Mental Illness Happy Hour

The improviser/actor (UCB's Wild Horses) opens up about her struggles with feeling like a fraud, people pleasing, shame, FOMO, feeling undeserving or that her authentic self is just too much for people. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod   Hear guests like: T...

The filmmaker (Earbuds) podcaster (Comedy Film Nerds and Conversations From the Abyss) writer (Pacified: A Handbook For the New Freaked-Out Dad) and comedian sits down to talk about anxiety, depression, parental stress/anxiety and feeling career disappointment/frustration/doubt.  He also talks about the Earbuds documentary and the importance of human connection not only in dealing with mental stru...

The writer (Danger & Eggs) standup (Comedy Central: This is Not Happening) & podcaster (Reality Bytes) shares about her childhood under communism in the Ukraine, her battles with bipolar (loving the mania), surviving cancer and how to help or talk to someone with it and how all of us can help the #MeToo movement, especially powerful people who caused harm. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclu...

"Bored", "lazy", "scattered" "hyper"; Are these fair or accurate labels? Is there anything we can do to help our brains or motivation? Jessica shares about her past struggles with these labels and how we can find what our brain likes so we don't fight it's natural impulses, rather work with them instead applying a quick and dismissive label. She dispels some myths about ADD/ADHD and reveals some t...

The standup & cohost of the "Crazy in Bed" podcast opens up about being an only child & a "weird kid" who couldn't appreciate her uniqueness and desire to belong until college. She shares about her battles with social anxiety, bulimia, drinking, insomnia, racing thoughts, being left out and feeling guilty for coming from privilege.  She and Paul also talk about their histories of taking meds and t...

The standup, actor and author shares about familial loss, his lifelong OCD rituals, and growing up in a home where the harsh and often brutal realities of the world were discussed with the kids, helping them empathize but also took an emotional toll. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. Sti...

The actress, mental health activist and author (Out Came the Sun: Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction and Suicide in My Family) and granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway shares about the him, her family, acting, generational trauma, mental illness, addiction/alcoholism and dysfunction and how she has learned to deal with her codependence and fear of letting go especially thru her...

The psychiatrist and chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention shares insights into dealing with hopelessness both personally and with loved ones. The Suicide Hotline number is 1-800-273-TALK Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month. Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod He...

Belfast native James Murray shares his story of surviving a terrorist attack, spiraling into drinking and anger then getting sober and finding peace & forgiveness and how he maintains it. He also shares about the benefits of ayahuasca. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium.co...

The former IRA fighter/volunteer shares his people's history, his years of imprisonment & torture by Protestants and the British govt, the responsibility he feels for civilian lives that were taken by his organization, watching fellow prisoner Bobby Sands die by hunger strike, finding ways to survive mentally and how the emotions surfaced unexpectedly years later.  Older episodes can be found ad-f...

The English architect (and yoga teacher) talks about navigating relationships being bisexual, finding solutions for her lifelong bouts with anxiety, recurrent depressive disorder, abusive partners and bottoming out with a suicide attempt. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium...

The 29 year-old Dubliner opens up about her struggles with depression, psychosis, cutting/self-harm, alcohol, anger, learning disability (seeing letters mirrored) & spatial/motor control; also her suicide attempt and it finally expressing her pain despite feeling numb. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at...

21 year-old M emigrated to Dublin from China at 8. With a history of abuse and neglect, she learned to stuff her sadness or unleash it thru anger. She battles Bipolar I, BPD, Complex PTSD & co-dependence but is developing tools & support.  She talks about growing up with conditional love and physical violence where emotions like sadness weren't allowed.  Her girlfriend A sits in and talks about su...

At 27 Beth has had 68 ECT treatments aka "Shock Therapy" and while she attests to it's effectiveness in helping her with her bipolar episodes it has also taken a toll on her memory; including not recognizing her boyfriend of several years. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremiu...

The writer/storyteller discusses the lifelong struggle to make peace with his amputation fetish, his ups and downs with taking meds, inheriting his dad's pomposity, suicidal ideation and the benefits of martial arts in dealing with depression and anxiety. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www...

Cali's specialty is speaking the truth to high-profile or wealthy people trying to get sober, especially when they're being enabled by family, hangers-on or the people they make money for. Topics are : codependency, low self-esteem & boundaries Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherP...

He was just a kid who wanted to get into art school but when he was rejected, he instead got sent to Vietnam. Later he would use painting to process the traumas he experienced. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod  More About Our Guest Here is some of the artwo...

Paul and Meredith share their stories and thoughts about encountering internet trolls, Social Justice Warriors gone awry and self-righteous bullies. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod  More About Our Guest For more info on Meredith Website: https://www.boredw...

The improvisor/actor (Comedy Bang Bang, UCB, Adult Swim - Mr. Neighbor's House) shares about dealing with his co-dependency, urge to fix other people, play the resentful victim and how support groups help him. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod  More About Ou...

Elizabeth Menzel's life's work is understanding and healing trauma trapped in the body - including her own. Originally a trained physical therapist she became intrigued by the link between clients with fibromyalgia and a history of trauma.  She found help in Somatic Experiencing and other modes of releasing trauma.  She talks about the science of releasing tension and stress, PTSD and sexism - inc...

Daniel looks back at his relationship with his soon-to-be-ex-wife; turning from the woman of his dreams to a dangerously violent and unpredictable stranger. He talks about the myths around female on male DV and his experiences before leaving her Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. Stitcher...

The author of How To Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety, and Harvard Medical School Psychologist shares not only the science of Social Anxiety and ways to deal with it but some of her own battles with it.   Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www. StitcherPremium...

Few guests have revealed as much of themselves as Jessa, a comic and podcaster (Mormon and the Meth-Head)  We touch on being molested, fear of intimacy, addiction, mending relationships, sobriety, anger, psych wards, rejection, sexual fantasies most people would never share publicly (rape, being cheated on), psychosis, binge eating and the lengths we will go to get attention. Older episodes can be...

Decluttering expert Tracy McCubbin shares about her experiences being raised by a hoarder and how she helps clients part with their stuff. She and Paul get into the topics of materialism, cheap-goods consumerism, compulsive shopping and using "stuff", especially collecting to avoid feelings or issues in our lives. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month....

Paul's friend shares about the co-dependent relationship with his longtime lover that ended in tragedy & Todd's PTSD, porn & meth binges tailspinning into a showdown on his roof vs a SWAT team, before finally having a moment of clarity and getting his life together piece by piece. Episodes older than one year can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.   Get one month fre...