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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.
220 Episodes
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Send Me a Message! **To watch both the audio and video from this webinar please follow https://youtu.be/4Lb1NzFK5XY?si=N6-pJuM1wPwMjqB_ ** Join Black Dog Institute’s clinical psychologist Pam Withey and lived experience advocate Elliot Waters as they explore how to support teen mental health during one of life’s most challenging stages. From recognising the signs of distress to building healthy habits around sleep, screen time and social connection, this webinar offers practical advice...
Send Me a Message! Finally I've published something. Not because this episode is one of my best (it isn't), but because I couldn’t stand being stuck in that record-delete loop any longer. After days of fighting perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and an overactive inner critic, I realised the only way to get beyond this loop is to publish something....anything! Fear of imperfection can paralyse creativity and curtail results, which is why releasing even a half-baked episode can be enough to ge...
Send Me a Message! In this episode, I talk about the sudden re-emergence of my old foe, the inner critic, and how it’s teamed up with my perfectionism to drag me down. Together, they’ve convinced me that everything I do is sub-standard, fuelling insecurities and setting expectations that aren't reasonable or attainable. The best example of this? This very podcast of course! I’ve spent hours glued to my computer and microphone, desperately trying to record the “perfect” episode. The result ha...
Send Me a Message! 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. Support the show You can follow me on Instagram: @elliot.t.waters, and the show on Facebook!
Send Me a Message! One missed appointment, that's all it took. And suddenly I was facing weeks without my ADHD medications. This time I’d done everything right, so for once this isn't on me! I had scripts sorted, appointments booked, all lined up, ready to go. Then my doctor went on unexpected leave, leaving me completely stimulant-free and flailing. The fallout was brutal: executive function collapsed, my car and room turned into chaos, appointments slipped, and even the podcast stopped for...
Send Me a Message! After a break from therapy, today’s session was less about deep work and more about catching my therapist up on everything that’s been happening. Or, not been happening. She thought I'd be tapering off medications, instead of being on another one.. She seemed genuinely bemused by this, thankfully validating the confusion and frustration I have felt when my wishes aren't be listened to. She reminded me that this isn’t a failure of self-advocacy on my part, but rather a refl...
Send Me a Message! 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. Support the show You can follow me on Instagram: @elliot.t.waters, and the show on Facebook!
Send Me a Message! Some of the most powerful insights about mental health don’t always come from structured interviews or carefully planned questions, often they show up in the middle of a casual chat. That’s what the “In Conversation With…” series is all about. Unlike the Intake Interviews, which focus on personal histories and journeys with mental illness, these episodes look to capture the spontaneous, off-the-cuff moments where real understanding happens. No strict structure, no se...
Send Me a Message! Welcome to The Q&A Sessions: Your questions answered! If you have a topic you would like me to cover on the show, this is how to make it happen! Every week I'll select a question/topic to cover and give the best answers I can. Anything related to mental health, there is nothing that's off limits. This is another way in which I am hoping to fulfil my commitment to you in providing the most genuine, vulnerable and honest podcast on the whole internet! To ask a question y...
Send Me a Message! In this episode, I share what came of my latest psychiatry appointment and honestly, it left me feeling pretty frustrated. Again. I talk about what it’s like trying to navigate the mental health system while dealing with anxiety and depression at the same time. When you’re already running on empty, self-advocacy feels almost impossible. The system wants us to be proactive, but how do you do that when you can barely get out of bed? I open up about: Why the mental heal...
Send Me a Message! 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. Support the show You can follow me on Instagram: @elliot.t.waters, and the show on Facebook!
Send Me a Message! Have you ever had to fight your own mind just to do something you love? In this follow-up episode to "When Social Anxiety Hits Back", I share my win of making it to the Newcastle Knights game—despite social anxiety trying it's hardest to keep me trapped at home. It came down to a last-minute call, but walking into McDonald Jones Stadium with 30,000 fans reminded me that showing up matters more than the scoreboard. Even though the Knights went down to the Brisbane Broncos, ...
Send Me a Message! What happens when the things we love most become casualties of our mental health? Today, I’m facing that question head-on as social anxiety keeps me from the final Newcastle Knights home game of the season. For me, the Knights aren’t just a hobby, they’re part of my identity! With my Pride of the Hunter banner and strong, powerful voice in the stands, I’ve become a bit of a fixture at McDonald Jones Stadium. Yet instead of joining 30,000 fans today, I’m at home recording t...
Send Me a Message! What happens when the mental health system fails those that need it most? In this raw, unfiltered episode, I take you into the depths of my ongoing battle with a mental healthcare approach that seems more interested in medication guess-work than actual measures for recovery. I'm currently taking seven different medications – heavy-duty pharmaceuticals that should, theoretically, be providing relief from my complex mental health conditions. Yet despite this chemical cockta...
Send Me a Message! Finally the moment has arrived, my psychiatry review at James Fletcher hospital. The opportunity to state my case as to why I believe a medication taper and withdrawal is necessary and in my best interests. Also, to explain how a hospital admission I believe would be the best option for me moving forward. Did I achieve these goals? Uhh.....not quite. But a significant change was made, whether it works or not time will tell. But that little flicker of hope is still al...
Send Me a Message! After what’s felt like forever, I finally have a date locked in! I'm seeing a psychiatrist for an appointment to determine the next steps as far as my goal of tapering off all of my medications. Thank you, NSW public mental health system! The main theme of the episode though is all about my morning. How an amazing opportunity for gratitude was driven away by my over-excited amygdala which sees threats everywhere. A beautiful drive around Newcastle on a perfect winters day,...
Send Me a Message! In this episode, I share how the NSW mental health system has picked up my referrals and is starting to piece together a plan to help me move forward. It’s a big relief — and a hint of hope on the horizon — but of course it’s also tangled up with my daily battle against anxiety. So much of this process relies on me: on finding the social capacity to answer or make phone calls, to push through the fear that is always there, and to keep these critical conversations and oppor...
Send Me a Message! ** Content warning: This episode discusses suicide, suicidal ideation, and severe mental health crises. Please take care while listening. In this episode of The Dysregulated Podcast, I unpack my latest therapy session — one that left both my psychologist and I scrambling to try and understand thoughts and feelings that were much more serious than ever before. The stakes couldn't be higher; this was very much a life-or-death scenario. These looping dark thoughts come ...
Send Me a Message! In this episode of My Therapy Reflections, I explore my latest psychology session, which admittedly wasn’t particularly productive. With my mind in overdrive from lack of sleep, stimulant dependency, and sheer frustration at life, I spent most of the session ranting—about how I’m not getting the help I need, how my life feels worthless, how all the suffering and sacrifice hasn’t led to the happiness I thought it would. I leaned hard into that old belief that there are winn...
Send Me a Message! I've been working on a deeply personal episode about retroactive jealousy, but my inner critic has been relentless in sabotaging my attempts to record it. This is going to be my most revealing episode yet, explaining how retroactive jealousy has been my borderline personality disorder's "weapon of choice" throughout my life. But as I explain in this episode, my mind is stopping me from getting on with the job! I also take a brief look at the current NSW mental health syste...
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