BrownTown shares virtual space with Abbie Brasch and Dakota Sillyman, multi-talented friends of SoapBox and mental health advocates who create resources and media for learning and navigating mental health on all levels. The group dives into media portrayal, the history of institutional support (or lack there of), stressors under capitalism, and, of course, COVID-19.
BrownTown shares virtual space with Abbie Brasch and Dakota Sillyman, multi-talented friends of SoapBox and mental health advocates who create resources and media for learning and navigating mental health on all levels. Abbie discusses the impetus of her journal, how it helped her and is now helping others while Dakota discusses how Cope is positioned as a digestible entry-way to various aspects of mental health. The group takes a step back to examine common resources for mental health and issues with how it is often discussed in mainstream circles. With this, Abbie breaks down her recent article on an episode of Community that dealt with mental health medication as David question the role of big pharma. On media, BrownTown and company take on how mental health shows up and the responsibility of creators/audiences in films such as It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), The Ringer (2005), Waterboy (1998), A Star is Born (2018), and Joker (2019).
Enter institutions, capitalism, social media, and community care: Dakota delivers a brief history of mental health institutional funding and policy (peep Community Mental Health Act of 1963) and progressive/grassroots struggles in Chicago (peep STOP Chicago, Healing Village). Lastly, the group elaborates on the intersections of it all and how we value (or devalue) mental health from a societal, individual, and interpersonal standpoint, especially under the COVID-19 pandemic.
GUESTS
Abbie Brasch is a mental health advocate and soon-to-be clinical massage therapist who created the 365 day Mental Health Daily Journal.
Dakota Sillyman is a filmmaker and the creator of the mental health podcast, Cope.
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Follow Abbie's work on Instagram (personal, Soul Speaks Books), Medium, and her Soul Speak Books website where you can purchase a journal!
Follow Dakota on Twitter, Instagram, and his website DakotaSillyman.com. Listen to Cope at CopeRadio.com or wherever you find your podcasts!
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CREDITS: Intro/outro music collaboration from Genta Tamashiro and Fiendsh. Audio engineering by Genta Tamashiro.
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