A high school teacher from Rotorua thanked her for the podcast, saying it opened a door for her students to chat about mental health because of the famous faces who were opening themselves up to listeners.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone thinks that everyone\u2019s got their s*** together, and then you realise, the more you go on, that no one really does,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re all kind of making it up as we go along and just hoping for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Wellington Paranormal actor and Hauraki host Mike Minogue\u2019s struggles with panic attacks (\u201cI never knew he was clutching the studio computer trying to calm himself at times\u201d) to journalist Paddy Gower\u2019s battle with alcoholism and \u201cThat Guy\u201d Leigh Hart\u2019s divorce, Grey has chatted to some of our most well-known personalities about their struggles in an attempt to quash stigmas and start wider conversations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think vulnerability kind of connects a lot more than perfectionism,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing honest, that\u2019s like the bridge, I think, between isolation and connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her inspiration for the podcast came from a few things: a 25% increase in anxiety and depression worldwide since the Covid-19 pandemic, and her conversations with colleagues in the media about New Zealand\u2019s big mental health challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got an audience to talk to. You can throw out the numbers and the telephone lines and websites to go to, but I think [it\u2019s great] if you have something tangible to listen to,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may not take the advice of someone who\u2019s on the end of the phone who you don\u2019t know, but you might listen to someone who you respect and see their take on things, and then you might want to actually put into practice what they\u2019re saying as opposed to advice from a stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those who shared their stories to help others were brave, Grey says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour struggles can be out there for everyone to see. Or if you are going to break down publicly, everybody knows about it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also hard to deflect comments about you, and if you\u2019ve got a fear of rejection, it\u2019s a bit tricky. I think some people get into the celebrity side of things because they think they will get accolades and adoration, and then they\u2019re not quite willing for the other side of the coin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Radio Hauraki presenter and host of Mental as Anything podcast Angelina Grey in NZME’s Radio Hauraki studio. Photo \/ Alyse Wright<\/p>\n
But when it comes to mental health, everyone is affected, not just those in the headlines, and Grey hopes that, in some way, the bridge between isolation and connection can help provide a talking point for better health outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more celebrities that come out, it just gives us permission to talk about it a little more. The connection between actually taking the impetus to go and talk to someone, sometimes to have that bridge, it\u2019s hearing somebody else do it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s got something to carry, and it\u2019s really easy to judge. You might see some guy in the queue at the gas station who\u2019s being impatient and being a right d***, so you get angry. Maybe you don\u2019t know that he\u2019s just found out his dad\u2019s dying of cancer or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
The podcast also drills into strategies and mindsets used to improve mental health, with a few sticking out in Grey\u2019s mind including her conversation with comedian Dai Henwood, who was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in 2020. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dai one, in some ways, was a really joyous podcast. We\u2019ve been friends for years, and to hear how he\u2019s framing things, it was a beautiful way for everyone to learn how to live,\u201d Grey recalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese people that you know and see on your telly screens, it\u2019s nice to know a bit more about them \u2013 and feeling like you might have something in common.\u201d<\/p>\n
For listeners who might not know where to turn in times of struggle, Grey says she\u2019s learned that taking that first step can be one of the most helpful things to move forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind someone who is a good listener, and don\u2019t be afraid to reach out. Someone\u2019s always got time, so don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re a burden,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other side of that is, for people who know people going through a hard time, it\u2019s really important to learn to be a listener. Sometimes, it might just be about hearing what they have to say and holding space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mental As Anything seasons one and two are available on IHeartRadio.<\/p>\n
Where to get help:<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Lifeline<\/a>: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24\/7)\u2022 Suicide Crisis Helpline<\/a>: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24\/7)\u2022 Youth services: (06) 3555 906\u2022 Youthline<\/a>: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234\u2022 What\u2019s Up<\/a>: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)\u2022 Depression helpline<\/a>: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24\/7)<\/p>\n \u2022 Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737<\/p>\n If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111<\/p>\n Mitchell Hageman joined the <\/b>Herald\u2019s <\/b>entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for <\/b>Hawke\u2019s Bay Today<\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A high school teacher from Rotorua thanked her for the podcast, saying it opened a door for her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[276],"tags":[2055,140,70412,3083,70411,70416,17955,70421,434,70419,164,12445,18,6154,70413,70418,135,20204,70422,70414,61376,19,22377,17,3849,3073,38557,1109,7839,167,502,70417,7973,24242,33337,6995,70420,237,70415,25569,5485,22311,19318,7829,36960,7720,23602,18121,2046],"class_list":{"0":"post-114143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-about","9":"tag-addiction","10":"tag-angie","11":"tag-anxiety","12":"tag-anything","13":"tag-arent","14":"tag-as","15":"tag-attacks","16":"tag-celebrities","17":"tag-colleagues","18":"tag-depression","19":"tag-door","20":"tag-eire","21":"tag-from","22":"tag-grey","23":"tag-hageman","24":"tag-health","25":"tag-hears","26":"tag-helping","27":"tag-helps","28":"tag-host","29":"tag-ie","30":"tag-immune","31":"tag-ireland","32":"tag-its","33":"tag-just","34":"tag-like","35":"tag-media","36":"tag-mental","37":"tag-mental-health","38":"tag-mentalhealth","39":"tag-mitchell","40":"tag-on","41":"tag-open","42":"tag-opened","43":"tag-others","44":"tag-panic","45":"tag-people","46":"tag-personalities","47":"tag-podcast","48":"tag-radio","49":"tag-rest","50":"tag-speak","51":"tag-struggles","52":"tag-talking","53":"tag-their","54":"tag-up","55":"tag-why","56":"tag-with"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}