When the Western Model of Mental Health Is the Problem (& What Animism & Myth Have to Say About Anxiety) episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 28, 2025 · 33 MIN

When the Western Model of Mental Health Is the Problem (& What Animism & Myth Have to Say About Anxiety)

from In Our Nature · host Siobhán Friel

The prevailing Western approach to mental health often treats anxiety, grief, sadness, despair and other challenges as individual problems to be fixed (by you!) and ignores the larger systems we exist within.But how's that going? Take a look around.What if our inner unravelling is a healthy, natural, appropriate response to a world that’s dangerously out of balance, and what does an animist worldview say about health and wellbeing?Join me for:Questioning the materialist, individualist, and linear mindset that shapes our current models of mental health… t this framework is often tangled up in the very systems causing social and ecological harm.Sharing how the conversation moves from "how do I feel better?" to "how do I stay rooted when everything is falling apart?"Understanding what an animate worldview might say about all of this, how it’s different, and why it matters. The role of myth in times of collapseOk so what now, then, smarty pants?Mentioned or relevant:Episode: Shedding the Stories That No Longer Make Sense (Even When It's Hard & Lonely)Episode: An Update For These Extraordinarily Precarious TimesEpisode: Are You Feeling Your Feelings … or THINKING Your Feelings? (And Why Your Answer Really Matters)Episode: What Happens When Our Spiritual Grounding & Our Meaning-Making Frameworks for Life Stop...Helping?Episode: We’ve Made up What Mental Illness Is (And Who Decides What’s Normal Anyway?)Recommendation: The Emerald Podcast and Josh’s work and coursesPlugging self: I have lovely things happening in Aotearoa, Australia or online coming up in the next few months…head here for details and registration. Get support or guidance from me hereEverything I do is by donation or gift. You can donate to support my work here if you want (thank you, amazing person) Gosh what a stupendous amount of links.Thank you so much for being with me today. You are the bank of cloud that frames the sky ☁️

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 28, 2025

Embed this episode

The prevailing Western approach to mental health often treats anxiety, grief, sadness, despair and other challenges as individual problems to be fixed (by you!) and ignores the larger systems we exist within. But how's that going? Take a look around. What if our inner unravelling is a healthy, natural, appropriate response to a world that’s dangerously out of balance, and what does an animist worldview say about health and wellbeing? Join me for: Questioning the materialist, individualist, an...

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

Ready to play

When the Western Model of Mental Health Is the Problem (& What Animism & Myth Have to Say About Anxiety)

0:00 33:31

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of In Our Nature?

This episode is 33 minutes long.

When was this In Our Nature episode published?

This episode was published on August 28, 2025.

Can I download this In Our Nature episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!