Dead Inside & Board Certified

Episode 15: Confessions of a Therapist

What happens when the person everyone turns to for help finally gets a chance to speak?
In this episode of Dead Inside & Board Certified, we sit down with a licensed therapist for an honest, unfiltered conversation about the realities of mental health work. Beyond the therapy office and professional boundaries are stories of compassion, burnout, heartbreak, hope, and the emotional weight of carrying other people's pain every day.
We discuss the misconceptions about therapy, the challenges therapists face behind the scenes, what clients often don't realize, and the moments that remind clinicians why they continue doing this work despite the difficulties.
Whether you're a mental health professional, someone considering therapy, or simply curious about what it's like on the other side of the couch, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the human being behind the therapist title.
Topics include:
Therapist burnout and compassion fatigue
Boundaries in mental health care
The emotional impact of client stories
Common misconceptions about therapy
What therapists wish people understood
Finding meaning in difficult work
Because therapists are human, too. And sometimes their stories deserve to be heard. 🎙️🖤
#DeadInsideAndBoardCertified #MentalHealth #Therapy #Psychology #TherapistLife #MentalHealthAwareness #HealthcareWorkers #Burnout #Psychiatry #Counseling

Episode 14: Grief, Birth, & Silence.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, Dead Inside & Board Certified is having one of the conversations people avoid most: maternal mental health after stillbirth.
In this deeply personal episode, we sit down with a mother willing to share the reality of losing her baby, navigating postpartum recovery without a child, and surviving the psychological aftermath that follows. Together, we discuss grief, trauma, PTSD, isolation, identity loss, relationship strain, and the silence that often surrounds pregnancy loss.
This episode is raw, honest, and emotionally heavy — not for shock value, but because these stories deserve to be heard.
Maternal mental health is more than postpartum depression. It also includes the mother's carrying grief.
Content warning: discussion of stillbirth, pregnancy loss, trauma, postpartum mental health, and suicidality.

Episode 13: Surviving Someone Else’s Suicide

What happens after the phone call no one ever expects?
In this episode of Dead Inside & Board Certified, we sit down with someone who lost a loved one to suicide and speak honestly about the reality of surviving that kind of grief. We discuss the silence that can exist before suicide, the warning signs people wish they had seen, and the painful truth that sometimes there are none at all.
We also explore survivor’s guilt, unanswered questions, anger, stigma, and what it looks like to keep living after unimaginable loss. Most importantly, we talk about hope — not the kind that magically fixes grief, but the kind that helps people survive it one day at a time.
This episode is raw, vulnerable, and deeply human. If you’ve ever lost someone to suicide, worried about someone you love, or blamed yourself for not “doing more,” this conversation is for you.

Episode 12: The Reality of Treating Suicidality

In this episode of Dead Inside & Board Certified, we talk about the reality of treating suicidality, beyond the checklists, liability fears, and textbook answers. From passive thoughts of “I just don’t want to wake up” to high-risk crisis situations, we break down what suicide assessment and treatment actually look like in the real world of psychiatry, emergency medicine, and outpatient care.
We discuss the warning signs clinicians can miss, the difference between suicidal ideation and intent, when hospitalization helps (and when it doesn’t), safety planning, provider burnout, and the emotional weight of sitting with patients who are struggling to stay alive. We also talk honestly about the uncomfortable reality that not every suicidal patient “looks suicidal.”
This episode is raw, educational, darkly honest, and grounded in real clinical experience from providers working on the front lines of mental health care.
Whether you’re a clinician, student, patient, or someone trying to better understand suicidality, this is a conversation worth having.
⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm, psychiatric hospitalization, and mental health crises.

Episode 11: You’re Going to Die… So Let’s Talk About It

🎙️ You’re Going to Die… So Let’s Talk About It
We plan everything—careers, weddings, vacations… But the one thing that’s guaranteed? We avoid it completely.
In this episode, we’re having the conversation most people put off until it’s too late.
This isn’t about being morbid. It’s about clarity, control, and protecting the people you love.
We break down:
Why avoiding conversations about death actually causes more pain
What your family is left dealing with when there’s no plan
The decisions that matter most (and no one talks about)
How to start the conversation without making it weird or overwhelming
Why “wishes = love” is more than just a saying
As psych providers, we’ve seen what happens on both sides— the chaos, the guilt, the second-guessing… and the peace that comes when people just know what you wanted.
💡 Bottom line: This isn’t about planning your death— it’s about making life easier for the people you leave behind.
Have you had this conversation? What’s one thing you’d want your family to know?

Episode 10: The Emotional Cost of Organ Donation (National Donate Life Month)

LETS CELEBRATE NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH!
This week on Dead Inside & Board Certified, we’re going somewhere most people don’t want to look.
We sit down with an organ donation professional to talk about what really happens behind the scenes… not just the medicine, but the moments that break you, shape you, and sometimes put you back together in a completely different way.
We get into the conversations no one prepares you for... walking into rooms on someone’s worst day, talking to grieving families, and somehow finding a balance between devastation and purpose.
We also break down some of the biggest myths around organ donation and talk about what people actually need to know before checking that donor box.
If you’ve ever wondered what this work does to a person… or what it teaches you about life, death, and everything in between—this one’s for you.
🎧 Listen now and maybe… rethink what it means to give someone a second chance.

Episode 9: The Downfall of Relationships Part 2

We’re getting more “connected” than ever… but why do relationships feel more disposable, distant, and complicated?
In this episode, we dive into how social media and online dating are quietly reshaping intimacy. From endless options and unrealistic expectations to comparison culture, validation chasing, and emotional detachment—are we sabotaging real connection without even realizing it?
We talk about: • Why dating apps are changing commitment • How social media fuels insecurity and comparison • The illusion of “better options” • Why vulnerability feels harder than ever • And what it actually takes to build something real in a digital world
This isn’t about blaming technology—it’s about understanding how it’s influencing us, so we can take back control of how we love, connect, and show up.
If you’ve ever felt burnt out, disconnected, or questioning modern dating… this one’s for you.
Episode 9 is live now — tune in and let’s talk about it.

Episode 8: The Downfall of Relationships Part 1

Episode 8.1: The Downfall of Relationships
Somewhere along the way, relationships stopped being real…and started being curated.
We went from connection → comparison.From intimacy → performance.From “this works for us” → “why doesn’t my life look like theirs?”
Now we’re trying to build relationships while:
comparing our partners to highlight reels on social media
expecting porn-level performance without real-life communication
and never actually being present… because our phones are always in our hands
No one taught us how to love in a world that’s constantly watching.
So now we’re asking the question—are relationships actually failing…or are our expectations just completely warped?
🎙️ In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on:• social media’s quiet destruction of intimacy• unrealistic standards we don’t even realize we’ve adopted• why no one feels satisfied anymore (even in “good” relationships)• and what it’s costing us—emotionally, mentally, and relationally
⚠️ Next week (Episode 8.2): we go deeper—dating apps, hookup culture, and what the internet has really done to connection.
Because it only gets worse from here.
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💬 Drop your thoughts:Are relationships actually worse now… or are we just expecting too much?
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you spiral.

Episode 7: Red Pill or Red Flag: The Manosphere.

What happens when loneliness, identity, and algorithm-driven echo chambers collide?
In this episode, we descend into the manosphere—a corner of the internet that promises power, control, and “truth,” but often delivers isolation, anger, and distorted views of relationships and self-worth.
We break down the new Netflix documentary, react to some wild hot takes, and explore the mental health undercurrents driving it all: male loneliness, insecurity, shame, and the weaponization of pseudo-psychology.
This isn’t just about “toxic men.” It’s about what happens when people go looking for belonging…and end up somewhere darker.
Come for the chaos. Stay for the clinical insight.
 

Episode 6: Your Ex Isn't a Narcissist (Probably)...

Somewhere along the way, the internet decided that every bad partner, every disagreement, and every uncomfortable conversation must mean one thing:
“They’re a narcissist.”
In this episode, we unpack how therapy language has taken on a life of its own online, and why words like narcissistic personality disorder and gaslighting are being thrown around far more than they’re actually happening.
We talk about:
• What narcissism actually is vs. normal selfish or toxic behavior • What Narcissistic Personality Disorder really looks like clinically • Why not every unhealthy relationship means someone has a personality disorder • How social media turned therapy language into everyday insults • What gaslighting actually is, and what it isn’t • The difference between manipulation, lying, conflict, and true psychological gaslighting
 
And sometimes we need better language for complicated relationships than diagnosing everyone we disagree with.
 
Let’s talk about it.