EP 170 – Success Stories and More: Dean Stott from DLC Anxiety On Recovery and The Mental Health Community Online

The Highlights

• Dean’s anxiety journey started with a major loss in his life.  The emotions that came along with loss and grief triggered anxiety that then morphed into panic disorder
• Dean was fortunate to have the support of a friend that had already been through panic disorder and recovered
• Rather than being prescribed medication, Dean’s first visit to a doctor resulted in being sent away with a library card, where he was encouraged to read and learn about what panic attacks and panic disorder really are
• Dean made progress in his recovery by using CBT and exposure methods that included placing himself in the middle of scary environments (shopping malls) and learning to move through and experience panic without running.
• Inspired by the hope he was given by a friend that was kind enough to share his story and provide hope, the DLC Anxiety platform was born
• Dean’s hope is to encourage people to share stories to give each other hope for recovery and a better life
• Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging healthy and open discussion is an important part of the DLC platform
• Dean found relief and forward progress by sharing what he was going through with others.  This became a pillar of the DLC platform.  Open sharing without fear.
• At one point being told by a co-worker that he should keep his anxiety a secret is one thing that encouraged Dean to work against that mindset.  While that co-worker was kind, the misguided idea that anxiety should be hidden needs to be countered.
• While the DLC platform was originally centered on Dean’s own story, as the platform grew it quickly became not about Dean, but about everybody that was coming forward to share and support.
• Having a larger platform has enabled Dean to engage with a growing number of mental health professionals and experts in an effort to get quality information to a wide audience that needs it
• Is the online mental health community in danger of “selling out” in deference to money driven algorithms?  This is a discussion that Dean and I have at times, and I’m happy that we were able to have it here on the air.
• Dean has based his platform on the open sharing of information across varying world views. Playing to the algorithm at times helps to bring attention to the important information on the platform that people desperately need but that may not be so easy to find otherwise.

Find Dean and DLC Anxiety Here:

Instagram: @dlcanxiety

Website: https://dlcanxiety.com