Mental Illness Happy Hour

The first pupil from her inner-city high school to attend Cambridge, the 42 year-old journalist/author shares about the poverty, violence and dysfunction that defined her childhood in West Belfast, Northern Ireland. 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 clinical social worker and author of Dear Mallory: Letters to a Teenage Girl Who Killed Herself shares about the loss of her 18 year-old daughter to suicide. 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 talks about being raised in the Church of Scientology by a narcissistic father and passive mother.  He details the abuse inflicted by their "Sea Org" starting when he was 13, how he reconciled their homophobia with his being gay and ultimately how he broke away from the church and his 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.

The lifelong friends join Paul to talk about supporting each other through their issues which include: alcoholism, food addiction, IBS and codependency. 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 former armored car driver shares about the PTSD that came in the wake of a shootout that almost killed him and what it means to be masculine. 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 and graphic artist (and karaoke DJ) talks with Paul about her parents gambling and shopping addictions, being bullied, becoming violent in her 20s and eventually finding therapy and support groups for her codependency. 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.

Therapist Kati Morton returns to answer listener questions. 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 Israeli couple talk about their childhoods, how they try to support each other and finding emotional and sexual satisfaction given their individual issues. 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 19 year-old YouTube entertainer commiserates with Paul about OCD, depression, jealousy, naps, love and internet trolls. 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/performer opens up about being drugged and raped and the pressure she has been putting on the San Francisco police department to process the thousands of warehoused rape kits whose DNA could help catch the predators who remain unapprehended. 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 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.