Overcome Stress With A Self-Care Podcast
Although stress can be healthy in moderation, excessive stress can cause mental and physical health challenges. It may contribute to health conditions and lead to headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia.
Regular self-care is one effective way of combating stress. Its benefits include lower stress levels, improved resilience, improved physical health, increased confidence, and improved relationships. Self-care doesn’t only involve physical care of your body. It could also involve listening to podcasts about stress and self-care to hear how others care for their health.
What Are The Impacts Of Chronic Stress?
Stress can affect every system in your body and may cause headaches, increased blood pressure, insomnia, and lower immunity. It may also increase the risk of substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, and other physical and mental conditions. Despite the impacts of chronic stress, there are several ways you can manage these symptoms to reduce their impact on your overall well-being.
Regularly practicing self-care is one method of stress reduction. While a self-care day may look different for everyone, a self-care podcast can be a valuable resource for learning healthy coping mechanisms, reducing stress, and improving overall mental health and well-being.
What Are The Benefits Of Self-Care?
Self-care may help you maintain a healthy and well-balanced life. It may involve caring for your emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and physical well-being. Research shows that regularly practicing self-care can lower stress and have numerous positive health benefits, potentially empowering you to continue these habits. Below are a few of the other benefits of self-care.
Less Stress
Stress is often a natural part of life, but stress can negatively affect you mentally, physically, and emotionally. Through self-care, you may find healthier habits to better cope with stress. Mindfulness practices are self-care habits that can reduce ruminating thoughts, limit negative thought patterns, and help you feel calmer and more relaxed.
Resilience
When facing life challenges, it may seem like you get frustrated or feel helpless more often. However, practicing self-care may help you build resilience by cultivating more self-compassion and practical tools to overcome these challenges. Daily self-care can promote a more positive mindset, offering hope for the future.
Physical Health
Self-care may improve your physical health. While exercising or eating a healthy and well-balanced diet are self-care habits that can directly improve your physical health and boost immunity, taking care of your mental health with mindfulness practices such as meditation or journaling may help you overcome stress. Stress can affect your physical health, so reducing stress levels may help you feel physically healthier. Your emotional and physical health are often profoundly connected; when you nurture one, you may better the other.
Increased Confidence
When you care for yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally, you might also feel more confident. Healthy self-esteem and confidence can help you look at mistakes as chances for personal growth instead of “total failure.” You may also be more likely to feel confident in other aspects of your life, such as your career, potentially opening you up for new opportunities.
Improved Relationships
Regular self-care may improve your relationships. Since self-care can improve your overall health and well-being, you may be more likely to show up as your best self and foster healthier relationships. You may also become less dependent on others for validation or care as you learn to prioritize yourself and care for your needs on your own.
Podcasts To Try
A podcast may be a helpful resource if you’re interested in practicing more self-care. While self-care can vary from person to person, a podcast may teach you new ways to apply self-care to your everyday life and effective strategies for overcoming stress. Below are a few options to try.
Meditation Minis
Studies show that meditation can be an effective self-care practice with many proven benefits for your mental health. Hosted by hypnotherapist Chel Hamilton, Meditation Minis is an award-winning podcast with an extensive catalog of short, guided meditations which may be helpful for those new to meditating or those short on time.
Get Sleepy
Prolonged stress can negatively impact your sleep quality, sometimes making falling or staying asleep difficult. For those who experience sleep issues due to stress, the Get Sleepy podcast may be a valuable resource. Rated the number one sleep podcast, Get Sleepy’s sleep stories can relax your body and calm your mind, allowing you to sleep better and feel more rested for daily responsibilities.
Getting Better: Stories Of Mental Health
The Getting Better podcast by BetterHelp talks about destigmatizing conversations around mental health. Hosted by licensed therapists Micheline Maalouf and Nadia Addesi, this podcast has conversations with well-known guests like Ian Somerhalder, Chris Bosh, Meghan Trainor, and others. Some episodes discuss self-care and lifestyle changes that individuals can implement at home.
This Podcast Is Self-Care
Life can sometimes be challenging, causing stress that may negatively affect your health. This Podcast is Self-Care, hosted by comedians Drew Spears and Cait Raft, explores life’s obstacles and how taking time for yourself with a touch of humor can be important. Each episode provides practical self-care tips you can use in everyday life.
Self-Care IRL
Hosted by wellness blogger and bestselling author Ty Alexander, Self-Care IRL is a podcast that explores practical tips for becoming the best version of yourself, potentially inspiring you to find happiness and fulfillment through life’s obstacles. From relationships and personal growth to finding your purpose and creating healthier habits, this podcast may be a helpful resource for cultivating a self-care routine.
Selfie
Hosted by writer and psychotherapist Kristen Howerton, Selfie is a podcast exploring everything related to self-care. Past episodes have included topics like:
- Avoiding burnout
- Self-care as a trans individual
- Raising teens
- Coping with substance use
- Redefining “perfect”
If you are struggling with substance use, contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at (800) 662-4357 to receive support and resources.
Being Well
Hosted by Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson, Being Well is a highly-rated podcast that provides expert tips and science-backed strategies on building resilience, overcoming stress and anxiety, improving your overall health through self-care, and living a happier and more fulfilled life in today’s world.
Happy Place
Hosted by Fearne Scott, the Happy Place podcast explores mental health, well-being, and the daily journey to happiness. Each episode invites a special guest to discuss the highs and lows of life and how to overcome challenges while finding happiness. This podcast can help you learn effective ways to overcome stress, care for yourself, and build resilience through challenging times.
Further Support Options
High stress levels can harm your physical, mental, and emotional health. Finding healthy ways to manage stress and practice self-care can be valuable. However, while a podcast can be a unique tool to help you overcome stress, it is not a replacement for professional therapy. Consider contacting a licensed provider if you’re experiencing high stress levels or other mental health concerns.
If you face barriers to finding treatment, such as finances, accessibility, or location, you can also try therapy through an online platform like BetterHelp. Online therapy can be a convenient form of therapy, as you can attend therapy from home. In addition, you can choose between phone, video, or live chat sessions. If you’ve heard an interesting concept in a podcast, you can share these ideas with your therapist and discuss how they might relate to your self-care needs.
If you’re feeling reluctant to try internet-based therapy, you’re not alone. It may help to know that recent studies have found online therapy as effective as in-person therapy for many mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety. Online therapy can also treat chronic stress and offer insight into healthy self-care activities.
Takeaway
What are some good self-care podcasts?
Some of the best self-care podcasts include Meditation Minis, Get Sleepy, Getting Better: Stories Of Mental Health, This Podcast Is Self-Care, Self-Care IRL, Selfie, Being Well, Happy Place, and Recovery Warriors for individuals living with an eating disorder.
Is listening to a podcast a form of self-care?
Listening to certain podcasts can serve as a form of self-care through reducing stress, providing emotional support, promoting self development, providing a source of entertainment or encouraging individuals to lead their best life.
What are some topics for self-improvement podcasts?
Some topics for self-improvement podcasts include mental health, mindfulness, and personal growth. A self-help podcast may offer guidance from mental health professionals. A podcast host may focus on sharing personal stories or providing education on topics such as goal setting, self development, and body image.
Do podcasts reduce loneliness?
Podcasts have the potential to provide a sense of emotional support. Through sharing information and personal stories, podcasts that focus on specific topics such as depression, bipolar, or eating disorders often have the ability to create a sense of community for individuals living with these conditions.
Is there a podcast to help with social anxiety?
On podcasts such as Social Anxiety Solutions and Shrink For The Shy Guy, many episodes focus on helping with social anxiety.
Is constantly listening to podcasts bad?
Listening to podcasts constantly may have disadvantages if it interferes with your daily life, responsibilities or journey of self. It's important to strike a balance between podcast consumption and other activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
What are the disadvantages of listening to podcasts?
While many podcasts offer valuable content, there are potential disadvantages to consider including overindulgence, decreased productivity, missed opportunities for real-life interaction, and biased or harmful information.
What should I listen to when I'm lonely?
Some best self help podcasts to listen to when you’re lonely address topics related to mental health and personal development. Podcasts hosted by thought leaders such as psychologists, college students and mental health researchers may help you navigate and overcome loneliness through education, connection, and understanding.
How do I make a self-care checklist?
Creating a self-care checklist involves identifying activities and practices that nourish your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Start by listing activities that make you feel relaxed, recharged, and happy, prioritizing practices that are achievable and sustainable in your day to day life. Regularly review and adjust your checklist to meet your evolving needs.
What is the first step to self-improvement?
Typically, the first step to self-improvement is self-awareness as it serves as the foundation for creating a personalized plan. By reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses and goals, you are better able to recognize the areas of your life that you want to improve. For example, once you are aware of your interest in intermittent fasting or starting your own business, you can create a plan and take concrete actions to achieve these goals.
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