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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

John Moe

Maximum Fun

Join host John Moe (The Hilarious World of Depression) for honest, relatable, and, yes, sometimes funny conversations about mental health. Hear from comedians, musicians, authors, actors, and other top names in entertainment and the arts about living with depression, anxiety, and many other common disorders. Find out what they’ve done to address it, what worked, and what didn’t. Depresh Mode also features useful insights on mental health issues with experts in the field. It’s honest talk from people who have been there and know their stuff. No shame, no stigma, and more laughs than you might expect.

Depresh Mode with John Moe

There has been a great deal of press coverage of the Lindsay Clancy case lately. What the world needs more of is first-hand experiences of severe mental health problems both before and after a baby is born. Dr. Kara Zivin is a researcher and professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan. While pregnant with her son 15 years ago, she experienced a profound depression that turned suicidal. The severity of her illness and the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) she ultimately received to address it has meant that memories around the new baby (now in high school and doing great) are spotty at best. Dr. Zivin’s story, detailed in her book, Persevered: A Memoir of Maternal Mental Health, points at the complexity of trying to identify, treat, and manage a mental health crisis for women in America. She also tells us how she’s been taking in the news about other maternal mental health situations.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Mental Illness Before and After Pregnancy with Dr. Kara Zivin, Who Has Been There

The acclaimed singer and songwriter Nicole Atkins is pretty adept at reading clues that something is wrong. After she’d fall asleep on a Saturday and wake up on Monday, she knew it was time to get more aggressive about addressing her insomnia. Years before, a fall down an actual sinkhole made her realize that drinking had become a pretty big problems. On Nicole’s new album Drama, her first in five years and produced by Wilco’s Pat Sansone, she offers many songs that began as mumbled voice memos recorded in the throes of debilitating insomnia, which has since improved with a pretty simple adjustment. She shares that story, tales of growing up in a hard-drinking “party house”, and she calls out one particular hotel in Knoxville that had a dangerous sinkhole and were then total jerks about it. We also get to hear some brand new music from Nicole.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Singer Nicole Atkins Doesn’t Recommend Insomnia, Alcoholism, Falling Down Sinkholes

Dr. Jeremy Heffner was a highly educated, high achieving surgeon. Not the kind of person one would expect to slide down an AI chatbot-generated rabbit hole, lose touch with reality, and give credence to the bot’s suggestion that he was one of the three smartest humans ever. But that’s what happened. The bots also told him there was a 70% chance AI would end the world and only Jeremy could save it. His experience, chronicled in his new book, Proof of the Impossible. Jeremy joins us to talk about the PTSD treatment he had received before this untethering, the long climb back to reality, and why he still uses AI chatbots.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

AI Chatbots Destroyed His Reality. Dr. Jeremy Heffner Explains Why He Believed Them.

Cameron Esposito has many titles: hugely successful standup comedian, actor in television and film, writer, podcast host. After a recent rehab stay led to a mental health diagnosis, she has realized that she’s also a person with bipolar disorder, type II. Cameron has a new special, Four Pills, that’s part stand-up comedy and part reflection on the circumstances that led to this discovery as well as thoughts on what life as a treated person for bipolar will mean going forward. Cameron Esposito joins us for a very funny and deeply personal conversation about mental health, medication, comedy, and the road ahead.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group.

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Best of Depresh Mode: Cameron Esposito on Comedy, Rehab, and Bipolar Disorder

Bay Area journalist s.e. smith thinks the high school goths were right: we should be talking about death all the time. It’s underdiscussed for something that will literally affect us all. And in that silence, they say, things get worse: the topic becomes less approachable, inevitable periods of grief can become more chaotic and disruptive, and the actual pain of losing your person or cat or dog can become harder to process. s.e. went out and talked to dozens of death-related people - death doulas, psychologists, funeral directors - to see what we could do about this topic to find some peace to rest in long before we actually have to rest in peace. They offer some insight, also, into the ways capitalism tries to steal your grief and leave you more messed up as a result.

Then we check in with friend of the show Emily Nagoski, author of hugely acclaimed book about sex Come As You Are. She tells us about her recent bout of agoraphobia and how she did her best to fight it off so she could see a Bigfoot musical.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Cat Grief is Real. So is Human Grief. We’re Underestimating and Misunderstanding Both.

Mary H.K. Choi compares living with her brain to just not understanding the operating system on a computer. She didn’t know if this was a result of trauma and neglect in her childhood, the experience of being parentified as a child, grief after the death of her father, or what. So she spent decades of effort and piles of dollars to figure it out. She did cognitive behavioral therapy, internal family systems therapy, “heroic doses of psilocybin under the watchful gaze of a shaman”, and anything else she could try. Finally, under the burnout and fear from covid, her functionality began to fall apart and she looked into the possibility of autism spectrum disorder as a possible culprit. And ding ding ding goes the slot machine, first a self-diagnosis from online resources and then a confirmed clinical diagnosis. Looking back now, she sees some of the clues, including a lack of empathy for others and the act of “performing competency”, that make more sense now. Mary offers insight on the long path to figuring out one’s mind and what she’s doing now that she has some answers.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Oh, It’s Autism, Mary H.K. Choi Learned at 43. Okay, She Thought, That Explains a Lot.

Margaret Glaspy compares the experience she was having on Instagram to being lightly punched in the gut, over and over, for a very long time. Like it’s not like being hit hard, just a little tap of something negative with each update you read, each comparison made, each distancing away from actual humanity and toward the simulated reality the platform presents. So she quit social media. Which was hard because it was an actual addiction. And then she wrote and recorded her new album, I Am Both, which just came out. It’s a remarkable work as Margaret leaned on her own mind, her own thoughts and memories and experiences. The California-raised, Brooklyn-based musician was inspired by the clear voice and perspective of heroes like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and John Steinbeck. It’s a candid interview that just might inspire you to make a big change of your own.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Margaret Glaspy Ends Her Instagram Addiction and Sings From Her Original Thought

For most of the world, the advent of middle age does not make depression, loneliness, and memory issues more of a problem than earlier in life. In some countries, things actually get better. The only nation on earth where it all gets worse is right here in the USA. Arizona State University psychologist Frank Infurna has been researching this topic extensively and explains the uniquely American societal forces that are contributing to us being generally more miserable. It’s a lot of things beyond an individuals’ control: unstable job market, expensive health insurance tied to those unstable jobs, out of control housing and childcare costs, as well as current middle-agers being part of a sandwich generation. They often have to manage and fund expensive and complex eldercare for their parents while also helping their children make their way in a challenging world. Frank offers thoughts on what we can and cannot do about all this.

We also talk with musician Mike Doughty. Last time he was on, he was fresh out of in-patient psychiatric care and hitting the road with his once highly estranged band Soul Coughing. We find out how he’s doing now, how he made amends with his audience, and why an unplugged satellite dish matters so much.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Depression, Loneliness, and Memory Problems Are Worse In Middle Age, But Only in America

Angela Harger-Thompson had moved to Hollywood to make it big in showbiz but soon fell victim to a devastating assault. There to comfort her was her intermittent boyfriend. She really liked him and thought his offer of a four-week, 4000 mile sailing voyage on the Pacific Ocean, accompanies by a small crew of strangers and a dog seemed like a good idea. The claustrophobic pressure of that situation, combined with the dangers of ocean travel, was compounded by the rapid emergence of the covid pandemic. That meant closed borders, dwindling provisions, and a fear of what would come next. Angela tells us of the codependency in play in this situation, how they finally reached semi-friendly shores, how the romance crumbled hard, and the fallout that ensued. It’s all detailed in her new book, Worst Tits Ever, a title that sprang from an angry missive from what had become her very much EX-boyfriend.

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Codependency and Covid on a Tiny Boat in the Middle of the Ocean, with Angela Harger-Thompson

This week, we take a look at a couple of acronyms that are soaring in popularity and ask what their widespread adoption means for mental health. Maggie Harrison Dupré of Futurism has been following the AI space closely and has an update on lawsuits related to chatbots’ culpability in numerous cases of attempted and completed suicides. She also explains some recent research about why prolonged engagement with the sycophantic computer programs can lead to spiraling out of reality. Then we’re joined by Dr. Thomas Rutledge for a look at drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound. While the drugs are so new that research is slim, some psychological issues can emerge, especially related to self image and identity. He asks if food cravings and thinking about food have occupied a lot of space in your mind for years, what happens when that goes away? It’s a complicated world we live in, Depresh Mode is here to help you make more sense of it.

 Articles by Maggie Harrison Dupré:
Lawsuit: Bipolar Man Attempted Suicide After ChatGPT Poured Gasoline on His Religious Delusions
New Paper Proposes What Really Causes AI Psychosis
These Logs of ChatGPT Allegedly Driving a Suicidal Woman to Her Death Are Deeply Disturbing

 Article by Thomas Rutledge:
Your Brain on GLP-1s: What We're Learning About the Mental Side

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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Maybe It IS Time to Panic Over AI Chatbots and Mental Health with Maggie Harrison Dupré

Today, I want to share an episode from a podcast I think you’ll enjoy called Proxy.

It’s hosted by Yowei Shaw, who you might know from the NPR show Invisibilia. After getting laid off in 2023, she found herself stuck with a question she couldn’t shake: why did she feel so ashamed… like it was her fault… even when she knew it wasn’t? 

The question became the seed of her new show.

Proxy is built on a simple idea: no one is ever completely alone with their problem. Because somewhere out there is someone who’s lived something close enough to help you feel a little less stuck.

In today’s episode, Yowei talks with a pair of bandmates and best friends… who can’t figure out why they haven’t been able to finish their record for years. It’s a story about friendship, loyalty, and the quiet heartbreak of letting go of something that once held you together.

Follow Proxy here: https://www.proxypodcast.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.

Depresh Mode is on BlueSky, Instagram, Substack, and you can join our Preshies Facebook group. 

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh

Featuring Proxy with Yowei Shaw: Is it time to break up the band?

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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