EPISODE 114: MIKE

The laughter starts at the very beginning this week. Mike is a brilliant storyteller with a particularly compelling voice, and he makes Renée laugh - a lot. But don't let his buoyant humor fool you: Mike has been through it. "I would just sit at home and cry," he explains of the long stretches of time in his life when he has been lost in emotional pain. To make matters more difficult, Mike cannot pinpoint the exact source of his distress. He and Renée sort through the delusions, depressions, and difficulties that have defined his three decades of life and find that there is likely a complicated knot of childhood trauma, intergenerational trauma, and neurological injury that led to Mike's unusual symptoms - and ultimately to his psychotic break. They talk masculinity, mania, mushrooms, dreams, diagnoses, and more while Renée organizes Mike's experiences and symptoms, finally pulling it all together into a unique formulation. This one is different in the best possible way, thanks largely to Mike's engaging personality, beautiful candor, and excellent insight. Plus, Renée makes an exciting announcement in the intro and answers some listener questions about trauma and memory. This one is equal parts learning and laughter, just the way we like it.