Day 19: Feeling Down: A Real Talk on Mental Health – 30 days, 30 episodes

Matt Gilhooly: 00:00:01

I'm Matt Gilhooly, and this is the Life Shift Candid conversations about the pivotal moments that have changed lives forever. Hello, my friends. Welcome to day 19 of 30 Days.

or the full month of November: 2024

Things that people have sent that they. Think that I should address on each day.

So it is day 19. There are 30 days this month, and so we're almost there.

Hopefully you've been enjoying this and learning a little bit more about me than you would typically hear in a regular episode of the Life Shift podcast. Just a little note, there are new episodes coming every Tuesday through so far the third week in January, so that feels good.

I have another recorded, so I guess that's putting me through the end of January, and hopefully more pitches will come in and I will connect with more people. If you ever think someone would be good for this show, please connect us so that we can possibly have the conversation on the Life Shift podcast. All right, so day 19.

I was going to look through the list today and I was going to choose a question and address the prompt and try to be whatever, but let's be real today. And I'm just not having a great day. And this morning I woke up and I didn't feel great. And I think I've been struggling with sleep lately.

Anytime that Molly sleeps in the bed, she sleeps at my hip. She's about 10 or 11 pounds, and she's very warm.

And I think that just kind of keeps me up. And it's hard to get her to not do that, although I like it. So it just disrupts my sleep a little bit. And then I don't feel rested.

So I woke up and I wasn't feeling great. And so I started the day by skipping the gym and then trying to. Do the normal routine.

And then I started work and then I was like, I don't feel so great. So I did the things that were super pressing, deadline required things, went to our team meeting, and then I took the afternoon off.

And a lot of it just feels like something feels like off or I'm tired or who knows what it is? Maybe it's still this grief from losing Mikey, but a lot of it is kind of just playing all together. So today I Just feel down and not great.

And there's a couple things that I think about that I think that, well, yeah, it sucks, but I know that it's not permanent. I know that this is just something that I deal with when it comes along, and I know that I just have to kind of let it play out.

I think the most important thing for me is when I'm feeling like this is that I acknowledge it and that I share that I'm feeling this particular way with other people in my life because it helps take that anxiety and that burden off of kind of what maybe it might feel like if I kept it all to myself and kept it inside. I think I've said this before many. Times with some of my guests on. The podcast is like, the things in. My head seem so much worse or. Scarier or bigger or harder to overcome.

When they're in my head. But when I say them out loud.

Or I put them down on paper or I share them with someone else, they all feel a little normal or normalized or something that I can overcome. So that is one thing that's super. Important to me, is just acknowledge it.

Just let everyone know that, like, guess what? I'm not happy all the time, and that's okay. And sometimes we go through these seasons and everything just feels a little off.

I've been, you know, kind of working at this podcast alone, essentially on the back end, doing this production.

And so sometimes it gets frustrating when you think this episode with a particular guest is going to, like, really resonate with a lot of people, and it's going to get, like, the most downloads or the most listens, or people are going to talk about it outside of my sphere, and then it doesn't. And then I have to remind myself that it's not a failure. It's not. The show is doing what it's intended to do.

And it's really hard to compete with big shows that have big budgets and lots of money to market their shows. And spread it around and big names.

And all those things that come along with it.

Plus, I'm not a true crime show, which is kind of the shows that really get the most attention, which is fine, and it's all good, but sometimes it just feels like you're doing a lot and you're really pushing, pushing, pushing, and things don't kind of work out. The way that you want them to.

I'm not complaining, really.

I'm just kind of sharing that Sometimes I get frustrated that maybe I'm not putting in enough work or maybe I need to go spend money on this place to grow the show in this particular way. But really, is that the point? I don't know. I think the point really still is truly that each episode finds the ears. That need to hear that particular story. So that they feel less alone. I think of that young version of me who felt like I was the.

Only kid with a dead, dead mom. I knew I wasn't, but I felt like it. And so the idea is that with.

Everyone sharing these stories and normalizing the human experience, that other people will hear. These stories and they'll go, oh, I'm not the only one facing it. Oh, there is an opportunity to be. Like that person or to take some.

Of those ideas and move forward with them. And all of this really stems from one just looking at, you know, random downloads for particular episodes that you think are going to go great. But then there's all these podcast awards out in the intern industry, and some of them are really super great and.

Focused to independent podcasters.

They're selected by a particular committee of people and they're really trying to find these non massive shows that are promoted by these big agencies. So, like, Frank from Earworthy has done an amazing thing with his ear worthy. Platform and where he talks about independent podcasts and he reviews different podcasts and he's so generous to the Life Shift podcast.

In fact, he did his podcast awards. And named my show the Life Shift Podcast, the top independent podcast of the year.

So I mean, that's like so amazing. And then there's other ones, like Discover. Pods, they have their own thing where people can submit and nominate. We have local ones here in Orlando which kind of feel a little bit.

Like a popularity contest. And then there are these bigger podcast.

Awards that everyone kind of like pushes, because those are like the Grammys or the Emmys or the Tony kind of thing where like you can say that and people outside of your circle kind of know what that award is. And so I look at these and they're like $250 to submit an episode to be considered to be nominated.

And then you kind of go through the whole thing and you look at. The list of shows and most of.

Them are shows that are produced by big companies and have big names and things like that. And so part of me is like, I should put my name out there and spend the 250. And then the other part is like, are you just throwing that 250 away?

Does that really serve your purpose? Does that do what you need to do at the end of the Day.

I would love for more people to find the Life Shift podcast, but I think that's going to come with just natural work and building the show in the way that feels most aligned. But I say that because that's part of the piece that's weighing on me and adding a little meh to my day. And it's just kind of this.

This cycle, this roller coaster of feelings. So today I just took that afternoon off and I was like, I'm just. Gonna sit on the couch, I'm gonna. Take care of myself, I'm gonna watch some television. I'm just gonna lay there and do what I need to do, because I.

Know that this is not a permanent feeling.

It's just something that is fleeting, hopefully quicker. But, you know, it's just how I do and that I know how to process it in my own way.

So day 19 is all about just being real and honest and the things that are top of mind for me today. I guess there's not really a theme beyond the idea that we should be normalizing, the fact that sometimes things aren't. Great and sometimes things aren't perfect.

And I hope that you have people in your universe, in your circle, in your whatever you call it, that are willing to hear you tell them that today's not great or I'm not feeling. Great, or I'm feeling a little down. Or whatever it may be, and that. They don't try to solve it for you.

They just listen and they know that you know what you're doing and that you know how to process through these particular emotions. So if you don't have that tribe and you need someone to listen to you, please reach out to me.

I will happily listen to whatever you have going on in your life. You can find me on social media, the Life Shift podcast. You can email me@Matthew life shift podcast.com we can have a conversation behind the scenes. We can record it if you want.

If that's something you think other people would benefit from. But I think my moral, if we're going to find one on day 19, is to just be open with others of how you're feeling and know that. It'S fine to feel however you're feeling.

At any moment in time. And that just means you are a full functioning human. So that's it for day 19. I appreciate you listening to me.

Hopefully this wasn't like, Matt, why did you talk about this? But just being real here. And I will be back on day 20, which is tomorrow for this 30. Days, 30 episodes of the Life Shift podcast. Thanks for being part of my circle.

For more information, please visit www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com.