Kristin Walker: CEO, Host, & Health Advocate – Guest Feature
As part of our dedication to bringing you new resources for increasing happiness, we share spotlights on distinguished and interesting individuals. This week, we’ve got Kristin Walker: CEO of mental health news radio, podcast host, & mental health advocate. Big thanks to Kristin for taking the time to answer these questions and share with us. Let’s get into it, shall we?
If you could share one idea with the world, what would it be?
Mental Health is just as important as any other kind of health. There should be zero stigma associated with those two words.
What’s your vision for Mental Health News Radio Network?
To have a global, digital platform that focuses on all aspects of mental health.
What drew you to the topic of mental health?
Mental illness can be genetic. It is in my family and even without the early childhood trauma I experienced, I likely would have developed depression.
What were the major steps of your journey into podcasting around the topic of mental health?
It’s my favorite subject. Mental health counselors have done so much for me. I spend my time volunteering with them and my therapy dogs. I wanted to honor everyone that chooses this as their profession. The show started out as a love letter to them.
Your network has a wide range of shows available, what’s your process for adding new shows?
Unabashed but orderly enthusiasm – that’s the process. We all work our tails off. We read a lot and whatever inspires us is who we invite on the show. It could be someone we meet at an airport with a mental health story, a celebrity with mental health struggles, an athlete in addiction recovery, one of the Bill Cosby survivors, or a woman that created a photography book about men’s genitalia and how their anatomy has affected their mental health.
In terms of our Network Shows – it’s all about connection. If we resonate with someone who is as passionate about some facet of mental health as we are and they have the drive to be a podcaster, plus an infectious personality – we invite them in or they find us. We launched the network officially in February of 2017 and I thought we’d be lucky to have 5 podcasts by the end of the year. We have 17 with another 15 joining this year.
What book do you most often recommend to others and why?
Our book #mentalhealthified (The Best of Mental Health News Radio Network) which comes out in the spring. We’d be hard pressed to offend our amazing guests that are authors to pick one of their incredible books over another.
Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
Imagine a conference/festival/event dedicated to digital media which includes podcasting totally focused on mental health! We see our podcasters and guests (our family) on stage answering questions in a very relaxed format about why and how they do what they do. By the time we are done we will represent as many languages, genders, races, sexual orientation, (hey other planets – you never know) as we possibly can talking about our favorite subject!
What is one exercise you think would help people increase their happiness?
An exercise would be to write, speak, paint, draw….find something that inspires them to use their voice in a creative way. Podcasting did this for me.
Want More From Kristin Walker? Check Out These Resources:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kristinsunanta
Websites
Mental Health News Radio
http://www.mentalhealthnewsradionetwork.com/
Itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mental-health-news-radio/id920033253?mt=2
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