Episode #79: Suffering In Silence, Panic Attacks, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & Why It's Good To Run Out Of Drugs, With Erik & Marc, Hosts - From Survivor To Thriver Podcast

Sex, Drugs, and Jesus

INTRODUCTION:

Co-hosts Erik DaRosa and Marc Fernandes are upending the front-end of mental health conversations. Each week, they tackle different mental health topics through honest and relatable “kitchen table” conversations with real people who are helping to shatter mental health stigmas and find their voices. We aim to normalize discussions around mental health topics and remind our audience they are not alone, there is strength in community and "it's perfectly ok to not always be ok."

Our podcast is more than just a podcast. It is a 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 aimed at shattering all mental health stigmas! Each week we tackle different mental health topics through honest and relatable "kitchen table" conversations with real people who are helping to normalize mental health discussions and find their own voices. Podcast is conversation based; no set list of questions.

From Erik:

I have long imagined a world where we can all speak openly and honestly about our mental health journeys without fear of judgment or reprisal. Our show is for folks who are suffering, often in silence, to know that they are not alone in their struggles, that help is available in many different forms and that there are brave spaces, such as ours, where they can both hear stories of others and share their own.

For as long as I can remember, I have been “okay” according to society's definition. Yet, I’ve experienced everything from the fear of sleeping as a young child, to the onset of terrifying obsessive thoughts as an adolescent, to the ever-worsening panic attacks and paralyzing anxiety throughout my high school and college years. This all culminated in two debilitating dissociative episodes as an adult. To this day, I have no recollection of two lost weekends – the first in summer 2004 and the second in fall 2006. My most recent episode occurred in October of 2021 and resulted in a renewed healing journey consisting of both Western and Eastern treatment modalities.
For some reason, I did everything to hide my "not okay-ness" from the world. After years of therapy and a highly effective regime of medications, there were still times that I chose the path of least resistance, the same path that far too many people choose: to suffer in silence. For decades I outwardly displayed a facade, that of a usually smiling, highly functioning, type-A successful overachiever. I had, subconsciously or not, chosen to accept society's stigma rather than embrace my own vulnerability.

Stigma says we shouldn't talk openly about these things. I say we should! Stigma also says we shouldn't stand high upon the mountain top, vulnerable and transparent, for the entire world to see. I say we must!

Together, let's work to break the stigma of mental illness and remind one another that it's perfectly okay to not always be okay. Collectively, and with a bit of patience, we'll get through this, I promise.

INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to):

· Suffering In Silence

· Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

· Anxiety

· Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Non-Military)

· Catholic Bullshit

· Panic Attacks

· Healing Team

· Therapy

· Chosen Family

· Music

CONNECT WITH ERIK & MARC:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erik.darosa.7

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skisherpa/

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