Alex Jacobson 
Mental Health and Me: A Podcast Reflection 
Mental Health. The term itself is a new buzzword. But what is mental health? Who does 
it apply to? In short, mental health applies to everyone. Mental health is defined as the well-
being of a person in emotional, psychological, and social spheres. It affects how people think, 
feel, and act, and determines how we interact with the world, relate to others, and function in day 
to day life (What Is Mental Health? | MentalHealth.Gov, n.d.). When a person has positive 
mental health, they are more likely to realize their full potential, work productively, cope with 
life stressors, and make meaningful contributions to their communities (What Is Mental Health? | 
MentalHealth.Gov, n.d.). This is often considered the ideal for most people. But what is the 
opposite of positive mental health? There are some warning signs for people experiencing 
negative mental health, although every person is different. Mentalhealth.gov lists several signs, 
including loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, exclusion from loved ones, feeling 
hopeless or lost, and more. One risk factor in positive mental health is mental illness diagnoses. 
Mental illness is defined as a behavioral, mental, or emotional disorder. Nearly one in five U.S. 
adults live with a mental illness, and the prevalence of mental illness was higher among women 
(22.3%) than men (15.1%) in 2017. Young adults aged 18-25 years had the highest prevalence 
(25.8%) compared to adults aged 26-49 years (22.2%) and aged 50 or older (13.8%). The 
prevalence was highest among adults reporting two or more races (28.6%), followed by White 
adults (20.4%)” (NIMH » Mental Illness, n.d.). In 2017, among 46.6 million adults with mental 
illness, 42.6% received mental health services in the past year. More women (47.6%) received 
mental health services than men (34.8%). Young adults aged 18-25 years with mental illness 
received less mental health services (38.4%) than adults with mental illness aged 26-49 years 
(43.3%) and aged 50 and older (44.2%)” (NIMH » Mental Illness, n.d.). Mental illness does not 
equate to poor mental health, however. It is merely a risk factor to consider. In fact, many 
disability advocates consider their mental disorder as a difference in functioning rather than an 
illness. Conor considers her diagnosis, saying “Even in the darkness, I had a deeply connected 
feeling with myself that held me together. In what was labeled mania I found my brilliance, zest 
for life, courage, and creative spirit, and in what was labeled depression I found my inner quiet 
muse, my philosopher, and my art” (Hall, 2016b). Disability studies has sought to change the 
narrative about mental disabilities by considering the context in which they exist. Mental Health 
and Me: A Podcast seeks to do the same; instead of analyzing the inner causes of mental illness, 
I strove to consider the embodied experience of mental health issues and the context in which 
they exist. This reflection serves as a collection of my thoughts and knowledge I have gained 
throughout the process of creating a podcast about mental health.  
 
Having dealt with my own mental health issues, I find this topic to be extremely 
interesting and close to my heart. I personally deal with a mental diagnosis and find strength in 
reading others’ narratives and learning from their journeys. I am constantly considering what 
others’ lives are like, how they experience their mental health, and how society is constructed 
with certain narratives in mind. This podcast was meant to give a glimpse into the lives of those 
who struggle with mental health. The podcast can be for anyone, whether they have no struggles 
with mental health and want to better understand others’ experiences, or whether the listener is 
struggling and would like to learn from others like them. My hope is not that listeners leave with 
all of their questions answered but rather with the mindset to question more. Disability studies 
asks people to question their environments and how they may or may not be serving their needs. 
I asked this of my interviewees as well to try and gain a sense of what environments are often 
safe for people struggling with mental health and spaces that are not welcoming. But instead of 
avoiding those spaces, I want people to consider how to adjust spaces to make them more open 
and accessible to all. I ask these questions with the hope that mental health culture will become 
influential and maybe even change these spaces for the better.  
But first we must ask ourselves what we need from the world around us. For some, the 
world already fills their needs. For others, our world is entirely inaccessible. This follows with 
the social model of disability which posits that disability is created by the social environment in 
which it exists, rather than relying on a defect within the individual. But how does this relate to 
mental health issues? For example, some students with depression find participation points to be 
constricting. If they are having an episode and cannot get out of bed, they will lose significant 
participation points for that class period. Often this problem is blamed on the student for having 
depression. Instead, I would ask the teacher to consider why participation is not the best option 
for students like this. If participation points did not exist, this student would otherwise perform 
successfully. In these instances, it is imperative to consider the context and the individual 
together to get a sense of whether the person is struggling with themselves or their environment. 
I developed these questions by listening to other podcasts and stories about mental health. I 
wanted to paint a holistic picture that included the person’s individual experiences as well as 
their views on society as a whole, and how these impact their lived experiences. I did not want to 
focus solely on struggles. Rather, I wanted to understand areas where support is needed and what 
kind of support fills those gaps. I wanted people to consider where in their life they experience 
support and invoke resilience to encourage positive mental health.  
 I have found that listening to others’ stories about their experience with mental health has 
greatly strengthened my understanding of my own struggles and my limited knowledge of 
disability studies. By listening to their experiences, I have discovered similar issues with certain 
spaces or shared coping mechanisms that I never realized. I have also seen the barriers to 
communication fall as we create more safe spaces to talk about mental health. This process of 
creating a podcast has greatly influenced my beliefs on mental health and disability studies in a 
powerfully positive manner.  
 
 Mental health and mental disability are two different subjects, yet each informs the other. 
The connection between the two arises: what is the function of identifying as having a mental 
disability? There are certain legal issues to consider as the psychiatric system has linked 
diagnosis with treatment. In order to receive treatment, people often must have a diagnosis. But 
there is also a benefit to identifying as mentally disabled within a social context. Yes, there can 
be certain biological factors than inform symptoms. But often disability studies proves that 
society has just as much responsibility in creating disability as the self. In this sense, identifying 
as disabled may help illuminate the ways in which an environment is inaccessible to the person. 
The disability community might also serve as a valuable resource for survival methods, whether 
that is the psychiatric system survivor’s movement or the Neurodiversity movement. Inclusion in 
the community can help people cope with their lived experiences of having a mental disability 
and help improve their mental health. Just because someone has a mental disability does not 
mean they cannot achieve positive mental health; with the right tools, anyone can. Conor states 
in her interview with Hall that “The biggest lesson for me was that healing is about being cared 
for in a very deep and unconditional way” (Hall, 2016b). Through community and the sharing of 
stories, Conor has learned what is important for her mental health. Ali has also learned lessons 
regarding economic stability and mental health. She explains the connection, saying “Changing 
lives from an economic point of view is very different than taking a pill. The first is empowering. 
The latter, to many, is disempowering. When people become more self-sufficient, it builds 
resources that provide scaffolding for themselves, their children and future generations” (Hall, 
2016a). She found that for many, simply medicating their mental disability was not enough. Only 
by changing their life circumstances was positive mental health truly possible.  
 The idea of normal is constantly questioned in disability studies. As Margaret Price 
points out, “Disorderly minds…show up all the time, in obvious and not-so-obvious ways; and 
second, recognizing their appearance is not a yes-no proposition, but rather a confusing and 
contextually dependent process that calls into question what we mean by the “normal” mind” 
(Price, 2011, p. 3). The system mandates that people be labeled as normal or abnormal in order 
to assign diagnoses and treatment. This thought process falls under the medical model, which 
deems disability as an individual defect whose fault rests solely on the person with the disability, 
often their biology. This ‘well/unwell’ paradigm is reflected in the treatment of disability and its 
“problems,”, rather than engaging in a more holistic form of care that addresses the social 
location of disability (Price, 2011). The same goes for mental health issues. Psychiatrists are 
encouraged to find the problem, often a neurochemical issue, and solve it with medication. There 
are far too many individuals who are simply given drugs in order to cope, rather than being 
encouraged to pursue talk therapy where issues can be further addressed. This is proven to be the 
most effective treatment for mental issues but is still considered taboo. The stigmatized nature of 
mental health can be extremely harmful for many individuals who are too afraid to look beyond 
medication for treatment. 
 
 Why is mental health so hard to talk about? This is my final question I ask of 
interviewees in my podcast. Jokingly, I say that this could be its own podcast, and many agree. 
Our society sees poor mental health as a weakness; a defect, just like disability. In the psychiatric 
system survivor’s movement (c/s/x movement), when mental illness is diagnosed, “that person is 
marked as permanently damaged, and as one whose rights may be taken away—unless, of 
course, she complies with psychiatry’s requirements for ‘care’” (Price, 2011). When a person is 
viewed as “mentally ill”, they are often seen as incapable of making their own decisions, 
resulting in a lack of autonomy in their health care plan. The system relies on this assumption to 
function as a “health care system” with the needs of individuals in mind. Yet the system is not 
designed by these individuals and is often harmful – necessitating the term “psychiatric system 
survivor”. As Ali said in her interview with Hall, “Depression carries stigma, meaning you are 
somehow personally ineffective in moving forward in your life…the mental health establishment 
itself becomes part of that system, in effect controlling and keeping people where they are” 
(Hall, 2016a). This system, in guise of helping others, creates a debilitating stigma that carries 
over into society, causing judgement for anyone who says “I need help”. I think part of what 
makes mental health so hard to talk about is the vulnerable nature. Because mental health and 
disability are seen as individual, isolating problems, it is increasingly difficult to bridge that gap 
and ask for support. We put people who are struggling on an island, assuming that the problems 
are best handled alone. But as Conor said, healing is done best with deep love and care.  
  
This experience of creating a podcast about mental health has been extremely rewarding. 
It gave me a chance to challenge my own thoughts about mental health and disability. I learned 
about others’ viewpoints, challenges, and methods for survival. And I was allowed to ask my 
own questions of what I am curious about, further piquing interest in the field of disability 
studies and mental health. I have learned that “we live in the labyrinth of Normal. If we could 
only climb the walls high enough, we could see the maze whole, for the pointless thing it is. But 
we cannot”. (Estreich, 2013, p. 172). While we cannot dismantle the system in a day, we can 
work tirelessly, daily, to change the minds of those that uphold harmful systems. We can extend 
our support to those who may need it most, taking responsibility for the part we play in their 
struggling. And we can question our own beliefs that make up our cultural values so that they 
include everyone.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
References 
Estreich, G. (2013). The Labyrinth of Normal. In The Shape of the Eye. TarcherPerigee. 
Hall, W. (2016a). Depression and Oppression: Alisha Ali. In Outside Mental Health: Voices and 
Visions of Madness. Madness Radio. 
Hall, W. (2016b). Ending Homelessness: Marykate Conor. In Outside Mental Health: Voices and 
VIsions of Madness. Madness Radio. 
NIMH » Mental Illness. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2020, from 
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml 
Price, M. (2011). Mad at School. University of Michigan Press. 
What Is Mental Health? | MentalHealth.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2020, from 
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health