What Really Works? A Mental Health Podcast for Young People

To celebrate and kick-off Mental Health Week 2021, What Really Works? hosted our first-ever live recording! This special podcast episode is the audio stream of this event. In this special episode, you’ll hear Beki and Olivia chat about this year’s Mental Health Week topic - Naming it, Not Numbing it. The hosts discuss what emotions are, why naming our emotions is so important, and how we can suppo...

IMPORTANT NOTE: This episode discusses grief and what may lead to this emotion. The hosts share personal experiences of why they have experienced grief, including speaking about the death of a loved one, suicide, and overdose. What Really Works? encourages all listeners to take care of themselves when listening to this episode and reach out for support if you need it. A link for additional resourc...

Anxiety related to climate change and ecological events is something that lots of people experience but isn’t always spoken about. In episode 22, Beki and Olivia discuss climate anxiety, what it is, and why we might experience it. In the second half of the episode, the hosts discuss how we can support ourselves when we’re being impacted by climate anxiety. You’ll hear about climate education, a se...

Experiencing rejection can be tough and hit us hard, but why does rejection feel like that and why does it affect each of us so differently? In episode 21, hosts Beki and Olivia are joined by guest Malusi to talk about the many faces of rejection. You’ll hear conversations about the impact of rejection on our self-worth, values, and the issues we may face from fear of rejection and regret. The gro...

NOTE: This episode mentions disordered eating and unhealthy exercise/diet habits. With summer starting to get closer, we’re already seeing social media posts about getting ‘beach body ready’ and adverts for diets. So hosts, Olivia and Beki, thought now would be an important time to discuss body image. In the Body Image episode, you can expect a discussion about what body image is before the hosts...

In this follow-up episode, Beki and Olivia are joined by guest, Jessica, who talks about her own perspectives and experiences of failure, and how this has impacted her.  Listen to Overcoming Failure - Part 2 to delve further into the topic of failure and hear discussions about failure culture vs blame culture, why we might laugh at others when we see them ‘fail’, and how to start talking about fai...

NOTE: This episode mentions sexual harassment in the workplace. In episode 18, hosts Beki and Olivia, are joined by guest Karen to talk all about toxic work and school environments. Karen shares her knowledge of what can contribute to toxic environments, from gossiping to cultures of fear to limited communication. You’ll hear tips to recognize when we’re in a toxic environment and strategies we ca...

Failure is a word that's used often, but what does failure really mean or look like? In this episode, hosts Beki and Olivia discuss what the word failure means to them. You can expect to hear an honest chat about failure and success while understanding alternative ways of thinking about the terms. Beki and Olivia also share what they find supportive when thinking about overcoming and managing the...

In this episode, hosts Beki and Olivia, talk openly and honestly about how they’re experiencing burnout. They talk about how with pandemic and other world events, it can feel increasingly hard and fatiguing to support our well-being during this time.  The hosts share their experiences and a few things they have been leaning into for support including humour, talking, and music.  Episode 16 of What...

Many people set New Year’s Resolutions, but how do we ensure that these resolutions are supportive and things we actually want to work towards, without applying pressure on ourselves? In the first episode of 2021, Beki and Olivia delve into the culture and expectation of setting New Year’s Resolutions. The hosts consider when New Year’s Resolutions become problematic and how we need to check in wi...

With the holiday season fast approaching, we can begin to experience the pressure of festive expectations. In Episode 14, hosts Beki and Olivia chat about why the holiday season can be stressful and filled with tough emotions, especially this year. From grief to hardships, to our personal expectations of festivities, you'll hear not only validation of why this time of the year can be difficult for...

Have you ever thought about how routine maintenance on a motorbike is similar to continual work on our mental health? We hadn't either until guest Travis joined this episode to discuss men's mental health! In Episode 13, hosts Beki and Olivia chat with Travis about his personal experiences, including how his perception of mental health has changed and how it can be hard talking about mental health...

Sometimes in life there are events or situations that we may anticipate as being tough to deal with. It could be a test, an anniversary, festivities, or maybe it's something else. So how do we support ourselves with this in a healthy way? In Episode 12, Beki and Olivia discuss what it means to prepare for what we anticipate will be a hard time, without being deterministic or predicting the overall...

NOTE: This episode names some rated R movies, discussing problematic and stigmatizing storylines from these movies.   In this Halloween Special, hosts Beki and Olivia take a break from their usual format of chatting about how we can support our mental health.  Instead, you will hear them chat about their pet peeves of the horror genre and why they find them frustrating. Whether that be incorrect t...

Winter is coming, and for some of us, this season can have a big impact on our well-being.  Hosts Beki and Olivia are both beginning to feel the effects of Autumn and Winter creeping closer, so in Episode 11 they discuss the Winter Blues and Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D), acknowledging the difference between the two. You’ll also hear ways to support ourselves with the Winter Blues and S.A.D....

Everyone procrastinates on some level, but why do we do it when it makes completing a task harder and more stressful? In Episode 10, hosts Beki and Olivia share how they both have a hard time with procrastination and discuss the panic and anxiety they’ve experienced because of this. You’ll hear the hosts talk about how the ‘instant gratification monkey’ makes it so easy to distract ourselves, and...

We all have questions about Mental Health, but sometimes it can be hard knowing where to find helpful answers and where to ask! In this episode of What Really Works? hosts, Beki and Olivia, use their lived and learned experience to answer some common mental health questions.  So, if you’ve ever wondered about the difference between sadness and depression, the best terms to use, and how to best sup...

Note: This episode discusses the use of substances. Going back to school can be a stressful time, and with the pandemic, some of us might be finding this transition harder to manage.  In this episode, Beki and Olivia are joined by Cassy to chat about expectations students could be facing on their return to school and how that impacts them. The group takes time to discuss some healthy coping strate...

People pleasing might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Mental Health topics, but as you listen to this episode you’ll discover how people pleasing can have a large impact on your well-being. In Episode 7, hosts Beki and Olivia are joined by guest Sonyia, who shares her experience with people pleasing. The group discusses why we try to people please and explores how con...

In this episode, Beki and Olivia are joined by Keneisha to discuss the positive and negative impact that social media has had and continues to have on Black Lives and the Black Lives Matter movement.  Keneisha discusses the importance of the social justice movement as well as sharing their experience of how social media impacts their Mental Health and how to recognize burnout. The group also share...

Starting conversations about Mental Health can feel scary, especially when there is stigma involved. So how do we begin to talk about Mental Health? In today’s episode, Beki and Olivia take time to address the stigma that surrounds Mental Health and how this makes it a difficult topic to talk about with some people. The two hosts share their personal experiences of conversations about Mental Healt...

As young people, we often feel pressure to get things right and be perfect. But how does that affect our mental health? In this episode of ‘What Really Works?” hosts Beki and Olivia are joined by guest Steph, to chat about where those pressures come from, and how actually making a mistake is good for us. Plus, we talk about how saying “just be positive” isn’t always helpful! Our sound quality wasn...

In this short episode, Beki and Olivia reflect on the events taking place as a result of the death of George Floyd and others. They talk about recognizing their own privilege and taking time to listen and learn to better educate themselves in social justice and the fight against racism. They share some resources they have found and set the stage for a larger discussion in the coming weeks. 

We hear #self-care all over social media at the moment, but what even is self-care, and how do I know if I'm doing it? In our second episode of "What Really Works?" we go in-depth on the do's and maybe the don'ts of self-care, bust some common myths and chat about some simple yet effective self-care tools that we can practice. This episode is generously supported by The Blenk Family Fund, together...

Stress and anxiety can affect any of us, so what can we do to support our mental health and say "this is okay and I'm going to be okay"? In Episode 1 of "What Really Works?" Beki and Olivia dive right in and talk about stress and anxiety. We open up about what stress and anxiety are while sharing experiences and providing tips that help to support our mental health when we find ourselves 'in it'....