A quick note, this episode contains discussion of suicidality.

I think this episode of the show might make you mad.

It's Depression Mode. I'm John Moe. I am glad you're here.

Look, I hope this episode, this interview, doesn't make you mad.

I don't want anyone to be mad.

It's just that the talk we're going to have today is kind of about challenging some established ways of thinking when it comes to mental health.

If you think of yourself as having a

certain mental health condition, if you have that identity, if that gives you clarity, well,

the clarity might get a little fogged up today. That might make you defensive, but I encourage you to

listen. Don't have to agree with everything, but listening anyway tends to be a good idea.

Today's talk is about challenging the reliability and usefulness of mental health diagnoses,

challenging the idea of the definitiveness of a diagnosis, particularly the diagnosis as noun.

This person is a depressive. That person is an

addict. Sarah Fay is an author, educator, mental health advocate, and a person who has struggled

with mental health issues for most of her life. She's the author of Pathological, the true

story of six misdiagnoses, originally published in

2022 and re-released this past summer. Sarah believes that mental illness is real, to suffer,

to be in distress, that is real, to go to therapy for some help, that's useful and real,

but the science, the cold cold hard facts about the objective

reality of it all, maybe not so real. I talked to Sarah about mental health, science,

and what she says were her six misdiagnoses. Sarah Faye, welcome to Depression Mode.

Thank you so much for having me.

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