Paige Fockler is a performer and podcaster who lives with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. She is the host of Greetings From Depression, a podcast in which she interviews individuals who live with mental illness, and aims to create an environment in which discussions about mental health are acceptable, productive, and completely de-stigmatized. In this episode, she talks about her personal struggles, distinguishes between bipolar I and II, and tells us what being an “oversharer” means to her; the fear of not being believed by health professionals, shame, and making it OK.
Join us as Paige shares…
- when she first noticed she was experiencing manic episodes
- how her family (and her mom, in particular) is her main support system
- that the boundaries of her relationship with her empathetic health advocate (her mom) can be blurry; as such, she doesn’t always share everything with her
- that she wasn’t diagnosed with bipolar II until she was in her 30s; but she was diagnosed with general depression in her late teen years
- the relief that comes along with diagnosis
- that she has to be physical to cope with her symptoms in order to avoid her condition manifesting in anxiety
- the generational role the Internet has played in her diagnosis and treatment, particularly in the way it has enabled her to do research on her condition
- that her anxiety in healthcare stems from a fear that practitioners will not believe her
- the stigma associated with conversations about mental health
- the role gender – and gender roles – plays in her emotional experiences, and the lack of shame she’s always felt about sharing
- the accommodations she’s made for herself in professional environments
- the greatest bugbear of mental illness: when people’s reactions are to feel “sorry” for her or to judge
- why she’s an “oversharer” – because she doesn’t want to be alone
- that she needs structure to cope with symptoms
- the importance of empathy
- that she had to learn the difference between “sharing” and “oversharing”
- how comedy is a natural outlet for her
- why she doesn’t have a definitive opinion of suicide
- how journaling has helped her
- that her superpower is being empathetic and being able to tell if someone is depressed – almost instantly
- that it’s important we understand how others cope, and support them – and that we remove stigma and normalize these support behaviors
- support apps she recommends: MoodNotes, TalkSpace, and Stigma
- how she manages shopping addiction, and when she realized it was a trigger for manic episodes
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