The following podcast is a dear media production.

When I was a kid, my brother and I, we were both painfully shy and quiet and awkward.

Believe it or not, because here I am literally yapping my brains out as a podcast host,

a solo podcast host on that.

I was so painfully shy and quiet that my teachers would constantly call home concerned for me.

Like, is Carla okay?

Shocker, I was not okay.

I had the big D, not big D. The big D depression and

the big A anxiety. And you know what? So do my brother come to think of it. I don't know what was in

the water in Waverly, Nova Scotia, where I grew up. I'm thinking like we might need to file a

class action lawsuit or something because why would we all so anxious and depressed? If you grew up. I'm thinking like we might need to file a class action lawsuit or something because

why would we all so anxious and depressed? If you grew up in Waverly and you have crippling mental

illness, please reach out and get in touch with my lawyer. But my brother's about three years older than me.

So we'd go to the local convenience store in our community. Our parents would give us five bucks each.

Yes, I know. That's how old I am. I'm 100 fucking years old. Five bucks could actually get you something when I was growing up. You guys are like, cool story, grandpa. I promise that this has a point. Our parents would send us into the store with their $5 and they'd say, you have to go to the cashier and pay for it yourself.. Like we're not coming in with you. You can do it. This was like the first boss of having anxiety.

The final boss is actually sharing all of your mental illness to the world on a podcast.

I'm joking. That's the second final boss. The actual final boss is making a phone call

to your doctor's office without your mummy.

My brother and I, we would be like, damn, I really want some candy.

Like, I'm dying for a sourkey.

But I desperately do not want to face the unbearable anxiety of having an interaction with another human.

Meanwhile, like, it was literally the friendly neighborhood convenience store owner Sammy, who's the nicest guy in the world. We're like, can't do it. Exchanging cash for goods? No, no, no, no. That's terrifying. And I would be petrified, but I'd look at my brother and I'd be like, you know what? I got this. While this is a true story, admittedly not the most interesting one in the world, it's also

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