30. My Mental Health Journey: Part 5

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:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠01. My Full Story: 0 to 26⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• 02-05. My Mental Health Journey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Part 1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Part 2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Part 3⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Part 4
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠06. Yes, I've Done Psychedelics: From Psychonaut to Researcher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠07-08. The Ketamine Diaries - OCD, PTSD, Depression, & Chronic Pain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Part. 1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Part 2⁠⁠⁠

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.

Connect with me!

• My website⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠umarchatterjee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠