Mental Illness Happy Hour

Dr. Frank Anderson is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist specializing in psychic pain and trauma. He is working to bring trauma therapies to a wider audience via his books and his various online trainings. He shares his personal story from childhood to now, including his time studying under trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk. Look for Dr. Anderson’s newest book, To Be Loved.  Buy Frank’s b...

Back by popular demand Paul does a listener-survey-only episode. From bleak and dark to touching and funny, listeners share their best and worst moments in vulnerable detail. Plus two servings of Spam. If you’re interested in seeing and possibly buying the furniture that Paul designs and makes follow his IG for his woodworking which is @MIHHfurniture WAYS TO HELP THE MIHH PODCAST Subscribe via&nbs...

Comedian and writer DeAnne Smith shares their story of dealing with gender identity, sexuality, and anxiety. Look for their stand-up featured in Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda on Netflix.  For more about DeAnne: www. DeAnneSmith.com www. Twitter.com/DeAnne_Smith www. Facebook.com/DeAnneSmithComedian www. Instagram.com/DeAnne_Smith This ep is sponsored by the Open Space Therapy Collective and t...

Dr. Heather Sandison is a naturopathic doctor focused on dementia care. She is the founder of Solcere Health Clinic, San Diego’s premier brain optimization clinic. She shares her research with Paul and provides hope for dementia prevention and care through lifestyle changes you can make right now. Watch for her new book, Reversing Alzheimer's: The New Toolkit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain...

Sierra Katow is a comedian, writer, and actress (The Sex Lives of College Girls). She shares her journey to becoming a comedian, dealing with depression, and how she survived Harvard. Be sure to check out her debut stand-up special, Funt, streaming online.  More about Sierra:  Her stand up special Funt: Available now from Comedy Dynamics Where to Watch Follow Sierra IG:  @sierrakato...

Bruce W. Brackett (@BWB.Positivity) is an author and artist who, along with his sisters, was taken away from his mother and put into foster care when he was a child. He shares his story of his early childhood pain, his addiction, and the surprising love that he found in his foster parents and his life as a theater kid. Look for his new book How To Breathe While Suffocating: A Story of Overcoming A...

Dr Samuel Wilkinson is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and the Associate Director of the Depression Research Program at Yale University. Much of his research has involved the use of ketamine and other psychedelic therapies as well as the power of purpose and altruism in mental health care.  Click below to buy his book  Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply about the Meaning...

Johnny Crowder (@JohnnyCrowderLovesYou) is the lead singer of a death metal band and a suicide survivor who shares his story, which includes battles with schizophrenia and depression and how he spreads care for humankind through his music. Check out his TED Talk “Why I don't want to die anymore”. More about Johnny:  Website: copenotes.com FB:   facebook.com/johnnyxcrowder IG:   inst...

Valerie is one of Paul’s friends from his support group. She shares stories from her childhood in Rome, which included a philandering and deceptive father. She also digs deep into her own relationship patterns and how she’s trying to break them.  This episode was sponsored by the podcast  T he Quiet Journeys of Professor Atwood . Listen here  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/th...

Dr. Arash Javanbakht @Arash_Javanbakht is a psychiatrist and serves as the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State School of Medicine. He shares his work studying PTSD and other trauma, in particular the wild success that has been achieved via Augmented reality tech treatments. Check out his book Afraid: Understanding the Purpose of Fear and Harnessing th...

Penn and Kim Holderness talk about living with and navigating their marriage through ADHD. They open up about their struggles and share strategies to make living with ADHD a little easier. Look out for their new book, ADHD is Awesome.  More about Penn and Kim: https://theholdernessfamily.com/adhd-is-awesome/ This episode was sponsored by the podcast The Quiet Journeys of Professor Atwood . Li...

A favorite among listeners, this Best Of episode was originally recorded in 2011, in the first months of the podcast. Stand-up Comedian, Skateboarder and co-host (with Karen Kilgariff) of the podcast Do You Need A Ride? Chris Fairbanks (aka @Chris_Fairbanks) talks with Paul about his mother’s battle with alcoholism, Alzheimer’s and Dementia and its effect on him growing up and today. They talk abo...

A favorite episode among listeners and from the first year of the podcast (2011). How do you cope when you are convinced your life is constantly in danger as a child? First, you band together with your siblings and form an army, then you learn about the sweet oblivion of addiction. Paul’s friend Karma withholds her last name and picture so she can fully reveal the family life that nearly killed he...

Dave Manheim is a producer and podcaster (Dopey) who shares his story of recovery and what it was like to create a podcast dedicated to addiction stories–and then to suddenly lose his co-host and creative partner to an overdose. More about Dave: www. DopeyPodcast.com WAYS TO HELP THE MIHH PODCAST Subscribe via iTunes and leave a review. It costs nothing.  https://itunes.apple.c...

Marcy Langlois was born with a physical deformity, which required 23 surgical procedures before the age of 18, and was involved in a devastating, life-changing accident at the age of 17. She shares her story and opens up about the ways in which she has been able to heal and to focus on life’s infinite possibility. Look for her podcast Living Beyond Limits. This episode is sponsored by Paul Kalanit...

Erin Williams is an author, illustrator, and healthcare researcher who joins Paul to discuss chronic pain and how her own struggles with it have served her art. Look for her new book What's Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine  More about Erin: website:  https://www.erinrwilliams.com/home Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/erin_r_williams/ WAYS TO HELP...

Michael Laurie is an actor, a small group facilitator, and a parent. He talks with Paul about his road to recovery and shares his unusual story of becoming a foster parent, with all the love and pain that entails.  More about Michael Laurie: www. MichaelLaurie.com IG @MichaelLaurieus WAYS TO HELP THE MIHH PODCAST Subscribe via iTunes and leave a review. It costs nothing.  https...

Dr. Jeff Karp is a Harvard Medical School professor and bioengineer. He works in the fields of drug delivery, medical devices, stem cell therapeutics, and tissue adhesives and has been recognized by MIT as being one of the top innovators in the world. He talks with Paul about his work, his relationship with nature, and how life led him to where he is now. Watch for his new book, LIT* Life Ignition...

Dana Killion is an author of mystery and memoir whose work is informed by her own life’s turmoil. She opens up about her marriage to a high-functioning alcoholic and how she has worked on her issues of codependency. Be sure to check out her new book, Where the Shadows Dance: He Got Sober. I Got Broken This episode is sponsored by The ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program. To explore coverage, visit w...

Dr. Kate Truitt is a psychologist and neuroscientist who wants to share her own story of how she came to this work. Armed with her knowledge of the mind, she has worked to process her difficult childhood and the personal tragedy of losing her fiancé right before their wedding. Look for her new book Keep Breathing: A Psychologist's Intimate Journey Through Loss, Trauma, and Rediscovering Life. More...

Donn Bradley is a therapist (LMFT) and a former first responder who shares his journey to discovering how much therapy and emotional processing is needed for EMTs, police, and anyone whose work requires the witnessing of violence and tragedy. Donn also opens up about his childhood and the death of his mother when he was young.  More about Donn https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/don...

Margo Steines is a Dominatrix turned welder turned author. She opens up about her experiences as a sex worker, her battles with addiction, and her attraction to pain. She also discusses her memoir, Brutalities: A Love Story, where she reflects on her various lives while pregnant with her first child.  This episode is sponsored by  Cerebral.  For a prescriber, therapist, or both go t...

Swamy Gopalsamy is a coach who specializes in helping people recover from depersonalization and derealization. As someone who has lived through it himself, he has first hand knowledge of these conditions and what can help you manage them. In this episode, he shares his own personal journey and offers management tactics that have worked for him and his clients.  More about Swamy You can find h...

Dr. Devika Bhushan is a pediatrician and the former acting Surgeon General of California. She is also someone who lives with Bipolar Disorder. She opens up about her personal journey to finding a diagnosis and how she’s on a professional and personal mission to fight the stigma associated with mental health struggles.  This episode is sponsored by  Cerebral.  For a prescriber, thera...

Kendra Petty is an author who opens up about her life story, which is full of both devastation and hope. She talks about being raised in a cult, the tragic death of her brother, the abuse she suffered as a child, and how she’s gotten through it all. Be sure to check out her book, I Can't Believe I'm Not Dead: Escaping Abuse, a Cult, Attempted Murder and Other Insanities...A Story That Cannot Be Tr...