State Of Mind Mental Health Podcast

Michael Stroh
  • 4.6 (5)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to the State of Mind Podcast—tools, stories, and truth—on being human. My name is Mike Stroh a Psychotherapist with a Masters in Counselling Psychology. This is a podcast for living with courage, clarity, and compassion. Through these conversations, I hope we don't just learn what people do—I hope we learn how they became the kind of person who can do what they do.

  1. Jun 26

    #113 - From Baptist Pastor to FBI SWAT: Curiosity, Calm, and the Evil in All of Us with Eric Robinson

    In this episode of the State of Mind Mental Health Podcast, I sit down with Eric Robinson — a man who spent 24 years in the FBI, 15 of them as a SWAT operator, after starting his career as a Baptist pastor. I ask him how a person makes that leap, and the answer surprised me: he left the pulpit because he couldn't stop carrying other people's pain. Two straight years of daily stress headaches that vanished the day the FBI accepted him. From there we go deep. Eric walks me through what 24 years of investigating drugs, gangs, organized crime, crimes against children, and counterterrorism taught him about human nature — and why he thinks most of us have a poor imagination for the evil we're all capable of. We talk about staying calm under pressure (he says he never once felt fear on an operation, and explains exactly why), the one habit that made him better at his job and his life — curiosity — and a line that's stuck with me ever since: "you affect you more than I affect you." I also share more of my own story than usual: getting convicted at 16, getting sober at 30, and how a relationship with something bigger than me helped put my life back together. This one runs the full range — heavy, funny, philosophical, and genuinely practical. Eric's memoir, Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners in the FBI, is out this fall. Find him at https://preachertobreacher.com/ If something here lands, pick one idea and practice it this week. Live with courage, clarity, and compassion. Please like, comment, subscribe, and share this with someone who might find it helpful. [00:00] From the pulpit to the FBI [04:00] Good, evil, and who actually wants to change [10:00] Why we can't imagine the evil in ourselves [22:00] Responsibility, self-awareness, and getting sober [28:00] Leading with love: humanizing the "other" [33:00] Terrorism, politics, and the clash of civilizations [43:00] "You affect you more than I affect you" [47:00] Staying calm under fire — and the truth about guns [54:00] You don't need to change the world [58:00] Curiosity, the book, and where to find Eric Free 1-month of the Meditation App - Waking Up https://dynamic.wakingup.com/guestpass/SC58BD912 Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    1h 4m

  2. Jun 10

    #112 - Why Men Can't Feel Happy (Even When Life Is Good) with Stefanos Koutsoumpis PhD

    I sit down with Stefanos Koutsoumpis, a men's coach based in Athens, Greece, who holds a PhD in physics and a hard-won understanding of what it actually means to feel happy. Not perform happiness — actually experience it. He walks me through how chronic overthinking was actually a symptom of emotional suppression, how he discovered mindfulness through Sam Harris and eventually trained with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, and how he came to build a coaching practice specifically for men — a demographic he describes as often more willing to open up to a stranger at a bar than to the people closest to them. We go deep on men and community, why the "lone wolf" approach quietly destroys people, how hope has two components (belief and a path), and why experiential learning — getting in the fight, not studying it — is the only real way forward. Learn more about Stefanos on his website : https://www.mindfullife.coach/ 5 Simple Ways to Feel Happier & More Fulfilled Today - Without Changing Your Job Chapters: [00:00] Giving Yourself Permission to Be Human [04:00] From Physics PhD to Men's Coach [08:00] Living Like a Ghost — The "Never Enough" Trap [12:30] How Mindfulness Actually Changed Things [19:00] You Can't Force Someone to Change [23:00] Why Men Open Up to Strangers, Not Friends [28:30] Tools: Experiential Learning Over Head Knowledge [33:30] Breaking Big Problems Into Small Steps [37:30] Learning to Feel the Good Stuff Too [42:00] Practices That Actually Work Free 1-month of the Meditation App - Waking Up https://dynamic.wakingup.com/guestpass/SC58BD912 Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    47 min

  3. Jun 7

    #111 - She Tried to Rob a Bank. Then Got Her PhD. | Addiction, Codependency, Recovery & More with Dr. Sarah Michaud

    She tried to rob a bank at 21 to pay a cocaine dealer. Ended up committed to a psych hospital. Then — 10 years later — went back as a licensed psychologist with a PhD. Dr. Sarah Michaud has been sober 42 years. She's written a book on codependency, spent decades in private practice, and has a perspective on recovery that cuts through a lot of noise: getting clean is only the beginning. The real work is what you do after the substance is gone. In this conversation, Mike and Dr. Michaud explore what most people never address in recovery — the underlying patterns that outlast the addiction itself. They get into codependency, the anger that hides beneath anxiety, why the 9th step amends might be the most psychologically powerful tool in recovery, and why honesty isn't just a virtue — it's the foundation of every real relationship you'll ever have. If you've ever wondered whether therapy and 12-step work are saying the same thing in different dialects, this one is for you. Learn more about Sarah: https://drsarahmichaud.com/ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - The bank robbery and the psych hospital  04:00 - Getting sober at 24 and falling in love with recovery  12:00 - Insights vs. behavior change — why knowing isn't enough  17:00 - 12 steps and therapy: what they share and what therapy misses  25:00 - Cannabis as a hidden barrier in recovery 31:00 - Amends is where the magic happens — the 9th step deep dive  37:00 - Buddhism, the steps, and the radical idea that it's always about you  43:00 - Codependency: the big lie that fixing them will fix you 51:00 - Loneliness, community, and what young people are missing  55:00 - Intimacy only happens when you tell the truth  59:00 - Worthiness: when did you decide you weren't enough? Free 1-month of the Meditation App - Waking Up https://dynamic.wakingup.com/guestpass/SC58BD912  Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    52 min

  4. May 28

    #110 - Buddhist Psychology Meets Western Therapy with Bill Belanger M.A.

    In this episode of the State of Mind Mental Health Podcast, I sit down with Bill Belanger — psychotherapist, 20+ year Buddhist meditation practitioner, and longtime student of Harvard psychologist and Tibetan Buddhist teacher Dr. Daniel Brown — to unpack what gets lost when Buddhist psychology is repackaged as Western wellness. Bill is writing a book on integrating Buddhism with Western psychology, and he walks me through the three levels the Buddhist tradition uses to explain why we suffer: chronic reactivity, emptiness of self, and non-dual awareness. Along the way we get into: Why "McMindfulness" leaves people underwhelmed The difference between compassion meditation and mindfulness — and why compassion might be the better starting point How Buddhist ethics map onto the 12 steps The community problem in Western Buddhism Why MBSR, ACT, DBT, and IFS all owe Buddhism a quiet debt Matthieu Ricard, "the happiest man alive," and intelligent selfishness How parts work (IFS / voice dialogue) makes compassion practice actually workable Meditation for people with ADHD If you've ever felt like your meditation practice plateaued, or wondered what's under the surface of all the mindfulness apps, this is a conversation I think you'll get a lot out of. Learn more about Bill: billbelanger.com Chapters 0:00 - Cold open: what mindfulness leaves out 0:45 - Meet Bill Belanger 3:00 - Buddhist psychology vs Western therapy 5:15 - "I can't meditate" — the biggest myth 7:20 - The problem with McMindfulness 11:00 - Ethics, the 12 steps, and living the practice 19:50 - Finding community in Western Buddhism 23:45 - Where MBSR actually fits 25:50 - The 3 levels of why we suffer 30:00 - Emptiness and the sensory bubble 33:00 - Investigating the self in meditation 38:15 - Non-dual awareness, Dzogchen, Mahamudra 45:40 - The six meditation styles in Bill's book 50:55 - ACT, DBT, IFS, and Buddhism's quiet influence 54:55 - Matthieu Ricard & the happiest man alive 59:05 - Parts work, voice dialogue & "idiot compassion" 1:05:40 - Bill's book, website & closing thoughts Free 1-month of the Meditation App - Waking Up https://dynamic.wakingup.com/guestpass/SC58BD912 Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    1h 5m

  5. May 16

    #109 - The Other Side of the Gun: Susan Snow on Murder, Survival, and Reclaiming Her Power Through Forgiveness

    I sit down with Susan Snow — author, speaker, and trauma resiliency coach — who was just 17 years old when her father, an LAPD robbery homicide detective, was assassinated in a planned drive-by shooting on Halloween night, 1985. Susan walks me through the moment she learned her father was gone, the years of undiagnosed PTSD that followed, and the emotional mask she wore for over a decade while quietly falling apart inside. She shares how a first round of therapy left her with nothing — no tools, no diagnosis, no real answers — and how it took a second traumatic trigger, watching the Columbine shooting unfold on live TV 14 years later, to finally crack her open and force her to get real help. This time, the right therapist changed everything: sleep first, then nervous system regulation, then the slow, deliberate work of actually healing. We also talk about her brother — who watched their father die and whose life took a very different path — her marriage falling apart and being rebuilt from the ground up, and what forgiveness actually means when you've survived something this brutal. Susan's definition of forgiveness is one of the most powerful things I've heard on this show: taking your power back, not letting the people who hurt you walk with you anymore. Her book is called The Other Side of the Gun: My Journey from Trauma to Resiliency, and this conversation is essential listening for anyone who has ever worn a brave face while quietly losing it inside. Susans Website Book: http://a.co/d/fFuR4iT Chapters [00:00] The Day Susan's Father Was Killed [05:30] A Teenager Alone in the Dark [12:00] No Resources, No Diagnosis, No Tools [19:00] The Mask She Wore for 14 Years [25:00] Columbine Triggers Everything Again [31:00] The Therapist Who Finally Asked the Right Questions [36:00] Sleep, Journaling, and Rebuilding [43:00] Her Brother's Journey and Finding Each Other Again [47:00] When a Marriage Falls Apart and Comes Back [53:00] What Forgiveness Actually Means Free 1-month of the Meditation App - Waking Up https://dynamic.wakingup.com/guestpass/SC58BD912 Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    55 min

  6. May 12

    #108 - Doing Too Much, Feeling Everything: Dr. Danielle Griffin on Breaking the Overachiever Burnout Cycle

    In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Danielle Griffin — somatic exercise therapist, certified hypnotherapist, and former higher education researcher — to talk about something most high achievers never want to admit: the body keeps score, and burnout doesn't just live in your mind. Danielle walks me through how years of unprocessed workplace stress, grief, and pressure physically manifested in her own life — and how she discovered somatic healing and hypnotherapy as the entry points that finally allowed her to change. What I love about her approach is how accessible it is. We're not talking about hour-long meditation sessions or clearing your schedule. We're talking about 90-second pauses between Zoom calls that actually shift your nervous system. We also get into the workplace mental health conversation — why giving employees a meditation app isn't enough, what organizations are getting wrong about burnout, and why most people don't unwind until day three of a five-day vacation (and then immediately crash back into stress the moment they return). Danielle also shares how her Rise and Renew retreat came out of watching people try to rest without the tools to actually do it — and why having guidance matters more than having willpower. And yes — we do a live 90-second somatic practice in the episode. You'll feel it. If you're a high achiever who's been pushing through, telling yourself you don't have time to pause, or wondering why vacations aren't fixing things — this one's for you. Learn more about Danielle here: https://www.drdaniellegriff.com/ Chapters: [00:00] Why vacations don't actually reset you [04:00] Danielle's story: workplace trauma, grief, and hitting the wall [09:30] What somatic healing and hypnotherapy actually are [14:00] How chronic stress becomes chronic pain [22:30] Why workplaces keep getting burnout wrong [26:00] Live 90-second somatic reset practice [30:30] The mind-body connection and how to use it [37:00] Working with pushback and resistance [41:30] Practice in everyday life Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    46 min

  7. May 4

    #107 - Why Team USA Athletes Keep Losing Their Lives - With Team USA Bobsledder - William Person

    In this episode of the State of Mind Mental Health Podcast, I sit down with William Person — a 9-year member of Team USA's Olympic bobsled program and the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit fighting to protect athletes from CTE. William walks me through the cost of nine years and an estimated 22,000 bobsled rides on the human brain — and what happens when an entire roster of teammates starts taking their own lives. He shares the story of the friend who called him speaking gibberish before hanging himself in his family's factory, the autopsy that revealed Stage 4 CTE, and the decade William spent living on his living room floor, praying for death without ever having the language for what was wrong with him. He opens up about the New York Times article that finally diagnosed him when his doctors couldn't, the day Joe Namath's hyperbaric oxygen video changed his life, and the one hour in a chamber that gave him six straight days of clarity after ten years of cognitive fog. William is now building the American Post-Concussion Wellness Center — a free, public-facing treatment facility for veterans, athletes, and anyone suffering from undiagnosed brain trauma. If you've ever taken a hit to the head and wondered why something feels off, this conversation might change everything for you. Support William here : https://bit.ly/49u8xES Chapters [00:00:00] Cold Open [00:05:30] The CTE Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight [00:11:00] Lost in Dementia for a Decade [00:18:00] Praying for Death [00:24:00] The Article That Diagnosed Me [00:32:00] One Hour, Six Days of Clarity [00:40:00] Building the Wellness Center Please Subscribe to my YouTube - YouTube Subscription Link Disclaimer Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    56 min

  8. Apr 30

    #106 - Iran Used Children as Minesweepers - The Story of Iranian Resistance to Authoritarian Theocracy

    I sit down with Zolal Habibi, a longtime member of the Iranian Resistance and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), for a conversation that pulls back the curtain on a country most of us only see in headlines. In this episode she walks me through the parts of Iran's reality that rarely make it to North American media: tens of thousands of political prisoners executed in a single summer, tens of thousands children used as minesweepers during the Iran-Iraq war, 47 years of women refusing to give in, and the resistance units operating inside the country today. She also speaks plainly about why appeasement has failed, why military intervention is not the answer, and what a secular democratic republic in Iran could actually look like. If you have ever wondered how people stay grounded in the face of overwhelming odds, or what it really means to live for something bigger than yourself, this one is for you. Live with courage, clarity, and compassion. Practice inner strength. Develop within. Learn more about Zolal's work here - https://maryamrajavi4change.com/ Chapters [00:00:00] The Key to Heaven: Children Sent to Minefields [00:04:48] Losing Her Father in Iran's 1988 Massacre [00:13:18] What 47 Years of Dictatorship Looks Like [00:22:02] The Lies Dictators Tell to Hold Power [00:35:32] Why Appeasement Led to War [00:41:39] The Resistance Movement Inside Iran Today [00:47:20] Hope, Unity, and the Path to Freedom is for you. Free 1-month of the Meditation App - Waking Up https://dynamic.wakingup.com/guestpass/SC58BD912 Questions - hello@startswithme.ca  Disclaimer  Professional medical care and psychotherapeutic services are not offered on this Youtube channel. It is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such condition. Seeking professional support is encouraged if you think you have an issue and that you want help.

    54 min
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4.6
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Welcome to the State of Mind Podcast—tools, stories, and truth—on being human. My name is Mike Stroh a Psychotherapist with a Masters in Counselling Psychology. This is a podcast for living with courage, clarity, and compassion. Through these conversations, I hope we don't just learn what people do—I hope we learn how they became the kind of person who can do what they do.

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