Today marks 5 years since I’ve been deemed in “remission” from bipolar disorder and anxiety. Let me tell you, this journey is a daily battle. I feel shame in being less than perfect, I felt weak when I received the diagnosis, embarrassed to learn that I have to take medication for the rest of my life. I take it religiously. It’s humbling to accept our flaws, but at some point, we have to grow. I’ve grown. I’ve looked inward. Sought the advice of others. And I have plenty more work to do.

Creative expression is the only therapy that has worked on healing my damaged soul. Behind the tears of the clown and the shirtless selfies there is pain. There is a deep pit of sadness that I run away from inexplicably every morning I get up. While I’m describing doom and gloom – there is most definitely a silver lining here. This. The moment where I share with you how I genuinely feel. I hope somehow through comparative suffering or empathy we can learn to arc – to forgive. The hardest person to forgive during all of this was me. I thought I could’ve done something different to change my genetic predisposition, but rest assured there are some things out of our control in life. I think that’s relatable now more than ever, isn’t it? If you’ve ever experienced a breakdown and want to learn how others have bounced back, maybe you should tune into my latest 2021 project, The Broken Dove Podcast.

The pod analyzes what makes Olympic athletes, comedians, writers, and creatives great by asking hard questions to tough people. We delve into the breakthroughs we have in our respective fields when we destigmatize mental health and move past the roadblocks within our minds.

Season one features Michael Vlamis (Roswell, New Mexico, 2019 Blacklist Alum), Jamal Hill (Team USA Paralympic Swimmer), RiJi RaJa (Founder of Affirmation Darling), Tri Bourne (Team USA Beach Volleyball), Christian A. Pierce (Actor & Executive Producer of The Real Bros of Simi Valley, (US) Unmuted), Krista Simmons (Top Chef, Fork in the Road Media), Kamran Madani (Team USA Karate), Dr. Calvin D. Sun (The Monsoon Diaries, CNN), Chris Devlin (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cobweb), David Fisch (IDFI Media, Suffer For Good), Zachary DiLanzo (Writer, The Daily Show), and Joe Menconi (Writer/Director of 5 Years Apart).

Tune in: 

S1.E1 – Michael Vlamis (CW’s Roswell, New Mexico) 

Michael Vlamis tells the story of how he broke into show business by pretending to be the assistant of a powerful Hollywood producer.