The Hardcore Self Help Podcast

Great variety of questions this week. I start the episode off by sharing some of my personal strategies for coping with stress and anxiety. Then it's straight into the questions. In one of the questions, I mention an earlier episode focusing on internet therapy, so here's the link for that: http://duffthepsych.com/episode10. Here are the questions I take: How can I tell me Mom that I need help without her being disappointed in me? What should I do now that my therapist abandoned me? How do I get back to my old self when chronic illness has me depressed? Please send me more questions! You can reach me via email at duffthepsych@gmail.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych      

Thanks for your patience with my little break last week. I needed to allow myself to be human for a bit. Hopefully you enjoyed and made good use of the guided relaxation. This week it's back to the questions. I take some tough but important questions in this episode. Here's what we cover: Is it possible for a relationship to survive emotional abuse? Should I be worried about my word finding difficulties? How do I feel better about cutting ties with my family? As always you can send me your questions at duffthepsych@gmail.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych  

Things have been weird over here in the states. I need a break from podcasting this week and I think we could all use a little relaxation. Whether this relaxation is to help you cope or to rejuvenate you to get back out there and keep at it... you deserve a few deep breaths. What I uploaded for you this week is a guided muscle relaxation. There is no intro or anything like that. I just dive straight into a walkthrough of how you can use your breath and muscle tension to put yourself into a deep state of relaxation. Enjoy and take good care of yourselves.

Thanks so much to those of you who recently left iTunes reviews. I really appreciate it. These are the three episodes that I took on this episode: What can I do to help my brother with OCD? What if social anxiety gets in the way of therapy? How can I cope with my extremely stressful job? I also mentioned some links in this episode... Sorting Therapy: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sorting-therapy-sort-colors/id1123877452?mt=8 Teen Vogue Article: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-to-expect-at-first-therapy-session-counseling Dissertation: http://duffthepsych.com/internettherapy TalkSpace Episode: http://duffthepsych.com/episode10   As always you can send me your questions at duffthepsych@gmail.com or http://twitter.com/duffthepsych

Hello! A nice wide ranging set of questions this time. Don't be afraid to send in any questions that you have. There are no bad questions (within reason...)!  Here's what we cover in this episode: How do you find a therapist who meets certain demographic specifications? Is pain a necessary part of changing behavior? Should you have firm boundaries with a parent? As always you can send your questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com or hit me up on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych  

Another great episode full of your questions. We start off pretty heavy and then move to some lighter questions. I did record this in the middle of the day and my son started having a meltdown upstairs, so if you listen close you can hear some of him crying toward the end of the episode. Oops!  I would really appreciate it if you shared the show with your friends and/or wrote a review of the show on iTunes. THANKS!! Here are the questions in this episode: How can I care for myself and start to feel alive again with an alcoholic partner and an overwhelming life? What should I do about a therapist that talks about himself too much? How can I focus on self-improvement when I'm overwhelmed with school and work? As always you can send me your questions big or small to duffthepsych@gmail.com http://twitter.com/duffthepsych or http://facebook.com/duffthepsych 

You asked for it! Here's a deep dive episode all about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. I briefly mention this, but I didn't give nearly enough emphasis to the fact that you can have the primarily inattentive type, the hyperactive/impulsive type, or the combined type. Oops! In the episode, I mention my interview on the MyCoda podcast, which you can find here: http://www.mycoda.net/session-020/ You should also be checking me out on facebook http://facebook.com/duffthepsych   Next week is a Q&A, so send me your questions!! duffthepsych@gmail.com  

I'm back from a quick little vacation and ready to get back into the grind! This episode, I took three questions from the same person. Thought it would be an interesting thing to do and they sent in a nice variety of questions. Here's what is covered: -Would group therapy or individual therapy be better for me? -How can parents create an emotionally open environment for their kids? -What do I do if I feel comfortable in my depression?   As always you can reach me through email at duffthepsych@gmail.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych  

I know I saw this every week, but we have some awesome questions today. I get the opportunity to give into some tough questions and hopefully provide a little insight into some of the more difficult mental health issues.  Don't forget to check out http://audibletrial.com/duff if you want a free audiobook.  Keep the awesome questions coming. Shoot me an email to duffthepsych@gmail.com or find me at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych or http://facebook.com/duffthepsych   

In this episode, I do something a bit different. Earlier today (9/27/16) I gave a professional talk to a group of people about dementia. The point of my talk was to give them a thorough understanding of dementia in general and to describe some of the specific types that you might encounter. This episode is a little more straight forward and informational than my other shows, but if you are interested in sitting through a 1-hour crash course with me, I encourage you to have a listen!  If you have any additional questions, shoot me an email to duffthepsych@gmail.com  

Hello, friends! As always thank you for continuing to supply me with a wealth of super awesome, honest, and candid questions. Today is no exception. I cover three really great listener questions in depth. I need your feedback! What topics would you like me to cover in my future "deep dive" episodes?  Here are the questions for this episode: Should I be worried about the critical voice in my head and what can I do about my crippling anxiety? How can I get over a break up when there is money involved? Does this count as emotional abuse? What should I do about it? As always you can send me your questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych

I really enjoyed the variety of questions in this episode. Please keep sending me in such awesome questions because they keep the show fresh and interesting. This is your show too!  I share a little secret about the Audible Trial in this episode, so head by http://audibletrial.com/duff to put it to good use.  Here are the questions that I cover: As a man, what can I do to better deal with my anorexic tendencies? What should I do when I can't handle hearing the emotional burden from my friends because it drains me and gets me worked up? Should I be worried about my 4-year-old's imaginary friends when there is a family history of schizophrenia? As always you can reach me through email at duffthepsych@gmail.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych  

This episode is a deep dive look into how you can suck less at sleeping. Sponsored this week by audible. Check out http://audibletrial.com/duff for a free month of audible and one free book.  Here are the cliffnotes of this episode: Good habits related to sleep are called "Sleep Hygiene"  Most of it comes down to association and conditioning You should have a consistent sleep routine You should ONLY sleep in your bed vs working on the laptop, using your phone etc. Get your phone out of the room Wind down and go offline 30 min before bed Avoid exercise, caffeine etc. Keep sending me your questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com or on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych

Super awesome and very brave questions today with some common themes between them. Thank you all so much for continuing to be active participants in this show. Not only are you doing something great for yourself by asking your questions, but you may be helping someone else with a similar concern. Here's what we cover in today's episode: Will my therapist break confidentiality if I disclose information about past self-harm? What should I do if my therapist feels TOO emotionally close to me? Is my current relationship just another form of self-harm?  As always you can reach me on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych or via email at duffthepsych@gmail.com   

Before I talk about the episode, get your buns over to http://duffthepsych.com/giveaway so that you can enter to win some awesome free stuff. Ending this week. Anyway, this was another awesome possum question and answer episode. Super pleased with the variety of questions. Nice work and please keep them coming. Here is what we cover in this episode: How do I cope with feeling detached from my body and experiences? What should I do about a toxic friend? What happens when you "know" for a fact that you are bad. Therapy can't help with that, right? As always you can reach my on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych or email me duffthepsych@gmail.com. 

This is another deep dive episode where I focus on one topic and give you more in depth information than I typically do on the Q&A episodes. In this one, I talk all about the different terminology related to mental health treatment. I talk about the different terms for treatment itself such as therapy, psychotherapy, and counseling as well as the different people who provide services such as psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, neurologists, and more.  Fair warning- this information is pretty USA based since some of the terminology varies, but I hope it is helpful nonetheless!  Next week will indeed be another Q&A episode, so keep sending your questions into me at duffthepsych@gmail.com or http://twitter.com/duffthepsych

On this episode, I talk with Heather Gray from ChooseToHaveItAll.com about how she has been able to overcome the very difficult speed bumps in her life by being brave and re-choosing to live a happy life. She is a super strong woman and I think that definitely comes through in the interview. We did experience a few little technical issues during the interview, but I tried my best to edit around them. Apologies if I missed anything.  Please check out Heather on twitter at http://twitter.com/HGrayLICSW and visit her website at http://www.choosetohaveitall.com/ Next week is another Q&A so make sure you are sending in your questions! 

Another FANTASTIC grouping of questions today. This one is a little on the longer side, but I think there is a lot of valuable content to be had here. Above all I think that these questions were very BRAVE. Keep them coming!  Don't forget to check out the NEW AUDIOBOOK for F**k Depression at http://hardcoreselfhelp.com Here are the questions that are covered in this episode: Should I be concerned about my feelings of anxiety and depression or is this just normal for a 14 year old? How can I help my husband be less hard on my daughter about her weight and diet? Should I avoid going into the mental health profession due to my own issues? Don't forget to send your questions in to http://twitter.com/duffthepsych or duffthepsych@gmail.com

This was a fun one for me. In this episode, I do a "deep dive" into Pokemon Go and mental health. I talk about why the game is so effective and addicting as well as how that can be used in a very real way to combat mental health issues. I also address one particular way that it could cause distress for some. Please continue the conversation on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych and let me know your thoughts!

This episode fought back! My computer crashed when I recorded it the first time and I lost everything. Oh well. No biggie. Re-recorded it for you here and I don't mind at all because the questions were so great! Here's what we cover: -Why don't my friends notice when I don't show up? -How can I help my patients who seem traumatized from their medical treatment? -Is it worth it to keep trying when I'm so depressed?  As always you can send me your questions on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych or through email at duffthepsych@gmail.com