My Podcast Experience by Amy Hargrave
I am volunteer youth and community presenter for the Black Dog Institute and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to feature on the Being Well podcast series made by Black Dog. In my episode I talk about my experience of using the online mental health tool ‘myCompass’ to keep my headspace positive.
How I came to be using myCompass
I have experienced anxiety and depression since I was 10 years old and my journey towards recovery has involved me learning how to manage my own mental health. Part of my own personal ‘mental health management plan’ (as I like to call it) involves seeing clinical psychologists, engaging in regular exercise, maintaining a good support network of friends and family and also using an online tool called myCompass. I was first introduced to this tool by my doctor who recommended I give it a go to help me manage anxiety levels during a stressful period in my life. The tool provided both a cost and time effective way of reducing the anxiety I was experiencing and ultimately stopped me from slipping into a more severe negative headspace.
What it was like to record an episode of the podcast
The idea of telling my story through the medium of a podcast was both exciting and daunting at the same time. I am a huge fan of the American podcast series ‘Serial’ and so I was pretty excited about having my voice on a podcast episode but also a bit worried about how my story would sound. My concerns dissolved the moment I started working on the episode with the producer, Zacha and the GP educator Jan. They both provided me with words of support and encouragement that allowed me to really open up confidently during the recording and tell my story. The process of re-telling my experience and the questions put to me by Zacha and Jan meant I reflected deeply on the way I’ve used MyCompass to manage my headspace and made me realise how much I’ve learnt from using the tool.
Make sure you give it a listen if you'd like to know more about the amazing stuff Black Dog are doing and how online self-help tools can help people experiencing mental health issues.
Listen to Amy's Story here: https://soundcloud.com/user-739013830/amys-story
Jan is Sydney GP, private psychological medicine practitioner in Sydney’s inner west and a GP educator for Black Dog Institute.
Have you ever been on your way to work and asked yourself “I don’t really feel well . . . should I really be working clinically today” – and yet still turned up and completed a full day’s work?
*In April 2021, approximately 619,000 older Australians (aged 65 and over) were employed in the labour force", and at 66 years, I’m proud to be included in this statistic. By Tessa Moriarty
For as long as I have been in practice (and that’s a long time!) I have done my best to avoid looking after old people.