Navigating Life After Multiple Misdiagnoses: The Story of a Woman's Journey to Find Her True Self with Sarah Fay

In episode 91 of Outside The Studio with Tessa:

Sarah Fay and Tessa Tovar talk about mental health and recovery. Sarah was misdiagnosed with a slew of mental health diagnoses from anorexia at a young age to depression, bipolar disorder and beyond.

Mental health and recovery is a process that Sarah has been actively engaging in for many years, and it is an ongoing effort that may continue for the rest of her life. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is a pathway to recovery and healing. If you or someone you love are experience mental health issues and diagnoses this episode is for you!

Sarah Fay (Ph.D., M.A., M.F.A.) is a mental health advocate and the award-winning author of the journalistic memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins), which was an Apple Best Books pick and which The New York Times hailed as a "fiery manifesto of a memoir." Parade Magazine recently named it one of the sixteen best mental health memoirs to read. Sarah has shared her story on NPR's 1A, Oprah Daily, Salon, WGN Morning News, NPR's KERA/Think, The Rumpus, and in The Los Angeles Times and Forbes Women. Pathological was featured in Forbes, mindbodygreen, Thrive Global, Lit Hub, Psychology Today, and more. She writes for many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and The Paris Review, where she was an advisory editor. She's on the faculty at Northwestern University; a Certified Mental Health Peer Recovery Specialist; and the editor of The Recovery Model (sarahfay.substack.com), a weekly publication that brings together the best tips, perspectives, and expert advice on recovery from mental illness. For more, visit www.sarahfay.org.

Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(02:45) The story of wellness and framing pathological

(05:35) 6 psychiatric misdiagnoses

(08:44) Getting answers that don't help you get better

(09:30) Finding the doctor that made the difference

(10:10) Diagnoses that have no scientific validity

(10:24) Where diagnoses come from

(12:00) Early childhood trauma resulting in mental health behavior

(14:30) Advice for parents dealing with children experience adverse behavior

(17:10) Important clarification about suicidal thoughts

(18:45) Learning How to articulate and accept your unwanted emotions and thoughts

(20:05) Recovery the movement and Sarah's process

(24:21) Defining mental health and recovery

(26:20) Sarah's substack for resources; the recovery model

(29:00) Financial literacy

(35:10) Peer recovery specialist

(36:30) Living well with schizophrenia and stretches of recovery

(42:23) How you turn your story of illness into a story of wellness

(43:25) De-institutionalization movement and reformation of the mental health system

Key Takeaways

1. Learn about the difficulty many people face when receiving multiple psychiatric diagnoses, as it can be hard to recognize which diagnosis is most accurate and how to best manage their mental health.

2. Learn how to get help and find resources available to you, to gain the knowledge and skills needed to heal from past trauma or support your child in managing their mental health.

3. Learn about why financial literacy is linked to mental health outcomes, and how becoming financially literate is an important part of maintaining mental health and recovery.

4. Healing and recovery from mental illnesses can look like a journey of regaining control of one's mental health through a combination of therapies, medications, and lifestyle changes that can result in full remission or stretches of recovery.

Resources:

Radically Loved Podcast Interview with Sarah Fay: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-radically-loved-podcast/id1077634041?i=1000584260909

Connect with Sarah Fay

Website: www.sarahfay.org

Substack: Start with a Question https://www.curedthememoir.com/

Workshops Catalyst Writing Workshop https://sarahfay.org/workshop

@sarahfayauthor all socials

Order the book Pathological by Sarah Fay https://www.harpercollins.com/products/pathological-sarah-fay?variant=39379969114146

Connect with Tessa Tovar

Website: https://tessatovar.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessamarietovar/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-tovar-baa27613

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBenedicktus

The Dark Moon: A Book of Poetry for Savasana: https://a.co/d/e8LgG1T

In episode 91 of Outside The Studio:

Sarah Fay and Tessa Tovar talk about mental health and recovery. Sarah was misdiagnosed with a slew of mental health diagnoses from anorexia at a young age to depression, bipolar disorder and beyond.

Mental health and recovery is a process that Sarah has been actively engaging in for many years, and it is an ongoing effort that may continue for the rest of her life. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is a pathway to recovery and healing. If you or someone you love are experience mental health issues and diagnoses this episode is for you!

Sarah Fay (Ph.D., M.A., M.F.A.) is a mental health advocate and the award-winning author of the journalistic memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins), which was an Apple Best Books pick and which The New York Times hailed as a "fiery manifesto of a memoir." Parade Magazine recently named it one of the sixteen best mental health memoirs to read. Sarah has shared her story on NPR's 1A, Oprah Daily, Salon, WGN Morning News, NPR's KERA/Think, The Rumpus, and in The Los Angeles Times and Forbes Women. Pathological was featured in Forbes, mindbodygreen, Thrive Global, Lit Hub, Psychology Today, and more. She writes for many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and The Paris Review, where she was an advisory editor. She's on the faculty at Northwestern University; a Certified Mental Health Peer Recovery Specialist; and the editor of The Recovery Model (sarahfay.substack.com), a weekly publication that brings together the best tips, perspectives, and expert advice on recovery from mental illness. For more, visit www.sarahfay.org.

Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(02:45) The story of wellness and framing pathological

(05:35) 6 psychiatric misdiagnoses

(08:44) Getting answers that don't help you get better

(09:30) Finding the doctor that made the difference

(10:10) Diagnoses that have no scientific validity

(10:24) Where diagnoses come from

(12:00) Early childhood trauma resulting in mental health behavior

(14:30) Advice for parents dealing with children experience adverse behavior

(17:10) Important clarification about suicidal thoughts

(18:45) Learning How to articulate and accept your unwanted emotions and thoughts

(20:05) Recovery the movement and Sarah's process

(24:21) Defining mental health and recovery

(26:20) Sarah's substack for resources; the recovery model

(29:00) Financial literacy

(35:10) Peer recovery specialist

(36:30) Living well with schizophrenia and stretches of recovery

(42:23) How you turn your story of illness into a story of wellness

(43:25) De-institutionalization movement and reformation of the mental health system

Key Takeaways

1. Learn about the difficulty many people face when receiving multiple psychiatric diagnoses, as it can be hard to recognize which diagnosis is most accurate and how to best manage their mental health.

2. Learn how to get help and find resources available to you, to gain the knowledge and skills needed to heal from past trauma or support your child in managing their mental health.

3. Learn about why financial literacy is linked to mental health outcomes, and how becoming financially literate is an important part of maintaining mental health and recovery.

4. Healing and recovery from mental illnesses can look like a journey of regaining control of one's mental health through a combination of therapies, medications, and lifestyle changes that can result in full remission or stretches of recovery.

Resources:

Radically Loved Podcast Interview with Sarah Fay: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-radically-loved-podcast/id1077634041?i=1000584260909

Connect with Sarah Fay

Website: www.sarahfay.org

Substack: Start with a Question https://www.curedthememoir.com/

Workshops Catalyst Writing Workshop https://sarahfay.org/workshop

@sarahfayauthor all socials

Order the book Pathological by Sarah Fay https://www.harpercollins.com/products/pathological-sarah-fay?variant=39379969114146

Connect with Tessa Tovar

Website: https://tessatovar.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessamarietovar/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-tovar-baa27613

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBenedicktus

The Dark Moon: A Book of Poetry for Savasana: https://a.co/d/e8LgG1T