Diane Guerrero of Orange is the New Black fame has launched her own podcast around mental health!
The podcast, entitled, “Yeah No, I’m Not Ok,” discusses the mental health issues that young people are facing in these tough days, even before the coronavirus pandemic. Diane will talk with friends, colleagues, activists, artists, and health care professionals about this issue that is often swept under the rug.
“Growing up, I was taught to say that I was “ok” when I really wasn’t. Mental health just wasn’t something that anyone in my family or community talked about or even had access to. Yet pretty much everyone was affected by it,” Diane shared on the podcast’s page. “Every week we will explore issues that youth face all over the world (addiction, depression, anxiety, suicide, radical self-love, and much much more) through conversations with friends, colleagues, activists, artists and health care professionals, all people who have gone through something life-changing and are now healing from it.“
The podcast is in collaboration with LAist Studios, Southern California Public Radio’s (SCPR) podcast development and production studio.
Take a listen to the trailer and the first episode for the podcast here! Listeners can also subscribe to the series now on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, and wherever podcasts are available.
I really understand that whole feeling of saying you’re okay when you’re really not. Of putting on a facade and “being strong” when, inside, you’re breaking down. It’s probably the strongest people that need the most help but don’t get it for different reasons, including downplaying their own emotions.
Discussions around mental health right now are VITAL. Especially in the midst of this pandarama-lama, it’s important to be open about your issues and seek the proper tools and assistance where you can. So it’s great that Diane is going to continue to lend her voice to this issue. She has continuously used her platform to talk on a variety of topics, so this is in no way surprising. Excited to check this podcast out!
For more resources on addiction or to get help, please visit: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline. More support (via text) can be found at: https://www.crisistextline.org/. Additional Information on depression and anxiety can be found here: https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Depression
