Podcast: TikTok Star Kody Green Talks Schizophrenic Story Time
“I talk to people who aren’t there. I’ll have hallucinations pretty much on a weekly basis, even medicated.”
~Kody Green, The Schizophrenic Hippie
Kody Green, better known as the schizophrenic hippie, is a TikTok sensation — among other things. But did you know that this podcast inspired him to start his channel? Our hosts were just as surprised as you.
In this episode, Michelle, Gabe, and Kody discuss advocacy, hateful emails, and the benefits of putting yourself out there. Join us as two schizophrenics and a bipolar shoot the shit about what life is like living with mental illness.
TikTok is a short-form video platform that is very popular among teens and young adults. It is one of the most-used entertainment apps in the world today.
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Betterhelp. Save 10% on your first month with the discount code “BSP22” or by clicking here.
About Guest Kody Green (Schizophrenic Hippie)
Kody Green (He/Him) is a 26 year old with a diagnosis of Undifferentiated Schizophrenia. Kody is also the Founder of a non-profit, a motivational speaker and content creator with over 1.2 million followers on TikTok. He has struggled in the past with drug addiction, incarceration, and serious mental health issues.
Now, Kody shares his stories about his struggles and how to navigate through recovery, mental health issues, and life after incarceration. He chooses to pursue motivational speaking and mental health advocacy for schizophrenia awareness, drug recovery and second- chance opportunities because he has dealt with these struggles in his own life.
Learn more at KodyGreen.com, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
About the Hosts of A Bipolar, A Schizophrenic, and a Podcast
Gabe Howard is a professional speaker, writer, and activist living with bipolar and anxiety disorders. Diagnosed in 2003, he has made it his mission to put a human face on mental illness.
He’s the author of Mental Illness is an Asshole and Other Observations and a popular podcast host. Learn more at gabehoward.com.
Michelle Hammer is a Schizophrenia Activist and spends her time passionately fighting stigma. She is an NYC native featured in the WebMD documentary Voices, which was nominated for a Tribeca X Award at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018.
Founded and run by Michelle, Schizophrenic.NYC is a clothing brand with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health.
Transcript for Loved Ones Distrust Us Due to Our Mental Illness
Please Note: This transcript was computer generated. Please be mindful of errors. Thank you.
Announcer: So, what did the bipolar say to the schizophrenic? You’re in the right place to find out. . .
Gabe Howard: Welcome everyone, my name is Gabe Howard and I have bipolar.
Michelle Hammer: I’m Michelle and I’m schizophrenic. Let’s give our sponsor some love. BetterHelp, get 10% off your first month by going to BetterHelp.com/BSP22.
Gabe Howard: And today we have two, not one, two schizophrenics for the price of one. And I can already hear, I can, I can hear the entire person first language movement crushing on me right now, telling me, How dare you? You don’t have two schizophrenics. You have two people living with schizophrenia. I can hear it. I can hear like the whole Twitterverse and the internet is mad at me because I called you both schizophrenics. Are you mad at me, Michelle? I mean, for this, not just in general.
Michelle Hammer: I’m always mad at you, so there’s
Gabe Howard: Yeah.
Michelle Hammer: No difference.
Gabe Howard: Yeah. Are you mad at me for this,
Michelle Hammer: For this?
Gabe Howard: For calling you schizophrenic?
Michelle Hammer: Yes, I’m furious, don’t you ever call me a schizophrenic. That’s terrible. I only believe in person first language, always.
Gabe Howard: Now, hang on a second. Are you now saying that the name of your business is person living with schizophrenia dot NYC?
Michelle Hammer: Yes, I’ve changed the name, it’s a person living with schizophrenia who loves PC language and appreciates everyone in the world. Dot NYC.
Gabe Howard: Well, now, if you appreciate everybody in the world, don’t you appreciate people who don’t use person first language or just not them?
Michelle Hammer: I only appreciate dogs who use person first language.
Gabe Howard: Oh, shit. Well, you know, we have beat this into the ground enough, we have Kody Green here. Kody, Michelle and I, we know each other well. We’ve done person first language and language arguments. Kody, how do you feel about being called a schizophrenic or a person living? Where do you weigh in on the debate and don’t let Michelle and his opinion sway you? Just give it to a straight.
Kody Green: First of all, how dare you, Gabe, how dare you call me a schizophrenic? I can only call myself that.
Gabe Howard: Oh, I feel
Kody Green: No, I’m just kidding. I actually go by schizophrenic hippie. I’ve embraced the name and that’s how I refer to myself. I personally don’t get offended, but I know people who do so.
Gabe Howard: You believe I think I shouldn’t say you believe we believe Michelle, and I believe that it’s all correct. That there’s not correct or incorrect. We really believe more in policing context because you know how many people tell Gabe and Michelle that people living with mental illness shouldn’t have jobs? Like that follows all of the right. But that’s so incredibly offensive. Yet Schizophrenic.NYC, which follows none of the rules and is incredibly, I guess, offensive by the rules, is this really empowering movement that Michelle started on the streets of New York City all by herself. The story alone, just this tiny little woman selling this clothing on just, I don’t want to say violent streets, aggressive streets in New York City educating people. But the number one thing that she gets hit with is that the name of her company is offensive. Like, Wow, that was your takeaway.
Michelle Hammer: That’s what I love, get offended because I’ll school you.
Gabe Howard: Get offended because I’ll school you?
Michelle Hammer: Yeah.
Gabe Howard: You should put that on a shirt.
Michelle Hammer: I don’t know if that’ll sell.
Gabe Howard: You don’t know that it won’t.
Michelle Hammer: You make that shirt, Gabe, and you try to sell it.
Gabe: All right, all right, good, fair point. Let’s get back to Kody. Let’s hear from our guest, Kody Green. Kody, who the hell are you?
Kody Green: I am a schizophrenic content creator on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram with over a million followers collectively. I mostly talk about my experience with schizophrenia, my experience growing up with a mother with schizoaffective disorder. And I do motivational speaking.
Gabe Howard: And you have a million followers on TikTok? Michelle and I combined have 11.
Kody Green: It’s pretty impressive, I mean, everyone’s got to start somewhere.
Michelle Hammer: How do we have 11?
Gabe Howard: Eleven because.
Michelle Hammer: How many followers do you have on TikTok?
Gabe Howard: I have zero and you have 11.
Michelle Hammer: So we don’t have 11 combined.
Gabe Howard: Now, how many do you have?
Michelle Hammer: 3400.
Gabe Howard: You have 3400 TikTok followers?
Michelle Hammer: I do
Gabe Howard: That.
Michelle Hammer: You’re impressed by that? Kody has a million, I have 3,400 and you’re impressed?
Gabe Howard: But I have zero. It’s all perspective, right?
Michelle Hammer: Didn’t we just talk yesterday about how you need someone helping your social media because you post on Instagram with no hashtags?
Gabe Howard: Yeah, and didn’t I just try to hire you yesterday and you said and I quote, I don’t need money, I’m independently wealthy because I own a shirt business.
Michelle Hammer: Uh, no, I actually never said that, that you just
Gabe Howard: Oh, that’s right, you just ignored me.
Michelle Hammer: You made that up completely. Right now, I never said that to you.
Gabe Howard: Ok, number one, I make everything up, so you should not be surprised, Number two, Michelle, now on the air. Do you want to be my social media person?
Michelle Hammer: How much are you paying me?
Gabe Howard: Look, money is irrelevant.
Michelle Hammer: You know, I’m going to keep making the joke, Gabe. I like money. I’m a big fan of money. I wish I had more money.
Gabe Howard: It’s a terrible joke, and I’m sad it’s a theme, but you know what, I just realized something. One guy said, I have a million TikTok followers and the idiot I work with said I had 3,400 and I was like, Hey, I should hire Michelle. You know, hell with that. Hey, Kody, you want to be my social media guru?
Kody Green: Oh, I’m in on it. Any day.
Gabe Howard: Kody, you have a million TikTok followers. What inspired you to get into this?
Kody Green: Well, the cool part of you guys letting me come on the show is that when I was first diagnosed with schizophrenia, my wife actually found your guys’s podcast and she started listening to it just as a better way to understand what I was going through. And at the time, my only advocacy that I was doing was in peer support groups, so I was just learning to tell my story. And I found you guys, this podcast, and I know she’s going to let this blow up her ego. But Michelle is actually the person who inspired me to start talking about my schizophrenia, and that is how we became friends on social media. She did end up following me on TikTok. You guys actually gave me that opportunity to be like, Well, this is something that people are interested in listening that I could actually talk about. I didn’t have a podcast platform, but once I started growing on TikTok, I was like, Well, this is cool. I can do this on here now.
Michelle Hammer: Yeah, Gabe, I’m his inspiration.
Gabe Howard: I just.
Michelle Hammer: I signed up on TikTok and I got a message from Kody, Is this the real Michelle Hammer? And I was like, Yes, who are you?
Gabe Howard: I love how he says I found you guys’ podcast and Michelle’s takeaway is it was me.
Michelle Hammer: No, but he said it. He just said it, Gabe, you didn’t hear it?
Gabe Howard: That’s a good point. Kody, you said that you found our podcast and Michelle was your inspiration.
Kody Green: Yeah, but I
Gabe Howard: Wow.
Kody Green: Think it’s because she matches
Gabe Howard: What was I?
Kody Green: Gabe, hear me out, hear me out, Gabe.
Gabe Howard: Ok. Ok.
Kody Green: I think it’s because she matches my craziness level and you’re just you’re too calm and collected to like, match our energy. And so I needed a role model who matched my crazy energy.
Gabe Howard: You know, what’s fascinating, Michelle knows me in real life, and I am only calm and collected and not crazy when I’m standing next to Michelle. The whole rest of the time I am the Michelle of the group. I am only not the Michelle of the group when Michelle is in the group. Michelle would have had a comeback to that, except she was texting, ladies and gentlemen, that is what she thinks about this show.
Michelle Hammer: No, I.
Gabe Howard: She thinks that she can text instead of pay attention.
Michelle Hammer: It’s important. It’s important.
Gabe Howard: What is more important than our fans and our guest?
Michelle Hammer: I got an order on my website.
Gabe Howard: That, that? Michelle, the whole reason we’re doing this podcast is so you can get more orders, but if you ignore the podcast to do the order, you see how that works. It just doesn’t work. Back to Kody. Kody, why not me? That’s really what I want to know.
Kody Green: It’s a good question, it’s a valid question. I don’t know, like I said, it was.
Gabe Howard: Let me break it down. We both have mental illness, we both live in the Midwest. We both have wives. I’m assuming that your wife is on awesome and loves you. My wife is awesome and also loves you because of your million followers. We have so much in common.
Kody Green: But Michelle’s that type of crazy that I just connect with.
Michelle Hammer: Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay. Crazy together, woo.
Gabe Howard: I just think it’s nice that he didn’t bite on the low hanging fruit where I said that my wife likes him. You know, my wife couldn’t find a podcast. There could be like a podcast that would change my life. My wife wouldn’t find it. She’s not going to go searching for podcasts.
Michelle Hammer: Kody’s wife is better, obviously.
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: Oh, you like my wife and my dog way more? Why don’t you just host a podcast with my wife and my dog?
Michelle Hammer: Oh, Peppy, he would be good, he could just like pant.
Gabe Howard: [Panting]
Michelle Hammer: Are you trying to be Peppy right now? You can’t be Peppy, nobody’s better at being Peppy than Peppy.
Kody Green: Identity theft is not a joke, Gabe.
Michelle Hammer: Yes, seriously, Gabe, what are you going to do, like get Peppy, a Social Security card, get him a few credit cards. Use Peppy to make a fraud and everything like that.
Gabe Howard: The first thing I’m going to do after I get Peppy an identity is make this huge order on Schizophrenic.NYC and you will be so excited and so happy until the chargebacks hit.
Michelle Hammer: That’s not cool, Gabe. I don’t like a charge back.
Gabe Howard: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Michelle Hammer: Somebody once defrauded me, they paid me with an illegal credit card. I was not pleased.
Gabe Howard: So, Kody, you started a TikTok because of us. Now, are you regretting that decision? Not the starting the TikTok part, but the part where you are crediting us?
Kody Green: The part where I admitted you guys were my inspiration? A little bit, yeah,
Michelle Hammer: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: Yeah.
Kody Green: Now that we’re sitting down, yeah, I would say a little bit. No, I’m just honestly, it’s more just because it’s really nice to see other people advocating for mental health illness. Especially, Gabe, if you’re from the Midwest, you know, there’s not a lot of representation of mental illness besides news and TV shows, which we can all agree are not a great source of information regarding mental illness, especially bipolar and schizophrenia. My mom had schizoaffective disorder, so I did get to see a little bit more of the reality of it. But then it would always tie back to the stigma surrounding it and the TV shows and news articles I would see about it.
Gabe Howard: Do TikTok channels get names? Like did you get to name it, like a schizophrenic and a TikTok? You can see our naming convention. Did you get to name it something cool?
Kody Green: Yeah, so when I started, I actually just used a goofy name that made no sense. After I started posting about my schizophrenia, I got a hate comment from someone because I have long hair and a beard, and I kind of carry myself as more of a hippie type dude. And so someone commented on one of my videos and they’re like, Well, you’re just a schizophrenic hippie. So I took that, and that is now my TikTok username, Schizophrenic Hippie.
Michelle Hammer: Perfect.
Kody Green: So I was like, You know what? That’s kind of catchy, and I stole it. So thanks to that guy.
Michelle Hammer: Perfect. You know, sometimes a hate comment becomes a positive.
Gabe Howard: Now is your TikTok, Michelle, called I hate you and you’re faking schizophrenia.
Michelle Hammer: I think it’s just called Schizophrenic NYC.
Gabe Howard: But the number one comment that Michelle gets is, I hate you and you’re faking schizophrenia. It’s phenomenal how many people accuse her of faking schizophrenia. Now I know Michelle is about to just like, go on a tear. Michelle, calm. Kody, do you get people accusing you on your social media platforms of faking schizophrenia?
Kody Green: It’s pretty much a daily occurrence because the two most popular types of videos I have are me using my phone to identify whether or not something’s a hallucination, and then me using my office webcam to record symptoms that I’m having and then posting them. People assume it’s staged because they don’t realize that those coping techniques are something that I was learning over the past four or five years on how to better identify my hallucinations. And so when people see it, they automatically assume I’m faking it, trying to get likes and views on my videos. But the techniques started as a way to help me, and it became a really good way to show people what it’s like living with schizophrenia. So I do get a lot of comments of people assuming that I’m faking. So much so to the point where I had someone constantly accusing me and they were making a bunch of videos about me. I even posted my medical diagnosis online. I have since taken down that video because I was like, I don’t have to prove anything to this guy. And so I’ve been better at just realizing that no matter how much evidence I put on there, no matter, no matter, even if I put my medical diagnosis online, people will still assume I’m faking it or exaggerating it. So I think that’s just part of being a social media person with mental illness.
Michelle Hammer: Was it possibly an old dude with a little mustache?
Kody Green: Very well, could have been.
Michelle Hammer: Because I got harassed by an old dude with a little mustache that said, I don’t have schizophrenia and you’re just trying to make money off of us. And like I’ve said a million times, why would I fake schizophrenia? You don’t fake schizophrenia for sympathy because everybody you knew would say, you have schizophrenia? One of their first thoughts is that you’re dangerous or you’re scary, or that you’re unstable and that they don’t want to really associate with you. You want sympathy? Say you have cancer. Why would you ever say I’m schizophrenic if you’re not? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s just ridiculous to me. And I started posting those videos too, of me just talking to myself and I get comments like, if this is real, this is really sad. And I’m like, I don’t need your pity. I put it out there to educate people. I didn’t put it out there for people to feel bad for me.
Gabe Howard: Well, but it should be sad, right? I just I know that they mean it mocking. I do. I’m not defending the trolls. The trolls suck. But when people say things like, Well, this sucks and this is really depressing and this is sad and this is awful, and why did you do this? And on and on and on it just it really shows that yeah. Yeah, I mean, this isn’t, you’re not posting that you just like scored the game winning touchdown or, you know, you didn’t like, flip your BMX bike or do like a cool trick on a skateboard. This is an illness. You’re living with an illness, you’re managing an illness. And people watch it. And they’re like, Well, that looks shitty. Yeah, I feel like your core message, Kody, is that one, this sucks and two, but there are things that we can do to make it not suck.
Kody Green: Yeah, so the main reason I started posting more regularly and posting not just stories, but also posting actual videos of me having symptoms was so people could better understand it. And people will have different reactions to it, obviously. But one of the most common reactions is that looks like it sucks. What can we do better as people who may encounter someone with schizophrenia to help them? And so we get to start a really good dialog about what can we do as a society to help people struggling with severe mental illness? And that’s exactly where that conversation should go. So even if I use comedy as a way of getting people to come to my page, because one of my favorite types of jokes are schizophrenic jokes and people will get really offended and upset about that. But I’m like, my way of coping is comedy, so I do use a lot of comedy when I’m not posting videos of active symptoms. And the reason for that is because it gets people to come to my page who probably never would have went out and looked up what schizophrenia is. So we get to start dialog with people who maybe never thought they would look into it more.
Michelle Hammer: I do laugh at my hallucinations like all the time, I’m having a great time, sometimes. Sometimes I am. I am cracking up.
Kody Green: I have taken down a video of me laughing with my hallucinations, because what I found in that context was people romanticized it and then they were like, Oh, I wish I had schizophrenia, and now I can only really post the ones where you can tell that I’m visibly terrified because any time I’ve tried to like post the video of me laughing with my jokes or having a conversation, people will be like, Oh, that looks fun. It’s like doing drugs without doing drugs. And so I had to, like, cut back on those types of videos, even though a lot of people will come to me and be like, Don’t you ever see anything that isn’t terrifying or scary? And I would say way more common than when I’m having, like, frightening hallucinations. But if I post those people get so weird about it, I didn’t want to have to deal with the comments, the people romanticizing it and normalizing, like wanting to have it. And so I had to quit doing that type of content, which really upset me because I think it’s just as beneficial to see that it’s my everyday life. I talk to people who aren’t there. I’ll have hallucinations pretty much on a weekly basis, even medicated.
Michelle Hammer: Yeah.
Kody Green: The fact I can’t post that sucks because everyone tries to make it like a cool thing.
Michelle Hammer: I remember explaining to my friends in college about hearing different voices and stuff, and like some stuff is really bad. Some stuff is really funny. So they’re like, Oh, do you want to hear just the funny ones? And I was like, No, I want to hear nothing. I don’t care if it’s funny, I don’t want to hear anything at all. I want to be in reality. Just because I’m laughing doesn’t mean I want it to happen. But, Kody, should we tell Gabe our brilliant business idea on the internet?
Kody Green: Oh, no, don’t do it.
Gabe Howard: No.
Kody Green: Let me preface this, Gabe, Michelle came on to my podcast a while back and.
Gabe Howard: Wait, wait, you had Michelle on your podcast?
Kody Green: I reached out to you on LinkedIn, but I don’t think you knew me at the time.
Michelle Hammer: Oh, Gabe, you denied Kody, so shut up.
Gabe Howard: I did not deny, I
Michelle Hammer: You say. He just said you denied him so ha ha, sucks to be. . .
Gabe Howard: Do I use LinkedIn?
Michelle Hammer: . . .you, asshole.
Gabe Howard: Is LinkedIn a thing that I use?
Kody Green: Yeah, you responded to one of my comments the other day, I commented on one of your videos.
Gabe Howard: Oh, what did I say? Thank you. Ok.
Michelle Hammer: See, Gabe, you don’t even, you, you’re so bad at social media that you don’t even know when you’re, when somebody you’re having on your podcast comments on your social media and has actually reached out to you and you couldn’t even get back to him and you’re thinking that he doesn’t. Gabe, you need it. Oh goodness, Gabe, get on your game, Gabe. But, Kody, tell the story.
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: Oh, yeah, yeah, I want to hear the business idea.
Kody Green: So I had Michelle on my podcast and we were celebrating Schizophrenia Awareness Day, and Michelle had an idea of a schizophrenic OnlyFans where Michelle makes money having her hallucinations create an OnlyFans.
Michelle Hammer: Yeah.
Kody Green: And I couldn’t post any of the content about it on TikTok because they have very strict guidelines about talking about OnlyFans.
Michelle Hammer: So, yeah, me and somebody nobody else can see, you just get busy. Gabe, what do you think?
Gabe Howard: I have so many questions, OK, now, schizophrenic OnlyFan, would you have to be actively hallucinating for like the membership? Like what would the free content be? Michelle getting freaky normal, but the membership content would be Michelle getting freaky while, well, having a symptom of schizophrenia?
Michelle Hammer: Well, OK, we didn’t thoroughly think the entire thing through.
Kody Green: Yeah, it was more of a premise of a business idea.
Michelle Hammer: But we thought it might be a really good idea, you know, like, you know, oh, I’m schizophrenic, oh, here’s who I’m with tonight. You can’t see them, but I see them.
Gabe Howard: But the people that you are with, do they also have to have schizophrenia?
Michelle Hammer: No, it just, just watch this schizophrenic bang a hallucination.
Gabe Howard: How was this just not porn?
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: Michelle, you just invented porn.
Michelle Hammer: That’s what OnlyFans is.
Gabe Howard: Look, if you want an OnlyFans just have an OnlyFans, you don’t need to gussy it up and pretend that it’s mental health advocacy.
Michelle Hammer: Well, that’s what makes my OnlyFans different from other people’s OnlyFans, you’ve got to have a shtick.
Gabe Howard: But, but how are we going to be able to tell that shtick during the OnlyFans? Are you going to like, yell, I’m schizophrenic, that feels good?
Michelle Hammer: You know what, Gabe.
Gabe Howard: Do you look schizophrenic? Are you saying that schizophrenia has a look?
Michelle Hammer: How many subscriptions do you have on OnlyFans, Gabe? How many OnlyFans do you follow? How many people?
Gabe Howard: On OnlyFans?
Michelle Hammer: Yeah.
Gabe Howard: None. I follow zero OnlyFans people.
Michelle Hammer: So then what do you know about OnlyFans that you say that my OnlyFans would be bad? You don’t want to see my OnlyFans? I’m offended.
Gabe Howard: You know, that’s a good point, I think what I’m really responding to is the idea that it’s Michelle’s OnlyFan. I think if you got an attractive woman with schizophrenia,
Michelle Hammer: Hey.
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: This could
Kody Green: Oh man.
Gabe Howard: Be a really good idea. Kody?
Michelle Hammer: Oh, really? Gabe, find me a schizophrenic hotter than me.
Kody Green: Right here.
Michelle Hammer: Oh, Kody.
Gabe Howard: [Laughter]
Michelle Hammer: Kody, OK,
Gabe Howard: Yes. Yes.
Michelle Hammer: Ok, Ok.
Gabe Howard: I am investing in Kody’s OnlyFans.
Michelle Hammer: Kody, you got to have a schizophrenic OnlyFans then fine,
Kody Green: All right,
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Michelle Hammer: And we’re back, double the schizos, double the fun. Here we go with Kody Green, the TikTok schizophrenic hippie.
Gabe Howard: She calls herself a schizophrenic, but honestly, any crazy tagline will do.
Michelle Hammer: Hey, I’m not crazy.
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Michelle Hammer: I’m just me.
Gabe Howard: Let’s think of the marketing, this gives you. Whack job dot NYC,
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: Crazed Girl dot NYC.
Michelle Hammer: Okay, that sounds like porn. That sounds like porn, whack job dot NYC, like, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea.
Gabe Howard: That could be your OnlyFans. I believe this has come full circle.
Michelle Hammer: What?
Gabe Howard: Schizophrenic whack job NYC, now you don’t need a partner. So you’ll have to think about it for a minute, but as soon as it connects, you’ll realize what you just agreed to.
Michelle Hammer: Schizophrenic reviews dildos dot NYC.
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Gabe Howard: Why would you review them?
Michelle Hammer: Aren’t there reviews? I’m sure there’s reviews.
Kody Green: [Laughter]
Michelle Hammer: Let’s get more serious. You said your mother was schizoaffective.
Kody Green: Yep.
Michelle Hammer: I’m really curious about what it was like growing up with a schizoaffective mother and how that affected you in any way. Positives, negatives, horribleness, goodness. I don’t know what I’m saying, but like, just just how did that just affect you? Like, I don’t know. I don’t know. Answer the question.
Kody Green: Well, I would say that growing up with a mother who had schizoaffective disorder gave me the opportunity to see how much the view on mental illness has changed even since the early 2000s, especially in a small rural community. People knew my mom was mentally ill. They did not treat her in a very good way. And so I did get to see stigma surrounding mental illness really early on in life. I will say that it also helped me in a way because when my mom was diagnosed, I was able to start doing research about it. I did find out that there was a genetic component to mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, and that gave me the opportunity to prepare with the fact that I might end up developing schizophrenia one day, even though it took me a while to come to terms when I started having symptoms. It did help me because once I started realizing that I was possibly struggling with schizophrenia, it was very easy to go in and see a psychiatrist explain my mom’s disorder, explain what I was seeing and get a formal diagnosis.
Michelle Hammer: Oh, OK. Ok, so it really didn’t have a negative effect on you.
Kody Green: I mean, I think it had a negative effect, just in the fact that my mom was a single mother. She had to go on disability because she couldn’t keep going to work specifically because she would have symptoms she would get sent home. She started struggling with physical symptoms of schizophrenia because she was misdiagnosed with bipolar early on, so she wasn’t getting properly treated. And I feel like it just had more negative symptoms in the fact that I was having to watch her go through this and there wasn’t anything I could do to help. And as the oldest child of a single mom, it was kind of hard for me to just have to sit back and watch it and figure out what I could do to help. When in reality, as a 15 year old kid, what are you going to do? There was very little I could do to help, and I think that was just kind of debilitating as a kid.
Gabe Howard: Now, other than your mom, are you the only other family member managing a serious and persistent mental illness? How are your two siblings?
Kody Green: My younger brother is about a year and a half younger than me, he’s almost getting to that age range where he’s kind of out of the typical year someone develops schizophrenia, so he’s almost in the clear. He doesn’t really suffer from any serious mental illness. He did struggle with addiction just like me. But other than that, he didn’t have to go through any mental health diagnosis. My little sister is still definitely under the age range, where she could still develop it. So if you have a parent with schizophrenia, you’re 18 to 20 percent more likely to develop it. So statistically, out of three kids, I should be the only one to develop it. Obviously, statistics are going to be skewed, but hopefully that means I’ll be the only one who has to receive this diagnosis. I would hate to see for one of my siblings to go through it, but you know anything is possible.
Michelle Hammer: All right, so let me ask you an annoying question that I get asked all the time.
Kody Green: Michelle asking an annoying question, what?
Gabe Howard: I know, I know. I too am stunned.
Michelle Hammer: Just because people ask me this, people ask me this. So are you going to have kids? I hate when people go, So what do you think about having kids? I hate when people ask me that, but I’m just going to ask you that too.
Kody Green: Yeah.
Michelle Hammer: Just I want to hear what you say.
Kody Green: As you said, it’s a super common question. Me and my wife did decide not to have kids and my schizophrenia diagnosis did play a role in that. It wasn’t the only factor, but it definitely did play a role in it. I remember telling my mom that I was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia, and I know it broke her heart because it’s the last thing a parent wants for a kid to know that they’re going to have to go through the same struggles with mental illness. It was one of the factors in us deciding not to have kids, but it definitely wasn’t the only reason.
Gabe Howard: Kody, I’m not sure the statistics, either, but it really doesn’t matter what the odds are, right? Once it happens, it happens. I made the decision not to have children as well because of bipolar disorder and, you know, because of psychosis and because of suicidality. Just the two things that kept me up at night were this idea of passing this along to a child just terrified me. And the secondary thing was that that child could very much be Michelle like, do I want to be responsible for a child that’s like Michelle? Did that factor
Michelle Hammer: What?
Gabe Howard: Into you and your wife deciding this idea that you could conceivably make another Michelle and unleash this onto the world?
Michelle Hammer: You wish.
Kody Green: I will say that I don’t think there could ever be a human quite like Michelle ever again. But, you know, it definitely did cross our minds and it was something we definitely had to consider. Fortunately, my kid won’t be raised in New York, so I feel like that helps a little bit with the craziness.
Gabe Howard: Also, Michelle has a very her words, I apologize, Sue, but Michelle has a very overbearing Jewish mother again, her words, Sue. Please don’t send me an email. I’ve met your mom, lovely woman.
Michelle Hammer: Because she can’t kick the crap out of you.
Gabe Howard: I mean, I’m six foot. Oh, Michelle, would you have turned out differently if you were over six feet?
Michelle Hammer: Maybe I’d be a model.
Gabe Howard: Why does everything come back to you thinking that you’re super attractive and that people want to see you?
Michelle Hammer: Women that are over six feet, that’s like you can do cool, cool stuff. I’m hot as hell, Gabe, so shut up. You wish you could look like me.
Gabe Howard: Well, as opposed to this, I’m a giant fat red hairball, yeah, that’s listen, looking like you is definitely an upgrade. We should all be trying to look like Kody.
Michelle Hammer: I look like a Hasidic Jew every day.
Gabe Howard: You are an acidic Jew.
Michelle Hammer: You said acidic, I said Hasidic you idiot.
Gabe Howard: You are in Hasidic Jew, Michelle, that’s why you. You don’t look like one, you are one.
Michelle Hammer: I am not of that sect of Judaism, I just come from them, I have the schnoz, I have the hair, I have the white skin. I may come from the Hasids in the old country. Plus, did you know I found out I’m Ukrainian?
Gabe Howard: There are so much wrong with you.
Kody Green: Schizophrenia being just such a small percentage of that.
Michelle Hammer: Yes, I’m saying.
Gabe Howard: Yeah, yeah.
Michelle Hammer: Yes, so many things.
Gabe Howard: So many things, your therapy bill must be huge.
Michelle Hammer: Me? I don’t know.
Gabe Howard: Because you don’t pay it. Who pays your therapy bill, Michelle?
Michelle Hammer: Me.
Kody Green: People who buy her merch.
Michelle Hammer: The people who buy my merch.
Gabe Howard: Oh, my God, you should design a shirt that says this pays Michelle’s therapy bill.
Kody Green: Oh.
Gabe Howard: Oh, you could start a GoFundMe, send Michelle to therapy.
Kody Green: I would buy that shirt, first of all.
Gabe Howard: I’d chip in to get you medical care.
Michelle Hammer: That would be so funny. Make a page. Help me pay my therapy bills. That would be funny, but yeah, I wouldn’t do that.
Gabe Howard: You know, there was a well-known advocate that did this. Like any single time she needed anything, she just started a GoFundMe. She’s like, Hey, I’m out of milk. Go fund me. She had so many GoFundMes. At one point, she had multiple GoFundMes on her Facebook at the same time for the same thing. Kody, to tie this back to you, sincerely, I know that you deal with a lot of comments, a lot of people, and I’m super glad that you are a fan of the show. Whether you like Michelle more or me more, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to answer.
Kody Green: It’s Michelle.
Michelle Hammer: I win.
Gabe Howard: It’s always Michelle, it’s always Michelle,
Michelle Hammer: Whoo hoo, hoo, hoo
Gabe Howard: Everybody likes Michelle more.
Michelle Hammer: Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo. Doo doo doo doo doo doo, ha.
Gabe Howard: 90 percent of this episode is this whole episode is going to come out, it’s going to be like, Hi everybody, my name is Gabe Howard and I’m here with Michelle and please visit our sponsor Better Help and we’re here with Kody. Hi, I’m Kody. Kody. You have a website. Yeah, I do. Schizophrenic hippie TikTok. All right. Well, thanks everybody for tuning in. Kody was a great guest. All right. We will see everybody next week on a bipolar, schizophrenic and a podcast. The whole episode four minutes raw file three and a half hours.
Michelle Hammer: What are you talking about?
Gabe Howard: That’s how the editing process works.
Kody Green: He’s saying he has to cut all of your OnlyFans talk out of this episode, which was 70 percent of it.
Michelle Hammer: Oh.
Gabe Howard: I might leave that in, actually, I think the only fan stuff is definitely going to stay.
Kody Green: Oh, well, that’s good, because that was the main portion, I feel like.
Gabe Howard: Yeah.
Michelle Hammer: We’ll have to launch my OnlyFans when it airs so everyone can go to it.
Gabe Howard: We could call it a bipolar, a schizophrenic and an OnlyFans.
Michelle Hammer: No, I think we should call it a bipolar, a schizophrenic, a schizophrenic and a hallucination, OnlyFans.
Gabe Howard: All right. And Kody is the second schizophrenic.
Michelle Hammer: Yes.
Gabe Howard: Now, has Kody agreed to this?
Michelle Hammer: His wife, just, just messaged me and said, do it.
Gabe Howard: His wife messaged you?
Michelle Hammer: No, she didn’t.
Gabe Howard: What’s his wife’s name, Michelle?
Michelle Hammer: Alison.
Gabe Howard: Is it really Alison?
Kody Green: It is.
Michelle Hammer: Yeah, I see some of his videos,
Gabe Howard: Oh,
Michelle Hammer: I know it’s Alison.
Gabe Howard: Well, congratulations, you knew. What’s my wife’s name?
Michelle Hammer: Kendall.
Gabe Howard: Oh, that’s really impressive. What’s my ex-wife’s name?
Michelle Hammer: Lisa?
Gabe Howard: What’s my other ex-wife’s name?
Michelle Hammer: You never told me.
Gabe Howard: That’s not true, I completely told you.
Michelle Hammer: You never told me.
Gabe Howard: Starts with an M.
Michelle Hammer: Melissa
Gabe Howard: No,
Michelle Hammer: Mary.
Gabe Howard: No.
Kody Green: Michelle.
Gabe Howard: No, that’s my fourth wife. That’s where this is headed. This is the only place that this could end. The whole world is going to explode and Michelle and I are going to be the only two left, it’s going
Michelle Hammer: No.
Gabe Howard: To be me, Michelle and Keith Richards.
Michelle Hammer: Keith Richards?
Gabe Howard: Yeah, to survive the apocalypse.
Michelle Hammer: I’m going to have to make babies with Keith Richards?
Gabe Howard: That’s cruel. Michelle,
Michelle Hammer: You have a vasectomy.
Gabe Howard: Yeah. You know, way too much about me, Kody, we do have to get out of here very soon, and I know you want to get back to your life and is there any additional information that you want to share with our audience before we share all of your website socials and all the information on how to contact you?
Kody Green: Yeah, I just always like to and any time I’m on a podcast or on a show, I always just like to say, get into advocacy however you can, whether it be TikTok, whether it be on Instagram. I never thought I would have a platform for advocacy, and now I have 1.2 million followers, not one million, actually.
Gabe Howard: Wait, wait. In the time that we have been on this show at one up to two hundred thousand people, that is the advocacy power of A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast. Just by Kody being on this show, 200,000 followers. Whooo.
Kody Green: We’ll say that it wasn’t 1.2 the whole time just to help you guys out a little bit. But seriously, my recommendation is always if you have a story, get into advocacy because you never know how far it’ll go and how far it’ll reach and who it’ll help. So if you guys want to contact me, I have several social media platforms and thank you guys personally for letting me come, join you and harass Gabe for a while. I do appreciate it.
Gabe Howard: Kody, thank you so very much, I really like what you said, Michelle, and I get a lot of emails too, and you’re like, Look, I can’t afford a podcast. I don’t have a million social followers. I can’t do what you do and maybe I don’t want to be as public. But is it worth doing something on a small level? And unequivocally, yes. Could you imagine if every single person living with a serious and persistent mental illness put out one piece of content a year? One piece of content, one blog, one TikTok video, one YouTube video, one Facebook message. Just literally one a year. It would be millions upon millions of pieces of content, and it would really educate people and let people know they’re not alone. So, yeah, never, ever underestimate how important one thing is, and you may catch the bug. I think all of us started with one video or one something. I wrote one blog and I was like, that’s it, I’m going to write one blog. And here we are. Michelle said the same thing she started with like, she’s kind of like, I’m going to make one shirt. Now, she’s on what? Her 50th the piece of, I don’t know what, merch?
Michelle Hammer: I don’t know. I don’t how many merch I’ve sold.
Gabe Howard: So many she can’t even count that high. Kody, this is my my final question. Sincerely, when you started the TikTok channel, did you believe that it would get to 1.2 million? What were your expectations on day one?
Kody Green: My expectations were for it to be a personal web journal. I was just going to talk basically to myself because apparently I don’t do that enough as a schizophrenic person. I decided to do it on TikTok. And I told one story that I called Schizophrenic Story Time, and my very first video had over 100,000 views overnight. It was my first viral video. I woke up with 10,000 followers, and that was just apparently the beginning, so I could have never imagined.
Michelle Hammer: That’s awesome.
Gabe Howard: Kody, that is very, very awesome. Do you have a website? Where do folks find you? Tell everybody all of the details to look you up.
Kody Green: Absolutely. So you can always check out KodyGreen.com, Kody with a K. Otherwise you can find me on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram under the username schizophrenic hippie. Otherwise, you can just check out any of my other social media. I’m on Facebook and LinkedIn as well.
Gabe Howard: Well, thank you so much and listen up, everybody, you have been listening to a bipolar, schizophrenic and a podcast. Wherever you downloaded this episode, please subscribe or follow. It’s one hundred percent free and do us a favor and tell someone about the show. Word of mouth, social media, text messaging, whatever it takes, we would consider it a personal favor if you would share the show. Look, if you’re interested in my book, “Mental Illness Is an Asshole and Other Observations,” just go to gabehoward.com and grab a signed copy. And hey, I’ll throw in free swag.
Michelle Hammer: If you’re interested in the first clothing line started by a schizophrenic chick, go to my online store, it’s Schizophrenic.NYC.
Gabe Howard: And Michelle and I both travel nationally as speakers, you can find out more on our respective websites and hey, you want to save 10% on your first month of online therapy? Check out our sponsor by going to BetterHelp.com/BSP22. We’ll see you next Tuesday.
Michelle Hammer: Kody Green, the schizophrenic hippie.
Announcer: You’ve been listening to A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast, Season 2. Previous episodes can be found on your favorite podcast player or by visiting ThisEmotionalLife.org/BSP. Have comments or show ideas? Hit up the show at BSP@ThisEmotionalLife.org. Gabe and Michelle are not medical professionals. This podcast is not a substitute for medical advice and is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help, please call your doctor, emergency services, the national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741. Thank you for listening.
