Neha Bhattacharya
“Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined” is on a season break at the moment but spreading the word about severe and persistent mental illness is a year-long task. And so, we have put together a list of some amazing podcasts that can keep you curious and informed while we are away!
For the next several weeks, we will share with you some of the amazing work that our #PodcastPals are doing right now to educate people about mental illness. This week, we’re introducing you to a podcast that brings real, palpable stories of people living with anxiety.
#OurAnxietyStories
#OurAnxietyStories is an ongoing podcast by Anxiety Canada that aims to alleviate the stigma around anxiety disorders by sharing real stories of people living with the illness. According to Anxiety Canada’s website, anxiety disorders impact almost 6% of us around the world and over the course of their lifetime, more than 30% of people may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Like any other mental illness, severe anxiety comes with a lot of social and personal stigma. This podcast gives people with anxiety a platform to share their stories of managing their illness – loudly and proudly. This podcast highlights the person that often gets lost behind their diagnosis through heartwarming stories from their journeys in accepting their mental illness. Every episode shares a different experience of living with and managing anxiety. Listen to the podcast today to learn more and start conversations about how to live well with anxiety.
Our Top Pick
Every podcast episode features a different guest sharing their own real and eye-opening experiences with anxiety. Our favourite episode of the lot is episode no. 45: “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Can Help with Jeff Roberts.” Jeff is 32-years-old and lives with anxiety. While Jeff leads a normal life on the outside, he struggles with anxiety on a daily basis. In this episode, Jeff recounts the incident that triggered his first anxiety episode and how he ultimately found help in medication and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
“[Through CBT,] for the first time in my life…I knew it wasn’t my fault, I wasn’t broken, and I just had something that I had to deal with in my life…With these skills that I had learned, I was able to get through it and it was manageable.”
Jeff Roberts
Take a listen to this episode to learn how Jeff was able to take control of his life and his illness by seeking help at the right time. You can listen to the episode here.