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

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 conscious living.

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 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.

The clinical therapist talks about recovering from the trauma and abuse of her childhood, healing herself through art, and practicing patience and gratitude.

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

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 about managing his bipolar disorder, how to ask for help, and his work preventing veteran suicides. Plus, Joel reads Listener Dark Places. In this episode, Kevin talked about these resources: SAVE.org National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (+1 for active duty military and veterans) Crisis Text Line: Text CNQR to 741741 The Movember Foundation - "Unmute - Ask Him": https://us.movember.com/news/11507/ This episode is sponsored by Talkspace, an online therapy company that allows you to send messages with a licensed therapist via text, audio, or video. Visit talkspace.com/DARK and enter the promo code "DARK" to get $30 off youtr first month.

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 be found at tinyletter.com/mentalhealthday. She is on twitter @laura__thomp (two underscores). This episode is sponsored by Talkspace, an online therapy company that allows you to send messages with a licensed therapist via text, audio, or video. Visit talkspace.com/DARK and enter the promo code "DARK" to get $30 off your first month.

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 about a friend who visited her in the hospital. Here is the link: http://bipolarmomlife.com/just-ask-friend-can-make-difference/ Twitter: @BipolarMomLife Website/Blog: http://bipolarmomlife.com/ This Is My Brave: https://thisismybrave.org/

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.

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: https://www.youtube.com/adamgrabowskicomedy Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamGrabowski Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamgrabowski/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AGComedy The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkplacepod

Joel is joined by Katie Habib to read listener-submitted stories for World Suicide Prevention Day. Topics include OCD, sexual abuse, and hospital visits.

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 Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkplacepod

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 Yaver Website: http://www.mirandayaver.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mirandayaver The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkplacepod

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

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 health. This episode also includes the premiere of his new song, "Mary Todd Lincoln". Social Anxiety Bandcamp: https://social-anxiety.bandcamp.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deathtosocialanxiety/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/asocialanxiety The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkplacepod

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 her job. Hannah writes a blog about her mental illness. You can follow it at https://mentalhealthspeaks.wordpress.com/

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 drawing pictures of the staff while in Stanford psychiatric hospital. We mention a few articles Amanda wrote for Medium. Here's one of them: http://bit.ly/AR_Medium It's also Mental Health Awareness Week. Though shouldn't that be every week?

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 me about the lows—self-blame, anorexia, recurring nightmares—then the high of recovery. Michele is the founder of HealMyPTSD.com. Her new book is titled Heal Your PTSD: Dynamic Strategies That Work.

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 Weather Channel, and Nat Geo. She helps us understand the chemical side of mental illness, then helps us understand how it's changed her own life. Website: http://CaraSantaMaria.com Twitter: @CaraSantaMaria

Joel chats about addiction with 21-year-old Rebecca Schulte, who's been sober since she was 19. Rebecca talks about discovering club drugs in Paris, her sober living center in L.A., and the mental illness that underlies her drug use. Some people think she's too young to stay sober. Rebecca talks about why she plans to prove them wrong.

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 sex, and medication that makes you forget an entire month of your life. Jessie's short film: http://bit.ly/Jessie_Film Kickstarter for Jessie's documentary: http://bit.ly/Jessie_Doc