Singer/songwriter Bishop Briggs lost her sister, her best friend, her roommate, and her manager all on one day in January 2021. They were all the same person. After Kate’s death, swiftly following her diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Bishop plunged into a dark place, not eating, not really engaging with the world, and being increasingly haunted by thoughts of suicide. Ultimately, she found a path toward a better place with the assistance of a shockingly blunt pronouncement by her partner, the birth of her baby, and an openness to medication.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

How Do You Feel? is the title of Dr. Jessi Gold’s new memoir about her life as a psychiatrist dealing with her own mental health and the health of other medical providers during the first wave of the covid pandemic. The answer to the question the title poses would be, “Not very good at all.” Dr. Gold profiles composites of several patients in the medical profession who felt the need to be perfect, to be superhuman, to not let anything get to them, only to find that everyone has limits and vulnerabilities, including Jessi herself. 

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Xiu Xiu, the highly experimental avant-garde rock band from California has just released their 14th album, 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips. It refers to a type of switchblade, which Jamie Stewart from the band collects. In this interview, Jamie tells us of the multi-generational cycle of abuse within their family and of the suicide of their father. Jamie also discusses their healing, their therapy, and how they, along with their siblings, are breaking the cycle that haunts them.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Zac Carper, lead singer and guitarist for the garage punk bad FIDLAR, is very familiar with one kind of drugs: the street substances of meth, heroin, and crack that he engaged in heavily when he was younger. Now, at 37, he’s grappling with a different sort: medications prescribed for his newly diagnosed bipolar disorder. Zac has found that, while he needs some help managing the intense hypomanic episodes and depressive crashes, the meds he’s been given lead to some new problems that interfere with his life as a touring musician putting on very intense, high-energy shows where he doesn’t so much sing as bark.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Yes, we don’t have to wear masks in the grocery store and yes, vaccines have been very effective in reducing the spread and severity of covid-19. But the mental health ramifications of the whole pandemic experience are only now beginning to be understood. Dr. Royce Lee from the University of Chicago joins us to talk about how it made serious mental illnesses much worse due to the virus and the stress. We also explore the connection between infection, inflammation, and anger. Then research scientist Dr. Neva Corrigan explains her findings on how the covid experience prematurely aged adolescent brains, especially those of girls.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

The U.S. election is weeks away and a lot of people are kind of a mess right now. It can feel like the whole world is on the line and you have no real power over what happens. This can result in election stress disorder, the overwhelm of panic and anxiety that can interfere with your life functions and peace of mind. We’re joined by Theresa Nguyen, Chief Research Officer for Mental Health America and a person who lives with anxiety and depression. It’s a lively and personal talk about election stress, including how it works and what you can do to manage it better.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

For much of the world, Moon Unit Zappa is famous for two things: the unusual name given her by her father, iconic musician Frank Zappa, and the 1982 song “Valley Girl” where she appeared with Frank when she was 14. The full, complex portrait of life in this unconventional family isn’t all that funny as told by Moon today. She tells of a lifetime of neglect, of witnessing Frank’s serial infidelity within the family home, of a mother prone to severe narcissism, and of a great deal of alienation between Moon and her three siblings. You can’t control the world you grew up in but you can conscientiously choose the world you create afterwards.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

The Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/

John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepression

Find the show on X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.

John is on X @johnmoe.

It’s a supply and demand issue. With increasing numbers of people seeking help, it’s harder to get in to see a human counselor. At the same time, artificial intelligence technology is booming, leading to growing availability of computer programs that say similar things to what humans say while not being human at all. Dr. Jodi Halpern, Chancellor’s Chair and Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities at UC Berkeley, says the technology has moved faster than our ability to regulate it or fully consider the ethical implications and consequences of non-human diagnosis and treatment.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

The Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/

John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepression

Find the show on X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.

John is on X @johnmoe.

During the covid pandemic, Ela Melo of the acclaimed band Rainbow Kitten Surprise was staying with her parents and went out one night to look at the stars. And the stars, she felt quite certain, were communicating with her. Trying to tell her things. This was to be the beginning of a journey that involved a bipolar disorder diagnosis, psychotic breaks, multiple stints at in-patient psychiatric hospitals, and canceled tours for her band. Now, Ela is feeling stronger, making new music, getting ready to tour, is well supported, and is still allowing for the possibility that the stars really were sending her messages.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

The Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/

John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepression

Find the show on X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.

John is on X @johnmoe.

Introverts around the world celebrated, quietly, when Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, became a #1 best-seller back in 2012. Her next book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, also went to #1. Now Cain is back with an audio series, A Quiet Life in Seven Steps, about how to reach a quieter mindset. In this interview, we talk through some of those steps and the challenges one might face in trying to get there.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.

Check out our I’m Glad You’re Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

The Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/

John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepression

Find the show on X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.

John is on X @johnmoe.