With the fall semester rapidly approaching, it’s easy to start full steam ahead, quickly burn out, and lose sight of what’s most important: your well-being. Wondermind co-founders Selena Gomez, Mandy Teefy, and Daniella Pierson recognize this and have experienced similar situations with their own mental health struggles. They decided to create an inclusive space for people to navigate, explore, and discuss these real and not-so-easy experiences full of resources like podcast episodes. And Wondermind was born.
The world’s first mental health ecosystem provides you with expert-backed mental health content via mental fitness pro tips and Q&As, podcasts, real stories, and worksheets. Now that it’s back to school season, you’re probably juggling a full load of new classes, joining school clubs and organizations, moving in or out of a new place, managing work, and balancing a personal life. Luckily for you, Wondermind has something for everyone to find a way to escape, connect, and find support for whatever walk of life you’re on.
Whether you’re at the gym, lying in bed, strolling across campus, sitting at your favorite coffee shop, or driving to your next destination, here are six of the best Wondermind podcast episodes from their two shows, Baggage Drop and The Business of Feelings, to listen to as you prepare for back to school season.
- “Serena Williams on Discipline and Prioritizing Herself”
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Whether you’re returning to classes, just starting out as an incoming freshman, or navigating a new adventure in grad school or a certificate program, prioritizing yourself and your well-being never goes out of style. And star athletes are no different: In this episode, Serena Williams opens up about her next big thing: Serena Ventures, and what her journey of self-prioritization and mental fitness looks like as a mother, athlete, and entrepreneur.
- “Growth: When Spiraling is Good”
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Host, licensed clinical psychologist, and Wondermind Mental Health Advisory Committee member at Wondermind, Nina Polyné, PsyD, talks about how healthy growth is not as linear as we often think it is and how it can actually be the exact opposite — and that’s OK!
With a long list of accomplishments and accolades, Dr. Polyné utilizes her specialized experience and knowledge in the intersection between emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness to accomplish her mission “to disseminate important emotional and behavioral fitness tools via her engaging media work,” according to her website. This episode provides a refreshing perspective on emotional well-being, voluntary change, and self-compassion from Nina and a collective of guests on their growth journeys throughout life.
- “Keith Grossman on Failure and Resilience”
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In this episode, Pierson and TIME President Keith Grossman discuss Grossman’s career journey navigating layoffs, challenging bosses, and why business is always personal. Whether you’re dealing with a challenging professor or colleague, navigating difficult courses, or trying to manage your professional and educational life simultaneously, this episode will allow you to find new ways to operate it all and get back what you give.
- “Self-Talk: Taking Care of You”
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Dr. Polyné talks about ensuring we have a collection of tools and resources for the setbacks we simply can’t avoid. This episode gives you everything you need to overcome negative bias, discover self-care that fits your needs, and effectively measure your growth. Between Dr. Polyné’s expertise and the opportunity to learn how to journey along your own growth spiral, you are bound to gain an insightful perspective on how you view change in your personal, professional, and educational life.
- “Values & Goals: How to Habit Stack”
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Licensed marriage and family therapist, writer, and Wondermind Advisory Committee member, Alo Johnston, LMFT, deep dives into attainable and impactful habits and how to break through roadblocks. It’s easy as a student to get overwhelmed by so many new responsibilities and forget about the habits you worked so hard to implement over the summer. This podcast will help you navigate the ins and outs of productivity and motivation during the moments you need it most and create habits that will actually work for you.
- “Buddies: Recognizing Support Systems”
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In this episode, host, writer, Wondermind Advisory Committee member, and clinical psychologist, Ryan Howes, Ph.D., discusses the types of support you need to maintain the changes you are making in life. Navigating the back-to-school season requires both internal and external support for long-term success, and Dr. Howes helps listeners identify their support systems, their different support needs, and how to harness their inner support when they need it most.
