Episode description

On this episode of Human First Podcast (@humanfirst.podcast), Alia is joined by Brenna McDonnell (@bmcdcoaching_). Naturally being very athletic, Brenna found herself living under high expectations and intense stress, striving to be the best in the world in her sport during her high school years. While training 20 hours a week and also going to school full-time, she began to feel the pressures of these expectations and caught herself experiencing significant periods of anxiety and depression. After attempting suicide twice, Brenna sought help and began her journey towards prioritizing her mental health. Brenna takes us through her path of being diagnosed with Bipolar II, her trials finding the right medication to feel like more like herself, and the benefits dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) gave to her. She shares with us how working on your mental health is lifetime journey and how there is beauty in accepting all parts of the experience.