Ray DeJohn and I are eerily similar. Our names are one letter apart, our mental health issues are near identical, and our mothers both passed away suddenly at an early age. We talked about it. We also talked about how Ray, Director of Marketing for a Lifestyle Hotel in Austin, Texas, had to lay off his entire sales team before being laid off himself when the country was swept by COVID-19. Ray is my Pisan, and I loved our talk. Please continue to listen and share. Music by Steve Kupp and <a href='http://www.rememberjones.com'>Remember Jones</a><a rel="payment" href="http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast">Support the show</a> (http://patreon.com/lightersidepodcast)

The Essential Lighter Side: Stephanie Wittels Wachs Returns

It started as a weight loss podcast, which quickly became a mental health podcast, which somehow became a pandemic podcast.  Jay, your host  (anxiety/depression/OCD/childhood trauma/family addiction)  lost 185 lbs after having bariatric surgery.  Guests have ranged from actor Ken Marino to a woman you have never heard of who lost 250 lbs, to a recovering addict, to essential workers during COVID-19. In 2020, the show became daily and ran for 100 episodes in 100 days. The culmination of everything The Lighter Side strove to be, Jay created an oral history of the pandemic, as told through the voices of the people who lived through it. There's something for everyone on the Lighter Side.