An Inspiring Recovery with Neil McCarthy

What does someone do after a break from reality?

Is it possible to cure mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder?

On this episode, I talk with Neil McCarthy, author of "An Inspiring Recovery: How I Found Sanity."

We talk about:

- Mental health diagnosis

- Navigating medication and treatment changes

- Mindfulness, meditation, and living in the present

- Music, writing, and other creative expression

- The importance of community for writers

 

For anyone who has faced a frightening diagnosis or a break with reality—or has had family or friends who have—you'll know how terrifying it can be and how powerless you can feel. Your life can seem to melt instantly. Neil's story is powerful and shows what it takes to get to and maintain a healthy space mentally and physically.

More about the book:

Nineteen-year-old Neil McCarthy had the world at his feet—an engineering major, athlete, and musician at Carnegie Mellon University—when he experienced a psychotic break during the summer after his sophomore year. This led him to embark on a decades-long journey to find a sense of belonging and an oasis of sanity from his mania, psychosis, depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Neil left no stone unturned in his quest for sanity. Combining all the benefits of Western medicine with Eastern spirituality, naturopathic medicine, and a variety of therapies brought Neil much of the wellness he craved.

 

Neil was soon hit with the reality that recovery would not be a simple process. Doctors changed. Diagnoses changed. Jobs changed. Insomnia was his foe for most of his adult life. But Neil persisted. Eventually, he realized that while medications could help mitigate his symptoms, the real healing had to come from within him. In his own words, “I did not need to hide from tasks that caused me pain. Instead, I met them head-on.” During his recovery, Neil encountered a variety of mental health treatments, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, which furthered him down the path toward sanity. While focusing on the recovery process, this raw memoir chronicles Neil’s thirty-year journey toward well-being. He has proved that it is not only possible to live a prosperous life with mental health challenges, but also to inspire others along the way.

To learn more about the author: https://thelefthand.art/

To get a copy of the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1954493835/