Real Talk with OSYL: Rona Podcast Episode 18

Welcome to a new episode of Real Talk from OSYL. In this episode, we answer 3 questions regarding our mental health and how it may be impacted during the pandemic. The discussion is an open-ended one, as we share and acknowledge each other respectfully. We continue to show solidarity and support, for we all have our own demons to fight.

Though this can be a breezy short read, there are a couple ways to listen to the podcast. For the audio portion of the podcast, you can listen below or download directly here: https://realtalkwithosyl.buzzsprout.com/

The podcast will also be on other platforms like Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts and InTune Radio! Just search for OSYL!

Every one person is going through a journey and a battle that no other can speak for, or sympathize with. As every person is unique, it’s believed that so is the way we view mental health. I can say one thing about how I deal with it, but it shouldn’t be generalized to speak for how someone else is dealing with theirs. Especially for men, it’s a society that generalizes us into believing that it is a sign of weakness to express our feelings. Overall, it’s not hard to grasp that we all experience some level of negative emotions in all aspects of our lives—whether that be at work, school, or home, for instance. So when it comes to mental health, there is not one right solutions that solves all, but an opportunity for us to acknowledge the negativity that it can bring and how we can learn to accept and learn from it. Even more, acknowledge the positive and the benefits of taking care of ourselves and our mental health. So the question we bring to this recording’s discussion, what is mental health, and is the pandemic making it worse for us all?

In this episode, we take turns answering 3 questions in an open discussion style. No agenda, and just our chance to share how we feel. This episode features the usuals: Steven, Tyler, and Zvon, and Andrew. Each of them ran with the questions and opened it up for a free-for-all. These 3 questions are:

1. What does mental health mean to you?

2. Do you think that mental health is becoming more serious (especially given the current climate)?

3. Society tells men that it’s simply not acceptable to have too many feelings. How do we change the status quo of making it look like men are weak if they ask for help and how do we get men talking to each other about mental health?

Good mental health is just as good as the oxygen we breathe. Take a deep breath, and exhale out slowly and release the heavy weight off of our shoulders. How do we deal with anxiety, depression, or even burnout, for instance, is a very difficult question to answer, generally. Like a spectrum, there are many and various forms of imbalances in our lives. It can be an extremely difficult conversation to have with others, but more importantly, with ourselves. There are times where we don’t notice we are out of sync with ourselves until someone else acknowledges it for us.

How we accept or ignore mental health, can be a factor of the environment we are in, the people we are around or lack thereof, or just the culture that ingrained in us what to believe in. May be true, may be not true. Overall, it should be known that it is ok to seek professional help for yourself or for others; it is ok to speak up without shame or listen without judgement. At the end of the day, we should continue to support and empathize with one another and most importantly, ourselves. We all have our own battles. Sometimes it takes a village to understand how to conquer them together.