Mental Illness Happy Hour

Dale joins Paul to discuss her experience with social, emotional, and sexual anorexia. She opens up about how she’s working on intimacy and connection (when being alone can just be so much simpler) and what has been helping her break down her walls. Dale has found these websites to be helpful.  www. BrothersKoren.com   www.theshiftnetwork.com   chloegoodchild.com thenakedvoice.com t...

Ron Placone is a comedian and writer with anger issues. He opens up about how he realized his anger was a problem and how he works to psychologically unpack it when it arises. He also shares tips and tools that have worked for him when it comes to anger management. Check out his first feature film, Left at Wall, which is currently screening around the country.  More about Ron:  LinkTree:...

Topaz Adizes (@the_skindeep) is a filmmaker and producer of the interactive documentary, {THE AND}. For years, he has studied the effect that holding cathartic, intimate conversations can have on relationships and has developed resources that anyone can use to facilitate these conversations in their own life. He believes deeply in the power of questions and shares his journey to this work. Watch f...

Kaylee Powers is a substance abuse counselor who has worked with various populations, including people who live on Skid Row in Los Angeles. She talks about the challenges that some populations face and how she works to find ways to support them. She also opens up about her own issues with depression and codependency.  Links Kaylee mentioned:  Downtown Women’s Center www. MadeBy...

Heather Gonzales is a mental health advocate with a specific focus on postpartum psychosis. Heather was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 as a teenager and, after the birth of her first child, she experienced a severe and frightening episode and was hospitalized. She shares her story about having this psychotic break, how it was managed, and how she and her husband prepared to have a second child.  Mo...

Levi Meaden (@Levi_Meaden) is a friend of Paul’s from his support group and he joins Paul to share about his struggles around the death of his younger brother (as well as relationships and sobriety). Levi opens up about the unique experience of losing a deeply-loved sibling and the variety of the emotions that he carries and works through every day while missing him.   Check out the anim...

Holly Crumpler joins Paul to talk about living with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Holly shares her journey to being diagnosed with DID, how she and her family manage it, and her frustration with how it’s been represented in TV and film. Holly and Paul are also joined by Holly’s son, Dylan, who offers perspective on what it’s like to grow up as a child of DID and how his mother’s diagnosis...

Michael Easter (@Michael_Easter) is a Professor of Journalism at UNLV who joins Paul to discuss the topic of his new book, Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough. Michael shares his findings when it comes to answering the question: Why can’t we ever get enough? He and Paul discuss addictive behavior and tactics to manage cravings in a world built to e...

Dr. Sarah Michaud is an expert in codependency–in large part because she has dealt with it herself. She discusses how she works through her codependent tendencies. She also discusses her new book Co-Crazy: One Psychologist's Recovery from Codependency and Addiction: A Memoir and Roadmap to Freedom. Be sure you check out her YouTube show, Leaving Crazy Town. More about Dr. Michaud   www....

Leah Rudick @Leah_Rudick is a stand-up comedian and sketch performer. She opens up to Paul about the anxiety she’s carried since childhood and her fear of making mistakes. She also shares her experience with regular couples therapy and the positive impacts that it’s had on her marriage. Be sure to check out her new comedy special, Spiraling.  More about Leah:  Watch her new special Spira...

Katie Love @KatieLoveWriter is a comedian and author who bares all in this episode. She opens up about the death of her mother when she was young, being drawn into being a Jehovah’s Witness, and how she ultimately escaped the religion. She also shares the success she’s had with therapy and how she focuses on being mindful of her own self-talk. Be sure to check out her book, Two Tickets to Paradise...

Gianmarco Soresi @GianmarcoSoresi is a stand-up comedian, actor, and podcast host (The Downside). He reflects on what it’s like to look back on your childhood and realize that not everything was as it seemed. He talks about mourning the loss of who you thought your parents were, the complexities and drama of divorce, and how his parents’ divorces affected his ability to trust.   More Abo...

Paul reads allegations by the Federal Trade Commission about the business practices of BetterHelp and how they allegedly misused customer's private information. Based on these allegations (BetterHelp denies any wrongdoing and settled with the FTC for $7.8 million), Paul explains his decision to end his endorsement deal with them. Due to the financial cost to edit out past ads for BetterHelp (from...

Renae Johnson is a MIHH listener and a therapist who specializes in LGBTQ+ patients. They talk about what brought them to this work, which includes discovering their own gender fluidity, struggling with their religious background, and growing up with a mother who had significant struggles of her own. More about Renae: Renae is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Board Certified Art Therapi...

Nicoletta Heidegger is an LMFT who focuses on human sexuality and BDSM for healing. She talks about how we can often deal with our trauma by exploring our kink and mapping out our own erotic blueprint.  Links To Nicoletta’s Work: Nicoletta Heidegger Website:  https://www.nicolettavheidegger.com/about Nicoletta Heidegger Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/therapywithnicoletta/ Slu...

Em Schulz (@TheEmSchulz) is a writer, podcast host (And That’s Why We Drink, Ritual), and paranormal aficionado. Em unpacks their struggles with anxiety, how they learned to stand up for what they believe, and how they are figuring out their own gender identity.   Check Out Em’s Podcast :   https://www.andthatswhywedrink.com/listen WAYS TO HELP THE MIHH PODCAST Subscribe via&nb...

Leslie Winick is an MIHH listener who joins Paul to talk about what it feels like, as an older woman, when you start to become invisible to others. She also shares her struggles with depression and postpartum depression and talks about the path that led her to a career she’s passionate about.  More about Leslie: C.P.C.C. Certified Professional Co-Active Coach Contact me if you're interested i...

Elyse Cizek is a writer and a musician who opens up about her journey of self-reflection and change, what it’s been like living with BPD, and how she manages relationships in her life given her diagnosis. She also shares a number of incredible self-soothing tactics that have helped her along the way.  More About Elyse: https://zora.medium.com/dear-white-friends-335d6088077 https://elysecizek....

40 minutes of some of the darkest surveys listeners have ever filled out. No guest. No interview. No theme music. A few have been read on-air previously but the majority have never been read because Paul felt they were too heavy to put in the show. Well episode #666 is an exemption. We doubt anyone will make it thru all 40 minutes but why not give it a shot? Listen at www.mentalpod.com or any podc...

Aparna Nancherla @Aparnapkin is a comedian, writer, and actor (Mythic Quest, Crashing) and today she joins Paul to discuss her new book Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome. She talks about her impulse for negative self-talk, how she keeps going anyway, and how she learned the value of speaking up about what she actually needs in a relationship.  Where to buy Aparna’s book (...

Paul’s support group friend Stevie C shares about growing up in a violent and verbally abusive environment, learning to manage his temper, and discovering that his seemingly-out-of-nowhere panic attacks, racing thoughts and insomnia (6 days without sleep) were related to his experiences as a child. He also shares about having to take meds to ease the panic attacks and insomnia and reevaluate...

Tiffany Carter is a former newscaster and current podcast host (Project Me with Tiffany Carter on IG @ProjectMe_With_Tiffany) and mental health advocate. She opens up about her unpredictable and narcissistic mother, the abuse she suffered as a child, and how she’s dealing with social and sexual anorexia as an adult. More about Tiffany: Instagram:  i nstagram.com/projectme_with_tiffany  T...

Ruth Golden is a documentary filmmaker and suicide prevention activist who is in the process of creating a film about her own family. The Silent Goldens explores her family’s reaction to her own mother’s death by suicide. The film examines the pain of stuffing down emotions and failing to communicate when that is what's needed most. Ruth talks about what inspired her to create this film and what s...

Jessi Kneeland (@JessiKneeland) is a body image coach who gets real about their own issues and what brought them to this work. In this episode, Jessi's second visit to the podcast, they talk about self-perception as well as what the struggle can be like for trans people today. They also discuss the workings and merits of non-monogamous relationships. Be sure to check out Jessi's new book, Bod...

Felina Danalis is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and she joins Paul for what is, essentially, an intro to what somatic experiencing is, how it works, and what kinds of issues this trauma therapy can address. Felina takes us on a journey of learning why this out-of-the-mainstream modality can be so surprisingly life-altering. Paul also shares his own experience with Somatic Experiencing. ...