5 Ways Technology Can Bring You and Your Partner Closer Together

“As I went through a very long journey of finding I did have a mental health diagnosis — and then I was misdiagnosed and then I had to go through that — I was blessed to have the resources to do that,” Teefey, who received an ADHD and trauma diagnosis after a 20-year bipolar misdiagnosis, says. “Whenever I started my journey of discovering what mental condition I had…I didn't have anybody to lean into or explain the way I was feeling.”

While these personal experiences helped Teefey better understand mental health, it wasn’t until she produced Netflix’s 2017 series 13 Reasons Whythat she saw just how far the mental health conversation goes. The hit show went viral almost as soon as it aired because of its realistic depiction of mental health and all the aftershocks of trauma.

“After we did 13 Reasons Why and saw the reaction and the need for that support, me and Selena were trying to really figure out what could be next,” Teefey says. “Everybody was releasing things [at] different times. It's like you have to have 12 apps to have a program, and then remember to use them all. So that's when we decided to create a mental fitness ecosystem. So it's all-encompassing, but there's something for everyone.”

“We're not a medicinal company [but] we do have an advisory committee that oversees everything that we do,” Teefey continues. “We're technically not doctors, but we are for everyone when it comes to feelings. Everybody has feelings and they can go to our content hub and just kind of explore that for a while.”

Admittedly, that exploration bit is pretty fun. The articles are inspiring, and the worksheets (which are each created by an expert) are incredibly helpful. Seeing every program, article, and podcast episode feels like an opportunity to start fresh, but once you have all the ideas in front of you, what do you actually do? Teefey recommends journaling, even if it’s just a sentence every day. (She also loves watching journaling videos from Planning Annie: “Anytime I'm feeling sad or like a little unmotivated, I put her on.”)

Journaling every day, even if your entries are short, allows you to track your mood over an extended period of time. If you notice a consistent sadness, for example, it could be a sign it’s time to check in with your doctor. Plus, journaling can help prepare you for the conversations mental health appointments bring up.

“Sometimes if you go into a therapy session and you're not really settled or concrete in who you are and what may be going on, you might go through what I went through, which is being misdiagnosed,” Teefey says. “It's more important for you to know who you are and what you need prior to going in. So you can give that to them instead of them guessing and working around that process with you.”

Establishing a consistent routine can help decrease your stress, whether you’re eating the same breakfast every day, or you stick to a tried and true skincare regimen like Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie does on Euphoria. I immediately thought of this teen drama when Mandy Teefey mentioned how important her 4 a.m. routine is. But while Cassie spends time doing her skincare and makeup, Teefey spends time nurturing her soul.

“If I don't have [that routine], I'm usually really off kilter,” she says. “So I get up at 4 when everyone's still asleep, and I found that time could be about me, and I'm not taking it away from anybody. And so that's really what helped me be more grounded throughout the day.”

I can attest that my own quiet time in the morning is vital for a successful day — as is knowing what my boundaries need to be. Because honestly, boundaries can change daily! Teefey and I both acknowledge we have to stay away from sad music to protect our mental health, and she also recommends staying off social media when you feel your mental health struggling.

“I can go three days without looking at social media and then when I go on there, I start having anxiety because I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, I haven't liked this person. I haven't even liked our own pictures [for] Wondermind.’ And then I start feeling guilty,” she says. “There's just some kind of [expectation] to do social media and you really don't. Not everybody needs to know everything, you know? There's beauty in privacy.”

Even Selena Gomez admitted at the 2024 Time100 Summit that taking time off Instagram "was the most rewarding gift I gave myself."

The idea of staying off social media is way easier said than done (speaking from first hand experience here). If you feel like you’re drowning in engagement announcements, anxiety-inducing news, and FOMO, Teefey recommends keeping tabs on your reactions to gauge when it’s time to take a serious break.

“If it invokes any emotion that is a negative emotion, I [know] it's not worth being angry about, it's not worth losing sleep about,” she says. “It just feels like there's an unintentional taunting on social media and, ‘Wait a minute, is that about me?’ You don't know this person and then you start running with all this stuff in your mind.”

Like every area of life, social media is all about balance, and if you’re looking to unplug while still staying informed, Mandy Teefey recommends bringing a journal with you when doing your morning news scroll — that way, you can process emotions while keeping tabs on what’s happening. “If anything evokes emotion, I'm meditating during the quiet time,” she says.

Studies have found journaling can help decrease your anxiety, and that it can help you break obsessive thought cycles. And while you’re the only one who can process your thoughts and emotions, it’s important not to isolate yourself from your community — especially when you’re struggling. “You gotta build trust and you gotta build the boundary of who you volunteer [your] help to,” she says.

When it comes to her own daughters, Mandy Teefey knows it’s a process. “You have to work with them and meet them where they're at, and then see the help they need and don't assume [they’re going through] what you went through,” she says. “You've got to really understand them to be able to give that advice.”

In her own life, Mandy Teefey got to experience building that trust first-hand with Selena Gomez! “One time it was very, very cold in California and me and Selena were on the opposite sides of the pool,” she says. “We were in sweats and she says, ‘Do you trust me?’ And I went, ‘Yeah.’ And she goes ‘Okay, if you trust me, on three, we're gonna jump in this ice cold pool.’”

While Teefey wasn’t convinced, she trusted Gomez, and they both ended up in the freezing cold water! Which is both a funny story and a fond memory: “We couldn't get out of the pool because [our clothes were] so heavy. It was madness!”

“There's a lot of things I know my daughters don't tell me and that's their right,” she continues. “It's so sensitive between teenagers — especially teenagers — and their parents. They're going through that phase and they don't want to be around them and they don't wanna tell them things. It's definitely not easy but maybe put some feelers out there and just make sure that they know you're there and make it okay to have these conversations.”

Thanks to all this actionable advice, we know that Mental Health Awareness month isn’t limited to TikTok videos or Instagram posts we can reshare. There are real tips we can use to take care of ourselves — and a place to go when we need a boost.

Watch Our Full Interview With Mandy Teefey Here!

A Full Relationship Timeline For Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton

April 2014 — Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Meet As Co-Workers On The Voice

We've all heard that workplace romances are bad for business, but that's not always the case. In Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's situation, meeting at work was one of the best things that happened for them! They met while taping Season 7 of The Voice, but kept things friendly and professional given they were still married to their former spouses, Gavin Rossdale and Miranda Lambert.

November 2014 — Blake Shelton And Gwen Stefani Take A Selfie Together

In a picture that's still on Gwen's Instagram page, the former co-workers snapped a cute selfie together that showed them happily grinning. She captioned it, "💓him @blakeshelton@nbcthevoice gx."

July and August 2015 — Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Announce Their Divorces

Despite the fact Blake Shelton and his ex-wife Miranda Lambert had been together for a decade, they shared an exclusive statement with The Associated Pressabout their decision to divorce. "It is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter," they said.

When Gwen appeared on The Howard Stern Showin 2016, she revealed she wasn't expecting Blake's situation to mirror her own. "I was in shock, because I felt like he was exposing me...I had this huge weight on me and nobody but my parents and obviously everybody involved knew."

The two began confiding in each other and eventually developed a friendship that would set the tone for their romantic relationship.

January 2016 — Blake Shelton Gifts Gwen Stefani A Horse

It's always nice when the person we're dating pays attention to our interests and hobbies, which is exactly what Blake Shelton did when he gifted Gwen a horse! She shared a gorgeous snapshot of the beautiful 'Halo' on Instagram and wrote a little snazzy caption to celebrate how gorgeous the horse is.

Blake joked with Entertainment Tonight, "Gwen, she loves riding and she loves horses. It's actually so funny that people are so shocked by that, but [just try to] name me one girl on the planet that doesn't love horses or just think that they are beautiful."

February 2016 — Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Make Their Relationship Red Carpet Official

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani were glowing as they posed for pictures on the red carpet of Vanity Fair's Oscar party in 2016. USA Today reported that Gwen wore a red-hot dress by Yanina Couture while Blake stayed true to his all-America cowboy casual look.

That same month Blake shared how much of a positive impact Gwen had on his life. He told Billboard, "Gwen saved my life. Who else on earth could understand going through a high-profile divorce from another musician? You can’t even imagine the similarities in our divorces."

When Gwen appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, she dished about her and Blake's red carpet debut. "I think I played at the party and then we went out that night...That melts me when I see it. It's such a moment for me — a good one," she said with her signature smile on her face.

November 2017 — Gwen Stefani Encourages Blake Shelton to Celebrate His Sex Symbol Status

More than a year later, Blake was crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2017, and initially, it shocked him. He joked that maybe People chose him as a last resort, but was quick to highlight how Gwen encouraged him to embrace his new title. "She goes, ‘Listen to me, you’re going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t take this gift and just live in the moment.'"

June 2018 — Blake Shelton Shows His Support For Gwen Stefani's Las Vegas Residency

When it came time for Gwen Stefani to jumpstart her Las Vegas Residency in 2018, Blake Shelton made sure to show his full support for her. She shared a series of cute pictures on Instagram that showed the two sharing a intimate kiss moments before she hit the stage for the first time.

August 2019 — Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Appear on The Voice as Judges Again

People shared that when Gwen Stefani returned as one of the judges on The Voice in 2017, it was like a happy reunion for her. "I’m so happy to be back. My life changed so much on this show...then to be with my best friend Blakey, and to be here with Kelly and John, I feel pretty lucky right now," she exclusively told the outlet.

December 2019 — Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Release Their Duet "Nobody But You"

As part of Blake's album Fully Loaded: God's Country, he and Gwen recorded "Nobody But You" together. He said the song perfectly aligned with what was going on in his life during an interview with People. "I also realized how important it is for me and where I am in my life, and I think that's why [writer] Shane [McAnally] was trying to get it to me," he said.

The couple went on to perform it at the Grammy's in 2020 and it was obvious they felt every lyric they sang.

July 2020 — Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Share "Happy Anywhere" During Lockdown

When the pandemic was still very fresh and everyone was on lockdown, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani shared another single — "Happy Anywhere" — on Instagram. Once again, their love for each other was evident in the way they looked at each other while singing.

Gwen also shared how the pandemic brought them closer together during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "We got to be in Oklahoma as a family. We got to do things we never get to do, like try to make sourdough bread, like everybody else in America, and just do so many fun things -- garden, tear down trees, plant tons of different things," she said.

October 2020 — Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Get Engaged

After five years of dating, the happy couple sharing the happy news that they were engaged! Gwen posted another amazing picture of them while showing off her new ring on Instagram in 2020. Her caption simply read, "@blakesheltonyes please! 💍🙏🏻 gx". But, that doesn't mean the couple didn't have some things to discuss and work on prior to entering a new chapter together.

During a video interview with the Today show hosts in 2021, Gwen briefly talked about this. "I think there was a lot to consider when you have so many people involved. Children, and their hearts, and everybody in my family [and] his family, we all went through a lot together," she said.

July 2021 — The Happy Couple Walk Down the Aisle Together

Less than a year of announcing their engagement, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani got married at his ranch in Oklahoma. Based on the snapshots shared by People, the couple looked d*mn good! I literally have Gwen's wedding dress saved as inspo for my own special day!

Since then, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani have shown up for each other in truly inspiring ways. That's not to say they have a perfect relationship though because relationships take work. But, it seems like they've truly found their sweet escape in each other no matter how much work it takes to keep their love going BTS.

April 2024 — Blake Shelton And Gwen Stefani Are Still Going Strong

As far as those divorce rumors? Gwen Stefani laid them to rest. She told Nylon, "It’s just lies. The truth is the truth, and we know what that is. And so that [negativity] would never penetrate just by me being vulnerable and sharing a song that I didn’t write for anybody else but myself and Blake." The song she's referencing is "Purple Irises" which is another sweet ode to their love.

*Sigh* They sure know how to make me believe that loving someone is a beautiful choice.

As a Power of Women honoree, Mariska was recognized in regards to her work as an advocate for sexual assault survivors. She took the stage and used her platform to discuss rape and assault conviction reversals, shining a light on the recent overturned ruling in Harvey Weinstein's landmark NYC case. Here's what she said:

Today I want to talk about reversing convictions, and more specifically I want to talk to you about how impossible it is to reverse mine. It’s impossible to reverse my conviction that survivors matter. It is impossible to reverse my conviction that what happens to us matters, and that our society must respond to survivors with a more a compassionate, holistically, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of what healing means.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that after a trauma, survivors can reclaim lives of hope, of possibility, of audacious risk, beautiful intimacy, and glorious, glorious abundant joy. And I stand before you as evidence of that statement.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that we must listen to survivors as experts on what justice means. It is extraordinary how little their voices are consulted, let alone incorporated, in the process of deciding how to repair harm. Justice is not a one-size-fits-all journey.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that patriarchal impunity has to end. Patriarchal impunity is when a male-dominated system exempts perpetrators from punishment. Studies show that only 20% of all rape cases in the U.S. are reported to the police, and that between 5 and 0% of all rapes result in a guilty plea or a conviction. So why do 80% of victims not report? Because they're met with a system that grants impunity to perpetrators; a system that blames victims; a system that accepts only those victims who are experienced as "real" rape; a system that completely misunderstands the neurobiology of trauma, which causes behavior in women that doesn't fit the picture of how a "real victim" would act.

Is that change needed that victims should just pull themselves together? Just buck up and report anyway? No. No, it's the system that receives them that needs to change

It is impossible to reverse my conviction — and the conviction of my extraordinary team, The Joyful Heart — that the backlog of untested rape kits can be brought to zero; that the testing of all new kits must be mandated; that we need a statewide kit tracking system; and that survivors have the right to access the status of their kits.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that grammar — yes, grammar — that we use when we speak about rape must change. In the sentence, "A woman is raped," there's a crime and there's a victim, but there's no perpetrator. Where's the perpetrator? Where is he? Statistically, as we know, most likely he's walking free. He's so free that he doesn't even appear in the language about the crime that he committed. Is that not extraordinary? It's extraordinary that in the very grammar, the perpetrator goes free. Reintroducing perpetrators in the language of rape will make some very unwieldy grammar, but that's the nature of change. It's unwieldy, it's messy, it's uncomfortable, but it's necessary.

Hargitay continued on in her prolific speech to describe that rape shouldn't be considered a "crime of passion" because it's "not simply the next step in the trajectory of his passion" when a man takes a consensual hookup too far and assaults a woman against her will. She stated that it's "an exercise of power," doubling down that the language we use is important.

The speech went on to address that rape is both about power and control, as a "construct" that was "built, and assembled, and reinforced over time." She noted that there are people with these positions of power — and she specifically called out those in the entertainment industry — that could make a difference and aligned themselves to victims and survivors.

After this and some other remarks, Hargitay specifically called out the Weinstein conviction reversal. She said:

I do want to say something about the Harvey Weinstein conviction, specifically about the reason that it was overturned: too many women's voices. Too many women's voices were allowed to speak. Hallelujah! Amen! I can't imagine anything more beautiful than that. The Daily podcast episode talked about how it was so risky for the prosecution to have that many women testify. Risky to let women speak? You're damn right it is!

Too many women speaking brings change. Too many women speaking shakes the establishment. Too many women means we get listened to more, and people might actually hear what we have to say. Look what happened when women started saying just two words, right? Me too — just as an example — a tidal wave of change. Me too.

And then of course, there was the response: the Me Too Movement. The backlash. The examination of whether the changes that have come are lasting, or are even positive. Of course there's a backlash! What did they expect? For women to speak repeatedly, loudly, together, with a purpose — for there to be no backlash? The backlash is evidence of how powerful those voices were, how powerful those voices ARE.

Watch Mariska Hargitay's Full Speech Here

Turns out that your TV heroes really can be your IRL heroes after all. Long live Olivia Benson! Long live Mariska Hargitay!