The Dark Place: Conversations About Mental Health | Depression | Anxiety

By Joel Kutz

What's The Dark Place: Conversations About Mental Health | Depression | Anxiety about?

A shame-free space where people talk about how they care for their mental and emotional health. Common topics include anxiety, depression, and mindfulness. No matter the story, it will be met with compassion. Engage with the show and host Joel Kutz online at http://darkplace.joelkutz.com

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. We are not doctors. For questions about your own health, please consult a medical professional.

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LAST EPISODE

#42: Todd & Vanessa Steinberg

09.16.2020

Todd and Vanessa are the founders of Komuso Design, which sells jewelry engineered to help quiet the mind. They talk about how living a career-driven lifestyle led to stress, anxiety, and eventually a new life goal of spreading mindfulness and ...

The Dark Place: Conversations About Mental Health | Depression | Anxiety episodes:

09.16.2020 #42: Todd & Vanessa Steinberg Todd and Vanessa are the founders of Komuso Design, which sells jewelry engineered to help quiet the mind. They talk about how living a career-driven lifestyle led to stress, anxiety, and eventually a new life goal of spreading mindfulness and ...
09.03.2020 #41: Camille Lowman Camille Lowman is the founder of Yellow Project, a mental wellness subscription box. Topics include talking to kids about emotions, recovering from chronic pain, and getting in touch with your own self-care needs. Follow Camille: https://www.instagram.com/camille_lowman/ Disclaimer: The views and ...
08.05.2020 #40: Joanie Barton The clinical therapist talks about recovering from the trauma and abuse of her childhood, healing herself through art, and practicing patience and gratitude.
11.20.2017 #39: Steve Austin The writer, life coach, and former youth pastor talks about recovering from being the victim of childhood sexual abuse, his suicide attempt, and his experience with how mental illness is viewed within Christianity. Steve's website: iamsteveaustin.com
10.17.2017 #38: Kevin Hines (+ Listener Dark Places) Kevin Hines is one of only 36 people to survive a suicide attempt by leaping off the Golden Gate Bridge. In the past 17 years, he has now become an advocate for those with mental illness. He talked with me ...
09.25.2017 #37: Laura Thompson The 23-year-old journalist from Austin, Texas talks about living with anxiety, the experience of having a panic attack, and why "it's better to cry outside than it is to cry inside." Laura runs the newsletter Mental Health Day, which can ...
05.27.2017 #36: Being Brave with Jennifer Marshall The co-founder of mental health storytelling organization This Is My Brave joins to talk about her experience with bipolar disorder, postpartum psychosis, hospitalization, and helping others share their own stories. In the episode, Jennifer mentions a guest-post on her blog ...
04.10.2017 #35: Jameson DeSantis The 30-year-old talks about helping himself and others through depression and suicidal thoughts. Plus, he gives us a taste of what it would sound like if depression was an unwanted guest at a frat party.
01.02.2017 #34: Adam Grabowski Says It Anyway January 1st, 2017: The 29-year-old comedian (America's Got Talent) talks about the loneliness of living life on the road, searching for connection in his life, and his mental health awareness campaign called "Say It Anyway." Adam Grabowski Website: http://www.adamgrabowski.com/ YouTube: ...
09.10.2016 #33: Listener Dark Places Joel is joined by Katie Habib to read listener-submitted stories for World Suicide Prevention Day. Topics include OCD, sexual abuse, and hospital visits.
05.10.2016 #32: "Roominating" with Ranjan Subbiah Ranjan Subbiah is a 31-year-old living in Toronto. Topics include the ins and outs of medication, using comedy to frame mental illness, and explaining his condition to his family. Ranjan Subbiah Website: http://www.roominateless.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/roominateless The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com ...
04.02.2016 #31: Institutional Compassion with Miranda Yaver Miranda Yaver is a 29-year-old in academia. Topics include the recent loss of her friend to suicide, how her university has responded to her own mental illness, and the unrealistic standard of perfection put on people in prestigious careers. Miranda ...
03.18.2016 #30: Dan Evans-Nakamura Is From The Internet 20-year-old Dan tells us his story. Topics include his contentious relationship with his father, feeling like a burden, and finding his agnosticism. Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danfromtheweb The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/darkplacepod
03.01.2016 #29: Armando Flores Is Social Anxiety Armando Flores, who goes by the stage name "Social Anxiety", is an alternative hip-hop and spoken word artist. He discusses living with paranoid schizophrenia and depression, and how he has used his music to create a larger discussion about mental ...
10.22.2015 #27: Hannah Mansfield Hannah Mansfield is Joel's guest. She's a teacher and recent college grad, trying to figure out the best way to manage a recent bipolar diagnosis. At the time of this conversation, she just had to go on medical leave from ...
10.08.2015 #26: Amanda Rosenberg October 8, 2015: Joel talks with Amanda Rosenberg. She's a comedy writer, and she reminds us how healing it is to laugh. (Yay suicide humor!) She also talks about feeling numb, being falsely diagnosed, wanting friends to just listen, and ...
09.22.2015 #25: Michele Rosenthal Michele Rosenthal was just 13 when she suffered from a rare allergic reaction that left her a full-body burn victim. For over two decades she suffered from PTSD symptoms before finally self-diagnosing her condition and getting help. She talks to ...
09.09.2015 #24: Cara Santa Maria Joel chats with 31-year-old Cara Santa Maria, host of the podcast "Talk Nerdy." In this episode, hear how Cara has fought through depression to build a career as a host and correspondent for networks including Al Jazeera America, Pivot, The ...
08.10.2015 #22: Jessie Duke At just 20 years old, Jessie is a badass filmmaker turning her Crohn’s disease diagnosis into a platform for compassion. For this hour she lets herself be vulnerable. Topics include being chronically ill, feeling isolated, dealing with the emotions around ...
07.27.2015 #21: Emily Wu Truong Emily is a motivational speaker. Today, she takes a break from baring her deepest insecurities and fears in front of large crowds to bare her deepest insecurities and fears to us on the podcast. Yet she's not afraid—she's empowered. She ...
07.14.2015 #20: Lucy Fisher Joel talks with Lucy, who's 28 years old. Lucy talks about her flight anxiety, about how her dad would use drugs in front of her when she was 12, and then about her dad's death when she was in college. ...
07.06.2015 #19: Tyler Austin The 23-year-old talks about the panic attack that prompted him to lose 150 pounds, being by someone's side during their final moments, and the reason we go through life distracting ourselves.
06.17.2015 #18: Regrouping A compilation of four previously-aired conversations, covering bullying, self-harm, death, and emerging from the dark place.
06.08.2015 #17: Cameron Louis In an episode very relatable to those even without mental illness, the 24-year-old radio host and comedian shares his struggles with everyday life. These include self-doubt, trying to relax, and losing himself in a relationship, plus the anxiety-inducing path of ...
06.01.2015 #16: Listener Dark Places Joel and Julia share personal stories submitted by listeners. To share your dark place, visit darkplace.joelkutz.com and click "Tell Your Story."
05.26.2015 #15: Chris Angel Murphy The 27-year-old talks about identifying as transgender and genderqueer, the bullying and abuse they experienced growing up, feeling suicidal in foster care, and forgiving their father before his death.
05.18.2015 #14: Lizette The 31-year-old tells her first-hand account of her brother's suicide 11 years ago, the unrelenting flashbacks she experienced, feeling suicidal herself, good and bad therapy, and how her current career helps to manage those feelings.
05.16.2015 #13: Teen Line (A Light Place) Do you ever feel alone and wish you had someone who could provide a safe space and a listening ear? Chris Angel Murphy from Teen Line discusses the resource that allows teens to connect with trained peer listeners and get ...
05.04.2015 #12: Maddy The 23-year-old talks about the back-to-back shocking deaths of two important people in her life, the depression that followed, and the impact the loss has had on her feelings about love, hope, and the future.
04.15.2015 #11: Grace The 38-year-old discusses her lifelong emotional relationship with food, how she's been shaped by having an alcoholic father, and how she has redirected her depression and anxiety to help others. Guest co-host: Julia
04.07.2015 #10: Katie The 21-year-old student talks about using success as a mask for her depression, admitting herself into psychiatric hold, and her recent experience of emerging from the darkness of suicidal thoughts.
03.23.2015 #9: Danny Lee The 24-year-old talks about the dangers of his own perfectionism, the pattern of negative thinking that led to his suicide attempt, and how he now works to reduce the stigma around mental health through his organization Free Minds United.
03.16.2015 #8: Harris Mayersohn The 22-year-old comedian talks about struggling with body image as an in-shape male, feeling like he can't connect to others, reconciling a lack of meaning in the universe, and challenging audiences by talking about his depression.
03.09.2015 #7: Clarisse The 23-year-old talks about her always-present underlying fear of her parents' death, going on anti-depressants when she wasn't depressed, and “that time in my formative years when a guy brought a gun to my Sunday school class.”
02.23.2015 #6: Julia The 25-year-old talks about living with an addictive pattern of self-harm, realizing what happened to her as a child was sexual abuse, and getting to the point of being able to seek therapy. Plus, an email from listener "Boone."
02.16.2015 #5: Tasha Cerny The 23-year-old aspiring writer talks about finding out her mom had cancer on September 11, 2001, what it’s like to explain anxiety to classmates in high school, and going from not being able to sleep over at friends houses to ...
02.09.2015 #4: Rick Cisario The 19-year-old comedian and USC screenwriting student talks about being bullied and socially isolated, how his past has influenced his anxiety and depression, and why everyone battling mental illness should seek treatment. Plus, why comedy is so important to him ...
02.02.2015 #3: Nic Mora The 24-year-old producer and creator of the blog givememora.com discusses being honest about her anxiety in the Persian Jewish community and how a career in entertainment can be harmful to mental health. Plus, she goes over things not to say ...
01.26.2015 #2: Josh Woo The 23-year-old radio producer and many-time game show contestant talks about the panic attacks that began when he believed he ate a toxic piece of blowfish, living with anxiety, and how to help support someone through a crisis.
01.24.2015 #1: Benji Ng In the first episode of The Dark Place, the 22-year-old USC Fine Arts student talks about living with depression and suicidal thoughts, coming out as gay, finding the right therapist, and techniques that he uses to manage his mental health.