Books, Looks, and Lobotomies

Alegra Kastens
  • 4.8 (48)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Books, Looks, and Lobotomies

As a mentally ill hot girl who has struggled with unrealistic beauty standards since the womb and could use a (theoretical but maybe literal) lobotomy, therapist and author Alegra Kastens intertwines her clinical wisdom and lived experience to gab about books of all genres. Not a bookworm? Have no fear (or do because #anxiety): she has done the reading for you. All you have to do is tune in, Lobotomommies!

Episodes

  1. FEB 14

    Breaking Book Tok with Emma Noyes

    Emma Noyes talks How To Hide In Plain Sight, the first mainstream fiction book to cover POCD (!!!), breaking Book Tok, self-publishing, and finding her real life Manuel who loves her not despite her OCD but because of her beautiful mind. Emma’s works have been published in over a dozen languages and include Guy’s Girl, How to Hide in Plain Sight, The Sunken City series, and The Soul of Shadow series. She was named a 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠ Follow Alegra on ⁠Instagram⁠! Episodes edited by ⁠Donny Hadfield

    1h 17m

  2. FEB 7

    Intentional Weight Loss After ED Recovery - My Journey

    I am joined by my very own dietician Gabby Barreto to talk about my journey with intentional weight loss after eating disorder recovery. For so long, I felt trapped by both diet culture and anti-diet culture. I thought I had two choices: extreme restriction and an ED or staying in a body I didn’t feel good in because I’ve had an ED in the past. Finding a dietician to help me lose weight in a non-disordered way (it’s possible) has changed my entire life. I no longer believe it’s anti-feminist, bad, or always unhealthy to pursue weight loss. Every person is unique. People with eating disorders histories are not a monolith. If you’re about nuance, this is for you. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠ Follow Alegra on ⁠Instagram⁠! Episodes edited by ⁠Donny Hadfield

    1h 39m

  3. 08/16/2024

    OCD Is An Earthquake In The Brain with Stephen Smith

    Stephen Smith, co-founder of the teletherapy platform NOCD, joins us to share his lived experience with OCD (sexual obsessions, relationship obsessions, and more) that fueled him to create a a virtual therapy platform specializing in the treatment of OCD. Like many, Stephen did months of general talk therapy with a therapist who didn’t understand OCD, which made his OCD worse. It wasn’t until he found effective treatment, Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, that he started to feel better. Stephan compares OCD to an earthquake in the brain, talks the loss of identity that comes from OCD attacking one’s identity, being homebound when his OCD was at its worse, and more. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠ Follow Alegra on ⁠Instagram⁠! Episodes edited by ⁠Donny Hadfield

    57 min

  4. 08/07/2024

    Healing from CPTSD with Stephanie Foo

    Stephanie Foo, author of the New York Times bestseller What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma, brought CPTSD to the forefront of mental health care. She joins us to talk about her healing journey, what CPTSD recovery means to her, emotional flashbacks, the painstaking search for a therapist, “the dread”, and more. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at⁠ ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠⁠ Follow Alegra on⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠! Episodes edited by⁠ ⁠Donny Hadfield⁠

    52 min

  5. 07/24/2024

    Brain on Fire with Susannah Cahalan

    Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire, joins the Lobotomommies today! She talks the doctor who saved her life, the importance of holistic mental health care, physiological causes of mental health conditions, and more. As the 217th person to be diagnosed with anti-NDMA receptor autoimmune encephalitis, naturally escaping the psych ward or death, Susannah has made it her mission to raise awareness about autoimmune encephalitis and how the body can attack the brain. You don’t want to miss this! This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠ Follow Alegra on ⁠Instagram⁠! Episodes edited by ⁠Donny Hadfield

    1h 15m

  6. 07/17/2024

    Surviving Suicide with Chrissie Hodges

    In part two of this discussion, Chrissie opens up about her suicide attempt that led to her hospitalization and OCD diagnosis. She also shares her OCD treatment experience utilizing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and recovery journey. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at⁠ ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠⁠ Follow Alegra on⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠! Episodes edited by⁠ ⁠Donny Hadfield⁠

    1h 4m

  7. 07/10/2024

    Sexual Orientation OCD with Chrissie Hodges

    Peer support specialist and OCD advocate Chrissie Hodges joins Books, Looks, and Lobotomies to talk about her memoir Pure OCD: The Invisible Side of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In part one of this discussion, Chrissie shares her journey with emetophobia and sexual orientation OCD that nearly ended her life. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠ Follow Alegra on ⁠Instagram⁠! Episodes edited by ⁠Donny Hadfield

    1h 6m

  8. 07/03/2024

    OCD and Mental Compulsions

    On this week’s episode of Books, Looks, and Lobotomies, licensed therapist and OCD specialist Alegra Kastens talks Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and mental compulsions. She provides information about specific mental compulsions, how Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) works with mental compulsions, stopping mental compulsions, and whether or not mental compulsions can be automatic or involuntary. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at ⁠https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens⁠ Follow Alegra on ⁠Instagram⁠! Episodes edited by ⁠Donny Hadfield

    56 min

  9. 06/26/2024

    Amanda Montell's "The Age of Magical Overthinking"

    Welcome back, Lobotomommies! This week, Alegra chats with Amanda Montell (Wordslut, Cultish, Sounds Like A Cult Podcast) about her latest book, The Age of Magical Overthinking. While discussing the cognitive biases that run wild through our brains, Alegra and Amanda also get deep about past relationships and "overpacking" their lives. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens Follow Alegra on Instagram! Episodes edited by Donny Hadfield

    1h 3m

  10. 06/19/2024

    Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar"

    In the first episode of her new podcast, Alegra reads "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath; a semi-autobiographical novel that covers all of this podcast's talking points: books, gender issues and feminism, and mental health. Alegra dissects the book, pausing to give personal anecdotes from her life, while also breaking down some of the backstory of the novel itself. With the Madonna Wh*re Complex, high functioning depression, and the history of lobotomies all covered in the first episode, where else is there to go in future episodes? There's only one way to find out... come back soon, Lobotomommies. This podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute call today at https://learn.nocd.com/alegrakastens Follow Alegra on Instagram! Episodes edited by Donny Hadfield

    1h 6m
  • 10 Episodes

4.8
out of 5
48 Ratings

About

As a mentally ill hot girl who has struggled with unrealistic beauty standards since the womb and could use a (theoretical but maybe literal) lobotomy, therapist and author Alegra Kastens intertwines her clinical wisdom and lived experience to gab about books of all genres. Not a bookworm? Have no fear (or do because #anxiety): she has done the reading for you. All you have to do is tune in, Lobotomommies!

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