On episode 30 of 'A Chat with Uma', a follow-up to last week’s episode, I continue my mental health update from the past 2 years, sharing what recovery has truly looked like—from OCD and PTSD treatment to navigating depressive episodes and breakthroughs with my eating disorder. I open up about the impact of psilocybin in interrupting my depression and how my ERP progress has finally moved the needle on my Y-BOCS scores. I also share my experience starting PTSD treatment for the first time with prolonged written exposure and how it has tapped into emotions and memories I thought were long buried.
This episode is a deep dive into the raw, nonlinear reality of recovery—where self-compassion, discomfort, and courage collide. It’s about the work, the trust, the setbacks, and the triumphs, and why I am still, always, in the thick of the process.
Contextual episodes:
Topics Discussed (+ Timestamps):
(00:00:00) Part 2: Picking up where we left off last week!
(00:03:25) The 4 stages of competence and working toward recovery from unconscious incompetence
(00:07:45) Battling moral scrupulosity and becoming aware of my (many) mental compulsions
(00:14:50) The role of self-compassion (and my resistance to it)
(00:21:20) Psilocybin & depression, again: how psilocybin pulled me out of another deep depressive episode. newfound depression recovery gains since, and set the stage for real progress in my ERP journey
(00:24:40) Measuring progress: when the Y-BOCS finally moved!
(00:29:15) Healing in unexpected places: food, movement, and chronic pain
(00:37:50) PTSD treatment begins: Why we're doing written exposure instead of traditional prolonged exposure
(00:46:25) The messy middle of recovery: why there’s no neat bow to tie around this journey—and how living, healing, and struggling can all coexist.
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