Depresh Mode with John Moe

During a decades long career in the United States Army, Gregg Martin just kept on succeeding. Star cadet at West Point, getting promoted up to two-start General, earning PhD degrees along the way, and receiving glowing evaluations all the while for his boundless energy and enthusiasm. He now knows that he was operating under a condition called hyperthymia, being in a constant state of near mania. After a deployment to Iraq, Gregg’s mania kicked into high gear and was accompanied by bouts of deep depression. It would take many years of further promotion and misdiagnosis before Gregg’s behavior became so erratic that his life fell apart and his bipolar disorder was finally identified. Then he had to figure out how to get better. He tells his story in this interview and in his book Bipolar General: My Forever War with Mental Illness.We get a preview of the episode at the top from listener Ken Fredette, who says the episode has stayed with him since it originally aired.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-hotlines 

Youngmi Mayer says she hates doing research but, in our conversation and in her new memoir I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying, she does a lot of digging into the events of her life and what they all meant. Youngmi grew up in Saipan and Korea, the daughter of a Korean mother and a White American father, and had to deal with discrimination, harassment, and abuse. Later on, she moved to America with $700 in her pocket and no real plan in order to escape an abusive relationship and had to find a path that included a place of prominence in the restaurant scene, a life of comedy, and a severe depression disorder.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-hotlines  

Amidst election anxiety, the conversation highlights 13 uplifting stories in mental health. Discover positive trends in youth mental health and breakthroughs in ADHD, OCD, and anorexia treatments. Learn about the potential of ketamine and psilocybin, alongside new government initiatives for suicide prevention. The touching role of Zimbabwean grandmothers as informal counselors showcases the power of community support. With humor and hope, innovative approaches to mental health are paving the way for a brighter future.

Imagine serving your country in the military, incurring some trauma and some mental health difficulties, and then finding that your appointments to get mental health treatment keep getting canceled without explanation. And in many cases, it’s you, the patient, being unfairly blamed for canceling or not showing up to the appointments. That’s happening now in America’s veteran healthcare system, according to Military.com reporter Patricia Kime. She joins us to talk about the political pressure against the V.A. that might be influencing this issue and she shares what the veterans are reaching out to tell her.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-hotlines

Dr. Leanne Williams, a Stanford University researcher specializing in precision treatment for depression, discusses groundbreaking advancements in matching brain types with effective therapies. She emphasizes the potential of functional MRI to identify six distinct depression biotypes, leading to personalized treatment strategies. The conversation highlights the move away from trial-and-error methods and addresses the importance of integrating medical care with lifestyle changes. Dr. Williams also emphasizes community support and reducing stigma in mental health treatment.

Singer/songwriter Bishop Briggs lost her sister, her best friend, her roommate, and her manager all on one day in January 2021. They were all the same person. After Kate’s death, swiftly following her diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Bishop plunged into a dark place, not eating, not really engaging with the world, and being increasingly haunted by thoughts of suicide. Ultimately, she found a path toward a better place with the assistance of a shockingly blunt pronouncement by her partner, the birth of her baby, and an openness to medication.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-hotlines

How Do You Feel? is the title of Dr. Jessi Gold’s new memoir about her life as a psychiatrist dealing with her own mental health and the health of other medical providers during the first wave of the covid pandemic. The answer to the question the title poses would be, “Not very good at all.” Dr. Gold profiles composites of several patients in the medical profession who felt the need to be perfect, to be superhuman, to not let anything get to them, only to find that everyone has limits and vulnerabilities, including Jessi herself. 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-hotlines

Xiu Xiu, the highly experimental avant-garde rock band from California has just released their 14th album, 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips. It refers to a type of switchblade, which Jamie Stewart from the band collects. In this interview, Jamie tells us of the multi-generational cycle of abuse within their family and of the suicide of their father. Jamie also discusses their healing, their therapy, and how they, along with their siblings, are breaking the cycle that haunts them.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-hotlines

Zac Carper, lead singer and guitarist for the garage punk bad FIDLAR, is very familiar with one kind of drugs: the street substances of meth, heroin, and crack that he engaged in heavily when he was younger. Now, at 37, he’s grappling with a different sort: medications prescribed for his newly diagnosed bipolar disorder. Zac has found that, while he needs some help managing the intense hypomanic episodes and depressive crashes, the meds he’s been given lead to some new problems that interfere with his life as a touring musician putting on very intense, high-energy shows where he doesn’t so much sing as bark.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-hotlines  

Yes, we don’t have to wear masks in the grocery store and yes, vaccines have been very effective in reducing the spread and severity of covid-19. But the mental health ramifications of the whole pandemic experience are only now beginning to be understood. Dr. Royce Lee from the University of Chicago joins us to talk about how it made serious mental illnesses much worse due to the virus and the stress. We also explore the connection between infection, inflammation, and anger. Then research scientist Dr. Neva Corrigan explains her findings on how the covid experience prematurely aged adolescent brains, especially those of girls.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-hotlines