PEERS Radio

Ryan Macasero opened up about his battles with depression and anxiety in an essay for The FilAm, a Filipino magazine. The essay is titled “Young journalist opens up about overcoming depression: The Asian American in isolation.” His story recently won him a journalism award. Ryan speaks with host Jenee Darden about his journey to recovery, obstacles immigrant families face, and mental health stigma in the Asian & Pacific Islander community. He also speaks on the pressures some Asians face from the Model Minority Myth. Ryan is...

Lucinda Bassett rose to success as the founder of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety. But her personal life has been far from an easy journey. She grew up poor in Ohio with an abusive father, who was also an alcoholic. She battled anxiety disorder and her husband of 25 years committed suicide in 2008. Lucinda speaks with Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden about her life and inspirational new book, Truth Be Told: A Memoir of Success, Suicide, and Survival...

We end our series on the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World with a look at WRAP’s future in Ghana. WRAP stands for Wellness Recovery Action Plan. There are 22 million people in the African country. But mental health services are dire. Only 3 psychiatric hospitals and roughly 12-14 therapists are available to those in need. Inhumane treatment of people with mental illness continues to be a serious issue.

Host Jenee Darden speaks with WRAP facilitator Wali Mutazammil. He is working to bring hope and mental health awareness to his country...

In her continuing coverage of the WRAP Around the World Conference, host Jenee Darden takes a look at mental health and sex. Two topics that may seem unrelated, but actually coincide with each other. After all, the brain is the biggest and most powerful sex organ. Audrey Garfield is a WRAP facilitator in Vermont and President of the Copeland Center Board. The Copeland Center is the lead organization for WRAP trainings and programs.

She talks to Jenee about the WRAP and sex discussion group she facilitated at the conference. They’ll...

Can’t seem to throw things away? Are you or someone you know living in an extremely cluttered environment? People who love WRAP, Wellness Recovery Action Plan, say you can use it for anything to better your life. That includes hoarding or severe collecting.

In the next installment of our series about WRAP and the 2nd Annual WRAP Around the World Conference, we discuss severe cluttering, collecting and hoarding.

Host Jenee Darden interviews Lee Shuer. He talks about his current journey of recovery from over-collecting...

For the next few weeks we’re going to cover various ways to use WRAP, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan. It’s a plan that was developed by people with mental health challenges. It helps people manage their own mental health and wellness. But it can be applied to various parts of life and even business. The book is written by Mary Ellen Copeland. To get a basic understanding of WRAP, host Jenee Darden interviews BJ North, International Master WRAP Mentor and Master WRAP Facilitator...

Mental Health and Wellness Radio looks into what it’s like living with generalized anxiety disorder. In this energetic discussion, we get personal accounts of living with anxiety from host Jenee Darden and guest Jay Scott Smith, a reporter with TheGrio.com.

In the second segment of the show Jenee discusses a treatment that helps her with anxiety called ACT or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She speaks with her ACT group facilitator...

Mental Health and Wellness Radio host Jenee Darden heard a lot of good things about Zumba from her friends. She decided to check it out to see how the Latin-inspired dance workout is good for the body and mind. She visits Just Dance Ballroom in Oakland and gets her Zumba on with instructor and professional dancer Eduardo Vargas. Listen here or below.  

*Photo is of Eduardo Vargas.