The Madhappy Podcast

Madhappy

The Madhappy Podcast is a series of conversations on mental health hosted by Madhappy founders Mason Spector and Peiman Raf. At its core, the show aims to create more conversation around mental health by illuminating the full spectrum of mental health. The highs and the lows. We have weekly conversations with special guests to help remind us all just how much we have in common, and how much value there is in our shared life experiences. Past guests include Emma Chamberlain, Logic, Jay Shetty, Noah Beck, Gary Vee, Lindsey Vonn, Dixie D’Amelio, Erin & Sara Foster, Josh Richards and 50+ more. read less
Health & FitnessHealth & Fitness

Episodes

134: Nailea Devora on Mental Health, Transitions, and Therapy
Dec 14 2023
134: Nailea Devora on Mental Health, Transitions, and Therapy
Welcome to Episode 134 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are excited to welcome creator Nailea Devora onto the show to learn more about her journey and the mental health realities she has experienced transitioning from Texas to Los Angeles to pursue her career. We kick off the episode as Mason asks Nailea what originally drew her to post on YouTube (4:56) before the two talk about Nailea’s experience growing up with her mom in Texas before moving out to Los Angeles after graduating high school (11:11). Mason and Nailea talk about sibling dynamics (15:55) and the law of attraction (17:56) before moving into a conversation about life as a young adult and the realities and responsibilities that come along with being in your 20s (23:15). Nailea shares her experiences with ADHD (30:05), before the two get into a conversation about therapy and how ego has gotten in the way of them going to therapy in the past (34:35). The two discuss the importance of not taking yourself too seriously during all parts of life (44:24), before wrapping up as Nailea shares how she currently works to support her mental health (53:04). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
133: Chelsea Cutler on Therapy, Depression, and Social Media
Dec 7 2023
133: Chelsea Cutler on Therapy, Depression, and Social Media
Welcome to Episode 133 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are excited to welcome Chelsea Cutler onto the show to learn more about her mental health journey throughout her music career. We kick things off as Chelsea speaks to how her music became an outlet for her to talk about mental health (3:04). Mason asks Chelsea about her experiences with therapy (9:16), leading Chelsea to share more on her experiences with depression and distorted thinking (21:31). Chelsea and Mason talk through their relationships and experiences with mental health medication (28:36) before the two switch directions and discuss their thoughts on social media and the role it plays in their professional & personal lives (40:13). Mason and Chelsea talk through the concept of joy (44:34), before wrapping up as Chelsea outlines how she currently supports her mental health on a daily basis (57:51). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
130: Landon Barker on Mental Health, Music, and Derealization
Nov 9 2023
130: Landon Barker on Mental Health, Music, and Derealization
Welcome to Episode 130 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are excited to welcome Landon Barker onto the show to learn more about his mental health journey. We kick off the episode as Mason asks Landon to speak about his experiences growing up in Los Angeles (1:09), before the two get into a conversation about family and the different ways families can evolve and come together over time (6:23). Landon talks about his evolution from Rap to Rock in the music space (13:20), sharing more on where he finds creative and professional inspiration (18:14). The two move into a discussion about mental health, as Landon shares more on his personal experiences with anxiety and depression (28:37) and the tools he uses to support his daily wellbeing (32:16). Mason asks Landon to talk about his experiences with Depersonalization-derealization disorder (41:04), before the two wrap up with a conversation about brain mapping (45:34) and the power of having mentors to look to for mental health support (50:02). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
129: Nastia Liukin on Gymnastics Mental Health, and Pressure
Nov 2 2023
129: Nastia Liukin on Gymnastics Mental Health, and Pressure
Welcome to Episode 126 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are thrilled to welcome Nastia Liukin onto the show to hear more about her experiences as a professional gymnast and how she worked to support her mental health throughout her athletic career and retirement. We kick off the show as Nastia shares some of her childhood experiences and what led her to pursue the sport of gymnastics (1:06). Peiman and Mason ask Nastia about the pressures that came with training for the Olympic Games (12:26) before Nastia opens up about the emotions that came along with her journey to the top of the podium in the 2008 Olympic Games (26:15). Nastia shares how she dealt with the fear of what's next after winning gold at such a young age (39:11). The group wraps up the conversation hearing what’s next for Nastia (47:03) and her hopes for the sport of Gymnastics and the athletic world as a whole as it relates to mental health conversation, available resources, and support (49:03). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
126: (Greatest Hits) Cody Ko
Oct 12 2023
126: (Greatest Hits) Cody Ko
Welcome to Episode 126 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are excited to welcome Cody Ko onto the show to learn more about his experiences with anxiety and ways he is working to regain confidence in himself and his content since the pandemic. We kick off the episode as Peiman asks Cody to speak about his experiences growing up in Calgary, Canada, leading the two into a conversation about Cody’s motivations to dive competitively (1:17). The two touch on the pressures that stem from having high-achieving parental figures (5:22) before Cody shares why he has recently chosen to begin therapy (9:24). Cody opens up about his first anxiety attack that he experienced when he was 28, talking about how his relationship with alcohol, heightened since the pandemic, caused him to fall into lifestyle patterns that were anxiety-inducing (18:35). Peiman asks Cody about his process to redefine his confidence and acknowledge his feelings, as Cody shares that he has worked towards sobriety to find balance and clarity in his day-to-day life (23:58). The two wrap up with a conversation about Cody’s future content and lifestyle goals and how he hopes that shedding light on his personal experiences can help people understand that they are not alone (34:10). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
125: (Greatest Hits) Maisie Williams
Oct 5 2023
125: (Greatest Hits) Maisie Williams
Welcome to Episode 125 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are excited to welcome Maisie Williams onto the show to hear more about her experiences starring as a young actress on a globally renowned television series and the effects it has had on her mental health.  We kick off the episode as Maisie opens up about her struggle to find and understand her identity in real life while playing Arya Stark in the Game of Thrones franchise (6:25). Peiman asks Maisie how she worked to balance her personal and professional life throughout her time on set (9:17), leading the two into a conversation about personas and people pleasing (16:57). Maisie speaks about her experiences with therapy, sharing how she worked to build a toolkit to support her mental health on an ongoing basis (22:48).  Peiman and Maisie discuss why Maisie chose to step away from acting for a period of time after GoT (28:17) before we wrap up as Maisie talks more on her recent motivation to reconnect with acting in a way that feels organic and meaningful (32:44). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
123: Alexi Pappas on Running, Stress, and Goals
Sep 21 2023
123: Alexi Pappas on Running, Stress, and Goals
Welcome to Episode 123 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are excited to welcome Alexi Pappas on to the show to learn more about her mental health experiences throughout her life and career evolution as an Olympic runner and creative. To kick things off, Alexi talks about her family background, opening up about her mother’s death and the impact it had on her childhood (03:29). Peiman asks Alexi what inspired her to pursue running, as the two move into a conversation about the relationship between mental health and pressure to win (12:43). Alexi speaks to stress and how the manifestation of stress and trauma have the potential to affect one’s mental and physical health if ignored (24:45). The two wrap up the conversation with a conversation about Alexi’s recent participation in a 100 mile race and the lessons learned while training for and running the course (37:25). Check out Alexi's books Bravey for young reader's, with foreword by Maya Hawke & Bravey, with foreword by Maya Rudolph. We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠ Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com
119: Suzy Antonyan on Fitness, Bullying, and Self-Love
Aug 24 2023
119: Suzy Antonyan on Fitness, Bullying, and Self-Love
Welcome to Episode 119 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are excited to welcome Suzy Antonyan on the show to learn more about her mental health experiences growing up & throughout her recent fitness journey. To kick things off, Mason and Suzy talk about her inspiration to pursue a health transformation, working with Ilya Fedorovich and Xeela Fitness (4:52). Suzy opens up about how her weight and body-image affected her mental health throughout her childhood (7:31), before sharing the most difficult aspects of her weight-loss journey (17:13). Mason and Suzy get into a conversation about the self-love she developed throughout her fitness and wellness process (29:51), as Suzy takes time to reflect on previous coping mechanisms she used to deal with bullying in middle and high school (32:12). Suzy shares the story behind her fight against Sarah Farrugia and how the loss helped build her overall resilience (36:35), as the two wrap up with a conversation about Suzy’s experience walking at Miami Swim Week and her ways she is working to build self-confidence (43:29). We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠⁠⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠⁠⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠@Madhappy⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠@LocalOptimist⁠⁠⁠ Visit us: ⁠⁠⁠Madhappy.com⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LocalOptimist.com⁠ We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠⁠ The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Follow us: ⁠⁠@Madhappy⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠@LocalOptimist⁠⁠ Visit us: ⁠⁠Madhappy.com⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠LocalOptimist.com⁠