Mental Health Podcasts

Lately, I’ve become a bit of a podcast fiend. My first podcast was the popular fictional radio show Welcome to Night Vale, and over the years – particularly in the last few months – I’ve subscribed to all kinds of podcast feeds, including serial fiction, news shows, and writing advice. Mental health is also very important to me, and I listen to quite a few shows that discuss the workings of the mind and how to address the challenges we face regarding our mental and emotional wellbeing. Here are a few examples:

• Hidden Brain This is more of a general psychology podcast that covers all sorts of fascinating topics about human behavior. Some episodes delve into sociology, while others share little tips on how to introduce helpful thoughts and behaviors into your life. Several episodes have even been re-released as part of a “You 2.0” series. These episodes offer more direct advice on how to improve your mental wellbeing.
• Happier with Gretchen Rubin Gretchen has written several books about happiness, and she shares a variety of ways to make your life a little more joyful in this podcast. In between full-length episodes, the feed also releases mini episodes that are only a couple minutes long, yet provide great points to ponder.
• The Struggle Bus In this podcast, two women who have endured their own mental health struggles give non-clinical advice to listeners who write to them in search of support. Their insights and encouragement have helped me feel more hopeful that recovery is possible.
• The Bright Sessions This fictional podcast can be summarized as “X-Men go to therapy.” Dr. Bright offers therapy to people with strange abilities, helping them to gain control over their powers and cope with the effects their abilities have on their personal lives. This show really emphasizes that mental health is important and that treatment is a powerful tool for learning how to regulate your thoughts and emotions. The main storyline concluded a few months ago, but bonus episodes are still being released occasionally.

Bonus: Dear Hank and John and DELETE THIS are great if you need a laugh 🙂

Do you listen to podcasts? How do you think podcasts, whether the focus is on wellbeing or not, can help improve mental health?