Unmasking Sobriety and Mental Health

Louise Barnett
  • 4.8 (61)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Welcome to The Unmasking Sobriety and Mental Health Podcast, where we are all “Completely Fine.” I’m your host, Louise Barnett—author of Tainted Love: A Bipolar Memoir and a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach. I live with Bipolar I and found sobriety in 2021. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out this whole thing called life—honestly, imperfectly, and out loud. Join me for candid conversations with people willing to go beyond the mask. Together, we explore mental health, sobriety, identity, and what it really means to survive. Not being ok, may just be "completely fine."

  1. 1D AGO

    117. Palliative Care: When the Outcome is Decided

    Palliative Care: When the Outcome Is Already Decided What happens when healing is no longer the goal? In this episode, I sit down with Anne, a licensed psychotherapist and palliative care social worker, to explore the emotional and psychological realities of end-of-life care—where addiction, mental health, and dignity intersect in ways we rarely talk about. Through powerful real-life stories, we unpack what it means to support someone when the outcome is already known… when sobriety isn’t always possible… and when the focus shifts from fighting to acceptance. This conversation challenges everything we think we know about recovery, control, and what it means to truly care for someone. If you’ve ever struggled with letting go, with needing to “fix,” or with redefining what healing looks like—this episode will stay with you. Get in Touch with Anne: TikTok: Annefrontlmft Website: www.annefront.com Substack: Annefrontlmft.substack.com

    56 min

  2. MAR 30

    116. The Other Side of Bipolar: The war inside a “stable” mind

    Today, on World Bipolar Awareness Day, Tainted Love: A Bipoplar Memoir has a cover. It captures something I don’t even fully have words for yet. Presale is live. 🤍 100% of presale revenue is being donated to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)—and I’m personally matching it. Link to Amazon www.louisebarnett.com March 30 is International Bipolar Awareness Day, a day dedicated to increasing understanding of a condition that is often misunderstood. When people think of bipolar disorder, they tend to imagine dramatic extremes—manic highs or devastating lows. But there is another side that people rarely talk about. In this episode, Louise reads a powerful excerpt from her memoir about the quieter, more complicated reality of living with bipolar while medicated and seemingly stable. Three years into treatment, standing beside the steadiest partner she has ever known, she finds herself confronting a difficult truth: sometimes the hardest battle isn’t surviving the storm—it’s learning how to live in the calm without destroying it. This episode explores the internal war many people with bipolar disorder experience, even when everything on the outside appears steady.

    24 min

  3. MAR 16

    115. Terry's Story: Breaking the Groundhog Day Loop

    Breaking the Groundhog Day Loop with Terry | Walking Sober What if recovery begins with something as simple as showing up for yourself? In this episode, I’m joined by Terry, the founder of Walking Sober, a growing community built around the idea that healing doesn’t have to be complicated—it can start with putting one foot in front of the other. After seven years of sobriety, Terry began hosting Sunday morning walks along the downtown hike-and-bike trail in Austin, Texas. There’s no pressure, no fixing, and no lectures—just movement, conversation, and the quiet power of being alongside others who are choosing an alcohol-free life. Our conversation explores how drinking can quietly become a habit loop we barely notice—until one day we do. Terry shares how journaling helped him begin to see the patterns in his own life, the moment awareness cracked open, and why the movie Groundhog Day became a powerful metaphor for the cycle so many of us find ourselves living. We talk about the rebellion that can come with early sobriety, the influence of voices like Holly Whitaker and Laura McKowen, and the tipping point when you realize: whatever those people have in their lives, I want some of that too. Terry also reflects on childhood experiences, grief, therapy, and why recovery is often about much more than alcohol itself. Over time, he began to build a recovery practice that worked for him—one rooted in curiosity, movement, and learning how to get back up when life knocks you down. Because, as Terry says, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s practice. And one day, almost without noticing, you wake up and realize you’re free. In this episode we talk about: How habits form without our awareness The moment you start to see the pain in your own patterns Why Groundhog Day is such a powerful recovery metaphor Finding inspiration from people a few steps ahead Creating space in your life for the good things to grow Why recovery is about more than just alcohol What “Keep Walking” really means Lace up your shoes and come walk with us. Get in touch with Terry: Website: WalkingSober.org YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@walkingsober Facebook: facebook.com/walkingsoberclub

    50 min

  4. FEB 21

    114. The Day I Woke Up Behind Bars

    March, 2015. Days after standing on the edge of an overpass, I woke up in a psychiatric hospital with no memory of how I got there — and no idea my life was about to change forever. In this episode, I share the story of my psychiatric hospitalization, the memories that resurfaced while I was there, and the moment a doctor finally gave a name to the chaos I had lived with for most of my life: Bipolar I disorder. This is the story of what it feels like to break — and what it feels like to finally be seen. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re broken or why your mind feels like it’s working against you, this episode is for you. You are not alone. And you are not beyond help.

    29 min

  5. FEB 9

    113. Cole's Story: Only OK to Be Gay If I Was High

    Cole spent over two decades caught in eating disorders and substance addiction before finding lasting freedom. Today, he works in Customer Success and Brand Strategy, coaches competitive gymnastics, and serves as a CCAR-certified Recovery Professional. He’s also the founder of Life Unadulterated, a platform helping gay men use sobriety as leverage to build meaningful, fulfilling lives. In this episode, we explore how identity, shame, and addiction can become deeply intertwined — especially within queer communities. Cole opens up about childhood bullying, body image, chem sex, and the role substances played in allowing him to feel temporarily safe in his own skin. Rather than focusing on abstinence alone, this conversation centers on life design: how recovery becomes sustainable when you stop trying to escape your life and start intentionally creating one you actually want to stay present for.

    1h 15m

  6. JAN 26

    112. The Day My Daughter Saved My Life

    Before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I was living inside a mind I didn’t understand. This episode is my lived experience — the moment I stood at the edge, the spiral that led me there, and the tiny hand that pulled me back. In this deeply personal story, I share what undiagnosed bipolar disorder really looked like, how depression and mania intertwined, and how motherhood became the anchor that kept me here. This season is about lived experience. The real stories we don’t usually say out loud — stories of mental health, addiction, recovery, and survival. If you’ve ever felt lost inside your own mind, this episode is for you.

    37 min

  7. JAN 15

    111. Diagnosis: Bipolar (Courtesy of my Ex)

    Diagnosis: Bipolar, Courtesy of My Ex What happens when an ex doesn’t just leave, but hands you a diagnosis on the way out? In this episode, I share the night my relationship ended with a stack of printed papers instead of a goodbye. What was framed as “help” was actually control, gaslighting, and a weaponized use of mental health language that would echo for years. This episode is about power, shame, and the dangerous line between concern and manipulation. It’s about how mental health terms can be used to silence, not support, and how surviving that moment became the first step toward understanding myself on my own terms. If you’ve ever been diagnosed by someone who hurt you, questioned your reality because someone else was so convincing, or wondered where “help” crossed into harm, this one’s for you.

    18 min
  8. Completely Fine: 2026 Trailer

    TRAILER

    Completely Fine: 2026 Trailer

    Welcome to The Unmasking Sobriety and Mental Health Podcast, where we are all “Completely Fine.” I’m your host, Louise Barnett—author of Tainted Love: A Bipolar Memoir and a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach. I live with Bipolar I and found sobriety in 2021. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out this whole thing called life—honestly, imperfectly, and out loud. Join me for storytelling and candid conversations with people willing to go beyond the mask. Together, we explore mental health, sobriety, identity, and what it really means to survive. Because here, we’re learning that not being “completely fine” might actually be more than okay.

    1 min
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About

Welcome to The Unmasking Sobriety and Mental Health Podcast, where we are all “Completely Fine.” I’m your host, Louise Barnett—author of Tainted Love: A Bipolar Memoir and a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach. I live with Bipolar I and found sobriety in 2021. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out this whole thing called life—honestly, imperfectly, and out loud. Join me for candid conversations with people willing to go beyond the mask. Together, we explore mental health, sobriety, identity, and what it really means to survive. Not being ok, may just be "completely fine."

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