Mental Illness Happy Hour

By Paul Gilmartin

Personal Journals Society & Culture Health Self-Help Sexuality

What's Mental Illness Happy Hour about?

"A perversely safe place in which he and his guests talk about their fears, addictions and traumatic childhoods." - NY Times

"Normalizes what so many others feel but have been too fearful or ashamed to express...remarkable" - Psychology Today

"A vital, compassionate gem that fills a desperate and under-addressed need in our society." - Esquire

"Gilmartin makes a conscious effort to explore stories that aren’t black and white" - Slate Magazine

"Praised by listeners all over the world" - Atlantic Monthly

www.mentalpod.com mentalpod@gmail.com

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LAST EPISODE

436 - Healthy Love - Christ...

05.24.2019

Her lifelong fear of commitment was masked behind an obsession with emotionally available men - Christina shares how she personally changed and healed her pain to be able to recognize and accept healthy love including self-love. WAYS TO HELP THE ...

Mental Illness Happy Hour episodes:

05.24.2019 436 - Healthy Love - Christina Howard Her lifelong fear of commitment was masked behind an obsession with emotionally available men - Christina shares how she personally changed and healed her pain to be able to recognize and accept healthy love including self-love. WAYS TO HELP THE ...
05.17.2019 435 Anxiety & Humor - Jordan Reid The hilarious blogger/author of Ramshackle Glam &The Big Activity Book For Anxious People shares about her battles with anxiety, & being fired from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She & Paul also get into some fun Fears and Loves. WAYS ...
05.10.2019 434 - Depression, Drinking & Fear - Ry Doon The comedian shares about his battles with depression, fear of failure, huge financial and professional setbacks (he had a huge following on Vine before it was retired), having a mother with BiPolar I, and alcohol. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST ...
05.03.2019 433 - Janet Varney Returns Paul's former Dinner and a Movie cohost and very first guest on the podcast returns to share about fears, loves, panic attacks, people pleasing, hurt feelings and her battles with personalization displacement syndrome. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST Subscribe! Spread ...
04.26.2019 432 - Heartache & Obsession - Elle Huerta Elle talks about obsessions & letting go especially after breakups, shame, isolation, rejection and not being enough, plus the sickness of working to extreme exhaustion and trying to find validation outside of her accomplishments. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST Subscribe! ...
04.19.2019 431 - Rich But Sad & Video Games - Keith Kingbay The comedian and podcaster (New Player Has Joined) opens up about his financially privileged but emotionally barren childhood, verbal abuse from youth hockey coaches, and discovering himself thru video games. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST Subscribe! Spread the word via ...
04.12.2019 430 - Our Own Worst Enemies - Lori Gottlieb LMFT The licensed therapist shares common issues people deal with in therapy and ways that we are our own worst enemy. Paul shares about adopting a dog, plus great listener descriptions of their food issues anxiety and depression. WAYS TO HELP ...
04.05.2019 429 Trust Issues, Ideation & Food - Leo Flowers The comic, life coach, & ex-athlete shares about his suicidal ideation, struggles with food, abandonment by his dad who fathered him via an affair, learning trust, self-care, conflict resolution and even trying the suicide hotline. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST ...
03.29.2019 428 - Trading Sex For Love - Marigny Goodyear The 41 year-old mother reads the open letter she wrote to the men who took advantage of her as a young teen, discussing gray area issues like consent, alcohol, objectification and trading sex for love, attention or to avoid abandonment. ...
03.22.2019 427 Best Of: Adoption & Religious Abuse - Julie J Funny & vulnerable, Julie was born to a teenage mom, was given up for adoption and raised by a stoic military dad and Fundamentalist mom whose obsession with demons comes close to resembling the mother from “Carrie”. From 2013 WAYS ...
03.15.2019 426 Grief Support Mistakes - Megan DeVine LPC The licensed therapist shares about the well-meaning but misguided "cult of positivity" after tragedies, emotional dissonance, grief support, having difficult conversations and how she dealt with the sudden death of her partner. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST Subscribe! Spread the ...
03.08.2019 #425 Remembering Jenn Golick Weeks after recording this episode last year, therapist Dr. Jennifer Golick was killed by a combat veteran with PTSD whom she was helping. She talks about her work with vets, covert incest and codependence. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST Subscribe! ...
03.01.2019 424 Remembering Brody Stevens One of the most unique voices in comedy ended his life last week. Paul shares some thoughts on it, reads a listener email and replays episode 100, an interview with Brody from Feb 2013, in its entirety. WAYS TO HELP ...
02.22.2019 #423 Catholic Black Sheep - Joe Bill Paul's longtime friend and improv teacher talk about his violent ex-Notre Dame football player dad, his mentally unstable and sexually abusive mother and how he found his voice in creativity but still struggles with shame, codependency and self-love. Fill out ...
02.15.2019 #422 Religious & Sexual Orientation OCD - Kimberley Quinlan LMFT The LMFT returns to talk about two types of OCD; Scrupulosity - a fear of sinning or having sinned, and Sexual Orientation OCD - an obsession about one's present or future orientation. She and Paul share their own anxieties. Kimberley ...
02.08.2019 #421 Amy G - Male Attention & Feeling Safe Paul's support group friend opens up about being addicted to male attention while also fearing them, feeling unsafe, love addiction, growing up without her bio dad (without explanation) and the power of vulnerability in healing. WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST ...
02.01.2019 #420 Psychiatrist/Writer Dr Paul Puri The psychiatrist and tv writer (Chicago Med) shares about his childhood, why some of his peers overprescribe medications, the importance of talk therapy, some info on hypnosis and Paul opens up about his health fears especially around meds and long-term ...
01.25.2019 Feeling Like An Outsider - Glenn Lutz The author (Go F*%#, I Mean Find Yourself) opens up about being mixed race and battling depression and feeling like an outsider as far back as childhood. He and Paul share things they're grateful for and read inspirational quotes from ...
01.23.2019 BONUS: Introducing First Day Back Ep Description: First Day Back is a podcast about people facing and trying to overcome life’s most challenging moments. This season is a new story about a comedian who died on stage and was revived by a member of the ...
01.21.2019 #419b Bonus ep - Listener Struggles/Secrets Some "Shame and Secrets" surveys and some "Awfulsome" and "Happy Moments" surveys as well.
01.18.2019 #418 Fears & Loves w/Nora McInerney Live The author (It's OK to Laugh and No Happy Endings) and host of the podcast Terrible Thanks For Asking returns in front of live audience in Minneapolis. She, Paul and the audience share their fears and loves and answer some ...
01.15.2019 Bonus Ep - Maternal Incest - Daniel M After hearing mens' stories about experiencing incest (overtly or covertly) by their mothers, Daniel reached out to Paul with his story and has come to share it (with his girlfriend for support as well.) This episode is sponsored by StitchFix ...
01.11.2019 Our Inner Critic - Cartoonist Lucy Bellwood The cartoonist (100 Demon Dialogues) delves into her struggles with the mean/critical voice in her head and how she is confronting the lies it tells her about herself. She also shares about her dad, the author of The Highlander, and ...
01.04.2019 Facing Her Fears - Courtenay Hameister The writer/performer opens up about her anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, shame and body issues. She also reads excerpts from Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went From Being Afraid Of Everything to Being Afraid Of Most Things, her hilarious new ...
12.28.2018 2018 Year Ender - Awfulsome Traditions No guests, just some of Paul's thoughts on traditions and holidays; how we hide our feelings and some great, very honest (and one very dark) listener surveys including the best holiday Awfulsome moment yet.
12.21.2018 Struggles With Moderation, Identify & Survivor's Guilt - Akshay Nanavati Born in India, raised in Texas, 33 year-old Iraq War veteran, ultra-runner and global philanthropist talks about his lifelong struggles with moderation, getting his identify from his accomplishments or dangerous/crazy/extreme behavior, feeling unworthy and battling survivors guilt after losing a ...
12.14.2018 Dating Anxiety & Reproductive Issues - Becky Feldman Coming from an anxious family, coupled with not fitting in, being bullied by her ballet teacher (and having red hair), then as a young teen, developing vaginismus, Becky spent her 20s resigned to never dating or having a partner. Surgery, ...
12.07.2018 Back in My Parents' F-ing Basement - Live in MN w/Kjell Bjorgen Recorded live in Minneapolis at Sisyphus Brewing, Paul and Kjell reunite and share stories of bombing onstage, panic attacks, depression, meds, feeling lazy, future tripping, anger at partners, living in parents' basements, self-doubt, dead-end jobs and self-sabotage. Older episodes can ...
11.30.2018 Cartoons & Murder - Tonya McKenzie One of her first memories is seeing her mother's boyfriend shot dead in front of her at four years-old. The mother she adored was fiercely protective of her except when it interfered with her dangerous lifestyle. A great chat about ...
11.23.2018 LeeAnn Kreischer - Rural Southern Generational Trauma The former screenwriter, mother and podcaster shares about her relationship with her "party-animal" husband Bert Kreischer and her tumultuous childhood split between a mentally-ill narcissistic mother, a lovesick broken father, and a grandfather with severe combat PTSD from being the ...
11.16.2018 FOMO, Shame & People Pleasing - Mary Holland The improviser/actor (UCB's Wild Horses) opens up about her struggles with feeling like a fraud, people pleasing, shame, FOMO, feeling undeserving or that her authentic self is just too much for people. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at ...
11.09.2018 Chris Mancini - A Buffet of Anxiety The filmmaker (Earbuds) podcaster (Comedy Film Nerds and Conversations From the Abyss) writer (Pacified: A Handbook For the New Freaked-Out Dad) and comedian sits down to talk about anxiety, depression, parental stress/anxiety and feeling career disappointment/frustration/doubt. He also talks about ...
11.02.2018 Sofiya Alexandra - Mania, Communism, Surviving Cancer & #MeToo The writer (Danger & Eggs) standup (Comedy Central: This is Not Happening) & podcaster (Reality Bytes) shares about her childhood under communism in the Ukraine, her battles with bipolar (loving the mania), surviving cancer and how to help or talk ...
10.26.2018 Lazy, Dumb, Hyper, Scattered - Jessica McCabe & ADHD labels "Bored", "lazy", "scattered" "hyper"; Are these fair or accurate labels? Is there anything we can do to help our brains or motivation? Jessica shares about her past struggles with these labels and how we can find what our brain likes ...
10.19.2018 It's OK To Be Weird & Anxious - May Wilkerson The standup & cohost of the "Crazy in Bed" podcast opens up about being an only child & a "weird kid" who couldn't appreciate her uniqueness and desire to belong until college. She shares about her battles with social anxiety, ...
10.12.2018 Adam Cayton-Holland: OCD, Social Conscience and Loss The standup, actor and author shares about familial loss, his lifelong OCD rituals, and growing up in a home where the harsh and often brutal realities of the world were discussed with the kids, helping them empathize but also took ...
10.05.2018 Mariel Hemingway - Generational Dysfunction & Art The actress, author (Out Came the Sun) and granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway shares about the him, her family, acting, generational trauma, mental illness, addiction/alcoholism and dysfunction and how she has learned to deal with her anxiety, codependence, depression and ...
09.28.2018 Dealing with Hopelessness - AFSP Psychiatrist Dr Christine Moutier The psychiatrist and chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention shares insights into dealing with hopelessness both personally and with loved ones. The Suicide Hotline number is 1-800-273-TALK Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at Stitcher ...
09.21.2018 Paul in Ireland VI - Terror, Hate & Forgiveness - Sponsored by BetterHelp Belfast native James Murray shares his story of surviving a terrorist attack, spiraling into drinking and anger then getting sober and finding peace & forgiveness and how he maintains it. He also shares about the benefits of ayahuasca. Older episodes ...
09.14.2018 Paul in Ireland V - Ex IRA Prisoner Jake MacSiacais - Sponsored by BetterHelp The former IRA member shares his people's history, his years of imprisonment & torture by Protestants and the British govt, the responsibility he feels for civilian lives that were taken by his organization, watching fellow prisoner Bobby Sands die by ...
09.07.2018 Paul in Ireland IV - Emma - Sponsored by BetterHelp The English architect (and yoga teacher) talks about navigating relationships being bisexual, finding solutions for her lifelong bouts with anxiety, recurrent depressive disorder, abusive partners and bottoming out with a suicide attempt. Older episodes can be found ad-free exclusively at ...
08.31.2018 Paul in Ireland III - Sponsored by BetterHelp - Caitlin The 29 year-old Dubliner opens up about her struggles with psychosis, cutting/self-harm, alcohol, anger, learning disability (seeing letters mirrored) & spatial/motor control; also her suicide attempt and it finally expressing her pain despite feeling numb. Older episodes can be found ...
08.24.2018 Paul in Ireland II - Sponsored by BetterHelp - Michael Corr/Belfast Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland to a Catholic father and Protestant mother. He had the rare perspective of seeing all sides of the conflict both inside and outside his home, where he was raised Catholic in a violently Protestant neighborhood. ...
08.17.2018 Paul in Ireland I - Sponsored by BetterHelp 21 year-old M emigrated to Dublin from China at 8. With a history of abuse and neglect, she learned to stuff her sadness or unleash it thru anger. She battles Bipolar I, BPD, Complex PTSD & co-dependence but is developing ...
08.10.2018 ECT aka "Shock Therapy" - Beth May At 27 Beth has had 68 ECT treatments aka "Shock Therapy" and while she attests to it's effectiveness in helping her with her bipolar episodes it has also taken a toll on her memory; including not recognizing her boyfriend of ...
08.03.2018 Fetish Shame, Meds & Martial Arts - Dylan Brody The writer/storyteller discusses the lifelong struggle to make peace with his amputation fetish, his ups and downs with taking meds, inheriting his dad's pomposity, suicidal ideation and the benefits of martial arts in dealing with depression and anxiety. Older episodes ...
07.27.2018 How to Deal With Addicts - Dr Cali Estes Cali's specialty is speaking the truth to high-profile or wealthy people trying to get sober, especially when they're being enabled by family, hangers-on or the people they make money for. Topics are : codependency, low self-esteem & boundaries Older episodes ...
07.27.2018 #393 How to Deal With Addicts - Dr Cali Estes Cali's specialty is speaking the truth to high-profile or wealthy people trying to get sober, especially when they're being enabled by family, hangers-on or the people they make money for. Topics are : codependency, low self-esteem & boundaries Older episodes ...
07.20.2018 Michael Duffy - Vietnam Vet - Art & War He was just a kid who wanted to get into art school but when he was rejected, he instead got sent to Vietnam. Later he would use painting to process the traumas he experienced. Older episodes can be found ad-free ...
07.20.2018 #392 Michael Duffy - Vietnam Vet - Art & War He was just a kid who wanted to get into art school but when he was rejected, he instead got sent to Vietnam. Later he would use painting to process the traumas he experienced. Older episodes can be found ad-free ...

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