Mind on Hiatus
By Severina Chu and Nadia Brophy
Hosted by Severina Chu and Nadia Brophy, Mind on Hiatus is the product of learning to accept that life is not linear. Each week, Severina and Nadia discuss how they’ve been navigating through their temporary time off of school to prioritize their mental health, and the importance of putting yourself first. Join them as they talk about all things that have impacted them on their journey — from the stigmas involved with mental illness as a student to forms of popular culture that lift them back up.
Mind on Hiatus Jun 21, 2021
12. The finale! Self love baby!
Ahhhh it’s our season finale! In episode twelve of Mind on Hiatus, we talk about the importance of practicing self love and self care amid difficulties with your mental health. We chat about our own experiences with navigating self love, discuss our prominent traits after taking a character test and conclude with the final brain rot to end all brain rots!!! Thank you for listening!
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11. How to turn your brain off (clickbait)
Oh hey, welcome to episode 11 of Mind on Hiatus. This week we’re delving into the wild world of sleep and dreams. This episode addresses the effects that mental health has on sleep patterns, dream states and our overall relationship with sleep. We talk about our own experiences dealing with sleep issues, some interesting (and terrifying) dreams we’ve had, as well as some facts about mental health and sleep and some crazy dreams we’ve read about online. If you think this episode will be relaxing, hence the subject, think again 😎
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10. When mental health hinders creativity
Welcome to episode ten of Mind on Hiatus! We’re talking about creativity this week and what happens when you encounter creative blocks due to poor mental health. We’ve all been there, and this can be especially hard for creatives who rely on their work as a form of relaxation, therapy and to cope with what they’re going through. You’ll hear from us about our own experiences with this as well as some listeners who wrote in to us about how they overcome their own creative blocks.
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9. Opening up and reaching out
Hey, welcome to episode nine of Mind on Hiatus! This week we’re discussing the sometimes intimidating scenario of opening up and reaching out about your mental health. If this is something you’ve been struggling to do, we hope this episode will provide you with clarity and advice based on our own experiences opening up to family, friends and medical professionals.
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8. Back to the grind!
Oh hi! In episode eight of Mind on Hiatus, we talk about ending hiatuses and going back to life pre-dropout. Nadia is back in school and Sev is starting new things within her program, so we wanted to break down how this transition has been for us so far. Our goal is to contribute to the conversation around the hardships, but also joys, of easing back into routine post-mental health crises. Our podcast was built on de-stigmatizing the idea of taking breaks, but we also know that returning back to a certain way of life can have its own struggles, and these things are normal. We want to remind you of that!
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7. Culture's influence on our mental health
Hey there, welcome to episode seven of Mind on Hiatus. We truly believe that our cultural upbringings have a strong effect on our perceptions of the world, especially that of mental health awareness. This week we delve into this topic, discussing both of our cultures and the effects we feel they have had on our mental health journeys, our growth in mental health awareness and how certain perceptions have both benefitted and disadvantaged us in various ways. We specifically speak on Sev’s experience being of Asian heritage and Nadia of Middle Eastern Arab heritage.
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6. The F Word
Hi! In episode six of Mind on Hiatus, we center on information and awareness regarding eating disorders. Having noticed a rise in eating disorders during the pandemic, Sev wanted to shed light on the realities of dealing with this disorder as well as break down some of the common misconceptions and stigmas associated with it. From the media’s impact on body image to what can be done to create a more kind and empathetic discussion around eating disorders, this episode addresses many of the conversations we feel are necessary for better education, support and awareness.
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5. The Inevitable COVID Talk
Hello, hello and welcome to episode five of Mind on Hiatus. This week we’re talking all things COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of normalizing discussing the difficult things we’ve all endured during this time, both in terms of coping with mental illness as well as the constant state of change and absence of normality we’ve all experienced. Additionally, we asked listeners to write in about what the toughest part for them about living in a pandemic is, and you’ll hear their responses as well as our perspectives on those matters. **Content warning: OCD.
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4. Advocacy for youth mental health ft. Shannon Schaefer
Hey there! In episode four of Mind on Hiatus, we sit down with Shannon Schaefer, a good friend of ours and an upcoming author of a children’s book called Rudy’s Belly of Bees. The book tells the story of a child with anxiety, aiming to bring to light youth mental health and the normalization of the word anxiety in children and parents’ vocabularies. In this episode, we talk to Shannon about advocating for youth mental health through her creative pursuits, her publishing process and her relation to the story of Rudy involving her own mental health journey.
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3. Confessions of a Uni Drop Out
Hiiii, welcome to episode three of Mind on Hiatus. This week we move on to discussing our university education and experiences thus far and how it brought us to where we are today. Get some insight into the nature of our competitive program, navigating the social culture on campus and some good takeaways and life lessons too. **Content warning: anxiety attacks and social anxiety.
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2. The Dark Ages — a.k.a High School
Welcome back! In episode two of Mind on Hiatus, we revisit the dark ages of high school. If you find yourself often thinking back to those four crazy years and how it impacted you and your mental health, we’re right there with you. So, this week we decided to chronicle our experiences during high school, discussing the pressure of high academic standards, feeling compelled to participate in extracurriculars, perfectionism in academic success and much more.
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1. It just takes time — and that’s ok
In the first episode of Mind on Hiatus, get to know the premise of our show. We talk about who we are, our mental health journeys, and what to expect in future episodes. We also dive into pop culture from the past year that has kept us going in these chaotic times. Hope you enjoy!
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