Doming Out

This week, Doming Out had the pleasure of talking to Grace Wickremasinghe - a Sri Lankan poet, law student and spoken word wizard. She dives into the state of mental health in Sri Lanka, which Grace characterized broadly as “unfortunate” but definitely finds pockets of positivity. She also highlights another group of Sri Lankan activists pushing for sustainable equality. Grace paints a thoughtful picture of anxiety and how we can all share that base layer of mental struggle. The “mother of all mental illness” as she called it. Grace and Mike discuss the integration of mental health narratives in her writing. She can explain herself way better! Check out her website. Houseofgracesrilanka.com

The State of Mental Health in a Washington, DC school...as told by Soop. You really can’t put him in a box. Soop’s a writer, he’s a rapper and he’s spent most of his adult life caring for those struggling with mental health issues. (He also grew up with our editor.) This episode, we focus Soop’s work as a dedicated aide at a DC middle school, where he also leads an Art Therapy class. He inspired us to reference it during the intro where we added an original song of his, titled Therapy. Although we focus on his current work in DC, this is hardly Soop’s first foray supporting the mental health community. After graduating from Howard with a degree in English and Psychology, he signed on as a case manager for mentally ill patients in New York. There was no typical patient by any stretch of the imagination but the reality was they most likely lived in one of the five boroughs of New York City, had an income beneath the poverty line, and have one, if not multiple of the following mental illnesses: Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Psychosis, any one of the many types of depression or a substance use issue tied to a relating mental health episode.  Doming Out felt it necessary to start understanding something we don’t experience, as two white, male, middle-class Christians, on a daily basis - the link between racism, poverty and mental illness. If you can’t get the resources to get on your feet, and stay on your feet, how are you supposed to begin addressing a mental illness?

The power of openness is strong in Alyse. Our guest and fellow OCD sufferer, Alyse Schacter, helps remind us that OCD doesn’t have to hold you back. With the help of a TEDx talk she gave at the University of Ottawa in 2012, we walk through her journey to becoming a doctor. Our host, John and her have been friends for years. They chat about all-things-OCD and laugh through tangible examples of how a little openness spreads the creativity for those not suffering to help those who are. Schools are a perfect breeding ground for this type of early success in battling mental illness. This episode’s for the 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children who have OCD in America.

Alcoholics are ultimately faced with a black and white choice. To drink or not to drink. Our guest this week was fortunate enough to put the bottle down in his early 30s. Bobby spoke candidly about his journey of recovery but more importantly elaborates on the fact that alcoholism and addiction simply mask other issues, often times encapsulating mental health struggles such as depression and anxiety disorders. Bobby hasn’t shared his recovery story with many - all of us at Doming Out are inspired and honored that in his 60s, he was willing to let his openness help others. Random talk of John’s first home run derby.

The Second Season opener brings us back to our roots - Dobbs Ferry, NY. The hometown of John Kelly, who we forever dedicate Doming Out to and this episode’s guest, Kevin Farrington. They grew up best friends - John Kelly was “the fourth Farrington brother.” Kevin doesn’t battle formal anxiety and doesn't claim a diagnosed mental illness but he’s a textbook example of what it means to be an ally. He saw firsthand how OCD manifested in John Kelly but also saw what it meant to fight the good fight, and when Kev struggled in his own life he used that energy to get through it. After John succumbed to his OCD and took his own life in 2011, Kevin was integral in starting the JCK Foundation along with our host, John Tessitore. Random talk of pool hopping.

April 2018 Update: Chris joined the Doming Out family as our Community Manager! On the fourth and final episode of Season 1, John and Chris Hallowell dig into how mental health manifests on college campuses, particularly in Greek life and particularly when everything looks good on "paper.” Chris pushes into the idea of personality loss and how radical acceptance helped balance him out. John wraps with an extended reflection on our first season. It’s been a good ride…we’ll be back in September.

Podcast 4: Powerset

He aha te mea nui o te ao What is the most important thing in the world? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata It is the people, it is the people, it is the people - Maori proverb I doubt we'll ever have another Olympic Goalkeeper from the New Zealand Soccer Team on the show but John clearly uses the opportunity to flex his Kiwi accent. Truth is, John and Michael O'Keeffe have been good friends since college. Michael produced the documentary about John Kelly that we mentioned last episode. John and Michael discuss the emotions of filming the documentary - it was less than a year after John Kelly passed. We close with a conversation of the link between sports and mental illness. Random talk on swimming from New Zealand to Australia.

In the second episode of Doming Out, John and Doc Kelly explain the JCK Foundation's current work including the annual Legends Softball Tournament, John's speaking tour, JCK's funded research grant at Brooklyn College and their medical clinic in Uganda. John also talks about why he used his senior project to film a documentary about John Kelly, titled Heroes Get Remembered But Legends Never Die. Random talk of run-ins with hippos.

John Cleaver Kelly was John Tessitore's best friend and mentor growing up in Dobbs Ferry, New York. After John Kelly succumbed to his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and took his own life in 2011, John Tessitore started the JCK Foundation, working to eliminate the stigma of mental illness. On the first episode of Doming Out, John walks us through his journey with OCD and the humble beginnings of the Foundation. Then he sits down with Dr. Kelly, John Kelly's father, to reminisce on shared memories of the Dobbs Ferry legend. We end the episode with some frequently asked questions about OCD and mental health. Random talk of good hair.