Best Podcasts for Anxiety + Personal Development

Often times, there were days when I had negative energy/motivation in me to do anything - simply getting myself out of bed was a stretch. The thought of leaving my house to attend a workout class or getting a massage to de-stress was simply not an option. I was paralyzed with fear and stuck in a constant loop of negative self-talk. I felt helpless, depressed and extremely anxious. Time slowed down and minutes felt like hours - all I wanted was an escape.

For a while, that escape was substance abuse. You could catch me on any random Tuesday chugging a seltzer to prep for a Zoom call or to simply get through the panic attacks that would creep up out of nowhere. Alcohol + sleeping were my 2 favorite hobbies - and easy to hide from others. It wasn’t until I made the connection between hangovers + spikes of anxiety (also, like being drunk during work meetings probably wasn’t ideal either but beside the point I suppose) that I realized I needed another way to cope and take my mind off of the panic.

It wasn’t until I started working for a woman who had her own podcast that I realized what I was missing out on. In the process of helping maintain her show and pitch her to other podcasts, I came across so many incredible shows that truly helped me kickstart my growth + healing. I started with shows related to mental health specifically and overtime started adding in episodes related to personal development as a whole.

This hobby was free, convenient, and healthy. It took my mind off of my anxiety and helped me channel my thoughts and energy into things that felt good to my body + soul. I started learning about money + investing, health + wellness, spirituality, astrology, inner-child healing - and slowly started connecting the dots on how my anxiety was playing into and off of so many other areas of my life. It was both overwhelming and incredibly liberating at the same time. I truly could not get enough.

Thankfully, these days, my anxiety does not keep me from living my day to day life. However, my love of podcasts has persisted over the years. Now, instead of sitting in my bedroom rocking back and forth listening to episodes (enjoy that visual), I go for daily walks in the sun - soaking up the vitamin D my body so badly needs and learning about something new. (for those of you who are still in the rocking back and forth trapped in your bedroom phase, try taking these to get your vitamin D. Believe me when I tell you it’s a game changer).

This practice has become one of my favorite parts of the day and something I rarely skip out on so I’ve decided to spread the love and round up a few of my top favorite shows in hopes that it provides you with some comfort + motivation as well for whatever season of life you are in.

Enjoy 🫶🏻