From 150 To 355: How A Mental Health Podcast Grew Across 90 Countries (Episode 357)

Nov 29

Growth means little without purpose, and this episode centers on both. We pause to mark October 2025 as our highest month of listenership in over two and a half years, nearly doubling our previous peak, while also reflecting on how far the show has come since episode 150 in 2024 to well past 355 now. These milestones matter because they measure connection: people in 90 countries and nearly 900 cities chose to spend time with a mental health–anchored podcast. That reach brings responsibility. When listeners show up from dorms, homes, hostels, and offices, they’re not just chasing news or stories; they’re looking for language that names their experience and a place where lived experience meets practical hope. We honor that by keeping mental health as the foundation for every topic we approach, whether it’s a solo reflection, a guest conversation, or a community update.

Record growth can feel like fireworks, but the heartbeat stays steady: reduce stigma, normalize care, and point to real help. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline remains a central resource in the United States for anyone facing a mental health crisis. What makes 988 powerful isn’t just the availability of calling, texting, or web chat at no cost; it’s that many on the other side understand trauma from their own lived experience. That empathy matters when words feel heavy or hard to find. Our message is simple: you are the expert on your own inner world, and support is a tool, not a verdict. Whether you’re the one struggling or you’re walking alongside someone who is, reaching out is an act of strength. We encourage listeners to save 988, share it, and revisit it when the noise gets loud.

We also widen the lens to our global community. New listeners arrived from Morocco, China, South Korea, Brazil, Bangladesh, India, Israel, UAE, Japan, Malaysia, France, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Sweden, New Zealand, Ukraine, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Nigeria, Tanzania, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Oman, Cyprus, Uruguay, Turkey, and more. Geography changes culture and context, but pain and resilience translate. By welcoming new countries, we learn fresh perspectives on care, language, and stigma. The common thread is humanity: the same desire to be seen, to be safe, and to be heard. Our goal is audacious—to help three billion people across a lifetime and beyond—but goals that big begin with one listener at a time. Every download and share opens another door where mental health stories can be told without shame.

Sustaining that mission means making our content easy to find and share. You can listen to every episode at voicesforvoices.org/podcast without a separate app. We post updates and clips across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, LinkedIn, and maintain a growing archive of blogs that distill key ideas from episodes. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity, we invite volunteers and donors who want to support storytelling that leads to support, self-advocacy, and services. Publishing is part of that ecosystem too: five books are out under Voices for Voices Publishing, with more on the way, each rooted in mental health insight and lived experience. When more voices join, the echo turns into a chorus—and that chorus can change what’s possible for people who feel alone.

Creativity also has a home in our community. We’re closely connected with the “Mythical Creatures Around the World” Facebook page, a hub of folklore, art, and global storytelling. Folklore carries themes we discuss often: fear, hope, transformation, and identity. By bringing that art into broader, more accessible spaces, we connect mental wellness to imagination, giving people new metaphors to process grief, joy, and change. Stories—ancient or new—offer mirrors and maps. As we look back on a record month and forward to what’s next, we hold to core values: listen deeply, speak clearly, and act with care. If you want to be a guest, support the work, or simply listen quietly, you belong here. Let’s keep growing reach that serves healing.

Chapter Markers

0:02 Milestones And Gratitude

1:30 October 2025 Listenership Records

6:15 Mental Health As The Core Mission

8:45 988 Lifeline And Lived Experience

10:16 New Countries Joining The Audience

14:08 How To Subscribe And Find Episodes

18:29 Nonprofit Mission And Ways To Help

21:28 Publishing, Blogs, And Social Platforms

22:54 Partner Page: Mythical Creatures Project

23:19 Recap, Perspective, And Invitation

#MentalHealthPodcast #PodcastGrowth #GlobalPodcasts #MentalHealthAwareness #PodcastJourney #CrossCulturalConversations #WellnessTalks #AudienceExpansion #MindfulListening #InternationalPodcasts #PositiveChangePodcast #EmotionalWellbeing #EngagingContentCreation #MentalHealthMatters #StorytellingInPodcasts #justiceforsurvivors #justice4survivors #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion #TikTok #Instagram #truth #Jesusaire #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #VoicesForVoices357

(SMASH that SUBSCRIBE BUTTON)

From 150 To 355: How A Mental Health Podcast Grew Across 90 Countries (Episode 357)

📺Rumble: voices-for-voices.org/47l1qxZ

📺YouTube: voices-for-voices.org/4oNfgyW

🎧Web Browser: voices-for-voices.org/3WJ9frC

🎧Apple Podcasts: voices-for-voices.org/47A9ytv

🎧Podcast Addict: voices-for-voices.org/4eqJp32

🎧📺: Any Smart Speaker/TV/Smart Device

🎧CastBox: voices-for-voices.org/4nlhiqp

🎧iVoox: voices-for-voices.org/4nAXbEu

🎧Spotify: voices-for-voices.org/3UfceGE

🎧Podbean: voices-for-voices.org/4fjHVID