Welcome to Depression Mode.

I'm John Moe. I'm glad you're here. And I hope you'll join me in an effort to make things better.

For your mind, for other people's minds, for the way we think about mental health and

what we do about it. This podcast and all the work I've done about mental health over the years

is a team effort. We're the team. You, me, the producers, your friends, my friends, all of us,

one big team. And we're the good guys.

We're not the baddies. We're the super friends. On depression mode, we're going to talk about the

common mental disorders that affect a lot of people, the ones that create obstacles, stuff like

depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders, trauma, debilitating stress.

This is all stuff that when you're going through it, other people can't always see it.

It's colorless, it's odorless, it doesn't show up on x-rays or cat scans, but it's incredibly real.

You know that.

If you've experienced it or if someone close to you

has, these are illnesses we're talking about and illnesses can be severe. They can be fatal.

We're going to talk about them. And there are a few reasons we're going to do that.

One is to acknowledge that mental disorders exist and to

understand what they are. If you know an enemy before you go into battle, if you know their

tendencies and their lineup and the weapons they have, you are likely to do much better in that

battle. At the heart of this show are stories of personal experience, stories that you might

recognize. If you're listening to the show and you hear a well-known comedian or writer or

musician, say something about what they've been through and you're like, oh my gosh,

I've been through that too or I had the exact same thought.

...