The Driven Minds podcast host is diving deep, and making us all feel a little bit lighter.&nbsp;

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so sorry, I just get curious about everyone,&rdquo; apologizes Gigi Sagansky, her podcast hosting chops manifesting at the start of our interview. After 10 minutes, she now knows intimate details of my life, and I&rsquo;ve forgotten I&rsquo;m supposed to be interviewing her&mdash;safe to say, she&rsquo;s good at her job.
The former magazine editor and part-time DJ is disarming, well-spoken, and affable, exuding the automatic-friend-energy women experience in any club bathroom. Her podcast, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5VWC13oI7DjsEYarX0PN8I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Driven Minds</a>, benefits from this, as she invites celebrity guests to share their <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/fashion-beauty-brands-support-mental-health-awareness-month" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mental health</a> journey in hopes of dismantling and demystifying the taboo subject. In coordination with Type 7 and Porsche, the show has welcomed Ron Howard, Arianna Huffington, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/tyra-banks-best-runway-moments-young-model" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tyra Banks</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/fran-drescher-fran-fine-style-inspiration-best-looks-the-nanny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fran Drescher</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/see-lykke-li-as-a-young-girl-in-new-video-for-utopia">Lykke Li</a>, and more, speaking to a range of subjects that are both deeply personal yet universally felt.
This was not where Sagansky thought she'd end up despite her success.&nbsp;
In the "before-times," Sagansky would wake up for her 7 a.m. workout class, head to Cond&eacute; Nast&nbsp;by 9 a.m., work a full day before heading to her DJ gigs which would last until 2 a.m.&nbsp;She was strapped physically, mentally, and emotionally and decided she needed <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/lili-reinhart-riverdale-hustlers-anxiety-swimming-lessons-poems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help</a>. So, she checked into Mclean Hospital, an in-patient mental health treatment center.
Once she completed treatment, she re-entered the world, though its once-comforting regularity was tainted. "I had such cognitive dissonance of this environment I had been so entrenched in just a few months before." She knew there was a different path forward; one that most are too afraid to charter. And thus Driven Minds was born.&nbsp;
Now in its second season, Driven Minds is a safe haven for those trying to expand their understanding, recognize some of their patterns, and more than anything, understand <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/wellness/gigi-hadid-anxiety-pregnancy-mental-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we are not alone</a>.&nbsp;
L'OFFICIEL sits down with Sagansky in a Q&amp;A checking in about checking out, and how to approach mental health this holiday season.&nbsp;

L'OFFICIEL: What did burnout feel like to you? Is there a scene you can remember specifically?&nbsp;
GIGI SAGANSKY: There are two forms of burnout for me&mdash;emotional and physical. Physical burnout comes when the number of tasks I need to get done is more than the number of hours I have in a day. The yearlong scene that comes to mind is when I was working at Vogue while starting to DJ. I would go from a 7 a.m. workout class, to a high-stress day at the office, then straight from the office to DJ, have bar snacks and tequila for dinner, then home to write an article until 3 a.m. I was running on Red Bull and I didn&rsquo;t have time to think&mdash;it was the perfect way to get out of my head and distract myself from the OCD and everything else I didn't want to deal with!
Emotional burnout happens when my heartstrings are pulled. Whenever I have a misunderstanding with a friend or partner, our argument is all I can think about. I have tunnel vision and cannot concentrate on anything else until we resolve it!&nbsp;
 L'O: What were the stigmas and stereotypes you had come to believe about in-patient treatment?
GS: A main stereotype I internalized was that there&rsquo;s a certain &ldquo;type&rdquo; of person who seeks in-patient treatment. Growing up, two of my favorite movies were <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/brittany-murphy-movies-y2k-style-documentary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Girl Interrupted</a> and Requiem for a Dream, which massively warped my perception of in-patient treatment and the people who seek help (cue: Ellen Burstyn and Angelina Jolie&rsquo;s characters). The media has created a caricature of the &ldquo;inpatient&rdquo; that not only damages and influences our perception but discourages people from getting treatment. Mental health does not have a face, it does not have a name, gender, or occupation. When I was at McLean, there was an NFL quarterback, a Harvard Ph.D. student, and a ceramicist, all living under the same roof, trying to make sense of their shit so they could live happier lives. In a society that rewards conformity and &ldquo;fine-ness,&rdquo; it takes such chutzpah to look inwards, stare your demons in the eye and resolve to work on them.
The other stereotype I came up against, was that in order to get help, you have to be royally and irrevocably broken, and that treatment is a last resort type of situation. But everyone&rsquo;s low point is different. I thought that unless I was gasping for air, taking time for myself was self-indulgent and unnecessary, so I waited until I was on my last legs to make my move. When the world tells us to &ldquo;push through it,&rdquo; &ldquo;toughen up,&rdquo; and &ldquo;move on,&rdquo; it takes so much courage to slow down, be vulnerable, and soften.
&nbsp; L'O: What helped you practice courage when you confronted those stigmas?&nbsp;
GS: I know how bizarre this sounds, but the first time I actually googled McLean was after I had already checked in; partly out of fear of what I&rsquo;d read, partly because I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d actually go if I ever got off the waitlist. It was only when I was at the facility that I learned of McLean&rsquo;s past patient roster, which included two of my favorite writers&mdash;Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Learning that these two brilliant minds went to the same place that I was initially so ashamed to tell people I was at, gave me the courage and a new lens through which to see my mind&mdash;I now saw it as beautifully complex rather than broken. And the courage and confidence that came with learning this was the inspiration for creating Driven Minds. When we hear relatable stories of struggle from those we admire, we feel seen, emboldened, and less alone.&nbsp;
&nbsp;The other dose of courage came from my steadfast determination to change my life and rewire my brain. The moment I walked into McLean I wanted to walk right out. I went straight to the unit therapist and explained I was in the wrong place, and I wasn&rsquo;t like the &ldquo;other people&rdquo; in there. But I had spent years running away from my mind and once I resolved to be there, fully in the experience, the courage came with it. After all, if my mind could create these issues, it could also get rid of them.

L'O: How would you describe the community mentality of in-patient treatment?&nbsp;
GS: The community mentality of in-patient treatment rivals any community I&rsquo;ve ever been a part of. OCD manifests differently for everyone, and we would help each other out with whatever we were dealing with. For the first time in my life, I was around people who understood me in a way no one else ever had. We knew each other&rsquo;s deepest darkest thoughts, we wrote our worst fears on communal whiteboards, and supported each other when someone&rsquo;s weakness was another&rsquo;s strength. It was the first time my shame was rendered obsolete. Shame thrives in secrecy, and if there are no secrets, then shame cannot breed. The parts of ourselves we want to hide, are often the sides that need to see the light.
 &nbsp;L'O: How do you apply those ideas to friends and family? Does it feel different and, if yes, how so?&nbsp;
GS: Such a great question. One of the best perks of talking about <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/dakota-johnson-anxiety-panic-attack-jimmy-fallon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mental health in public</a> has been the change in my relationships. My friends of 20-plus years started opening up to me in a way they never have, sharing parts of themselves I never knew and vice versa. The moment you put your cards on the table and your flag in the ground for all to see, people feel safe sharing their truths. I learned that at McLean, which was the most humbling experience. It didn&rsquo;t matter who you were, what you looked like, or what you did for a living. We were all there for the same reason. This shared humanity shined through and has stuck with me ever since. I try to bring that into the real world and into my relationships.
 L'O: What are ways to practice mindfulness during the holiday season, especially around family?&nbsp;
GS: Holiday season and beyond, the key to is to be with your thoughts, rather than in your thoughts. One issue I experience around the holidays is stress eating. The sheer volume and selection is completely absurd. Do 10 people really need five trays of appetizers? I used to devour the cheese platter, feel physically sick, be full for the rest of the night, and cry next to the gingerbread house. Intuitive eating has been really key for me. Taking a beat, and listening to my body&rsquo;s hunger cues. &ldquo;Am I eating out of anxiety to fill the void or am I actually hungry?&rdquo;&nbsp;
The other issue that comes up is the pressure to be happy around the holidays. We are inundated with pumpkin spice lattes, holiday music, and ads promising eternal joy with the purchase of a pajama set. The pressure to feel the holiday spirit can get really depressing and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/trace-anxiety-2018-mental-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anxiety</a>-inducing. This is when I turn to meditation. I use Sam Harris&rsquo; app Waking Up, and even 10 minutes changes the way I walk into my day. It reminds me that whatever comes up for me emotionally is okay and will soon pass.

&nbsp;L'O: How did you first broach the topic of mental health to your family?&nbsp;
GS: I actually never had to. Because I was so young when my issues started, I had no one else to go to besides my parents. I felt so out of control because I didn&rsquo;t understand what was happening to my mind. It was especially terrifying because I lacked the verbiage to express it at the time. My parents always encouraged me to get help because they witnessed my struggles firsthand, but OCD had been a part of me for so long that I learned to live with it and resolved that it would always be there. Needless to say, they were utterly and completely thrilled when I enrolled at McLean.
 L'O: Who&rsquo;s been your favorite guest on Driven Minds and why?&nbsp;
GS: Impossible to pick a favorite, but the most interesting conversation I&rsquo;ve had lately was with MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) founder Rick Doblin. He&rsquo;s spent the last 35 years conducting trials to prove to the FDA that psychedelic therapy is so highly effective that each day that passes is a day wasted. Having personally been prescribed a rotating cocktail of meds for OCD/ADHD throughout my teenage years (none of which worked btw), it cuts me to my core that something that grows in nature was never presented as an option until now.
&nbsp; L'O: Who would be your Driven Minds dream holiday guest?&nbsp;
GS: I&rsquo;ve put this out into the universe many a time, but <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/lily-collins-polly-pocket-lena-dunham-film" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lena Dunham</a>. Holidays or not I am dying to have her on. A few others are Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gabor Mat&eacute;, and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/patti-smith-concert-webster-hall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patti Smith</a>. How does she keep her cool? The world needs to know.
 L'O: If you could have a universal question to ask everyone, what would it be?&nbsp;
GS: &ldquo;What drives you?&rdquo; It&rsquo;s the question we ask every guest at the end of each episode. The answers are so diverse and give us the &lsquo;why&rsquo; behind the &lsquo;what&rsquo; they do. I actually started asking myself this question as a check-in from time to time. How am I spending my time today? Does it align with my core values? If not, I re-center and re-direct.

Photo: Cherie Birkner

Gigi Sagansky Wants to Know "What Drives You?"

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

Gigi Sagansky Wants to Know "What Drives You?"

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