Mental Illness Happy Hour

The author of How To Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety, and Harvard Medical School Psychologist shares not only the science of Social Anxiety and ways to deal with it but some of her own battles with it.   Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www.StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod  

Few guests have revealed as much of themselves as Jessa, a comic and podcaster (Mormon and the Meth-Head)  We touch on being molested, fear of intimacy, addiction, sobriety, anger, psych wards, rejection, sexual fantasies most people would never share publicly (rape, being cheated on), psychosis, binge eating and the lengths we will go to get attention. Older episodes ad-free exclusively at www.StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod for $4.99/month.  One month free with offer code MENTAL

Decluttering expert Tracy McCubbin shares about her experiences being raised by a hoarder and how she helps clients part with their stuff. She and Paul get into the topics of materialism, cheap-goods consumerism, compulsive shopping and using "stuff", especially collecting to avoid feelings or issues in our lives. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.  Get one month free with offer code MENTAL at signup at www.StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod  

Paul's friend shares about the co-dependent relationship with his longtime lover that ended in tragedy & Todd's PTSD, porn & meth binges tailspinning into a showdown on his roof vs a SWAT team, before finally having a moment of clarity and getting his life together piece by piece. Episodes older than one year can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher Premium for $4.99/month.   Get one month free by using offer code MENTAL at signup at www.StitcherPremium.com/mentalpod.

One of our best episodes - recorded in 2015 before she was famous (Girl's Trip, Saturday Night Live) - Tiffany opens up about her horrific family life, being shuttled around the foster care system and finally finding her voice doing comedy.   The full archive of MIHH shows one year and older can be found exclusively on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of listening, go to stitcherpremium.com/mentalpod and use promo code 'MENTAL'.

The blues-based singer-songwriter who has written for Bonnie Raitt and other artists started out in the epicenter of the NY/Boston folk scene among contemporaries like Bob Dylan and Eric Von Schmidt reminisces about his career, the art of songwriting, jamming with blues legends like Son House, his battles with alcoholism and what success means internally. He performs Train Home and Leave The Light On. This week's surveys were released as a donor-only ep at www.Patreon.com/mentalpod

The hilarious author and uber-popular Tweeter @SoSadToday delves into subjects covered in her latest book, The Pisces (and reads from it). She and Paul talk about romantic obsession, sexual compulsion that leads to shame and regret; the overall search to fill the nothingness in a futile attempt to know the unknowable and the animal part of the brain that overrides logic. Follow Melissa on Twitter @SoSadToday Buy her new book The Pisces

The comedic actor, improviser and longtime Conan O'Brien sidekick opens up about his battles with depression, worry, anxiety and sadness and how he has learned to manage them with talk therapy. He also shares about the illusion he held that acquiring money and getting married would "fix him". He talks about growing up in a combative, eventually-divorced house where humor was prized and how he felt shortly after that, learning his father had come out as gay. Follow Andy on Twitter @AndyRichter

The host of the Terrible Thanks For Asking podcast and author of It's Okay To Laugh (Crying is Cool Too) sits down with Paul before a live audience to talk about how she processed (and still is) the grief of losing family members and dealing with her depression and anxiety. A funny and touching conversation. For more on Nora go to www.NoraBorealis.com Follow her on twitter @NoraBorealis Follow her on Instagram @NoraBorealis

The actor/comedian (Comedy Central Presents: Cy Amundson) opens up in front of a live audience about his OCD, anxiety and how the loss of his teenage sister affected him and his family. For more on Cy visit www.cycomedy.com www.twitter.com/cyamundson

The Harvard Medical School research psychologist's recent TED Talk "The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage" went viral a month or so ago and here she sits down with Paul to talk about the human habit of judging ourselves for our feelings, how it affects us, the science behind it and how we can move away from toxic self-judgement. She also shares some of her personal life; being born and raised in South Africa during Apartheid and losing a parent when she was a child. www.SusanDavid.com

Daisy (with Cory for support) shares about her emotionally absent parents, Taiwanese culture, her anxiety, need to control, fear of making mistakes, struggling to find a sense of self and the imprint left on her by pleasing her emotionally withdrawn/critical mother at any cost. They share about the specifics of their polyamorous relationship and agreements/boundaries vs open ones and monogamous ones. Daisy talks about the struggle of being a jealous person in a poly partnership and her need for validation

The hilarious, self-depreciating podcaster (Jordan Harbinger Show) and ex-lawyer opens up about a recent professional crisis that left him with extraordinary anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks. He talks about often feeling like a fraud, (also known as imposter syndrome), workaholism and difficulty in finding who he is outside of his work.

When they asked if I'd be interested in turning you on to this podcast I listened to it and said yes, because it's so well done and needed.  Jobs can get emotional and complicated and this new podcast Safe For Work takes calls about the workplace, interviews some people of note and helps you make it to the weekend without having a melt down.   Work isn't just about money.  It's about people and they are waaaay more complicated than money. Subscribe today: www.wondery.fm/illness

The writer (Lady Parts, The Onion) and dog walker shares about the lifelong battle she has had with her brain and emotions including: Intrusive thoughts, OCD, treatment-resistant depression, procrastination, self-judgment, and anger. She shares how REBT was a game changer for helping her cope. 078122 Follow Jessie on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NickCageMatch To become a monthly donor for as little as $1/month (and qualify for bonus content and goodies from Paul go to www.Patreon.com/mentalpod