S E24: You've Made It Through 100% of Your Darkest Days: Mental Health and Healing - Stories from a Stranger | Lyssna här

Hunter talks to three strangers about their mental health journey.

Justice describes the most beautiful thing she's been told: "that everything is temporary". She explains this perspective has helped her throughout lifelong struggles with mental health, including depressive episodes, suicidal ideation, anxiety, agoraphobia, and OCD. Despite appearing successful externally—running a business, having supportive relationships—she reached a crisis point where she "couldn't quiet [her] brain and it was consuming me to a point of being dangerous". She emphasizes the importance of her support system, admitting that in her darkest moment, she sought help not for herself but for her loved ones: "If I can't do this for myself, I need to do it for the people that love me". Justice also critiques mental health care accessibility, noting that resources like the GeneSight test for medication compatibility should be more widely available, and advocates for trying therapy before medication.

Michael shares his experience of finding love with his partner Levi after doing significant self-work through therapy. He describes how he unconsciously said "I love you" first because his "body felt it was ready". Michael reveals his history of seeking validation from others due to feeling "insufficient" and "not good enough", which led to an abusive relationship where he believed "you're not going to do any better because you're you". Through exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, he learned to break obsessive-compulsive cycles and discovered that "I was prince charming"—the love he needed was self-love all along. This realization transformed his approach to relationships from "Am I going to be good enough for this person?" to "Is this person kind? Are they deserving of my love?".

Jeremy describes his most profound non-physical pain as intense self-loathing and suicidal ideation that began at age 11. Despite appearing confident and successful, he lived with "faux confidence" as a "high functioning, depressed person". His childhood included family addiction, verbal abuse, and finding a loved one overdosing at age 12. Jeremy found healing through inner child meditations, sobriety, and honestly examining "how much am I contributing to my own suffering?". He emphasizes that healing requires taking control rather than leaving it "in the hands of everyone else", and would tell his younger self: "I love you. And I'm so proud of just how much you endured".

Chapters:

00:00:00 Navigating mental health struggles and finding hope in dark days

00:04:48 Living with childhood anxiety, depression, and severe OCD

00:09:40 Breaking the social stigma surrounding mental illness and family expectations

00:14:14 Developing empathy for unhoused addicts and understanding trauma

00:18:03 Finding a healthy relationship and learning what it feels like to be loved

00:23:00 Coming out in college and breaking free from an abusive past

00:28:17 Diagnosed with OCD and starting ERP therapy

00:34:38 Realizing you are your own prince charming through self-love

00:38:00 Battling high-functioning depression and the dangers of alcohol use

00:43:00 Surviving an unsafe childhood and dealing with family addiction

00:47:00 Healing through inner child meditation and achieving sobriety