In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Johnny Crowder, suicide survivor, death metal frontman, TEDx speaker, and founder/CEO of Cope Notes: a text-based mental health support service grounded in peer connection and science-backed psychology.
Johnny opens up about his early resistance to therapy, the slow and unglamorous nature of real recovery, and how he transformed personal pain into a global support platform now reaching tens of thousands of users.
Topics include:
Why many people never get an “aha moment” in therapy, and why that’s okay
Building Cope Notes as a tool for the “in-betweeners” in care
The power of peer support and lived experience
Faith, music, and aligning your whole self with your mission
This is an unfiltered conversation about what it means to keep showing up, and how even the smallest efforts toward healing can make a difference.
Resources mentioned:
Cope Notes: www.copenotes.com
Johnny’s band (Prison): https://www.youtube.com/@prisonlives
TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Zb_TLhPOw
Book recs: Whole Again by Jackson MacKenzie; The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama and Dr. Howard Cutler; Questioning Christianity podcast by Tim Keller
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