Show notes
Trigger Warning: This episode includes honest discussions of depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, trauma, and emotional neglect. Please listen with care.
In this Part 1 of a 2-part series, we sit down with Emily, a brave and thoughtful guest who opens up about her early struggles with depression, self-harm, and suicide attempts—and how she’s navigating healing while parenting, working in healthcare, and showing up for herself.
This episode is packed with vulnerability, insight, and hope.
Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is the 2024 People's Choice Podcast Award Winner for Health and the 2024 Women In Podcasting Award Winner for Best Mental Health Podcast, with over 2 million downloads across more than 100 countries.
We’re on a mission to normalize mental health conversations by keeping it real, raw, and full of heart.
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“I didn’t want to die—I just didn’t want to feel the way I was feeling anymore.” – Emily
What This Episode is About
Emily shares her deeply personal mental health journey—from childhood trauma and generational depression to two suicide attempts before the age of 21. She opens up about masking her pain, learning to recognize her triggers, and trying to raise her daughter differently, with emotional safety and open conversation at the core.
Topics covered include:
Surviving major depression
Suicide prevention and recovery
Parenting with trauma awareness
The long tail of childhood emotional neglect
The importance of support systems and safe spaces
SEO Keywords:
Mental health journey, depression survival story, suicide prevention, parenting with trauma, mental health awareness, generational trauma, triggers, healing from abuse, recovery, living with depression, emotional support, self-worth, 988 lifeline
Meet Our Guest: Emily
Emily is a registered nurse, a survivor, and a mom raising her daughter with the emotional validation she never received as a child. Her mental health journey began at just 11 years old, when she first experienced the weight of emotional pain without words to explain it. Self-harm and isolation followed, eventually leading to two suicide attempts—one during her freshman year of college and another at 20 years old.
Despite surviving those moments, Emily was met with silence and shame instead of support. She speaks candidly about being the only young person in a psychiatric unit, about nurses treating her with judgment instead of compassion, and about the decades-long work of learning to feel worthy of love. Her healing is ongoing. And she doesn't pretend otherwise.
Emily also talks about being the child of young parents who were navigating their own recovery and mental health challenges—and how that shaped her understanding of love, trust, and emotional connection.
Today, she’s raising her daughter with intention, focusing on emotional safety, validating feelings, and breaking generational cycles. She’s also working in healthcare, where she uses her lived experience to bring compassion and awareness into patient care. Her story is messy, raw, honest, and incredibly powerful.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmiewillyy/
Key Takeaways
Healing is not linear. You can still struggle and still be healing—those truths can coexist.
Emotional neglect leaves deep scars. Silence around mental health in childhood often echoes into adulthood.
Showing up imperfectly is still powerful, especially for those we love.
Actionable Items
Save the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in your phone—and share it with someone who might need it.
Talk to your kids about emotions at an early age. Validate their feelings now to build trust later.
Pay attention to your triggers. Recognizing them is the first step to healing.
Chapters & Time Stamps
[00:01:41] Emily’s Why
What inspired her to share her story publicly, and how a surprising message from a friend changed everything.
[00:04:25] The First Cut
The moment at age 11 that started it all—and how her mother’s silence shaped years of hiding.
[00:06:56] Survival in Silence
Emily’s first overdose in college, the ICU stay, and her terrifying experience in the psych unit.
[00:08:48] The Shift of Motherhood
Why having a daughter didn’t cure her depression, but changed her purpose.
[00:24:13] Breaking Generational Cycles
How Emily’s learning to be the emotionally available parent she never had.
[00:32:00] What Healing Looks Like Now
The daily habits, support system, and honest reflection it takes to keep moving forward.
References
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – https://988lifeline.org
The Trevor Project – https://www.thetrevorproject.org
BetterHelp Therapy – https://www.betterhelp.com
Stories of Hope Project (via Greg Eaves)
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