Drumming With ADHD | Creative Coping Strategies For Mental Health w/ Jay Fenichel Artwork

Beat The Mental Health Out Of It! | Dark-Humor Conversations On Serious Mental Illness & Trauma

If you live with mental illness—or love someone who does—and you’re tired of sugar-coated wellness talk, this show is for you!

"Beat The Mental Health Out Of It!" blends dark humor with real recovery so you feel seen, steadied, and a little lighter. We tell it like it is, so you don’t have to.

Hosted by Nicholas Wichman (“The DEFECTIVE Schizoaffective”) and often joined by co-host Tony Medeiros ("IndyPocket"), this is a brutally honest mental health podcast about what it’s actually like to live with serious mental illness on the schizophrenia spectrum. We talk schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, BPD, PTSD, addiction, religious trauma, bad therapy, psych wards, meds, disability, and trying to build a life in a system that isn’t built for us. You’ll get:

– Lived-experience truth from someone who hears voices, dissociates, relapses, parents, plays music, and still shows up.

– Grounded insight from a mental health professional who has sat across from hundreds of clients and worked inside the system.

– Edgy, stigma-smashing, sometimes controversial conversations about mental illness, relationships, family dysfunction, religion, work, creativity, and survival.

– Challenging takeaways and coping ideas you can actually try—along with laughs that punch up, down, left, right… everywhere.

This show is for people juggling therapy, meds, trauma, and everyday chaos who want honest talk, gallows humor, and zero judgment. Whether you’re schizoaffective, living with schizophrenia or psychosis, dealing with PTSD, supporting a loved one, or just trying not to lose your mind, "Beat The Mental Health Out Of It!" gives you language, community, and brutally honest hope.

We’re not your therapists—we’re fellow passengers on “The Struggle Bus,” sharing what we’ve learned the hard way and refusing to suffer in silence.

All Episodes

Beat The Mental Health Out Of It! | Dark-Humor Conversations On Serious Mental Illness & Trauma

Drumming With ADHD | Creative Coping Strategies For Mental Health w/ Jay Fenichel

March 24, 2025 • Nicholas Wichman - Mental Health Advocate • Season 1 • Episode 11

Explore the unique ways drumming can serve as a powerful focus tool for those with ADHD/ADD, enhancing attention and creativity.

In this episode of "Beat The Mental Health Out Of It!", we delve into how rhythm acts as a coping mechanism for mental health challenges.

We discuss burnout-proof practices and teaching methods that foster intrinsic motivation instead of obligation.

Join us for candid conversations about using structured practice—such as metronome drills and groove ladders—as 'psych first aid' for attention issues.

We cover essential topics like setting realistic boundaries for creators and parents, balancing goals versus life hacks, and nurturing young musicians through supportive relationships rather than strict perfectionism.

Whether you're a parent, educator, or musician yourself, this episode offers enlightening insights into creativity as a therapeutic tool.

HEY DRUMMERS! Try a 5-minute metronome focus drill (60–80 BPM, 3×1-min singles w/30s rest). Post your “before/after focus rating” on our Discord "The Struggle Bus." (link below)

Beat The Mental Health Out Of It! is a candid mental health podcast with lived experience—schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia spectrum psychosis, BPD, PTSD, trauma recovery, coping skills, and dark humor that fights stigma.

Hosted by Nicholas Wichman (“The DEFECTIVE Schizoaffective”) with frequent co-host Tony Medeiros, ("IndyPocket"), we talk serious mental illness, psych wards, religious trauma, bad therapy, meds, disability, and messy real-world coping.

New episodes drop every other Monday at 6am ET.

Want community and support? Join our Discord, “The Struggle Bus”: https://discord.gg/emFXKuWKNA

All links (TikTok, YouTube, Streaming, etc.): https://linktr.ee/BTMHOOI

Podcast cover art by Ryan Manning