Episode 2

The Secret to Happiness

Published on: 18th December, 2025

I've worked in digital marketing as a copywriter for over 18 years now, the first five of which I did a lot of shady and unethical work because of my mental state and low empathy. In the course of that work, I regularly helped questionable people sell happiness to unhappy people. The commercialization and commodification of happiness affects the way we perceive recovery from depression, trauma, and Bipolar Disorder.

The best unethical way to sell happiness is to hang it in the sky like a distant star, point at it, and say, "There it is! There's some happiness! I can sell you a ladder to reach it..." Except the ladder isn't tall enough. It's never tall enough, because then you can keep selling more ladders, products, beliefs, and make up reasons why they can't reach it. And so we spend our time always striving for the next shiny thing, the next promise of happiness.

As someone who's lived with depression and Bipolar Disorder for over 30 years, I know better than anyone the desperation of wanting to feel happy. Join me, and let me tell you the true secret to happiness, and help you recalibrate so maybe you can create some peace and happiness of your own.

Don't forget to subscribe! https://www.bluntlybipolar.com/listen

<Time Stamps>

  1. [01:19] The Secret to Happiness
  2. [07:10] Happiness for Sale - Ethics
  3. [16:35] The Appearance of Happiness
  4. [18:05] Emotional Weather
  5. [20:30] Euphoria is not Happiness
  6. [25:20] Riding Euphoria is a bad idea
  7. [26:25] The difference between euphoria and happiness
  8. [28:43] The first step toward happiness
  9. [32:48] Mindfulness and Gratitude
  10. [34:22] Peace of mind

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluntlybipolar

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bluntlybipolar

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bluntlybipolar.bsky.social

Email: bluntlybipolar@gmail.com

I am not a mental health professional. I do not have any qualifications or certifications of any kind. I hope that by sharing my experiences, more mentally ill people will be empowered to step into the offices of clinicians to do the hard work that leads to mental wellness, peace, and happiness. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, as all I am is a mental patient with a microphone.

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About the Podcast

Bluntly Bipolar
How would you like to listen to a middle-aged man talk about finding peace and happiness living with Bipolar Disorder, high-functioning autism, and depression for more than 30 years? You do!? Then boy do I have the podcast for you! Don't wait! Just hit play!

Jokes aside...hey, what's up? My name is Dennis Heil, and I am diagnosed with Type 2 Bipolar Disorder, and High-Functioning Autism with severe depression. I was 15 when I had my first serious suicide attempt, pulling the trigger on a bullet that misfired during a depressive psychotic episode. At 29, I had a second depressive psychotic episode that was so severe it forced me to decide between ending myself or seeking help. I decided to seek help and was diagnosed with Type 2 Bipolar Disorder. That was back in 2009, and I've been working on my recovery, peace, and happiness ever since. Bluntly Bipolar can best be described as a collection of content based on the hard lessons I've learned along the way.

I am not a mental health professional. I have no training or certifications of any kind. All I am is a mental patient with a microphone, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. This podcast is not a replacement for help from qualified, trained professionals. Listener discretion is advised as I discuss my path and life bluntly, hence the title. Makes sense, right? Almost like a built-in trigger warning...

About your host

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Dennis Heil

The host has been working as a freelance copywriter for over 18 years now, writing in several industries as a subcontractor. He has been living with severe Bipolar-depression for over 30 years, 15 years undiagnosed, and high-functioning autism for longer. He has been working on creating his own peace and happiness in recovery since his diagnosis in 2009.

Dennis has no qualifications or certifications as a mental health professional, describing his only qualifications as his life and being a "mental patient with a microphone."

He feels most called to try to reach other misfits, broken toys, people who fell through the cracks, the bitter, the jaded, the angry, and outsiders. He believes the best way to accomplish this goal is to talk about his life experiences, struggles, and mind with raw authenticity because that's the only thing he could ever relate to in the abyss of his Bipolar-depression.