Take It From Us with Kent Johns

Ember
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  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

If you're navigating mental health struggles, addiction or recovery — your own or someone else's — you'll hear what actually worked, what didn't and what people wish they'd known sooner. Take It From Us is the voice of lived experience, featuring people sharing their own journeys, unscripted and unfiltered.  Host Kent Johns is a broadcaster and health coach who believes everyone has a story worth hearing if someone takes the time to really listen.  Press play — you might hear your own story in someone else's. If you need support, click here for helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  1. 1d ago

    The 4000 kiwi adults stuck living at home with Mum and Dad

    Flynn Mitchell spent three years in a Dunedin university flat built for wheelchair users — accessible kitchen, accessible bathroom, full independence. Then he moved home to Auckland and lost all of it. Now he needs a carer just to wash his own dishes. He's not alone. Ray Finch, CEO of the Laura Ferguson Trust, says nearly 4,000 physically disabled adults across New Zealand are living with ageing parents, not by choice but because nothing accessible exists for them. With most of those parents renting, Ray warns hundreds could end up homeless within a decade. The Trust is building a solution — 160 co-designed homes. Flynn's future is part of the pitch. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  2. Sep 10

    Sam Cox survived the car crash. Then he had to relearn everything he'd lost

    On New Year's Eve 2022, Sam Cox went through the windscreen of a car doing over 100km/h down a gravel road outside Rangiora. His best friend Kaide, who was driving, didn't survive. Sam did — with a brain injury so severe it took him five months to even understand Kaide was gone. Now 19, Sam talks to Kent about memory loss, losing his old friend group, the dad he lost not long after and the mum he now calls his rock. He also opens up about the one thing keeping him going: the sense that he's been given a second chance and he wants to make the most of it. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  3. Sep 3

    Shane Cameron thought he was a dumb kid. Boxing was his answer.

    Shane Cameron spent 17 years as a professional heavyweight boxer — a Commonwealth Games bronze, a world title shot and the 2009 fight against David Tua that ended with him in an ambulance. He didn't watch the footage back until last year.  In this episode, Shane talks to Kent about the memory loss, anger and mood swings he now lives with day to day, and what happened when he asked to be tested for brain damage: a neuropsychologist told him CTE can't be confirmed until after death.  He also opens up about being diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD as an adult, the toll boxing took on the people around him and why he's trying to be a different kind of father this time around. You can buy Shane's autobiography Mountain Warrior here. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  4. Aug 27

    The second time he was asked, Tai Tupou finally told the truth

    At 22, Tai Tupou learned that the man who raised him wasn't his biological father. He told no one. For three years he isolated himself, burned bridges and had no idea he was living with depression — until a colleague asked him a simple question. Twice. In this episode, Tai — founder of the The Last Chance Project and a mental health advocate of 14 years — talks about growing up in a Samoan household where you only spoke when spoken to, the "traffic light" system he now uses to help men name what they're feeling and why he believes "if you care enough, that's more than qualified" to check in on someone. Hit play to hear Tai's story. For more on Run 474, take a look here. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  5. Aug 20

    For 15 years, she studied eating disorders. She was hiding one too.

    Five years ago, Meg Vardy was a UK-based researcher studying treatment for anorexia. What most of her colleagues didn't know: she'd been living with anorexia herself for 15 years. She's since stepped away from academia to launch JourneyED, a Dunedin-based charity offering free peer support to people across Aotearoa navigating eating disorders — because, in her words, no one should have to go through it alone. This week on Take It From Us, Meg shares her story and her vision for what recovery-focused, lived-experience-led support can look like. Hit play. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  6. Aug 13

    Rob Brown: 'Who the f*** you really are underneath all the other shit'

    "Who the f*** you really are underneath all the other shit." That's the question Rob Brown puts to every man he coaches — and it's the one he couldn't answer himself for most of his life. Two businesses built and lost, a marriage that ended and a throat cancer diagnosis at 45 - Rob finally sat down with it. In this episode, Rob takes Kent through the anger that surfaced the day after his father's funeral, the "I'm not going to fight this" decision he made in a hospital room and why he now coaches senior leaders who look like they've got it all together but feel like something's missing underneath. Please note: this episode includes a discussion of suicide. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  7. Aug 6

    Grant Robertson: 'I am a catastrophiser' — the panic attack that changed how he copes

    "I'm a catastrophiser," admits Grant Robertson, New Zealand's former Deputy Prime Minister.  It's a confession that sits behind a high-profile political career — years of COVID decisions, and eventually, a panic attack he didn't see coming. As pressure mounted for him to take over from Jacinda Ardern, Grant was ready to reluctantly say yes, until one sentence from his partner Alf stopped him cold.  In this episode, Grant opens up about the physical toll of "giving 110%," the counselling that got him through his final year in politics, the homophobia that was a constant and the phrase he still leans on today to interrupt his own worst-case thinking.  This is what a 'recovering politician' looks like. Listen now to hear Grant's full story. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

  8. Jul 30

    Justine & Blain: Running a 24/7 recovery centre after their own addiction

    Blain Collinge was once the reason his parents started Red Door Recovery — refusing help, deep in addiction, with "no desire to change." Over a decade later, he co-leads the very organisation built to save him. Justine Hamill came to Red Door after her own relapse and recovery, bringing a background in psychotherapy and yoga. Together, they now run a 24/7 recovery service in Upper Hutt — and they don't do it from behind a desk. They lead from lived experience. In this episode, Blain and Justine talk honestly about the toll of running a business built on crisis, and the story of one young client who arrived labelled "the most difficult client in the mental health system" — and who's now finding her way home. Hit play to hear why Red Door doesn't do healing by the textbook. We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

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If you're navigating mental health struggles, addiction or recovery — your own or someone else's — you'll hear what actually worked, what didn't and what people wish they'd known sooner. Take It From Us is the voice of lived experience, featuring people sharing their own journeys, unscripted and unfiltered.  Host Kent Johns is a broadcaster and health coach who believes everyone has a story worth hearing if someone takes the time to really listen.  Press play — you might hear your own story in someone else's. If you need support, click here for helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

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