Not As Crazy As You Think Podcast

In the episode, "An Interview with Susanne Paola Antonetta, author of The Devil’s Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry's Troubled History Reverberates Today" (S6 E15), Susanne joins the show to share her extensive research. Diving deep into the problematic history of psychiatry during Nazi Germany, Susanne covers in her new book a dark chapter in the field, from Eugenics, to the Aktion T4 killings, to forced sterilization. She highlights how Emil Kraepelin influenced psychiatry, and sheds light on Paul Schreber, who argued for the value of visions in psychosis, and Dorothea Buck, who advocated for a new hu...

In the episode, “A Conversation with British Psychiatrist Dr. Sami Timimi on His New Book: Searching For Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health, Distress, and Neurodiversity”(S6, E14), Dr. Timimi delivers a deeply humane and fiercely argued wake-up call: most of what we’ve been told about mental health simply isn’t true—and believing it is harming our children, our culture, and ourselves. 

From the point of view of a child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Dr. Timimi shares how early on he was not comfortable with the status quo of his field. In his work, h...

In the episode, "Exploring Relational Dynamics in the Family: A Talk with Family Therapist Amy Begel (S6 E13)," Amy Begel, reviews the history of family therapy in psychology and emphasizes how many problems, or symptoms, treated as individual issues are in fact embedded in interpersonal dynamics. This interactive and engaging type of therapy is often eclipsed by the focus on brain chemistry, which reduces the focus of human suffering to a person's "wiring." The biomedical framework offers a name diagnosis for the distress, but family therapy looks at the problem as the family’s problem in a relational, holistic wa...

In the episode, "A Chat with Psychiatrist Dr. John Calvin Chatlos: Introducing the SOUL, or Science of Unitive Love (S6 E12)," Dr. Chatlos joins the show and discusses a framework of spirituality and how spiritual experience is organized in our human experience through every developmental stage of our lives. He shares recent psychological and psychedelic research that has provided new insights into the nature of spiritual experience. Not only is it real, but it is a fundamental core of human nature that has been subjugated out of awareness during human evolution. Dr. Chatlos describes a cosmological foundation worldview, which...

In the episode, “An Interview with Social Media Influencer Kellie Snider: Waking Up White People from The Spell of Racism (S6 E11),” TikTok and Instagram sensation, Kellie Snider joins the show and shares how white supremacy became so woven throughout American culture. She starts with sharing her personal turning point when she realized she needed to do the work of helping people, especially white people, understand what systemic racism actually is.

She explains how although Jim Crow laws ended on paper in the 1960s, its impact never did. Laws that were implemented to “keep black people down” are a re...

In the episode, "On Trump, His Shadow Archetypes & the Symbolic Pulse of the Nation with Jungian Dream Analyst, Warren Falcon (S6 E10)," dream expert, Warren Falcon, illuminates the many shadow archetypes of Donald Trump as America currently deals with its cultural complex of a lost dream. The conversation opens up with reference to a podcast interviewing Thomas Lavin, the now deceased Jungian analyst, who served as the chief clinical psychologist for the US army from 1977-1981. Lavin speaks about the dictators of the last century, those of Europe in both World Wars, and presents Jung's takes on Trump and...

In the episode, "Through the Lens of Psychophobia with Dr. Michael Montgomery: Exploring the Modern Medicalization of Mental Health (S6 E9)," Dr. Montgomery shares with us in the podcast the phenomenon of psychophobia and how it manifests in today’s medicalization of mental health. Society’s fear of extreme states influences the model the system uses, and outcomes are negative due to the model itself. Dr. Montgomery believes it is time to return to a more humane interaction with those who suffer from extreme states that looks more deeply at the humanity of the patient and respects the interiority of t...

In the episode, "Relinquishing the Label, Embracing the Voices, and Healing in an Alternative Paradigm with Author Mary Clista Dahl" (S6, E8), Mary shares her story about letting go of the label, embracing an alternative paradigm, and learning to listen to the voices. Mary sees breakdowns not as a symptom of a disordered mind, but as the response to a crazy culture. She puts forth an approach to healing through many modalities, and offers a sacred space in which her Twelve Angels programs and gatherings can flourish. 

Mary Clista Dahl has lived experience of “psychosis” and is well...

In the episode, “A Lived Experience Dialogue: Facing Our Pasts, Reinventing Our Futures with Tom Woodrow and Mike Panasitti (S6, E7),” I sit with two success stories of people who have suffered with forms of mental illness who have come out on the other side. 

Part 1:

When Tom Woodrow was 17, his life took a sharp turn. During a road trip with friends, Tom experienced his first manic episode, and subsequently ended up in a psychiatric hospital-misdiagnosed with depression and subjected to electroshock therapy. After years of struggling, and after nearly losing his life in India durin...

In the episode, "Spotlight on Psychotherapy Beyond Traditional Boundaries with Al Galves: Finding Well-being by Targeting the Underlying Causes of Mental Distress, (S6, E6)" psychoanalyst Galves joins the show to share his own personal lived experience and his insight on the problems with the traditional treatment model in psychiatry. Author of "Harness Your Dark Side: Mastering Jealousy, Rage, Frustration and Other Negative Emotions," Al shares compelling stories that reveal the importance of addressing unmet emotional needs to combat depression and dissatisfaction.

Galves challenges the medical model of mental illness arguing that mental health issues are not just...

In the episode, "Finding the Support and Mindset to Be Bold, Invite in Change, and Regain Play with Mr. D (S6, E5)", I invite back my former Social Studies grammar school teacher, Don DiBenedetto, or Mr. D, to share his anecdotes and enthusiasm for how to bring in change into your life through learning how to align with the right mindset. Now a teacher of spirituality, Mr. D shows us through a variety of techniques how we all can co-create with the universe to bring into our lives our greatest wishes and dreams.

#bipolarartist #manic #depression  #joyfulness #c...

In the episode, "The Start-Up Story of a Theater Company: An Interview with Alan Lutwin, President of Westchester Collaborative Theater (S6, E4)," Alan shares the journey of Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT), located in Ossining, NY, a new play development company that incubates new works for the stage. By drawing in actors, writers and directors, WCT combines creative resources to bring original plays to fruition. Members participate in a lab process where, several times a month, new plays are read and critiqued. As the first time the work has been seen, plays workshopped in labs help forge the link between...

In the episode, “The A.W.A.R.E. Project and Crisis Taking Center Stage, with Crisis Counselor, Carlito Cabelin (S6 E3),” Carlito shares his personal journey on both sides of the mental health system. After his own positive experience in an outpatient program after a personal crisis, Carlito does not prosecute the system, but rather sheds light on what interactions with program and staff actually work and provide healing. 

As an Employee-ownership industry executive, he balances his time as a NJ Certified Disaster Crisis Counselor and Mental Health Peer Support coach. Now, as a first responder for p...

In the episode, "Exploring Subconscious Architecture with Manex Ibar, Shaman, Mystic and Founder of Sphinx Code" (S6, E2), Manex shares his personal journey in discovering his shamanic path and how others can too. Manex points out that many who are tribal shamans, were initiated by those already on the path, unlike many in Western cultures, who are often considered psychotic. 

Manex speaks about his channeled system of the Sphinx Code and how it can help others find their unique path and also shares about the science and spiritual perspective of the psychedelic revolution and what plant medicine c...

In the episode, "An Interview with Delicia Niami, Author of Kissing Asphalt: On Trauma, Healing, and Resilience (S6 E1)," Delicia joins the show sharing her 3 part memoir series, Resilient AF. The first book in the series, Kissing Asphalt: The Courageous True Story of One Child's Unbreakable Spirit—From Kidnapping & Abuse to Self-Love, tells the story of her early years within a traumatic set of experiences many might not have bounced back from. At the early age of 7, Delicia experienced being kidnapped by her own dad and brought to Bagdad Iraq. 

Through all the trauma, Delicia shines light on...

In the episode, "Journeys Beyond the Frontier: A Conversation with Psychiatrist Mark Ragins On Treating and Interacting with Psychosis (S5, E17)" I connect with Mark at the ISPS Conference at the University of Delaware where he was giving a talk, on the subject of psychosis and how those who suffer with it are treated by the medical field. Mark has a humanistic and compassionate approach when dealing with those who are sometimes the most feared and avoided characters in the area of mental illness, those with severe mental illness (SMI), and particularly psychosis. He invites in a new paradigm...

In the episode, "The New Language of Neurodiversity, Decolonization, Depathologization: On Location at the ISPS Conference with Six Voices on a Mission (S5, E16)," I go on location to connect with The International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS), which is a pioneering organization with almost 70 years of advocating for transformative psychosocial understandings and approaches to psychosis that restore personhood, dignity, and well-being. The weekend-long conference held at the University of Delaware from October 27th-29th gathered clinicians, researchers, advocates, and people with lived experience, who are deeply invested in advancing psychological and social approaches to “ps...

In the episode, "An Interview with Tanya Frank, Author of Zig-Zag Boy: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood (S5, E15)," Tanya lends her powerful voice to the show, sharing her insight and experience with the mental health industry.  Tanya’s association with the mental health system began in 2009 when Zach, Tanya’s son, was diagnosed in 2009 after his first episode with hearing voices.  Both Zach and Tanya were not happy with the treatment offered, and Tanya opens up about his forced drugging and coercive hospitalization, as well as the alternative treatments that lent hope and relief. 

Tanya also sh...

In the episode, "The Vision and Voice of Janet Werner: The Documentary, the Movie, the Movement (S5, E14)," Janet joins the show to share her message on spiritual emergencies shedding light on the spiritual side of mental health, and specifically, the spiritually transformative experiences that often get misdiagnosed as mental illness.

Forty-four years ago while in her master’s degree program Janet had an astonishing mystical experience which turned into a spiritual emergency and resulted in being misdiagnosed as Bipolar, involuntarily hospitalized and required to take Lithium against her will. Twenty-five years later in 2005, Janet had another sp...

In the episode, "On the Polycrisis with Mark McCormack: Psychiatric Coercion, Hegel, A.I. and Saving Humanity (S5, E13),"  Mark begins with sharing his intimate experience with psychiatry and its oppressive structure. A peaceful protestor of 20 years, while on a hunger strike protesting the polycrisis, Mark describes how the institution overtook his life through forced hospitalization and a list of human rights violations. He speaks of his pressing class action lawsuit, which holds accountable the mental health care system in Canada with potential to go global.

Mark also reveals his passion behind the German philosopher, G.W.F...

In the episode, "On Location in NYC: Believing in Yourself with Ballet Dancer and Podcaster Michelle Williams (S5, E12)," Michelle and I reconnect to do another podcast on location in NYC. Born and bred in California, Michelle hits the streets of NYC to reclaim her original dream of living as a professional dancer. She shares what kept her believing in herself and how she stayed the course toward manifesting her dream.

Michelle and I also share our stories of lived experience with the mental health industry--from being forced on debilitating meds to having our closest friends and...

In the episode, "Exploring the Healing Power of Laughter with Barry Taylor, Founder of Laugh Therapy (S5, E11)," Gelotologist and accredited Laughter Therapist, Barry Taylor joins the show and shares the beneficial healing benefits laughter can produce. Using techniques in the area of laughter therapy, Barry pulls from his background as a former English and drama teacher to bring play into programs and workshops that facilitate an uplifting  change in our state of mind, which can ultimately aid us in our mental health. When we laugh, activation of positive chemicals that make us feel safe, lift our mood, and m...

In the episode, "Global Sustainability Through Healing Our Collective Trauma with Benjamin Casteillo, founder of New World Together (S5, E10)," Benjamin begins with sharing his spiritual emergency beginning in 2004, which involved the forcible, inhumane treatment of the psychiatric institution. After going deep into inner realms, Benjamin realized he needed to change his direction.  In 2017, Benjamin Casteillo made the bold decision to leave behind a successful corporate career as a senior manager and expert consultant. His goal was to concentrate on finding solutions to the pressing global issue of sustainability, with a special emphasis on discovering and addressing the hidden r...

In the episode, "On Nutrition, Exercise, and Emotional Fitness with Author and Fitness Expert  David Greenwalt (S5, E9)," David shares his wisdom on overall health after being in the business for over 30 years . David discusses how along with nutrition and activity, emotional fitness is a crucial component to maintaining your fitness goals long term. Involving self-awareness, self-regulation, social connections, and feeling authentically good, strengthening our emotional fitness can change our lives.  David also points to the latest studies regarding ultra-processed foods and their link to depression and anxiety. A health coach to the core, David shares advice on how to...

In the episode "A.I. News: Open Letter To Pause, Existential Risks to Humanity, Its Supporters & Deniers (S5, E8)," I discuss the recent Open Letter to Pause Giant AI Experiments recently composed by the Future of Life Institute, and present the arguments for taking the risk analysis more seriously. With signers of the letter including Elon Musk, Emad Mostaque, Steve Wozniak, Max Tegmark, Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, I share some of their positions including some recent articles, podcasts and videos discussing the dilemma.

#deeplearning #AIrevolution #humanextinction #generativeAI #blackbox #dontlookup #LivBoeree #Danielschmachtenberger #tristanharris #azaraskin #maxtegmark #eliezeryudkowsky #centerforhumanetechnology...

In the episode, "An Interview with Author Rob Wipond on His Book, 'Your Consent Is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships'" (S5, E7), I have the chance to explore my most esteemed topics of psychiatric coercion and forced treatment with one of the major players right now in the field, journalist Rob Wipond.

Rob Wipond is a freelance journalist and creative nonfiction writer who writes frequently at the interfaces between psychiatry, civil rights, community issues, policing, surveillance and privacy, and social change. His articles have been nominated for seventeen magazine and...

In the episode, "The A.I. Future is NOW: Job Loss, Adaptation, Immersion, & Reorganizing Human Society (S5, E6)," I share how the AI Future is upon us and there is no stopping it. I cover a spectrum of material from Vernor Vinge's essay "Technological Singularity" to the inaccuracies of Chat GPT 4, to machine learning failing to identify depression based on neurobiology. As lead researcher Nils R. Winter stated, "The fact that we cannot find meaningful (univariate or multivariate) neurobiological differences on the level of the individual for one of the most prevalent mental disorders should give us pause.” 

In the episode, "Normalizing the Conversation on Mental Health with Kateryn Ferreira, host of Geminme Podcast (S5, E5)," Kateryn joins the show with the message that the power is within each one of us. She gives advice on how to become our best selves, and delivers her encouraging point of view with good sense and a compassionate edge.  Having overcome personal lived experience with mental distress, she believes that mental wellness is maintained through a process we work on everyday. She believes that through awareness and being intentional, we can receive clarity in our lives as we allow our p...

In the episode, "Tapering Off Antipsychotics: Avoiding Withdrawal, Practicing Self-Care(S5, E4)," I share my journey I started 2 years ago when I decided to officially remove psychiatry from my life and get off their forced meds for good. Most psychiatrists have no interest in helping a bipolar get off their meds, so I went out on my own, assembled a support group around me, did the research, and invested in my healing. Now after putting my goal front and center for the last 2 years, I have committed to a long and slow taper from Seroquel and Lamictal, and luckily...

In the episode "A.I. Art & Its Implications Part 2: A Chat with NYC Artist G. Romero On the Coming Disruption (S5, E3)," I had the pleasure of interviewing NYC Brooklyn artist G. Romero about all coming changes regarding A.I. --especially the A.I. art revolution and the possible ensuing human art renaissance. After reviewing what these A.I. generative art systems are accomplishing, we take a deeper look at the role of the artist in society, and what we as artists are being called upon to currently do in the face of being the first industry disrupted by...

A.I. Art & Its Implications Part 1: Lost Narratives, the Time Element & Process (S5, E2)

With the explosive popularity and beauty of the newest AI art entering the scene under Stable Diffusion, I decided to share the A.I. controversy so that others can join in the conversation. I talk about my own personal experience to making art and what it means to me. After attending a Native American Historical Landscape exhibition this weekend in the infamous Woodstock, NY, I realize that in the name of progress, we will be leaving the creative class behind as we move...

In the episode, "Psychosis Outside the Box & Chapter 7: Back in New York"-- A Reading from My Memoir" (S5, E1), in opening up about my own first episode psychosis, I start with a description of the project "Psychosis Outside the Box" under the authors Shannon Pagdon and Nev Jones, which can be reviewed here: https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.20220488.
I point to how other traditions worldwide approach states of "psychosis" differently, with more respect and community support. I refer to an article written by Mad in America writer and counselor Jonathan Keyes which can be read...

In the episode, "A Review of PBS's Mysteries of Mental Illness & a Second Anniversary Recap (S4, E17)," I recall much of what led me to doing Not As Crazy As You Think Podcast and share my current status in my tapering journey from psych meds. I also review the 4-part 2021 series broadcasted by PBS titled, "Mysteries of Mental Illness." Offering a summary of each episode, I also give my point of view through the eyes of a psychiatric survivor.

#endthestigma #fakeDSM #psychmedsharm #mentalhealth #mentalillness #psychiatricsurvivor #prescribedharm #chemicalimbalance #psychiatryisnotscience #neuroscience #brainwash #psychmedstapering #PBS ##MentalHealthPBS

Don't forget...

In the episode, "The Untold Perspective: Writer Lynn Rogoff Discusses Bird Woman, Her Audio Drama Creation On Sacajawea (S4, E16)," Lynn joins the show to share her latest project. Lynn Rogoff works as a writer, director, producer, and an Adjunct Professor at the NY Institute of Technology. She is currently producing a shape-shifting Bird Woman®, audio drama multi-episode series based on the Lewis and Clark Native American guide, Sacajawea. Bird Woman®, a magical realism drama, discovers her supernatural shape-shifting powers as part woman and part eagle fighting alongside the expeditioners. In 2019, Rogoff's company wrote and produced Bird Woman, with th...

In the episode, "A Growing Collective of Critics From Mental Health Pros to Psychiatric Survivors --A Changing Story on Mental Illness(S4, E15) ," I explore how the movement is indeed growing, and the voices are getting louder. The critics of psychiatry, who represent mental health professionals, psychiatric survivors, the prescribed harm collective, and many others, are speaking out. The new story about mental illness is about reclamation and renewal. But for decades, that’s not what sufferers have been told. Instead, they’ve been told they have a chemical imbalance and a lifelong brain disease. Psychiatry’s power is that o...

In the episode, "AlphaGo the Movie, Big Data, and AI Psychiatry: Will Humans Be Left Behind? (S4, E14)," I give a review of the film AlphaGo, an award-winning documentary that filled me with wonder and forgiveness towards the artificial intelligence movement in general. SPOILER ALERT: the episode contains spoilers, as would any news article on the topic as it was major world news and was a game-changer for artificial intelligence.

DeepMind has a fundamental desire to understand intelligence. These AI creatives believe if they can crack the ancient game Go, then they’ve done something special. And if...

In the episode, "Recovery from Schizophrenia with Tracey Higgins, Author of 'The Girl On the Bridge' (S4, E13)," Tracey shares her personal story of healing without psych meds from her bout with schizophrenia. Her story offers hope to those who suffer from the most troubling form of madness for both patients and psychiatrists, one that is often treated with disrespect and disdain. Psychiatry believes there is no recovery for schizophrenics or bipolars, but Tracey's road to recovery proves this is a false narrative. By looking through a trauma lens, schizophrenia can be witnessed in its early onset of the...

In the episode, "Getting Real with Jessica Schiller Silverman, Podcaster & Spiritual Wellness Expert: On Trauma, Self-Love, and Purpose (S4, E12)," Jessica opens up about her work in consulting, her personal path of mental health, and the state of the Western medical approach to mental illness. Jessica Schiller Silverman is a spiritual wellness expert to help heal past trauma + inner child wounds. Through a trauma-informed approach, she enables women to come ALIVE in her creative passion without sacrificing money, time, or energy. Jessica stepped away from a six-figure career in venture capital in San Francisco to start her own venture...

In the episode, "Opening Up About Process and Pain with Sculptural Artist and Mental Health Advocate, Kellie Gillespie (S4, E11)" sculptural artist and mental health advocate Kellie Gillespie is interested in deepening the conversations within and between art and mental health. Kellie holds an MFA from Rinehart School of Sculpture at Maryland Institute College of Art, and her work focuses on issues specifically associated with mental health, as well as the concepts of recovery and survivorship. Kellie specializes in the use of everyday found and forgotten objects, often unappreciated, and strives to show their hidden value. In this way...

In the episode, "How to Heal Through Nutrition, Mindfulness and Lifestyle with Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Emilie Jordao (S4, E10)," Emilie joins the show to share her own personal wellness journey through natural means. After struggling for 15 years with psychiatric symptoms, before learning how inflammation plays a role in these conditions, she  reclaimed her life, and now offers nutrition and yoga based tools for holistic mental health.

As psychiatry told Emilie she would need her meds forever due to a chemical imbalance, Emilie battled anti-depressant dependency for 7 years. After having difficulty getting off them, she discovered the s...