Empathy, Respect & Culture Change In Schools: Building Safer, Supportive Educational Communities w/ Mike & Jeff 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.

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

Empathy, Respect & Culture Change In Schools: Building Safer, Supportive Educational Communities w/ Mike & Jeff

November 17, 2025 • Nicholas Wichman - Mental Health Advocate • Season 1 • Episode 28

In this episode, our hosts dive deeper with Mike and Jeff—longtime guests and mental health advocates—to explore critical themes of empathy, respect, and culture change in schools and communities. We address how pressures from standardized testing, social media, and evolving societal values impact emotional learning and how these challenges require shifts in school culture and community support.

Mike and Jeff share practical strategies for embedding empathy in everyday school interactions, resetting communication norms to foster respect, and using simple behavioral scripts that promote dignity both online and offline. The discussion also includes the realities families face, such as financial strain and support networks, and highlights the importance of building student resilience and coping skills for sustained mental health.

If you're invested in transforming school culture, creating safer educational communities, and empowering students to navigate conflict respectfully, this episode offers actionable insights. For a comprehensive approach, listen to Part 1 on cyberbullying, accountability, and the school-to-prison pipeline as well.

If you’re ready to turn empathy into action, come workshop it with Mike, Jeff, and your hosts on our Discord, "The Struggle Bus." Post one respect-building micro-habit you’ll try this week (classroom, home, or online)—we’ll refine it, check in mid-week, and keep you accountable—and encouraged! (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