A Contagious Smile Podcast
Stop surviving and start thriving. A Contagious Smile is a globally ranked podcast providing a safe haven for abuse survivors and special needs families navigating the journey of trauma recovery. Whether you are healing from domestic violence, narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma, or the daily challenges of disability advocacy, our mission is to turn your pain into power.
Each episode features raw, authentic conversations with survivors, mental health experts, and advocates who share actionable resources for PTSD healing, resilience building, and emotional wellness. We go beyond the struggle to highlight the triumphs of the special needs community, offering support for caregivers and individuals with disabilities who are rewriting their own narratives.
Hosted by Victoria Cuore, an award-winning trauma advocate and survivor, this podcast delivers the "blueprints" for recovery—not just Band-Aids. Join our community to find hope, humor, and the unstoppable spirit needed to rekindle your inner light.
A Contagious Smile Podcast
A New Partnership For Trauma-Informed Mental Health Support with Michael Mackniak
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The scariest part of a mental health crisis isn’t always the symptoms. It’s the moment you realise nobody is talking to each other and your loved one is getting treated like a problem instead of a person. We sit down with veteran attorney and caregiver advocate Michael Machnac to share a major new partnership bringing his care coordination work together with Victoria’s trauma-informed recovery approach, aimed squarely at the families and individuals who feel trapped in the gaps of the system.
We get specific about what “care coordination” actually means: building a complete history, understanding the family ecosystem, aligning providers around one direction, and making the patient the captain of the ship. Along the way, we unpack why modern healthcare navigation is so exhausting, from repeated paperwork to siloed hospitals and rushed appointments that leave dignity behind. We also talk candidly about crisis response, autism and de-escalation, and the difference between being managed and being heard.
You’ll hear what we’re planning next for Mental Health Awareness Month, why we’re launching a podcast series to share real strategies (not just complaints), and how character and habits can help you climb out of your own rut when life hits hard. If you’ve ever felt alone on the “crazy train” of mental health advocacy, this conversation is your reminder that you’re not imagining it and you’re not on your own.
Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more caregivers and survivors can find these tools. What’s the biggest communication breakdown you’ve seen in healthcare?
Michael Mackniak
Website: https://michaelmackniak.com
Care Coalition: Care Coalition – https://carecoalition.org
Academy: https://guardian-academy.thinkific.com
Email: mike@guardian-ct.org
Howdy
Welcome And A Surprise Guest
SPEAKER_02y'all, welcome to another episode of Exchange of Smiles Unstoppable. We're here with the ever-so sexy Vixen from Victoria. Of course, your redneck in the background, Michael. Our dogs are currently out of the room, but we have the big dog. Our stud. Here's the stud himself, Mike Magnac. You said his name right.
SPEAKER_03I'm very proud of you. No.
SPEAKER_01I get mentioned as a stud after we get done talking about the dogs. I feel like maybe I have a job that I'm supposed to be doing that I didn't know about.
SPEAKER_03So glad
Announcing The Mental Health Partnership
SPEAKER_03he's here with us. We literally just grabbed him and brought him in here with us because we have a huge announcement we have not made public yet. And I'm gonna throw him in the hot seat because he actually told me I was a pain in the ass. So I gotta earn that title. Go ahead and tell everybody about our wonderful partnership.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm you're looking at Michael while you're asking me. Uh you're talking to me, right?
SPEAKER_03And the other Mike, Mike Squared.
SPEAKER_01Right. So I'm I'm super honored and thrilled and humbled to announce on behalf of Victoria and myself that we have combined forces to bring the work that I've been doing in the mental health sector and the caregiving sector, along with her trauma-informed recovery work out to the masses and try to really reach so many people that are what I call our most at need populations that that are living day to day in our societies, in our houses, in our towns, that are just trying to hold it all together and and and make ends meet against whatever it may be mental illness, PTSD, and other kinds of trauma. And I'm just thrilled that that this wonderful, wonderful woman and her fantastic husband would would give me the time of day to bring me on. Look at that look. Bring me give me the time of day and bring me on and and and think it think it to endeavor forward with the next phase of I know my my story and my career here. So there's your announcement. Is that good enough?
SPEAKER_03That's amazing. He is a 30-year attorney, veteran attorney. He is not like boosting his own resume and telling you that. He also has the coalition, the care coalition, and he has all sorts of amazing things that are gonna be my husband's chewing at the bit. What do you want to say to him? What do you want to ask?
SPEAKER_02No, no, I'm I'm waiting on you to finish.
SPEAKER_03No, I'm done. Go ahead. I don't want to get in the middle of the mic sandwich.
SPEAKER_02So you you brought up something earlier, Mike. Mike and Mike. The question was posed to Victoria. Can you hear me, Mike? Yeah, yeah. You're a little you're a little soft. I hope well, I you know, you know, my ED issues won't be brought up during this interview.
SPEAKER_04See what you got?
SPEAKER_02How about now? Yeah, that's much better. Yeah, I okay. I think it's my microphone over yonder.
How Perfect Timing Brought Them Together
SPEAKER_02You you asked Victoria, how did how did we even meet? And we did we did about an hour and a half, about an hour and a 22-minute conversation with Amir from the Blacklist. He played a ROM Moshbai. Mustabai on there. I don't know if you've seen the blacklist. But you know, he he talked he talked about how everything had to come together at a certain time, at a certain, you know, place, right? You were out fishing, yes, and something amazing happened.
SPEAKER_03He got he let a turtle free.
SPEAKER_02A sea turtle happened to come by at the exact moment that y'all were out there fishing.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know what happened? Actually, we went by the poor sea turtle that was already trapped in a in a makeshift long line. Okay as we were going by, we were like, we we we gotta stop and you know connect with this thing and get it get it back out with mommy and daddy. Or actually, it was pretty damn, it was big.
SPEAKER_03You saw the picture, turtle, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And and and it wouldn't have happened had y'all not been, you know, five minutes late that morning or you know, an hour too soon. You know, so so you you coming together with Victoria and this collaboration, it it was the perfect timing. So those of y'all listening out there in uh Radio Land, y'all need something from Mike. Okay, y'all are hearing this for a reason, you're meeting up with him, you're seeing this collaboration happen. So keep paying attention.
SPEAKER_01Hmm. Thank you, man. Thank you for that, that those kind words. And thank you for putting that sea turtle in our in our midst because it was gl, you know, it was really gratifying to do that. I I it's funny, I get all kinds of feeds on my on my phone, and you know, when I wake up in the morning and I'm an animal nut, I love them, and I see a lot of the the helplessness of some of these poor animals. And I was like, oh my god, this is so perfect that we're doing this right now and and letting this this animal go. I mean, there are you know, five guys on a boat, we're 50 miles offshore. There's some guy out there with a fake long line that you know was just not supposed to be there, and this poor turtle was stuck in it, and what a beautiful creature he was, and what a beautiful creature you guys are together, and what you guys have brought. And and to bring it, you know, bring it home that yeah, I think it's bait. We were just talking offline about how here it is, April 21st, and we've been working together for all of what how many hours?
SPEAKER_03Almost a week, almost a week.
SPEAKER_01And well, it just dawned on both of us that oh my goodness, next month is mental health awareness month. This is this is a collaboration that's just yeah, I don't know, written in the stars kind of a thing, you know. That you know, I don't want to get too euphemistic, but you know what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_03So tell everybody about why.
Building A Care Coalition From Law
SPEAKER_03Why did you get in into doing what you do?
SPEAKER_01Well, I you know what I do, folks, is I I started a nonprofit agency. I'm a lawyer, don't hold it against me. I started a nonprofit agency back in 2000, was the planning 2001, and then we rolled it out officially in 2002, and I developed a care treatment modality that basically is a care coordination model. I came up with this idea because I was practicing as a lawyer and saw that there is such a need for people who are willing and I don't know which one's more important, but and able. So you have willing and capable of acting in the benefit and for the best interest of other people, right? So I have a son who needs a fiduciary, a guardian, a conservator, or whatever you may call it. That's great. I can do that, but there's not a lot of people out there who are willing to step up and take that that charge. So having spent my legal career up until that point in those trenches, it doesn't take long before you realize that the the supply way out you know out surpasses the demand. And I thought that we can come up with a better way to help these folks on a day-to-day basis, and that's what that's what I've done. That's why I did it, and that's how it all came to be 25 years ago. Obviously, we're here to talk. Well, in the future, we're certainly going to be talking a lot about how things have morphed and changed and what my goals are now and what my interests are. But that's really it. You know, I just I saw that there was a huge chasms in in the system, and people were falling into those giant gaps, and they needed, they needed, and we need to figure a way to close those gaps up to help these people and their families, you know, get get ahead and and feel like they're being proactive and not just you know, treading water. We what treading water sucks. We want to move forward in life, and every every single one of us deserves that. And I and I really believe in the work that I do and and what we what we do and why we do it.
SPEAKER_03So, how do we do it?
Patient-Led Care Coordination Explained
SPEAKER_03What how do we do a program? What does the program consist of?
SPEAKER_01The real the real basis of it is, and I'll tell you this: if if the system worked the way the system says it works, I wouldn't have a job, and that would be a great thing because then Mike and I could be out fishing and rescuing Hell yeah, brother. We could be out rescuing more sea turtles, but really it comes down to some real simple tenets, and that is let's start talking about a patient by talking about the patient, right? Let's let's use the the patient as our captain, as the commander of our ship, and say, where do you want to go? Where can we take you collectively? We have all these powers around us, right? Or all these these this education, etc. How how can we take it to the next level? How can we take you to the next level and get you where you want to go? What are your goals, your dreams, your hopes, your desires? Because don't forget, folks, people with illnesses, people with mental illnesses, people with psychopathy, psych sociopathy, trauma, they're still people and they have goals, they they have their own wants, they have needs that need to be fulfilled. And we, it's our obligation on some level to lift them up and to help them to get there. So that's where we start, right? It's not about what I want and what what Victoria wants, it's about what our collective pal here wants, how we can help that person get where they want to go. That's number one, and I and number two, as dumb as it sounds, is we really got to do better at communicating. We really have to teach ourselves, and we need to teach the world and and the systems around us how to communicate within itself and outside of itself. And and that again, that's moving mountains, man. It sounds easy, it sounds simplistic and very basic, but when you have these systems that are set up the way they are now, these bureaucracies, to get them to move off of what they're used to is very, very difficult. That's the yeoman's work, that is where the real struggle comes in. And with that comes all my other C's, the seven C's that I wrote about in my book. That you know, we can cut it, cut it down to two or three here. The the final step really is to coordinate all that care. So you have five people, 10, 20, 30 people that are all working allegedly in concert for the benefit of one individual. Meanwhile, you have five, 10, 20, 30 different treatment plans. You have five, 10, you know, all these different ways of applying their trade. What we really need to do is we need to coordinate that. We need to make sure that everybody is pulling in the same direction in that rowboat so that we're we're not going in circles and we're not certainly going backwards. We we want to make sure we're moving forward, we're all pulling the same way, we're communicating, we're giving good information in real time. And that, so you you have that is the coordination model that really is what made the impact and changed the lives of thousands of people since we started our program 25 years ago.
SPEAKER_03So
Why Systems Fail To Communicate
SPEAKER_03people get started, they come on, they join, and then what happens at that point?
SPEAKER_01We do an intensive and exhaustive records search, find out everything we can find out about this individual. Where have they been? When did it start? Where did that take them? Where did it take them next and next and next? What has been tried? What what interventions have been tried? What medications have been tried? What worked and what didn't work, which is which becomes, believe it or not, very important when people start to try to repeat things that have tried been tried in the past. We want to know about the family, we want to know about the ecosystem that the person comes from, so that we can really take that person for who they are and not who we want them to be. And then we we take that team of providers that I described earlier, and we get involved and say, okay, now we're gonna come in and we're going to make sure that you all are doing what you say you're going to do, frankly. We we come in and say, not that there's a new sheriff in town, because that sounds that's cliche, number one, and number two, it's too pushy. It's we are here to help all of you to be better coordinated and to and to collaborate and to share your resources for the benefit of person A, B, C, whoever it might be. And that's where the tough work begins, you know, getting them to communicate with each other, getting them to understand that they need to communicate with their mutual client or patient, because that's not that's just simply not done. It's it's to the extent that it should be done. I mean, there is obviously we talk, but to the extent that there's a sharing of information, a sharing of resources. I have, I'm not holding any of the cards in and you know, up my sleeve. I'm giving you everything I got. I'm gonna commit myself entirely to this team and especially to this individual. That's what we really push on. That's you know, and and I'm not saying that I don't think people people in this in this world of ours, yours, Victoria, and mine, I don't think people are here because they they're diabolical in any way. I think that they fall into the sameness trap, and we get used to doing things a certain way. You know, I use this analogy. I know that when in in my place, it near my house, there's an Italian restaurant, there's a Chinese restaurant, there's there's a sushi place, you know, and and that's where I go. I stay within my two miles. So think about it. When you get comfortable with these places, that's where you go. When you are a professional and you get comfortable with using Victoria as a resource or Michael as a resource, you're gonna go to those guys all the time because that's what you know, and that's where your comfort zone is. Well, we got to break some of those those walls down, right? We got to think outside of that box that we've made for ourselves. And and that's that's really a lot of the the work that we're that we're doing in in my agency and and in my private world.
SPEAKER_03Right. And it is is because contentment, people just don't like change. And I can count, I can tell you from a person who's advocated for thousands of people when it comes to being an advocate for social, I mean, for special needs and for any kind of abuse, that they don't talk to each other. It's like they literally you wait months and months to get into some to see somebody, and then what do they have? Two or three minutes, they read over your chart really quick, and then you get them for 10 minutes in the room, and then it's all right, see you later. And they don't talk to one another, one another. There's like all these chefs in the kitchen, and they're not speaking to each other.
SPEAKER_01There's two things, two things to that point, and you're spot on. I spoke to a doctor two weeks ago who told me that they have no more than 15 minutes to spend with any one patient, and they have no more than three minutes to research the patient's chart in terms of giving them an idea of what you know, history. That's downright scary, but that's a system that exists. The other thing that really gets me going, and I can I'm gonna get Michael fired up here because he's probably just like me. Every time I go to a new doctor, I gotta fill out the questionnaires, I gotta fill out the same information for every doctor. It and it's it's maddening. What happened to this great client-patient portal stuff we were all told was gonna change the world of healthcare, and everybody was gonna communicate with each other. Well, I'll tell you, that is not happening. No, it's not. I have to fill out new forms with every doctor I go to. Well, this guy's in Hartford Hospital, this guy's at Yale Healthcare, this guy's at Joe Blow Healthcare. So, of course, they don't talk to each other. And the fact that they don't talk to each other leads to duplication of services, you know, horrible inefficiencies in our service system, wastes of money, waste of time, and waste of dignity, as you were talking about earlier, you know, the human dignity, absolutely, and it's not just that, it's the fact that, like, even if if you are in one hospital, you know, and you're like down in Atlanta, Emery is huge.
SPEAKER_03Emery's everywhere. But if say you go to a cardiologist or you go to a neurologist or you go to an endocrinologist, and they're all within the EMRI system, they all make you fill out the same paperwork. They and there is a my chart portal, but they don't check it, they don't look at each other, so they have no idea whether they're winding their butt or itching their watch. They don't know, they have no idea.
SPEAKER_01I never heard that one. Quite a few of those in my southerners when I hang around and pay attention.
SPEAKER_02So, talking about fired up, we spent what, five weeks? I say two and a half months because you know how many exaggerating their numbers at the hospital with our daughter, and these sobs would come in there every freaking day to get my daughter's temperature, and none of them would read the damn chart, right? And they would all say, open your mouth, stick it under your tongue. Well, that's not happening, Ace.
SPEAKER_03If you read the chart, she has a very small tongue, and the the the anatomy is different way in the back, and it it would it would piss me off so much, my god. And so we even had it on the whiteboard, right?
Dignity In Crisis And De-Escalation
SPEAKER_03And still, you know, they they don't even speak to each other at all.
SPEAKER_01But no, but I mean, and that that image is just alarming, honestly. It's it's not only is it disrespectful, but it's going back to the dignity issue and the that's right, I mean dignity for her, but also as you as the parent sitting there, and you would just want to say, Did you did you look at the the white what the hell did we take the time to write this on the board for? And if you're just gonna blow it off anyway, right? Yeah, I mean, uh and then I I the first thing I thought when Michael was saying that was hey, the worst place to get any rest is in the hospital, right? Somebody's coming in to poke you or stick something in your mouth, or wherever else they got to stick something, and and yeah, so that yeah, that and that's that's that's kind of a great example in a nutshell of of this this idea of just I go for patient to patient to patient. Here we go. I got I got a job to do, and and I far be it for me to beat up on the medical system or doctors and nurses, because I don't I don't believe that we should. I mean, those people care, they wouldn't put in the time and the energy and the the money and the heartache that they put in if they didn't care. But again, I think that the system financially, just the way these our our medical system is run, just beats you into this submission of oh my goodness, I have to, I've gotta see so many patients. I have to get them in, get them out. And that's where it really becomes tragic.
SPEAKER_03Yes, absolutely. So, what are you and I gonna accomplish together as partners?
SPEAKER_01Everything. And this isn't listen, it's funny because my girlfriend and my son both said the same thing to me. You know, don't don't go on your podcast all the time, and don't go out there and make your speeches and just complain. It's not always a bitch fest. And I said, I agree with you, and I wish that I could say that I had the solutions for everything in the world. I I really do, but I think that what's just as important is offering shining a light on the fact that there are issues, there are everyday real people go through issues in these various systems. You're not alone if you're going through it. There's other people that are on that same crazy train with you, and share your story with them so they could learn from it and listen to their story so you can learn from them and and ask the questions and raise your hand. So it's not about I don't necessarily have all the answers, but I have at least an acknowledgement that you're right, there is a problem here, and we collectively can raise awareness about. It more than anything. And I think if if nothing else, you and I can certainly talk the talk a dog off a meat wagon. And while we're at it, you know, let some pe other people know that it's that it's valid, that their their position is valid. And there's something, there's strength in that.
SPEAKER_03There's a lot of strength in that. It really is. And like I tell people all the time that like my husband was like, you got this award for advocate. And I'm like, I didn't get it. It's everybody else that allows me the opportunity to help them. That's where I get it from. It's not me. It's the fact that I have these beautiful people that have trusted me to help them. And because of that, it's the recognition is because of them, not me. And to pay it forward and not have somebody go through this by themselves and to make them feel so alone. Because especially when you're going through it, whether it's a mental health crisis or an emergency room or whatever the case may be, unless you've ever been through it, you don't understand it. And it is consuming. You feel like, have I done enough? What more could I have done? There's got to be answers. When someone isn't in this field and they don't know the day in and day out, it is overwhelming. It is like you are drowning because you want to help your loved one, but you don't know how. And these people are not listening to you, they're not talking to you. You could say, hey, he's autistic. He's having a mental issue right now. He's having an episode. Can you do this? This de-escalates the situation. They won't even listen to you. They just immediately drug the person, put them into a padded room, put them in paper clothes, and there goes human dignity.
SPEAKER_00You know, what else is, I mean, dev spot on? Spot on.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I saw that time and time again. I don't know if you're aware, Michael, that uh I was in law enforcement for 13 and a half years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And one of my stints was sheriff's deputy in the county jail. And yeah, we saw we saw him bringing in, bring him in like that, you know, not understanding that, you know, there was something more wrong than than they assumed, you know.
SPEAKER_03But they don't even want to take the time. It's just like, you know, if they're having it, especially if you're autistic, you you don't put your hands on. There's always a way to de-escalate the situation. Always. But instead, you're like, oh, I have four more hours until I can get out of here. This one's gonna hold me up. I got yoga to get to. I'm just gonna give them versette, or I'm gonna give them, you know, whatever. I'm gonna calm them down, shut them up, put them in the room, and that's it. And they can wait for eval. That's not right.
SPEAKER_01I I I just told this story, I don't know, a week ago. I was out in Las Vegas a week ago, and I was having this conversation very similar to this with somebody, and I brought up this two anecdotes that I can think of right off the top of my head. We had an individual who, older guy, was living in the community, he had mental health issues, and he went to the hospital, to the emergency room, something like 17 times in the course of 31 days or 32 days or something like this. He was kept complaining that his arm hurt. So he'd go to the emergency room complaining that his arm hurt, and they would say, Okay, lift your arm up, move your arm this way, move your arm that way, okay, you're fine, everything's good. Send you home, take some Tylenol, you know, and call me in the morning or whatever. And after, you know, after I get this case comes across my desk, I'm like, Well, did the hospital did the emergency room think to call down somebody from psych? Look at this guy's chart. He's been hooked up with the Department of Mental Health for 25 years. He's uh he's generally a good quote unquote good patient, and he's coming in here every other day, or more than every other day, sometimes multiple times a day, telling you that he his arm hurts when there's nothing wrong with his arm, you know. And that's kind of that thinking outside the box. And to your point, let's just look at what what time it is. Let's where are we at in the shift here? And and this guy's gonna hold me up for another hour. And I again, I don't want to say that that's what goes, but it just feels like there could be a deeper dive into some of these things. I I I'm on a mini vacation right now, and I spent a good part of yesterday on the phone with a hospital because I have a client who, for the last I'm gonna tell you, six months or so. Well, let's say six years, he has been gravely disabled. And in the last three and a half of those years, he's been very stable. Well, all of a sudden, he starts abusing marijuana. Believe it or not, there's a syndrome I can't remember what it's called. It's like CDS or CHS. You're sure somebody out there can will Google you or and tweet you or do whatever and tell you what it is. But it but smoking pot makes you physically sick, it hurts your stomach, it makes you nauseous, it makes you vomit. And this guy has that syndrome, but for whatever reason, he keeps going back to it and keeps don't you know going back to the pot and going back and smoking and smoking and smoking. And I said I had the same conversation with a doctor who knows him very well, and she agreed with me that something else is going on here. He just doesn't want to have that pot. There's something else going on in his mind, and and you know, we need to figure this out for his sake, get on top of that, because otherwise he's just gonna keep in this spiral and it's not doing anybody any good, right?
SPEAKER_03Well, like you were talking about the guy who had the arm that was hurting. You would have to go in and imagine that you know, all of the nerves in the arm go to the back of the neck, which goes into like the base of the brain. So, what if he's just his signals are wire crossed, like and something else is going on? You know, you have psych, you you have a so why can't you at least get a social worker down?
SPEAKER_01Why don't well and and you bring the social worker down and they have that leather the 15 question thing that they're gonna give you, and that wouldn't have helped them with this particular guy, but your point is well taken. What does it hurt? Right, you know, you're in the same facility, have somebody come down and take a look. Uh to me, it's a no-brainer, right? I'm sure people can call us up and say, Well, we can't do that because of this policy and this procedure and this and that and the other thing, but uh there's for every answer you can give me along those ways, I can probably come up with an answer right back at you, right?
SPEAKER_03So, where do you see yourself in three months?
What They Want To Change Next
SPEAKER_01Three months? What are we in here? So uh May, June, July. I see myself out on the boat again fishing with my with your husband. Right in terms of professionally, in three months, is that what you're asking me?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, where where is everything in three months?
SPEAKER_01I think that we're going to have some kind of a a real global impact on things that you and I are gonna roll out here over the course of the next six weeks. And good, bad, or indifferent, we're gonna be there's gonna be a lot of people that want to talk to us about our approach and and listening more than anybody's ever listened before, which is gratifying. It really is, because you know, I you and I have had this talk, so I'm not gonna say anything that I'm not speaking out of turn. I have a nice job, I don't make a ton of money, I make a nice, I have a nice living and I and I don't want for anything, neither do my kids, which is all that I care about. It's all you care about. But to be respected in the space that we're in is is overwhelmingly gratifying uplifting to me. I want I know I was gonna use that word again, but I've used it a lot here today. I don't want to keep using the same word over and over again. But it it is, it's uplifting to me. It makes me it gives me the juice to come up with more content, be more creative, and come up with different ways that I can help people. And I don't know why. I mean, I'm not that I'm not the huggy-feely kind of person, but I really enjoy taking these systems and turning them on their head and shaking them if I have to, to make them pay attention to the needs of the people that they're meant to serve, right? And I know that that's where you're coming from. And and I think that, you know, with your with your tribe out there and and and the the way that the people care about what you speak about, that we may be opening some floodgates here that maybe some of your listeners even have been waiting to talk about and to open up about and share their journey with the people that I was talking about earlier who need to hear that.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And we talked earlier off about before we started recording, and it's true, I this is the very first time ever. We've been podcasting for four years. Is it four years now? Four years, and I've done over well over 800 interviews, and we've done over 400 shows, and I've never agreed to partner with anyone before. And the thing is that, and I told my husband after you and I met the first time, I was like, I love everything that this man stands for, I love everything that he does, and I was kidding around, I was like, and I can't get his name wrong, which is great. So it's it's the it's the fact that everything you do is so needed today and it is so necessary. And you know, it's like when I go out there and there are times that that I get called out as the domestic violence advocate, and I will be in a standoff with law enforcement out there and and mental health response out there, and and I'll be out there six, eight, 10 hours at night. My husband, you know, knows I can't talk on the phone. And and it's like they are not listening to the individual, they are just immediately like, oh, be quiet. I'm gonna sedate you, you get in the back of the van, and I'm gonna like tie you down. And it's like, why they have a voice, why can't they be heard? I mean, there's no reason to de-escalate a calmer situation. I mean, when they have an episode, they do calm down. And so when they've calmed down, this is when you talk to them like a person. And I can't tell you how many times people have said, thank you for seeing me. Thank you for seeing who I am, not my condition, not my disease, not my reason for my episodes. And the thing is, is that you know, we all have bad days, we all have episodes of our own in our own realm of way of life, but it's just this was the what they are dealing with. And they need a little compassion. I mean, they need a little understanding and to know that this is something that we can group in together and help more people see that they have resources, but they don't know how to get to them and that they are worth fighting for and that there are things that can be done because at the end of the day, they do deserve to be dignified. They do deserve to be treated with respect. Because what if this was one of the clinician's kids or neighbors or significant other? They wouldn't want them to be treated this way, but they have no problem. Like, hey, you know, dad gummit, it's seven o'clock, and I'm supposed to be out of here on a new date. I met on what is that thing, that swipe thing, Tinder or whatever it is. And you're supposed to be out of here.
SPEAKER_01And I don't know, I never heard of it. Don't know what you're talking about.
SPEAKER_03And that's just it. And to know, and I told my husband this, I was like, I read and researched everything about you, and it was like, how more in line could this possibly get? Because and I told him that. And I was like, you know, I have the abuse down, I have the advocacy down, I have the the special needs down, and I'm very much in the mental health, but there are things that need to be, you know, put into place that aren't. And when I started seeing all this, I was like, he's got it, he's got the blueprint, he just needs how to get it out there in front of the right people. And I got that. So I mean, what a match! Like, how perfect is that puzzle piece to come together?
SPEAKER_02Sea turtle.
SPEAKER_03Where did that even come?
SPEAKER_01What what that's my ADHD? I understood the sea turtle. I think that uh you got it. Yeah. I wish you folks could see her face right now. No, I'm a crate keeper. I I think that and I think I told you this that when my work wife, Sarah, that's what I call her. She's my right-hand man woman, and I'm so jealous.
SPEAKER_03I thought I was the work wife.
SPEAKER_01Well, but we you you what I'm not a polygamist. Is that what they call when somebody who has multiple wives? I have one work wife, I have one regular wife, and that's all I need, trust me. But no, she and I, when we started this program, uh I she was working down in in New York City and had done an internship in my office, and I knew that she would be perfect for the work that I wanted to do. And at back way back then, uh, you know, our dream was that dream, serious dream was that someday somebody would hear us talking and and or hear about us and what we were trying to do and why we were trying to do it, and somehow, you know, you get your fantasies going about all these big celebrities out there that can take your take your champion you, right? And somehow, some way, this woman, Victoria, has has heard our story and is championing our mission. And I could not be more thrilled and more grateful to whatever powers it be may be, whatever the sea turtle is that brought us together. It's just it's like really, you know, you're talking 25 years of holding out that hope, and then all of a sudden the the stars align, and here we are, and here we are having a family conversation over dinner, kind of a thing, and it's just wonderful. It's just wonderful.
SPEAKER_03It is, it's amazing. I I'm so happy with this, and this alignment is amazing, and I couldn't even be happier.
Character Habits And Personal Setbacks
SPEAKER_03I did just finish your book, by the way.
SPEAKER_02The character book, I love that little book. I I was reading it too, Mike.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I let him read it, and I was like, You gotta read this. It is so it's so spot on, it really is. Oh, bro.
SPEAKER_01You gotta put that in the next one. The the thing with character is is that I believe that we we are able to uh well, I mean, science tells you that you are able to form and break your own habits, right? You can you can absolutely, and unfortunately, it takes about three, three and a half weeks, but you can absolutely create your own habits, and it got me to thinking, we can forge our own character, we can make ourselves into the person that we want to be. And that folks, the tagline of the book is become the person that your social media friends already think you are, because who does everybody put out there in social media? They don't, they only put out their best selves, their best me, the best us, right? So if you're fooling the rest of the world and what you're putting out there in social media, and you have them believing that that's who you are, maybe it's time that you started to believe it too. And it's just this just little, I don't even know what you would call them, just these little euphemistic things that I came came up with, little anecdotal stories or catchphrases that I came up with, and just explained how that impacts me. And my hope would be that somebody would pick up the book and read through it and say, Let me chew on this one for a day or two and see how how this one sits in sits in my head, you know, like be cool, be childlike. They all start with a C. I don't know what why I'm hung up one on the letter C, but in my girlfriend's name is Claire. How weird is that? But yeah, so you have you know, be childlike, be cool, charismatic, caring, you know, just just comforting. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I loved that book. I loved writing that book. That was fun. It it it's it's as you know, it's not war and peace. It's an easy, it's an easy bite, you know.
SPEAKER_03Yes, it is. Are you writing anything now?
SPEAKER_01I have several things in the hopper. I've been in a rut, man. Until I met you, I've been in a rut until let's see, about this time last year, I really started climbing out of my my rut, not to bore anybody, but COVID hit, and I wound up moving, moving on in life, so to speak. I won't get too far into that, but I also wound up having cancer, prostate cancer diagnosis at the age of 50, and uh which is very young. And, you know, also everything that goes along with COVID. So I fell into my own personal rut, and I've been climbing out of it for a year and a half or so, and I have a whole bunch of great stuff that I've begun writing, and I'm really inspired to get going with getting back into that creative flexibility. Good for you, Mike.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome. And you are in remission and everything's great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, and you know what? Shout out to my brother, who, as luck would have it, or bad luck would have it, went through the same procedure today. Yeah, and he's doing well. I heard from his wife not too long ago, and you know, so we're gonna help him get through it just like I got through it. So yeah, all good there.
SPEAKER_03Awesome. That's awesome. So, what's next for the mics? Like, what's next? I know what you're about to say, so let's see what's next for my mics.
SPEAKER_02Hey, I I I just can't wait to see. She's she's done some beautiful work here. Uh, I come in from time to time to not edit, but to look and you know, appraise her for you know what the design is of the day because it's it's so much she's sending your way. So I'm not involved in everything, but every once in a while I'll peek my head in and say, Hey, what are you doing? Do you need you know, I'll bring her a sandwich or something, you know, because I'm the house bitch, you know, and uh refresher for unsweet tea. Where can I get one of you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I and and it's amazing, uh you know, once you get into that mode of creativity, and especially if you're the type of person that Victoria is, and frankly, I am, it's this prolific, overwhelming need to produce stuff, right? And Victoria has a really uncanny ability to see the need and create and produce stuff that matches that need. I could talk circles around it, she does it, and she she creates imagery that is just so captivating that it brings it all into the fold really quickly. So, my my goal for the next well, especially coming May, because that is mental health awareness month, you know, we really want to we really want to take 30 plus years of my creativity, my prolific creativity, and making some sense out of it. And and and and with Victoria's guidance, really getting it out there to in a way that is going to feel almost like shock and awe a little bit and bombarding but bar bombardment a little bit, but finally feeling a sense of continuity and adhesiveness. I'm gonna mute my dog barking here in a second if he doesn't stop.
SPEAKER_03We don't hear him.
SPEAKER_01What's that?
SPEAKER_03We don't hear him. He's so cute.
SPEAKER_01Mackie's so cute. Yeah, we can't hear him at all. He's just winding up, he's doing a Mackie is so cute though. He is a cute boy, he's a good boy. He's a little Havanese for all you guys listening out there, and he's staring me down right now. So that's my goal is to really, you know, start to feel I not start to feel, I feel this energy burst, but also to really start to see and participate in getting my act together, which needs to be done.
New Podcast Series And Practical Strategies
SPEAKER_03I am shocked that you have not mentioned that we are going to be doing a series.
SPEAKER_01Well, I am shocked that you haven't mentioned that we're gonna be doing a series because I'm following your lead on this one and I keep peppering you with questions about it, and you are either teasing me or conveniently blowing me off or forgetting to answer. I want to know what your image is about.
SPEAKER_03Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. I sent you a long email over what I thought the whole synopsis of the podcast series would be about.
SPEAKER_01So why are you asking me? Why don't you talk about it?
SPEAKER_03I thought you were gonna talk about it on air tonight. It was like you were announcing that we're doing a podcast series together.
SPEAKER_01That's we we we've we've I have been asked by Victoria if I would participate in a podcast series with her, and we're planning right now. We we just talked about six or seven different episodes in a series, so I guess it would be a mini-series, but knowing the two of us, it could wind up being a full feature film. Um and and it's really uh exciting because the stuff that we're touching on here, I think, is just the tip of the iceberg. And and from my perspective, I don't want to say the name yet. You you you could tell the name if you want to. But I don't want to. But I I can getting back to that concept of offering answers or solutions, while I don't think we have that, I think that Victoria and I certainly have strategies. And I think one of the things that I want to bring out to people uh during the course of this series is strategies to help you to get you closer to the solution that you're looking for.
SPEAKER_03100%. And the one thing my husband, I can't believe hasn't chimed in for is I I told him when I first met him. I said, I will tell you the truth and piss you off and lie. Because my family will I cannot lie. I don't know, I cannot like if I try, they're like, ah, you I my face tells it and I can't. And I never could, even when I was in high school, middle school. It never never could I ever pull that off. And it stinks. But I'm one of these people that deliver what I say and follow through a million percent. And it was so funny because I'm gonna end with this before he takes my husband takes this off. Is this Mike, Mike Squared, says to me, Go to bed? My husband laughs so hard, I thought he was gonna fall out of the seat because that's I don't even know how you yeah. It'll be like one in the morning, he'll be asleep, he'll wake up, he'll be like, You're still working. Great. Then he, you know, two o'clock in the morning, you're still working. Fantastic. Like this is, you know, this is what I do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, and that's because you have been handed some kind of a gift that you have decided that you need to get out of your brain and out to other people. And when you when you have that motivation behind you, it's hard not to do it. You know, you lay in bed and think about it. Well, you might as well get the hell up and go do it because you're not gonna put it, you're not gonna go to sleep anyways. I mean, well, you know, to to full disclosure, I was I tried to get away from Victoria yesterday and go to the beach for a little while because I am supposed to be on a mini vacation, and I'm sitting at the beach, and all I can think about was what she put in my brain. So I sit looked over at my buddy Matt. I'm like, I I gotta go back to the house. I can't, I gotta go back and I gotta go back to work. I can't sit here and pretend to relax and chill out. I got I got too much, you know, too much process going on in my brain. And so thanks, thanks a lot for that for ruining my whole beach today.
SPEAKER_03I'm sorry, at least you are get to go to the beach.
SPEAKER_02I tell you what, buddy, when when when I come down fishing on our trip, I'll mediate for for y'all. Okay, I'll tell her to leave you the hell alone.
SPEAKER_00Excellent, excellent.
SPEAKER_01But then you get then you get the guilt. Oh, don't if I'm if I'm bombarding you, please tell me to stop. Yeah, that's not gonna work either, I don't think.
SPEAKER_04I'm telling you what.
Where To Find Mike Online
SPEAKER_02Well, this has been great, Mike. I really appreciate you coming on our show at the spur of a moment and talking to us about the collaboration between y'all two.
SPEAKER_03Y'all.
SPEAKER_02Y'all two. So if they want to find out anything about you, how can they get a hold of you, Mike?
SPEAKER_01Well, there's a number of places that they can locate me, but apparently I'm gonna have a brand new website that's gonna be corrected.
SPEAKER_03I have no idea where that's coming from.
SPEAKER_01Michael MacNiac.com. Carecoalition.org is a great place to find me right now. That's where you'll find this movement that I have been trying to put together of like-minded people who are, as I say, you know, sharing that that journey together on that on that path together, and really are concerned about some of the things we talked about here tonight and making more awareness and making people feel more accepted with with the the path that they're on. So carecoalition.org right now is a great place to start. It'll bring you to my other work. And when michaelmachnac.com, the new and improved michaelmachnac.com, is up and running. As soon as Victoria tells us we can, we can let everybody know. And it will, that's a good place to get me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'll bet I'll definitely put it out there.
SPEAKER_02All right.
SPEAKER_03No worries.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you so much. And thank you all for listening to another unstoppable episode here at a contagious smile.
