Bipolar Disorder, Love, and Breathless Creativity; Casey Cannizzaro | RDID 220
Casey Cannizzaro is a mental health and addictions clinician and three-time Recovery Diaries author, but he’s far, far more than that. Casey’s writing on our site—we encourage you to voraciously devour each of his essays, findable via the links to come—is exhilarating; his voice is unique, roving, insatiable, and unlike anything else we’ve published. Casey is just like Recovery Diaries itself: the perfect antidote to AI slop and Chat GPT sterility. His writing will knock your socks off, and make you forget your feet are cold.
But we’re not just here to brag about this really talented guy; we sit down with Casey to talk to him openly about his path from his last stretch of treatment into the work he does now, including substance use counseling, LGBTQIA+ focused care, and admissions for a fully virtual intensive outpatient program. Casey talks about his sexuality, his family, his ups, his downs, and he does it with integrity and flair.
Maybe one of the loveliest things about this interview is that it’s an opportunity for two men who live with mental illness and aren’t afraid to be vulnerable about their emotions to connect with each other, and share their mutual appreciation and respect for the other. A little love-bombing is healthy!
During the show, Casey reads his beautiful essay “The (im)possibilities of Love with Bipolar,” a story of devotion, medication, relapse, and grief told with Casey’s signature wordplay and vivid imagery. “Recovery is possible. Recovery is fucked,” Casey says. Who could disagree with that assessment? If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these stories. And after you’ve listened, check out Casey’s other two, fabulous essays on our site: Six Days on the Good Unit: Hospitalized and Alive and After I Destroyed Myself: Fast and Furious with Bipolar Disorder and Addiction; you’ll be glad you did.
Conversations like the ones on this podcast can sometimes be hard, but they’re always necessary. If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider visiting wannatalkaboutit.com. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call, text, or chat 988.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / EDITOR: Gabriel Nathan | DESIGN: Leah Alexandra Goldstein | SITE ORIGINATOR: Bud Clayman
See Related Recovery Stories: Addiction, Bipolar Disorder, Recovery Diaries In Depth Podcast
