Khushboo Malhotra
According to a recent study, 30% of the UK population has at least one mental health problem. It is estimated to increase with the number of people being diagnosed with post-COVID trauma and experiencing severe stress and mental burdens. As the world returns to ‘normal’, we should place a greater emphasis on taking care of mental health.
What is mental health?
Mental health comprises a person’s emotional, behavioural, psychological, spiritual and social well-being. Good mental health is crucial as it enables a person to cope with the daily demands of life, while staying productive and thriving under challenging circumstances.
According to the World Health Organization, “Mental health is the foundation for the well-being and effective functioning of individuals. It is more than the absence of a mental disorder; it is the ability to think, learn, and understand one’s emotions and the reactions of others. Mental health is a state of balance, both within and with the environment.”
Everyone feels worried, irritated or apprehensive from time to time, as life is not a smooth ride but a meandering, vicious circle full of curveballs. While some people may readily endure adverse situations, others cannot, resulting in depression, anxiety or other mental health concerns.
Poor mental health can alter a person’s perception about themselves and surrounding people, affecting interpersonal relationships with varying degrees of stringency. Some common symptoms include feeling low, dramatic, frequent mood swings, solitude, anguish, paranoia, hallucinations, or can flare up as chronic physical health problems.
Mental illness has sparked intense debate for decades, yet our society continues to stigmatize it. It has just taken a global pandemic for people who have lived with chronic mental health issues for years to be acknowledged.
In the past decade, rates of mental health issues have catapulted, not restricted to any demographics, gender, age, race, ethnicity or sexuality. One in four adults experiences at least one identified mental health problem in any given year. It can affect people in all walks of life at any age and represents the biggest single cause of disability in the UK.
Mental health issues must be treated like any other illness with a biological premise, requiring proper recognition, examination, treatment, medication, and supervision to recover. Some widely identified disorders are depression, anxiety, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, dissociative disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia spectrum, and other psychotic disorders.
Are mental health podcasts helpful?
The presence of podcasts has escalated drastically with the advent of smartphones and technology such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. As of May 2022, over 2,442,670 podcasts are actively running, with over 65 million aired episodes in over 100+ languages.
Mental health podcasts are swelling with an amplitude of mental and emotional resonance that offers listeners a cathartic experience. They are an excellent resource for learning adequate and practical self-care strategies and championing us to take care of ourselves.
These podcasts span various topics, such as trauma, depression, self-love, body image, relationships, anxiety and addiction, among many others. Renowned authors, doctors, mental health practitioners, thought leaders, behavioural scientists, psychologists, and therapists host them and appear as guests to share their expertise.
The best approach to figuring out if a podcast is right for you is to listen to a few episodes and see if they align with your goals, are non-triggering, and if you can learn something useful without straining yourself.
We have curated a list of some of the best mental health podcasts, whether you want straight science and insights, substantial advice, or enjoy lighthearted conversations. Remember though that while podcasts can be a valuable resource for self-care and an opportunity to learn something new, relax, and reflect, they are not substitutes for professional counselling and medical treatment.
The Hilarious World of Depression
Imagine a comedy series about clinical depression infused with humour. Is that really possible? The Hilarious World of Depression is a podcast show hosted by John Moe, a renowned comedian, radio personality, and author who took on this incredible initiative.
Clinical depression is a prevalent and alienating medical condition that affects millions of people across the globe in diverse situations. Yet, our society frequently stigmatizes and ridicules it without comprehending its core causes and repercussions.
This podcast aims to minimize the stigma by breaking the ice with and encouraging candid, poignant conversations so that people who are struggling in silence do not feel alone while making them giggle.
It has featured some of the best comedians who coped with the illness, with the likes of Maria Bamford, Paul F. Tompkins, Andy Richter, and Jen Kirkman, among many others. Hopefully, this podcast will help cheer you up and take some stress away in an otherwise dreary situation.
The Trauma Therapist Podcast
Next on our list is The Trauma Therapist Podcast, hosted by Guy Macpherson, PhD. It investigates mental health, emotional trauma, and the human spirit.
The episodes offer dynamic, lively and effective dialogues with thought-leaders in the fields of psychology, trauma, mindfulness, addiction, yoga, and mental health professionals with decades of experience who explain different traumatic experiences and coping mechanisms to assist the audience in navigating their own.
Therapy for Black Girls
The Therapy for Black Girls podcast is a remarkable initiative by a woman of colour for women of colour, aiming to make mental health more accessible, inexpensive, and approachable for this neglected demographic.
Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist from Atlanta, Georgia, hosts the podcast weekly and offers insights and shares ample resources that may help in managing mental health and personal development. She inspires her audience to start by making small efforts every day to improve their lives and become the best versions of themselves.
The dialogues are lighthearted and navigate topics like body positivity, depression, patriarchy blues, stress, and Black women’s musings on life, love, and liberation, among many others, affecting mental health.
Mental Illness Happy Hour
We all enjoy a good happy hour, taking a break from work to grab a few extra pints, or even getting an assorted collection from the local book club happy hour. If this sounds like something you enjoy for that extra mile of happiness, we are confident that you will like the Mental Illness Happy Hour.
With 590 episodes and counting, The Mental Illness Happy Hour is a weekly, hour-long (surprise, surprise) podcast hosted by comedian Paul Gilmartin that features interviews with other comics, artists, friends, experts, and doctors. The guests open up about their phobias, addictions, traumatic childhoods, hardships with panic, anxiety, PTSD, unlearning patterns, and other mental health challenges; mainly exploring the conversations they’d otherwise try to escape.
WTF with Marc Maron
Marc Maron welcomes comedians, actors, directors, writers, authors, musicians, and folks from all walks of life to his tiny garage in Los Angeles for amazingly revealing and candid conversations.
From former U.S. President Barack Obama, to actor Kristen Bell, Harvey Fierstein, director Robert Eggers, author Aaron Blabey, and the Doobie Brothers, among countless other guests, he encourages an honest dialogue to open up about anxieties and emotional turmoil with vulnerable discussions about mental health. Although these discussions arise from an intimate lens, they leave us with echoing layers of experiences and lessons.
The Happiness Lab
“You might think more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations would make you happy. You’re dead wrong.” When a description begins with something like this, you know some surprise is headed your way. Happiness seems elusive and unattainable when we find ourselves entangled in a web of lies, deception, failure at things we worked hard for, and the struggles of life.
In The Happiness Lab podcast, Dr. Laurie Santos, a renowned Yale professor, walks you through the latest scientific research and inventions and shares some startling, uplifting anecdotes that will transform your imagination and understanding of happiness forever. Laurie shares insights from innovative scientific discoveries to help you understand the connection between human behaviour and emotions and realize that you have ownership of your own happiness.
This podcast is a goldmine of the best content that will help you navigate your life in pursuit of happiness and achieve it, from understanding “The Paradox of Grief” to “Embracing Sadness in Pursuit of Happiness”, to “Stepping Off the Path of Anxiety”.
Terrible, Thanks For Asking
It is time for a reality check. Have you ever answered a simple question like “How are you doing?” with the utmost sincerity? Or did you ever just want to cry your heart out because you are holding so much inside and have no one to talk to about it? Perhaps, just like most of the population, you respond with “Oh, I’m fine.” But, deep down, your heart wants to scream, “Terrible. Thanks for asking?”.
In this podcast, Nora McInerny is relentlessly and unapologetically ploughing at issues that most people would rather dodge. She is searching for real anecdotes by questioning real people about their complicated emotions and how they are really doing for some candid responses. And the results… well, they are surprising yet shocking at the same time.
With the guidance of expert academics, Nora walks you through an array of mental health concerns and resources to handle them, including social anxiety, bipolar disorder, empathy, loneliness, grieving, productivity, unhealthy relationships, and happiness, while also shedding light on the aftermaths of the global pandemic.
Featured image courtesy of Juja Han on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to the image.
Khushboo Malhotra
Khushboo is a Twitter Editor at Empoword Journalism. She is an Award-nominated lifestyle and pop culture journalist, writer, and budding entrepreneur aiming to break down the boundaries of cultural stigma and shame attached to mental health and sexual health and bring marginalised topics to light. Send your stories, tips, and press announcements to khushboomalhotrafreelance@gmail.com