Resilience Speaking - A Sneak Peek

Season 1, Episode 34:

We share a preview of Melissa’s resilience talk, moving from a psychiatric ward bed to a microphone and a new sense of purpose. The story reframes PTSD as a quiet, masked struggle and offers hard-won ways to practice kindness, celebrate small wins, and keep going.

• setting a clear content warning and care invitation 
• hospital bed to finding a voice through podcasting 
• pride in police service and the cost of identity loss 
• ankle injury as the turning point from avoidance to facing PTSD 
• the quiet version of PTSD behind everyday routines 
• grief for career and self, balanced by music, laughter, and friendship 
• starting the podcast to feel human and useful again 
• honesty over perfection, no magic cure, steady effort 
• power of kindness from others and toward self 
• recognition of listeners’ struggles and the value of small wins 
• reaching out for support as a sign of strength

If you would like to have me talk to anybody, please reach out

Transcript

Welcome And Content Warning

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey there, welcome to Mad Mail's Mic. Thanks for joining me. My name is Melissa and this is a podcast all about me. About my life. About my life with PTSD. About my life with the husband and kids and friends and everything in between. Thanks for tuning in.

Hospital Bed To Microphone

Police Career And Identity

Injury Forced A Reckoning

What PTSD Really Looks Like

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Hi everybody and welcome to episode 34. This week I've decided to mix things up a little bit and give everybody a little bit of a sneak peek as to what my resilience motivational speaking presentation will be. This is just a quick snippet. It doesn't go into the finer points but gives people a bit of an idea about it. I just wanted to point out as well that there won't be any talk of trauma or things like that. So just yeah, have a listen and I hope you enjoy it. Hey everybody, thanks for tuning in today. My name's Melissa Smith and I'm the founder and creator of Mad Male's Mike Podcast. Before we begin this presentation, a little sneak peek, I want to acknowledge that today's talk includes honest discussions about mental health, trauma, and suicide. I can understand that these topics can be heavy, so please take care of yourself in whatever way you need. Take a break or reach out to somebody that you trust. So, the beginning. Two years ago, I was lying on a hospital bed in a psychiatric ward, wondering if I would ever feel like myself again. I wasn't even sure who that was anymore. The fog was the fog was thick and the silence was deafening. But out of the silence I found a microphone. If I was going to be stuck with this broken head and PTSD, PTSD, I decided I might as well give it a voice. And that voice became Mad Mill's mic. And thanks to my listeners for tuning in. So where it all began, I joined the police when I was just 18. Fresh out of the academy, full of energy and purpose. By 19, I was working at Mount Druid. I want to be clear, very, very clear here, that I do not regret joining the police force. And more importantly, I don't regret any of the things I did in my career. Even knowing it would break me, I'd do it all again. And I'd do the job that broke me in a heartbeat tomorrow. Because it mattered and the people mattered. But when I was medically retired after being diagnosed with PTSD, I ran. Literally. I started a business and I ran because running was the only way I knew how to cope. Until February 2023, I ruined my ankle. I remember somebody saying to me on the netbook cord, I was laying there, what felt like holding my ankle together. And she said, There is a reason why this has happened. But you don't know it yet, but there will be. And at the time, I thought they were full of it. You can only imagine what was running through my head at the time, being told that. But she was right, she was very, very right. Because when I couldn't run anymore, I finally had to stop and face my PTSD. What PTSD really looks for me. Sorry listeners, I didn't expect to get choked up doing this, but I'm going to soldier on. So what PTSD really looks like. When people hear PTSD, they often imagine combat, explosions, tragedy, the big stuff. And I certainly know that that's what I understood of it. Before my injury, that's what I pictured too. War zones, trauma scenes, what I used to call the cool stuff. But there's another version of PTSD, a quieter one. It's a version where you look fine on the outside, still smiling at the supermarket, still getting the kids to school, still holding it together. But inside, it's chaos. You wear a mask to make life easier for everyone around you. But all that does is solvent your own pain. The hard truth. My journey hasn't been glimmered. There's been medication changes, hospital stays. Hospital stays, numbness, and moments of deep hopelessness. There's been grief, grief for my identity, my career.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

For the version of me that I thought would last forever.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Oh boy, these grief has hit me hard. I remember asking myself, if I'm not a police officer, then who am I? But through that darkness, there have been flickers of light. Music.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

Laughter, friendship. And my daughter, who once said to me Living with somebody with PTSD is like secondhand smoke. The feelings rubble for you.

Grief, Flickers Of Light, And Family

Starting The Podcast And Hard Truths

SPEAKER_01 5:16

That one hit hard and it still does. Right. Let's try and get through this. So finding my voice again. I started Mel's mic, not because I had all the answers, but because I needed to feel human again. I needed a purpose. Recording each week gave me that. It was cathartic, sitting in front of a microphone, speaking my truth, even when it was raw and messy. And what I've learned is this you don't need to be you don't need a glamorous cure to be enough. You don't need to be strong all the time to inspire people. You just need to be honest. And more importantly, honest with yourself. Because no one is coming with a magic wand to fix you. Healing takes work and mental health is hard work. The power of kindness. When I was in hospital, I saw incredible kindness from others who were also struggling. Their strength and openness empowered me to take my own mask off. Kindness from others is powerful, but kindness to yourself, that's where the real healing begins. What I want you to remember, your voice matters. And it so so does. Even when it's sad, angry, or tired. There is power in being unfinished. You don't need to be healed to be helpful. You just need to be present. Start small. Acknowledge the small wins because life is hard, and those small wins are worth celebrating. To everyone walking through the fire, I see you. To the mums hide in panic. To the mums hide in panic behind packed lunches, I see you.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

To the men and women down in their worth because of their diagnosis, I see you.

Kindness, Small Wins, And Becoming

SPEAKER_01 7:07

To the survivors who keep showing up even when it hurts, I see you. You are not broken, you are becoming. And if I can stand here before you today, not healed, but hopefully. So can you? And in closing, please reach out if you need support. It is a strength, not a weakness. At first, I thought my PTSD made me weak, but one of the psychologists reminded me, you were only injured because you were brave. I share my story for those who can't. I want to normalise the journey because it's not it's not all rainbows, but there is still so much life to live. And honestly, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world right now but standing here sharing my story with you because you are important and so am I. Thank you. It was a short and sweet episode this week, but that one actually hit really hard, and it's something that I really want to get out and keep doing. So if you would like to have me talk to anybody, please reach out. Have a good week and be kind to yourself.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Thanks for tuning in to Mad Mel Twine.

unknown 8:25

I'm Lysus Man.

Closing Reflections And Support

SPEAKER_00 8:26

And I hope you've enjoyed us. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram and don't forget to like and follow. Have a great week and don't forget to comment to yourself.