Meg LeDuc: Journey Through Serious Mental Illness:Living Beyond the Diagnosis
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Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide. Hosted by Tony Mantor. Broadcasting from the heart of Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as our guests share their raw, howlful stories. Some will spark laughter, others will move you to tears. These real life journeys inspire, connect, and remind you that you're never alone. We're igniting a global movement to empower everyone to make a lasting difference by fostering deep awareness, unwavering acceptance, and profound understanding of autism and mental health. Tune in, be inspired, and join us in transforming the world one story at a time. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide.
Before we jump in, if you haven't already, I invite you to tap follow. It only takes a couple of seconds and it helps this show reach more families who need to hear these conversations. Thanks for being here. Today I'm talking with writer and journalist Meg LaDuke, someone who doesn't just talk about mental illness. She's lived it, questioned it, and found a way to put language to experiences that are often hard to explain. What makes this conversation different is that it's not about diagnosis or definitions. It's about what it actually feels like to be inside your own mind when things don't quite make sense. The core of her work is simple but powerful ideas. That our stories, even the ones shaped by pain, are not just something to survive, but something to understand, to give language to, and ultimately to share.
Thanks for joining us today.
Well, I'm very excited about this.
Yes, I'm looking forward to this as well. If you would, give our listeners a little background on what it is that you do.
Yeah, I'm a freelance journalist based in Detroit. I've been doing creative writing for really about 22 years now, ever since undergrad. And over the years, I've got a number of pieces of both journalism and creative writing published. And right now I'm working on a memoir.
Oh, I think that's great. Now, we're going to be talking about serious mental illness today. Can you give our listeners a little background on your knowledge of the subject?
Well, my knowledge all comes from lived experience, though I've done a number of journalism articles surrounding mental health and disability over the years. Right now, I'm contributing to a Michigan newspaper chain for issue media group for its Michigan Mental Health Series. So for that, I'm doing stuff like research on CMHs, community mental health organizations here in Michigan. But my primary knowledge comes from lived experience. And just over the years, I've gained a lot of insight, I think, into living with a serious mental illness.
Now, your lived experiences are your own life's journey. Is that correct?
Correct. Yes.
I think this is an interesting topic because when most people think about serious mental illness, they tend to picture young men, maybe late teens into their 20s. They don't always think about women in the same way. So have you experienced that? And how do you respond to that narrative when people don't fully understand that this can affect anyone?
Well, I think people definitely associate with psychosis with men. And the stereotype is men who become psychotic are violent. Even though so many people with schizophrenia are victimized rather than the victimizers. It's far more common for people to be victimized. But yes, I think people don't associate a history of psychosis with women, though I've also dealt with anxiety and depression. And those are definitely associated with women, I think.
Yeah, I can't disagree with you there. Now, in the early stages, as we all know, when people start learning that they have some issues going on, it can be a very scary journey. It's the unknown. What did it actually feel like to be inside your own mind during that time, trying to make sense of it all? What was that journey like?
It was a really terrifying process. And I remember telling a therapist while I was in college, it feels like there's a hole in my chest and the hole hurts.
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