My 5 Favorite Podcasts That Kept Me Sane During Quarantine
Full of tips and tricks to bolster your mental health
What helped you stay sane during the quarantine? Hmm...
Let's play quarantine bingo:
You started exercising: ✅
You worked from home: ✅
You tried to learn something new with your “free” time: ✅ (My two-day French classes)
Watch complete series in a weekend: ✅
You subscribed to at least one new streaming platform: ✅
You tried to start meditating: ✅ (I am still learning).
You tried to go back to reading like when you were a teenager: ✅ (On this one I failed miserably.)
And finally: you started listening to new podcasts at all times to feel human company: DOUBLE ✅✅
If you checked at least 5 of the above, let me tell you we are officially homies. We all struggle for months to stay sane or at least a little bit. Some struggled much more than others, the good side is that mental health received the importance it deserves.
For me it was podcasts. It really was a train that I hadn't boarded yet, even though it was already quite popular. When I gave the first one a chance, I couldn't stop. I know I'm not the only one because the platforms published an increase from 550,000 active podcasts in 2019 to 850,000 by the end of 2020. I can't speak for all of them, but I think the reason is that they helped us feel accompanied in a period of social distancing. Most of the time I felt accompanied by a group of friends, chatting in the backyard, which I couldn't do at the moment.
I tried everything. Comedy, science, true crime and those of celebrities who felt alone and did not know what to do in their giant mansions during lockdown. Of course, the mental health podcasts could not be absent for long and I dare say they are the ones that helped me the most. Seeing new perspectives and hearing real stories from their protagonists helped open my mind in so many ways.
So I want to bring you a list of the mental health podcasts that kept me sane during my quarantine and a few that I discovered along the way. This list has no specific order, so love them all the same!
Throwing Shade
Bryan and Erin talk about different topics such as the LGBT community, politics, religion and basically all the topics that your parents taught you not to talk about during dinner. Without any bias, the chats flow naturally and always pointing out the impact of each one of them on our psyche, our health and our lives.
The hosts in no time become police officers of morality and the laughs are never lacking.
The Mental Illness Happy Hour
This podcast is hosted by comedian Paul Gilmartin, and I discovered it because he was already familiar with his work. One thing I didn't know is that Paul is a recovering addict and was also diagnosed with depression, so he knows a thing or two about struggling with mental health.
The program is based on interviews with different people, sometimes friends of his, sometimes not, all suffering or have suffered from some mental illness. They tell their stories and thanks to Paul's humor and the good vibes of the interviewees, mental illness feels like a topic that can be discussed freely and spontaneously. It is very refreshing.
Prolific Mind
Celeste Viciere is a therapist (duh!) And her podcast is like having two free therapy sessions a week. She celestial she touches on issues such as the mind, emotions and negative thoughts and in each episode, she will try to make you learn something new and give you tools to deal with mental health problems.
She knows how important it is to have someone around when things are not going well, and she tries to be that person, even if she is there with us. She has very good insights and very interesting interviewees.
terrible, thanks for asking
Nora McInerny asks a question that although it is everyday she can become very difficult to answer: “How are you doing?”
Every week Nora invites a guest and asks them this question. Each guest recounts her experiences on an issue they once struggled with, such as grief, addiction, divorce, depression. Guests include celebrities, entrepreneurs, writers, and internet figures.
I highly recommend the episode with Rebecca Black, the singer of The 2011 worldwide hit Friday.
The Happiness Lab
Another podcast from a pro who really knows what she's talking about. Dr. Laurie Santo is a popular teacher who teaches an equally popular course called Psychology and the Good Life.
In her podcast, Dr. Santos shows us a more academic and at the same time more human version of the mind, happiness and the little things we can do every day to achieve peace of mind. You will also find guests who tell their own stories in the fight against mental illness.
Not Another Anxiety Show
Kelli Walker is a mental health coach and author. Her podcast is aimed at everyone who experiences anxiety in their everyday life, and for those who have only experienced it once in a while, everyone is invited to this club, come in, we have cookies and warm blankets.
Kelli is knowledgeable about anxiety, mental disorders and panic attacks, and through her years of experience in mental health she has put together many techniques, methods and tips to cope with a troubled mind. Being a very anxious person, I appreciate each and every one of the tips that you can give me.
Surely you will find a thing or two that are very useful to you.
Checking In
Does the name Michelle Williams sound familiar to you? If not, you probably weren't much of a Destiny's Child fan beyond Beyoncé.
Michelle talks about her experiences as a depression patient and also brings world-class guests who tell her own stories. It's very interesting to see how Hollywood celebrities struggle with mental health just like we do (although if you ask me, I'd rather have depression in a Beverly Hills mansion).
Latinx Therapy
It hits particularly close to home as Adriana Alejandre speaks from the perspective of a mental health professional from the Latinx community.
All the episodes revolve around a guest, most are health professionals too, they talk about how to deal with depression, anxiety, and other topics. For all members of the Latinx community in the United States, the subject of therapy, mental health and mental illness have a different tone and Adriana hits the spot.
I tried to include everything, comedians, therapists, celebrities, and ordinary people like you and me. Give someone on the list a chance, surely one of them will accompany you and help you as they helped me.
Which Podcasts are your favorites? Answers on a postcard (or in the comments)
We made something a little great! The Anxiety Workbook, get yours by clicking here.
Mindsmatter is written by Bola Kwame, Mauro Herrera, Emma Buryd and Jack Graves. De-stigmatizing mental illness one day at a time.
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