Fortnightly Check-In #51 - Intake Interviews, Q&A Sessions, Better Left Said

Follow my journey through the chaos of mental illness and the hard-fought lessons learned along the way.
Lived experience is at the heart of this podcast — every episode told through my own lens, with raw honesty and zero filter.

This is a genuine and vulnerable account of how multiple psychological disorders have shaped my past and continue to influence my future.

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Created by Elliot Waters — Inspired by lived experience.
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Transcript

Mood Check-in and Medication Challenges

Speaker 0 0:10

Good day everybody . My name is Elliot Waters and you're listening to the Dysregulated Podcast . As always , thank you for tuning in . If you're enjoying the show , feel free to like , subscribe , give the show a great rating and you can share it around with your mates . And you can follow me on Instagram at elliotttwaters , and you can follow the show on Facebook by searching for the Dysregulated Podcast . All right , so let's do a little bit of a check-in . Most of this episode is going to be about the podcast itself and what's coming up ahead and a few things like that . So that'll be the majority of this episode , but I will touch on my mood just quickly .

Speaker 0 0:51

Of course , over the last two weeks I don't have a great deal to report . It's sort of been a bit of the whole same old same old , which is lots of anxiety , lots of social capacity issues . There's been some depressive dips , though , I must admit , which have caught me off guard a little bit , yesterday not being a particularly great day , but then yesterday was a no stimulant day , so I was very , very flat yesterday . I wasn't super , super anxious , but I was quite depressed without that stimulant and I certainly had no energy and I did a lot of sleeping . But the good thing is that this week or the end of this week or last week , I haven't done the whole stay in bed for like two , three days thing and then be so petrified that I can't move once I wake up again . That whole little exercise didn't happen this week or this one . Just gone it was yeah . So yesterday I was sleeping a lot but I was still able to get my meals in and medications and all that sort of stuff , but of course not the stimulant , because I needed a stimulant holiday , as you call it , to keep that tolerance under control . Actually , there is some bad news regarding my medication , bad bad news , and I'm going to do a full episode on it soon , and that episode is titled , or will be titled , medication Emergency , because that's exactly what's going on . It's not good . But those with adhd in particular , who are prescribed the stimulant , you guys , I think will understand exactly where I'm coming from . Uh , with this particular medication emergency , but that's coming maybe tomorrow or wednesday , um , but yes , I slept a lot because of no stimulation . Um , as I said , the anxiety wasn't too bad , don't get me wrong . It was there , as it always is , but it didn't go to that next level , but I was very flat and depressed . It was a nice day outside . I didn't leave the house , it's that sort of stuff . It wasn't particularly fun , but I got through it as best as I could . Then today it wasn't particularly fun , but I got through it as best as I could . And then today we're back on the stimulant and here we are doing a podcast episode , and that's sort of how it happens .

Speaker 0 3:12

I wouldn't say at this point that I'm addicted to the medication . I wouldn't . I don't believe that because I don't crave it in the sense that I'm like you know , oh , I can't wait to have my dexamphetamine . I'm going to feel so high , it's going to be great , I'm just going to go crazy . That's not how I think . I think I can't wait to have my dexamphetamine medication because then I can actually get up and do something and achieve something with my day . So I don't know , maybe that in itself is a high and if it is well , whatever .

Speaker 0 3:38

But yeah , very dependent on the medications I have to be able to function at all , which is not good , and this is why I wanted to try and get off them . But , as we know , that has become maybe a bridge too far . But anyway , that's all right . That's still evolving , that situation . I'm still a little while away until my next psychiatry appointment and same as my next psychology appointment too . That's a little bit off . The reason I haven't been to the psychologist as much lately and therefore haven't done a my Therapy Reflections episode recently is because I don't have the money . Because you'll remember , if you've been listening to the show , that I've dropped back hours at work to try and build up that social capacity and not be burnt out at the end of each week , which I'm still not sure if this experiment is coming up with the results that I was hoping for . But anyway , whatever , it's still ongoing . But the fact is I'm not making as much money as I was and unfortunately psychology , or at least the consistency of me going to therapy , has been put on hold a bit because I just can't afford it .

Speaker 0 4:46

So if there's anyone listening who's got a spare I don't know 10 grand , feel free to sponsor the show . If you'd like to sponsor the show , let me know . That would be great . Still waiting for a sponsor . I'm sure one of these medication companies would like to sponsor the show , but unfortunately I've rubbished their product too often to probably make it worthwhile for them . So I don't know , maybe

Financial Struggles and Therapy Consistency

Speaker 0 5:10

I'll look for sponsorship in another way , anyway , moving on .

Speaker 0 5:13

So to the stuff that's about the podcast moving forward . So the first thing is the intake interview series . So I am putting the call out . I think I've done it briefly on the show already , but I'm doing it again here now and I'm going to do an episode on the whole intake interview series process . So it's very clear for those who want to get on board and share their story . But I am putting the call out . If you'd like to share your story of lived experience here on the show , feel free to message me on Instagram , on Facebook , and I'll get back to you as soon as I can .

Speaker 0 5:50

There's a few people that have messaged through that I haven't replied to yet , and I really want to say this this isn't because I don't respect your story . Okay , like , the privilege and the honor to share and showcase some people's lived experience on this show is something that's not lost on me , trust me . And if you're waiting for a reply from me and you're thinking that I must not give a damn , that's why I haven't opened your message and done it yet . That's not the case . The case is social capacity issues . So I apologise to those who have reached out and I haven't been able to get back to just yet . I promise when the winds are blowing I'm going to have my sales set in the right direction .

Speaker 0 6:31

I'm going to do all the replying and sending out of emails for the Intac interviews , because this is going to be awesome , it's going to be great and it's going to be really good to be able to put your stories out there in a way that you would like it to be presented , because it's your episode , it's not mine . But yeah , I just need that social capacity . I'm hoping today I'll be able to reply to people , but even so , if you listen to this episode , you're wondering where the hell I've been . I've been around , but I haven't been very active since the end of the week because I have been quite snowed under as far as social capacity goes . So my apologies , there's no disrespect from my behalf . I just haven't been able to mentally be able to do it yet . So those replies are coming soon .

Speaker 0 7:21

It is also helpful and important , and I'll talk more about this in the episode dedicated to the interview series and how it works . But it is helpful and important if you do provide an email address , because there's a few documents that I send across , just like a talent release form is one , or my rubric , like a structured document just to put a bit of structure around the episode . I send that one across as well . That's a Google document that we can both access . So an email address is helpful because then I can send those attachments along , as well as the little spiel that I give and will be giving to all the guests on the show , just to make sure that you guys know exactly what's going on and you're in control .

Speaker 0 8:12

It's your story , you're the expert , it's your episode , and I cannot wait to listen to your experiences and be able to showcase them here on the show . It's a real great privilege and I think it'll do the listeners a lot of good too , because I've said this before and I'll say it again my story is for better or for worse is quite broad , because I've said this before and I'll say it again my story is for better or for worse is quite broad , because I have a lot of diagnoses , I'm on a lot of medications , I've trialled a lot of medications and I've done a lot of therapy , but at the same time , it still is only my story and my experiences , and although I can wear a lot of hats different hats in the mental health space , I can't wear them all , which is a good thing , because I think that's . I don't think my prognosis would be very good under the weight of all those hats . But you guys bring with you such unique , awesome experiences and that contribution to the show , I think , will just be so awesome for people listening and myself to really broaden that understanding where it comes around to mental ill health . So , yeah , there you go , and lots of inspiration as well . Let's not forget that part and it's important . I think these episodes are important because often when you've got a mental illness , you do feel very alone and isolated . That's what the illnesses do to you , or at least that's the perception that they try and give you , and I think by getting people on the show here , you know it's really going to highlight that you're not alone . You know , and I'm not alone too , and I need that reminder often as well . So so , yes

Intake Interview Series Announcement

Speaker 0 9:36

, the intake interview is very important . If you'd like to get involved , send me a message , no pressure , but at the same time it would be great to hear from you . Speaking of hearing from you . A few people have messaged recently through the . So , if you look at the descriptions of every episode , there's a link send me a message , and a few people have sent me a message through that link , which is awesome . Thank you for those messages .

Speaker 0 10:00

The problem is I can't , as far as I can tell , I can't reply to those messages that get sent through the send me a message prompt , so I'm able to read them and I have read them and it's been really great . I've appreciated that sort of feedback and you guys checking in . The problem is , though , I don't really have a way of replying , as far as I can tell , through this function . So I don't think I'll get rid of the function , because it is an easy way to just quickly send something through if you'd like to , but it is a little bit limited in the fact that I can't seem to get a reply to you . So , if you'd like a reply , probably look towards Instagram , facebook and message me on there , and again , when I have the capacity and I'm not completely under the pump of anxiety , I will definitely get back to you . So , yeah , so just let you know . For those that have sent me a message that way , I've received them but I don't seem to be able to have a way to reply .

Speaker 0 11:02

Okay , the Q&A sessions . The Q&A sessions were meant to start last week . Typical Elliot didn't get it out . That's because I busy week and my plan is to do the episodes , I'm hoping , on a Friday the head into the weekend . So we've all got something to listen to over the weekend and to do it every single Friday . So it's consistent . Because you'll know , if you've listened to this show , how consistency , like it is in my general life , is a big problem . So I'm hoping to really use the Q&A sessions as a way to be consistent .

Speaker 0 11:33

I've had some great messages or questions sent in . Some of them have been quite tricky and you know like the idea is . I want to do short and sharp sort of thing . You know , get a few questions , answer them nice short and sharp sort of answers and responses and quite often the question may , you know , lead to a bigger episode down the track . That's a bit more fleshed out , but I do want it to be sort of , you know , rapid fire , boom , boom , boom . Here's a well thought out answer to your question . But at the same time , you know , that's how I want those sessions to sort of look so , and there's a few questions there that already will and have and are demanding , inherently in the fact that they're great questions that deserve their own episodes . So I'll explain that when I answer the first lot of questions shortly . My plan is to do the Q&A sessions episode , the first one , the first actual session , today or tomorrow and get it out to you guys , and then do the second one on Friday and then hopefully follow that sort of schedule from then on in . So we'll see how we go .

Speaker 0 12:42

But like , for example , one of the questions it's a great question , they're all been great questions that has been sent in is it's one about my lived experience , which is which of the mental health disorders that I've got which is the most challenging to live with and that deserves , I think , an episode on its own because it's a great question . It's something I've never really answered before . You know , I talk about all these different mental illnesses that I've got . Remember I've got like seven or eight of them , from BPD , borderline personality , to ADHD , obsessive compulsive disorder , generalized anxiety disorder , generalized anxiety disorder , social anxiety disorder . What else is there ? Autism , recurrent depressive episodes , let's say , substance abuse disorder that's probably there too . There's a lot of them and I do talk about the different disorders reasonably frequently , but I've never really I don't think said which , you know , any sort of order

Q&A Sessions and Future Plans

Speaker 0 13:42

of risk I guess these different mental illnesses for me personally pose . So that'll be good , it'll be good to answer that question . I'm looking forward to it . The answer I'll answer it in two ways , but yeah , it sort of came pretty quickly to me as well , which I thought was interesting . So my little sort of hypothesis about my own mental illnesses and the severity and how chronic , debilitating , and how they infiltrate my life have come out pretty clearly . So that's , I know there's a bit of insight that I gained as well . All right , the last thing is to say so this week I did some recording for another podcast , which is called the Better Left Said Podcast , which is being run through the University of Newcastle , and I'm a part of the project team as the lived experience expert or advisor or whatever you want to call it , which is awesome .

Speaker 0 14:39

I've been involved in the co-designing of the , of the um , the , the investigation , the research investigation , um it's . It's a part of a PhD program , not me , I'm not doing the PhD , but one of the participants well , not participants . One of the researchers is it's her PhD program , but it's also going to be hopefully published as well , depending on what the results sort of come out with . So it's basically what we're doing and I'm so thrilled to be a part of the team is we're assessing the , I guess , utility or the usefulness of a podcast when it comes to reaching men with moderate to severe anxiety or depression . So this is through the work of Associate Professor Dr Miles Young , who , of course , is my supervisor .

Speaker 0 15:30

He was my supervisor when I did my honours thesis and he's who I work with at the university , which is awesome . It's great to have that working relationship and that friendship continue on , and he'll be coming on the show very soon to talk about the Better Left Said podcast . And I also want to grill him on what it was really like trying to get me kicking and screaming across the finish line when I did my thesis , because I don't think I was the easiest of students that he's had . But at the same time , we still work together now on research projects . So I don't know , I must have been all right to work with . But yeah , miles is coming on soon , which is going to be so cool . But the Better Left Said podcast . So I did recording during the week , like I said , and if you go on social media you'll see those posts that I put up there of me in the recording studio with the team , which is really great , but there's some other great episodes that have been recorded .

Speaker 0 16:27

So if you are a male who has moderate to severe depression , or the belief that you do , who has moderate to severe depression or the belief that you do , and you would like to try listening to a podcast , it's not this one but it's another one that I'm involved with quite intimately and I am recorded on it as well . I give my reflections after each episode from the lived experience point of view . If you believe this might be something you'd like to be a part of , it doesn't cost any money , of course . It's a great research project . This is real research that has real-world consequences . If it is shown that a podcast is able to reach this traditionally very tough cohort to reach , which is men who are suffering from mood or anxiety disorder , this is huge , moving forward , huge , and I've got a feeling that it probably will . I think it will because I know just from this podcast that I do that . It seems to really work with getting across to , I guess , both genders or all genders . So I guess , anecdotally , from my work with my own podcast , it appears podcast platforms seem to do something and better left said , I'm a part of it as well , and so are so many great experts in the field . It's really good . It's really good information . So I really encourage all men who may fit the requirements to sign up , if you would like to .

Speaker 0 18:06

After this episode I'm going to post some info up about it on Instagram and Facebook . So my suggestion would be to keep an eye out on Instagram at elliotttwaters , or on Facebook by searching the Dysregulated Podcast . You'll see the page for the show . Have a look on there and I will have posted the information about getting involved in that research trial . It's very , very exciting . We're looking for 40 participants to begin with , but this will ,

Better Left Said Podcast Collaboration

Speaker 0 18:43

if the first initial trial , which is almost a pilot run , if it comes back that there's some significance in the results either way , somewhere there's significance then the idea is , what usually happens is more funding is requested and then this trial is rolled out um more broadly , uh , in different waves , and then the results are obviously compared and and then the the um , conclusions are drawn from there . But , yeah , so , 40 participants to begin with , so you may have to get in quick but at the same time , if you don't get in this time but you'd like to , um , don't worry , there'll be more of it coming , I'm sure .

Speaker 0 19:22

So that's the Better Left Said podcast , which , yeah , during the week I recorded an episode , the second to last episode , which is about accessing help through a GP , and I was joined by a general practitioner , dr Cathy O'Grady , as well as Liz Daskam , who is the PhD student . So the what's that ? Three , four of us were in the room having a great conversation , and it was really good to get her insights into the world of GPs and how they approach mental health consultations , because the big thing , the big statistic that she came away with or I came away with , as she said , was that GPs I don't know if you knew this , but 71% of appointments with a GP are mental health related . 71% , that's heaps , and that tells me there's a lot of people out there who are suffering from mental ill health . So that's why it's so important that we try different interventions , novel ways of reaching out to people , such as podcast platforms , because there's a lot of people out there who are doing it tough . So 71% of all appointments in Australia with a GP are done in the mental health sort of side of things . So I thought that was quite quite well . Yeah , sort of stunned me a little bit , I knew it'd be high , but yeah , that's a lot . So there you go .

Speaker 0 20:44

It's not just me , it's not just me and it's not just you either . There is a lot of us out there who are going through this and that's why we need to really stick together and , you know , try and help each other get along , because life's pretty hard . It doesn't matter who you are , life is hard and I haven't met anybody who's got away with it , you know . So you know we're all got our own struggles , whether it's a mental illness or whether it's just . You know , life is being really difficult , which it can be , which can , of course , lead to mental illnesses . But generally speaking , I just assume that everyone's got something going on . So if we can just try and be pretty nice to each other , I reckon that's a pretty good idea . All right , that's it for now .

Speaker 0 21:25

There was a bit in that episode , but yeah , a bit of um admin to sort of get through what's coming up very exciting , um . So I'm going to get on to that ASAP because I've got a bit of energy , I've got a bit of social capacity at the moment . So I need to hit the ground running and take advantage when I can because , as you know , unfortunately I don't stay in these good , positive , productive moods for that long . So I've got to get into it , I've got to stick with it . Let's go , let's keep on trucking . All right , thank you everybody for listening . I hope you're enjoying the show . Of course , reach out if you'd like to be a part of the q a sessions , reach out if you'd like to be part of the intake interview series and just reach out if you'd like to . In general , just to say good day , because I encourage that as well . All right , thanks everybody , have a good one and I'll see you next time here on the Dish Regulated Podcast .