Thank you for joining us for episode 521 of Live Happy Now.

As we wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month, it's a great time to talk with someone who is literally changing the way we talk about mental health.

I'm your host, Paula Phelps, and this week I'm joined by Dominique Lawson, an accomplished award-winning

podcaster whose new show, Mental Health Rewritten, is tackling stigmatized mental health topics

head on. By taking on issues surrounding addiction and recovery, he is changing the way we talk

about such things as sex, suicide, and cultural identity, and is teaching us all about the role of empathy

and overcoming shame. Let's have a listen. Well, Dominic, thank you for joining me on Live

Happy Now. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here.

We're excited to have you because here at Live Happy Now, we've been talking about Mental Health

Awareness Month all throughout May.

And so this obviously is a great time to have you on the show.

And before we talk about everything that you're doing, I'm really interested in finding out.

And I know our listeners will want to know how did you become so interested in and committed to the mental health space?

That's an excellent question.

So I've always had a level of empathy for people with mental illness and mental health challenges,

right?

But it wasn't until along my podcasting journey that a behavioral health company reached out

and said, hey, our behavioral health podcaster left for NPR, would you mind filling in in his slot? And first,

I'm just going to be honest with you, Paul. I was like, are you paying checks? Because if it's not

trade. Yeah, yeah. And he was like, of course. You know, of course. Like, all right, cool. But

honestly, as I dived into the work, and keep in mind, I'm not a clinician.

I am just an advocate, just a person who believes in the awareness of mental health and

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