- The importance of self-care
- Practical advice for maintaining good mental health
- How to self-care while battling anxiety, depression, and trauma
In this particular episode, we were so excited to welcome film producer, mental health advocate, and YouTuber Joey Papa! Here’s a brief overview of his conversation with Lily-Jo.
Lily-Jo’s Interview with Joey Papa
Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about your journey?
As far as I can remember, I’ve battled primarily with depression and then anxiety later on in life. I lost my 4th child when she was 3.5 years old, my marriage fell apart, and I ended up getting hospitalized for suicidal ideation. My son then got diagnosed with leukemia and when 2020 hit, being a freelancer and video editor and film producer, everything got cancelled.
There’s been a lot of difficulty in my life, and it took me until I was 35 to really realise that I was struggling with depression and anxiety, and the anxiety just exacerbated all of the traumatic events that have happened to me. So, even if I’m going through something seemingly small, logically I know that but my subconscious doesn’t and it’s taken me a while to learn how to relate to myself and care for myself.
Q: What are your go-to self care practices or tools that work best for you when you are depressed or struggling to get out of bed?
People, exercise, and journaling are the three things that I go to if I’m in a really bad place. This isn’t easy to do when I’m in a bad place. I basically have to force myself to do these things because I know those are the things I need to do for myself to be in a better mental state. I’ve disciplined myself to go against what my mind and body are telling me I want to do,and instead do the things that I need to do for my mental health.
Q: Could you tell us more about your purpose, your calling, and your creativity on how your video production and filmmaking helps you to positively bless the world & help your wellbeing?
So, my tagline for my business is “Telling Stories that Matter.” Part of my passion is to amplify the good in the world; to work with companies and to work with nonprofits that are making a dent in the planet for the good and to really help people see that.
Creativity has always been something that I am able to channel my grief, my sorrow, and my depression through, and I find it to be very cathartic and very therapeutic for me. Creativity and my mental health go hand in hand.
Q: Where can the listeners connect further with you?
My youtube channel: JoeyTalks. It focuses on mental health for the everyday person.
There is also a private facebook channel you can access through the youtube channel.
My business page is: www.joeypapamedia.com.
Final Thoughts
Want to listen to the whole story? You can catch the full episode with Joey Papa on The Lily-Jo Project website here, or listen wherever you get your podcasts by subscribing to “Lily-Jo Present’s: Eavesdrop”.
More Resources on Anxiety, Depression, and Self-Care
If you found this interview helpful, you may find the following resources from The Lily-Jo Project helpful too.
