Mental Health is Horrifying

Undertone — How sound can heal (or curse) you

I say this with my full chest — Undertone was not lying when it said that it is "the scariest movie you'll ever hear." And I cannot un-hear it! In this spoiler-free episode, I explore Undertone (2025) and the psychology of sound. I talk about: * How sound can help us form secure attachments  * The psychology behind "therapist voice" * How sound helps regulate our nervous systems * Why we are naturally drawn to live music as a primal act * How silence can help grow your brain * How the 8 of wands tarot card helps us explore our relationship to silence and the unknown  Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy. [https:///www.manymoonstherapy.com] .............................................................. Show Notes: Tarot for Creative Therapists [https://candisgreen.podia.com/tarot-for-creative-therapists]— Join the waitlist for this course designed for mental health professions who want to learn how to confidently and ethically incorporate tarot into clinical work. (https://candisgreen.podia.com/tarot-for-creative-therapists) Podcast artwork by Chloe Hurst at Contempo Mint [https://www.contempomint.com/] Theme music is by Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras via pixabay  Thunder by Music by John Britton from Pixabay All sound effects and music via pixabay  Undertone (2025) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35892608/] SEE ‘UNDERTONE’ WITH DOLBY ATMOS, OR YOU’LL MISS HALF THE HORROR [https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/undertone-sound-design-interview-director-ian-tuason-1235183954/ ] ENHANCING THE RAW SOUND OF ‘UNDERTONE’ – WITH DAVID GERTSMAN AND JON LAWLESS [https://www.asoundeffect.com/undertone-film-sound-design/ ] IAN TUASON HAUNTED HIS OWN HOUSE WHEN MAKING HIS NEW HORROR FILM [https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/ian-tuason-haunted-his-own-house-when-making-his-new-horror-film-9.7127914 ] Bady SL. The voice as a curative factor in psychotherapy. [https://www.proquest.com/openview/b5d48600df5fe7294a042db549d5c859/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1820904 ] Psychoanal Rev. 1985 Fall;72(3):479-90. PMID: 3931132.  Soma CS, Knox D, Greer T, Gunnerson K, Young A, Narayanan S. It's not what you said, it's how you said it: An analysis of therapist vocal features during psychotherapy. [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9979575/ ]Couns Psychother Res. 2023 Mar;23(1):258-269. doi: 10.1002/capr.12489. Epub 2021 Nov 18. PMID: 36873916; PMCID: PMC9979575.  Sawamura, Yasuaki, Why We Overstimulate Ourselves: How Sensory Overload Blocks Memory and Weakens Learning [https://ssrn.com/abstract=5199055 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5199055 ] (March 31, 2025).  HOW MUSIC RESONATES IN THE BRAIN [https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/how-music-resonates-brain ] Gentle Whispering ASMR  [https://open.spotify.com/artist/3gkB9Cdx4UuWQxjhelyd87?si=L017WWzZSTSCuFZH6d6G7g ] Moonlight Cottage ASMR  [https://open.spotify.com/artist/7HTOAi6IQXsE54wqgwYdFn?si=nsIoSce9Qk2rvSX6gBZWjg ]

The Blair Witch Project — Are we in a period of collective psychosis?

I was there! I was a teenager, there to experience the genius marketing surrounding The Blair Witch Project. It signalled a new era for horror, while the movie itself mirrors a complete uncertainty about reality.  In this episode, I explore found footage horror The Blair Witch Project (1999) and how it portrays collective psychosis.  I talk about: * How an entire generation thought The Blair Witch Project was real (and what that was like!) * How the genius marketing around the film created a sort of collective psychosis * Current political and cultural unrest, and whether we are in a period of collective psychosis today * How hypernormalization causes us to freeze and live out of alignment with our values * How the 7 of cups tarot card showcases feelings of disillusionment and uncertainty * How to use an ACT Matrix to identify your values, how you may have moved away from them, and how to find your way back Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy. [https:///www.manymoonstherapy.com] .............................................................. Show Notes: Want to work together? [https://www.manymoonstherapy.com] I offer 1:1 virtual psychotherapy for Ontario residents, along with tarot, horror, and dreamwork services (anywhere my bat signal reaches), both individually and through my group program, the Final Girls Club.  Podcast artwork by Chloe Hurst at Contempo Mint [https://www.contempomint.com/] Theme music is by Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras via pixabay  All sound effects and music via pixabay  The Blair Witch Project (1999) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/] Man Vs. Machine by Anthony Milton in Toronto Life [https://torontolife.com/deep-dives/man-vs-machine-chatgpt-delusion-now-hes-suing-openai/] For three weeks last spring, ChatGPT convinced Allan Brooks that he had discovered a revolutionary mathematical theory. Now he’s suing OpenAI, claiming its product dragged him down a rabbit hole of lies, caused him to spiral into delusion and destroyed his reputation The Society of the Spectacle by Guy DeBord [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/381440.The_Society_of_the_Spectacle] ‘THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT’ AT 20: WHY IT CAN’T BE REPLICATED BY JAKE KRING-SCHREIFELS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES  [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/movies/blair-witch-project-1999.html] SYSTEMS ARE CRUMBLING – BUT DAILY LIFE CONTINUES. THE DISSONANCE IS REAL BY ADRIENNE MATEI IN THE GUARDIAN [https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-interactive/2025/may/22/hypernormalization-dysfunction-status-quo]

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen — The curse of hetero expectation

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Netflix’s newest horror series, begs the question — do you really want to marry this guy, or do you just feel like you have to? In this spoiler-free episode, I explore bridal anxiety and the curse of heteronormative expectations. I talk about: * How weddings are psychologically supercharged events * Pressures placed on fulfilling heteronormative traditions * How Rachel's nightmares and unconscious are expressed  * Korea's 4B movement * How the 9 of swords tarot card highlights what happens when we ignore our gut Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy. [https:///www.manymoonstherapy.com] .............................................................. Show Notes: Want to work together? [https://www.manymoonstherapy.com] I offer 1:1 virtual psychotherapy for Ontario residents, along with tarot, horror, and dreamwork services (anywhere my bat signal reaches), both individually and through my group program, the Final Girls Club.  Podcast artwork by Chloe Hurst at Contempo Mint [https://www.contempomint.com/] Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen on Netflix  Theme music is by Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras via pixabay  All sound effects and music via pixabay  THE COLLECTED WORKS OF C.G. JUNG [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2913564-the-collected-works-of-c-g-jung] BY C.G. JUNG ‘SOMETHING VERY BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN’ IS NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/something-very-bad-is-going-to-happen-netflix-horror-interview-1236549027/] BY JACKIE STRAUSE, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ‘IMPORT YOUNG WOMEN’ TO LIFT BIRTH RATE, SOUTH KOREAN MAYOR SUGGESTS [https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/import-young-women-to-lift-birth-rate-south-korean-mayor-suggests/] BY AFP, CTV NEWS

Interview With The Vampire — This relationship is draining me!

Lestat and Louis have one of the most complicated, twisted relationships in literature and film. And it brings up the topic of energy vampires – what do you do when you’re in a relationship with someone who is just draining you?  In this episode, I explore Interview With The Vampire (1994) and the psychology of energy vampires.  I talk about: * What is an energy vampire? * How shame and dissociation present within energy vampires * What happens when you choose to be in a relationship with an energy vampire? * How the tarot cards the king of pentacles and five of swords represent the relationship between Lestat and Louis Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy. [https:///www.manymoonstherapy.com] .............................................................. Show Notes: Want to work together? [https://www.manymoonstherapy.com] I offer 1:1 virtual psychotherapy for Ontario residents, along with tarot, horror, and dreamwork services (anywhere my bat signal reaches), both individually and through my group program, the Final Girls Club.  Podcast artwork by Chloe Hurst at Contempo Mint [https://www.contempomint.com/] Get up to 20% Cozy Earth with promo code HORRIFYING. [https://www.cozyearth.com%20]If you get a survey post-purchase, be sure to let them know Candis sent you!

In Search of Darkness 1995-1999 — The psychology of 90s nostalgia

90s nostalgia is everywhere right now, and it's not a random coincidence. In this episode, I explore the documentary In Search of Darkness 1995-1999 (2026) and the psychology of nostalgia.  I talk about: * How we define nostalgia * The mental health benefits of nostalgia * How nostalgia is particularly beneficial for those suffering with dementia or cognitive decline * Why we cling to nostalgia in times of change or uncertainty * When we need to be careful about over-indulging in nostalgia * The three of cups and how this tarot card evokes nostalgic feelings for me Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy. [https:///www.manymoonstherapy.com] .............................................................. Show Notes: Want to work together? [https://www.manymoonstherapy.com] I offer 1:1 virtual psychotherapy for Ontario residents, along with tarot, horror, and dreamwork services (anywhere my bat signal reaches), both individually and through my group program, the Final Girls Club.  Podcast artwork by Chloe Hurst at Contempo Mint [https://www.contempomint.com/] Get up to 20% Cozy Earth with promo code HORRIFYING. [https://www.cozyearth.com ]If you get a survey post-purchase, be sure to let them know Candis sent you!  Get 20% off In Search of Darkness 1995-1999 with promo code HORRORFRIENDS26 [https://creatorvc.gumroad.com/l/isod9599]. Woods B, O'Philbin L, Farrell EM, Spector AE, Orrell M. Reminiscence therapy for dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Mar 1;3(3):CD001120. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001120.pub3. PMID: 29493789; PMCID: PMC6494367. Ismail S, Christopher G, Dodd E, Wildschut T, Sedikides C, Ingram TA, Jones RW, Noonan KA, Tingley D, Cheston R. Psychological and Mnemonic Benefits of Nostalgia for People with Dementia. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;65(4):1327-1344. doi: 10.3233/JAD-180075. PMID: 30149444.