Every community does mental health differently – some, more than others. For the Latinx community, which has largely ignored issues of mental health and addiction, a facility exists in Washington DC where community members can access medical, mental health, and addiction treatment all in one place. On this week’s episode, Nzinga sits down with Angie Castro, a mental health professional from La Clinica Del Pueblo, for a fascinating conversation about boundaries, barriers and bridges to well-being.

Mental health can be murky. How do you know the difference between depression and just feeling sad? What happens when you’re diagnosed with depression and anxiety, but it’s actually something else? On today’s show, we find out. Nzinga’s answers questions about the relationship between mental health, addiction, and medication from two listeners, one with bipolar and the other with borderline personality.

In 2011, Gary Mendell’s 25 yr old son, Brian, died by suicide after struggling with addiction for a decade. As Gary was supporting Brian through his recovery, remission, and relapses, he realized that, unlike other diseases, there was no real place to go for help. No huge foundation funding research. No 5k’s. So in the wake of Brian’s death, Gary created it himself. This week, Nzinga talks to Gary about the formation of Shatterproof, ATLAS (a treatment locator, assessment, and standards platform), and the immense importance of providing evidence-based education, resources, and treatment options.

Tamika Bickham has always loved stories. She used to be a TV news reporter, and now has her own media company to tell other people’s stories. But what is the real story that drives Tamika to jump between extremes in nearly every aspect of her life? This week, tune in to an intimate conversation with Nzinga and Tamika as they get to the root of Tamika’s behavior, then answer listener questions about compulsive dieting, extreme exercise, and restrictive eating.

It can be hard to get a teenager to talk about anything, period. So when it comes to talking to teens about drugs and addiction? Yikes. River, a teacher, wants to know how to talk to her students about addiction, without stigmatizing people who have addictions. And Suzanne, who works in a treatment center and has two teenage sons of her own, is curious why no one talks about difficult emotions and coping mechanisms as addiction prevention. So this week, Nzinga tells us how she talked to her own kids, and she and Claire do another roleplay.

Nzinga has mentioned therapy as a possible solution in every single episode. But that’s easier said than done. There are so many potential barriers: time, money, stigma, shame, and confusing insurance jargon. Plus, once you’re there, what do you actually say? This week Nzinga and president-elect of the Georgia Psychological Association, Dr. Kamieka Gabriel, talk through 5 different scenarios of someone trying to go to therapy and offer some tips on where to start.