Episode
"I Wanted To End It All" Victoria Arlen on Severe Mental Health Battles, Surviving a 4-Year Vegetative State, & Winning GOLD!
- Podcast
- Seacoast Stories
- Published
- Jun 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5669
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Summary
***TRIGGER WARNING*** This podcast contains discussion of suicide. Listener discretion is advised. It's a miracle that Victoria Arlen is still here. Before the age of 10, she entered into a vegetative state after getting diagnosed with two rare neurodegenerative diseases. From there, the Exeter, N.H. native lived incapacitated for four years, with doctors and nurses instructing Arlen's parents to accept that their daughter wouldn't live much longer. Then, on a day that continues to baffle medical professionals everywhere, she emerged from this state. And since then, against all odds, she's taken the world by storm in the form of gold medals at the 2012 Paralympic Games, a run on ABC's Dancing With The Stars , a stellar motivational speaking career, a 10-year tenure as an anchor for ESPN, and now, a two-time author. The 31-year-old's most recent book, The View Is Worth It , published in the spring, and it's her firsthand account of how she's navigated anxiety, depression, and the weight of expectations placed upon her when she was asked to be hero without ever having worn a cape. From The Unmuted Room in Newington, N.H., Arlen joins host Troy Farkas for a wide-ranging discussion about Arlen's Seacoast roots, the experience of being "locked in" to her body for four years, the abuse she experienced at the hands of doctors and nurses, and how she miraculously emerged from the state. Plus, how she became the youngest on-air talent in ESPN history, her stint on DWTS, and the lengthy battle with mental health issues that inspired her latest book, and, in 2021, nearly led her to take her own life. CHAPTERS: Victoria's favorite Seacoast hangs (00:00) Spending four years in a vegetative state (10:37) Getting abused by doctors & nurses (31:06) SPONSOR: JOBTALK LLC (…