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A foreshadowing of the national impending healthcare collapse as we see the beginnings of it in Rhode Island. As mental health workers face increasing dangers from understaffing, violence, and corporate retaliation against unionization efforts. Matt shares his terrifying classroom experience with possible gunfire, highlighting educators' vulnerability in America's gun violence epidemic, while Erika exposes the expanding network of privatized immigrant detention centers that are akin to the start of concentration camps. Towards the end of the episode we welcome Hannah John Damarjian.

• Rhode Island healthcare system facing multiple facility closures and bankruptcy filings
• Mental health hospital fired all striking nurses who demanded safer staffing ratios
• Multiple cases of healthcare workers murdered or seriously injured by patients discussed
• Matt recounts hearing gunshots outside his classroom with 27 students and no way to lock doors
• Private corporations like CoreCivic and GeoGroup operating immigrant detention centers in flood zones
• Laura Loomer's disturbing comments about "alligator meals" target Latino populations
• Palestinian American guest John discusses running for office as a young candidate
• Average age of Congress (63) disconnected from challenges facing younger generations
• Money in politics corrupts even well-intentioned candidates
• Rhode Island's "Homeless Bill of Rights" criticized as performative rather than substantive

Join us next time when we continue our conversation with John about his experiences as a Palestinian American and his journey into politics.

Laura Loomer’s “65 Million Meals” Comment: What She Actually Said—and Why It’s So Dangerous

Striking Butler Hospital workers awarded back unemployment benefits, bargaining to resume Wednesday | ABC6

https://youtube.com/@johnsharestories

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4

Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.


Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.


Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com

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In this raw, unedited conversation, we process our emotional responses to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran while exploring how intergenerational trauma shapes our understanding of war.

• Processing our emotional reactions to Israel's "preemptive strike" otherwise know as a declaration of war against Iran
• Examining how media messaging manipulates public perception of conflict to vilify people in Gaza and justify colonialism
• Discussing intergenerational trauma from historical wars and how it shapes our worldview
• Exploring the complicity of silence and the moral obligation to speak against genocide
• Looking at environmental contamination and health impacts as hidden costs of war
• Considering how art from conflict zones helps us process and understand violence
• Sharing practical ways to take action against global atrocities
• Finding hope in community organizing and resistance movements

The most powerful change often starts with small actions. Contact your representatives, join local solidarity groups, or simply have conversations with those around you. Remember: in genocide, there is no neutrality – either you're complicit or you're fighting against it.

Doctors Against Genocide: Lifesaving Medical Aid

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4

Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.


Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.


Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com

Send us a text

Matt and Erika explore how people in compassion-based professions navigate feelings of helplessness when confronted with systemic barriers and limitations beyond their control.

• The challenges of working in compassion-based professions (healthcare, teaching, social work, veterinary medicine) within systems that often prioritize profit over people
• America's dysfunctional relationship with grief and death as a "death-defying society"
• The importance of radical acceptance – acknowledging limitations while still taking meaningful action
• Why our positive impacts often ripple outward in ways we'll never witness
• How to recognize early warning signs of burnout before reaching complete exhaustion
• The critical importance of human connection in preventing isolation and burnout
• Using humor as a powerful coping mechanism during difficult times
• Finding meaning in incremental progress when systemic change seems impossible

We encourage listeners to seek community events related to causes you care about - these connections can provide both emotional support and practical avenues for action. Remember that every small positive interaction creates meaningful change, even when you don't see the results immediately.

SOCIAL ISOLATION, LONELINESS, AND MEN'S HEALTH - PMC

The Hidden Costs of Men’s Social Isolation | Scientific American

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4

Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.


Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.


Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com