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 some time to step back and get into a better headspace, and I think that one way for me to do that is by taking some responsibility off my plate, and considering the fact that this is my 124 episode, I've had this responsibility for quite some time. I'm not giving up on the podcast; in fact, I have a lot planned for the future, but for right now, I just really need a break so that I'm excited about all the plans I have when I have more time to do them. I appreciate each and every one of you for listening. I'll be back soon, but I don't know if soon is a few weeks or a few months. Thanks, and I'll talk to you later. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Acceptable Madness

I’m Taking a Break

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 even Halsey’s swollen butt. With range of topics like that, I’m sure it has something for everyone! I hope you enjoy! --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

A Week in the Life of Scott McKinney

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 a mission to get pets. Two months after we both started new jobs, we brought home two wonderful pets: our dog Halsey and our cat Leia. It’s been a little over a year since we got them, and in this episode, I’d like to talk about how I feel my life has changed with them around. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

One Year With Pets: Are They Worth It?

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 you get a grasp on what is going on around you and put your life events into perspective, while also giving you some self-motivation to keep moving forward. That said, it can also seem like a bad thing when you don't feel the motivation to do what you've set out to do. That's what I talk about in this episode, and I hope you enjoy it! --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

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

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 strategy and my mental health. Maybe it's because I have an unhealthy obsession of the game and think about it all the time or maybe it's because there are actually parallels. No matter the reason, that's what I'm going to talk about this episode. I hope you enjoy! :) --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

How Mastering Chess Can Improve Your Mental Health

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 being away from home and having no friends well. It was also hard because I had nooooo clue what I wanted to do with my life. My masters is hard because it's a lot of work, but it's also more satisfying than my undergrad, even though I'm juggling this and a full-time job. My doctorate (which I haven't gone for) feels like an inevitability, and I honestly can't wait for it. So, how did I go from hating college to diving deeper? Well, I'm glad you asked! That's what this episode is about. I hope you like it. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Your Mental Health and College

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 maintaining basic functional necessities like laundry and cooking. You know that feeling that comes around that makes you want to procrastinate everything you do while also giving you an unusual addiction to Tetris and Chess? Okay, the latter part might just be me. Nonetheless, this episode is about burnout. I hope you enjoy it. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

How to Deal with Burnout

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. Whether you're saying no to working late on a Friday, having a game night with friends, or even answering the phone when someone is calling, it's okay to say no and not handle it in that moment if you don't feel like you're in the best state to do so. In this episode, I talk about why saying no is so important, and how mastering the delicate technique of setting boundaries can lead to a much happier lifestyle. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Saying No and Setting Boundaries

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 syndrome, you believe that you aren't contributing to society in a meaningful way, or you aren't doing a great job where you work, I bet you're doing better than you think. In this episode, I talk about my struggle to see my worth in the world, and how I'm making meaningful change to pursue it. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Understanding Your Worth

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 our heads, such as a lack of motivation to do something in our everyday lives and an inability to get out of bed, we're more than the thoughts that go through our heads. I think this is an important concept for anyone to know, but those that don't struggle with mental health won't get it until those that are struggling with it internalize it themselves. That's why in this episode, I talk about how I'm so much more than my mental illness. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Your Mental Illness Doesn’t Define You

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 feel like a ticking time bomb. From feelings of anger and exhaustion, to just a general defeated state that lingers for longer than anyone would like, it's time to talk about how I try (and sometimes fail) to deal with my stress. Did I mention that this episode is about stress? --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Stress, Stress, and More Stress

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 to me that... I'M DEPRESSED. It's something that I'm clearly aware of, but sometimes I just forget, and I end up giving myself a hard time for struggling to be happy and finding my motivation. In this episode, I'm going to talk about that "sudden realization," if you can call it that, and how hopefully that'll make it easier for me to work through this depressive episode. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Do You Ever Forget You Suffer From a Mental Illness?

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 that one day he'd "lose enough weight to fly." That kid still exists, and I'm constantly searching for more and more of the missing pieces of him that have buried themselves deep within me, but he'll never come back completely. In this episode, I'll tell you what specific event made me realize he was gone. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

When Did My Depression Start?

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 weeks is that I have a tendency to escape from reality when something unfortunate happens in my life. I do it through a variety of ways, such as YouTube, TV, video games, and endless social media usage, but that leaves an unanswered question: does escaping from reality help cope with a difficult situation? --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

Escaping From Reality: The Pros and Cons

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 me, including myself, have had. From food and compassion, to stoicism and crying, sadness takes many faces, and each has its own feeling, story, and love behind it. --- I am not a doctor, so do not treat this as therapy or medical advice. I just do this podcast with the hopes that it can help some people. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more content. Also, check out my book, Trying Not to Kill Myself, on Amazon!

The Many Faces of Sadness

Welcome to Acceptable Madness! My name is Scott McKinney and I have no problem admitting that I struggle with depression, and you know what? That's okay. I like using my words as an emotional outlet to talk through whatever struggles I'm having. I hope that I can use my experiences and words to help you too in this judgement-free zone. Enjoy the show and I hope you leave happier than you were when you got here.