The Mental Matchup

#103: In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Brandon Allen connects with Kat. Brandon was born and raised in the Bronx, NY, and then moved to Lancaster, PA, when he was ten years old. He went on to play college football at Towson University and is now a mental health advocate after going through a difficult period in college when he questioned his self-worth. Brandon talks about his struggles with mental health and how his passion helped him create his brand @loveyourself. TW: Suicide Follow Morgan’s Message: @morgansmessageVisit: Morgan’s MessageSubmit a story: The Mental MatchupFollow Love Yourself: @loveyourselfShop: Love Yourself Clothing Presented by Morgan’s Message

#102 - During this episode, we are joined by Hannah Terry. Hannah is a Morgan’s Message Ambassador and a member of the Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Hannah speaks about her experiences with the recruiting process, working through people pleasing and learning how to combat intrusive thoughts. Kat and Hannah also touch on the importance of learning healthy coping mechanisms when you experience negative thoughts or experiences. In Part 2 of our conversation we focus on Hannah’s journey through injury, advocating for herself and her healing journey. TW: Depression, Panic Attacks

Welcome back to Season 6! During this episode, we are joined by Hannah Terry. Hannah is a Morgan’s Message Ambassador and a member of the Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Hannah speaks about her experiences with the recruiting process, working through people pleasing and learning how to combat intrusive thoughts. Kat and Hannah also touch on the importance of learning healthy coping mechanisms when you experience negative thoughts or experiences. We can’t wait for you all to listen to all of the amazing guests we have lined up for Season 6!TW: Depression, Panic Attacks

#100: to have Dennis Gillan join the podcast. Dennis is the Executive Director of the Half a Sorrow Foundation, a foundation that strives to improve the mental health of individuals and organizations through conversation. He also has a TedX Talk and is the author of the book Nice Shoes!: A Little Compliment Can Go a Long Way, which we will link below. During the episode, Dennis speaks about losing two of his brothers to suicide and how that impacted his own mental health. He truly embodies the belief that an open dialogue with others will help break the stigma surrounding talking about your own mental health and we are honored to have him as our guest for such a milestone episode!TW: Suicide

Dr. Madison Bailey joins The Mental Matchup this week! Madison grew up in Phoenix, AZ and was a three sport athlete who ultimately focused on softball. She went to Manhattan College and graduated in 2016 before going to grad school to get her Masters and Doctorate at California Lutheran University. During the episode, Madison discusses how her experience with anxiety and control issues was one of her first introductions to the world of mental health and how she dealt with a series of life altering events. She is such a great advocate for mental health and we can’t wait for everyone to hear this episode!

In this week's episode of The Mental Matchup, Brock Turnbaugh joins the podcast. Brock grew up in Northern Maryland and was a three sport athlete at Hereford High School. He went to play lacrosse as a goalie at Johns Hopkins University and discusses the transition from high school to college and how he was often hyper focused on other people versus focusing on himself. During the episode, Brock opens up about his own internal battle with self confidence and finding his passion connecting mental health and athletics. He is currently in school at Loyola University Maryland getting his Masters in Clinical Professional Counseling. Brock also works with student athletes through Morgan’s Message at the Johns Hopkins chapter!

This week on The Mental Matchup Glory Johnson joins the podcast. Glory grew up in Syracuse, NY and graduated from Old Dominion University in 2020 as a member of the Women's Lacrosse team. As an athlete, she experienced many ups and downs including performance anxiety, falling out of love with the sport and transferring schools. She now works as a breathwork facilitator and life coach and we are excited to welcome her onto the podcast!

For this week’s story submission episode, we’re highlighting 2 incredible stories. First off we have “Finding My Purpose” by Lily Parker who shares her experience with the college recruiting process and how it affected her overall mental health. Next up, Alexandra Castro Iberico wrote a story titled “Ambivalence”. As a competitive rower, she discusses the unrealistic expectations of perfection as an athlete and how perseverance is critical. Thank you all for letting us share your story with our community! Don’t forget to check out all our story submissions on The Mental Matchup stories site linked here and if you're interested in submitting a story, please reach out to [email protected]! TW: Disordered Eating and Mention of Panic Attacks/Anxiety

This week on The Mental Matchup, Kat and Schuyler are joined by Sydney Zeszotarski. Sydney grew up in New Jersey and currently swims at Stevenson University. Throughout the episode, she gives us a closer look at her experiences dealing with a chronic illness, Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and how that negatively affected her mental health to the point where she attempted suicide. She talks about how the community around her was unaware of how to start the conversation regarding mental health and her message is that any struggle an individual is going through will eventually pass. We are lucky to have Sydney share her story with our community and help bring awareness to the importance in holding onto the hope that things will get better!

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Matt Graham and Taylor Mead. Matt is a Special Olympics athlete, health messenger and athlete leader and Taylor is the Director of Health programs for Special Olympics New York who oversees health programming across the state. Special Olympics New York is a sports organization that provides inclusive opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities while also focusing on their overall health and wellness. Throughout the episode, they discuss the implications of living with intellectual disabilities and how that can impact an individual’s mental health. A huge thank you to Matt and Taylor for joining us this week!