Post-traumatic stress disorder
Subject in Mental Health
Post-traumatic stress disorder has come up in 13 episodes across 8 podcasts in TMT, including The Shawn Ryan Show, Mick Unplugged, The Tim Ferriss Show. 11 people have made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Chris BaylessRetired ATF special agent who spent most of a 30-year career undercover, now an ATF Academy instructor
Bayless urges officers and veterans struggling with trauma to seek treatment rather than drinking to cope.
“if anybody gets anything about me talking today, get some help. And there's plenty of things out there”
The Shawn Ryan Show: #304 Chris Bayless - 30 Years Undercover Inside America's Most Violent Gangs (May 14, 2026) · Listen from 3:35:59
Bayless attributes his breakdown to years of sustained hypervigilance, after which his mind and body finally gave out.
“When you operate at that hyper-vigilance level, at some point, your mind goes, oh, we're all done now”
The Shawn Ryan Show: #304 Chris Bayless - 30 Years Undercover Inside America's Most Violent Gangs (May 14, 2026) · Listen from 3:33:27
Pete BlaberRetired U.S. Army Delta Force commander, author of The Mission, The Men, and Me and The Common Sense Way, later a biotech executive
Blaber says that of the roughly twenty Rangers he interviewed, most still had PTSD nearly twenty years later, and at least two remained suicidal.
“I think 20, a little over 20, still had PTSD from this event. At least two of them were still suicidal”
The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 7:50
Blaber argues that psychological wounds from combat heal only through learning the truth and being supported by community.
“psychological wounds only heal with truth and community”
The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 9:01
Jonathan CohenExecutive producer and co-host of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, writer and energy worker
Cohen relates the conversation to people with complex PTSD who feel broken, arguing they can access an aspect of themselves outside their experiences.
“This notion comes up across people, especially who have complex PTSD, that they're broken in some way, that their experiences have marked them”
Mayim Bialik's Breakdown: Part Two: You Have Never Seen Reality: Discover Who You Actually Are in Only Two Minutes | Rupert Spira (Sep 30, 2026) · Listen from 57:13
Kevin RyanAmerican entrepreneur and investor, founder and CEO of AlleyCorp and former CEO of DoubleClick
Ryan says sexual assault is the leading source of PTSD, which is why Transcend's trials were 60% women.
“The number one source is sexual assault. And that's why our trials were actually 60% women”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #884: How to Spot 10-Year Trends and Build Billion-Dollar Companies — Kevin Ryan of DoubleClick, MongoDB, Business Insider, and Many More (Sep 24, 2026) · Listen from 1:00:35
Tim FerrissAmerican author, podcaster and investor, host of The Tim Ferriss Show
Ferriss argues that bundling psychotherapy with MDMA, as Lykos did, hurt approval because the FDA could not evaluate standardized psychotherapy.
“the combining of psychotherapy right the bundling of psychotherapy and then you put it in front of the fda advisory committee”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #884: How to Spot 10-Year Trends and Build Billion-Dollar Companies — Kevin Ryan of DoubleClick, MongoDB, Business Insider, and Many More (Sep 24, 2026) · Listen from 57:21
Matt DamonAmerican actor cast as Odysseus in Nolan's film
Damon recounted that a Navy SEAL on the crew called the Odyssey script the best depiction of PTSD he had encountered.
“And he said, I think this is the best movie about PTSD”
Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Matt Damon (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 17:11
Shawn RyanFormer U.S. Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, host of the Shawn Ryan Show
Ryan argues that loss of identity may be a bigger issue for veterans than war trauma itself.
“I think one of the biggest issues, maybe even bigger than the war trauma itself, is the loss of identity”
The Shawn Ryan Show: #319 Mike Rowe - What Happened to the American Dream? (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:50:37
Joe RoganAmerican comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience
Rogan doubts that psychologists without combat experience can truly understand or prepare people for it.
“I don't think a psychologist would have the ability to understand what that experience even is”
The Joe Rogan Experience: #2510 - Devon Larratt (Jun 5, 2026) · Listen from 2:25:22
Devon LarrattCanadian professional arm wrestler and former Canadian Armed Forces special forces soldier
Larratt says he overcame fear of parachuting by repeatedly watching parachute failures to desensitize himself.
“But what I did was I used to watch parachute fails. Over and over and over and over and over”
The Joe Rogan Experience: #2510 - Devon Larratt (Jun 5, 2026) · Listen from 2:23:41
Robert J. O'NeillFormer U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six member who took part in the Osama bin Laden raid
O'Neill describes coping with PTSD and depression by getting out of bed and going into the sunshine.
“if I'm having a bad day, I'll take my shirt off, force a smile, and go stand in the sunshine, even if there's clouds”
Mick Unplugged: Service Above Self: A Memorial Day Tribute to the Heroes Who Defended Our Freedom (May 25, 2026) · Listen from 25:10
Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
Urquhart attributes O'Donnell's decline to fading public attention combined with PTSD from the rescue.
“But as is generally the case, the spotlight eventually fades and people stopped recognizing him. And to make matters worse, he was developing PTSD”
Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 52:45
Coverage over time
Podcasts
- The Shawn Ryan Show · 3 episodes
- Mick Unplugged · 2 episodes
- The Tim Ferriss Show · 2 episodes
- Morbid · 2 episodes
- Mayim Bialik's Breakdown · 1 episode
- Good Hang with Amy Poehler · 1 episode
- On Purpose with Jay Shetty · 1 episode
- The Joe Rogan Experience · 1 episode
Episodes
Chef André Rush: Strength Through ServiceMick Unplugged · Oct 19, 2026 · 49 min
Mick Hunt talks with Army veteran and former White House chef André Rush about grief, PTSD, asking for help, his culinary path, and his memoir.
Part Two: You Have Never Seen Reality: Discover Who You Actually Are in Only Two Minutes | Rupert SpiraMayim Bialik's Breakdown · Sep 30, 2026 · 51 min
Mayim Bialik and Jonathan Cohen continue their conversation with nonduality teacher Rupert Spira on enlightenment, consciousness, synchronicity, relationships, death, and the soul.
#884: How to Spot 10-Year Trends and Build Billion-Dollar Companies — Kevin Ryan of DoubleClick, MongoDB, Business Insider, and Many MoreThe Tim Ferriss Show · Sep 24, 2026 · 1 h 26 min
Tim Ferriss talks with investor Kevin Ryan about spotting 10-year trends, building DoubleClick, Gilt, Business Insider and MongoDB, psychedelic drug development, deep tech, and immigration.
- #881: Tales of Overcoming The Odds, and How to Turn Losses Into Wins — Tim McGraw, Terry Crews, Dax Shepard, and More
The Tim Ferriss Show · Sep 4, 2026 · 1 h 5 min
Tim Ferriss compiles past interviews in which BJ Miller, Terry Crews, Tim McGraw, Dax Shepard, Cathy Lanier, Janna Levin and others describe turning setbacks into later success.
Matt DamonGood Hang with Amy Poehler · Jul 7, 2026 · 1 h 13 min
Amy Poehler talks with Matt Damon about Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, aging, Ben Affleck, Good Will Hunting, SNL, Soderbergh, and Water.org, after a brief chat with Nolan.
#319 Mike Rowe - What Happened to the American Dream?The Shawn Ryan Show · Jul 6, 2026 · 3 h 44 min
Mike Rowe talks with Shawn Ryan about the American dream, the skilled-trades labor shortage, his mikeroweWORKS Foundation, losing his savings to fraud, and dangerous Dirty Jobs stories.
Emilie Kiser EXCLUSIVE: The Loss That Changed Her ForeverOn Purpose with Jay Shetty · Jun 17, 2026 · 1 h 7 min
Emilie Kiser tells Jay Shetty about losing her son Trigg in a pool accident, living with grief publicly, her marriage, and pool safety.
The San Ysidro McDonald's MassacreMorbid · Jun 8, 2026 · 1 h 18 min
Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley recount James Huberty's life and the 1984 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre that killed 21 people.
#2510 - Devon LarrattThe Joe Rogan Experience · Jun 5, 2026 · 2 h 49 min
Joe Rogan talks with arm wrestler Devon Larratt about training at 51, Levan Saginashvili, the sport's history, his JTF2 career, and war stories.
Service Above Self: A Memorial Day Tribute to the Heroes Who Defended Our FreedomMick Unplugged · May 25, 2026 · 59 min
Mick Hunt's Memorial Day compilation revisits interviews with Robert Irvine, JoAnne Bass, Rob O'Neill, CZ Colón-López and Michelle Curran on service, purpose and leadership.