Casual convos about mental health. You decide if it's a comedy or drama, and whatever your answer, you should unpack that. Hosted by disgustingly old (she's 30) Lea Madda, Depressed and Sh*t explores the modern intricacies of Millennial and Gen Z mental health in a pandemic-era world -- sprinkled with a generous helping of the f word (it's called catharsis). Each week, a new guest joins to share personal experiences with or near depression, anxiety, and all that shit in between. Consider it free group therapy minus the licensed therapist or really anyone qualified to give advice. Hop on? Every Wednesday.
Depressed and Shit with Lea Madda
We have arrived at a temporary end.Ready for some fuzz aka fuzzy f**cking feelings? Actually, no, let's call it GROWTH. Lea checks back in with various Depressed Guests from throughout the season. CLICK: Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
When losing a job CAN ACTUALLY BE A GOOD THING? Meet George (he/him). George has anxiety. Deep, intense anxiety. For many reasons. Sprinting from gig to gig as an orchestral violinist, with no clear job security (classic!). Constantly hustling to secure the next opportunity. Balancing this identity as a gay man in a heteronormative country and heteronormative industry. Here's a story on how the pandemic helped someone find clarity.Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Approximately 17% of all people will self harm in their lifetime (based on analysis across forty countries) -- and only HALF of those folks seek help of any kind. Considering those numbers, this topic is worth talking about, yes??? Meet Destiny Jones (she/her), fresh out of high school, college right around the corner, carrying with her a story on cutting, moving through emotional pain, and how and why she asked for help.Learn more about Destiny and her brand spanking new A Thousand Wishes here!CLICK: Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
So. Listen. There's a form of OCD that shows NO external, physical signs of OCD. None. Nada. Ya know -- the way that most of us typically think of OCD. And many folks go DECADES of their life without receiving a diagnosis or having any name for their struggle. Meet Connor Kelly-Eiding (she/her), whose daily experience includes Pure-O. As she moves through grad school towards therapist licensure. Largely thanks to ERP - Exposure and Response Prevention therapy.CLICK: Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Gender + grief + saying bye to a therapist.Joseph Baca (he/she/they) identifies as a queer, non-binary, demiboy. Unsure of any of those terms? Joseph is more than thrilled to explain. Was this thrill + level of comfort with their queerness always the case? Not exactly. Not in recent political climates of yore... After losing a close friend to suicide and reluctantly parting ties with his therapist, Joseph is looking at the world from a new lens. One that isn't down with the oppression of the gender binary... or any binary for that matter.TW: death by suicideConnect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
On generalized anxiety + cognitive behavioral therapy. So like... how would you describe your relationship to your therapist (or mentor or coach)? BFF-ish? Best-friend-adjacent? That's how Natalie Rodriguez (she/her) would describe hers. 9 years. The length of time Natalie has managed sleep-destroying generalized anxiety. Also the length of time Natalie has spent building a trusting and supportive relationship with her therapist - using the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methodology. Ready to relate to this episode like you wouldn't goddamn believe?Learn more about Natalie and HOWARD ORIGINAL/her films/books/advocacy HERE.Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
A mother, a daughter, and a fiancé. When it comes to fluctuating family units, first generation Peruvian-American Ariana Vergara-Johnson (she/her/ella) has been through it. Months before her scheduled wedding to partner Natalie, Ariana receives two extreme tidbits of news: A) coronavirus and B) her mother's sudden shift and subsequent disapproval of Ariana's orientation and pending nuptials. Oh hell no, to say the least.Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Has the pandemic wreaked absolute havoc on your career? On your possibly already hazy path in life? (Welcome to the club, glad we're here together???)Purpose - and having a clear internal sense of it - is a critical factor in happiness and in climbing out of a depressive episode. And yet here we are, tail-end of the pandemic, with many folks still underemployed or in a new field- grieving a life lost. Meet Sid Al-Thumali (he/him) - a young theater maker on the brink of leaving his small town for bigger opportunities. Well... at least that was the deal in 2019. Then everything changed.Check out Sid's Wayward Artists in a Wayward WorldConnect with the show on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Depression treatment CAN take many forms far beyond the Western medicine/Big Pharma milieu ... Curious about Ayahuasca - the traditional healing medicine containing psychoactive hallucinogenic properties? Meet Spencer (he/him) who dishes on the good, the bad, and the ugly (puking - a lot of puking) of his multiyear shaman-guided Ayahuasca trips -- and whether or not these jaunts yielded longterm & lasting relief from his chronic depression.INSIDE SCOOP: Curious why Lea's voice sounds wrecked? She spoke with Spencer 24 hours following her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine! Yolo!Connect with the show on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Putting the pain into the music.Ever thought what would happen if you just told people straight up that you're not doing good? That you're battling depression? That you hate yourself some days?For DEVMO, that social experiment was quite the goddamn rollercoaster.Today, Lea sits down with performer DEVMO (she/her) to discuss her recent EP drop TEARS - and how the mental health-heavy messages of the songs were an authentic and heavy reality both for herself and for her listeners.Listen to Tears - click here.Connect with the show on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Have you ever experienced thoughts of suicide? Have you ever had someone you love confide in you with such feelings and just have no idea what to say or how to help? Meet Reginald Bellamy (he/him) who pulls back the curtain to keep it very real on his own experiences with depression, suicidal ideation, and the loss of an uncle to suicide -- along with some thoughts on how you can best support someone in his position.TW: suicide, suicidal thoughtsLearn more about Reggie here.Connect with the show on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
The music world grieves a beloved jazz hall. Nostalgia and a commitment to community abound.Musicians, actors, producers, stage managers, designers, the list goes on - emerging from an unprecedented year of joblessness. But as performers get back to work, what about the venues that got lost along the way? Drummer Anthony Fung joins Lea to share his stories and memories of the bluewhale - a banging music mecca in the center of downtown Los Angeles - closed as of December 2020. What can we learn from these losses?Check out Two Drummers Podcast for more dish. Learn more about Anthony on Instagram.Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
Got issues with the idea of taking psychiatric drugs? Ya know - happy pills? Welcome to the collective bullshit psyche.Meet Emily Rutan (she/her), an actor and sommelier who had been living for years bouncing back and forth between stretches of feeling-good-as-hell days to stretches of depressive days - until one day (literally mere months ago) a diagnosis of Bipolar II Disorder and a prescription for lithium changed everything.TW: sexual assaultConnect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
You're telling me a therapist could help with my physical issues? Goddamn yes. Hear the story of Tony Alvizo (he/him), who, at age 26, began experiencing severe and chronic back pain - with an unclear origin. Months filled with doctors, acupuncturists, chiropractics, and like follow, with anxiety and depression steadily mounting - until one day, the decision arrives to broaden his approach, and see a therapist.Connect on Instagram at @depressedanshitGot a story to share? Interested in coming on the show? Email us any time at depressedandshitpodcast@gmail.com
As bedroom becomes office and office becomes bedroom, how are you doing with that whoooooole work/life balance thing? Or maybe bedroom was never office but 'office' demands have utterly skyrocketed over the last 12 months. Tune in to hear the story of Christie Bahna (she/her), a San Francisco dwelling employment lawyer who, after some years moving through depression, discovered a momentous amount of relief from taking space away from hustle culture and redefining her value system. Got a moment to slow down and consider some possible explanations for why you feel so fucking spent? (spoiler alert: it's not your fault)
How many times have you *humorously* described yourself as a workaholic — only to immediately feel an intense, super fun dread from the truth behind it? Productivity. Side hustle. Monetization. The list of stress-inducing buzzwords dances on. Hear the story of Ryan Stevens (he/they), a self-employed writer who broke out of a cycle of workaholism, capitalism, and limited access to mental health support. A trifecta of modern day bullshit!
Good trips. Bad trips. Spiritual trips. Future trips?Hot take. Psychedelics could be a significant alternative for treatment of depression. The thing is - this is not new information, but the criminalization of hallucinogens in the 60s certainly didn't help their case. Hear the story of Jarrett Harris (he/him) who, after an unsuccessful run on SSRI's a.ka. antidepressants, decided to research and explore therapeutic options off the beaten path. CW: suicidal ideation, substances
Just how down were you to talk mental health when you were 18-ish? Not much? Not at all? Cool, we have that in common. (If your answer was very down, uh, what is your secret?) Meet Kaushik Mishra (he/him) - an international undergrad by way of Nepal, who, upon finding himself at Howard University, finally discovered the benefits of admitting to and talking about his shitty feelings and struggles -- as well as finally labeling discrimination he experienced as a child. Buckle in.
Was college a good (okay, or even maybe just decent) time for you? New friends, interesting thoughts, maybe a space of your own away from certain folks? Imagine having all that fully compromised halfway through. Cue: the story of Dani Glenn, one liberal arts undergrad who was on spring break 3,000 miles away from campus when the news of full shutdowns broke. Ups, downs, all arounds.
Turning shit times into opportunity. Armando Salas has experienced a ton of change. Nine months of furlough to an eventual layoff, scooting an entire roster of saxophone students to online lessons. But like, fuck, make lemons out of lemonade. Armando, producer and host of Mandovibes Podcast, shares with Lea how he pulled himself together enough to redirect his new free time towards pursuing a dawning interest: sound therapy.
Overcoming substance abuse with more than just willpower. Join Lea as she talks with Erik Nochez, owner of Action Clutch and Next Level Wraps in East Los Angeles, as he shares his story on learning to live a sober and satisfying life, while bringing all his baggage along with him. Addiction is a complicated illness that we try to understand in simple terms. But if there's anything to take from Erik's story, it's that addiction is hella complex and requires extensive attention and understanding.
One story, many layers. Queer, Muslim, South Asian migrant via the UK, filmmaker, & DJ hobbyist Hena Ashraf joins Lea to keep it real on her lifelong experiences with obsessive compulsive disorder, the stories she chooses to tell through film, and the relief Hena has felt taking space from social media over the last 5 years. With the most badass London accent.
Challenging and redefining 'wellness culture' - For the month of the year that forces diet and exercise into our collective consumerist psyche, here's a real conversation on the deeper benefits of exercise -- beyond the surface level (abs and shit). Featuring Kari Weis (the genius behind the Depressed and Sh*t logo). Curious about the book we reference many, many times? "Lost Connections: Why You're Depressed and How to Find Hope" by Johann Hari
Fellow podcaster Ky Romero (Mind Tasting Podcast) hits the mic to participate in some retrospective musings on what we remember from this year and how our relationship to the mind and to mental health has expanded in 2020. A decent amount of disassociating been going on for host Lea Madda, so this was a goodie to come back down to planet earth. It's hard to stay grounded, but it's possible.
On the ongoing mental strain of essential work // This week's Depressed episode is a very authentic combo of funny and not funny and indeed legitimate sad. Isn't it fun how everything surrounding mental health is a SPECTRUM? Gen Z Angelino Katherine Godinez (she/her/hers) joins Lea to dish on the bullshit that is working high-end retail in the time of Covid and the pressure that she is under to stomach a stressful work environment.
SCREENTIME. SO. MUCH. SCREEN. TIME. This week, we learn about the trials and tribulations from the other side of the screen. Early-career LMFT Abbey Ronquillo (she/her/hers) pops on to share the positives and negatives of conducting talk therapy online, all the way maintaining her own mental health in the midst of a world-wide pandemic. With some ponderings on the extent to which telehealth and teletherapy might remain in our lives post-vaccine.
CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE. Some stylings on how the hell to be kind to yourself, even in periods of major goddamn transition. Jami Hockensmith (he/him/his) hops on to share his story moving through HRT (hormone replacement therapy) over the past year and a half, while using learned methods of positive self talk to help him adjust to his newfound personhood as a transgender man.
On being happy and sad at the same time. Hannah M Hines (she/her/hers) hops on to talk holiday season mental health in this utter nightmare of a year. Do you agree it is extremely fair to call it that? Hannah also shares on her experiences with pregnancy-related PTSD and how being a new hot mom attempting to make the 2020 holidays special is one heck of a predicament. TW: discussion of trauma & PTSD
Seriously though. This one is about men but for all -- because we all live in this society together, yeah? Drew E. Kemp (he/him/his) hits the mic to share his experiences with talk therapy since childhood, gradually throwing mental health stigmas out the window along the way. Drew is both a pillar in supporting men and persons of color on their mental health journey as well as an active community advocate with the bourgeoning organization the Pro Black Club (@problackclub) of South Central LA. TUNE IN!
The days of wishing our frontline workers wellness? AIN'T GODDAMN OVER! Tune into this moving and honest convo with registered nurse Andrea Evangelista (she/her/hers), who schools on the very real emotional challenges nurses face in the time of Covid. All managed while grieving the loss of a close sibling.
Musings on a relational approach to mental health. Jordan Weatherston Pitts (he/him/his), a literal OPERA SINGER, shares his story moving through a breakup in the midst of both the pandemic and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, with some harkening back to more codependent days. Codependency definitions and all. Lived and learned, all aboard??
DID SOMEONE SAY TABOO? Dare you to show up, man/woman/anyone jiving in between, for our forth episode, in observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, as Erin Noble (she/her/hers) joins to share a very candid recount of her tribulations with miscarriage and emotional health surrounding pregnancy.
For our third episode, Brett Calo (he/him/his), a self-described 'artsy motherfucker at heart' followed-by-nervous-laugh, comes on to discuss his experiences with Eye-Movement-Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) psychotherapy as he grieves the recent losses of his parents.
First generation Peruvian-American Ariana Vergara-Johnson (she/her/ella) shares her experiences as a proud LGBTQ+ woman coming into heavy conflict with her mother's new found Christian faith -- all in the midst of fucking Covid. Plus some musings on the benefits of THERAPY, EVERY HEARD OF IT?
Lawyer and photographer Joon Song (he/him/his) joins Lea for a debut episode on the basics of modern day depression-- i.e. why the fuck don't we talk about this shit? Why do so many of us feel like shit?
Welcome to Depressed and Sh*t. A half-hour interview podcast every Wednesday at 1pm PST. Casual convos, lots of f bombs. Focused on Millennial and Gen Z experiences with emotional health but open and accepting of all. Hosted by Lea Madda (she/they).
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