In this episode of Brains Out Loud, we hear from Robbie Teasdale about his own mental health journey after losing his sister to suicide. Robbie grew up in Kenya and now lives in the United States as a talented sculptor, pottery maker, and artist. Robbie discusses his own experiences with suicidal ideation, attempts, psychiatrist hospitals, and medications. He now considers his mental health to be in the best shape of his life. Watch the full episode to learn more!

Seika Brown is a 20 year old researcher and advocate for mental health. When she was 15 years old, she founded her first nonprofit organization that focused on mental health policy change. Seika talks about what it felt like to pass their first bill in 2019. She now runs a global initiative researching how mental health is defined across cultures and backgrounds, called the YLG Research Initiative. Seika discussed not only her findings in the mental health space across numerous cultures around the world, but also what it is like to be the CEO and Founder of a global initiative at 20 years old.

Dennis Gillan and Stephen Pihl are co-authors of the newly released children's book: "Nice Shoes." This book introduces the concept of mental health and overcoming hard days to children through unique storytelling and beautiful pictures. This story is based on Stephen's experience battling mental health as a child, and shows that a little kindness can go a long way. Dennis and Stephen share where the motivation for this book came from, why talking about mental health with children is so important, and a little bit about their own experiences with mental illness.