THE ED MYLETT SHOW - The Silent Epidemic We Can't Ignore

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

Get ready for an eye-opening episode that will touch the core of your soul! In this solo episode, I’m diving deep into a topic that impacts countless lives yet often goes unnoticed – mental health. This episode is a heartfelt journey about mental health, depression, and the rising suicide rates. We're tackling these tough subjects head-on because every life matters, and together, we can make a profound impact. Here's what you'll gain from this powerful episode: -Understand the depth and prevalence of mental health struggles affecting people around the globe. -Learn to recognize the signs of depression in yourself and others. -Discover actionable steps to support those battling with mental health issues. -Gain insights into breaking the stigma surrounding mental health discussions. -Empower yourself with strategies to maintain your mental well-being and support those around you. This episode is not just about awareness; it’s about equipping you with the tools to foster a supportive and understanding environment. Join me on this critical mission to bring mental health to the forefront, break the silence, and start a conversation that can save lives. This is an episode you can’t afford to miss! If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency please call 911 or 988 or go to your nearest emergency room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So hey guys, listen, we're all trying to get more productive and the question is, how do you find a way to get an edge? I'm a big believer that if you're getting mentoring or you're in an environment that causes growth, a growth based environment, that you're much more likely to grow and you're going to grow faster. And that's why I love Growth Day. Growth Day is an app that my friend Brendan Burchard has created that I'm a big fan of. Write this down, growthday.com forward slash ed. So if you want to be more productive, by the way the way he's asked me I post videos in there every single Monday that gets your day off to the right start he's got about five thousand ten thousand dollars worth of courses that are in there that come with the app also some of the top influencers in the world are all posting content and they're

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And the damage you cause will be beyond repair. See, we didn't have to use crash or siren sounds after all. Speeding catches up with you. Brought to you by NHTSA. This is The Ed Myron Show. Welcome back to the show everybody. Thank you for being here. You know, I don't take it for granted that you watch and listen as much as so many of you do and refer the show, and I'm very, very grateful for that. This week, I want to talk to you about something that's very, very important, and I'll share some personal things as well. But I want to discuss this week, really in a personal way, mental health and brain health, and just the growing challenge that I see in the world today, including a little bit with myself on people feeling some form of depression.

Give you some statistics. More people will die by suicide in the United States this year than have ever in the history of the country. Among people 15 to 24 years old in the United States, the leading cause of death right now is accidents, but now suicide is surpassing homicide, cancer, etc. In Australia, the number one cause of death of people 15 to 24 years old is now suicide. The percentage of US adults who report being diagnosed with some form of depression is now near 30% of all adults.

53% of the people that participated in that same study said they have sought some sort of a mental health counseling from a professional and more than 21 million Americans reported last year having a major depressive episode. Just think about that for a second. The total number of teenagers has gone up 59% that admit to having suicidal thoughts from 2007 to 2017. And so we're in an epidemic. And the reason I share these statistics with you is I want you to call your friends and I want you to check on them. And I want you to do it more often.

And I would just ask you even to call people maybe that you haven't talked to in a while. If there's ever on your heart to check in on somebody, answer that call. I feel so concerned about what I'm seeing in terms of people's well-being and I guess maybe the reason that I'm willing to share a little bit of this week with you is because I've even noticed in myself the last few years, myself having more difficulty with bouts of depression, recently even some dark thoughts and I obviously I've had some physical health issues.

And so as a consequence of that I'm not quite as physical as I was and one of my big keys of my mental health has always been my physical well-being. But I've struggled recently with just being my best mentally, I guess is probably the kindest way to say it. And I think to myself, if somebody in my situation who's got all the tools and resources in the world in terms of the things I teach about the brain and physiology and reading and gratitude and all the different strategies I have with the reticular activating system and brain health, and I have access to the best medical care and the best doctors, and I've got a life that's got so many different blessings in it, and I'm struggling with it to some extent. Imagine people that have real problems and real difficulties and real challenges.

And so I would just ask you to just step back for a second. And if we could all just be a little bit more kind to one another, you know, the convergence of social media and all the feeding, and now we're in this peak political season where it's us against them and this against that and red against blue and all of the divisive negative nature. No one gets elected.

It seems to office anymore with what they want to do. It's all who's the bad guy and who's the bad woman. And then all of the strife in the world that you're seeing that's so real about the things going on in the Middle East and Ukraine and the Sudan and all the things that aren't being reported and you could just feel it, can't you? So no wonder so many people are struggling mentally, yet life is such a blessing. It's such a gift. It's such a remarkable miracle that we're all here. And I think oftentimes when you're having bouts of depression, you can feel like it's

a form of weakness in you. And I had several people, people ask me all the time, Ed, who are your favorite guests? And I could never pick one guest over the other. But one of the people that's my, one of my favorite guests ever, they always think, is it the most famous actor or the most famous comedian or athlete you've had on? And although I love having well-known people on the show, I, I really have this thing in my heart where I want to move it to more topic specific things. Other people can, I can have any famous person I want pretty much on the show

now, but, and that's great for downloads. That's great for, Hey, he had this. And if you get that person, you can get somebody else. But the depth of conversation with people that are experts in a field that may not be famous means something to me. And I've had great experts on, on mental health and brain health. But two of my favorite guests I've ever had, and I don't rank them, but we'll probably be two of the people that you wouldn't know as well.

And one of them was a lady named Kayla Stockline. She was on many, many years ago. She had no social media following at all, but I knew her from a church that I went to and she had a husband. She has little boys at home. Her husband was a pastor of a church and, and he died by suicide. And I had her on not too long after it happened. And we had a very emotional conversation about the damage that was done in her family and what those signs were leading up for him and her sons and the damage that was done there and how they still ask for their daddy as he's still coming home and how she felt emotionally and how it affected or didn't affect her faith.

And it was just a beautiful conversation. And the reason I say that was one of my favorite ones is I literally believe we didn't just change lives on that show. We saved lives on that show. eBay Motors is here for the ride. Remember when you first saw the potential then through some elbow grease, fresh installs, and a whole lot of love you transformed 100,000 miles and a full body full of rust into a drive that's all your own. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you can make sure your ride stays running smoothly.

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And so it's not a matter of, in my opinion, just calling somebody. It's go a little deeper, let them know that if you ever do need something, I'm here, you can call me please. And to let them know that it's not a weakness if they're feeling something, it could literally be something in the neurochemistry. It could be an imbalance. It could be this is they're actually really going through a difficult time and what they're worrying and fearing about is real and they're trying to process it. It could be a combination of diet and nutrition and brain

chemistry and difficult times. It could be a combination of all kinds of different things. And so it's, it's, that's why we always need to be checking on one another. Why we always need to be kind and extend grace to the people that we love in our lives and, and to strangers and on social media. Before you type that thing in someone's comments, just think for a second about what you're saying and what it says about you that you're saying it and what it would say about you that if you said something kind and uplifting and I just want to implore everybody today that we're in a time in our culture where so many people are in a spot where

they don't feel great about themselves or their lives or they've created these patterns of worry and fear and if I can go through that where, you know, I in my own life think to myself, this is such a week, what is wrong with me? I have all these great things happening in my life. I, I, I'm not even somebody who's ever used drugs or alcohol to any great extent, but you know, just noticed I had a few more drinks than I normally would. I'm thinking, why, why would I do that?

And I'd ask myself just cause it's summertime and I had had a few more drinks than I normally would. I'm thinking, why would I do that? And I'd ask myself, is this because it's summertime and I had another drink or am I like, what am I doing here? And I would just say to you that I want to be transparent with you and say that I'm fine. But I'm someone who's very positive and optimistic and speak all over the world and bring light to people and create content. And if I'm having a little bit of a struggle, imagine someone who's having a hard time paying their bills or they've lost a

child or they've lost a relationship, whatever it might be, you know, check on them and check on those that it doesn't seem like anything's wrong. It's important. And the reason I have this show is to change people's wrong. It's important and the reason I have this show is to change people's lives. The reason I have this show is to give you the tools and the resources and the inspiration and a community to be in to live your best life and to max out your life and all of those things. But the real reason is that we become the highest and best expression of ourselves. I'm addicted to

the expansion of my being. It drives the people around me crazy. I always want to grow. I always want to get better. I always want to give more, learn more, create more, think more, write more, post these types of things. But I, I have noticed that as the last I've been on, I haven't posted on social media in many months because of my health, my doctors, you all know, recommended that I've noticed that I feel better not being on there. I'm not subjected to all of the drama and the noise and the vitriol. It's been like a detox almost for me. It's almost like a fast from toxicity.

And that doesn't mean that everything on social media is that way. I feel like the stuff I've posted the last eight years elevates and lifts people up, but there's a mixture, you know that. And so my message to you today is to know that, you know, don't just listen to what people are saying, watch them closely, switch the lens in your life from the lens of seeing them through your eyes and switch the lens and see their life from their eyes, see how they see you. I had, you

know, a really profound experience very recently where I've been writing about this and I'll be actually maybe putting it in my next book, but with all the people in my life, you know, you see them through your eyes, through your lens that you've interacted with them. And I started to just change when I'm with them or I think about them, I changed to their lens. What have they seen from me? What have they experienced from me? What were their last 10 or 12 interactions with me? How many times did I walk in a room and not acknowledge them or not be kind or be brief or not listen deeply or whatever it was and I felt there's a lot I could improve. There's a lot I could change. There were

a bunch of people that I hadn't called in a while I just texted them to check in. You know what you do? You text them. Alright, I checked the box. I checked the box. I don't think this is a time in our relationships and our culture, especially right now, to just check the box. This is a time to go deeper. This is a time to be more connected. If you can do it in person, do it in person. If you can't do that, do a Zoom. have a happy hour or something where you have your glass of wine together through zoom. You know, if you can't do that, you know, call them. It's not just a text. If you can't do any of that, at least do the text. But the more you can connect, how are you? Look them in the eye if you can. I love you. I miss you. I'm here for you. If you need anything,

you're loved, you're appreciated, you're amazing, you're great. Tell them about them, you know, let them know why you love them and what's great about them and do it regularly. I can tell you that we're good at hiding it and you know the last say six months to a year I'm still pumping people up, I'm still traveling and speaking, I'm still doing the show, I'm still helping people who are struggling in my personal life. And I don't think anybody would know. Only those, in fact, I don't think anybody would really know.

And yet I know that my friends who have called me say, hey man, you doing all right? You know, sometimes the person who's pouring into everybody else's cup still needs to be poured into. And when they do that, it makes a difference. And when I feel connected and bonded to people that love and care about me, it matters. And you need to do more of that. You'll feel better about you. I would also say that if you're one of these people that are struggling with

fear, anxiety, worry, all the way up to depression, all the way, way up to some dark thoughts, all the way to suicidal ideations that you're loved, you're amazing, you will get through this. I want to share something with you. I had a young man on my show who, Kevin Heisey, he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. I want to share this with you. He's, you can go see the podcast. He jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge to die by suicide and he lived. It's an amazing story and the whole story is amazing. You can go see the podcast about it, but I always wanted to ask somebody who survived a

suicide attempt like that. What were you thinking? And let me tell you what he said to me. I asked him when you were running and you went to jump and he jumped off the bridge. I asked him, I said, right when you jumped, what was your first thought? And you know what it was? Any of you thinking about doing this in that moment, he jumped and you can go see the podcast but he said my first thought was oh my god what have I done immediate regret because he was plummeting to his death immediate regret because that had just changed his state it would change the environment change

his perspective because he was in this loop oh my, what have I done? And don't ever do it. You will regret it. If you don't know that you'll regret it, go watch my podcast with Kayla Stockline and you'll see what it would do to your family, the people that you love, the damage that you would leave to people, your parents, your sisters, your brothers, your aunts, your uncles, your friends, your children, your grandchildren, whoever it is, don't ever do it. Get help. That there's a better day coming. Times will change. This is a blessing and a miracle. Think about the time the earth existed when you weren't alive, and then the time that you will be, and then the time the earth will exist when you're not. You're here for just a

flicker. It's a blessing and a gift. And although there are difficult times, there are better times coming. I'm speaking to you and me at the same time. And so if there's 21 million people just in the United States who are having depressive episodes right now, and mainly over half the people say they've had some form of depression, fear, worry, anxiety. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp, and I'm grateful that it is.

I got to tell you, you know, I get asked all the time, what's the one thing that most of the guests that have been on this show have in common? I could tell you they're all from different backgrounds. Some of them are tall, some of them are short. Some of them are from the U S some of them are from abroad, different ethnic backgrounds, religious backgrounds, you name it, but I got to tell you, most of them been to therapy and I'm a big believer in therapy. I think that whether you've got some real trauma you gotta work through in your life

or you know, you just got a problem you wanna work on right now, maybe you just wanna talk out loud about some issues you got or find a better quality of emotions. Big believer in therapy and I love better help. I love better help because number one, it's done online. Number two, if you get a therapist, you don't vibe with them, you can switch at any given time that you want to. It's a wonderful way to go to therapy. And I really believe it can help you if you have things that you want help with.

So decide today, you're gonna get BetterHelp a shot and stop comparing and start focusing with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash edshow today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E- e l p dot com slash edge show. Now, having said all that part of life is dealing with adversity. Part of life is dealing with difficult times. Part of life is bouncing back when you get knocked down, getting up, right? Part of life is all of that. Life isn't sunshine and rainbows. There's always going to be things

coming. If you're a leader, you know, uh, this great saying I've been getting from John Maxwell, if you're leading a family or leading a company, you're probably not going to have two good days in a row, right? If you're doing something great, you're probably not going to have two good days in a row. I accept all of that. That's different than, you know, I can describe it like this, that in my case recently, it's like, I just can't get my arms around it. You know what I mean? I can't get a grip on it. I can't, you know what I'm saying? And that's how somebody feels. Like I can't and I do now.

I just want you all to know I'm good. But I say this to you because you've got a friend. I guarantee you right now, you have a friend who's in a real dark spot and they're probably not going to tell you and they're covering it up really well. And the only way you're going to know is by regularly communicating with them. And by the way, they may never tell you, but your call repeatedly, your in-person meeting, your hug, right? Your words of affirmation to them may pull them out of it

and you will never know they were ever in it. That's the thing. The work you do with people in your life, they may never tell you, hey, I was in a dark spot. You got me out of it. But you may never know they were ever in it. That's the thing. The work you do with people in your life, they may never tell you, hey, I was in a dark spot, you got me out of it. But you may never know that. They may never even remember how they got out of it or even know why. And that doesn't matter because you don't need credit. What you need is to live the highest expression of yourself. And what you need is to care about these people and love these people that are close to you in your life. It's to do do the same thing if you could spread more kindness when you're in a restaurant to the server or a flight attendant on an airplane or

Anybody your dentist the person who does your dry cleaning if you could just say I'm going to be a vessel for good there's this great song by Brandon Lake that I love called pour me out and talks about being a vessel of love and a vessel of faith. And I love that song because I really believe when you feel the most helpless in life, if you get help full, you will feel less helpless and like anything in life are mental health or physical health. You know, I've had people on the show that have said, Ed, it's really not mental health, it's brain health.

And so there's a spectrum of things like I've experienced just worry and fear and anxiety. It's sort of a pattern of mine. Most of my life, I'm very familiar with it and that's okay. It's just, I'm familiar with it and many of you are as well, but that can escalate to depression and wherever you are on the spectrum. See, for some of you, the spectrum you're on is you just need a really good hug and some time with your boys or some times with your girls. Or you need someone to call and tell you they love you and they believe in you, right? For some of you it's reconnecting with your scriptures and your faith life and just reminding yourself of why all this is happening. And a great connection. For some of you it's moving your body physically. It's looking at your diet and your nutrition, right?

For some of you, it's past that and it should be some therapy. And for some of you, it's neurochemical and there may be medication that you need. There's a spectrum of this stuff. And I think it's being honest about where you are on that spectrum currently. And so there's nothing wrong with if you need to move past just connection with some friends and you need on that spectrum currently. And so there's nothing wrong with

if you need to move past just connection with some friends and you need to go to therapy, that's a okay thing, right? And if you're really in a pinch looking at your diet and nutrition, are you deficient somewhere? And if it is past that, and I believe there's a space for it, I don't believe it's a big space. I don't believe most people probably need medication,

but some people do Some people do and so if it's that then it's that and so Please get the care you need where you're at and obviously I think it's important in my opinion to start If you haven't already with the end of the spectrum that involves nutrition and exercise and gratitude and all those daily practices that can change us, particularly physiology, particularly walking, particularly physical exercise and lifting. I'm a huge believer in that. I'm a huge believer in lifting weights, but I'm also a huge believer, contrary to one clip on a

podcast one time where we were talking about muscle health and walking. Walking is great exercise. Walking is something you can absolutely do for your mental health. It's a major part of my routine. I recommended on 30 podcasts. My dad did it. This is main form of exercise, particularly when he was in chemotherapy. So if it's that, but it may move past that to where therapy is important for you, okay? Go to therapy if you need it. Talk to somebody, talk to friends, talk to loved ones, and if that doesn't work, talk to a professional. And then for a percentage of people, it's brain chemistry, it's brain health, and you need medication. And so it's not something I think most people need, but there are people who need it,

and if you've broken your leg, you need surgery. And if there's something broken neurochemistry wise for you right now, and you need medication to help with it, that's okay too. And so I'm certainly not qualified to tell you who that is. I don't believe it's a big percentage of people, but it is. And I have friends who that medication has changed and saved their lives, changed and saved their lives. And so absolutely that's an option at a certain level on that spectrum. Does that make sense? This podcast is great for me. The work that I get to do, my speaking, my businesses,

my coaching, it's great for me because I'm being poured out. Now every once in a while, those of you though that are always the one pouring out, you need to be poured into. You need to allow people to love you. You need to allow people to believe in you. You need to allow yourself a break of time. You need to allow yourself to go to a great church and just be poured into or a great concert or go to a comedy club or take that walk we're talking about but allow yourself to be poured back into again. And if you do that I really believe that you will change so many other people's lives and probably save some people's lives. And if you do that, I really believe that you will change so many other people's lives and probably save some people's lives. And so today's

message is really, really simple. People are hurting. Be a vessel for good. Be a vessel for healing. And you're capable and you're qualified. Remember this, if you've ever been through any pain, I would say this so often, you're most qualified in life to help the person or people that you used to be. And so if you've ever been in a dark spot yourself, you're most qualified in life to help the person or people that you used to be. And so if you've ever been in a dark spot yourself, you're immensely qualified to help somebody hurting. If you've ever worried, if you've ever had fears, if you've ever had anxiety, if you've ever been let down or hurt, you're qualified to help people who have had anxiety, worry, fears that have been let down and hurt. You're qualified. It's kind of why we're here. We're here to experience this life

and when we get through something to help those that are going through a similar experience. And that's why those of you that are really down right now, you got to get through this. You can't just get through this for you, but when you get through this, you're going to be able to help so many other people who are going through something similar. In fact, maybe that's why you're going through it. Maybe that's why you're going through it, is that this test becomes a testimony that truly can, and that this experience you're going through is qualifying you to help some other precious person

with their version of it later. And so if you are going through it, keep fighting, ask for help, be around good people. There is somebody who loves you. And if you don't have anybody in your life, whatever your faith practices, I can promise you this. God loves you. You were made in his image and likeness, whatever your faith is, there is something and someone out there.

Now, mine is I'm a Christian, you know that, but whatever your practice is, you're here for a reason. You were born to do something great with your life. There's a purpose to you and although it may not feel like it right now or maybe you feel disqualified because you've made this mistake, you've hurt this other person, you've had a bankruptcy, a divorce, a failure, you've made a huge mistake in your life. I got all that stuff. You're human. Give yourself some grace because I can promise you God will give you that grace. Right? So to extend it to yourself, it'll be okay. You're not disqualified. It's not too late. It's not so bad that you can't get out of it. I promise you, there's always a way.

And so that's just my message this week. My message is people are hurting. Let's be a collective vessel for good, healing, contribution, and love in the world, and reach out to those people in your life that you think are good or that you think may not be. Those that you're very close to and those that maybe haven't talked to in a while, but your heart's telling you you should reach out to them. Do that this week. Okay everybody, God bless you. Max out! This is The Ed Myron Show.