Stories and Stanza

The Dark Humor That Saved My Life in the Psych Ward

In this episode of Stories and Stanzas, host Abhra sits down with Robert Rickelmann for an unflinching conversation about a life shaped by mental illness and addiction. Robert grew up with crippling anxiety — and discovered early on that alcohol made him feel fearless, confident, and finally comfortable in his own skin. That relief came at a devastating cost. What began as a coping mechanism consumed his law school career, his sense of self, and nearly his life. In 1996, Robert made a major suicide attempt that landed him in a psychiatric hospital for a month, where he was diagnosed as Seriously Mentally Ill — carrying diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder, severe depression, OCD, and borderline personality disorder. The years that followed brought repeated hospitalizations, a long and grueling journey through medications, and immeasurable strain on his marriage. Through it all, Robert scribbled notes on scraps of paper — in psych wards, in dark moments, in the margins of a life he was trying to hold together. Those fragments became a memoir. After years of rejections from agents and publishers, he signed with Apprentice House Publishing, releasing Jumping Off the End on May 5, 2025 — timed deliberately with Mental Health Awareness Month. This conversation covers the seductive lie of alcohol as self-medication, the stigma men face when seeking help, dark humor as a survival tool, the invisible weight carried by caregivers, and what it means to be sober since January 10, 2013. Robert's book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jumping-End-Lifetime-Struggle-Alcoholism/dp/1627206604/ [https://www.amazon.com/Jumping-End-Lifetime-Struggle-Alcoholism/dp/1627206604/]   Stories & Stanza A podcast for curious minds   Follow Us Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/storiesandstanza/] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/storiesandstanza/] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@storiesandstanza] X [https://x.com/storiesnstanza] WhatsApp Channel [https://wa.openinapp.link/wjcwe]   Listen & Read ▶ Spotify [https://spotify.openinapp.co/storiesandstanza] ▶ Apple Podcasts [https://apple.openinapp.link/u3ui2] ✎ Read on Substack [https://openinapp.link/ion0e]   Tools We Love ↗ Grow on YouTube with vidIQ [https://vidiq.com/storiesandstanza] 🎤 Edit Podcasts with Descript [https://get.descript.com/stories-and-stanza] ☕ Buy me a coffee [https://ko-fi.com/storiesandstanza] © 2025 Stories & Stanza · All rights reserved

This Artist Illustrates What OCD Actually Feels Like

In this episode, host sits down with writer, illustrator, and mental health advocate Mia Mason to explore her book Worry's Whispers — a collection of illustrated poems woven together with a graphic-novel section that follows Drew's journey through OCD and anxiety, from isolation all the way to seeking help, diagnosis, and resilience. Mia shares her personal journey, including her own lived experience of OCD as "sticky" intrusive thoughts, morality fears, and reassurance-seeking compulsions, and discusses how therapy-inspired drawings grew into the book's unique format. She reads a poem depicting health anxiety and the spiralling "why" of intrusive thoughts, and describes OCD as a ghost named Worry whose whispers can fade to background noise with the right treatment. The conversation also touches on values-based action — doing meaningful things despite fear — and why the book resonates not just for people with OCD, but for anyone who loves or supports them. Watch the video version of this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TeU0uxR1gP8 [https://youtu.be/TeU0uxR1gP8] About Mia Mason : Artist, actress, author, and mental health advocate. Mia uses storytelling and illustration to build compassion and connection around anxiety and OCD — blending emotional honesty with advocacy so others feel understood, supported, and less alone. Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worrys_whispers/ [https://www.instagram.com/worrys_whispers/] Worry's Whispers on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1BQWW63 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1BQWW63]   Stories & Stanza A podcast for curious minds   Follow Us Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/storiesandstanza/] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/storiesandstanza/] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@storiesandstanza] X [https://x.com/storiesnstanza] WhatsApp Channel [https://wa.openinapp.link/wjcwe]   Listen & Read ▶ Spotify [https://spotify.openinapp.co/storiesandstanza] ▶ Apple Podcasts [https://apple.openinapp.link/u3ui2] ✎ Read on Substack [https://openinapp.link/ion0e]   Tools We Love ↗ Grow on YouTube with vidIQ [https://vidiq.com/storiesandstanza] 🎤 Edit Podcasts with Descript [https://get.descript.com/stories-and-stanza] ☕ Buy me a coffee [https://ko-fi.com/storiesandstanza] © 2025 Stories & Stanza · All rights reserved

Manifestation Isn't About Wanting More—It's About This

In this episode of Stories and Stanza, host Abhra and guest David Allen Brown discuss reframing a “midlife crisis” as a midlife renaissance, exploring how depression can feel like numbness that can turn to despair. Brown shares his background as a teacher, speaker, and writer, his divorce and move from Indianapolis to New York City, and how finding a good therapist after COVID and committing to honesty became a turning point. They examine authenticity as both a personal and creative necessity, including Brown’s decision to write an unflinching memoir and his view that being oneself attracts the right people. Brown also explains his approach to writing through intentional pre-writing, theme, and structure, reads an excerpt about caregiving stress, and outlines a model of self-talk integrating higher power, action, and emotions, culminating in a manifestation framework focused on cultivating general aligned energy rather than specific outcomes. David Alan Brown has been teaching personal empowerment, leadership, organizational development, self discovery and spirituality to audiences across the country for more than thirty years. He is the author of many books, including Answer the Call: What to do when Spirit arrives to transform your life! and The Self-Help Paradox. He frequently leads classes and services at progressive congregations, including more than a decade of service at New Thought Unity Center of Cincinnati and churches from Florida to Minnesota, Arizona to New York. He also facilitates and consults for corporations and nonprofit organizations, leading programs on leadership, culture, authenticity, presentation skills and staff development. David holds a BFA from New York University, is a fan of auto racing, writes and evaluates live theater, and coaches writers and storytellers. His most recent publication is an online course, Convergence, which teaches people how to recognize and regulate their inner voices to live intentionally each day and manifest their goals. He's here to talk with us about how this became his life's work, how he integrates it into his daily life and what makes it special. His website: https://davidalanbrown.com/convergence/ [https://davidalanbrown.com/convergence/]  Stories & Stanza A podcast for curious minds   Follow Us Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/storiesandstanza/] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/storiesandstanza/] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@storiesandstanza] X [https://x.com/storiesnstanza] WhatsApp Channel [https://wa.openinapp.link/wjcwe]   Listen & Read ▶ Spotify [https://spotify.openinapp.co/storiesandstanza] ▶ Apple Podcasts [https://apple.openinapp.link/u3ui2] ✎ Read on Substack [https://openinapp.link/ion0e]   Tools We Love ↗ Grow on YouTube with vidIQ [https://vidiq.com/storiesandstanza] 🎤 Edit Podcasts with Descript [https://get.descript.com/stories-and-stanza] ☕ Buy me a coffee [https://ko-fi.com/storiesandstanza] © 2025 Stories & Stanza · All rights reserved

Between the Lines with Áine : Migration, Belonging, and the Courage to Write

In this Stories and Stanza “Between the Lines” episode, host Abhra interviews writer Áine , an Irish immigrant living on the U.S. East Coast, about how journaling from age 14 evolved into publishing fiction and nonfiction. Áine describes feeling “immigrant shell shock,” finding courage through immigrant literature, and being accepted into a university fiction workshop that revealed how others perceive a writer’s narrative voice. She recounts the shock of her first short story and later nonfiction acceptance, and how her work began moving between Ireland, the U.K., and the U.S., including a first book published in Dublin and partnered with Simon & Schuster. She shares questions she asks before writing memoir, reads a piece from a hybrid poetry/essay collection, discusses inspiration versus discipline, and reflects on migration, identity, listening, and the challenge of writing in a world that values shorter, more entertaining content, ending with encouragement that everyone deserves time to write. Please find her website here: https://www.ainegreaney.com/

Fail Without Shame: John on Mental Health Stigma, Misinformation, and Owning Your Flaws

Host Abhra speaks with Melbourne-based counselor and media creator John of Your Listener Counseling about reframing failure and reducing mental health stigma. John argues that society overemphasizes success, causing people to mislabel learning experiences as crippling failures and to shame themselves, and he links stigma around mental illness to a broader stigma against “failing” to meet societal expectations. He critiques both shaming and denial-based “positivity,” using autism as an example of how calling challenges a “superpower” can avoid acknowledging real difficulties, and emphasizes accepting flaws, working on change when possible, and accommodating what cannot be changed. They discuss shallow mental-health messaging, emotional exploitation and misinformation in media, the need for critical thinking, and core self-care pillars such as introspection, deliberate decision-making, meaningful activity, and valuing human connections. John Cuturilo is a counsellor, writer, and podcast host in Melbourne, Australia. He conducts therapy with a diverse range of clients and specialises in working with complex trauma and relational matters. His seeks to address shortcomings in common practice by being versatile, educative, empowering, and relatable, integrating humanity and lived experience with evidence-based methods. As a writer and host, he educates his audience about how psychology applies to their lives, encouraging them to be more critical, constructive thinkers. He eschews politics and popular rhetoric for a pursuit of objective reality and nuanced analysis. Find him at: www.yourlistener.com.au -------------------- Follow Us on Social Media:   Facebook https://www.facebook.com/storiesandstanza/    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/storiesandstanza/    YouTube @storiesandstanza    Join Our WhatsApp Channel  https://wa.openinapp.link/wjcwe    X https://x.com/storiesnstanza Follow Us on Audio Podcast: Listen on Spotify https://spotify.openinapp.co/storiesandstanza  Listen on Apple Podcast https://apple.openinapp.link/u3ui2 Read on Substack https://openinapp.link/ion0e -------------------- Want to grow on YouTube? Try vidIQ: https://vidiq.com/storiesandstanza  Want to edit your Podcasts in a breeze? try Descript: https://get.descript.com/stories-and-stanza  Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/storiesandstanza ----------------