Intermittent Fasting & Mental Health: The Science Behind What Diet Culture Isn’t Telling You
Mental Note
Intermittent fasting is everywhere—from influencer feeds to doctor’s offices—but is this trending approach to eating really the wellness cure-all it claims to be? In this episode of Mental Note, registered dietitian Jennifer Vittitow joins host Ellie Pike to explore the hidden downsides of intermittent fasting, including its impact on mental health, disordered eating behaviors, and social connection. Together, they unpack the science, debunk the diet culture spin, and offer a more compassionate path forward—one rooted in balance, flexibility, and trust in your body. Links: ...
info_outline
Choosing Treatment: How Writer Lara Jacobs Reclaimed Her Story from an Eating Disorder
Mental Note
A dangerous secret lurked behind author Lara Jacobs’ ambition: she relied on anorexia to focus her writing, blurring the line between artistic drive and self-destruction. In this episode, Lara shares how years of chasing a story across continents ultimately led her to eating disorder treatment and to rediscovering herself—both as a writer and as a person in recovery. With honesty and hope, she reflects on the pivotal moments that helped her heal, the community that supported her, and how reclaiming her narrative became the most powerful form of self-expression. Now, she teaches...
info_outline
Parenting Through Eating Disorder Recovery: Advice from Those Who’ve Been There
Mental Note
Supporting a loved one through eating disorder recovery can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to do it alone. In this special Q&A episode, we sit down with experienced parents Beth Ayn Stansfield and Amy Oberholtzer, who have navigated this journey with their own children and turned their experiences into advocacy. Beth Ayn, now the National Family Advocate for Eating Recovery Center, and Amy, founder of the nonprofit CATCH, share their hard-earned wisdom on self-care, technology, community-building, and trusting the process. Their insights offer guidance, hope, and reassurance...
info_outline
Who Gets to Heal? Akiera Gilbert on Access and Equity in Eating Disorder Treatment
Mental Note
In a world where mental health care is often seen as one-size-fits-all, Akiera Gilbert is on a mission to break down barriers and open the doors of eating disorder treatment to those often left behind. As the CEO of Project Heal, Akiera leads an organization dedicated to transforming the system while offering immediate, life-saving support to those who face financial, cultural, and systemic obstacles to care. Through her work, Akiera emphasizes the power of community and the need to reimagine healing in ways that honor diverse experiences. In this episode, we explore her personal recovery...
info_outline
Body Image and Liberation with Carly Compton
Mental Note
As an eating disorder survivor turned eating disorder therapist, Carly Compton strives to be the person that she wishes she would have known when she was younger. That conviction led her on a rewarding journey to become a therapist, model, host of the Recover with Carly Podcast, and creator of an eating disorder curriculum for adolescents. In all these endeavors, Carly focuses on partnering with individuals to give up dieting, recover from disordered eating, and find genuine happiness and acceptance within themselves — no matter their size, race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic...
info_outline
Let’s Discuss ADHD with Landon Bryant
Mental Note
From Chaos to Creativity: Storyteller and artist Landon Bryant explores his journey from struggling with life’s basic challenges to finding success and support after an adult ADHD diagnosis. Landon shares how he navigated the difficulties of his condition, including years of trial and error with medications and strategies, and how he ultimately embraced the creative potential of ADHD. This conversation sheds light on the importance of self-awareness, support systems, and the unique strengths that can arise from challenges. His journey is a source of hope for anyone on a similar path....
info_outline
Ozempic, Eating Disorders, and Diabetes: GLP-1 weight loss drugs explained with Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar
Mental Note
GLP-1 weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have exploded in popularity due to their weight-loss potential. But what do they actually do? How do they function? And why are they the subject of so much controversy? With insight from Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, Regional Medical Director for the Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center, this episode will empower you to make an educated decision when it comes to your body and these medications. Crucially, we will also focus on how GLP-1s may affect individuals with eating disorders - even if they are being taken as...
info_outline
Addiction, Incarceration, and Transformational Love - How Queer Filmmaker Vik Chopra Found His Voice
Mental Note
Growing up, Vik Chopra was not the kid most people assumed would end up serving a sentence in Federal prison. A student leader with straight A’s and numerous volunteer hours, Vik secretly hid pain and shame beneath a shiny outward persona - with disastrous consequences. Now a filmmaker, actor, and writer who has embraced his queer and South Asian identities, Vik takes us on a transformational journey through addiction, incarceration, and rebirth. His story is a testament to the powers of embracing community, fostering daily practices, and forgiving ourselves. We encourage you to...
info_outline
Substance Use Disorders Part 2 - How to Make an Effective Change with Leah Young
Mental Note
Welcome to part two of our Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Discussion with Leah Young where we focus on the proactive steps you can take to find recovery from a SUD. Today’s episode is all about what to do once you realize you have a problem with substances or addictive behaviors. We’ll discuss topics like: Different strategies for ending destructive behaviors spanning from abstinence to harm reduction How to develop boundaries to enable healthier behaviors Easy ways to measure the success of your approach If you missed our last episode, you can easily find it in your podcast feed or by...
info_outline
Substance Use Disorder 101 - How much is too much? with Leah Young
Mental Note
In our next two episodes, we will explore a disorder affecting nearly one in five Americans - Substance Use Disorder (SUD). From knowing when your patterns are problematic, to building new neural pathways, to measuring success - we want to dig deep. And we’ve got the incredible expertise of Leah Young to show us why there’s so much reason for hope when dealing with addictive behaviors and substances. You can think of today’s podcast as Substance Use Disorder 101. It answers the questions, “How do you know if your use of alcohol or drugs is a problem?” and “Are you exhibiting...
info_outlineSuicide is one of those words that stops us in our tracks. Often, we treat it tenderly — acting like saying it too loudly will inspire someone to do something awful. But the truth is that not talking about suicide is what actually increases the chance a person with suicidal thoughts will act on them.
So how do you have such a loaded conversation? Well, it helps to get advice from people who’ve been there before.
September is Suicide Prevention Month and in recognition of that goal, we reached out to the experts on dialoguing about difficult mental health topics - an organization called Hope for the Day.
Hope for the Day is a non-profit movement empowering conversations on proactive suicide prevention and mental health education. While based in Chicago, their resources are global. Their whole approach focuses on peer-to-peer led conversations that are guided by clinical oversight. It’s incredibly effective. So today, I’ll speak with five members of their team about tools, programs, and mindsets that can help prevent suicide in the communities we love.
Also, be sure to check out our resources list below for an abundance of ways to get the help you or a loved one may need.
Resources:
- Hope for the Day’s Website: www.hftd.org
- A searchable, international list of resources for suicide prevention and mental health help: www.hftd.org/find-help
- The Things We Don’t Say Program: www.hftd.org/get-educated/
learn-more - Project R.E.D. Team: www.hftd.org/red-team
- Identity & Orientation Resources: www.hftd.org/lgbtq
- Proactive Workplaces Program: www.hftd.org/
proactive-workplaces - Free Live Educations via Zoom or In-Person: www.hftd.org/events
- E-Learning On-Demand Education: www.hftd.org/e-learning/requestform
Emergency Resources:
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Dial 988
- Mental Health Emergencies: Dial 911 and say, "I need an ambulance, at this address, for a mental health crisis."
Our Show’s Resources:
- Our Website: www.mentalnotepodcast.com
- Free mental health assessment: (877) 850-7199
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: Dial 988