Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 70 - Why I share so much of my Personal Life - Because Somebody out there might need to hear it!

Transcript

Episode 70 - Why I share so much of my Personal Life - Because Somebody out there might need to hear it! · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. Alright, welcome back
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: to Real Talk with Mike D. I am the one,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the only, and the original Mike D. Thank you for
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: being here. Thank you for listening. And as always, I
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: do appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, today we're going to
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: talk about why I share so much of my personal
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: life with all of you. With all of you across
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: the entire globe. Because somebody out there might need to
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: hear it. Somebody might need to know that I am
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: not alone. Mike D has been through or is going
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: through exactly how I feel. And that is important because
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: in life, when you're going through something, you want to
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: know that you are not alone. You want to know
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: that somebody out there feels the exact same way that
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: you do. And a lot of times people feel alone.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: They feel like they're the only one that's going through
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: a particular problem. I want you to know that you
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: are not alone. Now, I cannot relate to everything, but
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: if you hear something that I say and you can
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: relate to it, fantastic. That means that you are not alone.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: And ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get into all
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: that and more right after this. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: thank you very much for being here. I appreciate you listening.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: And today, again, I want to talk about something that
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: is very, very personal to me. And actually, it's something
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: I've thought about quite a bit. Some of you might
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: listen to my podcast and wonder, Mike, why do you
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: tell everybody so much about your personal life? Why do
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: you talk about your feelings? Why do you talk about
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: depression and anxiety, loneliness? your struggles, your fears, and the
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: things that keep you up at night. And you know what?
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: That is a fair question. Why would somebody willingly get
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: behind a microphone, press record, and start talking about the
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: things that most people would rather keep hidden? Why would
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: I tell you about the days when I'm struggling? Why
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: would I admit that sometimes I'm sad? Sometimes I'm worried
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: about the future, and sometimes I don't have everything figured out.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Why not just get behind this microphone, pretend everything is wonderful,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: tell a few jokes, talk about some good times, and
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: make everybody think I've got my life completely together. But
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: you know what? I will tell you why, because this
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: is not real life. And ladies and gentlemen, I am
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: a real person. I am not here to convince you
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: that I have all the answers. I'm not here to
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: pretend that every morning I wake up feeling fantastic. or
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: that I'm ready to conquer the world, or that I
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: have a smile on my face and absolutely nothing is
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: bothering me. Because let's face it, that is not how
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: life works. Some mornings you wake up ready to take
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: on the world, and other mornings you wake up and
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: wonder if the world could just give you five more
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: minutes before it starts throwing things at you. And sometimes
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: that cup of coffee is doing more emotional heavy lifting
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: than anybody should reasonably expect. from a cup of coffee.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: But seriously, life can be difficult and sometimes the best
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: things we can do is stop pretending that everything is
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: okay when it is not. That is one of the
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: reasons why I share so much of myself with all
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: of you. And today I want to explain exactly why
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: that is. You know, not just for me, but for
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: the person listening who might be going through something similar.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Because maybe, just maybe, something I say today will help
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: you get through a difficult day. And if that happens,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: then opening up my life is worth it. You know,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: let's start with something that I think we all know about.
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  Speaker 1: People are really good at pretending. We get up in
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: the morning, we get dressed, we go to work, we
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: talk to people, we answer questions, and we go about
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: our day. Somebody asks, hey, how are you doing? And
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: we say, I'm good. How are you? Meanwhile, inside our heads,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: there might be a thousand different things happening. You might
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: be worried about money. You might be worried about our jobs.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: You might be dealing with problems at home. Hell, we
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: might feel lonely. We might be struggling with depression or anxiety.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: We might be worried about what tomorrow is going to bring,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: but we smile anyway. We say we're fine because it's
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: easier than explaining what is really going on. And sometimes
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: we don't even know how to explain it to ourselves.
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  Speaker 1: Have you ever had one of those days where somebody
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: asks you what's wrong and you honestly don't know where
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: to begin? It's not particularly one thing. It's everything. It's
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: the stress that's been building up for weeks. It's the
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: problems you haven't figured out. It's the conversations you keep
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: replaying in your head. It's the uncertainty about the future.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: It's waking up tired even though you slept. It's trying
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: to concentrate when your mind is somewhere else. It's wanting
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: to feel happy but not quite knowing how to get there.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: And the hardest part? You can be surrounded by people
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: and still feel completely alone. That's why I don't want
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: this podcast to be a place where I have to pretend.
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  Speaker 1: I want it to be a place where I can
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  Speaker 1: tell the truth. If I'm having a good day, I'm
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: going to tell you about it. If I'm having a
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: bad day, I'm going to tell you about that too.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: If I'm excited about something, you're going to hear it
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: in my voice. And if I'm struggling, I'm not going
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: to act like I'm living some perfect little world where
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: nothing ever goes wrong. Because that would be a lie.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Because I don't live there. And neither do you. I
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: think there's something powerful about being able to say, you
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: know what? I'm not doing so great today. I am
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: not okay. Not because you're looking for sympathy. Not because
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: you want everybody to feel sorry for you. But because
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  Speaker 1: you're human. You are a human being and human beings
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  Speaker 1: have difficult days. You shouldn't have to pretend to be
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: happy just to make other people comfortable. Now let that
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: sink in for one second. You shouldn't have to hide
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  Speaker 1: your feelings just because somebody else doesn't know how to
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  Speaker 1: respond to them. And that's one of the reasons why
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: I speak openly on this show. I want to be
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: able to sit behind this microphone and be able to
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  Speaker 1: say to myself, I'm not fake. I'm real. I am
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: not a fake personality. I'm not pretending that my life
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: is perfect. I'm just Mike D. Talking about life as
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: I experienced it. And hopefully, that honesty gives someone else
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: permission to be honest too. Now, let's talk about something
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: that's even more personal. Depression and anxiety. There are two
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: things that can affect the way you think, the way
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: you feel, and the way you experience everyday life. And
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: one of the frustrating things about them is that other
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: people don't always see what you're dealing with. They see
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: you going to work. They see you laughing at a joke.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: They see you posting something on social media. They see
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: you recording a podcast, and they might think, Mike, hell,
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: he seems to be fine to me. But somebody can
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: laugh and still be struggling. Somebody can go to work
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: and still be fighting an internal battle. Somebody can encourage
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: other people while privately trying to figure out how to
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: get through their own difficult moments. That is the reality
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: of mental health. You can't always tell what somebody is
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: going through just by looking at them. And I want
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: to make something very clear. When I talk about depression
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: and anxiety on this podcast, I am not saying I
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: have everything figured out. I am not a person who's
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: sitting here telling you I've discovered some magical formula that
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: makes every bad feeling disappear because I haven't. I'm still
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: learning about myself. I'm trying to understand my emotions. I'm
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: still trying to understand my emotions. I'm still working on
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: how I handle stress. How I deal with uncertainty. And
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: how I move forward. when life feels overwhelming. And that
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: is okay. Because working on yourself doesn't mean you have
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: to have all the answers. It means you're willing to
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: keep trying. For me, talking about what I'm experiencing can
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: help me put my feelings into words. Sometimes when you
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: keep everything bottled up inside, your thoughts start going around
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: and around and around in circles. You think about one problem,
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: and then another problem comes along. Then you start worrying
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: about something that hasn't even happened yet. And before you
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: know it, your mind has taken you 10 years into
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: the future, and you're worrying about a situation that hasn't
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: even happened yet. And anxiety... Anxiety can make the future
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  Speaker 1: feel like a place where every possible thing is going
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  Speaker 1: to go wrong. And depression can make it difficult to
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: feel hopeful about what's ahead. When those feelings show up,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes I need a way to slow down and sort
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: through what's going on inside my head. And for me,
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  Speaker 1: sitting down and talking into this microphone can be one
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  Speaker 1: of the best ways that I know of doing that.
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  Speaker 1: I can take something that's been weighing on me and
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  Speaker 1: actually talk about it. I can ask myself a question.
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  Speaker 1: I can explain what I'm feeling. I can acknowledge that
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: something is difficult instead of acting like it doesn't exist.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: And sometimes just being able to say something out loud
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  Speaker 1: makes me feel less alone with it. And that's part
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  Speaker 1: of what this podcast means to me. It's an opportunity
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  Speaker 1: for me to express myself, It's an opportunity for me
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  Speaker 1: to be honest. And it's an opportunity for me to
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  Speaker 1: remind myself that even when I'm struggling, I still have
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: a voice. I still have things to say. I still
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: have something to contribute. And my life is still worth
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: talking about, even when every part of it isn't going
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: the way I hoped. Now, I know talking about your
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: feelings isn't a substitute for professional mental health care when
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: you need it. Reaching out to a therapist, doctor, or
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: someone you trust can be an important part of taking
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: care of yourself. But I also believe there's value in
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  Speaker 1: finding healthy ways to express what's going on inside of you.
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  Speaker 1: And this microphone has become one of the ways for me.
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  Speaker 1: It's not about being perfect. It's about being honest. It's
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  Speaker 1: about being honest enough to say, this is where I
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  Speaker 1: am today. And I'm going to keep working on myself.
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  Speaker 1: And maybe that's a message somebody else needs to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, that is going to do it for
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  Speaker 1: today's episode. I greatly appreciate you being here. I appreciate
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: you listening. And I hope that gives you a little
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: bit of an insight as to why I share so
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: much of my personal life with the entire world. My
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: hope is that something that I say, something that I've
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: been through, can help that one person out there. But
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: as always, I appreciate you being here, I appreciate you listening,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: and I'll see you all on the next episode.