On this casual episode, we talk about what it means to belong—whether that means in a physical place, a community, or in your skin. Tangents include bingo, Medicaid, remembering dead friends, and how to cultivate assuredness. Plus, we share a listener voicemail! Enjoy!Thoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: xcjumperx.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Chris Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

Lauren faces a deeply uncomfortable moment, Chris reveals what’s infiltrated their brain this week, and we both delve into our triggers. Tangents include lemon meringue pie, trauma cleaning, pets’ mental health, and two special anniversaries. (Content warning for Ariana Grande…again.) Enjoy!References:* Documentary about trauma cleaning: Clean (2022)* Our original Ariana Grande discussion: #245 The End of an Era* Our Karen Carpenter episode: #246 Superstar: the Karen Carpenter StoryThoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: xcjumperx.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Chris Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

Lauren returns from vacation and we shoot the shit. Topics (and tangents) include temporarily forgetting that you’re mentally ill, unreliable therapists, eating disorder coaches, radical acceptance, goth karaoke, and blue M&Ms. Enjoy!Thoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: xcjumperx.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Chris Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

While Lauren is on vacation, friend and former guest j’naii is here to spill hot tea all over their soapbox. Topics include:* Feeling like a cog in the capitalist machine and having to take medical leave from work due to mental health* What it’s like to be in a crisis when over half of your support system is dead and gone* Lesbian bars and our ideas of flirting (including our first on-air game of Truth or Dare!)* Medical negligence, systemic failure, and how we take care of each other* Fighting bald dudes on the streetEnjoy!Thoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: xcjumperx.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Chris Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

We get a lot off our chests on this week’s episode. Some topics include:* Lauren’s first time spending the night at her boyfriend’s house in over a year* Guns (sorry)* How different we were in 2022 when we met in person and which of our projected 5-year plans were most laughable* The line between keeping everything to yourself and trauma dumping, especially at work* Doing slightly better and feeling like your identity is gone* ADHD and how it impacts our ability to start things (or lack thereof)Enjoy!Thoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: xcjumperx.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Chris Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

After accidentally skipping a week, we’re back to examine some uncomfortable truths—namely, how our physical health affects our mental health. Tangents include self-censorship and triggers, feeling left behind when friends recover, reverse seasonal depression, going plant-based for our eating disorders, cigarettes, and a WILD coincidence. Enjoy!Just a heads up, we talk about weight and appetite suppression in this one.Thoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: cjumper.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Christina Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

As promised, we watched the banned Karen Carpenter biopic directed by Todd Haynes and reenacted with Barbies. Topics include eerie parallels between 1970s America and today, the cost of a “wholesome” image, why this is so effective as a horror movie, being unable to recall milestones due to illness, how the laxative industry is lying to us, and more. Plus, we listen to a voicemail from someone who was alive when it all went down. Enjoy?Watch the film on YouTube: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter StoryThoughts on the episode? Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Chris’s links: cjumper.carrd.co* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Christina Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

Lauren shares the long-awaited conclusion of a cursed saga, and we process our conflicting emotions. From there, we pivot to the Ariana Grande eating disorder discourse and where we stand on…well, the entire fiasco. Tangents include mindfulness moments, tattoo metaphors, dirty soda, and how our body dysmorphia shows up. Enjoy!We’d love to hear from you! Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Christina’s religious trauma podcast: Clothesline Podcast* Christina’s Substack: crisis corner* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Christina Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

All hell breaks loose this week as we attempt to make sense of the state of our brains. Some questions we ask ourselves:* How crazy is too crazy when you’ve normalized crazy?* Why do we keep trying after decades of struggle?* What idealized versions of recovery are holding us back?Tangents include an adorable surprise, motorcycles, downers, creepy recovery voices, more motorcycles, and performing versus being perceived. Enjoy!We’d love to hear from you! Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Christina’s religious trauma podcast: Clothesline Podcast* Christina’s personal Instagram: @xtinajumper* Christina’s Substack (crisis corner): xtinajumper.substack.com* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhCredits:* Edited by Christina Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, we challenge internal binaries and make ourselves a little crazy. Tangents include mono, trusting your own autonomy, sexual abstinence, HBO’s Girls, and more eating disorder literature. Plus, Christina launches a new podcast and we find out which drugs Lauren purchases in bulk. Enjoy!We’d love to hear from you! Here’s how to join the conversation:* Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/picklesandvodka (first timers get a free sticker!*)* Subscribe to our Substack and never miss an episode: picklesandvodka.substack.com* Watch our faces on YouTube: youtube.com/@picklesandvodkapodcast* Follow our Instagram for poll alerts: @picklesandvodkapodcast* Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/picklesandvodkapodcast* Send us an email: [email protected]* Christina’s religious trauma podcast: Clothesline Podcast* Christina’s personal Instagram: @xtinajumper* Christina’s Substack (crisis corner): xtinajumper.substack.com* Lauren’s personal Instagram: @lauren___afhReferences:* Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery by Mallary Tenore Tarpley* Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Clein* The Hollow Half: a Memoir of Bodies and Borders by Sarah AzizaCredits:* Edited by Christina Jumper* Theme song is Insane OK by The Whines from Free Music Archive*while supplies last Get full access to Pickles and Vodka at picklesandvodka.substack.com/subscribe