I'M TRIGGERED!

Werner Herzog's 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man, is a deep dive into the misguided mission of Timothy Treadwell, the man who lived with grizzly bears in the Alaska wilderness for 13 summers until, yep, you guessed it. A bear ate him! We get into the big personalities of both Herzog and Treadwell while also discussing our perceptions of Treadwell's various instabilities and how such a situa...

We are thrilled to have our #1 listener, Danny, as a guest for this episode as we discuss 2024's body horror extravaganza, "The Substance." Please excuse the choppy bits as we had some technical issues while recording. Also, this episode marks two years of our podcast! We did it and we are still here! Thanks for listening and supporting us.  Thank you for listening! Please like, rat...

Oh the horrors of perfectionism. Megan and Jess have a lot to talk about with this one! Megan keeps saying the word NASTY but she doesn't mean fun nasty, more like ballerina feet nasty. Join us as we discuss 2010's Black Swan, Darren Aranofsky's psychological drama that we definitely think is also a horror movie. Welcome to spooky season!  Sources:  ABC News. Black Swan: Psychiatris...

It's been way too serious up in here so let's have a break with our favorite stoners, the Broad City dudes. This week we get into Seasonal Affective Disorder and midlife crises, among other things, all inspired by Abbi and Ilana. Also, Ru-Paul! Please enjoy the comedy break before we get back into the dark and sad stuff. Because you know we will.  Sources: IMDB. Abbi's Mom . UCHealt...

Well here we are. In Idaho, or Seattle, or Portland, or perhaps a Shakespearean scene with Keanu Reeves? This week we get into the Gus Van Sant's 1991 film "My Own Private Idaho." Yes, it's weird and artsy! And it's important in its depictions of queerness in the 1990s, vulnerabilities and risks faced by sex workers, and some interesting details about narcolepsy and its ef...

We're back after a lil summer break! What a thrill to have author Kelly Sundburg join us to talk about about her essay collection The Answer is In the Wound : Trauma, Rage, and Alchemy, out on Aug 26 with Grove Atlantic. Kelly hangs out to talk with us about Season 4, Episode 7 of The Bear , simply entitled "Bears." A fitting bookend to the previously covered episode "Fishes,&q...

2013's Short Term 12 is not only an indie movie gem, it's also impressively accurate in its depiction of what it's like to work in the foster care system and in residential treatment. How do people deal with their own trauma histories when working stressful jobs like this? What's it like chasing kids around on a daily basis? What really happens in the foster care system? We get...

Let's get complaining! With a distinct lack of accurate and helpful information on eating disorders and their respective treatments, the 2017 film "To the Bone" manages to further add to stereotypes and misconceptions. As your loyal hosts, we will endure our intense annoyance to tell you all about this crap so you don't have to deal with it. Despite Keanu's lovely presence...

Hello Danny!  We emerge from our hibernation cave to bring you the first media breakdown episode of season two, and it better be perfect because we did 158 takes. We cannot discuss The Shining without acknowledging Tony, the little boy who lives in all of our mouths, or how Alcohol Use Disorder may masquerade as ghostie madness. Join us as we discuss these topics and more, and keep those horrifyin...

Welcome to Season 2! We are discombulated! We are weary! We are ready to talk about stuff even if it's not pretty! In today's episode we discuss how we are dealing with HUGE life changes (baby! divorce!) and what we've been reading and watching during our podcasting hiatus. We are glad to be back and can't wait to share more episodes with you all.  _____________________________...

It's the final episode of our first season, and it's a spooky one. Before we send Jess off with good wishes for sweet times with the Hobbit Baby, we must talk about ghosties, a sad little kid, and the very amazing Toni Collete in a very good wig! Yes, it's 1999's twisty film from the master of twisties himself, M. Night Shyamalam's The Sixth Sense . So, get some popcorn an...

Australian horror film The Babadook delighted audiences with its clever script, gruesome scenes, and that delightfully creepy character. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of widowhood and the ongoing effects of grief. And, in a show dedicated to triggers, Jess and Megan find a scene in this film so triggering that they can barely talk about it.  Buckle up for the Babadook!  Sources: Deder...

"The Body" is a truly devastating episode of the well-loved series Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Buffy discovers her mom's body and begins the grieving process in earnest. We discuss the important history of the show, including unfortunate but important details about the show's creator, and why this particular episode continutes to be regarded as a stellar depiction of grie...

The 1997 film, Good Will Hunting, garnered nine Oscar noms with its star-studded cast and poignant themes of love, class, and mental health. But what about the accents, the attachment disorder, and the Swedish guy that must know everything about a therapy session? And what about ALLLLL that self-disclosure? We talk these topics and more in this episode about one of the most well-known movies about...

The 2022 sci-fi horror flick M3GAN is a fun watch and we had blast talking about it. We get into kid trauma, therapy home visits, and some implications of AI which may include a murderous doll.  Sources:  M3GAN, IMDB. Link.  AI's climate impact goes beyond emissions. Scientific American . Link .  Why AI isn't a magic bullet for mental health. Berkeley Public Health. Link .  Thank you for...

In this week's episode we host our first guest, Nōn Wels @feelyhuman, whose Feely Cards will be released on September 19 ( pre-order here ). We also discuss the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Exploring themes of intergenerational trauma, suicidality, multiversal travel, and more, this film swept the Oscars while expanding our minds in such incredible and unexpected ways. From ho...

A nostalgia film about friendship, dead bodies, and leeches, noooo!  Yep, it's Stand by Me, the film with all those baby-faced actors. In this episode, we discuss how parenting can impact mental health and also how tromping through the woods to find a dead body could have some effects, too. We also get into summertime stuff and how we really feel about music from the 50s.  Sources:  Stand By...

With this most recent barrage of unprecedented events, we decided to take a short break from discussing heavy topics. Welcome to our first ever Feel Good Episode, where we veer from our usual structure to simply share some things we enjoy. We chat about two films from 2001: Josie and the Pussycats and Spirited Away.  Thank you for listening! Please like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to...

Do you ever hate your job so much that you wish you could be hypnotized out of feeling your daily misery? And are you tired of talking about your flair? Welcome to our episode about Office Space (1999), the oft-quoted exploration of corporate ennui and rebellion. Jess and Megan discuss what holds up (pretty much everything), the impact of meaningless overwork on mental health, the need for neurodi...

Jess and Megan discuss the documentary Your Fat Friend (2023), beautifully directed by Jeanie Finlay, about blogger, writer, podcaster, and activist Aubrey Gordon. We discuss the mental health effects of anti-fatness and also how not to be a dick. Watch Your Fat Friend Here. Sources:  "Your Fat Friend." IMDB. Link.    "'I'm Big in a Lot of Ways': Activist Aubrey Gordo...

Megan and Jess get into Jordan Peele's debut film Get Out (2017), a horror film about the dangers lurking within a liberal white community. We discuss hypnotherapy, consent, and the attention paid (or not paid) to missing persons. It's a lot of talk about race, triggers, cute dogs, and more. And please, put your cereal in a bowl!  Sources: Get Out (2017). IMDB. Link   How real Life Horro...

Chaotic family fights, a very messy kitchen, and that damn fork! Megan and Jess break down the star-studded  Season 2, Episode 6 of The Bear, called Fishes, possibly the most anxiety-provoking episode of TV ever. We discuss toxic family systems and the cost one can pay when choosing to go low-contact or no-contact with family.  Sources for this episode: Gibson, Lindsay. Adult Children of Emotional...

Prepare yourself for some bad wigs as we discuss the family drama The Iron Claw (2023) which follows the unceasing tragedies of the supposedly cursed Von Erich wrestling clan. We'll be discussing our love for Zac Efron love as well as research about about brain health, family trauma, suicide, and more. This is a heavy one but you know us- we'll always give you a heads up about what'...

Jess and Megan discuss the latest season of the show True Detective. Full of cold frights, complex characters, and indigenous representation, Episode 4 of the series introduces mental health topics like voluntary placements and cultural views on hallucinations. In this episode we also get into bro complaints, bias within the mental health system, the psychological challenge of living in the dark,...

We have so much to say about The Sopranos that we had to split this into two episodes! Join us as we continue our discussion of Season 6, Episode 20: The Blue Comet, the penultimate episode of the beloved series.  In Part II, we look at Dr. Melfi's abrupt firing of Tony Soprano, important ethical considerations for therapy termination, and our opinions of what the heck happened. We also discu...