OUTthink - Magnus Dean Shares His Experiences With Anxiety
When you think of a DJ, quite often the image that comes to mind is the image of 'complete cool', having fun behind the decks and controlling the mood of the dancefloor via his choice of tunes. While that perception can often play out in other people's realities, just like any form of high profile person, they can have insecurities and anxieties as large and overwhelming as anyone else.
Magnus Dean is Australian gay DJ royalty. His high energy sets have assured him a place on most big party line-ups and his love of music is obvious from the moment you first start chatting to him. In this OUTthink, he openly shares his struggle with anxiety and even how music has helped to pull him through some of those difficult times.
There are few of us who are untouched by anxiety and, in some ways, anxiety serves a valuable purpose. I've often used the metaphor of a smoke alarm; when it is functioning properly, the smoke alarm can help bring our attention to danger and offer us an opportunity to deal with the situation appropriately. If the smoke alarm goes off over everything though, it becomes something of a burden and causes us to go into that 'fight or flight or freeze' state too frequently. For those that experience anxiety at an extreme, it can often leave us feeling on edge and incapable of dealing with the world. It's that exaggerated worry and tension that something is not right even though there is nothing that seems to provoke it.
It is important to remember that there are different types of anxiety, including Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Social Phobia, Specific Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While we don't go into the different forms of anxiety in this episode, we do focus on the experiences that Magnus has had and explored what he does in order to overcome those moments.
Shortly after sharing his story and becoming an advocate for mental health awareness, Magnus ran a fundraiser at the start of the year titled 'Peace, Love & Choons' with proceeds going to the Black Dog Institute.
About DJ Magnus Dean
You can find more information on Magnus along with some incredible downloadable podcasts on his Facebook, Podomatic and Instagram pages.
Supports for Anxiety
Anxiety Australia
Sane Australia
Health Direct
Mind Australia
Beyond Blue
About OUTthink - An LGBT Podcast
OUTthink is a fortnightly podcast aimed at shining a light into topics of mental health and mental wellbeing relating to the LGBTQIA+ community. As a community, we need to be able to discuss topics that are uniquely related to the gay, lesbian, transgender and the many diverse labels in-between, that impact on our psychological well-being.
The latest OUTthink podcast can be downloaded from Podomatic, subscribe via iTunes or streamed from our Youtube Channel.
You can also find out more about Lawrence Akers and Release Hypnosis at the Release Hypnosis website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Do you have a story that you would like to share? Then why not contact Lawrence and get in touch. You can also find Lawrence and Release Hypnosis on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Explainer: What Is Social Anxiety Disorder?
