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

  • 98: When Church is a Trigger

    October 2nd, 2021  |  Season 5  |  19 mins 28 secs
    afghanistan, church trauma, saint rose of viterbo, trauma, veterans, vicarious trauma

    Tommy talks about a mental health app created by college students, introduces listeners to Saint Rose of Viterbo, and answers listener questions about how to grow close to the Church when the Church triggers feelings around past trauma, how veterans can process the news happening overseas, and how to recognize and cope with vicarious trauma brought on by our work.

  • 97: The Battle Against Perfectionism

    September 25th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  19 mins 10 secs
    intrusive thoughts, perfectionism, saint joseph calasanz, trauma

    Tommy talks about the 988 mental health crisis line getting funded in California, introduces listeners to Saint Joseph Calasanz, and answers listener questions about how help a friend who is overwhelmed by the need to be perfect, how to cope with intrusive thoughts around God and the afterlife, and how to find peace in a Church that's sadly the very place of our trauma.

  • 96: Honoring Your Father and Mother With Boundaries

    September 18th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  19 mins 37 secs
    anxiety, climate change, mental health days, parents, saint joan of the cross

    Tommy talks about the Illinois law allowing children to take mental health days from school, introduces listeners to Saint Joan of the Cross, and answers listener questions about how to help a friend in his journey with his wife's diagnosis, how to honor one's father and mother while setting boundaries at the same time, and how to recognize and cope with anxiety related to climate change.

  • 95: OCD and planning for the future

    September 11th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  18 mins 46 secs
    caregivers, infidelity, obsessive compulsive disorder, ocd, online counseling, saint cajetan

    Tommy talks about online counseling services, introduces listeners to Saint Cajetan, and answers listener questions about how to approach a conversation about the future considering symptoms of OCD, how to support a friend facing infidelity, and the importance of mental health and wellness for caregivers.

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    94: When Confession Doesn't Feel Good

    September 4th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  20 mins 45 secs
    blessed stanley rother, confession, natural family planning, nfp, overeaters anonymous, spiritual direction, therapy

    Tommy talks about the differences between therapy and spiritual direction, introduces listeners to Blessed Stanley Rother, and answers listener questions about how the faith relates to Overeaters Anonymous, how to approach confession when it leaves us feeling like we did something wrong, and how to understand mental health and marital harmony in the context of the Church's teaching on Natural Family Planning.

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    93: Do I Use My Mental Health As a Crutch?

    August 28th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  20 mins 21 secs
    abuse, involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations, saint sharbel makhlouf, transgenderism

    Tommy talks about involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations, introduces listeners to Saint Sharbel Makhlouf, and answers listener questions about how to respond to someone who says we use our mental health symptoms as a crutch, if we should pray for our abusers who have died, and how to interact with an adult child who identifies as transgender.

  • 92: When Medication Dosages Keep Going Up

    August 21st, 2021  |  Season 5  |  20 mins 53 secs
    binge eating, depression, examination of conscience, interfaith marriage, ocd, saint mary mackillop

    Tommy talks about the mental health considerations in interfaith marriages, introduces listeners to Saint Mary MacKillop, and answers listener questions about mental health medications increasing in dosage over time, how to approach an examination of conscience in the context of depression, and the connections between binge eating and OCD.

  • 91: Does Jesus Want Us To Hate Ourselves?

    August 14th, 2021  |  Season 5  |  20 mins 53 secs
    anxiety, co-sleeping, postpartum depression, saint veronica giuliani

    Tommy talks about the impact COVID-19 has had on postpartum depression for women of color, introduces listeners to Saint Veronica Giuliani, and answers listener questions about how to understand the words of Jesus about hating our lives, the ideas around co-sleeping with older children, and how to talk to a family member who needs help with anxiety.

  • 90: I Feel Like A Fraud!

    July 3rd, 2021  |  Season 4  |  19 mins 42 secs
    abuse, blessed jutta of thuringia, emdr, faith, feelings, forgiveness, therapy

    Tommy talks about the therapeutic approach known as EMDR, introduces listeners to Blessed Jutta of Thuringia, and answers listener questions about how faith and feelings go together, how to navigate being asked to help at the parish when we don't feel good enough, and what forgiveness means in the context of healing after abuse.

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    89: A Vatican Document on Mental Health?

    June 26th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  23 mins 52 secs
    diagnosis, extroverts, pandemic, saint albert chmielowski, vatican

    Tommy talks about the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of extroverts, introduces listeners to Saint Albert Chmielowski, and answers listener questions about how to come to terms with a mental health diagnosis, the impact anger has on our health and spiritual wellbeing, and a new Vatican document that talks about mental health and emotional wellbeing.

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    88: Can I Lose My Job if I Go To Therapy?

    June 19th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  17 mins 42 secs
    blessed yolanda of poland, depression, family, marriage, therapy

    Tommy talks about atypical symptoms of depression, introduces listeners to Blessed Yolanda of Poland, and answers listener questions about the feeling we have when a doctor suggests a medication for our mental health, if our job can be at risk simply because we seek out mental health treatment, and if we should avoid marriage and having kids because of our struggles with depression.

  • 87: When They Don't Respect Your Boundaries

    June 12th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  18 mins 45 secs
    blessed franz jägerstätter, boundaries, outpatient treatment, racial disparities

    Tommy talks about racial disparities in diagnosing mental health experiences, introduces listeners to Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, and answers listener questions about how to deal with a family member who won't respect healthy boundaries, the effectiveness of intensive outpatient programs for anxiety, and how best to help a spouse who is living with an anxiety disorder.

  • 86: Vocation Anxiety

    June 5th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  17 mins 31 secs
    depression, postpartum anxiety, saint madeleine sophie barat, self-care, vocations

    Tommy talks about the new work being done to better understand the physiology of mental illness, introduces listeners to Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, and answers listener questions about how to cope with anxiety related to finding your vocation, how to help a friend suffering from postpartum anxiety, and how to deal with feelings of guilt about the impact depression had on our ability to take care of ourselves.

  • 85: Healing and Deliverance Prayer

    May 29th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  19 mins 47 secs
    anxiety, church teaching, deliverance prayer, depression, procrastination, saint rose venerini, social media

    Tommy talks about the potential link between depression and social media, introduces listeners to Saint Rose Venerini, and answers listener questions about coping with anxiety and depression in the context of defending Church teaching, how to work through procrastination, and the idea of healing through deliverance prayer.

  • 84: Agoraphobia and Confession

    May 22nd, 2021  |  Season 4  |  23 mins 4 secs
    agoraphobia, anxiety, blessed marie anne blondin, confession, relationship ocd, therapist

    Tommy talks about not being able to get to confession because of one's anxiety and a new mental health program coming to AppleTV+, introduces listeners to Blessed Marie Anne Blondin, and answers listener questions about Relationship OCD, how to go about finding a good therapist, and how to help a spouse whose anxiety and panic keeps them from Mass.

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    83: Major Depression and Postponing Pregnancy

    May 15th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  25 mins 2 secs
    borderline personality disorder, childhood emotional neglect, pregnancy, saint francis of paola

    Tommy talks about whether therapists should share their personal opinions, discusses Kristen Bell's recent words on mental health, introduces listeners to Saint Francis of Paola, and answers listener questions about Childhood Emotional Neglect, how to help a child with Borderline Personality Disorder, and how to navigate having kids vs. postponing pregnancy when considering one's own depression.