Welcome to the show, friends! I’m excited to have you with me. The Well Mind Podcast is space for meaningful conversation on a broad range of wellness related topics, with a special emphasis on mental wellness. For this conversation, I invited Dr. Jason Paltzer back to the podcast to chat about all the changes that have happened for him personally and professionally. Jason and I connected way back in January of this year at a men’s ministry conference and in that brief conversation it was clear I needed to get him back on the pod. Jason and I unpack the significant, life altering choices he made over the past years to pursue what is now the Meros Center, which is a place where faith-based health organizations, researchers, and learners can find the support they need to measure, innovate, and share their impact. We also explore the rich and meaningful work being done through the Meros center nationally and internationally. It is a far reaching conversation on public health, the need for Christian researchers and faith-informed research, and increasing access to trusted and reliable resources for health and well-being. It is a joy to share my conversation with Jason in episode 43 Faith-based Health Innovation.

Notes from Episode 43

Religious Determinants of Health Summary

Community Health Ministry certificate link and registration link

Research project application link

Application to become a Meros Research Scholar

Our intro video link

Image of Jesus and his disciple (by Christopher Powers)

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu

Welcome to the show, friends! How are you doing? I really mean it, how are you doing? Are you giving time and attention to your well-being and relationships or have they been an afterthought lately? Depending on your season of life, current commitments, stress levels, you may be struggling to take time to reflect on and attend to your mental and emotional well-being. This is a challenge we all face and the topic of A Guide to Mental and Emotional Wellness. My friend and guest, Dr. Jennifer Londgren, wrote this book with the intention of bringing an evidence-based and Biblical grounded resource to aid readers in exploring and reflecting on their emotional experiences in light of Biblical wisdom. The stories in the book are immensely personal and through them, Jenna also offers practical approaches to recovering peace, joy, clarity, and purpose. True to form though, our conversation is thoughtfully spontaneous as Jenna and I chat about her current season of life, projects, personal pursuits, and of course, coffee!

Notes from Episode 42

A Guide to Mental and Emotional Wellness: https://timeofgrace.store/collections/all-books/products/a-guide-to-mental-and-emotional-wellness

Time of Grace Ministries: https://timeofgrace.org/

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu

Welcome to the show, friends. It is great to have you here. The Well Mind Podcast is a space for meaningful conversations on wellness and mental health. I want to start by sharing a quote with you from a book that I just recently finished reading. “Does the destination matter? Or is it the path that we take? I declare that no accomplishment has substance nearly as great as the road used to achieve it. We are not creatures of destinations. It is the journey that shapes us. Our callused feet, our backs strong from carrying the weight of our travels, our eyes open with the fresh delight of experience lived.” This is from The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I think that this is a beautiful way to introduce my guest for this episode. She is an ultra-endurance athlete and is all about the journey. She started her professional athletic career as a triathlete and has raced numerous times at the most elite levels of the sport, including the World championships in Kona, Hawaii. Over the past years she has shifted her focus to ultra-running and more specifically long distance trail events. She has completed some of the most challenging events here in the US and abroad, like the Bigfoot 200 - a 200 mile race through the remote Cascade mountains in the pacific northwest and the Marathon des Sables, a 6 stage, 256k race through the heart of the sahara desert. Recently Emily took on the Arrowhead 135. This is a unique event, even in the ultra running community, and we do discuss the specifics of this race in our conversation. But I will say that it is a epic race in northern Minnesota during the dead of winter in January where runners cover 135 miles in a point to point, nearly self-supported fashion. This was Emily’s first time running Arrowhead and she won. In our conversation, we explore everything that went into her physical and mental preparation for the race, her mindset, and her resilience to get this done. We chat about taking on big goals, facing fear and anxiety, and building confidence through sport and in life. I hope that this conversation is a source of inspiration for you as you take on big goals and persevere in the face of adversity in your own life. Here is my conversation with Emily in episode 41, The Journey.

Notes from Episode 41

Emily’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kratzemily/ 

Comma - coaching and consulting: https://www.commacc.net/ 

Arrowhead 135: https://arrowheadultra.com/ 

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu

Welcome to the Well Mind Podcast! I'm excited to share my recent conversation with retired Major General Gregg Martin in this episode. He is a 36-year army combat veteran celebrated for his remarkable career commanding engineer units and holding prestigious roles such as president of the National Defense university and commander of Fort Leonard Wood. An accomplished author, his book Bipolar General: My Forever War with Mental Illness, candidly shares his journey. He is a graduate of West Point and he went on to earn advanced degrees from MIT, the Naval War College, and the Army War College. In our conversation, we walk through his storied military career and simultaneously unpack his private battle with bipolar disorder. As his story unfolds, I found it fascinating how for many years, the periods of elevated (hypomanic) mood that accompany bipolar disorder actually enhanced his ability to perform under intense conditions. However, as you will hear, this diminished over time as his mental health condition worsened to the point of personal crisis.Yet Gregg's indomitable spirit and the support of his loved ones helped him move out of crisis and into triumph. Gregg's story is truly one of hope, resilience, faith, and recovery. His new mission is to break down the stigma around mental illness and empower others through education and sharing his journey. 

Notes from Episode 39

Contact Information: https://www.generalgreggmartin.com/ or greggmartin79@gmail.com 

Bipolar General My Forever War with Mental Illness: https://www.amazon.com/Bipolar-General-Forever-Illness-Association/dp/1682473805 

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu

The Well Mind is a space for meaningful conversations about a broad range of wellness related topics and this episode is a beautiful example of that mission. I’m your host Dr. Ben Kohls. I’ve been a practicing clinical mental health counselor for over 15 years and am currently a counselor educator and director for the CMHC graduate program at Bethany Lutheran College. My guest for this episode is Elizabeth DeBolt. She is a professor and researcher from Liberty University and has truly invested herself in the topic of maternal mental health for a number of years now. The knowledge and compassion that Elizabeth has for this topic is truly outstanding. She has presented on this topic multiple times at national conferences and I feel really blessed to share her with the Well Mind community. Pregnancy and birth are life altering experiences that bring change to roles, responsibilities, identity, and relationships. There is, what I perceive to be, a good amount of focus on mom and baby from a physical health basis and preparing for the arrival of the baby, but less attention is given to the shifts in identity and the impacts this experience has on emotional wellbeing. If you are thinking that maternal mental health is a ‘just for moms’ episode, I’m going to ask you to suspend that perspective and listen in, because this episode is for everyone. Moms, Dads, those planning for and hoping to be parents in the future, anyone that knows and cares about a mom or dad, and certainly all those in the church community that desire to support parents. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth DeBolt in Episode 38: Maternal Mental Health.

Notes from Episode 38

Postpartum Support International- https://www.postpartum.net/

Postpartum Progress- https://postpartumprogress.com/   

The Blue Dot Project- https://www.thebluedotproject.org/

Mass. Gen Hospital for Women’s Mental Health- https://womensmentalhealth.org/

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu

The Well Mind is a space for meaningful conversations about a broad range of wellness related topics, with a special emphasis on mental wellness. I’m your host Dr. Ben Kohls. I’ve been a practicing clinical mental health counselor for over 15 years and am currently a counselor educator and director for the CMHC graduate program at Bethany Lutheran College. I’ve got another special episode for you. I had the opportunity to hold a live podcast event here at Bethany Lutheran College. My colleagues from the clinical mental Health counseling program, Drs. Karina Clennon and Helena Stevens joined me for a live panel discussion one evening in February. This is also inline with my goal to provide tools for the well mind episodes in addition to the conversational interviews with guests. I’d say this is a hybrid of those two ideas. We definitely cover wellness concepts from a variety of perspectives, but we also get into some specific tools and practices that can support your wellness journey. It was a super fun evening with my colleagues and the students and I hope that you find the discussion helpful and useful in your own life.

Notes from Episode 37

Indivisible Self Handout

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu

Welcome to episode 36! The Well Mind is a space for meaningful conversations about a broad range of wellness related topics, with a special emphasis on mental wellness. I’m your host Dr. Ben Kohls. I’ve been a practicing clinical mental health counselor for over 15 years and am currently a counselor educator and director for the CMHC graduate program at Bethany Lutheran College. If you’ve been a member of the Well Mind community, you already know Jenna, but if you haven’t listened to her previous episodes, then you are in for a treat! She is an amazing person in every way and I am grateful to call her my friend. True to form, themes of self-care, wellness, habit formation, system setting, values, and relationship health and so much more permeate our chat. She also shares the details about a very special project she worked on. This project is resulting in the creation of a wellness platform for educators. So much is asked of our teachers and Jenna speaks about how this educator wellness platform removes barriers that typically hold people back from engaging in wellness efforts. In the intro, I also share some important updates about the podcast and good things coming in 2023.

Show Notes:

Educator Wellness Platform: https://www.mneducatorwellness.com Password: EducateMN (coming soon...)

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu