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“If your pain had a voice, what would it say? And if your gifts could speak, what story would they tell?”
Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center’s podcast dedicated to empowering parents and their kids as they navigate mental health challenges. Through insightful discussions, expert advice, and engaging storytelling, we provide the tools and support needed to foster resilience, self-discovery, and emotional well-being.
Each episode features two segments:
🦸♂️ For Parents – Practical strategies, expert insights, and real conversations to help caregivers support their child’s mental and emotional growth.
🌟 For Kids – Interactive storytelling and discussions centered around unlocking their inner hero, overcoming obstacles, and building confidence.
Together, we break stigmas, encourage open dialogue, and equip families with the knowledge to thrive. Because every hero’s journey starts with a conversation.
#CapesAndConversations #UnlockTheHeroWithin #MentalHealthMatters #ParentingSupport #BuildingFutures
00:00:00
Welcome to Capes and Conversations, the Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center podcast. I'm Adam Kotowski, Clinical Director. And I'm Megan Rose McMullen, MS. This podcast is a conversation about mental health and wellness. So today we're going to take a little detour from our normal content. We're going to talk about suicide awareness and prevention and how this impacts people, how we can move forward from it, how we can shift.
00:00:30
Is there anything you want to start off with? Well, first and foremost, I would like to say anybody watching, listening, or both, kind of put up a little bit of a barrier, because this can be a trigger warning for many people. Suicide's a very, very tough subject. It impacts so many various aspects of people's lives. So like I always say, when I'm in the observer position with people, for example, as... Imagine it's kind of like if you ever seen the movie A Christmas Carol, where they're outside the window and they're looking at their life as an observer, kind of be in that observer position here.
00:01:11
So we avoid trigger warnings or any kind of triggers that could spark something, because it's a very serious subject. With that, I would like to begin by saying you matter. Matter. Everyone who is watching this, listening to this, you matter and you have gifts. Now, whether you have discovered and developed those gifts, that might still be in the process, still might take time.
00:01:41
But all of you have gifts and only you can produce those gifts. Only you can give us those gifts. So when it comes to suicide, the world gets robbed of your gifts if you're no longer here. Yeah. I like to think of it. As like your avatar has a unique filter on the world and it doesn't matter if you're making music or you're playing basketball or you're writing stories, even if the story has a similar field of one that has already been written, your filter specifically is unique to you and your experiences and you can't replicate that.
00:02:23
Correct. Correct. And we've talked about this before. There's a difference between perception and perspective. Perception is obviously things that have happened to you along the way, things you've experienced, conditioning from loved ones, people you go to school with. That is always perception. Perspective is your uniqueness. That's what you develop in your own consciousness, your own awareness. And perspective can be a very, very, very big factor when it comes to discovering your gifts and your purpose and mission.
00:02:54
Yeah. It's important, too, because those things being squashed or put. out because of something that is in the long run it might feel really big right in the moment whether you just went to prom and you've just been bullied or did something that you feel ashamed or remorse for it maybe you didn't get into the college that you were looking for because we have a lot of these milestones right now right yeah we're graduating and we're moving on some of us are going from middle school into high school or maybe some of us are going from high.
00:03:28
school to college or maybe we messed up and we have consequences that we don't really like and we feel ashamed of them like there's a lot of things but everything is figure-out-able everyone has mistakes in their past everyone has done something where they when they think about it they kind of cringe right and nothing is big enough for that permit of response no and you I always do this when I work with groups I always pull somebody up.
00:04:00
stage or whatever I'm presenting. And I'll say, hey, do me a favor, show me your past. And they always do this. This is back here. Okay, perfect. So I have them turn around and face the audience and say, show them your past. Now, there's usually a couple of chuckles because they're looking at your backside. But the bottom line is, when it finally hits, I can't show you my past. Exactly. Because there's only one place where your past is, and that's in your memory banks, your brain. Your past no longer exists. There's no evidence of it. Well, I mean, street.
00:04:31
cameras and iPhones and all the other things we have, smart cameras and smartphones that people record. But you will never find your past, period, because it's only in your memory banks. And you cannot predict your future. Your future hasn't happened yet. The only thing you have is the present, which is why it's a gift. A lot of times people out there might be feeling like because of past events, things that have happened to them, continual. traumas and tragedies and experiences they've had that they might be at rock bottom well my.
00:05:05
response to that is rock bottom is one heck of a place to build a foundation on and that starts with the present moment it starts right here right now and you just brick by brick build the foundation of your future the future doesn't happen until you're in the present and you create the future through the present moment and what you do is you realize that your past no longer exists that version of you is deleted it's old it doesn't it's not happening anymore because what we always do not always but what we can do is we bring a familiar past and we create a.
00:05:37
predictable future so it's a repeated cycle familiar past with predictable future how you stop that is by being in the present moment and when you're in the present moment you take your new future your new foundation and you build into the future so you break the habit of being you by being in the present moment and creating the version of you that you want right that doesn't need approval from anybody else that is your, version of who you want to be and then you grow from there right and you leading by your heart will never steer you wrong and if you're confused at where your heart is pointing you can always ask.
00:06:11
the people that you trust the most correct and if you don't feel like you can trust anybody you can more than happy to come in here find someone you do trust um and and talk about it because i think that's the first thing that people think is that what i'm experiencing right now is insurmountable so big no one else has ever experienced this ever in their entire life and i'm never coming back from it right and i might as well not even what's the point yeah and i go ahead and and i just think that like that there are 8.5 billion people in the world probably there's a good chunk of them.
00:06:47
experienced it and i think that's one of the good things about social media is that you can find people who have experienced the exact same thing that you are experiencing in a similar way and i think that's one of the good things about social media is that you can find people who have experienced the exact same thing that you are experiencing in a similar way and how they got out of it, I love the phrase, and you're talking to a guy with ADHD and dyslexia, so I'm not big on math, but D equals A minus M. When it comes to what you're going through, you have to give meaning to your adversity.
00:07:19
So D, discouragement, despair, equals adversity minus meaning. Everyone, no one is immune to adversity or suffering. We're all going to have some sort of trauma, tragedy, things that we experience, things, situations we're forced into that gives us adversity and or just some sort of tragic, traumatic experiences, adversity, right?
00:07:49
But if you give it meaning, it will never lead to discouragement or despair minus the meaning. If you take away the meaning and the purpose of why you're going through. adversity, then it leads to despair or discouragement. I learned that from Dr. Victor Franco, who was one of my ultimate mentors, who I've never met in purpose, but I've read about and studied immensely. Dr. Victor Franco spent four years in a Nazi Holocaust camp. And every day he had to find a meaning in his life to get through it. And what I realized from that is that.
00:08:24
you can have a why to get through any how. When we don't give meaning to the adversity that anything that we're going through, we formulate and create discouragement, despair, which leads us into hopeless and helplessness. But when you find a meaning, even in suffering, even in, adversity, then you can't throw away what you've created. You can't, people can't take away what you are becoming and who you are. That's the key. And I think too, this goes back to a lot of things.
00:08:58
that we always talk about, which is like, it's you. always an experience that you can learn new skills new abilities new memories it's all part of it like if we remember that our brain is literally designed to keep track of memories that's all it's doing it's just it's a movie it's creating the memory and holding it in there and like that's all that you have right and then like that's what it's supposed to do but you have to categorize those things and otherwise you're going to always focus on the negative but.
00:09:31
if you give it meaning the more times that you have certain things that might be negative and you give them meaning your brain is going to shift that to be like oh you know like finding the silver lining in things um you know shifting that negative talk to positive like what did i gain from this and getting a different perspective um from other people and getting i think of it too like if you have a gallon of milk and you measure it, how small it is but you compare it to a blueberry it's not very small and if you compare it on its.
00:10:07
largeness to a giraffe it's not very big and if you compare it to like something that's heavy but milk is not designed to be measured towards its size or anything it's just supposed to give us nourishment right so like it's you have to put it in its right context in order to give it meaning so like if you're putting yourself in meaning of this person who maybe i don't trust is bullying me and saying that i'm xyz right i'm stupid or i'm fat or whatever it might be bullying.
00:10:40
then and that person doesn't really know you that in that context they don't really know who you are but my family and my friends who really love me think i'm creative and think that i'm really good at playing piano or when you put that yourself into that context you're not really good at playing piano a context that matters and it has meaning it's far better than if you put yourself outside, that into a situation that might be common, but isn't your framework. Does that make sense? No, it absolutely does make sense. And what I've learned in studying is a vast majority of.
00:23:05
i'm gonna do better for myself by going through these myself than asking you to do it and clean it and wash it and fold it because you're not gonna know what my style is or what i think or what i feel so going through the pile of laundry right that's mine isn't necessarily going to be helpful if you're doing it for me so sometimes it's just about setting it out there and looking at it and saying okay well i don't want this actually i don't want this memory i don't want this size i've grown out of it it has holes in it or whatever stick it to the side and then you get.
00:24:40
some kind of mental health issue at some point in their life. And one in five youth, young people will have some kind of mental health and only half of them will seek help. Correct. And that is an atrocity because if you can learn how to handle name, identify, process your, your emotions and feelings now, the healthier, the happier you'll be longer term. Yes. Well, better out than in. When you get the emotions out, I always chuckle internally when.
00:25:15
we're working with somebody and say, you know, I'm going to cry. That's why we're here. Yeah. That, to get the emotions out. Why are you suppressing them? Why are you holding on? And there's nothing wrong with crying. Especially for guys. The stigma for a guy not being able to cry. No, I'm sorry. We need to end that stigma immediately. Now, get out your emotions, let it go. You're not serving anyone, including yourself by keeping it in. Yeah. Let it out. So we're here to release those emotions. So that's part of the better out than in philosophy is let's talk about it emotionally. Let's, let's spew it. Let's get,
00:25:47
get it out. Because like you said, a lot of times you'll get aha's when you let it out. Like, oh my gosh, I just heard my, my, myself talk right there. Perfect. You get to hear it from a different perspective. Now you're not holding on to it. Right. And so, So if you have any thoughts of harming yourself or others, please seek help. There is, you can text and call 988 at any time, 24 seven. And if you need an appointment to help sift through the thoughts, the anxiety and all of those things, please feel free to reach out and set up an appointment.
00:26:19
We're here. We have also an anonymous thing. If you want issues that you would like to be talked on the podcast, we're here for you. And we're here to support the community because you're not alone. So we want to listen. We want to hear your story and you have every right to tell it. Yes. I would rather listen to your story than give your eulogy. And anybody who is listening to this, who cares about you would say the same thing. Tell us your story. We want to listen here at Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center. We would love to have you here. We would love to listen to your story.
00:26:50
But guess what? If you're in an area that you can't get here, seek. There are so many resources available. So many magnificent. There are so many magnificent therapists out there. That will do the same. Tell us your story. Let us help you formulate something new. Let's take your gifts and bring those to the world because only you can give us those gifts. And we don't want you to rob the world of your gifts by you not being here. It's so vital that you understand that. And by all means, reach out,
00:27:23
Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center, stop in, talk to me. We're here. We will make time. We'll figure it out. But at the same time, there's other resources that are out there too. But please. Reach out to your teachers, your parents, anybody. Okay. Anybody that you trust and get resources, just ask for help. Yes. That's it. Agreed. All right. Until next time. Thank you for listening to Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center Capes and Conversations. We are a non-for-profit 501c3.
00:27:54
All donations and sponsorships will be utilized to serve those who may need it and our services through collaborative... with our psychiatric nurse practitioner and or our clinical social workers, yet are unable to afford it. If you would like to sponsor these services, donation links are in the show notes on our website and on our social media outlets. If you have any topics of conversations or questions that we should talk about, please contact us, and if you choose, you will remain anonymous.