This episode contains descriptions of domestic violence and suicidal ideation.

It's Depression Mode. I'm John Mo. I'm glad you're here. Mental health is not generally best viewed as a straight line. It's much more like a bowl

of spaghetti. I'll explain. It's not a matter of, you know, because of A, B happens, and then C fixes it,

and then you arrive at D completely fine. No, it's not straight lines like that. It's just

noodles all over the place. And that's about as far as I want to go with the whole spaghetti metaphor.

Multiple aspects of a person's mind and life occur simultaneously, overlapping and influencing

other parts of that life. People are complicated. Nonetheless,

it is incumbent upon all of us, I believe, to try to make sense of our own mind, our own skull

puzzle as best we can. And so, meet Gabby Dunn, to whom we will talk about sexual orientation, gender

identity, bipolar disorder, alcoholic family members, and even personal finance. Gabby is the co-host

of Just Between Us, a podcast where Gabby and their co-host, Alison Raskaskin talk about mental health and sex and being a person

in the world. Allison was on depression mode last year. Gabby also hosts the podcast Bad with Money,

which is about personal finance. That show is based on their book, Bad with Money. Their personal

finance advice career sprung from recovering

from financial wreckage exacerbated by a bipolar disorder. At one point during a manic state,

Gabby used their last 800 bucks to fly to Paris on a whim, then had no money in Paris, which is

not good personal finance practice.

Along the way, through their life, through their career, Gabby has also been figuring out

their sexuality and gender identity. You may have noticed I've been using they-them pronouns.

Gabby has had a lot to deal with, a lot of obstacles. And something that happens a lot

on an obstacle course is you can fall down. Gabby had a large, significant breakdown in 2008,

and has had some other rocky events since that time while trying to get squared away. Gabby Dunn grew up in Florida and says any kind of non-straight sexuality was largely closeted

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