Depresh Mode with John Moe

Samantha Irby has visualized a lot of scenarios that get more than a little unnerving. The driver behind her gets so impatient with her driving that he runs her off the road, drags her out of her car, and then beats the crap out of her. In another imagining, she’s at an author event and someone has gone to the trouble of buying a ticket just to run up on stage and yell obscenities at her. I mean, these are terrifying scenarios but when she talks about them, you’ll find yourself laughing as much as she is, which is a lot. We talk about Samantha’s imagination, her recent OCD diagnosis, and why she left seventeen dollars in quarters at a highway tollbooth.Samantha's newest book, Quietly Hostile, is due out on Tuesday, May 16th. Pre-order your copy wherever books are sold. Learn more about Sam and her other books by visiting her website, www.SamanthaIrby.com.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

When our society and our entire culture gets behind a cause, we can really make a difference. And it’s happened before. Back in the day, littering made public spaces look awful but we got together and did something about it. We created an owl mascot and, more directly, changed our way of thinking. We got together on causes like smoking and drunk driving and while those problems have not been eradicated, we got better. Back then, mental health and the stigma around it did not receive the same treatment and the cultural representation was more about cartoon depictions of straight jackets and padded rooms. But the tide has finally turned, society has woken up to mental health, and we’re tackling it in a variety of ways from, as described in this episode, eccentric stickers to athlete statements to political bipartisanship. This awareness comes at a good time as we’re fighting a societal mental health crisis.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Hero Journey Club is a business that offers mental health support groups for video game enthusiasts, run by therapists. The group sessions happen over the online voice and instant messaging platform Discord and the participants, the gamers, are playing games while the sessions take place. Sometimes collaboratively on the same game, sometimes on completely different games. The group members are usually similar in age and have a shared desire to work on particular mental health issues.We talk with the company’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Chhor, and one of the “Journey Guides,” Savannah Napier, about how all this works and why a distraction can lead to a more relaxed and deeper support experience. We also hear from some Depresh Mode listeners about games that help them.Learn more about Hero Journey Club by visiting their website, www.HeroJourney.Club.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Therapy is not a competition. You can’t defeat other clients or come in first place. Still, there is such a thing as getting better at going to therapy. There are ways to get the most out of that valuable hour or so you get with a professional. And for that, we turn to professional therapist, author, and podcaster Lori Gottlieb, who offers some plain-spoken advice on building a great relationship, not expecting the depictions you see in movies and on television, and why people generally don’t lie down during sessions.Get your copy of Lori Gottlieb's book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, wherever books are sold. Find out more about Lori by visiting her website, www.LoriGottlieb.com.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Writer, blogger, podcaster, pundit, and reporter Ana Marie Cox joins her good friend John Moe for a conversation about writing. Ana teaches what she calls Third Story Workshops that are dedicated to helping people get their stories out of their minds and onto the page. She says you can look at your story in three parts: what it was like before, what happened, and what you are like now. It’s that third bit that she really concentrates on with students. John, who published a memoir in 2020, shares his thoughts about the self-discovery that can take place through the act of writing about your own experiences.Learn more about Ana Marie Cox by visiting her website, www.AnaMarieCox.com. Learn more about the Third Story Workshop by visiting www.AnaMarieCox.com/ThirdStory.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe. 

Chris Powell is probably best known as the host of the ABC reality show Extreme Weight Loss, which ran for five seasons. On that show, Chris used his experience as a fitness trainer and all around motivational human to help people who wanted to lose 200 pounds or more. And Chris doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to experience mental illness. He comes across as very energetic, very positive, and someone not at all hounded by personal demons. But that’s the thing about disorders like anxiety and depression and substance use, anyone can get them and anyone can get damaged. In this interview, Chris talks about his childhood experiences with debilitating anxiety, his time spent as a flight instructor who was desperately afraid to fly airplanes, and his time addicted to painkillers. He also details the effect his divorce had on his mental health.But Chris is healthy now and has some very practical advice based on how he’s been getting healthier.Listen to the I Needed That Podcast with Chris Powell & Mathew Blades wherever fine pods are cast. Learn more about Chris at his website, www.ChrisPowell.com/About.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe. 

A special preview of this year's MaxFunDrive Bonus Content! Listen to the whole episode by becoming a member. Go to MaximumFun.org/join and pick a level that works for you!We’ve said it many times on our show: there isn’t one thing that works for everyone to improve mental health. But chances are there’s something out there that will work for you. Maybe it’s a certain type of medication. Perhaps it’s a particular modality of therapy. Could be a medical treatment of some kind does the trick. Or maybe it’s something far more obscure that you wouldn’t hear in a doctor’s or therapist’s office.To arrive at that technique, unfortunately, generally requires a journey of trial and error, possibly a long journey. To get you started on that road, to get your brainstorming imagination going, we put a question to our listeners: What works for you?In this special bonus content episode, we hear their answers and we guarantee there’s stuff in here that you’ve never considered. Good luck and happy travels!OH AND ALSO it’s the week 2 of our annual MAX FUN DRIVE! Now is your chance to support Depresh Mode so it can keep happening!To entice you, we are offering:The satisfaction of helping make this show, which helps people, possible!Access to WHAT WORKS FOR ME, our all-listener bonus content episode. Regular people share the tips and tricks of what works for them to improve their mental health or at least make the day a little more manageable.A one-of-a-kind Depresh Mode restickable sticker featuring Oops Nope, our official Depresh Mode mascot. That’s right: restickable.The Maximum Fun Family Cookbook, featuring recipes from all your favorite shows, including John Moe’s famous Marshmallow Crappy. We also have a jar of Max Fun seasoning, which can go with just about any food, and the MAXIMUM YUM APRON, which is stylish and also black, so it hides stains.Hats, messenger bags, and so much more!Go to maximumfun.org/join, find a level that works for you, and join us RIGHT NOW! Exclamation points!Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

What is it like to feel better in your mental state? And what does it take to get there and to stay that way? Those are some of the questions we ask in this interview with the great comedian Gary Gulman. Gary sounds very different than when John Moe first interviewed him back in the fall of 2017 when Gary had been hospitalized for depression and was just beginning to turn things around. We hear about how he convinced himself to begin a very kind and manageable exercise regimen, how he tended to his nutrition, and how he took a pretty radical approach to saying yes to just about every opportunity that came his way, even when that meant having lunch with audience members who asked on the day after a show.From this episode, host John Moe says, “We spend a lot of time on this podcast talking about what it’s like to feel terrible. Because it’s good to know that and people can relate and feel less alone. We carry each other’s load. But I thought it would be good to also hear about what recovery can sound like.”For more live shows and more information, visit Gary's website, www.GaryGulman.com.OH AND ALSO it’s the week 2 of our annual MAX FUN DRIVE! Now is your chance to support Depresh Mode so it can keep happening!To entice you, we are offering:The satisfaction of helping make this show, which helps people, possible!Access to WHAT WORKS FOR ME, our all-listener bonus content episode. Regular people share the tips and tricks of what works for them to improve their mental health or at least make the day a little more manageable.A one-of-a-kind Depresh Mode restickable sticker featuring Oops Nope, our official Depresh Mode mascot. That’s right: restickable.The Maximum Fun Family Cookbook, featuring recipes from all your favorite shows, including John Moe’s famous Marshmallow Crappy. We also have a jar of Max Fun seasoning, which can go with just about any food, and the MAXIMUM YUM APRON, which is stylish and also black, so it hides stains.Hats, messenger bags, and so much more!Go to maximumfun.org/join, find a level that works for you, and join us RIGHT NOW! Exclamation points!Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.Audio clip of Gary Gulman from “The Hilarious World of Depression®”, a production from Minnesota Public Radio®.  (p) 2017 Minnesota Public Radio®.  Used with permission. All rights reserved.

As far as Dana Gould could tell, he had been awake for 11 days. He logically knows that this was probably medically impossible but even if he had slept, he had no memory of doing so, which is pretty significant right there. This incident and the hospitalization that followed it is just one part of Dana’s mental health journey. He talks about growing up in a family where alcohol was a strong presence and a comedy industry where drugs were everywhere but Dana didn’t drink or use drugs. Dana also shares the story of being on stage for a standup comedy set and having a debilitating panic attack on stage and relates what fatherhood has taught him. OH AND ALSO it’s the very beginning of our annual MAX FUN DRIVE! Now is your chance to support Depresh Mode so it can keep happening!To entice you, we are offering:The satisfaction of helping make this show, which helps people, possible!Access to WHAT WORKS FOR ME, our all-listener bonus content episode. Regular people share the tips and tricks of what works for them to improve their mental health or at least make the day a little more manageable.A one-of-a-kind Depresh Mode restickable sticker featuring Oops Nope, our official Depresh Mode mascot. That’s right: restickable.The Maximum Fun Family Cookbook, featuring recipes from all your favorite shows, including John Moe’s famous Marshmallow Crappy. We also have a jar of Max Fun seasoning, which can go with just about any food, and the MAXIMUM YUM APRON, which is stylish and also black, so it hides stains.Hats, messenger bags, and so much more!Go to maximumfun.org/join, find a level that works for you, and join us RIGHT NOW! Exclamation points!Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

To celebrate our journey into triple digit episode numbers, we take a look back at episodes that have really stayed with us. They’re not even necessarily our favorite, mind you. It’s not that we think they’re so much better than all the rest. They’re just some episodes that come to mind pretty quickly.Discussed on this show:Depression, Anxiety, and Devil Horns: Chelsea Ursin Saves Her Soul with Rock n’ RollAmanda Knox on the Difference Between Exoneration and FreedomThe Beautiful World of Mentally Nutritious Video GamesJamie Lee Curtis: Self-Professed Dope Fiend of Show-off BusinessJackie Kashian Did What You Should DoKevin Love: All-Star in the NBA and in DestigmatizationShane Koyczan Says Sometimes “Bullying” Is Just AssaultThe Surgeon General Wants Your Boss To Build You a Healthier WorkplaceThe Whimsy and Depth of Depressed Cake ShopHousehold Chores, Struggle Care, and Your Mental HealthThank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Check out our I'm Glad You're Here and Depresh Mode merchandise at the brand new merch website MaxFunStore.com!Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at depreshmode@maximumfun.org.Help is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John’s acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250209566/thehilariousworldofdepressionFind the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.