#800 - Best Of - A Day Of You The Listener

#800 - Best Of - A Day Of You The Listener

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and mental health? This milestone re-release from 2012 puts “you, the listener” centre-stage, as Paul Gilmartin builds an entire show from a single day’s worth of emails and survey responses. It’s messy, funny, raw, and strangely comforting – very much like a real day inside a struggling but honest mind. Instead of interviewing a single guest, Paul shares a rolling snapshot of his community’s fears, secrets and small joys.

You’ll hear a dad terrified his son is growing up with parents who drink too much; a mother of a disabled child admitting the “unacceptable” frustrations she feels; and men unpacking childhood sexual violations by older women, challenging the myth that boys are “lucky” in those situations. The tone swings between dark humour and deep care.

One moment Paul is riffing about “ball bags” and garage sales; the next, he’s talking openly about his own depression, his medication (mirtazapine), and how being of service eases that savage inner critic. A psychology professor’s email about men’s emotional lives adds another layer, showing how hard it is for many men to admit they’re hurting. Throughout, Paul normalises intrusive thoughts, sexual shame, suicidal ideation and that foggy, indecisive headspace that so often accompanies addiction and depression.

He reminds listeners that feeling broken doesn’t make anyone a lost cause: “As long as you’re seeking, you’re facing the right direction.” For people dealing with alcohol use, trauma or long-standing mental health issues, this compilation offers company rather than cures. It’s especially geared towards those who feel too weird, too damaged or too afraid to speak in meetings or therapy.

If you’ve ever wondered whether anyone else thinks and feels the things you do, this chaotic, heartfelt collage of voices might be exactly the kind of honest chaos you need today.