Giving Voice to Depression

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please have them (or you) take 15 minutes to listen to Ken's story. It is a rare opportunity to speak with someone who survives an attempt, especially one from the Golden Gate Bridge, who can tell you they had instant regret when they started to fall, that all the things that seemed unsolvable in life suddenly didn't anymore, and that in the...

CW: If our goal is to "prevent suicide," it might help to understand what kind of thoughts a suicidal person is having. In an intimate and revealing conversation, we ask Ken Baldwin, one of the few survivors of an attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge, to tell us what was going through his mind when he headed there to end his life. It's a conversation we'd only have with someone who has had a lot of...

If you want to learn how to sit with someone in the darkest of times, you could learn a lot from hearing from someone who has done it. Hundreds of times. Retired Sgt. Kevin Briggs is a suicide-loss survivor, a person living with depression, and someone who has sat in the darkness with many who had lost hope, listening with patience and compassion. This 16-minute episode could help you be there for...

Suicide. Few single words conjure up such instant and strong reactions; pain, confusion, anger, shame, guilt, grief, blame, etc. And those reactions make having needed and potentially-lifesaving conversations about the reality far less likely. And that is dangerous. Today's guest, Wally, shares about what is a reality for some people: He lives with suicidal thoughts every day. Every. Day. Wally is...

You have probably heard of The Twelve Steps used in many recovery programs. Originating with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA,) the steps were designed as a guide to lasting sobriety and an addiction-free lifestyle. Today's guest, Wally, revised the 12 Steps for use in his mental-health management and journey. In this 19-minute episode, we compare the two versions, explore why Wally made the changes he di...

Depression has many symptoms. Shame does not have to be one of them. This short, refreshingly-candid episode kicks stigma in the teeth, Our guest, Sara, addresses the way depression takes normal life events and twists them into cause for despair. She demonstrates how owning our full range of emotions frees us to better deal with the illness.

If you have a pet, you understand the value of the connection you have. In today's episode, we speak with a woman about the integral role her dogs play in her mental health. Whether or not you're an animal lover, it's a good reminder of the needs for companionship, exercise, a sense of purpose, acceptance, a schedule, etc. Lori's matchmaking website: www.smartfunnysingle.com Two articles on pets a...

Nearly half of the people diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with anxiety disorder. This week's guest Jordan, talks about his anxiety and his struggle to be properly diagnosed. He also shares about his post-surgical depression, which is more common than many realize. It's an episode filled with great perspective, advice, and even some laughs.

Organizations focus on The Bottom Line. But too seldom do they make it a priority to understand this bottom line: The people they employ are human beings. They may work with or as cogs in a corporate machine, but they are not machines. And their well-being, including their mental health, needs to be considered. It is not just the right thing to do for the health of employees, but for the health of...

Too many people are experiencing suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress without the support and care they need. The pandemic has made a that situation worse. On July 16, 2022, the former 800-number for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is changing to the much-easier-to-remember 9-8-8, a variation of the 9-1-1 emergency line. The 988 Lifeline is a national network of over 200 local, indepe...

When we see headlines and hear reports that the U.S. is experiencing a "youth mental-health crisis," it can be too easy to get lost in the reports and statistics and forget that we are talking about kids: our children, someone's best friend, a cherished sibling, loving cousin, neighbor or beloved grandchild. Each person represented in the numbers of people suffering, losing hope, needing help, att...

Depression, as anyone with it can tell you, can seem to come on with no warning or trigger. One minute you can feeling pretty good, and the next you might realize your mood has drastically changed, you're uncharacteristically angry, very sad, numb or even thinking about death. There are also times when you may feel it "coming on," the way you feel early symptoms of another illness. And that's the...

Four years ago our mother, at age 93, shared that she was not sure if she was clinically depressed or if shewas just finding her final years of life depressing. Mary, who passed away last month, shared her story and a message for the children and grandchildren of seniors. Please join us in this tribute episode, honoring our mother's message.

Depression is too dark and heavy to face alone. So we're told to "reach out for help." But HOW? What words do we use, especially when we might not have the energy or the insight to articulate our struggle? And how the hell are we suppose to come up with effective language that honors we deserve help when depression convinces us no one cares, or that we're a burden. This 2-part podcast will tell yo...

How many times have you heard: "Reach out if you are struggling." But how? What should you say? When should you say it and to whom? It can all sound straight forward and obvious from the outside, or from wellness. But in dark times, or hours of crisis, nothing is clear. And with depression convincing you noone cares about or would want to help you, it's even more complicated. An articulate, caring...

In 2017, two sisters with depression who have lost loved ones by suicide decided to start a podcast to spread first-person stories of people who live with and manage their depression so that listeners would gain information and hope. This month, one of them (the younger one) is retiring. In this intimate conversation, the sisters discussed what they've learned from more than 5 years of interviews...

For more than 5 years, Bridget has co-hosted this podcast. It was a "sister-project" from day one. Each week, we interviewed a different person about their experience of depression. Now she is stepping down to pursue her other work and responsibilities. In the first of two episodes, the sisters talk about lessons learned. It's an intimate conversation about the experience of sitting in the dark wi...

When depressed, it can be so easy to believe that we are powerless and that there is nothing we can do to get out of depression's pit. Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT, is considered one of the most effective evidence-based treatments for depression. By understanding the interplay and interconnectivity between our thoughts, feelings and behaviors, we can learn to challenge our thoughts and chang...

Patti's mental-health journey began as a child whose parents opposed treatment and told her to "suck it up." The decades that followed have been filled with "extreme" manic and depressive episodes. At nearly 70, she has only recently learned the game-changing skill of challenging her dark thoughts and changeing her thinking patterns, something Patti never knew was even possible. It's one of three...

We feel broken because our minds betray us. And then we find that the system we turn to for help, when we take that step, is broken itself. There are many challenges and barriers for people seeking help and treatment for mental-health challlenges and suicidal thoughts. While some groups are clearly disproportionately affected, few if any are spared the impact of stigma. From access, affordability,...

This is a blooper from our recent recording of the Season 20 in Review episode. (You can click on this link to hear the final, edited version: https://bit.ly/3szNFqC) Sometimes the words just don't come out right, or we get the giggles. Because even though we have depression, we are still quite hilarious (just ask us.) We are all so much more than our diagnoses.

How and why is it a common misconception that people with depression are weak? Imagine starting your day in a pit. Imagine battling the darkest of convincing thoughts playing non-stop in your head. Imagine having to convince yourself there is hope when your own mind is working against you. We can assure you, while it may look like "giving in" or "laziness" from the outside, it is a very different...

The stories shared on this podcast have been played nearly 800,000 times in 50 countries. It's proof that people do, in fact, want to talk about and hear about depression, suidical thoughts, bipolar disorder, and mental-health management. Most importantly, we want to know that we are not the only ones experiencing these symptoms, and that we can manage and survive them. This season-in-review is a...