There’s no secret it’s been a wild couple of years. From the COVID lockdowns, loss, loneliness, racial tensions and trauma, rioting, sexual abuse explosion, election mess, race for a vaccine, the vaccine rollout, big tech suppression, censorship, Afghanistan, Ukraine, inflation, money stress, parental rights challenges, abortion/life battles, Fentanyl/Substance abuse crisis, rash of shootings, crime explosion, transgender identity and ideology storm, the midterm elections, etc... We now have a mental health disaster going on. People are exhausted and emotionally shot with stress and anxiety, depression, and even suicidality, especially among our kids, soaring to heights we’ve never seen. Most are angry, confused, and searching for help, hope, and encouragement. Even more, before the pandemic, statistics showed that nearly 1 in 5 (20%) people live with a mental illness in their lifetime, but now rates of nearly every mental health category have skyrocketed. Therefore, in response to the craziness and chaos we’ve been experiencing around the world, we here at the Built Different Podcast wanted to acknowledge and recognize the month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month by embarking on a Mental Health Awareness Series where we will be having conversations with several mental/emotional health experts to shed light on the challenges and difficulties many face while also encouraging and equipping our listeners with practical tips and strategies we can begin implementing to increase our mental and brain hygiene. That being said, joining us today to kick off this series is a renowned and leading Licensed Professional Counselor, Speaker, Teacher, and incredible Author, Dr. Mark Mayfield. In today’s episode Dr. Mayfield briefly shares his impactful testimony as well as takes a deep dive into his new book that will be releasing next week on May 9th, titled The Path to Wholeness: Managing Emotions, Finding Healing, and Becoming Our Best Selves. This conversation will remind you of the importance of embracing, experiencing, and expressing your emotions as well as viewing them as invitations or indicators from the Lord. You’re not going to want to miss this powerful episode!Be sure to check out Dr. Mayfield’s new book “The Path to Wholeness” Here: https://www.amazon.com/Path-Wholeness-Managing-Emotions-Becoming/dp/1641585315 Dr. Mark Mayfield’s website with more books and resources: https://www.drmayfield.com/