So I hope you enjoyed the post last week about my 3 favourite work and business podcasts. Did you find them useful? If you missed it, you can catch up here
So this week I wanted to share my 3 current favourite podcasts for wellbeing and good mental health. This subject area seems to be enjoying a bit of a boom at the moment, with new podcasts launching left right and centre, so there are a lot to choose from!
I’m a big believer in making time for wellbeing and self care, because it not only supports you but allows you to support others.
Any of my clients reading this will be familiar with the ‘oxygen mask’ analogy I often share. When you’re watching a safety demonstration on a plane, they always tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others, otherwise you will pass out and be no use to anyone.
The same applies to self care. How can you make a difference in the world, if you’re completely burned out yourself?
So on that note, here are some podcast recommendations which have made a big difference to me and I hope they do the same for you:
Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
You might be familiar with Dr Rangan Chatterjee from the BBC series, Doctor in the house. He launched his own podcast in January 2018 and it quickly rose to become the no.1 health podcast in the UK. What I love about Dr Chatterjee is that he is a big believer in ‘lifestyle medicine’ and getting the foundations right e.g food, movement, sleep and relaxation. His advice is always very down to earth and do-able, and he places as much importance on mental health as physical health. His podcast guests are always fascinating, and some of my recent favourites have been Johan Hari on the causes of depression, Cal Newport on digital minimalism, and Gabor Mate on addiction.
Happy Place with Fearne Cotton
I have to admit I wasn’t Fearne Cotton’s biggest fan before I started to listening to her podcast. I guess I had made the assumption that she was just another sunny celebrity with a perfect life who appeared on my TV occasionally. However she has made a successful transition into the self-help arena in the last couple of years, first writing some bestselling books on mindfulness and now this podcast. In each episode she interviews a celebrity guest about what happiness means to them, and what I think makes this podcast stand out is that the conversations are very honest, vulnerable and real. Fearne isn’t trying to position herself as a ‘guru’, and she makes her guests feel so comfortable that they really open up about a wide range of very relatable human experiences. Some of my most memorable episodes have been Dawn French talking about motherhood, divorce and the loss of her father, and Tom Daley and Lance Black talking about surrogacy and homophobia.
Terrible, Thanks For Asking with Nora McInerny
If you’ve been on my mailing list for a while, you may remember that 2017 was an ‘annus horribilis’ for me. I experienced some pretty extreme personal loss, and went through a period of deep grief and depression. Thanks to counselling, supportive friends and family, and some radical self care, I came out the other side, but it also really helped to hear stories about others who were going through life’s ‘hard stuff’. Somehow I found this podcast and it has continued to be a big part of my healing process. The host, Nora McInerny is witty, clever, kind and compassionate in the way she interviews her guests, and you’ll find yourself laughing and crying in every episode. She has been through some major loss herself, and created this podcast to help get the message across that “it’s ok to not be ok”. So this suggestion might not be for everyone, but if you are going though a tough time, it’s definitely worth a listen.
So I hope my two posts have inspired you to start podcasting, or check out some new shows if you’re already on the bandwagon! And do share in the comments below if you have any other recommendations that we could all benefit from checking out.
