Zak Williams is a mental health advocate on the boards of Yerba Buena Center For The Arts and Bring Change to Mind, and co-founder and CEO of Prepare Your Mind, a company that creates all-natural amino acid mood chews. Zak shares how the death by suicide of his late father, Robin Williams, galvanized his campaign for mental health advocacy and helped him heal in the service of others.

What you'll learn from this episode:

  • The frustrations faced by Zak's father, Robin Williams, as he struggled to cope with the symptoms of Lewy body dementia after being misdiagnosed with Parkinson's disease—and a completely different set of expectations and treatments.

  • Why mental health advocates like Zak use the term "died by suicide" and how it makes a difference in the way we perceive those who have succumbed to this tragedy.

  • Zak describes his own battles with PTSD after losing his father and how committing to mental health advocacy served to help him heal from this loss.

  • How the stigma surrounding mental health conditions has hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children across 60 countries literally chained and confined in shame.

  • Why breaking the stigma around mental health conditions and making it socially acceptable to seek help is crucial for the millions who are vulnerable to dying by suicide, and what the barriers are that stand in the way of this goal.

  • And so much more!

Resources from this episode:

Zak Williams | Instagram

Zak Williams | Twitter

Prepare Your Mind with Mood Chews | PYM

Bring Change to Mind

Yerba Buena Center For The Arts

How Lewy Body Dementia Gripped Robin Williams | Scientific American

What Is Lewy Body Dementia? | Max Lugavere

What Are the Differences between Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson's? | ParkinsonsDisease.net

Sinemet (Carbidopa-Levodopa) | RxList

Why Mental Health Advocates Use the Words 'Died by Suicide' | NBC News

People with Mental Health Conditions Living in Chains | Human Rights Watch

Suicide Fast Facts | CDC

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous | AA

Task Sharing Approaches to Improve Mental Health Care in Rural and Other Low Resource Settings: A Systematic Review | The Journal of Rural Health

Strategies to Afford Mental Health Treatment | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

Therapy Without Insurance: How to Access Affordable Mental Health Services | GoodRx

Personalized Online Recovery and Support to Quit Drinking | Tempest

Holly Whitaker | Instagram

Organize a Group with Meetup | Meetup

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid: Uses and Side Effects of GABA Supplement | Healthline

PharmaGABA | Amazon

Essential Amino Acids | Healthline

The Power of the Placebo Effect | Harvard Health

Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body by Jo Marchant | Amazon

How Nature Can Make You Fit and Healthy | Abel James | The Genius Life 34

The 3 Best Types of Exercise for Boosting Brain Function | Ryan Glatt, MS | The Genius Life 166

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