Baggage Drop Podcast: Strengthening Our Mental Fitness

 May is mental health awareness month, and before you roll your eyes at these designated months, remember that mental health is a critical factor in a healthy and vibrant society. After all, these continuous mass shootings are instigated by people with mental health issues and easy access to guns. The access to guns part is for another column, but it is also a critical part of a well-functioning and safe society.

There is a relatively new organization called Wondermind, which bills itself as the world's first mental health ecosystem. Wondermind combines easy-to-understand articles with proven techniques, replacing jargon and judgment with expert-backed tips for healthier habits.

According to Wondermind, "It takes more than an inspirational quote to really change your mindset. But showing up for your mental health shouldn’t be expensive, inaccessible, or time-consuming. Even if you’re lucky enough to see a therapist, making time for your mind in between sessions can go a long way. That’s what we’re here for—to give you easy, doable ways to put your mental fitness first every day."

I do salute the Wondermind's focus on mental fitness. So many podcasts and books dangle the key to lifelong happiness as if happiness was a permanent state of being that, once achieved, is a continuous condition. 

Instead, Wondermind focuses on the concept of mental fitness, which, like physical fitness, requires constant, even daily, exercise. 

For the month of May, Wondermind has released a new podcast called Baggage Drop. The allusion in the title is releasing our emotional baggage via a baggage drop. Nicely done, people.

Hosted by experts from Wondermind’s Advisory Committee — Dr. Jessica Stern, Dr. Ryan Howes, Alo Johnston LMFT, and Dr. Nina Polyné — Baggage Drop delivers repeatable and powerful mental fitness tools to help rewire your mindset for personal impact. The podcast parks itself at the intersection of healthy habits, mindset adjustments, and busy schedules. 

To be clear, with the sad lack of a mental health support system in our nation, Baggage Drop focuses on a self-help system. Given by the paucity of a true mental health infrastructure, helping yourself, instead of waiting for help that probably will never arrive, is as good a solution as possible for healing and self-repair.

New episodes land every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the month of May. True to its promise, Wondermind limits the episodes to about ten minutes in length.

I listened to week one with Dr. Jessica Stern and felt empowered and focused on improving my mental fitness.  In the first episode, Dr. Stern -- an excellent podcast host who combines prescriptive knowledge with vocal enthusiasm -- discusses neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to prune and replace unhelpful habits. The image used -- and a cool one at that -- is The Why: Finding Your North Star.

In episode two, Dr. Stern guides listeners through the steps to overcome mental roadblocks and create small, more manageable goals. The call-ins from listeners (Wondermind community) via Instagram are a nice touch and add a sense of "we are all in this together" camaraderie. Moreover, the music that continues throughout the episode has a thumping, syncopated beat that matches the upbeat and prescriptive nature of the show.

One question that Dr. Stern asks listeners multiple times during her three episodes is: "What's working and what's not working in my daily life?" 

It's a deceptively simple, even childlike question that cuts through all the psychological red tape we use to overcomplicate and even delay our mental repair and maintenance efforts.

Baggage Drop is a well-thought-out, carefully constructed, and user-friendly psychology podcast that offers listeners actionable steps they can take to achieve greater mental fitness. 

Have you seen or heard about some of the people out there? Karens, mass shooters, political extremists, and self-righteous fascists. 

Listening to the Baggage Drop podcast may only be a drop in the bucket on the journey to greater societal mental well-being, but it's a damn good start.