one piece of a bigger puzzle that includes therapy and environmental changes and support systems. She wrapped up by addressing the guilt spiral that happens when productivity tips don't work. When every strategy fails it feels personal. But the strategies aren't failing because you're doing them wrong. They're failing because they weren't designed for brains like yours. The answer isn't to try harder. It's to try different. Managing productivity with mental illness means accepting that your brain works differently and building systems around that reality instead of fighting it. Some days you'll get stuff done. Some days survival is the accomplishment. Both are valid.

    3h 27m
  3. Mental Health Care for Marginalized Groups with Gino Titus-Luciano

    27 JAN

    Mental Health Care for Marginalized Groups with Gino Titus-Luciano

    This episode is for anyone who's ever felt like therapy wasn't made for them, couldn't find a therapist who actually got it, or hit too many walls trying to access mental health care. More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/gino-titus-luciano Getting quality mental health care shouldn't depend on where you live or how much money you make. But it does. Licensed mental health counselor Gino Titus-Luciano joined me on Mental Health Monday to talk about what it takes to make therapy accessible to communities that get left behind. Gino's path into mental health work started with a college professor who made psychology come alive. He kept taking her classes because they were fun and somewhere along the way it clicked. This wasn't just interesting material. It was work that mattered. After undergrad he spent time in behavioral health and youth justice before getting his graduate degree at Northwestern. That's where he had a moment that shifted everything. He was joking with a friend about being "just a DEI student" when they stopped him cold. Why would you say that? Do you really believe you don't deserve to be there? The question stuck with him. He realized he'd internalized doubt about his own worth and that same doubt lives in so many people from marginalized communities. It became clear that fighting for equitable access to care wasn't just professional work. It was personal. Now as founder and CEO of Hokuwa Mental Health and Wellness Group, Gino provides culturally responsive therapy across Hawaii, Nevada and South Carolina. He also teaches future counselors at Northwestern and serves as president of the Hawaii Counselors Association. In that role he's pushing for real policy changes like the recent telehealth bill that allows audio-only sessions. It sounds small but for people in rural areas without reliable internet or those who can't travel, a phone call can be the difference between getting help and going without. The barriers to care are stacked high. Low-income communities often only have access to training clinics staffed by students. Insurance reimbursement rates are so low that many therapists won't accept Medicaid. The foundations of modern therapy come from a narrow perspective that doesn't always translate across cultures. Gino learned this firsthand teaching anger management in a prison where an inmate pointed out that expressing your feelings with words might work on the outside but inside it could get you hurt. Culturally responsive care means doing your homework. It means being honest when you don't know something about a client's background. It means recognizing that advice that makes perfect sense in one context can be completely wrong in another. A therapist telling a 19-year-old from a multi-generational Filipino household to set hard boundaries with their parents might be missing the entire cultural reality of filial piety and community values. Finding the right therapist is like finding the right shoe. You need the right fit for what you're doing. Some people could run a marathon in stilettos but most of us want something comfortable. It's okay to shop around. A bad first experience doesn't mean therapy doesn't work. It might just mean that particular therapist wasn't your person. States are starting to make real changes, and that gives Gino hope. Hawaii just opened up provisional licensing so new graduates can start practicing and billing insurance right away. More providers means more access and that matters for communities that have been underserved for too long. The work moves forward even when it feels like we're taking steps backward.

    1 hr
  4. Mid-Life Career Changes, Surviving Cancer & Becoming a Therapist with Zulma Williams

    20 JAN

    Mid-Life Career Changes, Surviving Cancer & Becoming a Therapist with Zulma Williams

    This episode is for anyone who feels stuck in the wrong life, anyone who thinks they're too old to start over, anyone fighting their way through something that should have broken them and anyone who needs to hear that it's not too late to become who you're meant to be. More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/zulma-williams Zulma Williams doesn't believe in giving up. She also doesn't believe in sugarcoating things or holding back the f-bombs. Known as "the swearing therapist," Zulma joined us for a conversation that was equal parts inspiring and real as hell. Born in Buenos Aires and moving to the US at 31, Zulma spent years working in corporate accounting before realizing she was miserable. At 42, she made the call to go back to school for her bachelor's degree. She was surrounded by kids young enough to be her own children while juggling full-time work and dealing with people who bullied her about her accent. But she showed up anyway, reading every word of every chapter and camping out at the writing center because she wanted that A. Six weeks after graduating, she got diagnosed with breast cancer. Instead of using it as an excuse to quit, she moved back to Argentina for treatment and kept her eyes on the prize. Her motto through it all? "I had cancer, cancer didn't have me." She refused to let the disease define her story even when treatment meant waiting eight hours at the hospital or getting up at 4am just to get a number to see a doctor. At 50, she started her master's program. At 54, she became a licensed therapist. Now at 60, she runs Dragonfly Therapy Services in Nevada and specializes in trauma, anxiety and depression. Zulma's approach to therapy is refreshingly honest. She asks clients trapped in car accidents if the hot firefighter was single. She tells people worried about Monday meetings that they might die before Monday gets here so maybe stop stressing about it. She gives her negative thoughts the voice of someone she can't stand so it's easier to tell them to shut up. Her biggest compliment from clients? "I feel safe with you." She talked about the ridiculous stigma around mental health and therapy. Nobody questions you for seeing an oncologist when you have cancer but everyone wants to know what's wrong with you if you go to therapy. She pointed out that we've all done things we weren't motivated to do our whole lives. Feeding a crying baby at 3am isn't about motivation. It's about discipline and love. Her advice for anyone feeling stuck or too old to make a change? Just fucking do it. You're going to turn 40 (or 50 or 60) with or without that degree. The time passes either way. Take three credits if that's all you can manage. That's three credits closer to your goal. Zulma survived cancer, abusive relationships, depression and suicidal ideation. She learned English as a second language, built a whole new career from scratch and never stopped moving forward. When asked what she's most proud of, her answer was simple: she never gave up. Life knocked her down more than once. But she got back up every single time. And now she's helping other people do the same.

    1h 24m
  5. Healing & The Buddha Way with Saw Myint

    13 JAN

    Healing & The Buddha Way with Saw Myint

    This episode is for anyone who's tired of their own brain running the show and wants practical tools to stop getting stuck in the highs and lows of everyday life. More info, resources & ways to connect & support - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/saw-myint Saw Myint didn't set out to become a mental health advocate. She needed help as a kid and nobody was there to listen. That experience shaped everything that came after. Growing up in a big household with extended family, Saw was treated like a servant by one of her mother's sisters. She was just a child who didn't know how to speak up. Nobody noticed. Nobody helped. That absence created a drive in her that's lasted decades: she wanted to be the person for others that she never had for herself. Now 52, the Burmese Australian mom of two has built a life around helping people. She started at 20 doing translation work for immigrants who needed help navigating schools and government departments. As she made money, she sent it back to Myanmar where there's no welfare system. When she turned 30, she got serious about Buddhism and started incorporating those teachings into how she showed up for people. But Saw ran into a problem when she tried to share her approach on social media. People saw her as a woman who couldn't speak perfect English. They weren't listening to what she was saying. So she pivoted to podcasts, looking for credibility in a different format. What Saw teaches is far from your typical meditation practice. She struggled with traditional meditation herself because it had to make sense to her first. Why should she sit and focus on breathing? She wanted to understand the why before the how. So she learned from monks' lectures and found one teacher about three years ago whose approach clicked. The core idea is simple: we only have two main feelings. Satisfied or unsatisfied. Happy or unhappy. And neither one lasts. Good food, good sex, good drugs - they all fade. Same with the bad stuff. Life keeps moving. We're aging every second but only notice it every ten years. According to Saw, science backs this up. Everything is mind and body, moving millions of times per second. By the time you feel something, whatever triggered it is already gone. You're having feelings about things that aren't even there anymore or about reflections and memories. So why get too attached? This isn't about becoming a monk or a saint. Saw wants to help everyday people living normal lives. You don't need to sit down and meditate for hours. Just recognize that happiness doesn't last, unhappiness doesn't last, and neither is worth getting addicted to. Feel it, show it, then move on to what's next. She acknowledges that this approach isn't for everyone. You need to be open-minded and realistic. You need to face facts. But for people who are ready to listen, the practice happens while you're living your life. It's about developing the right mindset so that whatever you face, good or bad, you'll be okay. During our conversation, Saw led a brief meditation exercise. Instead of focusing only on breath, she asked us to notice everything that came to mind without judgment. Worries, memories, plans - just let them in and observe. Most of what fills our heads is either memory or imagination anyway. Only about 25% of our worries actually happen. Her advice for anyone struggling: don't be shy or scared. Open up. Talk to someone. Half the problem gets solved just by letting it out.

    1h 1m
  6. Living with ADHD & Asperger's with TrashLadd

    6 JAN

    Living with ADHD & Asperger's with TrashLadd

    This episode is for anyone who knows (or WANTS to know!) what it's like when your brain just works differently than everyone else's. More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/trashladd Emmett (TrashLadd) is 17 and from Canada. He graduated high school this year and knows what it's like to navigate school with ADHD and Asperger's. He got his ADHD diagnosis in third grade and his Asperger's diagnosis in seventh grade. That second diagnosis helped explain a lot about how he acted at school and at home. Before his ADHD diagnosis Emmett couldn't focus in class. He was always moving around and couldn't sit still. His parents took him to see a specialist who tested him and started him on a path to getting the accommodations he needed. After being diagnosed he got extra time on tests, access to an iPad for notes and scribes when he needed them. Most importantly he started to understand the real struggles people face when living with mental disabilities. The ADHD symptoms Emmett deals with daily include major anxiety and constantly jumping between tasks. He describes being very much in the now, losing track of time completely. He'll get home from school, start playing Xbox with friends and suddenly realize hours have passed. To combat this he sets tons of timers on his phone and tries to stick to schedules even though it's hard. The Asperger's shows up differently. When something goes wrong or doesn't happen the normal way, Emmett starts to panic. If he can't find his book or phone or charger he feels that wrongness immediately. His solution is keeping things visible. As his mom put it, out of sight means out of mind. His room might look messy to others but everything is in places where he knows he can find it. Emmett originally planned to go into coding after high school but realized he hated it. During a co-op placement at an elementary school he discovered he loved helping kids in the classroom. Now he wants to become a developmental service worker. He knows what it's like to struggle with learning and memory. He wants to use those experiences to advocate for kids going through the same thing and help them get what they need to succeed. His advice for other young adults struggling with mental health is straightforward. Find something that motivates you. For him it's talking with friends every morning and asking how they slept. Get into a routine and stick with it until something new happens. Join random Discord servers and make new friends. Find people you can count on. Emmett is big on calling out people who self-diagnose or compare mental illnesses like they're all the same. Just because someone has anxiety once doesn't mean they understand what it's like for someone who has it way worse. He wants people to inform themselves, learn what's actually going on and figure out how they can help. And if someone doesn't want help then leave them alone. The biggest takeaway from talking with Emmett is that living with ADHD and Asperger's means constantly adapting. It means finding systems that work even if they look weird to other people. It means having friends who have your back. And it means being willing to reach out for help when you need it.

    57 min
  7. Addressing Self-sabotage & Anxiety in Creative & Educational Spaces with Dr. Albert Bramante

    30/12/2025

    Addressing Self-sabotage & Anxiety in Creative & Educational Spaces with Dr. Albert Bramante

    If you've ever found yourself with 82 browser tabs (mental or literal!) open while simultaneously achieving nothing, this conversation is for you. Ways to connect, more info & resources - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/albert-bramante Dr. Albert Bramante joined me to talk about why performers and educators are especially vulnerable to self-sabotage and what we can actually do about it. As a performance psychologist and talent agent who's spent over 20 years working with actors and teachers, Albert has seen the patterns that keep talented people stuck. The conversation got real pretty quickly when Albert pointed out something most of us don't want to admit: that nervous feeling before you perform or teach is physiologically identical to excitement. Your body can't tell the difference between stage fright and anticipation. The only thing that changes is the story you tell yourself about those butterflies. Albert explained that chronic procrastination and perfectionism are just two sides of the same coin. When you want something to be perfect and you know it never will be, you just never start. Or you start so late that failure becomes inevitable. It's a beautiful self-fulfilling prophecy that keeps you safe from ever really trying. Teachers and performers face unique pressure because there's rarely immediate feedback. You might impact someone's life and never know it. A student might not realize what you taught them until years later. An audience member might be deeply moved but never say a word. That absence of validation feeds impostor syndrome like nothing else. We also dug into the myth of multitasking. Spoiler: it doesn't exist. What we call multitasking is actually just rapid task-switching, and it's killing our productivity. Albert recommended the three to five tab rule (yes, I felt personally attacked), and pointed out that when you have too many choices or too many things open, you get paralyzed and accomplish nothing. One of the most powerful moments came when we talked about trauma and grief. Albert made it clear that if you can't talk about a traumatic event the way you'd describe what you had for breakfast last week, you still have work to do. And that's okay! Healing isn't linear! You can get all the way to acceptance and wake up the next day right back in anger. His advice for anyone caught in the self-sabotage cycle is to remember that you are enough. Most people walk around thinking they're not worthy of success or happiness, and that belief becomes the script they follow. The practical takeaway that hit hardest: if opening your email makes you feel like you're drowning, if you're always tired but never resting, if every year feels the same as the last one, you're probably holding yourself back. And the first step to changing it is just noticing that it's happening. Because self-sabotage isn't usually conscious. Nobody wakes up and decides to ruin their own day. But once you see the pattern, you can start to change it. This conversation was a reminder that getting in your own way isn't a character flaw. But it IS a protection mechanism that's outlived its usefulness. Your brain thinks it's keeping you safe by convincing you to wait for the perfect moment or do more research or tell yourself you're too tired. Safe and stuck look pretty similar from the outside. If you're a teacher wondering if you're making any difference, or a creative person tired of your own excuses, or just someone who's spent too many years in the same place wondering why nothing ever changes, this episode might be the wake-up call you didn't know you needed.

    1h 24m
  8. Grief & Loss with VictoriaWaye

    23/12/2025

    Grief & Loss with VictoriaWaye

    This episode is for anyone who's ever felt like they're not allowed to grieve because someone else has it worse, or who's struggling to let go of the person they used to be. More info, resources & ways to connect - https://www.tacosfallapart.com/podcast-live-show/podcast-guests/victoriawaye VictoriaWaye started streaming Minecraft on a dare from a friend and built a following around the simple message: it's okay to be a dork. But her journey took her somewhere deeper when she realized she had something more meaningful to share. Victoria lost both her parents when she was nine years old. The grief hit her immediately and hard. She cried through their funeral and even sang at the service. Her younger sister had a completely different reaction. She sat stone-faced and seemed unaffected. Years later that suppressed grief erupted into self-harm and suicide attempts. The sisters handled the same loss in totally opposite ways and it drove them apart for years. What made things harder was that Victoria's aunts told her to "close the book" just three months after her parents died. At nine years old she was expected to get over it and move on. She wasn't allowed to grieve so she channeled everything into roller skating nine hours a week. The processing she needed got buried under activity and expectations. Victoria's sister eventually studied psychology and became a nurse. She apologized for blaming Victoria and transformed her pain into a drive to help others. Now, their relationship is not perfect, but they've rebuilt something real. Victoria's work now focuses on a truth most people don't talk about: grief comes in many forms. Yes... we grieve death... but we also grieve lost jobs, ended relationships, missed opportunities and versions of ourselves we used to be. She talks openly about mourning the person she was at 19 when everything felt easier and her sense of style was "on fleek." Learning to let go of past versions of yourself is its own kind of loss. One thing Victoria emphasizes is the danger of comparative suffering. People tell themselves they're not allowed to feel bad because someone else has it worse. But grief doesn't work that way. You can't only be happy when you're the happiest person alive so why would you only allow yourself to grieve when you have the worst loss? Your feelings are valid regardless of what anyone else is experiencing. She also pushes back hard on the idea that content creators are therapists. Setting boundaries matters whether you're streaming to thousands or just talking to friends. Before dumping your problems on someone ask if they have the capacity to hear it. Real friendship means respecting that sometimes the answer is no. Victoria's advice for anyone struggling with loss right now is to find people who lift you up. Stop comparing your grief to others. Celebrate small wins even if that win is just getting out of bed. And remember that everything is temporary including pain. Her story proves that you can stand in the darkness and still find your way to the light. Where you are right now doesn't have to be where you stay.

    1h 23m
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About

The "Even Tacos Fall Apart" talk show includes interviews with actual mental health professionals and conversations where real people talk about the messy side of mental illness, disabilities, wellness and life in general. My goal is to normalize mental health conversations and reduce the stigma around illnesses. We all struggle at different times in our lives, but that doesn't mean we're unlovable - after all, Tacos Fall Apart and WE STILL LOVE THOSE! mommafoxfire is a MH advocate and variety gaming streamer on Twitch: twitch.tv/mommafoxfire tacosfallapart.com

Information

  • Creator
    MommaFoxFire
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    167
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © MommaFoxFire
  • Show Website
    Even Tacos Fall Apart