Two middle-aged siblings, Bethany and Daniel, discuss having both physical and mental health diagnoses.  Comorbidity, according to the dictionary, is "the simultaneous presence of two or more conditions or diseases in a patient."  For the purposes of MoCo this means having at least one physical diagnosis and one mental health diagnosis.

There is no tangible, biological tests for mental health conditions, particularly mood disorders.

To be clear: "simple" is not synonymous with "easy."  A problem should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler...and a solution should be made as complex as necessary, but no more complex than necessary.

Those who take offense at the term "mood disorder fucko" should be aware that Daniel does not exempt himself from that monicker; in fact, he considers himself a "mood disorder fucko" in recovery.

The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) questionaire.  Ten questions that determine whether or not you have suffered from a childhood plagued by adverse experiences.  A significant score on this evaluation suggests a multitude of correlating unhealthy conditions.  The ACE is more closely examined in following episodes.

Bethany and Daniel are proposing that mood disorders are not so much mental illnesses but the product of unresolved trauma and maladaptive coping mechanisms resulting from those traumas.

Neither Bethany or Daniel are proponents of the "cathartic experience."  Understanding the root source of your trauma can be valuable, but catharsis will not resolve the problems resulting from that trauma.  Abreaction: "...fooling your brain to re-experience the trauma..."

The goal is to become healthy, adaptive and functional...abandoning failed coping mechanisms that often compound problems.

The mental health industry treats symptoms, not the actual condition.  It should be noted that an argument can be made that part of the problem is that mood disorders are not actually medical conditions.

Existential crisis is real.  When a person begins to question the fundamental and foundational reasons for living (existing), failing to answer those questions can take on profound, sometimes life threatening, implications.

You have to want to...

"There is a redemptive power in making a decision." - Will Smith