Depresh Mode with John Moe

It’s a supply and demand issue. With increasing numbers of people seeking help, it’s harder to get in to see a human counselor. At the same time, artificial intelligence technology is booming, leading to growing availability of computer programs that say similar things to what humans say while not being human at all. Dr. Jodi Halpern, Chancellor’s Chair and Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities at UC Berkeley, says the technology has moved faster than our ability to regulate it or fully consider the ethical implications and consequences of non-human diagnosis and treatment.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe.  

During the covid pandemic, Ela Melo of the acclaimed band Rainbow Kitten Surprise was staying with her parents and went out one night to look at the stars. And the stars, she felt quite certain, were communicating with her. Trying to tell her things. This was to be the beginning of a journey that involved a bipolar disorder diagnosis, psychotic breaks, multiple stints at in-patient psychiatric hospitals, and canceled tours for her band. Now, Ela is feeling stronger, making new music, getting ready to tour, is well supported, and is still allowing for the possibility that the stars really were sending her messages.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe.

Introverts around the world celebrated, quietly, when Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, became a #1 best-seller back in 2012. Her next book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, also went to #1. Now Cain is back with an audio series, A Quiet Life in Seven Steps, about how to reach a quieter mindset. In this interview, we talk through some of those steps and the challenges one might face in trying to get there.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe.

The gut microbiome, that little ecosystems of bacteria and microorganisms in your body, and your mental health are more closely related than we may have thought. Dr. Aparna Church led a study that points out the connection between a person’s stress resilience and the composition of their gut microbiome. She joins us and offers advice on how to eat best for your own stress management. Then host John Moe thoroughly unpacks and demystified TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) therapy. He explains what it is, what the different types of it are, what actually happens when you go, how it works on your brain, and what kind of results to expect.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe. 

It was two years into a vicious cycle of depression and Mike Doughty was falling apart. He was taking more Ambien than he had been prescribed, importing huge boxes of the stuff from India, waking up to find packs of cigarettes, candy wrappers, and pizza boxes with no memory of leaving his Memphis home to make such purchases. He was convinced something was deeply wrong with his heart even though every doctor said there wasn’t. Finally, he checked into an in-patient facility that turned out to be wonderful and productive. Then he checked out. Then Mike, a recovering addict, started drinking heavily and smoking weed. Then he checked back in again. Mike Doughty is showing improvement now and talks about his treatment, his recovery, and touring again with his band Soul Coughing again 24 years after a bitter breakup.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe. 

Dr. David Halford, a clinical psychologist from Deakin University, dives into the transformative power of cognitive reminiscence therapy (CRT). He explains how revisiting and reframing memories can significantly improve self-esteem, optimism, and reduce depressive symptoms. David offers practical methods for applying CRT, including self-guided journaling and therapeutic support. He shares insights on reshaping negative memories to highlight resilience and motivates listeners to harness their past experiences as fuel for a more positive future.

One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit is an HBO documentary about life inside an in-patient facility in Queens that specializes in helping people of college age who are in acute crisis. The filmmakers, Alexandra Shiva and Lindsay Megrue, introduce a variety of patients who have been through experiences such as suicide attempts or drug overdoses and they spotlight the unique care being administered. In-patient care has certainly been depicted often in movies and TV but this is one of few documentary approaches. Then, we’re joined by Sarah Souder Johnson, a clinician at Sentier Psychotherapy in Saint Paul, Minnesota who offers therapy for rock bands. We talk about the challenges and rewards of that and what it can teach all of us about families and groups even if we’re not a wicked guitar soloist.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe. 

In terms of achievement, Gracie Gold had it all: Olympic medal, world championships, beloved celebrity at the pinnacle of an incredibly competitive and difficult field. She even became friends with Taylor Swift. Unfortunately, in terms of mental health problems, she also had it all: eating disorders, body dysmorphia, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, ADHD, and OCD. Despite those challenges, her career required dressing up in glamorous outfits and perfect hair and makeup and going out to skate under the spotlights and be judged. It all got to be too much and Gracie fell apart, finally got treatment, and began a long road to recovery. Gracie has a new book, titled OutOfShapeWorthlessLoser: A Memoir of Figure Skating, F*cking Up, and Figuring It Out.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe. 

The Decemberists have been making memorable, popular, and critically acclaimed music for over twenty years and for that entire time, lead singer and songwriter Colin Meloy has battled the feeling that he’s secretly a fraud. And the more success he’s had with his career, the more he’s been at the head of a large organization upon which people earn their livelihood, the more that feeling grew. Colin hasn’t gone into much detail about this interviews over the years but he does so in this honest and vulnerable conversation that also touches on his long-standing issues with anxiety and the formative challenge of a parent who discouraged him from pursuing the arts as a profession.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe.

Trauma and comedy wouldn’t seem to have a lot in common but they do have one thing: Paul Scheer. You may know Paul from TV shows like the comedy The League or from his podcasts like How Did This Get Made. In this deeply personal, vulnerable, and - yes - funny interview and in his new memoir, Joyful Recollections of Trauma, Paul Scheer recounts tales of the repeated physical and mental abuse he and his mom received from his stepfather. He also recounts how he has learned to process these and other traumatic events, draw strength from them, and become a better and stronger father, husband, and guy.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 X @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on X @johnmoe.