TORONTO — Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has launched a podcast in which she discusses the mental health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The "WE Well-being" podcast features conversations with famous guests and mental health experts including Olympians Silken Laumann and Tessa Virtue, and former NFL player Esera Tuaolo a.k.a. Mr. Aloha. The third episode features her mother-in-law and mental health advocate, Margaret Trudeau, mother of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The 45-minute-long program launched Monday on all major podcast platforms, including iTunes and Spotify.
Gregoire Trudeau, who has recovered from COVID-19 after being diagnosed with the respiratory illness in mid-March, says she wants the podcast to combat mental health stigma and offer strategies to foster well-being.
Each episode focuses on a specific theme — including building resiliency, adolescent brain development and how to stay connected with young people going through tough times. Each episode wraps up with thoughts from leading medical experts on mental health.
Gregoire Trudeau is the official ambassador for WE Well-being, a WE initiative created to empower youth, educators and families to promote their own mental health and that of their community.
"Through this podcast, my mission is to expand the way we think, talk and feel about mental well-being," Gregoire Trudeau said Monday in a release.
"For those who know me, be assured there will be no taboo left behind."
The 45-year-old Gregoire Trudeau had just returned from a speaking engagement in the United Kingdom when she was diagnosed. The news forced Prime Minister Trudeau to also self-isolate while his wife recovered. Neither he nor their three children have displayed symptoms.
The WE Well-being podcast is also be available on we.org/wewellbeingpodcast.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2020.
The Canadian Press