The work day is over and you just want to get home. But traffic is a killer and the MRT is jam-packed. You need something to keep you from turning into a seething ball of rage, but you’re afraid of pulling out your phone to play games or read an e-book because someone might snatch it for you. And you’ve grown tired of listening to the same songs play in the Top 50 Charts for the nth time.
That, my friend, is what podcasts are for. Here are some podcasts to listen to (all of them available on Spotify) to get through your stressful trip while lowering your stress levels.
New Year, New You
This podcast is a great place to start in looking for things to listen to depending on what part of your life you want to improve. It’s a sampler of episodes from different podcasts—tackling both physical and mental health improvement—and links to them if you want to listen to more.
Savvy Psychologist
Dr. Ellen Henderiksen answers questions about psychology and mental health in bite-sized 10- to 20-minute episodes. From ways to take care of yourself to ways of dealing with other people, Dr. Henderiksen talks about these issues in an approachable and candid manner. And if that’s not enough, you can get free exercises and resources from her website. The Mountains to Molehills Challenge is definitely worth a try.
Affirmation Pod
Self-affirmations may seem cheesy when you start, but there are many people who attest to the effectivity of being your own cheerleader. Admittedly, saying the same one sentence to yourself over and over again can get tiresome and that’s where this podcast comes in. Let the soothing voice of Josie Ong guide you through five minutes of self-care and self-belief. The great thing about this podcast is that you don’t have to listen to it sequentially. Select the episode that you need for you, listen to it, reflect on it, and maybe download it legally using your podcast app of choice for future use.
The Hilarious World of Depression
As the old adage goes, “comedy comes from a dark place,” and perhaps a testament to that is the tragic loss of renowned actor and comedian Robin Williams. In this podcast, stand-up comedians talk about their own personal struggles with mental illness, how they draw strength from it, and how they prevent it from controlling their lives.
The One You Feed
There’s this old Native American tale, and maybe you’ve heard about it before, about how each person has two wolves—a good wolf and a bad wolf—and they’re in a constant battle against each other. And the one who wins is the one that you feed the most. The One You Feed is a podcast about feeding your good wolf, through inspiring interviews with people from different fields on how they keep themselves mentally healthy despite everything life throws at them.
The Bright Sessions
The Bright Sessions is an audio drama about Dr. Bright, a psychologist offering “therapy for the strange and unusual” to individuals with psychic powers—atypicals as the show calls them. Among her roster of patients are Sam, a time traveller whose abilities are triggered by her anxiety attacks, Caleb, a teenage jock who deals with his increased empathy through football, and Chloe, an artist who claims that she can hear the voices of angels. The patients are unique but relatable, and it’s nice to get the side of a psychologist as someone who’s capable of doing her job and showing genuine care for her patients. The show is written by Lauren Shippen (who voices Sam), hand-in-hand with Elizabeth Laird (who voices Dr. Brigh’s secretary) as the show’s psychological consultant.
Conversations with People Who Hate Me
The internet can be a very toxic place. And sometimes it’s just super tempting to fight with the people who have sent you hateful comments online. In Conversations with People Who Hate Me, internet content creator and social justice advocate Dylan Marron contacts the people who have sent him such comments to see their side of the story without devolving into heated arguments. This podcast is produced by Night Vale Presents, which also produces the popular surrealist audio drama Welcome to Night Vale (where Marron voices Carlos the Scientist).
Do you have more podcast recs? Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We really want to know.
