Valerie, a listener talks about the painful decision she made to give her only son up for adoption years ago when she was 18 and living with her Catholic, divorced mother. Recorded via Skype so the audio quality isn’t optimal. First half of the show is the interview, second half is surveys.
The standup comedian (Comedy Central Presents, Chapelle’s Show, Best Week Ever, Countdown with Keith Olberman) opens up about the tragedy and parental mental illness that shaped his childhood and still affects him today as well as his struggle to trust and feel confident about his future.
Her childhood marked with social stress, being bullied, aggressiveness and severe digestive issues (including Barrett’s Esophagus a condition involving acid reflux usually only found in adults) Louise was finally diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, also known as high-functioning autism. She shares on what it’s like to live with it, how it expresses itself in her life and the hurdles society has to overcome in understanding and accepting those with Aspergers.
Raised by a Baptist preacher who frequently got run out of town and raped by his older sister starting when he was 4, “Tom” has had a lot to work through. A great episode about working through trauma especially in families that can’t or choose not to communicate. Though a serious episode for sure, there is more humor than the title suggests. Not a downer.
The actor and podcaster (Who Charted?) returns to the podcast to talk about the struggle to keep a relationship with her mother whose gambling addiction has wreaked havoc on her family’s life. Almost an hour of surveys as well.
The Intervential Pain Specialist has been Paul’s best friend since 1982. They recount the evolotuion of their relationship, especially both dealing with the effects their father’s alcoholism had on their families. Mike also talks about the tightrope of treating people with chronic pain while trying to weed out potential abuse. Mike recounts the intimacy he finally felt at the end of his father’s life.
Listener Meghan P. returns to talk about being diagnosed with “Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified” and the hospitalization that resulted from going off of her meds in anticipation of losing her health insurance. She discusses the intense paranoia, her brain feeling “stung” and the belief that she was being filmed for a reality t.v. show everywhere she went. Meghan is the writer/producer/director of the documentary eXtreme, Loyal, Victorious: The Packer Fan Experience.
The 22 year-old writer and actress (Hey Ash, Whatcha’ Playin?) and VO artist (Tiny Tina of Borderlands 2) opens up about the recent accidental overdose death of her boyfriend, the truths and myths about addiction, loving an addict, and her guilt about wishing she could have done things differently, plus the struggle to put her life back together. They also talk about the danger of invalidating children’s feelings and the shame of obsessive or intrusive thoughts.
Michael opens up about his teenage struggle to avoid dealing with his chaotic and abusive childhood by being extremely regimented, developing an eating disorder, punching himself, compulsive exercising and eventually having a nervous breakdown. He shares about finally dealing with his PTSD in therapy and confronting the cycle of abuse in his family so it won’t be passed on to his children. He also talks about having to cut contact with his family because of their refusal to deal with a one of them being a pedophile.