The Stigma Shift | Uncovering Mental Health with St John of God University Hospital
Jul 6, 2026 · 39 min · 10 segments
Constant distraction, unrelenting deadlines, and the persistent hum of burnout make life feel like a never-ending race. Many of us navigate our days on autopilot, missing the richness of the present…
Iqbal HabibGuest
Elaine MacDonaldHost
And I think the mental health sphere, there's so much in it lately and there's a lot of discourse about it.
Just curious, why do you think it's so important, even in this day and age, to talk about mindfulness and I suppose mental health more openly?
I think it's important to talk about mindfulness and mental health in general because both of them are misunderstood and I think there's a lot of stigma around it.
I think that people think that mindfulness is only for people who do meditation and that people who present with mental health struggles, they perceive it as a weakness and I think Being able to talk about it in everyday language and even more on this podcast helps normalize it.
And when we dynastify mental health, we're also inviting people to take more ownership of their own well-being and just like they would do with their physical health, you know.
So for me, talking openly about mindfulness as well is also an invitation for people to be more compassionate towards themselves because when they start building that awareness into how attention gets hijacked by worry and how the mind and body is connected, they start being a bit more compassionate and kind towards themselves opposed to being critical of themselves.
And I think the more we talk about mental health in general, the more we're reducing the stigma around it and the more we make it accessible for people.
So what first drew me to using mindfulness was actually my observations, my observation of myself, my observation of people around me and my observation of my patients as well and clients.
And I think at that time, I signed for the eight weeks MBSR program, and I'll talk about it later, but it's a mindfulness program.
And in this program, we're really taught for eight weeks how to anchor ourselves in the present and how to learn different mindfulness strategies and And at the beginning, it was really hard for me.
And I think the mental health sphere, there's so much in it lately and there's a lot of discourse about it.
Just curious, why do you think it's so important, even in this day and age, to talk about mindfulness and I suppose mental health more openly?
I think it's important to talk about mindfulness and mental health in general because both of them are misunderstood and I think there's a lot of stigma around it.
I think that people think that mindfulness is only for people who do meditation and that people who present with mental health struggles, they perceive it as a weakness and I think Being able to talk about it in everyday language and even more on this podcast helps normalize it.
And when we dynastify mental health, we're also inviting people to take more ownership of their own well-being and just like they would do with their physical health, you know.
So for me, talking openly about mindfulness as well is also an invitation for people to be more compassionate towards themselves because when they start building that awareness into how attention gets hijacked by worry and how the mind and body is connected, they start being a bit more compassionate and kind towards themselves opposed to being critical of themselves.
And I think the more we talk about mental health in general, the more we're reducing the stigma around it and the more we make it accessible for people.
So what first drew me to using mindfulness was actually my observations, my observation of myself, my observation of people around me and my observation of my patients as well and clients.
And I think at that time, I signed for the eight weeks MBSR program, and I'll talk about it later, but it's a mindfulness program.
And in this program, we're really taught for eight weeks how to anchor ourselves in the present and how to learn different mindfulness strategies and And at the beginning, it was really hard for me.
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