Mental Health is Horrifying
A spooky self-care podcast about the mental health benefits of horror. Journey into the horrifying depths with Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist (and all-around spooky ghoul), as she explores how mental health themes are portrayed in your favourite horror movies and beyond. Drawing on archetypes from final girls to horror villains, Candis provides guidance in each episode about how listeners can navigate their own mental health woes. Mental Health is Horrifying is the recipient of two Canadian Podcast Awards — Outstanding Health & Fitness Series, and Outstanding Education Series.
Episodes
"Halloween is cool, nature boy. I mean, it's exciting, strange, and ancient." Marnie knows!
In this episode, I explore Halloweentown (1998) and its portrayal of the witch wound.
I talk about:
- The history of the burning times
- What the witch wound is
- How the witch wound shows up in Halloweentown
- How the Cromwell/Piper family needs a family thearpist
- How you can notice the witch wound in yourself
- How Halloweentown nee...
Let's have another round of midnight margaritas, shall we?
In this spoiler-free episode, I explore Practical Magic 2 (2026) and the mental health benefits of watching spooky movies with your besties.
I talk about:
- What Practical Magic 2 means to a generation of fans who love the original
- How PG horror movies make the genre more inclusive
- The mental health benefits of bonding with co-viewers
- How horror movies are al...
Get out your Ouija board because we're having a séance in the bathroom!
In this episode, I explore cozy horror What Lies Beneath (2000) and its exploration of how our intuition speaks to us.
I talk about:
- Why What Lies Beneath is the perfect cozy horror
- Emotional avoidance and displacement
- How Claire's intuition speaks to her in What Lies Beneath
- How gaslighting disrupts intuition
- How the Queen of Cups tarot card portray...
Debbie Jellinsky is the gold-digging, murderous, glamorous, Black Widow in Addams Family Values who when Fester says gimme a kiss, she says gimme a 20. Today, we honour her legacy.
In this episode, I explore Addams Family Values (1993) and its portrayal of achieving one’s identity through consumption.
I talk about:
- Debbie Jellinsky’s origin story
- How Debbie never felt understood by her parents and sought to f...
The Devil's Mouth may seem like just another sharksploitation movie, but this is a therapy shark! And this shark wants you to face that wonky friendship in your life.
In this episode, I explore The Devil's Mouth (2026) and its portrayal of how friendships change.
I talk about:
- Dunbar's number and the number of people we can can have relationships with in our lives
- Anna Goldfarb's Bathtub Theory of Friendship, and w...
Do you struggle with catastrophic thinking? Well, if sharks getting swept up in a tornado and falling from the sky isn't a catastrophe, I don't know what is.
In this episode, I explore Sharknado (2013) and its portrayal of catastrophic thinking.
I talk about:
- How we define catastrophic thinking
- How final girl Nova accepts and faces her catastrophic thinking
- How you can challenge your own catastrophic thinking
- How watchin...
It’s officially summer, and now that school’s out, what better way to spend the summer than by going to camp? And how are we going to get to summer camp? Let’s take the hot mess express to Camp Arawak, aka Sleepaway Camp, where no one has ever heard of PTSD!
In this episode, I explore Sleepaway Camp (1983) and the importance of trauma-informed environments.
I talk about:
- The complicated legacy of Sleepaway Ca...
I am so very grateful that Forbidden Fruits exists, and that pink horror is becoming more popular, because pink horror is such a glorious, safe space to explore the horrors or womanhood, while also reclaiming the wounded parts of our girlie pop selves.
In this episode, I explore Forbidden Fruits (2026) and the therapeutic benefits of pink horror.
I talk about:
- What pink horror is and why it's a safe space for women to ex...
Obsession has really struck a chord in a world where we are increasingly unsure how to be in relationship with each other, and where true intimacy feels like a horrifying threat.
In this episode, I explore Obsession (2025), and its portrayal of the fear of intimacy.
I talk about:
- Why Obsession has broken box office records
- The fast foodification of intimacy
- Coercive control
- Nikki as the manic pixie dream girl archetype, ...
Gather 'round sisters, as we leave lavender but our garden gates and bury our abusive exes under the rose bush!
In this episode, I explore Practical Magic (1998), its portrayal of intimate partner violence, and the balm of sisterhood.
I will be discussing intimate partner violence in this episode, so please take special care when listening.
I talk about:
- How intimate partner violence is defined
- The complex reasons that m...
I say this with my full chest — Undertone was not lying when it said that it is "the scariest movie you'll ever hear." And I cannot un-hear it!
In this spoiler-free episode, I explore Undertone (2025) and the psychology of sound.
I talk about:
- How sound can help us form secure attachments
- The psychology behind "therapist voice"
- How sound helps regulate our nervous systems
- Why we are naturally drawn to live music as a prim...
I was there! I was a teenager, there to experience the genius marketing surrounding The Blair Witch Project. It signalled a new era for horror, while the movie itself mirrors a complete uncertainty about reality.
In this episode, I explore found footage horror The Blair Witch Project (1999) and how it portrays collective psychosis.
I talk about:
- How an entire generation thought The Blair Witch Project was real (and wha...
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Netflix’s newest horror series, begs the question — do you really want to marry this guy, or do you just feel like you have to?
In this spoiler-free episode, I explore bridal anxiety and the curse of heteronormative expectations.
I talk about:
- How weddings are psychologically supercharged events
- Pressures placed on fulfilling heteronormative traditions
- How Rachel's nightmares and un...
Lestat and Louis have one of the most complicated, twisted relationships in literature and film. And it brings up the topic of energy vampires – what do you do when you’re in a relationship with someone who is just draining you?
In this episode, I explore Interview With The Vampire (1994) and the psychology of energy vampires.
I talk about:
- What is an energy vampire?
- How shame and dissociation present within...
90s nostalgia is everywhere right now, and it's not a random coincidence.
In this episode, I explore the documentary In Search of Darkness 1995-1999 (2026) and the psychology of nostalgia.
I talk about:
- How we define nostalgia
- The mental health benefits of nostalgia
- How nostalgia is particularly beneficial for those suffering with dementia or cognitive decline
- Why we cling to nostalgia in times of change or uncertainty
- When we n...
In this special tribute to Canadian icon and spooky legend Catherine O'Hara, I talk about all that she gave us, and the healing capacity of a psychological phenomenon called transference.
I talk about:
- Catherine O'Hara's life and legacy
- What transference is
- When transference occurs
- What we transferred onto Catherine O'Hara and how she helped us heal
Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychoth...
It's winter and all I want to do is solve cozy mysteries! In this episode, I explore Knives Out (2019) and its portrayal of the impact of grief on family dynamics.
I talk about:
- What grief is and why it doesn't fit into tidy stages
- Emotional displacement
- What grief does to family dynamics
- Two tarot cards that I selected for Knives Out — the seven of swords and the hierophant
Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis ...
The holiday season always makes me think of ballet and how it is both a horrifying and beautiful dance. In this episode, I explore Black Swan (2010) and its portrayal of perfectionism.
Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy.
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Show Notes:
Join me on December 18 for a ...
In this episode, I explore Frankenstein (2025) and its portrayal of narcissism.
Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, Registered Psychotherapist and owner of Many Moons Therapy.
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Show Notes:
I am so honoured to have been nominated for 5 Canadian Podcast Awards — and I need your help!
- Outstanding Health & Fitness Series
- Outstanding Televisio...
I am so honoured to have been nominated for 5 Canadian Podcast Awards — and I need your help!
- Outstanding Health & Fitness Series
- Outstanding Television & Film Series
- Outstanding Education Series
- Outstanding Artwork for a Series
- People’s Choice Award
Members of the public can vote on the People's Choice Award, and it would mean the world to me to receive your vote!
Voting takes 5 seconds —
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