Depression, Hope, and the Little Heart Project: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Save Lives

Can a small crocheted heart save a life?

In this powerful Valentine’s Day episode, Kathleen shares how her battle with depression, anxiety, complex PTSD, and suicidal thoughts led her to create the Little Heart Project. What began as a therapy-inspired hobby turned into a global movement of kindness, spreading handmade hearts with encouraging messages to strangers in need.

Kathleen opens up about her eight years in the grip of depression, the relief she finally found through ketamine therapy, and how acts of kindness—whether receiving them or creating them—helped restore her hope.

Her story is a reminder that small actions can spark big change, and that hope can return even when it feels impossible.

Primary Topics Covered:

• Kathleen’s late-onset depression following family trauma
• Living with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidality for eight years
• The role of therapy, medication, and eventually ketamine treatment
• Creating the Little Heart Project as both therapy and suicide prevention
• How crocheted hearts and messages spread kindness in public spaces
• Why small acts of kindness can open conversations about mental health
• Real stories of people who found hope through the Little Heart Project
• The importance of waiting for the right treatment to unlock recovery tools
• Choosing to focus on what we can do instead of what we can’t

Timestamps:

00:11 Valentine’s Day introduction
 01:17 Hearts as symbols of kindness and suicide prevention
 02:23 Kathleen’s story: depression after family trauma
 03:20 Eight years of living with depression and anxiety
 05:07 How her therapist introduced crocheted hearts
 05:52 Launching the Little Heart Project
 06:40 The ripple effect: makers, givers, and receivers of hearts
 07:52 Stories of people touched by the project
 09:08 Choosing meaningful, supportive messages for the hearts
 10:26 How ketamine therapy lifted treatment-resistant depression
 11:25 Recognizing progress and using her mental health “toolbox”
 13:13 Speaking publicly and reducing stigma through storytelling
 14:05 A heart placed → a life saved: real suicide prevention story
 16:01 The importance of finding the right treatment and holding onto hope
 17:42 Focusing on what you can do instead of what you can’t
20:10 A reminder that change is possible, even after years of depression
21:25 Closing reflections and resources to join the Little Heart Project

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