The breaking point came a few months into the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic for Stephanie Perreault-Bittner.
After years of hiding her depression and anxiety from her family, the global catastrophe and the uncertainty it meant for her business —branding and brand strategy business Summer Street Creative — made it impossible to hide any longer.
She told them she wished COVID-19 killed her because she was “too much of a coward to do anything about it” herself.
“I felt so much pressure, I didn’t know where to turn to. There’s only so many people besides my mom and my husband that can help me, so I went to the family Facebook (chat) in a moment where I was literally ready to do something not great.”
Now, Perrault-Bittner is using her own experiences and teaming up with Julie Ann Gauthier — of Julie Ann Gauthier Consulting and Joey’s Deep Sea Fishing — to start a new podcast aimed at helping entrepreneurs with their own mental health struggles.
The vision
They have produced 10 episodes since Thriving Tides was launched on Aug. 4. While neither woman had done a podcast before, they had a concrete vision of what they wanted to achieve, said Perrault-Bittner.
“There’s just so much information out there, so I wanted to do a podcast that was coming to it from the perspective of there’s no one-size-fits-all. We all have to go through our own journeys and be patient with ourselves, not only as business people but our own mental health outside of our business.”
Gauthier said it also shows people they don't have to suffer in silence.
"We’re trying to take the stigma away of being able to speak up and talk about when we have (difficult) days and when things are really hard and when all we want to do is lay on the couch and cry all day.”
The format involves Perrault-Bittner and Gauthier defining their topic and talking about their own experiences with it, including their own research. For the episode on meditation, they both spent a week meditating and for the month of September, they joined the 6 a.m. Club — their modified version of a popular self-help strategy.
Other topics have included their shared hatred of the word “hustle,” toxic positivity, seasonal change and the aptly named episode The Elephant in the Room about COVID-19.
The podcast has also featured three other women entrepreneurs as guests, something they are looking to continue.
When asked about dream guests, they both quickly answered – “Heather Morrison.”
The team
Perrault-Bittner had the podcast idea kicking around for a while, but after reaching the breaking point with her own mental health, she couldn’t wait any longer, she said.
“That’s where it snowballed into 'I have to do this'. It was more of a calling, an ‘I need to get this out'.”
Gauthier came on board after Perrault-Bittner told her about the idea at an event in June.
"She sold me fairly easily, even though she didn’t know she was doing it because she thought she was going to be a solo podcaster," Gauthier said, "but I was brave and bold and just said, ‘Hey, this actually sounds like something I would also love to do and would you be interested in being partners'?”
Podcast picks
Stephanie Perrault-Bittner and Julie Ann Gauthier's podcast picks:
- Great Women of Business
- Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
- The Mindset Mentor
- Armchair Expert
- The Michelle Obama Podcast
Seek help
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, seek help immediately by either calling 911, going to an emergency department or by calling the Island Helpline at 1-800-218-2885