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 Bring a little optimism into your life with The Bright Side, a new kind of daily podcast from Hello Sunshine, hosted by me, Danielle Robay.
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And me, Simone Boyce.
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Every weekday, we're bringing you conversations about culture, the latest trends, inspiration, and so much more.
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I am so excited about this podcast, The Bright Side.
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You guys are giving people a chance to shine a light on their lives, shine a light on a little advice that they want to share.
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 Listen to The Bright Side on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.
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Open your free iHeart app and search The Bright Side.
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 At one of the most famous restaurants in the world, there's a table in the corner where the most incredible conversations on the planet are happening every week with owner Ruthie Rogers and amazing guests like Martha Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, and Paul McCartney.
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 We've saved you a seat.
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Ruthie's Table 4.
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Listen to Ruthie's Table 4 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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This is the story of how a group of people brought music back to Afghanistan by creating their own version of American Idol.
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The joy they brought to the nation.
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You're free completely.
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No one is there to destroy you.
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SPEAKER_07
The danger they endured.
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They said my head should be cut off.
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 I'm John Legend.
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Listen to Afghan Star on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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 I'm so happy that we're doing this together, Liz.
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I'm so grateful for the connection that we had a couple of weeks ago when we did an incredible event for Hearst.
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And I thought, why not invite you on?
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Because I think your perception and perspective around mental health and media is going to be so useful to so many people right now, especially as you've dedicated your career and journey to helping people with their health and well-being.
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So thank you for doing this.
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 Oh my gosh.
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Well, I am so happy to be here.
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I'm such a huge fan of yours and I loved connecting with you.
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A couple of weeks back, I'm a huge fan of your new book.
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It's wonderful to see it have so much success.
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And yes, as you said, mental health is a huge, huge part of what we do at Women's Health.
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It's one of our biggest content pillars.
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It's part of our brand DNA.
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So I'm excited to talk with you about it today.
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 Yeah, tell us how it's been for you personally and professionally for the last eight months, because I believe that, you know, not only are you a editor-in-chief, you're also a mother.
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You know, you have so much going on around you.
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Media is obviously always changing, and then the last eight months have been the most unpredictable.
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What's that been like personally and professionally?
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And how have both your lives... What have you seen that you feel is really useful for people to hear about?
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 Yes, it has been quite the ride the past eight months, to put it lightly.
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Yes, we all at Women's Health began working from home in mid-March, so we're all working virtually and, you know, do most of our work connecting with one another over Slack and Zoom and email, of course.
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So, I mean, just
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 like on a personal and professional level, I would say, I just miss my team.
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I miss being around human beings in real life and that energy that happens when you get to make eye contact with somebody or have a random conversation in the hall and, you know, sort of the sparkle and crackle of a great brainstorm when we're all in a room together.
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 Having said that, there are some amazing benefits of being remote, and I'm certainly grateful for my job and for the health of my family.
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I have three young kids and an awesome husband, and we're all safe and healthy here in Brooklyn, so that's amazing.
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I'm also, you know, I appreciate all the extra time I've gotten to spend with them.
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Yes, at times it can be very challenging to have
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 A five year old and two nine year olds running around my apartment and two working parents, but it's also we've had so many special moments that we wouldn't have had if this hadn't happened and not to glorify what is obviously.
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 you know, a global pandemic and an incredibly hard and challenging time for so many people.
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But I do think it's important to find the upsides of situations and to find the things that we can be grateful for.
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So I'm definitely appreciative of all of that.
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 Thank you for sharing that.
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It's really refreshing to hear that too, because I think you're so right that often we can get unbalanced about how we're viewing it.
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And like you said, you can't make light of what's happening in the world, but you can look for that light in that moment.
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And it's wonderful to hear about that.
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Tell us about, Liz, what I'm really interested in is,
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 how you saw the evolution of the conversation around mental health throughout your career in the media.
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Because when I first started to hear themes and topics, I remember when I first started to read about and hear about things like mindfulness and meditation, it's probably about 2010, 10 years ago.
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And it's interesting because having always been in that world, so to speak for myself,
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 It was really interesting because I've always seen these things as relevant.
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But in the last 10 years, I've seen these become more and more important.
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But when did you start seeing mental health being a topic of conversation is something real and important in the media?
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Yeah, I agree with you.
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I think around 2010 is when meditation became more mainstream.
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And I think you're right.
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It's meditation, but it's it's also some more gravitas things like
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 depression, suicide, eating disorders, anxiety.
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And I think it's important to remember that even today, a lot of those topics are uncomfortable for people to talk about and share about and ask about.
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And yet, we do know that one in four people will have a mental health problem at some point in their life.
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So this is not like a tiny fraction of the population who's suffering with this stuff.
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 And at Women's Health, we take it really seriously that that includes at least 25% of our readers.
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Either they will personally experience it or chances are that somebody in their family or a colleague or a friend or a mom at school drop off.
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You know, it's all around us.
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And Women's Health has always
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 pride of itself and talking about mental health and destigmatizing those conversations.
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I've been at the brand for almost three years now, and we made it a section in a magazine that appears every month.
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We call it Mind.
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It's something that we talk about on social media all the time.
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It shows up on our website, in our videos, every content platform.
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 We really see it as a platform where we can reach people and help people and educate people and I am so proud of that and I will say like.
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 I am so inspired by my team members who really put themselves out there when we're having conversations and brainstorms.
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And they really bring a lot of themselves into that and share about experiences and things that are happening in their own life or that they're thinking about or have noticed.
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And because they bring themselves and their honesty and authenticity, it allows us to explore these issues and do stories.
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 that I quite honestly in a bubble would never have thought of on my own.
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So I think that's one of the beautiful things about our amazing team members.
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And yeah, it's just become a bigger and bigger piece of our content.
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And our readers are here for it.
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You know, people want this.
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It's resonating with them.
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And I don't know if we're, you know, speaking of media, but I think social media, which we're on right now, like we could talk probably for a whole 24 hours about that.
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 But I will say for all the negative things about social media, one really positive thing I've seen is that when people share their truth and their honesty, you know, whether they're struggling with infertility or depression or panic attacks and when they share that, I am so inspired by.
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 sort of the way people rally to support them, whether it's in the comments or sharing their story, and they can amplify that message and reach more people.
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And I think what's so awesome about what you're doing is really making that conversation just part of our everyday conversation and not a special, you know, once a month in the magazine thing.
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So I think it's
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 you know, women's health reaches 44 plus million women a month.
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And we have the great honor and responsibility and platform to really put those messages out there and get people talking.
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That was a long way of saying it's incredibly, incredibly important to us.
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And I love that more people are talking about it and that we're doing this today.
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 Yeah, I think it's incredible as well what you're doing.
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I've often read that column and I've seen the other incredible themes and topics that you speak about.
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And I know how many people find that the way you speak about it is really responsible and relatable.
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And I think that those things are really important when we're talking about mental health is how can we talk about it in a responsible way, in a relatable way?
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 because I'm sure you feel and you've had many conversations in the company as to how do we talk about this in a way that actually helps and supports people.
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What have been some of those things?
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What are the ways in which you found that people can talk about their mental health or maybe people have wrote into you to share with you their personal changes or stories from reading the column?
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Could you share some transformations or some journeys that you think people have been on and why you think they were able to find their way and navigate their way through their mental health?
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 Yeah, absolutely.
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I mean, there are so many examples.
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I can point to thousands of Instagram comments that we've received.
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I was actually just at Hearst Tower where my office is.
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I've only gone there a few times in the past eight months, but I was there last Friday and had a big stack of snail mail, reader mail, which I love opening and I read every single one of them.
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I have a bunch to reply to.
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 But one woman was sharing how she and her husband had been sheltering in place and they had turned to prayer and their faith.
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And they'd been praying every single day together and sort of had a closer bond and really found that as a place of strength and support for them during this really challenging time.
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And I just love that she took the time to share that.
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 Whether it's religion or music or meditation or sweating, I love to work out.
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That's a great place for me to go to clear my head and find my sort of emotional and mental center.
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People are, they're taking the time to dig into that.
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And it's wonderful when they can share that.
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I think one thing we try to do at Women's Health is the
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 to know that there's no perfect answer that's just right for every single person.
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Like, there's no cookie cutter way to feel your best and be your best.
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And so, we're all about sharing a variety of options and ideas and letting you sort of choose your own adventure and explore and see what resonates with you.
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I think that's one of the beautiful things about life and one of the things at Women's Health.
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We learn from readers all the time things we would have never thought of.
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 That's been really meaningful for me to see.
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And please keep the reader mail coming, whether it's digitally or putting a stamp on an envelope and sending it to me.
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When you say you read all of them, Liz, I fully believe you.
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Yeah, no, I fully believe you.
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I think you can, you know, when we spoke the other day, too, I love that someone as genuine and as kind as you is leading a conversation at such an important publication about this topic.
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 because it's such an important subject, but the way it needs to be discussed is even more important in one sense.
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And yeah, I love that you're leading on that.
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So thank you.
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Thank you for doing what you're doing.
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It's awesome.
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And I'm glad that you're so connected to your community.
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Tell me about your own life.
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You were saying that you like running or exercise as well.
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What have you found
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 from all the things you've read and you, you know, you, you interview so many people, you read so much, you have to, you have to write so much.
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What have you found to be some of the, tell us some of the ones that really worked for you, like practices for your own mental wellbeing and mental health.
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And what are some of the quirkiest things you've ever read?
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Even if you don't do them, what are some of the most far out versions of things that may help someone?
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Oh my gosh.
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Yes, you're right.
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I am just, it's like osmosis everywhere I go.
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I'm sort of soaking it all up.
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And I love that about my job that,
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 That is my career is to just go out there and find the great information and then share it with people.
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For me, and this is not only a brand tentpole, but a personal sort of love and passion of mine.
0
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I am really a big believer in mornings and the magic of mornings.
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 firmly, firmly believe that how you start your day is how you live your day.
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So for me, mornings are sacred.
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I like to get up very early.
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I set my alarm for 517 a.m.
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every day.
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And I know you get up early, too.
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And you have a not that I get up at six every day when we get up at four, but I'm at six now.
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Gotcha.
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OK.
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You sleep in these days.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And I, I love making
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 a cup of coffee and just having some quiet time to myself to caffeinate and think about the day.
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I love using music and playlists to set my energy and intention for the day.
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Last time we talked, you told me that that counts as meditation, which I really appreciated.
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 Because it's it's true meditation can be you can it can be a tool or you can you can find different ways to meditate right it doesn't necessarily have to be like sitting in that perfect position that you know and that's wonderful too and I know a lot of people that that works for but
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 I use music to set my energy, so some days I might want to listen to sort of like fast tempo, you know, loud, quick, kind of like head-bopping tunes to get my energy up.
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And then some days I find my heart is racing, I have adrenaline, maybe I'm anxious about a big meeting coming up, and I might choose something softer and quieter, even instrumental music.
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So that's really special for me.
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 I often go running with a girlfriend and I did it this morning.
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There's nothing like watching the sunrise as you're moving your body and kind of just letting the endorphins work their magic as you sweat.
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I always come back from a workout feeling clearer and stronger, more confident, calmer, ready for all the craziness that the day has in store for me because it definitely does.
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There's no question things will be a little
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 you know, go off the rails or catch me off guard.
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And I find that when I've, I've had that moment to work out and taking care of myself.
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Um, I know it's cliche, but that, um, that airplane oxygen metaphor, you've got to put your own oxygen mask on first.
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I really believe that's true.
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And I know that I am a better mom and I'm a better, um, leader at women's health and a better
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 wife and daughter and friend and sister and everything when I take care of myself by fueling up, powering up in the morning.
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So we have a hashtag at WH called hashtag own your morning.
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And I sort of just geek out using it all the time.
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But I'm on a mission to share with people that your morning can set you up to feel and be your best.
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And by the way, it doesn't have to be a workout.
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That's my thing.
0
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 For somebody else, it could be making a smoothie or having some one-on-one time with a child or calling a loved one who's far away you can't see right now because you've been separated due to travel restrictions during the pandemic.
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There are so many ways and it's about sort of learning what matters to you and building in those little micro moments in the morning.
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And I think you can't help but have an amazing day once you've done that.
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 I love that.
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What I want everyone to do is I want you to post after this, I want you to tag me and Liz on Instagram, and I want you to hashtag Own Your Morning and tell us what you do in the morning.
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So if you're watching right now, whether you're someone who likes to have a tea or a coffee or whether you go for a jog or a run or a walk or you pick up your favorite book or your podcast, whatever you're into, I want you to tag me and Liz and use the hashtag Own Your Morning so that they can find it as well.
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 I've just put the hashtag into the comments.
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And please, please, please go and do that after this live is over because we'd love to see and love to get ideas of all the amazing things that you all do.
0
SPEAKER_08
When you find that bright spot to help you get through your day, it's powerful.
0
SPEAKER_10
 That's where The Bright Side comes in, a new daily podcast from Hello Sunshine that's bringing you a daily dose of joy.
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I'm Danielle Robay.
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SPEAKER_08
And I'm Simone Boyce.
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SPEAKER_08
Listen, both Danielle and I are reporters.
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SPEAKER_08
We've covered the news and we know the world can feel heavy.
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SPEAKER_08
But The Bright Side podcast is a space to have a little fun, to learn something new and get into some friendly debates.
0
SPEAKER_10
 That's right, join us five days a week to see how life can look from the bright side.
0
SPEAKER_10
We'll hear from celebrities, authors, experts, and listeners like you.
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SPEAKER_08
Whether it's relationships, friend advice, or figuring out how to navigate life's transitions, we'll talk through it all together.
0
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Listen to The Bright Side from Hello Sunshine every weekday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_07
 When the Taliban banned music in Afghanistan, millions were plunged into silence.
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SPEAKER_07
Radios were smashed.
0
SPEAKER_07
Cassettes burned.
0
SPEAKER_07
You could be beaten or jailed or killed for breaking the rules.
0
SPEAKER_07
And yet, Afghans did it anyway.
0
SPEAKER_07
This is the story of how a group of people brought music back to Afghanistan by creating their own version of American Idol.
0
SPEAKER_07
 The danger they endured.
0
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They said my head should be cut off.
0
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The joy they brought to the nation.
0
SPEAKER_04
You're free completely.
0
SPEAKER_07
No one is there to destroy you.
0
SPEAKER_07
I'm John Legend.
0
SPEAKER_07
Listen to Afghan Star on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_06
 A new season of Bridgerton is here.
0
SPEAKER_06
And with it, a new season of Bridgerton, the official podcast.
0
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I'm your host, Gabrielle Collins.
0
SPEAKER_06
And this season, we are bringing fans even deeper into the ton.
0
SPEAKER_06
Colin Bridgerton has returned from his travels abroad.
0
SPEAKER_06
Is Betrothal written in the stars for the eligible bachelor?
0
SPEAKER_06
 Meanwhile, the ton is reverberating with speculation of who holds Lady Whistledown's pen.
0
SPEAKER_06
We're discussing it all.
0
SPEAKER_06
I sit down with Nicola Coughlin, Luke Newton, Shonda Rhimes, and more to offer an exclusive peek behind the scenes of each episode of the new season.
0
SPEAKER_06
 Watch season three of the Shondaland series on Netflix.
0
SPEAKER_06
Then fall in love all over again by listening to Bridgerton, the official podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_06
Subscribe to catch a new episode every Thursday.
0
SPEAKER_03
 You know, the morning is where you get to put on your shield, you get to put on your armor, you get to, you kind of get to get ready before you walk out into a world that is uncertain and unpredictable.
0
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But if we don't get that time and even make that moment, even if it's five or 10 minutes, sometimes we can feel like we're just catching up the rest of the day.
0
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And that's why that morning is so powerful.
0
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I mean, Liz, your dedication.
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Why 517?
0
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I want to know the significance of the,
0
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 So there's a couple of reasons, and full disclosure, I don't think any of them are backed by science, or at least I haven't found the research study yet.
0
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But the first one is that my favorite number is seven.
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I was born on April 7th, so it's my lucky number.
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I see sevens everywhere.
0
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 You know, uh, the, the twinkling star emoji and shooting star emoji and the number seven, those are like my things to me.
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That is like the universe looking out for me, good energy, good vibes, um, all the good stuff.
0
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So that, you know, why not set your alarm and start it off?
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Uh, start your day with.
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The number that, that brings you happiness and makes you feel ready, ready to get up and Adam.
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And then second.
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 And there probably is science to this.
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It just mentally, I think there's something about not setting it for an even number that sort of negates any chance that I might press snooze.
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You know, if it's set for 520 or 515, maybe I would press snooze and be like, I can really, I can sneak in an extra five minutes of sleep, which let's be honest, is just gonna be me laying there, like waiting for the next alarm to go off.
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So I find that that odd number, that's not quite an even number,
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 There's something urgent about it.
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Yeah, it's psychological.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, I like that.
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It's almost like how, you know, we have this mindset of, like, we always push things till the next Monday.
0
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 So it's like, if you start a new habit and you kind of messed up, then you go, oh, yeah, I'll start again next Monday.
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And you put it back to almost like an even start.
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Like, you know, whereas actually it's when we can get started just the next day again and get back to it.
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And I like that.
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517 makes a lot of sense.
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I get it.
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And I love the idea of waking up to a number that inspires you or that feels, means something to you.
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Like, I love that.
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 I think we have to use the significance of our psychology for ourselves, because there's no point of knowing that detail about ourselves if we don't use it.
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I thought it might have been a jersey number or a sports number that you would wear on the back of like a top or something.
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Well, I did.
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It's funny you say that.
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I grew up in the Midwest, in Kansas City, playing sports, basketball, tennis, and soccer.
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So my jerseys always had the number seven.
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That was like, I always asked my coach.
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 I need the number seven, what, you know, make it happen.
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So you are right about that too.
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That's great.
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So you're following it in the lines of David Beckham and Christiane.
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 who never let go of that number.
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I love that, I love that.
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Liz, tell us about, you know, where you think and how you think the media can continue to support people with their mental health.
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And I don't just mean the written form or magazines, I mean all media, because obviously we spend, and even more this year, we've all spent more time consuming content, whether that be social media, whether that be TV, whether it be streaming platforms, what are you seeing
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 in terms of people's streaming habits and watching media habits.
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How can the media be better and how can we be better too for our mental health?
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So I always like to split the responsibility because I feel it's both top down and bottom up.
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It's, you know, we can't, you know, we can't point the finger either way.
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And so I kind of feel like what can we do as individuals to improve our mental well-being and our relationship with media?
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And what can the media do to become more responsible?
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What are your thoughts on that?
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 Such a such a good question.
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Yeah.
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I'll tackle the media side first and then I'll talk to you as an everyday human being like everybody else who's watching right now.
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I think we have a huge responsibility in terms of the visuals we put out into the world.
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That's kind of the first thing that comes to my mind.
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 You know the words of course are incredibly important and we talked about that a few minutes ago, but I think we have a responsibility to show in the case of women's health women from a diversity of backgrounds so for us that means.
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 the poets, the athletes, the astronauts, as well as actresses and models and all of those people.
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We also take it really seriously, our responsibility to show them as they are.
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You know, I think that is sort of a dangerous, slippery slope, especially in social media with all of the filter apps that are out there and the ways you can manipulate your appearance.
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 Um, we actually, our, our beauty director, Christina Rodolfo did an excellent feature a couple of months back, all about filters and, you know, the amount of time we're spending on zoom, on Slack, on Instagram, um, Facebook, all of these, everything from baby showers to weddings to.
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Thanksgiving that's coming up.
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You know, we're all meeting virtually right now, which is wonderful because it's a great way to connect and see people.
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 But I do worry about people's mental health when they're just always looking at their screen.
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So as a media brand, I think we have a responsibility in terms of the visuals and the type of content we put out.
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And I would say that also includes sharing the stories of women who are struggling.
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I think there is something so powerful about seeing and hearing from somebody who's having an experience similar to your own.
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It makes you feel less alone.
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 You instantly, you know, it's like when you're going through something, your mom, your sister, your friend can talk to you about it, but until you meet another person who's in the same situation or has been there, that's when like the real connection happens.
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You just have an instant language and sort of bond with one another.
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So I think that's a big opportunity for us is to share those,
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 those stories with women.
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And I have been so impressed by how many women are more open and vulnerable and willing to share their truth in that way, which is awesome.
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But, you know, as an example, in terms of visuals, we just had Gabrielle Union on our October issues cover, and it was such an awesome shoot.
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She's
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 beautiful, strong, empowered.
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And I didn't even think about this till she went on the circuit and was sharing her cover on all the national TV shows.
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She shared that it was the first time she had let her natural hair was photographed.
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In all of her years being photographed and her long career as an
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 actress, as an activist.
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So to me, that was a bit of a mind blow and, you know, the way people rallied around that and celebrated it.
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And, and I hope it changes things.
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I hope it opens the door for more moments like that.
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But I thought that was, that was really awesome.
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To answer the second part of your question, what can we do as everyday humans?
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I just, I think we have a huge responsibility to curate our own feeds and the content that we engage with.
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 I hear people say all the time, you know, so-and-so brand or so-and-so person drives me crazy on Instagram or whatever it is.
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And my response to that is just mute them or unfollow them.
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Like no one is forcing you to engage or consume content that upsets you.
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And I would say, take that very seriously.
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It's your life.
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 That stuff you see on the screen, those words you're reading, they have a real impact on you and the rest of your day and the rest of your week.
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So choose people who inspire you and motivate you and make you feel good and make you happy inside and joyful inside.
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And I'm not saying you should only follow unicorns and rainbows.
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I think it's okay to follow things.