Alan’s Truth-Telling Journey from Childhood Trauma to Emotional Freedom

Alan Katz spent decades telling other people’s stories while hiding the most painful chapter of his own. In this raw conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with the former Tales From the Crypt writer and producer to talk about childhood sexual trauma, self-blame, suicidal despair, creativity, and the brutal honesty that finally helped him reconnect with himself.

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Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

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Mental Health Quote

“You’ve got to be brutally honest with yourself about yourself. Then you can maybe find happiness.” — Alan Katz

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes candid conversations about childhood sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts, self-blame, depression, and emotional trauma. Please take care of yourself while listening.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States or visit: https://988lifeline.org/

For crisis resources outside the United States, visit: https://findahelpline.com/

Episode Description

For most of his life, Alan Katz was a professional storyteller who could build characters, write dark comedy, and help shape iconic projects like HBO’s Tales From the Crypt. But beneath the success was a story he could not fully tell himself.

At 14, Alan was sexually abused by a religious authority figure. After the abuse happened a second time, he began carrying a devastating belief: when something bad happens, it must be his fault. That belief became a lifelong pattern of self-blame, disconnection, rage, and emotional pain.

In this honest conversation with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles, Alan shares how he reached the lowest point of his life just before Christmas in 2016, when he came within inches of ending it. Choosing to seek immediate help became the first step toward stabilizing his mental health, confronting the truth of his trauma, and reconnecting with the 14-year-old version of himself who had carried the blame for far too long.

Alan also takes us behind the scenes of his Hollywood career, from his arrival in Los Angeles to his role in developing the Crypt Keeper’s unforgettable personality. He explains how creative success can become its own mountain—and how painful it can be when identity, purpose, and career begin to fall apart.

This episode is about more than survival. It is about speaking up, releasing shame, reclaiming creativity, and discovering that the truth really can set you free.

Keywords: Alan Katz, childhood trauma, childhood sexual abuse, emotional freedom, trauma recovery, suicidal thoughts, depression recovery, self-blame, mental health healing, emotional honesty, inner child healing, storytelling, Tales From the Crypt, creative identity, suicide prevention

Meet Our Guest — Alan Katz

Alan Katz is a writer, producer, storyteller, and podcaster whose entertainment career includes work on HBO’s iconic Tales From the Crypt. After decades of professional storytelling, Alan confronted the childhood trauma and self-blame that had disconnected him from himself, transforming his personal healing into a deeper purpose: making the world better through honest storytelling.

He is also the co-founder of Costard and Touchstone, a podcast production company named after two Shakespearean “wise fools” known for speaking truth to power.

Website: https://costardandtouchstone.com

Key Takeaways

• Childhood trauma can quietly create patterns of shame and self-blame that last for decades.
• What happened to you is not automatically your fault, even when trauma convinces you otherwise.
• Speaking the truth about your own story can rebuild your connection to yourself.
• Medication can be a valuable part of mental health treatment when used with informed medical support.
• Career success cannot heal emotional wounds that have never been acknowledged.
• Creativity can return with greater depth when it is grounded in honesty and purpose.

Actionable Items

• Write a compassionate note to the younger version of yourself who carried blame that never belonged to them.
• Identify one painful belief you have treated as fact, then ask: “Is this actually true, or is this something trauma taught me?”
• Tell one safe, trusted person what you are going through instead of trying to carry it alone.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:57 – Meeting Alan Katz Alan describes himself as the final product of a remarkable story—one that proved the truth could set him free.
• 00:01:42 – Success, identity, and falling off “Showbiz Mountain” Alan explains why staying successful in Hollywood can be more emotionally damaging than reaching the top.
• 00:05:00 – Finding purpose through truthful storytelling He shares how reconnecting with himself helped him discover a deeper mission behind the work he had already been doing.
• 00:06:40 – The childhood trauma Alan kept from himself Alan reveals that he was sexually abused at 14 and explains how the second incident created a lifelong pattern of self-blame.
• 00:08:12 – Coming within inches of suicide Alan recounts the crisis he experienced three days before Christmas in 2016 and the decision to seek immediate medical help.
• 00:10:39 – Finding a medication that helped stabilize him He describes how a mood stabilizer interrupted overwhelming rage and gave him space between emotion and reaction.
• 00:14:38 – Reconnecting with his 14-year-old self Alan talks about embracing the younger version of himself who had carried guilt and shame for decades.
• 00:16:02 – How emotional healing changed his creativity Truth gave Alan access to a wider emotional range and helped him evolve from a strong writer into a purposeful storyteller.
• 00:17:15 – Leaving acting behind and becoming a writer Alan shares how a rough audition helped redirect him toward screenwriting and, eventually, Hollywood.
• 00:20:42 – Meeting creative partner Gil Adler He explains how their shared belief in solving production problems through creativity shaped their partnership.
• 00:22:38 – Joining HBO’s Tales From the Crypt Alan reveals how he became the show’s story editor when the series was originally expected to end.
• 00:27:21 – Saving the show from cancellation Alan and Gil helped revive the series by protecting the rebellious spirit of the original comic books.
• 00:28:53 – Creating the Crypt Keeper’s personality Alan explains how he gave the Crypt Keeper a character, a voice, and a twisted sense of humor, based in part on his own personality.
• 00:32:31 – Moving Tales From the Crypt into feature films The conversation turns to Demon Knight, Hollywood expectations, and the fear of being pigeonholed creatively.
• 00:34:20 – When a dream project was suddenly killed Alan recounts how Universal shut down a deeply personal film project and replaced it with Bordello of Blood.
• 00:37:23 – The mental health cost of creative loss He reflects on how one devastating professional decision became a turning point in his emotional decline.
• 00:38:11 – The advice Alan would give his younger self His message to his 14-year-old self is simple and powerful: “Speak up.”
• 00:38:32 – The hardest lesson he has learned Alan explains why brutal honesty with yourself is essential to healing and happiness.
• 00:39:24 – Alan’s work today He introduces Costard and Touchstone and shares how the company uses podcasting and storytelling to speak truth to power.

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