Saint Dymphna’s Playbook

Here to fill the void in Catholic conversations about mental health.

About the show

A podcast about finding mental well-being as a Catholic with the help of community and the saints. Hosted by Tommy Tighe, a marriage and family therapist, husband, and father. In each episode Tommy addresses different mental health issues, introduces listeners to a saint who is relevant to mental health and wellness, and responds to questions from Twitter followers.

Episodes

  • 114: Can Anxious Kids Find Hope in the Saints?

    February 26th, 2022  |  Season 6  |  15 mins 43 secs
    blessed william carter, exorcism, misdiagnosis, panic attack, saints

    Tommy talks about the problem of misdiagnosis in children of color, introduces listeners to Blessed William Carter, and answers listener questions about the role of exorcism in a Catholic understanding of mental illness, how kids with mental health symptoms can find hope and support in the saints, and how to help a loved one in the midst of a panic attack.

  • 113: Compulsive Behaviors and Sin

    February 19th, 2022  |  Season 6  |  20 mins 3 secs
    anticipatory grief, compulsive behaviors, culpability, saint charles of sezze, simone biles, sin

    Tommy talks about the continued impact of Simone Biles on the mental health of athletes, introduces listeners to Saint Charles of Sezze, and answers listener questions about how to cope with anticipatory grief, how to understand sin and culpability in relation to compulsive behaviors, and how to help a spouse seek help when they aren't motivated.

  • 112: Mental Health and Social Media

    February 12th, 2022  |  Season 6  |  18 mins 25 secs
    childhood abuse, emotional health, gender dysphoria, saint mary angela truszkowska, wordle

    Tommy talks about the psychological reasons for the popularity of Wordle, introduces listeners to Saint Mary Angela Truszkowska, and answers listener questions about if we should share about our mental health on social media, the pain caused by gender dysphoria not being taken seriously in our church, how early childhood abuse can impact the emotional health of men in adulthood.

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    111: Am I Truly Sorry For My Sins?

    February 5th, 2022  |  Season 6  |  17 mins 8 secs
    depression, exercise, imposter syndrome, news, saint angela merici, sin

    Tommy talks about how physical exercise improves depression, introduces listeners to Saint Angela Merici, and answers listener questions about how to know if we're actually sorry for our sins, how to recognize and fight back against imposter syndrome, and how to be okay with unplugging from all the bad news.

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    110: Cheating OCD And What To Do About It

    December 25th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  18 mins 24 secs
    irrational fears, marriage, saint sabbas, simone biles, vocation

    Tommy talks about the new mental health startup led by Simone Biles, introduces listeners to Saint Sabbas, and answers listener questions about how to find peace when we still haven't found our vocation, how to know when a spouse isn't interested in rebuilding a relationship, and how to work through irrational and baseless fears about our spouse cheating on us.

  • 109: Mental Illness and Demonic Possession

    December 18th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  17 mins 16 secs
    addiction, blessed rafal chylinski, demonic possession, mood disorders, shame

    Tommy talks about research into a blood test hoping to help with diagnosing mood disorders, introduces listeners to Blessed Rafal Chylinski, and answers listener questions about how to respond when someone suggests that a mental illness might be demonic possession, how to have difficult conversations with our young children, and how to battle feelings of shame and guilt when recovering from addiction.

  • 108: When Silence Makes Us Anxious

    December 11th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  18 mins 21 secs
    affairs, anxiety, gender identity, healing, saint james of the marches, silence

    Tommy talks about the importance of supporting the mental health of kids and young adults, introduces listeners to Saint James of the Marches, and answers listener questions about how to find healing after an affair, what to do when sitting in silence makes us feel anxious, and how to walk with a child who has questions about gender identity.

  • 107: Helping a Scrupulous Partner

    December 4th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  23 mins 27 secs
    blessed eustochium of padua, counseling, religious ocd, scrupulosity

    Tommy talks about Selena Gomez's new mental health venture, introduces listeners to Blessed Eustochium of Padua, and answers listener questions about how to help someone after you've referred them to counseling, how to help a family member who doesn't want help, and how to support a partner who is experiencing religious OCD.

  • 106: When the Church Gets it Wrong on Suicide

    November 27th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  16 mins 29 secs
    anxiety, confession, pope francis, saint agnes of assisi, suicide, trauma, wounds of christ

    Tommy talks about Pope Francis' prayer intention for the month of November, introduces listeners to Saint Agnes of Assisi, and answers listener questions about how the experience of trauma might impact our ability to meditate on the wounds of Christ, how to know when we might need medication for anxiety, and how to respond when our parish hands out a pamphlet that gets it wrong on suicide.

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    105: What's a Crisis Plan and How do I Make One?

    November 20th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  22 mins 25 secs
    marriage, saint margaret of scotland, suicide, therapy

    Tommy talks about how to create a personal plan for times of crisis, introduces listeners to Saint Margaret of Scotland, and answers listener questions about how to recognize if a therapist is bad or unethical, how to cope with not being on the same page in marriage, and how to support a friend who is contemplating suicide while still taking care of ourselves.

  • 104: Did Adam and Eve Have Anxiety?

    November 13th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  14 mins 38 secs
    covid, nightmares, ptsd, saint gertrude the great

    Tommy talks about the why God would allow us to suffer from mental illness, introduces listeners to Saint Gertrude the Great, and answers listener questions about how to cope with anxiety-caused nightmares, how to help a daughter experiencing symptoms related to PTSD, and how to engage in our faith when we feel like our local parish isn't doing enough to keep us safe.

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    103: When The News Robs Our Mental Wellbeing

    November 6th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  16 mins 38 secs
    autism, blessed bartholomew of vicenza, consumerism, godparenting, news, social media

    Tommy talks about the how to use social media in a way that protects our mental health, introduces listeners to Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza, and answers listener questions about how to maintain our mental health when the news is so negative, how we should deal with our consumer-driven society as Catholics, and how a Godparent can help a a child with autism grow closer to Christ.

  • 102: How Do I Stop Comparing Myself to Others?

    October 30th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  16 mins 59 secs
    comparison, marriage, saint alphonsus rodriguez, scrupulosity

    Tommy talks about how to stop comparing ourselves to those around us, introduces listeners to Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, and answers listener questions about the difference between scrupulosity and genuine spiritual concern, how to help a family member understand that mental illness isn't about being weak, and how often a couple should have a big check-in conversation to make sure they're on the same page.

  • 101: When I Need To Walk Out of Mass

    October 23rd, 2021  |  Season 5  |  24 mins 29 secs
    blessed frédéric ozanam, mass, narcissistic personality disorder

    Tommy talks about the how to get our prayer life back on track in the context of mental health symptoms, introduces listeners to Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and answers listener questions about how the Church can better love people when mental health struggles impact their faith, how to address the need to walk out of Mass due to anxiety, and how to cope with a roommate who may have Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

  • 100: Do I need a Catholic Therapist?

    October 16th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  20 mins 2 secs
    adhd, blessed claudio granzotto, impulsive behavior

    Tommy talks about the idea of wanting to see a Catholic therapist, introduces listeners to Blessed Claudio Granzotto, and answers listener questions about how to take care of our mental health with all the bad news around us, why those of us with ADHD seem to engage in impulsive behavior, and how to help those around us understand our mental health experience and needs.

  • 99: How Do We Know When a Therapist is Bad?

    October 9th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  16 mins 47 secs
    burnout, military deployment, saint giles, teachers, therapy

    Tommy talks about Apple's plan to use iPhones to screen for depression, introduces listeners to Saint Giles, and answers listener questions about how families can cope with military deployment, how teachers can avoid burnout, and how to recognize when a therapist might not be a good fit.