No Restrictions Podcast: Recent Episodes
Karen Ballesteros
Everyone's heard that exercise is good for your mental health. But not everyone KNOWS it. A few years ago, I was depressed, socially anxious, and suffered from anorexia and orthorexia. No one knew - not even my family. I'd cut myself off from everyone because I didn't want to burden anyone with what I was dealing with. Everything changed when I started powerlifting. My eating disorder recovery sped up when I finally understood that food was not the enemy; my self-esteem shot up when I started focusing on what my body could do rather than how it looked; I made new friends within the powerlifting community who helped me come out of my shell; and consistently training for competitions filled me with purpose. To me, powerlifting is more than just getting strong. And it's not just me. In this podcast, I talk with people who powerlift for their mental health in addition to their physical health. We talk about their mental health and powerlifting journeys, about how powerlifting specifically helps their mental health, and we talk about the brutal reality of what it's like recovering from or living with a wide range of mental illnesses, disorders and conditions. Through this podcast, I hope that you will feel less alone in your own mental health struggles and if you're not (yet) a powerlifter, perhaps we can convince you to give it a try! My name is Karen Ballesteros, I'm a junior, -63 kg class Canadian powerlifter, and this is No Restrictions Podcast. Set no restrictions on who you can be.
Marc Guimond is an open 105 kg powerlifter who started the sport just last year in 2022. New to the sport, Marc offers a fresh perspective on the short-term benefits of powerlifting on his mental health. In this episode, Marc shares his experiences with being bullied as a child and the divorce of his parents. He goes through how they affected his mental health growing up and how it contributed to developing an addiction to drugs after suffering a bad concussion following two car accidents. Marc started powerlifting to help him regain control over his life, sharing the underrated aspects of powerlifting that can immediately bring solace to anyone who is struggling with their mental health. He teaches us that addiction isn’t something you should be ashamed about and that you shouldn’t be afraid of asking for help.
Topics:
- Being a bigger kid and getting bullied as a child
- Becoming introspective and asking questions after learning about mental health
- Trauma from divorce of parents as a teenager
- Concussion (brain injury) from car accidents
- How concussions affect physical and mental health
- Being alone in a dark room for concussion - not good for poor mental health!
- Misconceptions and stigmas about drug addictions
- Marc’s experience with drug addiction
- Substance abuse worsens during the pandemic - pain meds, anti-anxiety, alcohol, weed
- How Marc recovered from addiction - ask for help!
- Starting lifting to prove to himself he is serious about getting better
- Powerlifting with post-concussion syndrome
- Substances versus the gym for serotonin - healthy coping mechanism
- Powerlifting community and helping with social anxiety at the gym and at meets
- Powerlifting for mental health
- Marc’s advice for people struggling with addiction
- Closing questions
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel! Use code NORESTRICTIONSPOD to get 10% off your order! Or use link: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/?ref=norestrictionspod
CONTEST ALERT! For a chance to win a $15 CAD gift card to No Restrictions Apparel, take a photo or a screenshot of yourself listening to this month's episode and post it on your Instagram story with comments of what you think of it so far! Make sure to tag our Instagram accounts: @norestrictionspod and @norestrictionsapparel. You must have a public account so that we can find you. After one month of the episode being released, our @norestrictionspod Instagram account will contact you directly via DM to get your email. We will email you your gift card.
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: @norestrictionsapparel
NRP IG: @norestrictionspod
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch episodes!
Brittany Schlater is an 84+ kg open powerlifter from Ontario, Canada. You may also know her as a 3x Canadian champion and 2021 IPF Worlds Gold Medalist. You may have heard of the infamous Reddit thread that was dedicated to bullying her over her appearance - due to the physical symptoms of her polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) - and questioned her drug-tested status because of her extraordinary strength. The ongoing abuse nearly made her take her own life, and when brought to light, shook the powerlifting community. In this episode, Brittany takes back the narrative and shares her story which teaches us that you never know what someone has and is going through and that bullying is never okay.
Topics:
- Passing of baby sister and divorce of parents
- Feelings of guilt, depression, and self-harming/suicidal ideation beginning at 6 years old
- Raising herself in the new family dynamic
- Feelings of guilt and deserving of punishment permeating throughout Brittany’s life
- Stressful teenage years as an LGBTQ+ youth
- Dealing with dysfunctional thought patterns
- Starting powerlifting but using it as a “socially acceptable” version of self-harming
- Catalytic mental health crisis at the gym and medical emergency
- Developing a healthier relationship with powerlifting
- How powerlifting helps Brittany’s mental health
- Panic attack during last squat warm up at 2021 IPF Worlds
- Mental health lessons learned from 2021 IPF Worlds
- What is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)?
- The Reddit Ordeal: how Brittany found the thread, the thread itself, and what happened immediately after (including becoming suicidal)
- Moving forward from the Reddit Ordeal by taking back the narrative
- Getting back into powerlifting
- Closing questions
Sensory Warning: There are occasional swooshing noises from the microphone that may be jarring to some listeners.
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel! Use code NORESTRICTIONSPOD to get 10% off your order! Or use link: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/?ref=norestrictionspod
CONTEST ALERT! For a chance to win a $15 CAD gift card to No Restrictions Apparel, take a photo or a screenshot of yourself listening to this month's episode and post it on your Instagram story with comments of what you think of it so far! Make sure to tag our Instagram accounts: @norestrictionspod and @norestrictionsapparel. You must have a public account so that we can find you. After one month of the episode being released, our @norestrictionspod Instagram account will contact you directly via DM to get your email. We will email you your gift card.
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: @norestrictionsapparel
NRP IG: @norestrictionspod
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch episodes!
Lanie Bishop is an 84+ kg open powerlifter from Alberta, Canada. You may also know her as a national level CPU referee, pole dancer and Twitch streamer. Lanie is vocal about her mental health on social media, but in this episode, she goes even deeper and tells us the untold story of her PTSD and an abusive relationship that came to a head at IPF Worlds in 2018. Growing up in conservative, rural Alberta as a mixed-race and LGBTQ+ person, Lanie endured many challenges including two cases of sexual assault that sparked an 18-year long war in her mind until she finally sought the help she needed. We discuss what PTSD is really like and just how destructive it is on one’s livelihood if left untreated. 2018 was the year Lanie calls “traumafest” and you will come to fully understand why when you listen to her story. For Lanie, powerlifting helped her reclaim her life through the immensely positive mental health benefits and the incredibly supportive powerlifting community during and after the events of “traumafest.”
Topics:
- Growing up in conservative, rural Alberta
- Challenges from growing up - racism, othering, discrimination
- Sexual assaults at four years old
- What is PTSD?
- What is it like having PTSD?
- How destructive PTSD can be left untreated
- Fear of getting a diagnosis
- Coping with untreated PTSD
- Treatment approach for PTSD
- Abusive relationship during PTSD treatment resulting in third case of PTSD
- Using powerlifting as an escape
- How powerlifting helps with PTSD symptoms
- Toxic mentality around powerlifting imposed by abusive ex
- “Traumafest” in 2018: abuse ramping up and coming to a head during and at CPU Nationals and IPF Worlds in Alberta and continued abuse after IPF Worlds
- Incredibly supportive powerlifting community helping Lanie get back on her feet
- Lanie worried she wouldn’t be able to come back to powerlifting
- Overcoming “traumafest” through powerlifting and community support
- Closing questions
Lanie Bishop:
IG: @mintowls
Go to https://betterhelp.com/norestrictions for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel! Use code NORESTRICTIONSPOD to get 10% off your order! Or use link: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/?ref=norestrictionspod
CONTEST ALERT! For a chance to win a $15 CAD gift card to No Restrictions Apparel, take a photo or a screenshot of yourself listening to this month's episode and post it on your Instagram story with comments of what you think of it so far! Make sure to tag our Instagram accounts: @norestrictionspod and @norestrictionsapparel. You must have a public account so that we can find you. After one month of the episode being released, our @norestrictionspod Instagram account will contact you directly via DM to get your email. We will email you your gift card.
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: @norestrictionsapparel
NRP IG: @norestrictionspod
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch episodes!
Natasha Ching is a 84+ kg open powerlifter from Nova Scotia, Canada. Local lifters would know her as the former NSPL president while others may know her as a national level CPU referee. This episode is split into two parts. Part one is focused on Natasha’s mental health story where she opens up about her experience with being identified as a high anxiety gifted child and her trauma stemming from the passing of two of her mother figures during childhood, and her experience of being in an emotionally and financially abusive relationship in her 20s. Part two is focused on how Natasha re-built her sense of self-worth through lifting weights after a lifetime of having it depend on either being gifted or being with a toxic partner. We also talk about how she developed and fixed her unhealthy relationship with powerlifting. As a long-time veteran in the sport, Natasha gives advice on how to achieve longevity in powerlifting and how to get started if you’re new to it.
Topics:
- How being president of the NSPL during the pandemic affected Natasha’s mental health
- Sky rocketing anxiety during the pandemic
- Being identified as a high anxiety gifted child
- Developing anxiety around pressure to be exceptional at everything
- Trauma of passings of mother and aunt
- Developing dissociative disorder
- Wanting to start fresh at university
- Emotionally and financially abusive relationship
- Realised she had to leave when she started exhibiting physical symptoms
- Message from Natasha to anyone who is wanting to get out of an abusive relationship
- Drawn to lifting weights after leaving abusive relationship
- Over-reliance on powerlifting
- Powerlifting is not therapy!
- Self-worth is not dependent on your performance
- Three types of self-confidence
- Strong vs weak competitive drive - everyone needs to hear this
- The biggest thing Natasha learned through powerlifting: how to “enact calm”
- Number one advice if you want to start powerlifting
- Achieving longevity in powerlifting - check your ego and recovering from injuries
- Closing questions
Natasha Ching:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/natty_ching/
Go to https://betterhelp.com/norestrictions for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel!
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: @norestrictionsapparel
NRP IG: @norestrictionspod
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch episodes!
Jamie MacDonald is a -93 kg open powerlifter from Nova Scotia, Canada. You may know him as the announcer at local NS meets, the social media officer for Nova Scotia Powerlifting, or as the guy who always competes in a pink and black outfit. In this episode, Jamie shares with us his experience with depression, anxiety and the catalytic mental health crisis that eventually led to an ADHD diagnosis and starting therapy at 32 years old. We discuss the mental health benefits of powerlifting from the ADHD and anxiety perspectives and touch on the topic of toxic masculinity in the lifting sphere. If you’re looking to get started or have recently started in the sport, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. Jamie offers different perspectives on powerlifting that most powerlifters don’t talk about.
Topics:
- Why do you wear pink?
- Emergency room visit for mental health crisis
- Fight or flight response & lifting
- Struggling with depression and anxiety at the same time
- Support from work, friends and family
- Becoming more open about talking about mental health
- Difficulty finding a therapist through the NS mental health system - don’t give up!
- Finally receiving an ADHD diagnosis at 32 years old
- ADHD symptoms in hindsight - symptoms that were missed
- Transitioning to powerlifting from martial arts/combat sports
- How powerlifting helps with ADHD and anxiety
- Therapeutic effects of competing - CBT, catastrophizing, ADHD brain chemistry
- Competing is fun!
- Growing powerlifting as a sport - advice for getting started you need to hear
- Toxic masculinity and powerlifting
- Final messages for you from Jamie
- Closing questions
Jamie MacDonald:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/gorillamac/
Nova Scotia Powerlifting:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/novascotiapowerlifting/
Visit: https://sites.google.com/view/novascotiapowerlifting/
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel!
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: @norestrictionsapparel
NRP IG: @norestrictionspod
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch episodes!
Veronique Cormier is a -57 kg powerlifter from New Brunswick, Canada and the owner of Leafy Gains, a vegan protein cookie business she started during the pandemic. In this episode, Veronique shares her struggle with binge-eating disorder and helps us understand that it's not just eating a lot of food in one sitting. She talks us through her relapse after Nationals 2019, where she reached her rock bottom, and describes exactly how she recovered and the positive impacts powerlifting had throughout the entire process. Veronique shows us that it's possible to pursue powerlifting competitively without sacrificing recovery. Struggling with BED made her lose trust in herself, but powerlifting rebuilt it and continues to make it stronger.
Topics:
- Relapsing after Nationals 2019
- Liver cleanse for candida treatment
- Cheerleading in high school
- Being the "health freak" in her group of friends in high school
- Familial influences
- What a binge-eating disorder episode feels like
- Binge-eating disorder recovery
- Starting powerlifting at peak of binge-eating disorder
- Anxiety around Nationals 2019 from lack of coach
- Post-meet blues spiral into almost developing bulimia
- Going up a weight class and qualifying for IPF Pan-Americans
- Going vegan
- Starting Leafy Gains protein cookie business
- Addressing meet day performance anxiety
-IPF Worlds in Sweden experience (2021, not 2022!)
-A successful Nationals 2022!
- Closing questions
Veronique Cormier:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/leafylifter/
Leafy Gains:
Use code: NORESTRICTIONS to get 10% off of your next order of Leafy Gains protein cookies!
Visit: https://leafygains.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/leafygainsproteincookies/
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel!
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: https://www.instagram.com/norestrictionsapparel/
NRP IG: https://www.instagram.com/norestrictionspod/
Watch episodes on YouTube!
YT Episode: https://youtu.be/9l23Osu6-SE
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!
Mentions in Episode (not sponsored):Veronique’s current coach: Mitchell Hooper (@mitchellhooper on IG)
Note: at 29 minutes, Veronique is referring to her first ever coach, NOT Mitchell Hooper!
The Strength Factory gym (@the.strength.factory on IG)
Veronique’s all-in introduction: Stephanie Buttermore All-in playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfSsah8UsndTTurTjXGRY3klE0KGRl3hn (Watch her YT videos! They helped me too!)
In this episode, I give you a rundown of what this podcast is about and why it’s important. This podcast isn’t like other mental health shows. It’s one that raises awareness of the mental health aspects of powerlifting - something that isn’t addressed enough by the powerlifting community. To many people, the sport isn’t just about the big three lifts, training, and technique. It’s also the sport that helped them pull themselves out of some of the darkest places known to humankind - the mind.
Topics:
- About No Restrictions
- My three issues about how mental health is portrayed in social media: superficiality, focus on symptoms, demographics
- NRP’s three pillars: story-telling of people’s mental health and powerlifting journeys, encouraging listeners to start powerlifting, raising awareness of mental health
- I wish I had this podcast when I was struggling
- The logistics for NRP
- Outro + reveal of first guest
Support No Restrictions Podcast by purchasing No Restrictions Apparel!
Visit: https://norestrictionsapparel.com/
NRA IG: https://www.instagram.com/norestrictionsapparel/
NRP IG: https://www.instagram.com/norestrictions.pod/
Watch episodes on YouTube!
Video Episode: https://youtu.be/Lszs-Gsf3f8
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!