Let’s Unmask Mental Illness

Episode 33: A Wishy Washy Pause

It's time to bring the podcast to a pause for a while. Call it season 1.
 
As a friend mentioned, sometimes you need to unplug from things to concentrate on other things. This is something that I really enjoy, but I need to unplug for a while to plug back into life, a healthy life. Getting off this damn roller coaster is proving to be more difficult than I thought.
 
I'll be back when I can move out from beyond the shadow of the roller coaster. I try to explain it in the episode.
 
It may be a month, two or three, but I'll be back.
 
Until then, you can check out the book, "A Walk in My Shoes: A Journey Into Depression." The ePub is now available on Amazon. The paperback will be out in a few days.
 
Be kind to every everybody. Be kind to yourself.
 
Aloha
 
 

Episode 32: Something to Be

Workaholic. It definitely is something to be. But it is not the right thing to be. It is one of the things that led to my fiery burnout a few years ago.
My body and mind are as ripe for it as a newly tilled field in the spring. New business. The challenge. The rush. The way it can push everything else outside of my head. The escapism.
It is also a part of who I have to be. Business owner. Income earner.
And it is exciting. I do enjoy what I do. I enjoy seeing the results of what I am doing every day. I'm engaging in a profession that I am good at it. It really is exhilarating.
But I know it can bring the emptiness back. I know where this path leads.
How I not return to that place I was a few years ago?
By allowing the parts of who I am to grow as well.
Balance.

Episode 31: The Illusion of Absence

Why do people stay in bad relationships? I dive into myself, and into some songs, to look for possible answers.
Bad relationships is a spectrum, not a black or white thing. They can abusive marriages, empty marriages, unhealthy workplaces, or even something as mundane as my continued following of the University of Miami football program. I remember better times.
There is something about comfortableness, something about the fear of the unknown, something about being seen.
Rob Thomas helps with this one. Anybody know how I can get in touch with him? Anyway...

Episode 30: A Momentary Lapse of Balance

Like LL Cool J sang: Don't call it a comeback!
It was difficult making my way back to the podcast, creating an original one, but I am there now. I'm still not at my best, still not really mentally settled, but this was necessary.
So, you are welcome to follow me as I skip along the yellow cobblestone street in Philly, "Lions and tigers and bears oh my!" And then stumbling because some asshole stole the friggin' cobblestone street. Somebody really did that. He stole a few blocks of it, in broad daylight, before he got caught.
It's a Philly thing?

Episode 29: Let’s Have a Chat

This is a rebroadcast of Episode 17, with a special introduction.
I'm back in Philly, back home, and answering many of the same questions. I don't mind talking about it but it may help if you read the damn book. Or listen to the podcast.
I'll get back into new episodes next week

Episode 28: Rectifying a Disservice Done to Those with Bipolar Disorder

This is a repeat of Episode 5 with a special introduction.
I'm a mess right now, traveling cross country. I had started a new episode but it did not get done. While driving, though, and thoughts tugging at me, I realized I wanted to repost Episode 5, The Mental Health Triangle with the special introduction.
As I evolve, the podcast evolves. Episodes 5 and 17 come up the most in my thoughts and new scripts, so with everything going on, I thought I would get them reposted as I travel and then get set up somewhere.

Episode 27: The Problem with Absolutes

My last podcast had me thinking about things, breaking down the subtle signs of depression. A column that I just wrote, "Lessons Learned from a Bar Fight," was a mixture of the podcast and reactions to posts I am seeing. That led me to Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting.
All that led to this podcast. It is about something I have been saying for years in various forums and various lectures on many different topics. "Don't screw up like I did."
Learn from my mistakes. Please. If you do, it makes my mistakes more bearable, gives them purpose. I wish I had learned more from other's mistakes but that has not been my way.
From posts I am seeing, I imagine that many people were disappointed by other people in 2022. I am reading a knee jerk reaction, about how if we don't have expectations, we will never be disappointed. All of the memes and posts are making me facepalm. Often.
Umm, no. Don't do that. It is all about a bar fight in SW Philly.

Episode 26: Breaking Down Reactions

I delve deeper into some columns that I wrote this past week to try and untangle depression from my life.
 
Dedicated Regina and Vivian, the first who asked the question that set me on the path to the answer and the second who provided a billboard to the answer.
 
I use Writer's Block as an example. I realized that my life had unknowingly become writer's block and show how the depression infiltrated every facet of my life. I know now and can begin the path to healing.
 
Freedom is still a journey ahead of me, healing, but I am taking the steps I need to take.

Episode 25: The Non-Episode Episode, In Three Parts

This wasn't supposed to be an episode but it became one. I do tend to ramble.
I discuss the book that is now available at your favorite bookseller, a name change to the podcast, support for the podcast, my first column for the website and my first article for the website.
I am doing what I meant to do in 1997 but got sidetracked by the depression among other things.
Better late than never.

Episode 24: Understanding Depression and Suicide

In my last episode, The Space Between Breaths, I mentioned tWitch, but I stayed away from the topic. What can I add to the conversation? As I say in my podcast, I am not a mental health care professional with letters at the end of my name. I am just a guy who has been there. What the hell do I know?
 
An article/post got me typing. It featured a smiling picture of tWitch and was, "I Still Don't Think We Understand Depression."
 
I read the questions and advice the post posed and realized that I do have something to add, that I may even be able to make an impact. No, I am not a mental health professional, but I am a guy who has been there. I understand what I do know about depression and suicide, and I understand what I don't know about them. Most importantly, I am learning what I need to know.
 
Who am I? I'm Chris, nice to meet you. Have you checked out my podcast? A lot of the answers are here if you care to check it out. I suffer from depression, among other things, and have almost taken my life twice. I was a leader and educator in my industry for 35 years. I am a storyteller/journalist, and I have answered many questions in the first 23 episodes of my podcast from a personal point of view, with what others are saying is insightful.