“Have you ever gone too far?” is one of the many questions the Morning Joe co-host asks Mika Brzezinski Brzezinski’s musings come as she deals with a series of personal and professional issues that are impacting her mental health, which she spoke about in a new episode of “Morning Mika,” an MSNBC streaming show now available on Peacock and YouTube.
Friday’s episode featured Brzezinski and the other MSNBC hosts in a special discussion about mental health. Jen Psaki and Simone Sanders Townsendas an analyst Huma Abedin.
Brzenski began his talk by sharing how he hit rock bottom during his own mental crisis and how a word from a stranger helped him see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“This man drove up to me and rolled down his window. I thought, ‘Oh my God, someone notices me at such a terrible time! How could this happen?'” she recalled. “And he said, ‘Hi, my name is Peter, I’m a therapist, and I see you crying every day. I want you to know that it’s not okay to cry so much and not process it. Please get help,’ and then he drove off.”
Brzenski’s colleagues have taken turns opening up about their own mental health struggles. Sanders-Townsend said of leaving her job in the Biden administration, “When I decided to leave the White House, it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made because I loved my job. I decided that for myself and my mental health, I needed to take a step back.”
Psaki stressed the importance of building good relationships in the workplace, especially with your boss. “A good boss will say, ‘You’re a valued member of the team, let’s work this out together,'” she advised. “If you don’t think your boss is understanding, you may need to reevaluate your workplace.”
Meanwhile, Abedin touched on the mental toll of imposter syndrome, revealing that she is a victim of it herself: “One of the things I always tell young women is that you need technique. [to deal with it]”For me, I would pace back and forth, and make sure to make eye contact with men during meetings, especially when I thought they might be asking me a question,” she explained.
“It just takes a lot of hard work,” Abedin continued, “and you have to get over any insecurities, because you’ll be amazed at the respect you actually get from your peers, male and female. And you don’t know that until you force yourself into that room.”
