Are We Truly "Aware" of Mental Illness? Artwork

Minding Your Amygdala - A Brain, Body, Behavior Podcast

When you experience something traumatic, who do you call for help? How much education have you received about your brain, biology and their connection to your behavior? Are you familiar with the Amygdala (“Your Feelings Creator”) and one of the six Primitive Brain Systems that are predictably programmed by psychological trauma?When you or a loved one needs psychological help, it's hard to know what to say or do. Start here! Join Dr. Alauna, Trauma Psychiatrist, who believes in a comprehensive, empathy-based approach to healing from trauma. Regardless of the events leading to the traumatic experience (ex. physical abuse, sexual trauma, climate disasters, or even invisible wounds like invalidation), the impact on the brain’s programming is the same. It's time to de-stigmatize trauma as an experience that happens to everyone and evolve our ability to self-regulate our emotions. This is your weekly go-to for all questions about mental and emotional health, trauma recovery, brain science and more!Visit www.dralauna.com to learn more about Dr. Alauna, Trauma Psychiatrist

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Minding Your Amygdala - A Brain, Body, Behavior Podcast

Are We Truly "Aware" of Mental Illness?

October 28, 2022 • Season 2 • Episode 12

In October, we observed Mental Illness Awareness Week. In that time I asked myself, as a society, Are we TRULY AWARE of mental illness? (Spoiler: NOOOOooo!)

This month, we take the time to acknowledge and raise awareness of many different conditions we call “mental illness” like Depression, Schizophrenia, ADHD, PTSD, Dementia, Bipolar Disorder and more. However, as I listen to society debate the many pressing issues of our current society, the widespread violence and chaos, or hypothesizing about “what’s wrong with Ye?” it strikes me that we do not even have the BASIC language to fully appreciate most mental illnesses. Every day, I hear people use language like "crazy" or "weird" to describe people who are experiencing mental health crises. I hear misuse of words like "bipolar" to describe erratic weather, and a host of other frankly ignorant statements about emotional and mental health. Our culture has long downplayed attention to emotions, despite them being ever-present, resulting in widespread mental health struggles that have yet to even be "named" and identified. Our current system is woefully inadequate to address the realities of how many people need mental health support and treatment.

In this episode of MYA, Dr. Alauna breaks down why a Brain, Body, Behavior anatomy lesson is KEY to truly becoming Mental Health Aware!

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