Much like the average person, I’m a sucker for a good podcast. When I started listening to Emma Chamberlain’s podcast, Anything Goes, I was instantly hooked. Now, if you haven’t heard of Emma Chamberlain, it’s safe to assume you’re a 50-year-old man and you probably wouldn’t enjoy this article anyways.
Emma Chamberlain has always been my comfort character; she has this way of being authentically herself in everything she does. I believe that’s what makes people so drawn to her energy. Whenever I’m watching any of her content, I feel like I’m in the same room as my best friend, and that feeling is so refreshing while watching an influencer.
Although I’ve always felt like Chamberlain was authentic in her Youtube videos, it wasn’t until I started listening to Anything Goes that I think Emma started pulling back her layers and tackling important mental health topics. Chamberlain talks about her experience with depression, burnout, anxiety, imposter syndrome, self-esteem and so much more.
I’ve always struggled with comparison, as I’m sure many people reading this have. Sometimes I get to a place where I feel content with my life and what I’m doing. I’m 100% happy hanging out by myself, and most of the time, it’s what I prefer. Then, I’ll get in a rut, and the simple act of looking at my Snapchat and seeing someone else going out while I’m lying in bed binge-watching Game of Thrones will make me burst into tears. It’s honestly really sad and I don’t understand why I’m like that. Similarly, I’m constantly comparing my body, my mind, my personality, my daily life, everything to others. There are days where I feel like I can’t exist without wondering what everyone else is doing and it’s so mentally exhausting.
I’ve touched on my problems compared to my friends and family, but I’ve never really dived in too deep because it feels so embarrassing. Still, while listening to Chamberlain’s podcast, it feels like I’m talking to someone who has been there, understands and has learned how to move forward from it. Since my years in college, my struggle with comparison has gotten much better. Still, I’m human and catch myself falling back into old habits more often than I’d like to admit.
If you catch yourself struggling with comparison, I recommend Emma Chamberlain’s podcast episode titled, “why do I hate myself?” It’s a raw conversation Chamberlain has about her self-image. While listening, I thought about the constant comparison I do and the constant pain I put my mind through, and a lot of that comparison I have stems from the fact that I don’t love myself. I mean, sure, there are days where I like myself fine, but liking yourself is so far from loving yourself. It’s a lot to recognize the unhealthy relationship you have with yourself and it’s really heavy, but the longer you put off accepting that, the longer you’re going to put yourself through that pain.
“I think that we all need to be easier on ourselves, so much more loving towards ourselves and make that a priority, it’s just you and you, you’re working with yourself here.”
Emma Chamberlain
Another favorite episode of mine is Chamberlain’s recent podcast episode titled “alone but not lonely,” which opened my eyes to the beauty of being alone. As I mentioned above, I love being alone (when I’m in a good place) because it’s when I feel like I can just be entirely myself and exist. Chamberlain talks about how at this stage in her life, she prefers being alone. It’s what she wants and she’s happy with it. She talks about all the experiences she’s had and how she can formulate her own opinion. She isn’t worried about how everyone else is experiencing the moment but just focuses on how she is, which is so important.
One of the tough things about being alone is that I’ve always felt like people are judging me for it. They see me eating at the Student Union by myself and think, “Wow, that girl is so lame.” Chamberlain touches on this in her podcast, saying that if people think you’re a loser for being by yourself, it says much more about them than you. When I honestly sit and think about it, who cares? I never see someone by themselves and think anything negative about them, so why would the rules be different for me? I think listening to Chamberlain, someone I admire so much, talk about her preference of being alone really gave me some validation for my preferences.
Chamberlain’s podcast Anything Goes has quite literally felt like free therapy sessions for me and that’s something I’ll value forever. Whatever mood you’re in, listen to Emma Chamberlain and I promise, you’ll finish that podcast feeling so much better than you did when you pressed play.