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Going There with Dr. Mike, the podcast where music’s biggest names come to have honest, impactful conversations about mental health, is officially back for Season 7. Kicking things off is Stranger Things star and indie rocker Finn Wolfhard, who dives deep into managing his anxiety, panic attacks, and the pressure of growing up in the public eye. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, and watch the full episode above (or via YouTube).
Find Finn Wolfhard Tickets Here
Wolfhard says he lives “every single day” with a baseline existential anxiety, something he tackles on the track “Tunnels” from his newly released album, Fire from the Hip. “I think I have very high standards for myself,” he explains, tracing it back to growing up with a very public persona. “I think at a young age if that is introduced to you, where you feel like you can’t make a mistake ’cause if you make a mistake then that reflects badly on your career or whatever, and then you’re disappointing people, I think that it might stem from that.”
This led to a period of intense panic attacks as teenage, which he links to feeling like a lost teen despite his celebrity and strong support system around him. “I didn’t know really how to talk about it, so I would just kind of clam up,” he says. These days, Wolfhard tries to separate the fear from the underlying emotion, even saying he’s “happy to have anxiety because it also has let me learn a lot about myself,” including recognizing sadness, depression, or frustration for what they actually are instead of defaulting straight to panic: “To me, in my head, it was always about being comfortable within a storm — being comfortable within this crazy thing that’s happening and being able to weather that.”
The multi-hyphenate finds a great deal of grounding in making his music, though recognizes that there’s a strange duality in that, as touring and performing can be “not healthy” due to everything from its toll on diet and sleep, to forcing yourself on stage regardless of your mood. “It’s interesting ’cause everything is a walking contradiction,” he explains. “Playing live music is, to me, exactly what gives me purpose and in a lot of ways kind of relaxes me, or relaxes my own sense of self. But at the same time, you’re also doing a job where it’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t wanna disappoint these people.’ They go together.”
Listen to Finn Wolfhard’s full conversation on Going There above or wherever you get your podcasts. Season 7 continues with future episodes featuring The Warning, Paris Paloma, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Marino, Matt Hansen, and more — so make sure to like, review, and subscribe to stay caught up.
Wolfhard will be on the road behind Fire from the Hip later this year. Snag tickets here.
Coming from the Consequence Podcast Network, Season 7 of Going There is presented by Johnson & Johnson, who believes that health is everything. Their strength in healthcare innovation empowers them to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through their expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, they are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at www.jnj.com, and @JanssenUS and @JNJInnovMed on X.