The Support & Kindness Podcast

Greg Shaw
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

🌟 The Support & Kindness Podcast – With Greg and Rich Life with mental health challenges, brain injury, TBI, chronic pain, or simply the weight of everyday struggles can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created The Support & Kindness Podcast — a space where compassion, community, and real conversations come together. Each week, Greg and Rich share stories, insights, and practical tools that remind you you’re not alone. From personal experiences to uplifting interviews, we explore how kindness and support can transform lives — one story, one act, one conversation at a time. Expect heartfelt talks, simple steps you can take to spread kindness in your world, and encouragement to keep going, even on the hardest days. Whether you’re seeking hope, healing, or just a gentle reminder that what you do matters, this is your place. 👉 New episodes weekly. Subscribe and join us in building a kinder, more supportive world.

  1. 2d ago

    Episode: 48 — Invisible Illness: When You Don’t Look Sick

    Invisible Illness: When You Don’t Look Sick Content note: this episode discusses living with chronic illness, being dismissed by doctors and loved ones, and the toll of not being believed. Be gentle with yourself as you listen. “You don’t look sick.” Four words usually meant kindly — that can land like a door quietly closing. This week we widen the lens past any one diagnosis to the whole landscape of invisible illness: the pain, fatigue, and brain fog nobody else can see, and the small shifts in language that turn a sting into care. Greg, Rich, and Liam get into the phrases that wound, the gentler swaps that help, why symptoms swing hour to hour, spoon theory and the drained-battery metaphor, invisible illness at work and your rights, and how to believe people without pitying them. What we coverWhy appearance is never a measure of health“You don’t look sick”: dismissal, doubt, isolation — and what to say instead Fluctuation, spoon theory, and the battery that won’t hold a charge Accommodations at work without handing over your diagnosis Parking spots, cancellations, and catching your own snap judgments Chapters00:00 Introduction & why invisible illness matters04:00 “You don’t look sick” — the words that wound06:15 Simple swaps that land as care09:15 Medical gaslighting & wanting to be heard12:00 Unsolicited advice & grace16:45 “But you were fine yesterday” — fluctuation19:00 Spoon theory & the cell-phone battery24:30 Invisible illness at work & the ADA32:00 Judgment, mobility & believing without pity35:45 Real-life scenarios42:30 What’s on your heart46:45 Summary, challenge & closing This episode featured Greg (host), Rich, and Liam. 💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET) Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET) Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET) Sign up / RSVP: https://kindnessrx.org/groups Help keep the groups free: https://buymeacoffee.com/kindnessrx Connect: https://kindnessrx.org Newsletter: https://kindnessrx.org/news Listen to more: https://kindnessrx.org/listen

    Episode: 48 — Invisible Illness: When You Don’t Look Sick

  2. Aug 9

    Episode 47: Understanding Fibromyalgia - with Linda Fraas

    Content note: This episode discusses chronic illness, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. If you're struggling, call or text 988 (US) for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Fibromyalgia is invisible on the outside and relentless on the inside - and still too often met with "it's all in your head." In our first-ever guest episode, occupational therapist and fibromyalgia coach Linda Fraas explains what fibromyalgia actually is, why it's so hard to diagnose, and how people build a livable life around it. Part science, part 25 years of lived experience, all heart. In this episode: What fibromyalgia is - and why it's a condition, not an imagined one The car-alarm metaphor for a hypersensitive nervous system Fibro fog, fatigue, and the sleep trap The push-crash cycle and how pacing breaks it Being dismissed - and why being believed is medicine Movement, nutrition, tracking, and self-advocacy that actually help Chapters (00:00) Introduction & meet Linda Fraas (01:01) Linda's background and her diagnosis (04:06) The long road to a diagnosis (08:05) What fibromyalgia took away (13:23) What fibromyalgia actually is (the car-alarm metaphor) (17:29) Beyond pain: fibro fog, fatigue, and sleep (21:29) The push-crash cycle (26:37) "It's all in your head": being dismissed (41:01) Daily life: pacing, movement, and nutrition (55:30) Self-advocacy and finding hope (1:21:44) This week's challenge Featuring Greg with Rich, Liam, and Sarah, plus special guest Linda Fraas (torchlightvitality.com). 💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Chronic Pain (Tue 12 PM ET) Brain Injury (Mon 1 PM ET) Mental Health (Wed 7:30 PM ET) Sign up / RSVP: kindnessrx.org/groups ☕ Help keep the groups free: Click Here Newsletter: Click Here

    Episode 47: Understanding Fibromyalgia - with Linda Fraas

  3. Aug 5

    Episode 46: Social Media Etiquette - What Not to Post!

    Content note: This episode discusses cyberbullying, online harassment, and scams. Nothing is graphic. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 anytime — the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free and available 24/7. We treat online life like it’s less real than the rest of our lives — but there’s a real person on the other side of every screen, and a post can outlast the moment that made it. This week Greg, Rich, Liam, and Sarah work through six ordinary posting dilemmas — from a joke scheduled before bad news to a friend live-tagging an empty house — and land on one simple habit that makes almost every gray area easier. It’s not a lecture about doing it wrong. It’s permission to slow down the half-second before you hit “post.” In this episode: Why “deleted” doesn’t always mean gone Consent — for kids, friends, screenshots, and stories that aren’t only yours Digital footprints, oversharing, and how a post can follow you to work Scams, privacy, and what actually keeps you safer Cyberbullying and how to step out of a pile-on The five questions to ask before you post Chapters (00:00) Introduction & the hard questions (06:38) Read the room before you post (19:09) Your digital footprint, oversharing & work (30:06) Consent, kids, screenshots & ownership (46:26) Privacy, safety & online scams (48:22) Cyberbullying, pile-ons & trolls (58:37) False posts & when to speak up (1:07:33) What’s on your heart this week (1:11:16) Recap, challenge & closing This episode: Greg with Rich, Liam & Sarah. 💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET), Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET), Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET). Sign up / RSVP: https://kindnessrx.org/groups Support the show (keeps the groups free) Connect: https://kindnessrx.org Newsletter

    Episode 46: Social Media Etiquette - What Not to Post!

  4. Jul 26

    Episode 45: Are People Really Getting Ruder? Public Etiquette in a Distracted World

    Episode 45: Are People Really Getting Ruder? Public Etiquette in a Distracted World Nearly half of Americans say people have gotten ruder since the pandemic — but 84% say they personally know exactly how to behave. Both can’t be true. This week Greg, Rich, and Sarah ask whether people are really getting ruder, or whether “rude” is mostly about perception, expectation, and capacity. We reframe rudeness as a gap — the space between what you expected and what you got — then walk through six everyday “Is it rude?” scenarios where hidden context flips the verdict every time: the waiting-room speakerphonethe bus seatbeing filmed in publicthe dog in the grocery cartthe friend who cancels by textand the loud “correction.” Along the way: what invisible disability looks like from the outside, why most rudeness is overwhelm rather than malice, and the one thing you can always control - your own reaction. In this episode: - Why “rude” is a gap, not a fixed behavior - The 47% / 84% paradox from Pew’s rudeness survey - Capacity vs. character: why overwhelm drives most rudeness - Six “Is it rude?” scenarios — and how context changes each one - Extending grace (to others and yourself) Chapters: (00:00) Welcome & intro (01:47) Defining rudeness: “face” and the numbers (05:49) What does “rude” first bring to mind? (09:41) The post-pandemic shift (13:44) Capacity, sensory needs & being misjudged (24:20) Fading etiquette: phones, holidays, meals (30:50) Common Questions: six “Is it rude?” scenarios (45:22) Extending grace (51:14) What’s on your heart: Liam’s 50th (53:23) Closing & weekly challenge This episode featured Greg, Rich, and Sarah. 💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET)Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET)Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET) Sign up / RSVP: https://kindnessrx.org/groups Help keep the groups free: https://buymeacoffee.com/kindnessrx Connect: https://kindnessrx.org Newsletter: https://kindnessrx.org/newsletter

    Episode 45: Are People Really Getting Ruder? Public Etiquette in a Distracted World

  5. Jul 19

    Episode 44: Can a Chatbot Support Your Mental Health

    Episode 44 Content note: This episode discusses suicidal thinking and the ways some AI tools have responded poorly to people in crisis, including young people. If you're struggling, you're not alone. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. International listeners: please contact your local crisis line.It's 2 a.m. Your chest is tight, your mind is racing, everyone you love is asleep — and the phone on your nightstand will answer you right now. It won't sigh. It won't judge. More and more people are reaching for that glowing screen. So we asked an honest question: can a chatbot really help your mental health?Greg, Rich and Liam talk it through with no script and no sales pitch — the real promise, the real limits, and the risks nobody's regulating yet. We go back to 1966 and the MIT scientist who built the first therapy chatbot and then spent the rest of his life warning people about it. We look at what the research actually found, both the hopeful and the alarming. And we land somewhere practical: a journal that talks back is not a therapist, and it should never be your crisis plan.WHAT WE COVERELIZA (1966), the "ELIZA effect," and why this debate is almost 60 years old Dartmouth's Therabot trial: depression symptoms down ~51%, anxiety ~31%, eating disorder concerns ~19% Stanford's 2025 findings — chatbots that stigmatized schizophrenia and alcohol dependence, and one that answered a crisis question with a list of tall bridges Nearly 1 in 5 young people ages 12–21 have used an AI chatbot for mental health advice — and most haven't told a single person Why a bot built to be agreeable is the opposite of what real support sometimes requires The privacy question: who owns your most private thoughts? The APA's November 2025 advisory — a tool, not a replacement Warm lines: a free, human alternative when you're not in crisis but you are lonelyCHAPTERS(00:00) The 2 a.m. phone(01:13) What an AI therapy chatbot actually is(02:03) The numbers, and why cost drives this(03:01) ELIZA, 1966 — and the man who warned us(05:47) Rich and Liam on trust, machines and the ELIZA effect(11:19) The promising side: Dartmouth's Therabot trial(14:20) WebMD, Google, and shame-free searching(18:09) Stanford's findings and the bridge question(23:56) When "always agreeable" turns dangerous(28:14) What the APA actually says(32:12) What careful use looks like(36:13) What's on your heart this week(41:15) Your challenge and closingTHIS EPISODE: Hosted by Greg Shaw with co-hosts Rich and Liam.YOUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK: Take one thing you'd normally type into a screen — a worry, a win, a "today was hard" — and say it to an actual human instead. A machine can hold your words. A person can hold you.💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET) Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET) Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET). Sign up / RSVP: https://kindnessrx.org/groups☕ Our groups are free and always will be. Help keep them that way: https://buymeacoffee.com/kindnessrxCONNECT WITH KINDNESSRXWebsite: https://kindnessrx.orgListen to every episode: https://kindnessrx.org/listenNewsletter: https://kindnessrx.beehiiv.com/YouTube & social: @KindnessRXCrisis support: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 (US). https://988lifeline.org

    Episode 44: Can a Chatbot Support Your Mental Health

  6. Jul 13

    Episode 43: A Fireside Chat

    This week we skipped the script for a real fireside chat. Greg, Rich, and Liam talk about what it actually takes to get by when money is tight — and why needing help is nothing to be ashamed of. With costs climbing and grocery budgets shrinking, more of us are leaning on food pantries, benefits, and community help than ever. Liam shares how treatment for alcohol quietly changed his life and connected him to a disability attorney, SNAP, and food pantries. Rich brings years of food-pantry volunteering — and a story about being treated like a checklist instead of a person. Together they land on peer support specialists, then drift into soccer, coaching kids, drums, and why a healthy hobby can quietly save a life. What we get into:Why asking for help is not a stigma — you're not alone in itHow recovery and treatment can open unexpected doors to resourcesWhere to actually start looking: mental health agencies, rehabs, churchesOhio's PIPP for utility bills, and Dress for Success for interview clothingPeer support specialists: lived experience as a strengthHealthy hobbies as a protective factor — sports and music Chapters:(00:00) Welcome & who's here today(02:00) Getting help is not a stigma(03:00) The cost-of-living squeeze(03:47) Liam's recovery story & finding resources(06:25) PIPP & help with utility bills(08:00) Food pantries & where to start looking(11:37) Peer support specialists(13:27) Seen as a person, not a checklist(17:05) Grassroots sports, music & healthy hobbies(31:42) Warm lines, 988 & closing This episode featured Greg, Rich, and Liam. Not in crisis but need to talk? Call or text 988, or search NAMI's warmline directory. 💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET) Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET) Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET) Sign up / RSVP: https://kindnessrx.org/groupsKeep the groups free: https://buymeacoffee.com/kindnessrxConnect: kindnessrx.org · Newsletter: kindnessrx.beehiiv.com

    Episode 43: A Fireside Chat

  7. Jul 6

    Episode 42: The Many Faces of Kindness

    Hold a door. Wave a car in. Text an old friend out of nowhere. Small kindnesses — but that same gesture can mean something completely different three time zones away. In Episode 42, we travel the world to ask one question: does kindness look the same everywhere? The heart of it does. The shape of it doesn't. Greg, Rich, Liam, and Sarah trace the word for kindness through six faith traditions, and a few languages English never gave a name to, then look at the research showing the world is measurably kinder than the news makes it seem. Along the way: tipping and fair wages, why we brace for cold strangers, where religion and people part ways, and how to be kind to someone whose customs you don't share. What you'll take away:The pull to help is universal — how we show it is local.Every tradition has its own word: mettaagapechesedsadaqahsevaubuntu.A tip that says “thank you” here can read as an insult elsewhere. People are about twice as kind as we expect.Assume good intent, stay curious, ask instead of guess. Chapters:(00:00) Introduction — kindness around the world(01:47) Every faith's word for it(03:13) The numbers: how kind the world really is(04:35) Tipping, suspended coffee, and shifting shapes(06:00) Faith traditions: tzedakah, zakat, langar(07:53) Roundtable(16:19) Common questions(32:24) Free-form sharing(37:10) What's on your heart(41:33) Challenge & closing This episode featured Greg, Rich, Liam, and Sarah. 💜 Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET)Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET)Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET) Sign up / RSVP: kindnessrx.org/groups Help keep the groups free: buymeacoffee.com/kindnessrx Connect: kindnessrx.org Newsletter: kindnessrx.beehiiv.com

    Episode 42: The Many Faces of Kindness

  8. Jun 28

    Episode 41: RSD: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

    Content note: this episode discusses rejection, shame, and self-harm. If you are struggling, you are not alone. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. That sinking feeling when one small piece of feedback lands like a punch? There is a name for it: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD. In Episode 41, Greg, Rich, Liam, and Sarah talk plainly about what RSD is, why it can feel physical, and what actually helps, with no quick fixes. We get into why one criticism can drown out ten compliments, why the rejection does not even have to be real to hurt, how this connects to ADHD without being limited to it, and the small tools that genuinely help in the moment. In this episode: What RSD is, and what it is not Why your brain treats one harsh comment as a survival threat "Too sensitive" versus something more than that Grounding, breathing, and a cold-water bottle on the neck The one-pause challenge to try this week Chapters: (00:00) What RSD really is (03:22) How common is it? (05:49) Why one criticism outweighs ten compliments (10:34) When rejection hurts (12:43) Real or just too sensitive? (21:09) Do you need ADHD to feel it? (23:35) What helps when the sting hits (27:32) Free-form sharing (31:40) What is on your heart this week (40:09) Recap, challenge, and close Featured this episode: Greg (host), with Rich, Liam, and Sarah. Free weekly peer support groups: Brain Injury (Mon 1PM ET) Chronic Pain (Tue 12PM ET) Mental Health (Wed 7:30PM ET) Sign up or RSVP: kindnessrx.org/groups Help keep the groups free: buymeacoffee.com/kindnessrx Website: kindnessrx.org Newsletter: kindnessrx.beehiiv.com

    Episode 41: RSD: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
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About

🌟 The Support & Kindness Podcast – With Greg and Rich Life with mental health challenges, brain injury, TBI, chronic pain, or simply the weight of everyday struggles can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created The Support & Kindness Podcast — a space where compassion, community, and real conversations come together. Each week, Greg and Rich share stories, insights, and practical tools that remind you you’re not alone. From personal experiences to uplifting interviews, we explore how kindness and support can transform lives — one story, one act, one conversation at a time. Expect heartfelt talks, simple steps you can take to spread kindness in your world, and encouragement to keep going, even on the hardest days. Whether you’re seeking hope, healing, or just a gentle reminder that what you do matters, this is your place. 👉 New episodes weekly. Subscribe and join us in building a kinder, more supportive world.

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