Giving Voice to Depression

This week, we observe Veteran's Day in the U.S. Beyond the parade and holiday, have you taken the opportunity to reach out to any veterans in your life to ask about their service experience? Their sacrifices? Their current state of being, and whether the pandemic has made any mental-health challenges they might have better or worse? It can make a real and important difference. In the second of thi...

The military veterans' world is a world unto itself. The training and experiences they have had are foreign to civilians. With Veteran's Day fast approaching in the U.S., we speak with a veteran psychologist, who himself is a vet, about the ways those who have served to protect us, can protect themselves from challenges to their mental health. Every veteran is on his/her/their own journey, and nee...

At 14, Lacey's mental-health challenges made living a long and full life seem impossible to her. She wasn't sure she could even make it to 16. because of her crippling depression and anxiety. Now a social worker in her 20's, Lacey has the perspective of someone familiar with both the bottom of life's pit and the climb out. She sees mental health as a spectrum, and shows grace for all points on it....

A teen whose depression and suicidal thoughts were so pervasive that she did not know if she would live past the age of 16, is now a social worker helping others. She shares about her family's inability to speak openly about mental-health challenges before she did, and how her grandmother's disclosure of the generations-long family history of depression allowed her to have hope for a future.

This episode is a review of the past 11 episodes we've produced. It's also an opportunity to sample Giving Voice to Depression, so you can see that while the focus is the same (depression) the approach to each episode as different as the guests are. Depression affects us all differently. And the ways we describe and manage it can also differ. But, somehow, knowing that others understand the weight...

The "silly selfie" accompanying this episode is actually an example of one friend helping another through a really dark time. The spectrum of ways to support someone struggling with their mental health is wide, varying from acknowledging a stranger you pass (who knows when they last felt "seen,") to climbing into the darkest darkness with a friend who is suicidal. And sometimes, it's saying "get o...

The factors that impact our mental health are varied, intertwined and sometimes difficult to distinguish. Other times they are clear as day. When living conditions are unhealthy or unsafe or when mental-healthcare is inadequate, unaffordable or inaccessible, the goal of recovery can seem unobtainable. In the third of a four-part series on the Intersectionality of Race, Trauma and Mental Health, we...

The world loves guarantees. We want to be assured that if A, then B. It comforts us and soothes our souls to believe in truths we can rely upon. But suicide prevention doesn't work like that. Knowing the signs and risk factors is a huge step. Being with someone and listening non-judgmentally can work wonders. But medications, therapy, doctors, hospitalizations and a loving family, cannot always pr...

The mother of a teenager who recently died by suicide reaches out to other struggling teens to say emotions are hard and it's okay to need help managing them. The more honest you are about what you're going through, the more effective your treatment, therapy or other help can be. And if it's a friend who is struggling, tell someone. Depression lies. But it's our responsibility to tell the truth ab...

He had studied psychology, been previously treated for depressive episodes and done exhaustive online research trying to understand what was happening in his mind and body. The pieces did not come together until he heard other people with depression talking about their experiences of the illness. Then he realized the darkness was not his alone. Nor was it a personal failing or weakness. Depression...

He'd been treated on and off for the illness over the years. But he certainly didn't consider himself Someone With Depression. That, according to his background, would be a weakness and an unacceptable chink in his masculine armor. But during the pandemic, already reeling from the end of a relationship and sick/quarantining with Covid, John hit new lows. Concerned for his life, he began to review...

Are you able to notice the changes in your mood, energy, outlook, etc. that happen before or at the beginning of your depressive episodes? Do you consider those warning signs an opportunity to better manage your mental health? In the second part of our conversation with Matt Zinman, he tells us about a 3-Day Rule that really works for him. He also shares other mental-health management tools he's c...

This week's guest, Matt Zinman, has a unique and deep understanding of life with a mental-health challenge. He not only had his own depression, but was impacted by other members of his family who lived with their own. In the first of a 2-part interview, Matt shares about his mental-health journey. Next week, he'll share some fabulous tools and self-care techniques he's learned along the way. https...

The factors that impact our mental health are varied, intertwined and sometimes difficult to distinguish. Other times they are clear as day. When living conditions are unhealthy or unsafe or when mental-healthcare is inadequate, unaffordable or inaccessible, the goal of recovery can seem unobtainable. In the third of a four-part series on the Intersectionality of Race, Trauma and Mental Health, we...

This is my story. The story of why I started the Giving Voice to Depression podcast. I first told it four years ago when we started this resource because it didn't seem fair to ask others to share their stories unless my sister and I did, too. I am re-posting it now because, being sick for the past several weeks I've had a lot of time to think, and question my life and my work and myself. Not in a...

We have yet to meet someone who says they are glad they have depression. But over and over we hear that some, as a way of making peace with their condition, credit it with teaching them valuable lessons. Our guest Tom, is one of them. He lists 8 reasons he's grateful for his depression... BUT...

You may know the quote: “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying “I will try again tomorrow.” Jennifer tries again tomorrow. Jennifer knows the darkest of dark. She's been in that hopeless place and needed hospitalization many times. She has also tried nearly every depression med on the market. And more recently, TMS and ECT. Her extremely l...

Her depression first reared its ugly head in middle school. She is now in her 40;s, and despite trying a myriad of medications and having a loving support network, the darkness has been unrelenting. In a living example of the both/and (vs. either/or) reality, Jennifer is both a multiple suicide attempt survivor and one of the most-resilient and hopeful guests we've had the honor to speak with. Thi...

This 22-minute episode is a summary of the last season of Giving Voice to Depression podcast. If you have any hesitation to listen to a podcast about depression, this is a great way to sample it and get an idea about the kinds of guests we have each week. After you listen, please go to our website at givingvoicetodepression.com and use the red mic widget in the upper left corner to leave us a mess...

It can be so frustrating for "mental health" to be treated as separate from "physical health," when our brains are clearly a key part of our bodies. But, as people with mental-health challenges, we aren't always mindful of how caring for our bodies is also caring for our minds. This episode is an interview with a doctor who has learned from patients, and through his own experience with panic attac...

We're not taught how to have these conversations.: A friend or family member is struggling. Maybe they're just "not themselves." Maybe they're suicidal. How do you offer support them? What do you say? What can you do that's actually helpful? https://letsqueerthingsup.com/2018/08/24/11-important-ways-my-loved-ones-supported-me-during-a-mental-health-crisis/ Part 1 of How to Support Someone: https:/...

We're not taught how to have these conversations.: A friend or family member is struggling. Maybe they're just "not themselves." Maybe they're suicidal. How do you offer support them? What do you say? What can you do that's actually helpful? https://letsqueerthingsup.com/2018/08/24/11-important-ways-my-loved-ones-supported-me-during-a-mental-health-crisis/ Part 1 of How to Support Someone: https:/...

For the past two weeks we've explored ways to reach out for support if you are the one struggling. Today we shift gears. What if you know someone who seems really depressed--maybe even suicidal, and they're not reaching out. How do you reach IN? In the first of two episodes, our guest Sam Dylan Finch details ways people have shown up for him in helpful and meaningful ways. Not knowing what to do i...

For the past two weeks we've explored ways to reach out for support if you are the one struggling. Today we shift gears. What if you know someone who seems really depressed--maybe even suicidal, and they're not reaching out. How do you reach IN? In the first of two episodes, our guest Sam Dylan Finch details ways people have shown up for him in helpful and meaningful ways. Not knowing what to do i...

How many times have you heard: "Reach out if you are struggling." But it's not as easy or clear as it sounds. How? What if you don't even know what you want or need? What if your depression has convinced you no one cares, that you don't deserve help, or that you are a bother to people? It can all sound straight forward and obvious from the outside, or from wellness. But in dark times, or hours of...