"Most people don't understand what it's like to have bi-polar illness"

Cole Napoli bravely discusses the difficulties of having bi-polar disorder.  He and Dr. Dana have an in depth discussion of the disorder itself and the prejudice he has encountered.  His experience being bi-polar is both inspirational and enlightening.

"It's important to start medication as soon as possible when diagnosed with bipolar illness."

Dr. Robert Nagy, an expert in Bipolar disorder discusses the diagnosis and treatment of this serious illness.  Dr. Nagy has years of experience in helping his patients manage the ups and downs of this diagnosis.

Josiah Hamilton and Dr. Dana discuss Josiah's journey watching his mother die from cancer.  He describes at length the sadness and difficulty he experienced going through this process. 

He left us with: Don't every let words go unspoken

Gwen's advice: "Do not argue, reason or explain in the moment when you are working with someone with dementia."

Gwen Dawson and Dr. Dana have an in-depth discussion about dementia.  Gwen lost her mother and is losing her husband to this debilitating condition.  She provides both practical advice and emotional vulnerability in the podcast episode.

"Family dynamics in caring for the elderly can be very complicated."

Dr. Dana interviews Erica Victor, a licensed clinical social worker, about the psychological issues that families face when caring for the sick and elderly.  She describes in detail the common problems that she encounters in her role as a caregiver.

"I grew up not believing that I mattered to anyone"

Justine Hamilton and Dr. Dana discuss the lies that Justine learned to tell herself as a child.  Two of these lies were very damaging to her self-esteem.  The first lie was that she didn't matter to anyone.  The second was that she had to take care of everything in her life.

"My father believed that we had to make a choice between being a victim or a perpetrator. I figured out that he was nuts to have this perspective"

Justine Hamilton and Dr. Dana finish a two part series on how Dr. Dana learned to lie to himself.  The episode describes lies that Dr. Dana received from the men in his life.  Most of the lies came from his father...

"I started to lie to myself in utero based on my moms fear of being ugly"

In this two part series, Dr. Dana and Justine Hamilton discuss how we learn to lie to ourselves based on our relationship with the important women in our lives.  Dr. Dana uses his life experiences as an example about how these deceptions get formed. Early in life, Dr. Dana formed a pattern of loneliness and low self esteem that followed him through his teen years through young adulthood.

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle

Dr. Dana and Josiah Hamilton discuss Josiah's relationship to drugs & alcohol, which for a big part of his life, felt like the only way to survive.  He relied on his daily journaling to bring clarity over time and ultimately the choice to become and stay sober.

Being an HSP is purely a biological phenomenon. Dr. Dana finishes his series on being a highly sensitive person.  He discusses at length the biology of this phenomena. Being a HSP is biologically driven and strongly influenced by the environment.