New year, new priorities. If taking care of your mental health is at the top of your to-do list in 2021, you need to meet (and follow) activist Madison MacGregor.

At the age of 21, the Toronto-based multi-hyphenate has already worked with Emmy Award winning dance choreographers, starred in two Family Channel shows (Backstage and The Next Step), published a novel with her sisters through a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign, and built an online community of more than 25,000 Instagram followers. Madison has since turned her attention to a cause close to her heart and launched Mind Time with Madison, an insightful new podcast with non-profit organization Teaching Everyone About Mental Health. TEAM. serves as a pocket guide for the support networks of those struggling with mental illness and aims to inspire people of any age, but especially youth, to pursue their passions without fear of stigma or judgement. 

Madison is living proof that your struggles can be turned into your superpower. For my first Take 5 of 2021, see what Madison had to say about her mental health journey, prioritizing self care (something we all can and should do!), and her favourite accounts to follow on Instagram.

How did you first connect with TEAM. and come up with the idea for Mind Time with Madison?

I discovered the founder, Mackenzie Drazan, on my Instagram explore page and messaged her as she was a trained professional for mental health. At the time I was struggling with depression, an eating disorder and anxiety, and both of us were bullied growing up and wanted to do what we could to help other people. She brought me on and has been a great mentor to my sisters and I. Through the podcast, which is one of the facets of the Instagram page, we normalize talking about mental health, especially for young people.

What empowered you to feel comfortable talking openly about your mental health journey?

I had struggled for the first couple of years when I was going through depression and I didn’t even know then that I was going through it, so I actually had a whole learning curve myself of figuring out what was happening to me. My family helped give me perspective on exactly what we’re doing at TEAM. — the power of talking to people and just simply communicating what I was going through. They were able to assure me, You’re not crazy. There’s something deeper going on. 

I also watched a lot of people and professors online talking about depression or anxiety. Hearing their experiences helped me put words to my own experiences, and by sharing my journey I hope I can do the same thing for other people.

On Mind Time with Madison, you’ve spoken with experts in the health space, as well as philanthropic celebrities like actress Lexi Underwood. What was one of the biggest takeaways from your chat with Lexi?

A lot of what Lexi has experienced with mental health has been due to the racial injustice in the United States and how traumatizing it’s been to see people who look like her being killed. It makes her feel like her life doesn’t matter — and so she shared a lot about that, and about therapy. Having a therapist who was a Black woman helped her because they could understand and talk about microaggressions and other lived experiences.

I love what Lexi is doing with We the Voices of Gen Z, which is something she created with her production company, and how that’s a space to help open up discussions, support activists, get more representation in Hollywood, and raise awareness around mental health. She has so much wisdom that I just remember being blown away by her level of maturity at such a young age. 

Do you have a favourite mood boosting activity you turn to when you’re having a bad mental health day? 

I do as much as I can to get out in nature — and for the people who are reading who don’t have access to nature, movements like getting up and walking, taking a shower, washing your face, and simple things that connect you to the elements are really helpful. For me, walking outside feels like meditation and that definitely helps ground me and helps with whatever symptoms I may be experiencing. My goals this year are going on a walk and journaling every day.

Take 5 profiles inspiring and influential people we should all be following. Who are some of your favourite people to follow?

I like TEAM. (@myteam.social) of course and think they are a great resource. I would also recommend Jay Shetty (@jayshetty) — he’s incredible. There’s also The Holistic Psychologist (Dr. Nicole LePara, @the.holistic.psychologist) who talks a lot about trauma and articulates it very well. She does this thing where she gets your number and every day she’ll text you a quote or piece of advice, which has been really helpful.

As far as books go, I interviewed Dr. Alex Korb on Mind Time with Madison and his book The Upward Spiral is a game changer for people who are struggling with depression. It’s an Amazon Best Seller — and for good reason. I’ve recommended it to so many of my friends and I think especially now, it’s extremely valuable to have really great, actionable steps backed by neuroscience to help you cope.