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The Smoke Break

The Smoke Break

by Zane Thomas, Zoë Schwartz, & Jasmine Nothing

Comedy Interviews Mental Health

Episode 145: "Mental Health Access" (ft. Rochelle Cote)

On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we hung out with the intrepid Rochelle Cote. We started out complaining about how difficult it is to access mental health resources, and how frustrating it is to still have so many barriers in the way when you're finally feeling ready to try something new. Then we chatted about DBT treatment and how helpful it can be to equip folks with tangible skills to help respond to overwhelming feelings that would have usually hijacked everything. We finished up talking about mania, and touched on some psychosis too—how it can feel for the person experiencing it, and how it can feel watching someone you care about struggle with it—and how to try and make the comedy scene safe for folks having a hard time. Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

Episode 144: "Toxic Positivity" (ft. Chris Hudson)

Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we hung out with the host of "Leave Your Troubles" Chris Hudson. We began by tackling toxic positivity—you know it, you love it—and how it gives good vibes a bad name. Then we moved on to "usefulness"—how we might sometimes tie our value to what we're able to contribute, and what happens when we maybe aren't in a place to contribute very much—what then? Last up, we talked about being adaptable! Do you pivot easily, or are you locked in and struggle when plans change? Tune in to find out what we said! Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

Episode 143: "Humor, Joy & Memory" (ft. Rachelle Cochran)

Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we hung out with a true delight, Portland comedian Rachelle Cochran. We started off talking about humor—which makes sense on a podcast about comedy, I guess—and about how we rely on it to get through these…questionable times. Next up, we focused on joy—how do we define it, hold on tight to it, feel embarrassed by it, and fill our lives with it as much as we possibly can. Finally, we landed on memory… do we struggle with memory? What are the pros and cons to having a good/bad memory? How does holding onto things we remember serve or hold us back? Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

Episode 142: "Weaponized Boundaries" (ft. Briauna Skye)

Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we spent some quality time with Briauna Skye! We kicked it off talking about friend breakups, which are possibly worse than relationship breakups—they linger in a special way, and are uniquely unmooring. Then we followed that up with weaponized boundaries, which kind of became a conversation about something else when we realized we weren't totally on the same page. And we finished up with radical acceptance, even though none of us are ninja turtles. Radical acceptance is a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but it can also help move processing along—we often say "this is just what's happening now" to each other, which is sort of the same thing. Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

Episode 141: "Individualism & Balance" (ft. Zachary Clark)

Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we finally got to hang out with Zachary Clark! We started with Individualism—how it can make us feel unique but also can get in the way of genuine community and caring for each other. Then we talked about finding Balance. In this modern world, we have to manage so many things, and it's tough to find balance between all our responsibilities AND the things that bring us joy. It's too much for the number of hours in a day! Episodes drop weekly when our own mental health lets us. Thanks for listening.

Episode 140: "Wasting Time & Dependability" (ft. Gabe Holmes)

Hey pals! On this week's episode of "The Smoke Break", we had the best time with iconic queer comedian Gabe Holmes. We kicked it off talking about dependability—are we dependable? Who are the dependable people in our lives? Why is it important? How does it make our lives easier? Then we followed that up with the concept of wasting time…. Time is always passing and it's the most finite of resources, so how do you decide what your priorities are? What counts as wasting time or not, and who gets to decide? We wrapped it up by getting into the idea of "play"—it's easy to take ourselves pretty seriously, and letting ourselves play is such an important part of balancing everything out, but it's tough to allow ourselves to do it sometimes. How do y'all engage in play in your lives? Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

Episode 139: "Psychosis & Hospitalizations" (ft. Ryan Knudtson aka Mob Rule)

Hey pals! On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we had the pleasure of hanging out with Ryan Knudtson aka Mob Rule. We started things off talking about some shared diagnosis, and how folks have gotten through some really tough years with the help of supportive people, grit, and new skills. Then we talked about being in a hospital for mental health reasons and that while they can be useful because it’s the only option you have, they’re often dehumanizing and scary too. Then we closed it out talking about music! Where folks find inspiration, what equipment they use, and how art is sustaining during a truly wild time to be alive. Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening. Link in comments…

Episode 138: "Reclaiming Community" (ft. Eli Gray)

Oh hey, we’re back! On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we got to know Eli Gray (they/them) - Founding Director of WERQ TOGETHER. We got things going talking about trans joy, and the non-profit Eli started to help operationalize the support that they’d already been offering to the community for a while—including a dope event coming up on March 29th called Trans Town PDX! We kept things going talking about the importance of community, and how it can be difficult to try and rebuild it after being burnt by folks, or moving to a new area. We ended with a bit of a shift to discuss balancing how hard we work as social workers for a client vs how hard the client needs to work, and the nuance of why someone might be perceived as not working as hard as you or not. Episodes drop Saturdays on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

Episode 137: "Knowing Vs. Doing & Mortality" (ft. Phillip Stewart)

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we got to hang out with storyteller, producer, and owner of Coffee Beer, the very silly Phillip Stewart. We began with the commodification of mental health in this day and age—the way capitalism impacts our choices and well-being, and how we are trying to take it back. Then we moved to the idea of “knowing vs doing”—like just because you GO to therapy, is that really enough? Or is that bar a little low, like maybe there should also be an expectation that you actually apply what you’re learning there? Lastly, we talked about mortality—sure, it’s a bit morbid, but knowing how short life can be can also be motivating to spend your time well in the meantime… Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

Episode 136: "Desperation & Connection" (ft. Mike Lindsey)

On this week’s episode of “The Smoke Break”, we finally got to hang out with the our old pal comedian Mike Lindsey. We kicked things off by talking about the idea of desperation—how it can sometimes be motivating, or can sometimes be the reason people act outside their values. Then we bounced back by discussing connection—where we’ve found it, what happens when people are deprived of it, and how you can create it if you’re feeling like you don’t have enough of it. Lastly, we tried to figure out some energy management. In a world where we have a million responsibilities, how do you decide how much of your energy to spend on each thing? What do you keep for yourself vs what you spend on someone else? Episodes drop every Friday on ALL platforms! Thanks for listening.

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