The Depression Files

Sep 24 2023 120 ep. 72 mins 137
The Depression Files Podcast artwork

Men experience depression differently. Al Levin interviews men who have suffered from depression, educating those who may know little about mental illnesses while giving hope to those who may be suffering. After three years of compiling and sharing stories, Al now includes interviews of experts on various topics around mental health.

  Health & Fitness
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Al Interviews John MacPhee | CEO of The Jed Foundation

Sep 24 2023 88 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews John MacPhee, CEO of The Jed Foundation (recorded 8-9-23). John describes his own mental health challenges and how they impacted him as a Division I college basketball player. John also describes the work of The Jed Foundation that supports students and young adults around mental health, resiliency, and suicide prevention. You'll hear about the work t

Al Interviews Dr. Mark Harper | Attending Anesthesiologist in the UK and Norway, Researcher & Author on the Topic of Cold-Water Swimming

Aug 27 2023 56 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Dr. Mark Harper, attending anesthesiologist in the UK and Norway, researcher, and author (recorded 7-18-23). Dr. Harper describes how, although keeping patients warm during surgery was a significant part of his job, he drew a fascination towards cold-water swimming and its impact on one's mental health. Dr. Harper describes the research that he has be

Al Interviews Shannon Walker | Founder & CEO of Northwest Battle Buddies

Jul 30 2023 46 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Shannon Walker, founder and CEO of Northwest Battle Buddies (recorded 7-11-23). Shannon describes her passion for training dogs and how she came to train service dogs for military veterans who are living with PTSD. Shannon explains the process; from five months of training the dogs, to receiving detailed information on the veterans seeking service do

Al Interviews Craig Stanland | Former Account Manager of a Large Tech Company, Formerly Incarcerated & Now a Reinvention Architect

Jun 25 2023 115 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Craig Stanland, former account manager of a large tech company, formerly incarcerated in federal prison, and now a Reinvention Architect (recorded 6-7-23). Craig describes how he had it all; a wonderful wife, a fantastic job, multiple homes, beautiful cars, expensive watches. Craig would spend most days shopping at extravagant stores and bouncing into

Al Interviews Hal Hughes | Former Police Officer, Former MMA Fighter & Current Psychotherapist

May 28 2023 58 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Hal Hughes, former police officer, former MMA fighter, and current psychotherapist (recorded 4-16-23). Hal shares his story of two separate work-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that led him into a deep, dark depression, an opioid addiction, and a diagnosis of both post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder. At one point, Hal was

Al Interviews Mark Horowitz | PhD in the Neurobiology of Depression and the Pharmocology of Antidepressants on the Topic of Weaning Antidepressants

Apr 30 2023 99 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Dr. Mark Horowitz, a doctor in the neurobiology of depression and the pharmacology of antidepressants at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King's College London, a research fellow in the National Health Service in England and a co-founder of Outro on the topic of weaning antidepressants (recorded 2-12-23). Dr. Horowitz descr

Al Interviews Peggy Van de Plassche | Former Banker and Venture Capitalist on the Topic of Microdosing Psychedelics

Mar 26 2023 97 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Peggy Van de Plassche, former banker and venture capitalist on the topic of microdosing psychedelics (recorded 11-13-22). Peggy grew up in low-income housing in an industrial area of the North of France raised by a struggling, single, narcissistic mother. During part of her childhood, she was also living with a stepfather who was not only majorly depr

Al Interviews Kody Green | Motivational Speaker & Content Creator with Over 1M Followers on TikTok (The Schizophrenic Hippie)

Feb 26 2023 73 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Kody Green, motivational speaker and content creator with over one million followers on TikTok, where he is known as The Schizophrenic Hippie (recorded 12-2-22). Kody shares the challenges of being raised by a single mother who was living with schizoaffective disorder. He shares that, even knowing the symptoms of serious mental illness, he didn't seek

Al Interviews Kaitlynne Yancy | Navy Veteran & Associate Director of Governmental Affairs of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

Jan 29 2023 63 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews Kaitlynne Yancy, a navy veteran and the Associate Director of Governmental Affairs of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) (recorded 10-26-22). Kaitlynne shares her own story of trauma that she has experienced in her personal life. She also shares what the IAVA is doing to address and eliminate active military and veteran suicides. You

Al Interviews CeCe Cheng | Founder of ShareWell - A Mental Health Company That Provides Virtual Peer Support Services

Dec 25 2022 56 mins  
In this episode, Al interviews CeCe Cheng, founder of ShareWell, a mental health company that provides virtual peer support services (recorded 10-24-22). From the fall of 2019 through October 2020, CeCe found herself in an emotionally abusive relationship that included daily gaslighting, pathological lying, and severe manipulation. While CeCe had a strong support network of friends