Mental Illness Happy Hour

The actress/writer/standup/podcaster/tv host joins Paul at LAPodfest in front of a live audience and discusses her outcast status as a child, where her drive comes from, growing to understand her father and appreciate the challenges of her marriage. 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 26 year-old shares about emigrating to the U.S. from Mexico at 8, his fear of his father, "passing" for white, his body dysmorphia and the trouble feeling his feelings rather than shutting down. 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.

She was raised by a father with Schizo-Affective Disorder who would often break from reality.  By her twenties she was battling the same disorder along with bulimia, anorexia and cutting.  Hospitalized over 80 times, she shares about coming out the other side and using her experience to help others. 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.

He is still physically female but has always identified as a male.  He talks about what it means to be genderfluid or genderqueer as well as pansexual and the diffiult road in discovering who he is and expressing that around others, especially family. 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.

Raised by attentive, loving parents she neverlheless grew up with a pervasive feeling of emptiness that she sought to soothe through relationships with men.   In her words she, "Burnt her life to the ground", but used the experience and pain to grow. 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 22 year-old opens up about the guilt and anxiety of growing up feeling like it was his duty to keep his mother out of her depression, even though she was emotionally incestuous with him, how he finally rebelled, and the toll it has taken. 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 reads an article written by Alan Rappoport PhD about Co-Narcissism, which he describes as a result of being raised by one or sometimes two narcissistic parents.  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 standup comedian (Late Night with Craig Ferguson) opens up about her conservative Catholic upbringing and coming to terms with being lesbian.  She and Paul talk about bad porn, being turned on by things we wouldn't want in real life and the heavy burden of being co-dependent. 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 3rd generation Japanese-American psychologist shares his experience and observations counseling sexual predators (rapists and child molesters) at Coalinga, a lockdown mental hospital in central California and how he used Buddhism to help him cope. 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 31 year-old listener ponders her low self-esteem, food issues, history of self-mutilation, compulsive spending and suicide attempts when her parents were "nothing but supportive". 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.

Two sons of Holocaust survivors, Michael Rozbruch and Amir Tiles sit down with psychotherapist Joel Schwartz whose grandparents are also survivors and they discuss the ripples of PTSD still felt today within the families, caused by the trauma.  Amir's father Melvin, an 85 year-old Polish survivor also joins them. 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 who is also in recovery helps Paul and some listeners (via surveys) navigate their discomfort and confusion about their current issues.   They discuss the cliched but effective tools of self-parenting and inner-child work, as well as the line therapists draw regarding self-revelation to their clients. 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 father/brother figure to Paul, the high-school teacher reflects on his Mexican heritage, violent upbringing, tour in Vietnam, stints as a bouncer at a Hell's Angels bar, and a Club Med guide, his getting "struck sober" and how he has evolved to become the man his father never was. 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 (Last Comic Standing, Twitwits) talks her own alcoholism, her dad's awkward foray into lingerie photography, craving her mother's acceptance and understanding her own fluid sexuality. 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 actor/comedian (Conan, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central) talks about his struggle to feel "authentically black" without betraying who he is, the state of comedy in the black community, honing his artistic voice, and his turbulent childhood especially with his alcoholic mother. 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.

Valerie, a listener talks about the painful decision she made to give her only son up for adoption years ago when she was 18 and living with her Catholic, divorced mother. 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 standup comedian (Comedy Central Presents, Chapelle's Show, Best Week Ever, Countdown with Keith Olberman) opens up about the tragedy and parental mental illness that shaped his childhood and still affects him today as well as his struggle to trust and feel confident about his future. 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.

Her childhood marked with social stress, being bullied, aggressiveness and severe digestive issues (including Barrett's Esophagus a condition involving acid reflux usually only found in adults) Louise was finally diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, also known as high-functioning autism.  She shares on what it's like to live with it, how it expresses itself in her life and the hurdles society has to overcome in understanding and accepting those with Aspergers. 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.

Raised by a Baptist preacher who frequently got run out of town and raped by his older sister starting when he was 4, "Tom" has had a lot to work through.  A great episode about working through trauma especially in families that can't communicate. 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 actor and podcaster (Who Charted?) returns to the podcast to talk about the struggle to keep a relationship with her mother whose gambling addiction has wreaked havoc on her family's life. 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.