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Rob Mokaraka, Mental Health Advocate - “You Didn’t Choose to Hurt, But You Can Choose to Heal”

October 21, 2023 / 06:50

This episode features discussions on mental health, healing, support systems, and personal growth. The guests share their experiences with mental illness and the importance of having a support network.

The conversation highlights the significance of having a 'tight three'—a small group of trusted individuals who can provide support during difficult times. One guest emphasizes that it is essential to formalize these relationships to ensure accountability and assistance.

They also discuss the challenges of maintaining mental health and the need for ongoing effort in personal evolution. The guests reflect on their past struggles and the importance of moving forward rather than reverting to old habits.

Throughout the episode, the guests share personal anecdotes about their journeys, including moments of vulnerability and the necessity of asking for help when needed. They stress the importance of practicing coping tools regularly to be prepared for tough situations.

The episode concludes with a focus on the value of open communication and understanding one's needs in the context of mental health, encouraging listeners to seek help and build their support systems.

TL;DR

Guests discuss mental health, healing, and the importance of support networks in overcoming personal struggles.

Episode

6:50
00:00:00
and now I get to meet you know I meet
00:00:01
people like you Dom we've never met so
00:00:03
what I really cherish is meaning
00:00:07
like-minded Souls who are happy to talk
00:00:10
about these very crunchy things so other
00:00:13
people out there in the world who don't
00:00:14
have the words or the courage yet can
00:00:17
breathe a sigh of relief and go okay
00:00:20
maybe I can get to that stage I'm just
00:00:22
right down here at the moment struggling
00:00:25
yeah so I appreciate you brother that's
00:00:26
what I'm trying to say I I appreciate
00:00:28
you too and as I was saying before from
00:00:29
doing this podast C you realize that
00:00:30
everyone's carrying a bag of [ __ ] it's
00:00:32
just how big that bag of [ __ ] is and um
00:00:35
and I'd like to think people can go can
00:00:37
can hear your story and go okay well he
00:00:39
got through that I can get through this
00:00:43
relationship breakup job loss you know
00:00:45
this guilt that I've got for whatever it
00:00:47
happens to be absolutely and and if I
00:00:50
could just give I just try and drop real
00:00:52
simple gems for people I was like you
00:00:54
didn't choose the hurt but you can
00:00:55
choose to heal cuz we get stuck in here
00:00:59
yeah well that's it can't change
00:01:01
anything well I was like well you're not
00:01:02
a tree bro you can move so um I was like
00:01:05
oh I can move too I can move to help but
00:01:08
it's just trying to it's easier said
00:01:09
than done when you're when you're in
00:01:10
that fight or flight all the time and
00:01:13
you're it's like you're literally
00:01:14
walking through a storm that no one can
00:01:15
see yeah when do you start to come right
00:01:18
how long is it so July 2009
00:01:20
yesterday oh I'm sorry I understand
00:01:23
you're still a work in progress if
00:01:25
you're if you're um suffer from mental
00:01:27
illness it's it's never going to fully
00:01:28
go away and it's a constant on um but
00:01:31
when did you start to feel like your
00:01:32
your old self again or your new self
00:01:33
again well it's interesting because you
00:01:36
as you're healing you have to change
00:01:38
your ways because can't physically do
00:01:40
this can't physically do that mentally
00:01:43
it's hard because your body's not
00:01:44
working you have to evolve and now as I
00:01:47
got better physically I started to go
00:01:50
back to my old dumb ways like let's have
00:01:51
some beers let's get on it and I
00:01:54
mentally started to fall down again I
00:01:56
went what's wrong I'm back I'm like I'm
00:01:58
feeling fit again what's wrong with me
00:01:59
it's like oh you idiot you can't go back
00:02:02
to the old ways now in my Evolution and
00:02:05
anyone's healing Evolution you have to
00:02:09
keep moving forward if you try to go
00:02:11
backwards you're going to sink back down
00:02:13
to where you were yeah and that's that
00:02:15
happened to me a few times that's okay I
00:02:17
mean I was I was with with good people
00:02:19
but when I realized that I was like oh
00:02:21
[ __ ] this is not good for my mental
00:02:22
health I share this with everybody I've
00:02:25
got a tight three three people that I
00:02:27
trust with my life I can text or call
00:02:29
anytime night or day and I encourage
00:02:32
other people to get a tight three
00:02:34
because it's too much for one person to
00:02:35
hold and the good thing about my tight
00:02:38
threats grow to five people that I trust
00:02:40
in my life um is that if you're swirling
00:02:45
that person there to help you and if
00:02:46
you're the person helping the one
00:02:48
swirling and it's too much for you you
00:02:50
call in the other people so you're
00:02:52
you're putting a circle of UT heart and
00:02:54
hope around that one person and the
00:02:56
three of you or five of you can navigate
00:02:58
it better than one so it's basically to
00:03:01
even the load I think that's a good idea
00:03:02
as a formal sort of I mean you hear
00:03:04
about people that go to Alcoholics
00:03:05
Anonymous and they have a sponsor you
00:03:07
know someone they can call anytime day
00:03:08
or night but we don't do that for mental
00:03:10
health do we and um and but everyone
00:03:12
says everyone says like if you're ever
00:03:14
feeling down you give me a call day or
00:03:16
night but it's feels like it's just lip
00:03:18
service yeah and that's why I've taken
00:03:21
this I took it that step to go I'm going
00:03:23
to nominate these people and formalize
00:03:25
it and formalize it and you know it's
00:03:26
okay if they go oh actually it's it's a
00:03:28
bit too much for me bro go okay thanks
00:03:30
now I know uh this person over here this
00:03:32
another person so you just build and
00:03:34
I've heard people say I don't have a
00:03:36
tight I don't have a tight one in my
00:03:37
circle and I've actually said to them
00:03:39
sounds like your circle is crap um if
00:03:41
you can't ask one person in your circle
00:03:44
to be you know a guardian a kitak you
00:03:48
better change a circle bro cuz that
00:03:50
means you it's not a safe place to be I
00:03:53
like that so when did the when did the
00:03:57
decision come to tour it and do shop bro
00:03:59
as I said at the beginning I I watched
00:04:01
this on YouTube last night and anyone
00:04:02
can watch it um it's it's a hard watch
00:04:05
and after watching it last night I
00:04:08
thought you know it must be exhausting
00:04:11
for you to even come over here today and
00:04:12
like chat about this for an hour no no
00:04:15
no this is my every day because it's not
00:04:18
heavy for me it's not it's not heavy for
00:04:20
me it was heavy for me it's light for me
00:04:24
do I still have shed some tears about it
00:04:26
sometimes yeah but it's nowhere near as
00:04:29
heavy as it's ever been for me I'm at
00:04:31
probably the best shape mentally
00:04:32
physically spiritually that I've ever
00:04:34
been at but I know that I got to keep
00:04:36
working on it I can't just stop like
00:04:38
going on cruise mode because I'll start
00:04:40
to slip backwards I've actually the
00:04:43
thing about prevention is you've got to
00:04:44
be actually putting into action you got
00:04:47
to be actioning it's great to have all
00:04:49
these tools but if you're not practicing
00:04:51
any of these tools daily then it's just
00:04:53
great thoughts and ideas oh yeah and
00:04:55
then when when the [ __ ] hits the fan and
00:04:57
you go and grab the tool you don't
00:04:59
actually use it before you're like oh
00:05:01
well I dropped it oh oh grab the other
00:05:04
one oh dropped it too oh God and all of
00:05:07
a sudden you've got had a great you
00:05:09
think you've got these great tools which
00:05:10
you've never practiced using and I had
00:05:12
to figure out that the hard way bro that
00:05:14
happened to me so many times yeah yeah
00:05:16
that's great that's a great one that's a
00:05:17
great one and then when the [ __ ] the fan
00:05:19
they'd all fall out on the floor and I
00:05:20
got I was lost again yeah but that's the
00:05:22
thing I mean the easiest time to do the
00:05:24
work is when you don't need it eh but
00:05:25
it's like I mean who does that you know
00:05:29
what I it's like I don't need it I'm all
00:05:31
good totally until you're not and that's
00:05:33
what I I used to do that all the time
00:05:35
but now I've had to use these tools and
00:05:37
I encourage other people to use whatever
00:05:39
tools you need cuz we're all same same
00:05:41
but different and you might need a
00:05:43
little different variation of this so
00:05:45
figure out what you need and when you're
00:05:47
swirling in that storm of suici a
00:05:50
suicide audiation and you're brave
00:05:51
enough to go bro I'm spinning out I need
00:05:53
help right now the best advice I've ever
00:05:56
got and it's from my first cousin Clint
00:05:57
Edmunds he said to me on the phone what
00:05:59
do you need cousin cuz you could hear
00:06:02
that I was distressed and I'd never
00:06:03
everybody have ever heard anyone ask me
00:06:06
what I need and I realized why cuz I
00:06:08
never told anybody I've been suicidal so
00:06:10
to have somebody actually listen without
00:06:12
judgment not go oh man we we better
00:06:15
medicate you or jeez we better call the
00:06:17
cops or call the ambulance it's like
00:06:18
there's no Panic the person who I trust
00:06:20
in my life number one on my dining list
00:06:22
is my cousin just asking me what I need
00:06:24
and what I really like about that is it
00:06:26
puts the ball back in that person's
00:06:28
Court to figure out what do I need
00:06:30
because no one's ever asked me do I need
00:06:32
to cry do I need to go to the gym do I
00:06:34
need to hit the punching bag go to the
00:06:36
ocean I don't know but at least now
00:06:38
someone's put it in your court to ask
00:06:41
what you need so it's actually having to
00:06:43
build the capacity getting the person to
00:06:45
build it for themselves but giving them
00:06:47
a platform to to work off

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 60
    Most inspiring
  • 60
    Best concept / idea

Episode Highlights

  • Choosing to Heal
    You didn't choose the hurt, but you can choose to heal.
    “You didn't choose the hurt, but you can choose to heal.”
    @ 00m 54s
    October 21, 2023
  • Building a Support Circle
    Having a tight circle of trusted people can help navigate mental health challenges.
    “I've got a tight three people that I trust with my life.”
    @ 02m 27s
    October 21, 2023
  • Asking for Help
    The best advice is to ask someone what you need when you're struggling.
    “What do you need cousin?”
    @ 05m 57s
    October 21, 2023

Episode Quotes

  • You didn't choose the hurt, but you can choose to heal.
    Rob Mokaraka, Mental Health Advocate - “You Didn’t Choose to Hurt, But You Can Choose to Heal”
  • It's easier said than done when you're in that fight or flight all the time.
    Rob Mokaraka, Mental Health Advocate - “You Didn’t Choose to Hurt, But You Can Choose to Heal”
  • The easiest time to do the work is when you don't need it.
    Rob Mokaraka, Mental Health Advocate - “You Didn’t Choose to Hurt, But You Can Choose to Heal”

Key Moments

  • Meeting Like-Minded Souls00:07
  • Struggling with Mental Health00:22
  • Evolution of Healing02:05
  • Building a Support System02:38
  • Asking for Help06:06

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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