Trauma, But Make It Funny

On the 16th episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her friend from college, Megan Kastner. Megan tells Bri the story about what lead up to her ultimately having to get her colon removed - and there are some twists and turns, people.  Bri and Megan talk through a ton of SHIT, literally, with an emphasis on how important it is to advocate for your own health. This story takes place over the pandemic, so that adds another crazy element, which I'm sure you can imagine. Megan's positive attitude about her new life is contagious, and I hope you feel gratitude after hearing this episode, just like Megan feels gratitude after a chronic illness changed her life.    The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death. AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide.  AFSP creates a culture that’s smart about mental health by engaging in the following core strategies:Funding scientific researchEducating the public about mental health and suicide preventionAdvocating for public policies in mental health and suicide preventionSupporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicideTo donate to AFSP, visit: https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.event&eventID=1&language=en

On this LONG overdue episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her friend, who also happens to be her brother's girlfriend, Emily Scarborough. Bri and Emily talk about a TON, and could've easily talked for hours and hours. They chat about health and relationship anxiety, Emily's brother, how she got through her parents getting divorced, and a story about sexual assault.     The Autism Society of America works every day to measurably improve the quality of life for individuals and families affected by autism. To support the Autism Society of America, go here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/autism-society-of-america-bethesda-md/autism-society-main-donation-page

On this  episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes the lovely Sarah Crawford.  Buckle up friends, because Sarah has some stories to tell. Sarah and Bri talk about domestic abuse, her father passing away, struggles with an eating disorder, her sexuality, and, no joke, almost getting kidnapped in Amsterdam. Like I said, buckle up. We are so thankful that Sarah chose to tell her story - it is not an easy one to tell, and she did it with such grace. Thanks for being you, Sarah. And reminder, friends, to take care of yourselves. Here are a few resources if you ever need them:National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233The National Eating Disorders Association: 800-931-2237

On this  episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her high school classmate and current high school History teacher, Andy Driscoll. Andy and Bri talk through the experience of Andy being the child of an alcoholic, the way he managed living in a turbulent and non-functioning household growing up, and his feelings surrounding the ultimate death of his father due to alcoholism.  To support  St. Jude's Research Hospital, whose mission is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment, go here:https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude-today.html?adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D1E8EC9CFB6991131-0A0262F8182E8C7C%7CMCORGID%3D091B467352782E0D0A490D45%40AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1625253739&adobe_mc_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stjude.org%2Fabout-st-jude%2Fwhy-support-st-jude.html&sc_icid=header-btn-donate-now

On this  episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her former post-grad roomie, Amanda Lewton. Amanda tells Bri the story of her friend, Rowen. Amanda and Bri talk through the struggle of losing someone you look up to as a role model and how that can go on to affect you later in life. It's interesting how friendships can keep growing in their own way, even when someone's gone. Warning - some of the subjects discussed during this episode are sensitive in nature. To support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education, and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death, go here:https://afsp.donordrive.com/?_ga=2.57590442.1086294406.1624286099-1156304522.1624286099If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States: 1-800-273-8255

Welcome back for Season 2, friends!On the Season 2 Premiere of of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes Emily Lesser. Bri and Emily talk about the difficulties of Post College Graduation depression and anxiety, how hard the job search is, and her mental health journey before COVID, through COVID, and now. I'm sure you can imagine that things got pretty rough the past year, right? Folks, I'll be honest. All of our episodes feature extremely special stories and extremely special people. However, this episode is sits close to my heart. You'll hear more about it in this episode, but Emily is running for "Woman of the Year", which is a ten-week fundraising competition that benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Emily has been planning and working for months to raise as much money as she can for those ten weeks. She built a team (with over 40 people), held fundraising events, and truly dedicated herself to the mission in honor of, well, me. Which is super cool. Her campaign is almost over, literally THIS WEEK, so if you feel ever so inclined, donate to her campaign, an amazing cause, and make an impact on blood cancer. Hit the link below!https://pages.lls.org/mwoy/li/li21/elesser

On this season finale episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her brother, Jake Hancin. At first, Jake thinks he doesn't have any trauma to talk about - which is very similar to many people. However, Jake and Bri end up talking about Jake's time in basic training in the National Guard, some super traumatic missions Jake has volunteered for, and what it's like to be a sibling to someone who has cancer. Yeah, we go there. Thanks to everyone for your constant support and love. Trauma, But Make It Funny  will be back soon for Season 2 with even crazier and funnier (traumatic) content. Some of the subjects discussed during this episode can be sensitive, so there is a trigger warning at the beginning of this episode. Please take care of yourself while listening.Doctors Without Borders' mission is to provide lifesaving medical care to those most in need. All members agree to honor the following principles: to provide assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters, and to victims of armed conflict.  For DWB, the ability to respond quickly ro medical humanitarian emergencies is crucial to saving lives. To donate, please visit: https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.cfmIf you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States: 1-800-273-8255

On this  episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her cousin, Megan Bromwell. Megan tells the story of how a really horrible start to her freshman year of college changed her life. They dive into struggles that Megan faced that include dealing with the suicide of a best friend, developing an eating disorder, and the struggles and pressures of being a college athlete (but also kicking ass). Some of the subjects discussed during this episode can be sensitive, so there is a trigger warning at the beginning of this episode. Please take care of yourself when listening.The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. You can contact the Helpline for support, resources, and treatment options for yourself or a loved one. Helpline volunteers are trained to help you find the information and support you are looking for - 1-800-931-2237. To support NEDA, who helps those in need with prevention programming, education and support resources, and helping to move research forward so we can better understand and treat the illness, visit: https://secure3.convio.net/neda/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30125a?df_id=6203&mfc_pref=T&6203.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=AC78DF20CBF40B174486B1B9C1CAE5D5If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States: 1-800-273-8255

On this  episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes guest #8, Sara Thurber. Sara tells the story of her father's passing at a young age and how this has affected her view on life. They dive into why dying scares them, the hardships that come with having someone close to you pass away that you may not have had the best relationship with at the time, different types of grieving, and why sometimes saying "I'm sorry" can just be really annoying to hear. Moral of the story - it's better to say SOMETHING than nothing at all, even if it may be annoying.No one needs to grieve alone. Tides is a non-profit that offers support and relief to children, teens and adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. To donate and support please visit https://tidesprogram.org/waystogive/

On this  episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes Erika, an amazing story teller with a crazy amount of stories to tell. Erika and Bri start off their conversation by talking about why people who experience trauma are more funny (you know it's true). Erika walks Bri through three very traumatic experiences she has encountered that include: sexual assault, stalking, gun violence, and abusive friendships. Yeah, you heard all of that right. To support the Alzheimer's Association, a non-profit dedicated to leading the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia - by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support, please visit https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation=form1&_ga=2.9784691.736553442.1613409175-1894865019.1612988912

On this very, very special and VERY long episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes fellow Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor, Brooke. Brooke and Bri talk about struggling with health-related PTSD, being diagnosed with cancer as a college student (what a crap time to turn 21), how important it is to advocate for your own health, and the difficulties with sharing your own trauma story - whatever that story may be. Big shoutout to Brooke for taking a huge step in her healing process. To donate to the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), a student led year-long fundraising and awareness campaign in the fight against childhood cancer, visit https://www.fourdiamonds.org/get-involved/thon/To get 50% off of your Alissa Danielle Design order (YES I SAID 50%), visit Alissa Danielle Design on etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlissaDanielleDesign , or find her on Instagram at @alissadanielledesign and use the code ADDESIGN (only valid one week after this episode airs so you better go like right now).Alissa Danielle DesignsAlissa make custom stickers of pets and people. She also creates digital drawings that can be hung oDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

On this episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her former college roommate, Makenzie. Kenz and Bri talk about why it's important that therapists have their own therapists, the heaviness of working with domestic violence victims, and how past health trauma can lead to empathetic personality traits. At least something good can come out of having trauma, right?If you or someone you know is in an abusive situation, you can get access to resources, tools, and information about shelters and counseling by contacting your local domestic violence program through this link - www.pcadv.org/find-help/To make a donation to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence that will help PCADV sustain vital programming, please visit https://www.pcadv.org/get-involved/donate/To get 15% off of your first bagAmask order, go to https://bagamask.com/ , visit them on etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/bagAmask , or find them on Instagram at @bagasmask and use the code TBMIF15 (only valid one week after this episode airs, so go get your bagAmask quick!).BagAMaskA mask holder that can clip to anything to keep your mask clean!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

On this episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her coworker - one of the funniest people she knows, Heather McGraw. Bri and Heather get candid about their own personal experiences with addiction and Heather tells a wild story about how much her old drug dealer sucked. Oh, and apparently Heather used to steal five-star silverware when she was on Xanax?!? Bri even tears up a little because Heather is just so dang inspirational. To support the the Delaware Humane Association, Delaware's premiere nonprofit no kill animal care and adoption center, visit this link - https://delawarehumane.org/

On this episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her former next door neighbor and Indie Pop sensation Marielle Kraft. Bri and Marielle chat about what it’s like to follow your dreams, past traumatic relationships and how much we love our therapists (thanks Helen and Jodie!). To hear Marielle's new song, Portland, wait until the end of the episode!And while you’re at it, check out Marielle's website: https://www.mariellekraft.com/Then make your way over to insta and follow @mariellekraft (killer content I promise)To support the Food Bank of Delaware that is directing all donations at this time to COVID-19 efforts, you can visit this link - https://www.fbd.org/onlinedonations/

On this episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes a soon to be fan favorite, Max, who Bri has been friends with for over ten years. That's a wild amount of years. Also, Zoom audio is eh. Sorry folks!Anyway, Max and Bri talk about middle child syndrome, living up to parents expectations, and Max tells his insanely wild (and insanely traumatic)  coming out story. To support the Human Rights Campaign, which is a non-profit dedicated to creating a world where every member of the LGBTQ family has the freedom to live their truth without fear, and with equality under the law, you can visit this link - https://give.hrc.org/page/62714/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=or_gnr_hrc_homepage2020

On this episode of Trauma, But Make It Funny, Bri welcomes her first guest, EVER, Jess, who is a nurse that has been battling with Crohn's Disease. They talk about a few garbage people Jess has encountered over the past years while dealing with her illness and her and Bri can agree that everything happens for a reason, even if you may not know what that is quite yet. To support the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, you can visit this link - https://online.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/site/Donation2?28287.donation=form1&df_id=28287&mfc_pref=T&s_src=HQXW19F1DWKWDXXX&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=fy19appeals&utm_source=HQXW10F1DWLWDXXX&_ga=2.2999664.1508083025.1605552673-1347656946.1605552673

Hi Friends! It's me,  Brianna Hancin, a blood cancer survivor who has only gotten through chemo, radiation and being bald by making jokes about it. If you know me, you've absolutely heard me blaming my horrible memory on chemo brain. If you don't know me, well... welcome! I'm introducing a new podcast called Trauma, But Make It Funny - a real and raw interview-style podcast about how we can try to use humor to help us get through some of the worst things that have ever happened to us. I'll be talking to people with all different stories - whether they are recovering addicts, dealing with a traumatic loss, or living with a debilitating illness - all stories are welcome here.The moral of the story? Maybe if we can make talking about our trauma easier, it will be easier to deal with, too. Let's get heavy.