Binging is not just for Netflix anymore! And believe me, I have spent many hours watching Netflix. For a long time, it was number one on my “What to Do When You are Depressed and Lonely” list. But I knew that I should find more positive habits to improve my mood and be more intentional. That’s when I started listening to podcasts about depression and found some of the best podcasts for anxiety. Listening to self-help podcasts and other motivational ones is a great mental health activity to make part of your daily routine (for depression and other mental health issues.)
Having four kids, I am in my van A LOT each day. Although I love my Chronic Illness Warrior Playlist, sometimes I need something more intentional to help me work through my negative thoughts and moods. I have discovered 14 of the top podcasts on mental health. So lately I have been listening to several different podcasts with different topics about depression, anxiety, motivation, and self-help. They are amazing and I know you will find at least one of these mental health podcasts that will go on your “What to Do When You are Depressed and Lonely” list!
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*Hands down Mayim Bialik’s new podcast, Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, is the best mental health podcast available right now. Did you know she has a PhD in Neuroscience? So not only does she talk about her own and her guests’ struggles with mental health, she also talks about the science behind it. This makes the podcast unique and super valuable.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a mental health-care professional and you should not use the information in this article in place of professional medical advice or treatment. I share my experiences with mental illness challenges to inspire others and be a source of hope in an otherwise dark and unrelenting struggle.
✅ Inspirational & Motivational Mental Health Podcasts
Often, we don’t know how to get motivated when depressed and we just need a little push in the right direction. These inspirational mental health podcasts are perfect when you are not sure what to listen to when you are sad or feeling hopeless. I consider listening to these types of podcasts as one of my
1. Your Motivational High-5
Hosted by Phil Larson, these quick 5 minute motivational talks focus on rewiring our brains to learn to tell ourselves a positive narrative and combat the negative ideas we tend to tell ourselves over and over. There is an exercise at the end of each episode to help you put into practice the topic and strategies talked about in the episode.
Favorite Episodes:
- Episode 73: On Self-Care
- Episode 15: On Re-wiring Your Brain: On Breaking Habits
- Episode 28: On Mindfulness
2. Dr. Dahan Daily Wisdom Motivational Podcast
Dr. Dahan was in private practice for many years and is now and motivational speaker and life coach. His motivational podcast consists of 5 minute daily motivational episodes to inspire personal development. They also include meditation exercises.
Favorite Episodes:
- #675: When Pain Strikes
- #585: Don’t Hesitate to Dream
- #612: Mindfulness
- #673: Do Something
3. Inspirational Living with Rien Cassidy & Marianne Johansen
Rien Cassidy is a published author, an Intentional Creativity Teacher, and Reiki practitioner. Mariane Johansson is an artist, mystic who works with energies and alternative therapies. They share their world-view and inspiration in 20-30 minute episodes on their inspirational living podcast.
Favorite Episodes:
- Self-Love
- Just Keep Pressing On
- What is a Tribe & How Do You Find Yours
- Heart Believing in Yourself
4. Inspirational Living Podcast : Life Lessons
A Christian based podcast about learning from lessons in life and personal growth. These 15-20 minute episodes are perfect to listen to and relax before bedtime.
Favorite Episodes:
- Albert Einstein: Thoughts on Science, Religion, and Life
- How to Break Bad Habits | Character Building
- The Secret of Harmonious Living | Inspirational Life Hacks
- How to Cultivate Courage | Mastering Fear & Anxiety
✅ TIP: Listen to these podcasts with my favorite wireless earbuds while you exercise, cook, clean, or get other things done around the house. This is an especially great option if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on Apple Earbuds.
Boltune Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds
✓ Waterproof Wireless Headphones
✓ 40 Hours Playing Time
✓ Bluetooth Earbuds Built-in Mic Single/Twin Mode
✓ Range up to 50 ft. away
✅ Best Podcasts for Anxiety
If you are looking for new habits to improve your mood and help you deal with mental health challenges like anxiety, then these are the best podcasts for anxiety you should listen to. You will learn some good mental health tips and daily activities to improve mental health.
5. The Anxiety Guy Podcast
Listening to this mental health podcast about anxiety will help you stay up to date with the latest in mental health news, but also has interviews with experts in their field on different mental illness topics. The episodes are about 20 minutes in length. The host, Dennis Simsek, is a life coach.
Favorite Episodes:
- TAGP 46: 3 Powerful Techniques To Eliminate Your Fears
- TAGP 124: Alignment-The Missing Piece to Anxiety Recovery
- TAGP 57: The 6 Crucial Levels of Psychological Development
6. Not Another Anxiety Show
Kelli Walker is a registered nurse and health and wellness coach. She interviews professionals about their expertise and people with their personal stories and insights. Some shorter episodes in the podcast focus on exercises to help anxiety, mindfulness, self-care and more.
Favorite Episodes:
- Ep 102: The Three Most Common Habits that Perpetuate Anxiety with Guest Dr. Sarah Sarkis
- Ep 147: Muddy Water is Best Cleared by Leaving It Alone with Dr. Amy Johnson
- Ep 114: What the Heck is a Cognitive Bias
✅ Podcasts about Depression
Next time you are wondering what to do when you are depressed and lonely, check out these honest, funny, and helpful podcasts about depression. You will learn small changes to improve mental health while also feeling like you are not alone. That there are many others that also deal with depression and face difficult mental health challenges. Make these podcasts part of your daily routine for depression and you will find them beneficial and motivating.
7. The Dark Place: Honest Conversations
Host, Joel Kutz, interviews people to share their struggles and stories about dealing with mental illness in this mental health podcast.
Favorite Episodes:
- #14 Lizette: Honest Conversations about Mental Health | Depression | Anxiety
- #32: “Roominating” with Ranjan Subbiah
- #36: Being Brave with Jennifer Marshall
8. The Hilarious World of Depression
I love this one! John Moe hosts this depression-focused podcast which includes interviews with different comedians who suffer from depression. Even though depression is a serious illness, they find humor and use it to cope. The episodes are about 1 hour long, but good all the way through.
Favorite Episodes:
- Thom Tran is a Regular Standup Comic Except for the Part About Being Shot in the Head in Iraq
- Mike Brown Trains as an Engineer to Prepare for Comedy
- Jenny Lawson is Very Fond of Creepy Smiling Dead Animals and Worries Quite a Bit
✅ Self-Help Podcasts
It’s important to build positive habits to improve mood and overall mental health. These self-help podcasts are also podcasts for mental well-being-whether you have a diagnosed mental illness or not. You will learn why it is important to take care of your mental health and daily activities to improve mental health. Start with small changes and you can build up to bigger ones that make an even greater impact on your mental health.
9. Selfwork with Dr. Margaret Rutherford
Dr. Margaret Rutherford has 25 years of clinical practice experience and is a strong proponent of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Each of this mental health podcast’s episode ends with an action item to help you put into practice what you’ve learned from the episode. I love her perspective about actually teaching ways to overcome things, not just having a therapist listen to you talk. Each episode is about 20-30 minutes long.
Favorite Episodes:
- Episode 77: Confronting Negativity and Feeling Stuck in Depression
- Episode 84: What Bipolar Disorder Is and What It Isn’t
- Episode 45: Self-Compassion. What It is and Why It’s Vital
- Episode 92: Talking Mental Health on The Mighty with Editor Sarah Schuster
10. Mental Health Today
Host, John Cordray, is a licensed therapist who calls himself “the calm expert.” He is passionate about helping people successfully deal with anxiety, anger, depression in his mental health podcast. Episodes are about 30 minutes in length.
Favorite Episodes:
- Episode 56: Developing the Right Mindset with Anxiety
- Episode 8: 5 Steps to Reframe Negative Thinking to Positive Thinking
- Episode 78: How to Help an Anxious Person Without Being a Jerk
11. Peace of Mind: Mental Health & Psychiatry
You can really nerd out on the science behind psychiatric conditions with this podcast. I love to learn and understand more about the conditions I have. It’s hosted by the research coordinator for National Center for Mental Health based out of Cardiff University. There are only a few episodes available but they are awesome.
Favorite Episodes:
- Episode 5: Sleep, Insomnia, and Mental Health
- Episode 2: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Episode 4: Self-Harm
✅ Podcasts for Mental Health
Podcasts about mental health can do more than what to do when you are depressed and lonely. They can also help to raise awareness about mental illness which in turn helps others to understand or empathize with your struggles. We can also learn good mental health tips and self-motivation tricks from other people’s experiences dealing with depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. Podcasts about mental health also build a sense of community and “we’re in this together” attitude.
12. Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown
This is one of the best mental health podcasts out there. It’s my new favorite podcast.
You might recognize the name if you were a fan of Blossom back in the 90’s or if you’ve watched the Big Bang Theory. The cool thing about Mayim is that she has a PhD in Neuroscience. So each episode focuses on a specific topic related to mental health but she does an extended introduction explaining the science behind it.
For instance, one of the episodes focuses on clinical depression. She gives a crystal clear definition of what clinical depression is as well as defines other types of depression. If you’ve ever struggled to explain to someone what you go through when experiencing depression, make them listen to this podcast episode (Episode 19.)
Favorite Episodes:
- Episode #19: Wil Wheaton on Trauma, Depression, & Self-Discovery
- Episode #10: Rick Doblin: Overcome Trauma. MDMA, PTSD & Healing
- Episode #3: Hurst to Be Awesome. Chronic Pain, Comedy & the Mind-Body Connection
13. Radical Transformation Project
Faith, the founder of the blog Radical Transformation Project, shares her life experiences with depression and anxiety. What makes her unique is her candidness and authenticity when helping others maintain and improve their mental health. Her mission to inspire others and raise awareness about the realities of mental health fuels her podcast. Besides her “radical pep-talks,” she interviews amazing people, like Ruth Soukup (who literally wrote the book about overcoming fear.)
Favorite Episodes:
- Stepping Out of Shame
- Overcoming Fear with Ruth Soukup
- Coping with People Who Just Don’t Get It
14. Mental Illness Happy Hour
Paul Gilmartin is the host of this mental health podcast that interviews artists, comedians, and sometimes a professional doctor. If swearing is not for you, you may want to skip this podcasts. But, they talk frankly about mental illness and sometimes that warrants a curse word or two;)
Favorite Episodes:
- Andy Richter
- #329: My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward
- #315: Jenny R – Raised in Wealth, Sadness, & Anxiety
15. The Struggle Bus
The Struggle Bus is a mental health podcast and community that is hosted by good friends Katharine Heller and Sally Tamarkin. They are not professionals but they are witty and discuss practical solutions to the emails they get from readers. They also have Facebook community that you can join for support.
Favorite Episodes:
- Episode 142: Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
- Episode 40: The Hot Mess Express
- Episode 74: We Keep Going
Just like us, podcasts come in all different shapes, sizes, philosophies, level of swearing, and perspectives. I prefer informational/coaching self-help podcasts about mental health that provide
No matter what you are looking to get out of these top podcasts about mental health, you will learn why is it important to take care of your mental health. And the next time you are feeling depressed and lonely, you will know what to do!
I hope this list of mental health podcasts will give you a great start in making small changes to improve your mental health.
So next time you are in a car (or in a comfy chair at home) “take a listen” to these podcasts and find one with the right “style” for you.
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P.S. How about pinning this for later? 14 Top (Binge-Worthy) Podcasts about Mental Health
