I love this podcast, and that's why I think it's time for me to take a step back for a little while. I just haven't been feeling up to making new episodes, and with everything going on in my life, I'm just exhausted all the time. I want to take

A Week in the Life of Scott McKinney

Apr 6th, 2021 32m 53s

This week’s episode is going to be a relaxing one. Well, at least I hope so! I just sat back and talked about my life, what’s been going on, and how I’m coping with the everyday stresses of existing. I cover topics from school, to work, and eve

One Year With Pets: Are They Worth It?

Mar 29th, 2021 32m 49s

Of course! I love animals and always have. When I was young, I grew up with two dogs and many three cats, and the second I went to college, I missed the unconditional love that they provided. After Alex and I graduated from college, we went on

Making a Plan: When to Do It and When to Stick to It

Mar 15th, 2021 33m 28s

Planning might be the most boring topic in the world, but it's still something that needs to be talked about. Planning is important in all walks of life, but I think that it's especially important when you struggle with mental illness. It helps

How Mastering Chess Can Improve Your Mental Health

Mar 8th, 2021 34m 55s

Admittedly, I'm no master of chess, so I don't know if this is true. That said, I've spent a lot of my free time playing chess recently and trying to become better at it. What I find crazy is how many parallels I've found between the game of st

Your Mental Health and College

Mar 1st, 2021 35m 49s

This is something that I think about every day, but I decided that it's finally time to make an episode about it. College is brutal. I don't care how smart you are, college is hard for a few reasons. I hated my undergrad because I didn't handle

How to Deal with Burnout

Feb 22nd, 2021 35m

What better time is there to talk about burnout than when you're burnt out? In this episode, I talk about the constant exhaustion I've been feeling that's been brought on by work, personal issues, school, raising two amazing little pets, and ma

Saying No and Setting Boundaries

Feb 15th, 2021 34m 5s

This week, I'm covering a topic that I think is one of the most important that I've talked about recently. Saying no and setting boundaries for yourself is one of the best ways that I've discovered to cope with the state of my mental health. Wh

Understanding Your Worth

Feb 8th, 2021 33m 55s

This is a topic that, if you're anything like me, is a hard one to grasp. It's really easy to think that you’re not worth as much as you actually are or to think you’re worth nothing at all. Whether you suffer from a bad case of imposter syndro

Your Mental Illness Doesn’t Define You

Feb 1st, 2021 31m 41s

Knowing that your mental illness doesn’t define you isn’t a novel concept. Each and every one of us is a unique and special person, but some of us struggle with mental illness. Even though sometimes our lives are dictated by what's going on in

Stress, Stress, and More Stress

Jan 25th, 2021 33m 21s

This episode is about stress. Stress is a normal part of everyday life and learning to cope with it is an essential skill that everyone needs to learn. That said, it's still a piece of crap. You couple stress with mental illness, and it can fee

Do You Ever Forget You Suffer From a Mental Illness?

Jan 19th, 2021 31m 6s

So, this probably isn't the question you expected me to ask, but it's one that I asked myself recently. After weeks of low motivation, irritability, and difficulty finding happiness in the things that used to keep me moving forward, it occurred

When Did My Depression Start?

Jan 11th, 2021 33m 10s

I know that it was in eighth grade that my depression really started. Before that, I was a happy-go-lucky kid who thought he was happy and great all the time. I still remember being that kid who, any time he could, he would run around hoping th

Escaping From Reality: The Pros and Cons

Jan 4th, 2021 30m 41s

When something negative affects your life, there is no straightforward way to cope with it. No matter how you cope with the situation, it's difficult because the situation itself is difficult, too. What I've learned about myself over the recent

The Many Faces of Sadness

Dec 28th, 2020 33m 17s

I have recently been affected by something very close to me, and as I cope with the challenge of it, I've witnessed the many different ways that those around me have responded to the news. This episode is about the responses that those close to

Getting in Touch With Your Emotions

Dec 21st, 2020 33m 44s

Getting in touch with your emotions is hard work. Do you want to know how I know that? Well, this is the 109th episode of this podcast and I still suck at it. I may be beginning to understand why I do some of the things that I do, but that does

How Does Insecurity Affect Relationships?

Dec 14th, 2020 34m 36s

I'll never claim to be a perfect person. It's just not possible to be perfect, and I don't strive for it. What I can say is that over the course of my life, I've become a significantly happier and confident depressed person with a lot more hope

Is There a Single Definition for Depression?

Dec 7th, 2020 33m 42s

For me, depression is that creeping feeling that makes me want to give up all hope. It tells me that I'm terrible, that I'm bad at everything, and that nobody will ever truly love me because I am imperfect and unpleasant. It even tells me that

The Holiday/COVID-19 Conundrum

Nov 30th, 2020 30m 31s

I could tell you what everyone else in the world is telling you about the holidays. I could say that going to see your family is terrible because we are in the midst of a pandemic, and that it's irresponsible to put you and your family in dange

When Does Routine Become a Problem?

Nov 16th, 2020 32m 24s

I've talked about routine before, and I always talk about how great it is. Having some sense of what you're going to do can be really good for mental health, whether it's from having a good sleep schedule, working out, or taking time out of you

This Episode is About Nothing

Nov 9th, 2020 36m 7s

Okay, so it's not so much about "nothing" per se, but it's about feeling relaxed, not stressed, and for a brief moment, like I wasn't depressed. I had the pleasure of finishing two of my masters classes today (the day before this was released,)

Reaching Out for Help

Nov 2nd, 2020 32m 58s

For all the time I talk on this podcast about the revelations that I've had about myself, I'm still no expert on me. Sometimes I need to reach out to other people for help. This episode is about the people I've reached out to, when and why I di

Organizing Your Priorities

Oct 26th, 2020 34m 2s

Hey - you there! Thanks for joining me for another episode of the podcast. This week, I talk about figuring out priorities. What inspired me to talk about it is the fact that I (along with everyone else in the world) have a lot of stuff on my p

Can You Work So Hard That You Forget About Your Depression?

Oct 19th, 2020 34m 36s

Have you ever thought about diving into something and immersing yourself so completely so that you don't have to worry about the thoughts going through your head? If so, I did it for you and learned that it's not a great thing to do, so I don't

Acceptable Madness’ 100th Birthday!

Oct 12th, 2020 33m 32s

It's been a long road - after a little over 2 years, it's time to celebrate Acceptable Madness' 100th birthday. In that short amount of time, I've talked for hours and hours about different topics such as loss, friendship, sleep, rejection, and