Inside Mental Health

Most movies treat mental health like a plot twist—something dramatic, visible, and easily explained. But real depression and anxiety don’t work that way, and filmmaker Olivia Nash is determined to flip the script and show a more realistic portrayal.

In this episode, host Gabe Howard sits down with the actor, writer, and director of the indie film “Hi.” to tease out what it really means to portray mental health authentically on screen. The conversation goes beyond the film itself, diving into the realities of mental health in Hollywood, how Nash fostered open conversations on set, and what it takes to center people over productivity in an industry that rarely slows down.

Why You Should Listen

Discover how Nash’s personal experience with depression and anxiety changed her storytelling — and why that matters for audiences

Hear how Hollywood’s most common mental health tropes can do real harm, even when intentions are good

Understand why functioning, successful people are often the most misunderstood when it comes to mental health

Understand why authentic representation in pop culture can be life-changing for viewers

If you’re tired of seeing mental health reduced to stereotypes, or you’ve ever been told you “can’t be depressed” because you’re functioning, this episode offers a refreshing, validating perspective you won’t want to miss.“Mental health isn’t a plot twist—it’s just part of who people are.”~Olivia Nash, Hollywood Actor and Director

Olivia Nash is a multifaceted creative professional with extensive experience in acting,producing, directing, and production design. Based in Austin, TX, she has worked on awide array of projects across film, television, theater, commercials, music video, andowns the film production company, Fox Adrift Productions. Her versatility and passionfor storytelling shine through her collaborations with esteemed production companieslike Taylor Butler Productions, Fox Adrift Productions, Reed Street Films, David BittnerProductions, and Skeptical Optimist Productions.

As a Producer/Director, Olivia has helmed projects such as Toby (won for Best FemaleDirector at Palm Beach Shorts, Best Dramedy at Georgia Shorts Film Festival, and BestNarrative Short Film at Austin Under The Stars), Hi., and El Delirio. Her expertise inProduction Design is evident in works like The Gold Lament, Goodwill, Constellation,and The Last Pedal. In the commercial space, she has served as Art Director for HHSTraining Videos. She has also brought her creative vision to music videos, includingCobblestone Streets and Unknown to You.

Olivia's acting credits span leading roles in films such as Hickory, Hi., Meteor, and FGAas well as theater performances in productions like The Taming of the Shrew,Cinderella, and Booby Trap where she won best supporting actress. Her training inon-camera workshops, musical theater, and dance further complements her on-screenand stage presence.

With a distinctive aesthetic and expertise in styles like Boho Decor, Dystopian, CottageCore, Bloom Core, Dark Academia, and Fantasy, Olivia is skilled at crafting immersiveand evocative worlds. Her dedication to her craft and her ability to adapt to diversecreative challenges compliments her mission to bring to life stories that relate to thehuman condition, while allowing us to escape into a world of beauty.

Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington.

Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.

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As therapy language floods social media, more people are associating friends, partners, and co-workers with mental health disorders, spotting “red flags” everywhere, and labeling regular human flaws as psychological abuse. In this episode, host Gabe Howard is joined by psychologist and author Dr. Isabelle Morley to unpack how therapy speak, short-form content, and armchair psychology are reshaping modern human interaction — and not always for the better.

For example, believing your ex is a narcissist might feel validating, but is it actually helping you heal, or quietly harming your ability to connect?

Listeners will learn:

why increased mental health awareness can both help and harm relationships

how “therapy speak” can shut down communication instead of improving it

what real red flags look like, and which behaviors require more context

Together, they explore the difference between true abuse and imperfect behavior, why nuance gets lost online, how misused labels end conversations, and what happens when everyone becomes an “expert” after a 3-minute video. If you’ve ever wondered whether awareness has crossed into overdiagnosis, or felt unsure where healthy boundaries end and pathology begins, this conversation will challenge how you think about relationships, self-reflection, and mental health education itself.

“Therapy terms don't need to leave the therapy room. They almost never need to be used in person in a conversation with someone. And people, I think, are using words to avoid more vulnerable connection . . .” ~Dr. Isabelle Morley, Author of They're Not Gaslighting You: Ditch the Therapy Speak and Stop Hunting for Red Flags in Every Relationship

Our guest, Dr. Isabelle Morley, is a clinical psychologist and EFT-certified couples therapist (Emotionally Focused Therapy). She is a contributing author to Psychology Today in her blog Love Them or Leave Them, where she analyzes on-screen romantic relationships. She is also the co-host of Rom-Com Rescue, a podcast that teaches life and love lessons from romantic comedies. She is co-author of Navigating Intimacy: An Introductory Guide to Couples and Sex Therapy. Dr. Isabelle is frequently sought out by journalists for expert commentary on topics such as relationships, couples therapy, and reality television, and has been featured in The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, Business Insider, Vox, and Very Well Mind, among others. In philanthropic work, Dr. Isabelle is a founding board member of The Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network (UCAN) Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports reality TV cast members in accessing mental health and legal support and advocates for industry change.

Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington.

Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.
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Narcissism has become one of the most misused words in mental health — and social media hasn’t helped.

In this episode, host Gabe Howard is joined by licensed marriage and family therapist Kati Morton to separate clinical reality from internet myth. Together, they break down what narcissistic personality disorder actually is, why confidence and disagreement don’t equal narcissism, and how terms like “gaslighting” and “love bombing” get distorted online.We answer common questions like:

Can people with narcissistic personality disorder learn empathy?

How can loved ones’ support change without sacrificing their safety or boundaries?

If narcissism is a mental illness, why do we have trouble feeling compassion for people who have it?

Finally, Gabe and Kati discuss whether people with narcissistic personality disorder can change, what meaningful treatment actually looks like, and how loved ones can protect themselves while setting healthy boundaries.

“If social media were accurate, narcissism would describe anyone who annoys us. But clinically? It’s something very different.” ~Kati Morton, author of “Why Do I Keep Doing This? Unlearn the Habits That Keep You Stuck and Unhappy”

Our guest, Kati Morton, is widely recognized as a leading mental health advocate and educator. She holds a masters in clinical psychology and is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She has a passion for education and empowerment and shares helpful insights through her YouTube channel. Kati is the author of three books “Are You Ok?,” “Traumatized,” and “Why Do I Keep Doing This? Unlearn the Habits Keeping You Stuck and Unhappy.” She hopes that by speaking candidly about mental health and encouraging viewers to reach out to get the support they need, we can remove the stigma associated with getting help.

Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington.

Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.

Sharing the show with the people you know is how we're gonna grow! Thank you in advance. :-)
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New Year’s resolutions promise hope, but for many people, they quietly deliver shame, stress, and self-blame instead. If resolutions leave you feeling worse about yourself every January, this episode explains why — and what actually works.

Host Gabe Howard is joined by returning favorite Jodi Wellman to unpack why traditional goal-setting often backfires, especially when it comes to mental health. They explore the psychology behind the “fresh start effect,” how all-or-nothing thinking sets us up to fail, and why massive lifestyle overhauls rarely stick. More importantly, they offer practical, compassionate alternatives; Like shifting from rigid goals to identity-based habits, process-focused wins, and restarting without guilt when things go off track.

Listener Takeaways

The mental health cost of setting outcome-based goals

Why smaller, process-focused goals actually create lasting change

How to restart a goal without guilt or self-punishment

Whether you’ve already ditched your New Year’s resolutions or never believed in them to begin with, this episode explores a healthier, more realistic way to create change—without harming your mental well-being.

“What is really common, which is set a goal. Don't get there. Feel bad about it. So net net it's not a good experience. For many of us, that's problematic because we feel badly about ourselves [. . .] And maybe that's your version of self-compassion is to let that goal gracefully go.” ~Jodi Wellman, MAPP

Our guest, Jodi Wellman, MAPP is a speaker, author, and facilitator on living lives worth living. She founded Four Thousand Mondays to help people make the most of the time they are lucky to be above ground. 

With 25 years of corporate leadership experience (most recently as Senior Vice President of Operations at a leading health and lifestyle organization), Jodi has led private CEO advisory boards and coaches teams to work well and live even better.

Jodi has a Master’s of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she is also an Assistant Instructor and facilitator in the Penn Resilience Program. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach.

Her book, "You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets," made Adam Grant’s Summer Reading List and was a “Top 3 Psychology Book of 2024” by the Next Big Idea Club (curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Dan Pink). Jodi has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Fast Company, CNBC, Forbes, Psychology Today, The Los Angeles Times, and more. Jodi’s TEDx talk is called How Death Can Bring You Back to Life; with over 1.3 million views, it is the 14th most-watched TEDx talk released in 2022, out of 15,900!

Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington.

Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.

Please share the show -- it's how we grow! Thank you!
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Negative self-talk isn’t just annoying — it can quietly shape our decisions, confidence, and impact our mental health. But what if silencing that inner critic isn’t about positive affirmations, gratitude journals, or pretending everything is fine?In this episode, host Gabe Howard sits down with former NBC and CNN Headline News anchor and author Lynn Smith to unpack what negative self-talk really is, why our brains cling to it, and how to reframe it without slipping into toxic positivity. Lynn explains how the brain is wired to protect us through fear-based thinking, why perfectionism and “being realistic” often mask self-sabotage, and how resilience, not positivity, is the skill we actually need.

Listener takeaways

why negative self-talk is rooted in brain wiring, not personal failure

the difference between realistic problem-solving and self-sabotaging thoughts

why toxic positivity often backfires

what “just keep going” looks like during truly hard moments

Together, Gabe and Lynn challenge common mental health clichés, discuss why we should teach resilience earlier in life, and explore what “just keep going” really means when you’re trying to get through the next hour — not the next 5 years.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between brutal self-criticism and empty optimism, this conversation offers a realistic, compassionate path forward.“Anyone that might be thinking, I'm just not going to go for the thing because it's easier to stay safe. If you don't raise your hand, if you don't unmute, if you don’t turn your video on, all of those things are a lot safer. So to you, I would say, imagine your life five years from now and it looks exactly the same. Five years from now you're stuck in that same place…”~Lynn Smith, Former CNN Headline News anchor

Our guest, Lynn Smith, is a media and communication expert who helps high-level leaders turn pressure into presence. A former anchor for NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN Headline News, she now coaches Fortune 500 executives, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs to become magnetic communicators. As founder of Lynn Smith Media & Communications, she helps leaders ditch robotic scripts and deliver messages that move people to action. Her signature framework, The Magnetic CODE, builds trust, clarity, and influence. Lynn is also a keynote speaker, host of the award-winning podcast Strollercoaster, and author of the upcoming children’s book Just Keep Going.

Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington.

Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.

Sharing the show with the people you know is how we're going to grow!
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