Living With Depression: What Lived Experience Teaches Doctors Can't

Could complex PTSD be part of the story behind depression, anxiety, numbness, self-blame, or feeling constantly on edge? In this episode of Giving Voice to Depression, Terry McGuire shares a conversation from RECOVERable with licensed clinical therapist Amanda Stretcher Lewis. Together, they explore complex PTSD, or CPTSD, including how repeated or relational trauma can shape emotional regulation, self-worth, memory, boundaries, and relationships. They discuss why some people feel responsible...

What do you say when someone you care about is struggling with depression and feels completely alone? This episode of Giving Voice to Depression shares Rosaleen's powerful story of a dark night when she felt hopeless and didn't believe anyone could help. After a difficult interaction with the podcast community, Rosaleen received an outpouring of short messages from people she'd never met: “I understand,” “I'm thinking of you,” and “I'm sending hugs.” Those simple expressions of compassion hel...

When someone you love is living with depression, one of the biggest fears is saying the wrong thing. Should you offer advice? Try to cheer them up? Remind them of everything they have to be grateful for? Or simply sit beside them in the darkness? In this deeply moving episode, Terry McGuire and psychologist Dr. Anita Sanz read dozens of heartfelt messages written by members of the Giving Voice to Depression community for a listener who reached out during one of the darkest nights of her life....

Ten years after losing her 24-year-old son Richard to suicide, Ann Marie Farino wants other suicide loss survivors to know something she once believed was impossible: grief and joy can exist together. When the meals stopped arriving, friends returned to their routines, and the world moved forward, Ann Marie was left asking a question familiar to many grieving families: "How do I live now?" In this deeply moving conversation, she shares the small, intentional steps that helped her rebuild a li...

What would you do if your best friend told you they were thinking about suicide—and begged you not to tell anyone? For many teenagers, this isn't a hypothetical question. In the final episode of our three-part Suicide Prevention Month series, suicide prevention expert Dr. Stacey Freedenthal explains why keeping suicidal thoughts secret can place an overwhelming burden on another young person—and why telling a trusted adult is an act of courage, not betrayal. She offers practical guidance for ...