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

A defining part of my childhood was watching my mom struggle with depression and an eating disorder while never modeling any coping skills, acknowledging what was happening, or even using the words "depression" or "eating disorder." In a recent letter to me she used the phrase, "my eating disorder" for the first time ever. The Mental Illness Happy Hour has helped me SO much over the last couple years, and I've tried to recommend it to her, but she's never really gotten into it. I know she feels a lot of shame, and I don't think she's ever really spoken with anyone who shares her issues, and I think it would really help her to hear people talk about their struggles with binge eating without purging/compulsive overeating/eating disorders that cause obesity rather than thinness. I've tried to go through the archives a bit by searching keywords, cuz I know there've been guests who talked about this, but I haven't had much luck in finding episodes to recommend to her. Are there any episodes about this stuff that have been particularly meaningful to members of this community? Whether it's a guest or just a survey Paul reads. Or are there any resources where people share about their experiences that have resounded particularly strongly with you? I am going through a process of learning to feel less responsible for my mother's emotions, but I would still like to be able to point her in the direction of something that might make her feel less alone, because I know the podcast has done that for me.

I'm going to make a similar post elsewhere, because I'd also really like to be able to refer her to episodes where they discuss emotional incest/emotional neglect/codependent relationships with a parent, so if you have any favorite episodes that deal with that subject matter, I'd also be curious to hear about those.

Thanks everyone! I love you all.