Your brain is a fantastic thing. It is responsible for every second of your existence. It is both incredibly fragile and outstandingly resilient. And this week, we’re celebrating all the things your brain is capable of with Brain Awareness Week. First started by the Dana Foundation, this week is dedicated to educating people around the world about their own brains, including the biology of the brain, mental illnesses, and treatment options, and tips for better mental health.
A lack of information and knowledge about mental illness is often one of the biggest obstacles people face in learning to live with their mental health condition. It is critical that everyone has access to important resources about the brain, mental wellness, and mental illness so they can understand their experiences and know where and how to get help. Brain Awareness Week is dedicated to outreach and education to meet these needs for everyone.
Feed Your Brain with Podcasts on Mental Health
To help raise awareness about your wonderful brain, we thought we’d share some of the best podcasts we could find to help you learn more about your brain and understand some of the downright strange quirks of the human brain. Take a listen to some of these podcasts to discover more about your brain and all the things it is capable of.
Hidden Brain by NPR
The first podcast on our list, Hidden Brain, blends storytelling with neuroscience to explore the unconscious behavioral patterns and biases that drive our daily decisions, likes, dislikes, and thoughts. This podcast is hosted by NPR’s social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam and uses research from neurobiology, psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, and many other fields to connect all aspects of our life back to our very incredible brains. If you’re curious about the brain and how it dictates our existence, this podcast is for you!
You Are Not So Smart
In this podcast, producer and host David McRaney discusses the ways we trick ourselves with self-delusion and the psychology of that. You Are Not So Smart explores the research into biases, reasoning, judgment, and decision making with expert guest hosts to guide the discussion. With more than 140 episodes, you’ll have many, many hours of listening.
The Hardcore Self-Help Podcast
Looking for a down-to-earth podcast that steers clear of psychological jargon and delivers answers to your questions about mental illness? The Hardcore Self-Help Podcast, hosted by psychologist Dr. Robert Duff, does just that. Listen in as Dr. Duff answers listener questions on a number of mental health topics, including anxiety, depression, relationships, trauma, parenting with mental illness, whether therapy is helpful, and so much more.
The Mental Illness Happy Hour
Take a break from all that learning with a light-hearted look at depression, OCD, anxiety, and more with comedian and host Paul Gilmartin on The Mental Illness Happy Hour. This podcast features artists, comedians, licensed counselors, and other experts, discussing a variety of mental health challenges. Gilmartin specifically started this podcast to reach those affected by some of the mental health issues prevalent in the creative arts and help them to know they aren’t alone in the world.
The Dark Place
Joel Kurtz hosts a podcast where no topic is taboo. The Dark Place shines a light on everyday people who are living with mental illness. He seeks to give a platform for them to speak out about their challenges, as well as offers listeners a chance to hear stories like theirs in a non-judgmental space. Guests speak on their personal experiences with depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mental illnesses, sharing their unique thoughts and offering hope to those listening that they don’t need to struggle in silence.
The Psych Central Show
Another podcast dedicated to approaching mental health in an accessible, no-frills way, The Psych Central Show is hosted by Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales. The show features guest experts who speak on topics ranging from postpartum depression to narcissism, as well as general discussion on topics including reducing stress over the holidays, current events, and perspective on lived experiences and mental illness.
The Happy Place
Fearne Cotton wrote the top 10 bestseller HAPPY, drawing from her own experiences in working through feelings of depression to find the small joys of life each day. Now, she hosts The Happy Place, a podcast dedicated to highlighting individuals who have made a change in their own lives to find happiness or who work on helping others find their happiness. This positive podcast may be just what you need to inspire a different way of looking at life.
How You Can Get Involved
Ready to take this week to get involved in your own mental health? Besides listening to some of these educational, entertaining podcasts, you can check out the calendar of Brain Awareness Week events to find an event near you.
You also can check out the variety of mental health resources we’ve gathered on our site to learn more about how to find help with your mental illness challenges. At Pulse TMS, we’re proud to offer help for people who are struggling with depression, OCD, postpartum depression, and other conditions. Using Brainsway™ Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, our highly trained psychiatrist offers an alternative way to treat your depression, which can be a particularly effective option when other treatments have failed.
Interested in learning if TMS is the right treatment option for you? Schedule an appointment to learn more about our services and discuss your treatment options. Contact our team today by calling (310) 272-5026.