Mad Mel’s Mic
Mad Mel’s Mic
Finding your voice through the chaos.
Welcome to Mad Mel’s Mic—a podcast built on honest conversations, real stories and the belief that no one should face life’s challenges alone.
I’m Mel, a former NSW Police officer who served for 18 years before being medically retired with PTSD. Like many people living with mental health challenges, I spent a long time feeling isolated and wondering if anyone truly understood what I was going through. It was through hearing other people’s lived experiences that I realised I wasn’t alone—and that’s why I created this podcast.
Each week, I share my own journey and sit down with guests from all walks of life for open and honest conversations about mental health, trauma, resilience, recovery and the moments that shape us. Some stories are confronting, others are uplifting, but every one of them is real.
Whether you’re living with PTSD, navigating another mental health challenge, supporting someone you love, or simply looking for hope and connection, you’re welcome here.
If this podcast helps just one person feel seen, understood and a little less alone, then every conversation has been worth having.
Welcome to Mad Mel’s Mic—where together, we’re finding our voice through the chaos.
And until next time… be kind to yourself.
Episodes
65 episodes
Finding That Fire Again
Season 2, Episode 30Finding That Fire AgainThis week I’m talking about the nerves, excitement and unexpected spark that has come with preparing for my first presentation with The Change Room and what happened when I ...
Learning To Trust The Good Days Again
Season 2, Episode 29:I mark my 21st wedding anniversary and reflect on relationships, love languages and the ordinary things that keep us connected. But this episode is also about something I've been noticing lately — small wins, hope, a...
The Other Side of The Change Room - with Matt Elliott
Season 2, Episode 28What happens when life changes direction and the identity you once knew no longer quite fits?This week on Mad Mel’s Mic, I sit down with Matt Elliott, founder of The Change Room — and someo...
What If Your Past Self Saw You Now
Season 2, episode 27Sometimes progress doesn’t look like a huge breakthrough. Sometimes it looks like doing something today that you couldn’t have done 12 months ago.In this episode, I’m talking about those wins we so easily overl...
When Your Head Breaks - With Narelle Fraser
Season 2, episode 26This episode is special. Melissa had the amazing opportunity be have a chat with Narelle Fraser who is a former Victorian Police officer. She started her own podcast NFI, Narelle Fraser Interviews after her own diagno...
What If Healing Starts With Looking Back
Season 2, episode 25We go back through an unexpected “rabbit hole” that starts with a photo request and ends with me rereading the goodbye texts I sent when I left the police. I unpack how PTSD twisted my memory into feeling abandoned, a...
You Can Take Your Life Back From PTSD
Season 2, episode 24I talk through what’s been on my mind lately, from refining my podcast branding to the way winter can get under your skin when you’re living with PTSD. A Katy Perry shower song turns into a reminder that taking your l...
Grateful For PTSD? A New Frame
Season 2, Episode 23I reflect on why I can honestly say “thank you” to PTSD even while admitting the low points, and how reframing my diagnosis helps me keep moving forward. I share the song and thought that keep me grounded, plus a smal...
The Other Mel Takeovers Questions
Season 2, Episode 22We hand the mic to the other Mel for Takeover Week and answer listener questions with no prep, which turns into a funny, honest look at my life with PTSD. We talk recovery tools, the awkward reality of boundaries, and...
Walking The Road After PTSD
Season 2, Episode 21We talk through what PTSD recovery looks like on an ordinary week, from loneliness and broken dreams to the quiet pride of noticing real progress. We share a trigger test that goes better than expected, plus the small...
Two Mels And One Mic
Season 2, Episode 20We bounce from pop culture to real life, using humour and friendship to make sense of memory lapses, big feelings, and the messy middle of everyday coping. We recap Toy Story, spiral a little on Taylor and Travis wedd...
More Than Your Weakness
Season 2, Episode 19I share the real reason I started talking publicly about PTSD and how recording has become a surprising kind of therapy for me. I connect a song lyric to the hardest parts of recovery, then bring it back to everyday l...
When PTSD Changes Everything
Season 2, Episode 18I talk through a cold, hard week and why showing up online with raw honesty helps me feel less alone and helps others feel seen. A Toy Story song opens up a bigger truth about PTSD, identity loss, and why tiny actions...
When Pain Hijacks Your Head
Season 2, Episode 17My knee injury has me sidelined from the sports that keep me grounded, and I can feel my brain racing ahead to the worst outcomes. I talk through how pain, poor sleep, and uncertainty flare my PTSD, and how I’m trying...
Bad Days Are Worth Gold
Season 2, Episode 16I’m riding a wave of optimism while also dealing with knee pain that’s starting to tug at my mental health. I talk through how I keep myself from sliding into isolation by leaning on practical tools, supportive people...
Friendship As Medicine
Season 2, Episode 15I talk about why friendship and connection can feel like the missing piece when life gets heavy, from Toy Story nostalgia to what real support looks like in practice. We also unpack recovery lessons from a course in N...
Why It Is Not Too Late To Change
Season 2 Episode 14I’m recording from Newcastle while I’m deep in learning and thinking about what real change looks like when you live with PTSD. I use Green Day’s “Still Breathing” to remind you that if you’re still here, you can start...
What If Success Is Simply Love
Season 2, Episode 13I talk about what it feels like to swing through a whole stack of emotions in one day and how living with PTSD can make that feel like different versions of me. I share a tough reminder that PTSD still shows up someti...
Stop Living For Other People’s Opinions
Season 2, Episode 12**** trigger warning - talk of mental health and suicide****We follow the thread of “Follow Your Arrow” into the messy reality of PTSD, stigma, and why other people’s opinions can quietly steer our choices. I s...
Jeff Explains How Alcohol Masked PTSD Until It Finally Caught Up
Season 2, Episode 11***TRIGGER WARNING: TALK OF SUICIDE, DEATH AND OTHER TRAUMA RELATED INCIDENTS**** Please listen with caution and seek help where needed.We sit down with Jeff, a medically retired police officer, to talk honestl...
Riding Through Fear
Season 2 Episode 10:We catch up on what’s been happening in my life with PTSD and why “I’m good” can be the easiest answer even when it’s not true. I share how the Never Late Female Posty Ride pushed me straight through fear and still en...
If Words Can Shape A Life What Are Yours Building
Season 2, Episode 9We talk about the parts of my PTSD recovery I rarely say out loud, including how faith helps me keep moving when life feels too heavy. I also share a moment with Rory that reframes body image and self-worth, plus a sto...
Growing Up Together And Facing PTSD After Policing
Season 2, Episode 8We talk with my brother Matthew about our messy, funny sibling history and how my policing career changed the way we both saw the world. He shares what it felt like watching my PTSD unfold, what he got wrong at first, ...
You Are Not A Burden
Season 2, Episode 7I share what’s been on my mind lately, from a reel that reminded me I’m not a burden to the small routines that keep me steady when I start to feel flat. I also tell the full story of our Canberra pickleball weekend, a...
Raising A Future Police Officer Through Trauma
Season 2, Episode 6:Watching PTSD up close is one thing. Watching it happen to your child is another. For this conversation, I bring on my mum and dad to tell the story people rarely hear: what it’s like to raise a strong-willed kid, che...