Crazy Together

Marcus & Esme O’Kayvius
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

If you’re sick and tired of listening to the negative talk track playing in your head, then why not listen to us instead? We are Marcus and Esme O’Kayvius (not our real names), a married, neurodivergent couple with a lot of experience managing our own mental health issues while raising a daughter and navigating the dystopic hellscape that is corporate America. Join us each week as we discuss trending mental health issues and explore how they impact our health and wellness. We’ll also examine the myths and misconceptions associated with mental health and what we can do about them. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com

  1. 14h ago

    145. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Happy Hard Month 2026

    In this week's Hyperfocus Bonus, Marcus and Esme pitch ideas to spice up ADHD awareness month. Then, Marcus identifies a plot hole in the 1990-something thriller The Fugitive, and Esme demands an end to the pumpkin spice- and apple cinnamon-bombardment of peoples’ olfactory senses during the fall season. Happy Hard, everyone! Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  2. 2d ago

    144. Whimsy Revisited

    Sickness has descended on the O’Kayvious household again, and this time Marcus and Esme are both down for the count. However, because they felt like they could use a shot of something fun and enjoyable they decided to replay their episode about whimsy from earlier this year.  Join Marcus and Esme as they discuss whimsy, the rare social media trend that doesn’t seem to want to kill us. Marcus and Esme discuss why the trend has taken off, and whether or not there is any hard, scientific evidence to suggest that it might be a good thing (spoiler alert: believe it or not, there kinda’ is). They also share some of the whimsical interests and activities that bring a little fun to their lives, encourage straight guys to give whimsy a chance (it might actually encourage women to choose you and not the bear), and encourage listeners to not overthink whimsy, because then it won’t be whimsical anymore.  Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: “Whimsy.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2026, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/whimsy. Caramela, Sammi. “The Surprisingly Powerful Benefits of Adding a Little Whimsy to Your Life, According to Science.” VICE, 30 May 2026, https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-surprisingly-powerful-benefits-of-adding-a-little-whimsy-to-your-life-according-to-science.  Gray, Peter. “The Value of Play I: The Definition of Play Gives Insights.” Psychology Today, 19 Nov. 2008, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/200811/the-value-play-i-the-definition-play-gives-insights.  Hart, Tori, and Robyn M. Holmes. “Exploring the Connection Between Adult Playfulness and Emotional Intelligence.” Journal of Play in Adulthood, vol. 4, no. 1, Aug. 2022, pp. 28–51. University of Huddersfield Press.  Magnuson, Cale D., and Lynn A. Barnett. “The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress.” Leisure Sciences, vol. 35, no. 2, 2013, pp. 129–144. Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2013.761905.  sagmoonmagic. “Hope this helps  #witch #witchtok #witchcraft #nature #earth.” TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@sagmoonmagic/video/7640568255018552589.  Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  3. Sep 25

    143. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Church for Broads and the Fate of Principled Irish Musicians

    Marcus and Esme make an effort to watch the same TV shows and movies together whenever possible. However, subject matter sometimes interferes and results in one of them begging out of the viewing experience. Case in point: Esme recently watched a program that Marcus noped out of in the first five minutes of the first episode once it became clear the tragic death of a young child was one of the key plot points. But Esme pressed on (with Marcus’ blessing, of course). She shares her impressions of a new classic British cop drama that, incidentally, is NOT about a church where one might go to pick up women (as its name implies).  Marcus then shares his two cents on the recent controversy singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has made for himself, and salutes the integrity of the musicians who left his tour. In particular, Marcus calls out Aaron Rowe and the band Beoga –* two Irish acts with a lot more to lose than their American counterparts. He also provides some much needed context for listeners who might not know who Ed Sheeran or Macklemore are because they have managed to craft beautiful aesthetic bubbles for themselves.  Also, Esme provides an update on her continued success with her “watercolor habit” and Marcus identifies the one thing that would make the act of watching football a lot more manly. *NOTE: The em dash in the second paragraph is NOT AI generated. It was put there by a real human being who thinks and writes tangentially and refuses to abandon a useful punctuation mark just because some people think it’s an automatic sign that a piece of content was written by a glorified Google search result. The author in question has been using parentheticals since he was writing term papers on an ancient word processor and he’s not about to stop now. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Support us on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/C0C216B887  Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  4. Sep 23

    142. A Mostly Good News Story About Person-Centered Therapy: Part 2

    MKULTRA, Human Potential Movement-inspired sex cults, and “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland . . . these are just some of the topics Marcus and Esme make passing reference to in this week’s episode, so don’t get your hopes up. Or, maybe you should get your hopes up! Because Marcus and Esme continue their discussion from last week about Carl Rogers, humanistic psychology, and person-centered psychotherapy. They discuss the highs and lows of the back half of his career, and the factors that eventually led to the decline of interest and influence of Rogers’ work in the psychological community. However, they also identify recent efforts by members of the positive psychology movement to re-engage with humanistic psychology traditions in an effort to inject some much-needed compassion and social awareness in their theories and treatments. And they actually do make more than just passing reference to “The Troubles,” MKULTRA, and sex cults, so you can revel in those stories as well.  Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: Demanchick, Stephen and Howard Kirschenbaum. “Carl Rogers and the CIA.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology, October 2007. https://www.scribd.com/document/203007846/Carl-Rogers-and-the-CIA  Joseph, Stephen. “How Humanistic Is Positive Psychology? Lessons in Positive Psychology From Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Approach—It's the Social Environment That Must Change.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, 28 Sept. 2021, article 709789. Frontiers Media, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8510647/. McLeod, Saul. “Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy).” Simply Psychology, 28 Apr. 2025, https://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html.  Rogers, Carl R. The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939. Internet Archive, https://ia801902.us.archive.org/2/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.166832/2015.166832.The-Clinical-Treatment-Of-The-Problem-Child_text.pdf.  Rogers, Carl R. On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin, 1961. PDF file. Rogers, Carl. “Dealing With Breakdowns in Communication.” ListeningWay, https://www.listeningway.com/rogers1-eng.html.  Thomason, Timothy C. “The Shadow Side of the Great Psychotherapists.” Counseling & Wellness: A Professional Counseling Journal, vol. 5, 2016, PDF via OpenKnowledge@NAU.  Yao, Lucy, and Rian Kabir. “Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy).” StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589708.  “Carl Rogers, PhD: 1947 APA President.” American Psychological Association, June 2021, https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/carl-r-rogers.  Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  5. Sep 18

    141. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Learning is Magical, Unless it's Scary or Boring

    Some lessons have the power to open our minds, and to expand our understanding of the universe and the possibilities within it.  Other lessons just scare the crap out of us. Or they reveal how something that seems pretty cool at first glance might actually be pretty stupid.  Esme explains how she recently learned that the paper certain stores use to print receipts is actually fairly toxic! And Marcus describes how a deep dive into the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings (i.e., the famous battle in 1066 in which William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon king of England and began the Norman Conquest of England) only served to remind him that, sometimes, history is just the byproduct of self-important people doing stupid things. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Support us on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/C0C216B887  Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: McLeod, Saul. “John B. Watson: Contribution to Psychology.” Simply Psychology, 6 Sept. 2026, https://www.simplypsychology.org/john-b-watson.html.  Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  6. Sep 17

    140. A Mostly Good News Story About Person-Centered Therapy: Part 1

    Marcus believes the Road Runner cartoons are some of the greatest existential and allegorical works of art ever created. While this might feel like more of a Friday topic, we assure you it is directly relevant to today’s discussion and will make complete sense if you listen to the whole episode. In this week’s episode, Marcus and Esme discuss the work and legacy of yet another influential psychologist. This time, they’re discussing Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology and the primary developer of person-centered psychotherapy. However, unlike the last two profiles they did, they find his legacy to be much less complicated. And while they acknowledge Rogers is by no means perfect, and that his theories have generated a fair amount of criticism over the years, they take comfort in the knowledge that it seems as though he never stopped thinking about the best interests of the patients and clients he served. So, it’s a (mostly) happy story! Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: McLeod, Saul. “John B. Watson: Contribution to Psychology.” Simply Psychology, 6 Sept. 2026, https://www.simplypsychology.org/john-b-watson.html.  McLeod, Saul. “Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy).” Simply Psychology, 28 Apr. 2025, https://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html.  “Carl Rogers, PhD: 1947 APA President.” American Psychological Association, June 2021, https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/carl-r-rogers.  Yao, Lucy, and Rian Kabir. “Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy).” StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589708.  Rogers, Carl R. The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939. Internet Archive, https://ia801902.us.archive.org/2/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.166832/2015.166832.The-Clinical-Treatment-Of-The-Problem-Child_text.pdf.  Rogers, Carl. “Dealing With Breakdowns in Communication.” ListeningWay, https://www.listeningway.com/rogers1-eng.html.  250 WPM. This One Skill Can Transform Every Conversation. YouTube, uploaded by 250 WPM, 10 Sept. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtLwcR3-pZQ.  Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  7. Sep 11

    139. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Can’t Get Enough of Your Emotional Cues, Babe

    September 12 is a very special date, because it was on that date in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and forty-four that a special man was born. A man whose bass-baritone voice, soulful grooves, and silky-smooth string arrangements would serve as the soundtrack for many a romantic evening. Who knows, his voice might even have accompanied (and possibly inspired) your very conception, which would be a beautiful and wondrous thing to consider, if not for the fact that it also meant you’d have to acknowledge that your parents were getting their freak on. But it would be worth it, because it would mean that your addition to this mortal coil was heralded by no less of a legend than Barry White. Marcus wishes him a happy birthday and pays tribute to his legacy with such suitably grandiose and over-the-top prose that Esme had to turn away from the mic to avoid snort laughing directly into it. For her part, Esme reveals a shocking discovery about a common cosmetic procedure that would only be shocking to someone who hasn’t recently received that cosmetic procedure. Because it turns out that receiving a procedure that renders one’s facial expression somewhat muted for a period of time might also impact their ability to feel surprise, joy, sadness and any number of other emotions. Esme shares what she has learned, acknowledges she has only scratched the surface of available research, and teases the possibility of returning to the subject on a full-length episode of Crazy Together in the near future.  Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Support us on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/C0C216B887  Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

  8. Sep 10

    138. False Memories, Abuse, and Power: Part 2

    WARNING: It’s part 2 of Crazy Together’s exploration of the research and legacy of Elizabeth Loftus, PhD and emotions are running high!  Loftus, as you’ll no doubt recall from last week’s episode, is best known for her contributions to our understanding of the malleability and fallibility of human memory. She’s also well known for consulting with and providing expert testimony at trial for the defense in some of the most high profile cases in recent memory. And not just any cases, mind you. Cases in which it looked like some of the absolute worst people in recent memory were finally going to face justice.  Why does she do it, and what are some of the far reaching impacts of her continued endeavors in the criminal justice system? Well, that was the topic Marcus and Esme planned on tackling in this episode. And the funny thing is, they really felt like they had a plan heading into part 2. They had an outline with time slots reserved for discussing Loftus’ rationale as well as a summary of some of the criticism that has been leveled against her. It seemed pretty straightforward. But  that plan went straight out the window as they began parsing out Loftus’ rationale and considering the implications of all the criticism she’s received. Before long, it became apparent that their plan for capping their discussion of Loftus’ work with the same nuance and perspective they tried to bring to last week’s episode was a pipe dream. Now, they’re just pretty pissed off, so much so that one of the hosts has had to recuse themselves from today’s episode.  What has them so upset? You’ll have to listen to find out.  Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: Ahmed, Waheed. “Elizabeth Loftus’ 25,000 Subject False Memory Research: How Covert Narcissists Erase Your Truth.” Medium, Psyche Pedia, 31 Jul. 2025. https://medium.com/psyche-pedia/elizabeth-loftus-25-000-subject-false-memory-research-how-covert-narcissists-erase-your-truth-7bbfb47fd8bf. Brewin, Chris R., and Bernice Andrews. “False Memories of Childhood Abuse: Are Therapists to Blame?” The Psychologist, 7 June 2017, British Psychological Society, https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/false-memories-childhood-abuse. Drouin, Michelle, Jody M. Ross, and Tara L. Cornelius. “Current State of ‘Lost in the Mall’: Implications for Expert Witness Testimony on the Reliability of Childhood Memories.” Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, published online 13 Oct. 2025, Taylor & Francis, https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2025.2556461. Fomina, Maria. “The Misinformation Effect.” The Decision Lab, 12 Aug. 2021, https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/the-misinformation-effect.  Loftus, Elizabeth F. “The Repressed Memory Controversy.” American Psychologist, vol. 49, no. 5, 1994, pp. 443–445. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.49.5.443.  Loftus, Elizabeth, and Katherine Ketcham. Witness for the Defense: The Accused, the Eyewitnesses, and the Expert Who Puts Memory on Trial. St. Martins Press, 1991.  McMaugh, Kate, and Warwick Middleton. “The Rise and Fall of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.” ISSTD News, 21 Jan. 2020, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, https://news.isst-d.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-false-memory-syndrome-foundation.  Richards, Laura. False Memory Expert Testified for the Defence. Laura Richards, 8 Feb. 2020, https://www.thelaurarichards.com/my-two-cents/false-memory-expert-testified-for-the-defence.  Stollznow, Karen. “False Ideas About False Memories.” Psychology Today, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/speaking-in-tongues/202203/false-ideas-about-false-memories.  Winton, Richard. “ ‘False Memory’ Expert Testified for O.J., Bundy; Now, Harvey Weinstein.” Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-06/false-memory-expert-testify-harvey-weinstein-trial.  “Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: ‘False Memory’ Expert Testifies for Defence.” BBC News, 17 Dec. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59688787.  “Misinformation Effect.” ScienceDirect Topics, Elsevier, 2026, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/misinformation-effect.  Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch:    • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun...   Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp

See All (100)

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

If you’re sick and tired of listening to the negative talk track playing in your head, then why not listen to us instead? We are Marcus and Esme O’Kayvius (not our real names), a married, neurodivergent couple with a lot of experience managing our own mental health issues while raising a daughter and navigating the dystopic hellscape that is corporate America. Join us each week as we discuss trending mental health issues and explore how they impact our health and wellness. We’ll also examine the myths and misconceptions associated with mental health and what we can do about them. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com

Information

  • Creator
    Marcus & Esme O’Kayvius
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Crazy Together

You Might Also Like