The writer, life coach, and former youth pastor talks about recovering from being the victim of childhood sexual abuse, his suicide attempt, and his experience with how mental illness is viewed within Christianity.

Kevin Hines is one of only 36 people to survive a suicide attempt by leaping off the Golden Gate Bridge. In the past 17 years, he has now become an advocate for those with mental illness. He talked with me about managing his bipolar disorder, how to ask for help, and his work preventing veteran suicides. Plus, Joel reads Listener Dark Places.   In this episode, Kevin talked about these resources: SAVE.org National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (+1 for active duty military...

The 23-year-old journalist from Austin, Texas talks about living with anxiety, the experience of having a panic attack, and why "it's better to cry outside than it is to cry inside." Laura runs the newsletter Mental Health Day. Subscribe at tinyletter.com/mentalhealthday. This episode is sponsored by Talkspace, an online therapy company that allows you to message a licensed therapist on your phone or computer. Visit talkspace.com/DARK and enter the promo code "DARK" to get $30 off your...

The co-founder of mental health storytelling organization This Is My Brave joins to talk about her experience with bipolar disorder, postpartum psychosis, hospitalization, and helping others share their own stories. In the episode, Jennifer mentions a guest-post on her blog about a friend who visited her in the hospital. Here is the link: http://bipolarmomlife.com/just-ask-friend-can-make-difference/    Twitter: @BipolarMomLife Website/Blog: http://bipolarmomlife.com/  This Is My...

The 30-year-old talks about helping himself and others through depression and suicidal thoughts. Plus, he gives us a taste of what it would sound like if depression was an unwanted guest at a frat party.

January 1st, 2017: The 29-year-old comedian (America's Got Talent) talks about the loneliness of living life on the road, searching for connection in his life, and his mental health awareness campaign called "Say It Anyway." Adam Grabowski Website: http://www.adamgrabowski.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/adamgrabowskicomedy Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamGrabowski Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamgrabowski/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AGComedy   The Dark...

Joel is joined by Katie Habib to read listener-submitted stories for World Suicide Prevention Day. Topics include OCD, sexual abuse, and hospital visits.

Ranjan Subbiah is a 31-year-old living in Toronto. Topics include the ins and outs of medication, using comedy to frame mental illness, and explaining his condition to his family. Ranjan Subbiah Website: http://www.roominateless.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/roominateless The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkplacepod

Miranda Yaver is a 29-year-old in academia. Topics include the recent loss of her friend to suicide, how her university has responded to her own mental illness, and the unrealistic standard of perfection put on people in prestigious careers. Miranda Yaver Website: http://www.mirandayaver.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mirandayaver The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkplacepod  

20-year-old Dan tells us his story. Topics include his contentious relationship with his father, feeling like a burden, and finding his agnosticism.   Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danfromtheweb   The Dark Place Website: http://darkplace.joelkutz.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/darkplacepod

Armando Flores, who goes by the stage name "Social Anxiety", is an alternative hip-hop and spoken word artist. He discusses living with paranoid schizophrenia and depression, and how he has used his music to create a larger discussion about mental health. This episode also includes the premiere of his new song, "Mary Todd Lincoln". Social Anxiety Bandcamp: https://social-anxiety.bandcamp.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deathtosocialanxiety/ Twitter:...

Hannah Mansfield is Joel's guest. She's a teacher and recent college grad, trying to figure out the best way to manage a recent bipolar diagnosis. At the time of this conversation, she just had to go on medical leave from her job. Hannah writes a blog about her mental illness. You can follow it at https://mentalhealthspeaks.wordpress.com/

October 8, 2015: Joel talks with Amanda Rosenberg. She's a comedy writer, and she reminds us how healing it is to laugh. (Yay suicide humor!) She also talks about feeling numb, being falsely diagnosed, wanting friends to just listen, and drawing pictures of the staff while in Stanford psychiatric hospital. We mention a few articles Amanda wrote for Medium. Here's one of them: http://bit.ly/AR_Medium It's also Mental Health Awareness Week. Though shouldn't that be every week?  

Michele Rosenthal was just 13 when she suffered from a rare allergic reaction that left her a full-body burn victim. For over two decades she suffered from PTSD symptoms before finally self-diagnosing her condition and getting help. She talks to me about the lows—self-blame, anorexia, recurring nightmares—then the high of recovery. Michele is the founder of HealMyPTSD.com. Her new book is titled Heal Your PTSD: Dynamic Strategies That Work.

Joel chats with 31-year-old Cara Santa Maria, host of the podcast "Talk Nerdy." In this episode, hear how Cara has fought through depression to build a career as a host and correspondent for networks including Al Jazeera America, Pivot, The Weather Channel, and Nat Geo. She helps us understand the chemical side of mental illness, then helps us understand how it's changed her own life.   Website: http://CaraSantaMaria.com Twitter: @CaraSantaMaria

Joel chats about addiction with 21-year-old Rebecca Schulte, who's been sober since she was 19. Rebecca talks about discovering club drugs in Paris, her sober living center in L.A., and the mental illness that underlies her drug use. Some people think she's too young to stay sober. Rebecca talks about why she plans to prove them wrong.

At just 20 years old, Jessie is a badass filmmaker turning her Crohn’s disease diagnosis into a platform for compassion. For this hour she lets herself be vulnerable. Topics include being chronically ill, feeling isolated, dealing with the emotions around sex, and medication that makes you forget an entire month of your life.   Jessie's short film: http://bit.ly/Jessie_Film Kickstarter for Jessie's documentary: http://bit.ly/Jessie_Doc

Emily is a motivational speaker. Today, she takes a break from baring her deepest insecurities and fears in front of large crowds to bare her deepest insecurities and fears to us on the podcast. Yet she's not afraid—she's empowered. She talks about growing up and never fitting in, discovering a worldwide community of mental illness survivors, and learning to comfort her inner child. You can't see it, but she's wearing a lot of lime green.   More about...

Joel talks with Lucy, who's 28 years old. Lucy talks about her flight anxiety, about how her dad would use drugs in front of her when she was 12, and then about her dad's death when she was in college. At some points, Joel feels like he's going to cry. Lucy does cry. Then they talk about how much they both love to cry. Lucy is a role model.

The 23-year-old talks about the panic attack that prompted him to lose 150 pounds, being by someone's side during their final moments, and the reason we go through life distracting ourselves.

A compilation of four previously-aired conversations, covering bullying, self-harm, death, and emerging from the dark place.