Depresh Mode with John Moe

Right now, in Jamie Loftus’s childhood home in Brockton, Mass., there are dozens, maybe hundreds of notebooks in storage boxes. They’re from second grade up through middle school and each of the notebooks is filled, cover to cover, with detailed descriptions of where she was and what was happening: who was there, what were they wearing, what was on the walls. The descriptions are all written in a shorthand Jamie developed and that no one else could read. At the time, the adults in her life thought this indicated that she was a budding reporter. But no, it was obsessive-compulsive disorder.Over time, her OCD would evolve into self-harm and put her in the emergency room. That’s where she found a doctor who understood her and could help.Today, Jamie stays aware of her OCD tendency as she experiences a booming career in comedy and, yes, journalism, through her stage performances and podcasts. She says that she’s able to better control the same world that used to be so much more chaotic.Find out more about Jamie Loftus's podcasts, comedy, videos, and writing on her website JamieLoftus.xyz. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamieloftusHELP and on Instagram @jamiechristsuperstar.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

This episode of Depresh Mode with John Moe came about as part of a challenge to our listeners: if we reached our member goal during the last Max Fun Drive, we’d make and release an episode with Justin McElroy. We hit the goal, here it is. Of course, making that goal can be and was a pretty nervous-making enterprise. There’s more than a bit of anxiety involved. Appropriately to that proposition, anxiety is something our guest knows well. Justin is one of three McElroy brothers hosting the comedy advice podcast, My Brother, My Brother, and Me, a long-running hit here on Maximum Fun. He’s also a person who has struggled with an anxiety disorder for a long time. He talks about the disorder flaring up especially fiercely during times of great stress in his life, including during his wife’s pregnancy, and not so stressful times, such as simply trying to gather quotes as a newspaper reporter.Listen to My Brother, My Brother, and Me, Sawbones, The Adventure Zone, and all things McElroy on the podcatcher of your choice. Visit the McElroy Family on their website, themcelroy.family. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMcElroy and on Instagram @justinmcelroy.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

The CBS News Sunday Morning commentator, Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me panelist, and veteran actor had all the approval and validation one could want early in her life. She was a pageant winner, Harvard grad, and Rhodes Scholar by the time she went to Los Angeles to make it in film and television. But the vagaries of the entertainment industry, the death of her mother, and an unsuccessful marriage showed her that there’s only so much you can prepare and study for. Faith talks about her experiences with anorexia, depression, and eventually finding love and family. We also discuss approval, specifically who you seek it from and why.Get your copy of Faith Salie's book, Approval Junkie: My Heartfelt (And Occasionally Inappropriate) Quest to Please Just About Everyone, and Ultimately Myself, wherever books are sold. Listen to the Off-Broadway production of Approval Junkie on Audible. For more information, visit www.FaithSalie.com. Follow Faith Salie on Twitter @Faith_Salie and on Instagram @faithsalie.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

It’s not actually all that hard to tell when Tim Heidecker is kidding and when he’s not, but it does take a little bit of practice. When he’s performing on shows like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! or Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories, it’s comedy. When he acts in comedic movies, sure, that’s comedy as well. But on albums such as his new one, High School, you don’t need to listen carefully for the punchline because there isn’t one. He’s not trying to fake you out with his music, he’s giving it you straight as a singer/songwriter with a bit of a 1970’s sheen to it.Tim says he’s never been diagnosed with depression but he’s had some rough times. He talks about losing close friends to drugs and alcohol and he talks about an incident several years ago when he got stabbed by someone he knew.We talk to Tim about comedy, tragedy, and whether a clinical diagnosis of a particular disorder is really all that necessary when dealing with the dark parts of life.Pre-order Tim Heidecker's new album High School, out June 24, 2022 on Spacebomb Records, here. For tour dates and more information, visit Tim's website at www.timheidecker.com. Follow Tim on Twitter @timheidecker and on TikTok @timheideckermusic.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Honestly, I really expected to call this episode “Covid Sedaris” because David Sedaris had just tested positive for COVID when we taped the interview. But when we spoke, he wasn’t feeling it much at all. Had some symptoms that might have been allergies or COVID but were barely noticeable. Other people have it a lot worse, he says.David has been delighting audiences for 30 years now, ever since the broadcast of Santaland Diaries. His latest book, Happy-Go-Lucky, is deceptively titled, containing a lot of stories and memories that are pretty painful. David’s father died last year at age 98 and liberated David to share some things he hasn’t shared so openly before. He talks about how his father ridiculed him, belittled him, and just flat out didn’t like him. He shares the story of being invited to give the commencement address at Princeton and bringing along his dad, who told the university president that they should have booked his sister Amy Sedaris instead.David also shares stories of his sister Tiffany, who died by suicide in 2013. He’s caught heat over the years for writing and talking about how difficult it was for him to deal with her when she was at her most unstable. He also talks about the charges of abuse Tiffany made against David and their father before he died.There are still plenty of laughs in the interview because, come on, it’s David Sedaris, but there’s also pain and melancholy that you might not have heard from him before.Get your copy of David Sedaris' Happy-Go-Lucky wherever books are sold.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Comedian and writer Ginny Hogan got interested in standup comedy when she was in her twenties and working at a tech startup in San Francisco. Soon she was hooked on comedy. And alcohol. She got hooked on alcohol as well. The comedy was definitely more positive and healthy than the alcohol.In this interview, Ginny recounts a habit she developed for getting drunk, picking up a little extra wine to take with her, and then spending the night walking the streets of San Francisco and New York with headphones on. We also talk about her experiences with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and ADHD, and she speculates on which of those might a symptom of which other ones.Ginny is sober now and in recovery and she can have some hard-won laughs about those days. She’s also dating once in a while, which she says is a different kind of thing when you’re sober compared to when you’re not. She writes a lot about the often strange and confusing world of dating in her new book, a collection of essays called I’m More Dateable Than a Plate of Refried Beans.After you hear the interview, come on back here to catch her standup hour:https://youtu.be/NnFTAYIhdy8For tour dates and more information, visit Ginny's Linktree at linktr.ee/ginnyhogan or her website: www.ginnyhogancomedy.com. Follow Ginny on Twitter @ginnyhogan_.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Jamie never expected to be a mental health advocate. He was working in the industry that had always been his dream career: surfing apparel. But things changed after several days spent taking care of a young woman he didn’t know, who was struggling with suicidal thoughts, substance use disorder, and self-harm. Renee had carved the word “fuckup” onto her arms but couldn’t get into a treatment facility for several days. Jamie’s essay about their time together became a viral sensation on MySpace, which led the way to t-shirt sales to help fund Renee’s recovery. From there, the essay became a large, successful mental health advocacy non-profit.Jamie tells that story as well as why he ultimately left TWLOHA, how he perseveres through bleak suicide statistics, and what he’s doing about a recent breakup.Visit Jamie's website at JamieTworkowski.com. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamietworkowski and on Instagram @jamietworkowski. Check out Jamie's new clothing company Needs An Ocean at NeedsAnOcean.com. To learn more about To Write Love On Her Arms and to read Jamie's original story, visit twloha.com.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

Right now, in our society, there is so much to be anxious about. There are many factors that could lead one to feel depressed and defeated. If one already has a tendency toward anxiety and depression, that path can be even shorter. But as a member of that society, one must look for hope anyway. It’s that dynamic relationship between despair and hope that led us to reach out to Maggie Smith. The American poet Maggie Smith, not the British actor Maggie Smith.Maggie is the author of several volumes of poetry and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, the New York Times, and the Best American Poetry anthology. She became very well known in 2016 when her poem “Good Bones”, about the bleakness of the present and the possibility of a better future, became a viral hit.In this interview, she talks about her anxious childhood, the pessimism people knew her for as an adult, a divorce that changed her significantly, and how to unleash your inner weirdness for the benefit of yourself and your writing.For books, events, and more poems, visit Maggie's website at www.MaggieSmithPoet.com. Follow Maggie on Twitter @maggiesmithpoet.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

The English language is constantly growing and evolving, and so is our usage of that language. We don’t refer to people with mental illness as “lunatics” anymore. At least we shouldn’t. But there was a time when that was a commonly accepted term.Even language that we think to be more enlightened can fall out of favor. Person-first terminology has become popular in recent years. That’s where you don’t say “Tom has depression.” You say, “Tom is a person with depression,” in an effort to convey that Tom is a person above anything else. But the person-first has detractors as well, who argue, among other things, that one’s personhood shouldn’t require reiteration and that doing so could call it into question.We’re joined by Helen Zaltzman noted wordsmith and host of The Allusionist podcast. And we speak with Dr. Ksera Dyette, a therapist in practice in Boston.Listen to The Allusionist podcast wherever fine pods are cast. Follow Helen Zaltzman on Twitter @HelenZaltzman and on Instagram @helenzaltzman. Learn more about Dr. Ksera Dyette and Cup of Tea Counselling by visiting beacons.ai/cteacounselling. Follow Dr. Dyette on Instagram @cteacounselling and on TikTok @drdyette.Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.

A lot of people listen to Shamir’s music, and have since he was 19 years old and his songs began circulating. People listen for the innovative arrangements, the poetic lyrics, and the artist’s unique singing voice. The music has been described as house-hop, disco, and indie-pop.Shamir pays a lot of attention to the music as well. He’s listening to make sure he’s staying true to himself. He wants to make certain that what he’s creating forms an accurate portrait of who he is. This conviction, this personal requirement to stay true to himself, has helped guide Shamir through depression, self-doubt, bipolar disorder, and a psychotic break.In this episode, Shamir walks us through his career and the challenges he has faced along the way. For tour dates, music, and more, visit Shamir's Bandcamp at shamir.bandcamp.com. Follow Shamir on Twitter @ShamirBailey and on Instagram @shamir326. Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 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: 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 available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe.