YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Thoughts?

I really like your username. Sorry, that's all I got.

It was the first episode I couldn't listen to all the way through. Not because it was bad, scary, whatever.....but because I also have an eating disorder and hearing or talking about it is incredibly triggering, depressing, and not something I can deal with at the moment.

The part where both of them were talking about how it's one thing to have one's needs met as a child except the emotional ones really hit home with me.

This episode was very sad. Noemi was still in the throws of something huge. I hope she's doing well now. It is very hard to listen to someone who is still using bad coping skills just to get by. (I'm not saying they are bad guests or bad people. it's just hard to listen and not be triggered by empathy in a large way.)

I thought it was really powerful when Noemi said she'd quit her therapy and Paul said it sounded like she was trying to find a way to heal without feeling any pain. I have *just* started therapy and I realized that in some dumb way I expected to feel better after the first session. Instead, I feel worse -- it's bringing up so many things I DON'T want to think about. I feel tired and drained, more depressed than usual, angry, and just sad. So it was really good to hear (and I think Paul said it twice this episode) that it will hurt before it gets better.

It also really helped to hear Noemi say basically that she feels she doesn't deserve therapy because maybe her problems aren't that bad...and to hear Paul say, "Bullshit! Bullshit. Bullshit!" I had this sneaking suspicion earlier that maybe my therapist was disappointed that my story wasn't more dramatic. Rationally, I can say I have zero evidence for this, but a mean little voice inside me says it anyway. So the bullshit! line is an awesome thing to throw back in its face.

Just finished listening to this episode...Wow. Even though I have not really struggled with eating disorders (I dabbled in laxatives and "purging" for a few months when I was about 19), I could relate so much to Noemi's story. I am 34 now, and not in the worst place I've been in my life, but I still have a lot of work to do. I could really relate to what she said about minimizing her own struggles. About coming up with excuses not to go to therapy. I didn't have a horrible childhood, but I was the oldest of 5 kids, and I think I learned how to "not bother people" with my problems or needs, to keep things inside. I still am learning how to reach out and ask for help. Unfortunately, when you try to deal with everything on your own, you don't always use the best coping strategies. I hope Noemi has been doing better, and want to thank her for sharing her struggles.