As an actor who started out on Broadway and now calls LA home, JD has survived the sting of rejection. But it was real life that recently delivered the sharpest of blows when his infatuation for a woman in a Zoom class led to unrequited love. When she wanted to "just be friends," JD's heart was broken, he was wounded, and even his neighbors would hear him in the throws of despair.
But underneath his obsession was an even darker part of his life. Every waking moment was centered around cannabis and getting high. For JD, marijuana was an addiction that he tried to break free from a half-dozen times. But it was the single substance in his life that proved to be more powerful than him.
JD joins me for a candid conversation about how his drug dependency and Zoom obsession spiraled out of control. Most relevantly, hitting this low-point started with the pit of depression: a history of dysthymia, treatment-resistant depression, and ultimately the merry-go-round of medications and prescribers of varying efficacy.
From confronting suicide (we hear JD's intense thoughts on ending his life) to the transformative power of therapy, JD is now walking a path of acceptance and balance in his second act.
Give to Bipolar She: buymeacoffee.com/bipolarshe
Music composed and performed by guitarist, JD Cullum
Edited by Brandon Moran
Sponsored by Soar With Tapping