The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation launches the podcast Everything to be happy… devoted to mental health.
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
As part of Mental Health Week, which runs until May 8, the podcast available in video format Everything to be happy… is an opportunity to talk openly about mental health issues, whether it’s depression, isolation, anxiety or eating disorders.
The podcast is hosted by Sophie Desmarais, Jasmin Roy and Nathalie Hébert, who share their experiences with their guests. Among the latter, actor Patrice Coquereau talks about anxiety problems, actress and author Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay recounts her episode of toxic psychosis and Jean-François Lacasse confides in the ups and downs of depression.
These discussions raise awareness of the different mental health issues that have increased during the pandemic and can affect anyone.
Sophie Desmarais, sponsor of the Foundation, testifies to the importance of talking and helping each other in the most difficult times. The podcast is inspired by his book Everything to be happy… appeared last fall where she recounts having lacked love and having been the victim of bullying at school. “We must remember that it can happen to all of us to have mental health problems, it can affect anyone, anytime, regardless of social background. People need to talk about it and we have to stop stigmatizing people who are different,” explains Sophie Desmarais in an interview.
You shouldn’t be afraid to start discussions, to share your pain, it’s important, because it changes everything. It feels so good to talk, I’m sure.
Sophie Desmarais, podcast co-host
She experienced it herself when she first met entrepreneur Nathalie Hébert, who is an artist’s agent and with whom she co-hosts the podcast. “She told me about the death of her father during the pandemic which was a huge pain for her, since she could not accompany him. And I realized while talking with her how my mother’s death in 2018 had been experienced as an abandonment, that I no longer had any bearings, hence my suffering. It’s simple, it was a revelation. Thanks to this conversation, I understood a lot of things”, she underlines.
Genesis of the project
It was Jasmin Roy who had the idea for the podcast at a time when Sophie Desmarais was not, she says, in great shape. “There was a period of euphoria when my book came out, then I admit that I felt depressed, and that’s when Jasmin Roy asked me to do a podcast. in the form of discussions. And I tell you, it feels crazy to share your pain, to discuss it openly, hence the interest of these conversations. »
Sophie Desmarais hopes to start another round of conversations. “We hope it will continue with all kinds of people, young and old, who want to discuss. We also want to share the positive things we get out of it, us, the facilitators. My biggest wish is that people feel better and that collectively there is more empathy. »
The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation, created in 2010, has the mission of educating, raising awareness and contributing to the search for solutions regarding the problems of violence, discrimination and bullying in all walks of life.