Mental Illness Happy Hour

The 54 year-old shares about her battles with fibromyalgia, her physically abusive mother, how her illness affects her relationships, her anxieties and how expressing her emotions helped ease the intensity of her physical pain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The author/podcaster opens up about her sexually inappropriate narcissistic father, getting sober from her cocaine addiction, fear of intimacy and vacillating between thinking that she's "the shit" or a piece of it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Matty could no longer bear the silence he saw around him, so he started Road to Change and walked 10,000 miles across Europe to  raise awareness and in the process helped change laws in several countries.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 24 year-old shares about identifying as asexual and gender-fluid as well as the hurdle of coming to terms with a childhood that wasn't overtly abusive, just void of connection.  They also talk about Kelly's OCD, anxiety, depression and love of fan fiction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The writer/ex-rapper/entrepreneur/podcaster talks about living with Obsessive Thoughts Disorder, being molested by a 19 year-old female when he was 13 and the ways his disorder interpreted the trauma until he saw it as such. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 30 year-old writer talks about being parentless at 3 and the complex relationship with her mentally disabled sister whom she now has guardianship of.  She and Paul bond over suicidal thoughts, isolating and much much more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 25 year-old discusses his Generalized Anxiety Disorder, social awkwardness, difficulty making eye-contact, compulsive overeating, abusive ex-wife and the possibility of being on the autism spectrum.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 57 year-old incest survivor talks about growing up in a family "where being born female was considered a moral failure".  She also talks about her struggles with repressed memories and possible DID (Dissociative Identify Disorder) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The licensed therapist and Paul talk about eating disorders, emotional intimacy and how to support friends/loved ones while also practicing self-care and establishing boundaries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The comedian/dancer/actor shares about her mother's descent into mental illness (schizophrenia), the abuse she suffered at her hands, the year she spent in the foster care system and the strength she feels it has given her. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The comic book artist and father talks about the role superheroes have played in helping his imagination and creativity heal the trauma he experienced as a child, and trying to break the cycle of abandonment his father never could. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 28 year-old writer shares about being unemployed and an only child, her fear of abandonment, being born with club feet, body and sexuality shame and the depression that often makes everything feel like an effort. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 40 year-old shares about her traumatic upbringing (incest, religious extremism, abandonment) and the ways her body and mind learned to cope; hallucinating, going numb and following strangers and elaborately envisioning how to kill them and get away with it. This episode is sponsored by Shari's Berries.  For our podcast discount go to www.berries.com, click on the microphone in the upper right hand corner and use our offer code MENTAL. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Hispanic, 31 year-old PhD shares about the downside of raising herself up by her bootstraps; growing up knowing she couldn't depend on her passive mother or gambler father, and now finding her emotional development lacking, especially in areas of trust, intimacy or being comfortable asking for help. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listeners share their deepest darkest struggles and darkly hilarious "awfulsome" moments via email and surveys.  Also a contemplation on the life and death of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 37 year-old Canadian comic discusses his two psychiatric hospitalizations, his Bipolar II (with rapid cycling), how sports helped him channel his anger about his abusive dad and what he does to stay in balance today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 37 year-old comedian shares about the three traumas that led her to finally seek somatic therapy for her disassociating subtype of PTSD, how she's healing and the tools she uses to cope today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paul's 41 year-old friend talks (and laughs) about his arrested emotional development and struggle to be an adult after a childhood where he often had to parent his parents because of their addictions, mental illnesses (including hospitalizations and suicide attempts) and lack of boundaries.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The therapist intern opens up about the rarely-discussed trauma of miscarriage, the lack of traditional grief support in our culture, and the surprising results she got from seeking an alternative healing therapy (a full spectrum doula) after her fifth miscarriage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 24 year-old first generation Mexican-American is currently unable to stop her anorexia, bulimia or blackout drinking.  She shares what her struggle is like and about the abusive ex-boyfriend whose chaos and trauma-bonding helped distract her from her feelings and finally she shares about the family life where most of her pain originated. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.