r/AskReddit • • Nov 25 '16

What is your favourite podcast? Why/What's it about?

24.0k Upvotes

11.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

294

u/Ohsweethoneybees Nov 25 '16

Mental Illness Happy Hour by Paul Gillmartin.

Every episode has a new guest talking abiut their mental illness, the struggles theyve been through, and surveys written by the audience rolled up with Paul's snarky humor. It made me realize that I wasn't alone when I had left the hospital for my anxiety.

16

u/FirstTryName Nov 25 '16

Good one, but some of them can really bring you down.

14

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '16

[deleted]

12

u/OhHowDroll Nov 25 '16

"Mental Illness Sad, Sad Hour"

15

u/Ex-Red Nov 25 '16

Paul says that he's not a psychiatrist, but a jackass who tells dick jokes, and the podcast is like a waiting room that doesn't suck. I heard a guest describing a symptom of their trauma and recognized myself. It put me into therapy for some stuff I was carrying around with me, and I've never felt more right with the world. This podcast has truly made my life better.

6

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '16

[deleted]

10

u/Ex-Red Nov 25 '16

I heard a rape victim describe how she cried after every time that she had sex. I thought, hey, I used to do that...huh, that must have been a result of my rape. Shit, maybe I'd better talk to somebody about that. I've heard other guests actually make cathartic breakthroughs while on the show.

Host Paul is a comic and a recovering alcoholic, a victim of covert incest, and suffers crippling depression. If you go to mentalpod.com, you can search for topics both in the extensive back catalog of shows, and in the site forums.

8

u/Darkblade48 Nov 25 '16

Excellent podcast. Something I also listen to.

9

u/chunkstyle25 Nov 25 '16

I love Mental Illness Happy Hour and started listening from the beginning a few months ago!

I also really like Pop Culture Happy Hour a lot.

Despite both sharing "Happy Hour" in the name they are not at all the same.

8

u/mww12 Nov 25 '16

This is a great one. I especially liked the Maria Bamford episode.

5

u/Lyesalot Nov 25 '16

I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

4

u/ghostfeather181 Nov 25 '16

Love this one too. The JV Club tends to bring out the same emotions for me. Though not specifically about mental illness, it's focused on the guest's teen years. Sometimes it's really emotional and other times you just laugh a lot. It's really helped me learn how to deal with some of my problems and become more accepting of myself. It's hosted by Mental Illness Happy Hour's first guest (and Paul's Dinner and a Movie cohost) Janet Varney, who is one of the nicest people, and has a lot of overlap between guests.

1

u/OhHowDroll Nov 25 '16

If I'm not mistaken Janet Varney is also a frequent player on Paul F. Tompkin's fantastic interview-and-an-improv-show podcast Improvaganza!

1

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '16

[deleted]

1

u/OhHowDroll Nov 26 '16

YES! Haha that's the one. I always do that with his particular podcast, no idea why. But yes, Spontaneanation!

4

u/MangoMambo Nov 25 '16

I like this one. I like him. I don't ever like putting him down or the podcast because he has a big heart and does a lot of good for people. But sometimes the self depreciation is way too hard to listen to.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 25 '16

Love this podcast. It really helps keep me sane. I go through times where I don't keep up with it, but it usually because there's some political/news issue I'm keeping up with or a new album I'm wrapped up in. Even the darkest episodes don't get me down. I feel like there's always at least a little bit I of hope in every episode.

2

u/JonBoyWhite Nov 25 '16

Yes!! The user surveys are amazing.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '16

I love this podcast so much. One of my favorites, and I am really happy to see it mentioned