Katie Jostock, Voice Actor, Singer, Mom

00:00
I don't know if you can gather this from me, but I'm a little emotional, a little dramatic.

00:12
Welcome to another episode of Chewing the Fat. I am your host, Big Robb. Thank you so much for tuning in, downloading the podcast. I certainly do appreciate that. It's our last episode before I take a little sabbatical, a little hiatus, a little time off. I'm probably coming back in February for season five. When I started this, gosh, three years ago, I didn't think that it would be going this long, but.

00:39
people have really seemed to understand the purpose of it and that we are not alone. There are others that are go through the same stuff that we do. And I love helping folks tell their beautiful, messy human stories. So thank you so much for being here to be a part of that, to hear the stories and get that encouragement that we are not alone. Another amazing guest of mine is on the line from North of Detroit. Please welcome Katie Jostock.

01:04
Katie. Woo woo woo. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much for being here. Katie is a voice actor that I have met in my journey into voice acting full-time now and she is just such a light in this community. I'm gonna gush on you just a little bit.

01:24
She's just so positive and real in her journey as well. And, you know, pulls no punches as to what, you know, what this life of doing, talking to yourself in padded rooms kind of looks like. And so I just, you know, fell in love with her content that she had on like Instagram and her poignant notes and messages that she would put on some of the forums that we were kind of...

01:53
both in on Facebook and Instagram and places like that. So, and I kept seeing your name pop up and I was like, I need to know this person more. And so I loved getting to know you and in doing this, you know, in the same pond, it's, you know, I tell a lot of people, it's really cool, it's a really cool community. It's a really kind community. A lot of people that wanna lift each other up and help each other out as opposed to kind of that cutthroat, you know.

02:23
actor business, you know, you're my competition type of thing. It's like, no, there's room for everybody. And I just love that. And I love being welcomed in. And you've been a big part of that welcoming feeling. So thank you. Oh, Robb, thank you. That's such a wonderful compliment. And that's what I want to hear that, you know, I know I'm funny and positive and stuff, but I also love to hear like, we can see that you're real as well because...

02:51
In anything I do, I mean, before I was in voice acting, I spent about almost a decade in higher education and I just noticed, you know, anything that I did, whether I was teaching or advising students, I always had like a mental health component to whatever I was doing. And then I found, you know, throughout my voice acting journey, that often like my

03:19
Progress with like self-actualization and mental health have kind of coincided Right with my progress and voiceover because it's all about bringing Your authentic self to the mic and so I just I just get chills, you know thinking about that And I'm so honored by all the kind compliments that you gave me and I'm so honored to be here with you today Well, thank you. Thank you for agreeing to I know we've kind of

03:48
bounced the schedule around a couple of times to try and get here but you know that it's worked out right yeah that's what happens when you got a toddler right it's been a long while since I've had a toddler but yeah I definitely know what you're talking about for sure yeah I said you're north of Detroit is that home that home base is that where you've been right born and raised kind of up in that area yep yep I was born and raised in Michigan met my husband when we were

04:17
And yeah, we, you know, fell in love and started a life together and then, you know, had our little guy, he's going to be four soon. I can't believe it. Yeah. But I've, I've been in Michigan my whole life and I love it here. I don't especially love the winters, but that's okay. It's just, you know, it's about the people that are here too. So that's great. That's great. Yeah. I assume you've. You, you, you have your.

04:47
You probably had your first snow already in that area. We did. We're getting quite a few inches outside right now and it's beautiful. I do love that. I love the quiet snow. It's just the deathly cold where I feel like I'm freezing my face off. I don't like that. Yeah, we always pray for a white Christmas because I'm down here in the South, in central Georgia, edge of South Carolina. And...

05:17
Yeah, we never, we usually end up getting ice storms or we'll have a nice foggy Christmas. It's like, oh, it's foggy, great. Yeah, that's beautiful. That deserves a song, I think, a foggy Christmas. A foggy Christmas. It's like life in cataracts. Here we are. Look. So you said that you had a life in higher education prior to coming to voice acting. Was that what you went to school for? Did you go to school to become a teacher and all that?

05:47
No, I mean, initially, no. So initially, I've always wanted to be an actor. I, you know, my dream when I was a kid was to do Broadway. But I think I had a lot of, like, limiting beliefs that prevented me from really full out pursuing that path.

06:08
And I remember I had, like, you know, I was always in the plays and everything in school. And I remember people would say, you're great, you're great. But, you know, acting, you know, it's not, it's kind of a crap shoot. And so I always was like, okay, well, I guess that's just kind of off the table. Right. So I went to school for communication.

06:29
and really fell in love with my radio broadcasting classes. And it was from there that I started, like I had a little campus radio show. One of my friends too actually worked in television production. Her father worked in television production. So he was connected to some of the talent agencies here in Michigan. And I remember my friend called me one day and she was like, hey.

06:55
I got a call for an audition. I can't do it, but I thought you might like to do it. And it's for a voiceover commercial. And I was like, what the heck is voiceover? But I was like, sure, I'll do it. So I went in. I don't think that I booked that job specifically, but I did my very first job that I booked was a KFC commercial.

07:19
And that was such an exciting time. That was, I think I was in my early 20s when that happened. And so I kept pursuing that route, but in the meantime, I've always kind of been a nerd. I love the classroom atmosphere. I loved going to school. And you know, your 20s, they're kind of a scary time, right? Like all of your...

07:43
ideologies are sort of being challenged and you're kind of starting have to, you know, rebuild who you are. And I just had some great professors who really rallied around me and supported me. And when I was going through a tough time mental health wise, and I was like, I want to do this. I want to breathe into people, inspire people. I want to let people know that they're not alone.

08:13
So then I was like, you know, I'm going to take a little break from voice acting, even though I, you know, I was solidly booking, but I was like, I want to be a professor. I want to go and get my doctorate. I made it through to my masters and then was able to do some adjunct teaching. And then my husband came to me one day. He used to be in elementary education.

08:39
And he came to me and he was like, we can't support a family on this salary that I'm making. So I want to go back to school for to become a mental health counselor. And I said, great. So then I was like, well, I got to get a full time job, you know, because adjuncts, we don't, you know, make a lot of money. And that was when I started doing academic advising. So helping students know, you know, figure out which classes, which requirements they had to meet in order to graduate.

09:10
And all along, I just, you know, all through that time in higher ed, I kept on talking about voice acting, voice acting, I really miss doing voice acting. But I had these limiting beliefs, right? Of like, well, you know, it's not, it's not logical, you know, to be an actor. It's not, you know, so I kind of, you know, put that dream off to the side. And it was really my husband who just said, Katie, like, I just can tell you're unhappy.

09:40
Let's just, you know, there's a perfect time in our lives right now. We don't have kids. So why don't you, why don't you do it? Let's build a booth in our basement, pursue your dreams, see how it goes. And you know, the funny thing is, is that I built this booth in my basement and like not long afterward I got pregnant. So.

10:07
But yeah, that's kind of a brief history of how I got into voice acting. And I just, I absolutely love it. I absolutely love it. That is so cool. And it's so cool that you kind of had a radio background. There's so many of us that have, so like, that's where I'm coming from, but never went to school for it, just started right at high school and just did it for.

10:35
you know, 30 something years and then this, the industry changed so much for me and then having to figure out how to use these useless skills in a useful way. Because, you know, it can be a hard thing to try and wedge those skills into something else more useful. So I'm so glad to have found voice acting. When you...

11:03
When did you and because I've heard you sing and you sing beautifully and you compose amazing songs You've got to follow Katie on On Instagram to hear all of her of her original material. It's amazing Was was there like a In that time when you were you know wanting to pursue that was there like the dream role the bucket list role that you like You know what? I want to do that

11:31
Yeah, so it's funny when I was younger, my family traveled to Toronto and we went to go see The Phantom of the Opera for the first time. And, you know, I don't know if you can gather this from me, but I'm a little emotional, a little dramatic. And so I just like as I don't know, I was like eight or nine and I just fell in love with that musical.

11:54
And I would like go around the house just trying to, you know, sing those high notes that Christine would sing. And so that was like my, that, and I would like, Christine from Phantom of the Opera and Eponine from Les Mis. I was like, I actually, when I was teaching, they had a staff talent show. I should post this. I don't think I have this online, but I was in a staff talent show where I sang on my own from Les Mis.

12:23
And yeah, it's just like the, you know, the creativity just has always, always been in me and the, the songwriting that I've been doing the past several months has really just been like an outlet from kind of like my rebellious, like, okay, like day after day I'm, I'm doing auditions. I'm following prompts of what.

12:46
they want me to do and but the songwriting is like I can do whatever I want. It is it's been so much fun but yeah I am I am really musical I've always written songs and I actually I was just looking at some of the songs I wrote in my early 20s and some of them but.

13:11
but it's the process of writing them. It's that, you know, exercising that creative muscle that I just love. Yeah, as you know, I tell folks all the time, no matter what your medium is, if there's something inside you, don't bottle it up. Don't keep it inside. Let it out, whether it be writing a, you know, writing a poem, writing prose. It's like, if you can't rhyme two words, that's fine. Just write, just, you know, stream of consciousness writing, whatever, just to get it out or find a place to perform, you know, join a...

13:38
you know, a community theater or find a band or vocal group to sing with or something like that. If there's something inside you, don't keep it bottled up because you never know who needs to hear that or needs to see, hey, I see myself in Katie and she's up there doing that. How encouraging is that then to that person to know, hey, maybe I can do that too. Cause we only get the one shot at this, you know? It's...

14:06
You know, I hate the YOLO phrase, you only live once. I hate that, I think it's the dumbest thing ever. And I've heard somebody change that, and instead of YOLO, it's YODO, you only die once. You live, you have a chance to live every day. So why would you say you only live once? You can live every hour, every minute of every day that you have. And I think that's what we should do.

14:36
put the most that we can out there into this one shot that we got, you know what I mean? And make the most of it. So yes, you creating your silly songs and being brave enough to get in front of a camera and be like, you know what, I don't care. This is fun and I'm having fun. And for somebody else to like see themselves in you or to see the opportunity, like, hey, I can do that too. I just think it's amazing. Yeah, and I think that that's probably what was missing for me in higher education is that I was trying so hard to.

15:04
fit this mold of like what I thought a professor looked like or what I thought an academic advisor looked like. And, you know, there were times that I could be a little bit more creative in the classroom or advising, but I just, you know, like if you're a creative person, you just feel like you want to burst out and create and when you're limited or when you limit yourself, because I was definitely, you know, feeding into some limiting thoughts.

15:33
Um, when, when you're like, when you don't allow the creativity to come forth, you know, you, you get kind of stuck, you get kind of like, I didn't even realize, I think what was happening to me that I was slowly losing, um, that creative part of myself. And I actually, I can't believe that I did this, but, um, I started, I started, uh, becoming really involved in community theater. I was.

16:03
I would go do my full-time job and then like drive right to our local community theater and was involved in plays and stuff like that. And that was crazy because I didn't sleep. But it was also such a great creative outlet for me. And it just reminded me I have to, I have to strengthen this creative muscle. I have to keep doing this. Yeah. You know, and I think that's...

16:31
great what you said about being in the booth. Yes, we have auditions and it's somebody else's vision. It's somebody else's saying, hey, I need you to be a Midwestern mom, or I need you to be a two-foot troll, or I need you to be a what, you know what I mean? And yes, there is some creativity to that, but you're still kind of limited to the script. Whereas when you can interpret your own and you can just do your own thing, it's so freeing. And being able to

17:01
Create with reckless abandon, as my friend Travis Brown says, just to create with reckless abandon and to not care, it's just to get it out. I think that is just one of the most amazing things that we can do as humans. Yeah. Yeah, and I think it's been a good lesson for me that money isn't necessarily gonna make me happy, right? Like I can book as much as, I can book a ton, right?

17:29
But it's still like what makes me happy is letting that creativity become uncaged, right? So it's really, you know, some of my most favorite auditions have been super low paying ones. Or some of my most favorite experiences have been, you know, you don't get paid to do community theater, right? And I don't get paid to write those songs, but I love doing it. It just really feeds me.

17:58
I love that. I love that. Yeah. For someone that may listen to this, it's, you know, maybe there's a mom out there and she's at home with a kid and would love to have some sort of, you know, release. What kind of advice would you give someone wanting to kind of get into voice acting right now? You know, there's a lot of kind of...

18:22
It's easy to put up barriers. I know I put up barriers in front of myself, but then there's a lot more people that wanna like, oh, that's a dumb thing to do. There's AI and there's this, that and the other. But like, if somebody wants to do it, I personally always encourage people, again, follow that dream because the dream's not gonna chase you. You have to chase it. But what would you say to somebody who wanted to start in the voice acting right now? Yeah, I would definitely say, look at...

18:49
the voice acting genres that make you happy, or think about the things that you are, you're most engaged in, right? So I've been booking a lot of e-learning jobs. And I think, you know, that's probably because I have a teaching background, right? That I spent a bunch of years doing e-learning. So that's definitely a voiceover avenue that has, you know, been good for me.

19:19
one day to be like, would one day be in like a Pixar film or something like that, right? So that's kind of what I'm looking toward. I know that that's something like being crazy, doing characters that, that definitely scratches that creativity itch. If you're like really into reading, if you really love listening to audio books, you know, that I mean, what a great way to earn some money if you're just sitting down.

19:48
and reading books that you love to do, right? So definitely step one would be to like, do your research on the various fields, the various pathways that you can take and voiceover. Another thing is coach, coach, coach, coach, coach, coach. Find a coach that you gel with. Most coaches will offer you like a free 15 minute consultation to see if, you know, the both of you get along to see

20:17
where you're at in your career, where you want to go. I've had some wonderful coaches. One that stands out to me, of course, is Mr. Brad Hyland. He's a wonderful coach. And I'm trying to, and I think really the third piece of advice that I would give.

20:39
Actually, no, there's another piece of advice, but number three would be give yourself time, give yourself grace. It's not gonna happen overnight. And I feel for people because I'm someone that's like, I wanna do, do, do, do, do, so I can get to my goal. And that's great, but you don't wanna burn yourself out. You don't wanna bankrupt yourself.

21:05
trying to achieve this career, you've got to give yourself time. And I guess like my fourth piece of advice, something that really changed me, that really helped me especially as a mom, was getting involved in an accountability group. So I've had the pleasure, and I believe she was on your show, of working with Billy Joe Cones. And Billy Joe offers a,

21:35
very price friendly accountability group. It's super affordable. She has such a knowledge of the industry. I pick her brain all the time, but really it wasn't until I took her course and that I could create these like actionable steps to forward my voice acting career that I really started to see some progress because.

22:02
I was so unfocused and like, oh, I want to do this, this, this. And because of that, I don't really think I was making any forward movement until she kind of helped me focus on selecting a goal and selecting the daily weekly steps that were going to help me get to that goal. So definitely, you know, in some find the genres of video that you like. Find a great coach.

22:31
Give yourself grace and time to achieve success and hook yourself up with an accountability group. And I would recommend Billy Jo Cohn's to anybody. She's great. She is great. She is. Oh, I love her. I love her. Yeah. And Brad's great too. I've coached with Brad and he's great as well. And that's one of the things like, I think there are people that come along like, oh, I could do that. I could do that. Yeah. It's like, okay, all right, that's great. But there's so much that you have to understand and especially

23:01
the mental preparedness part of it. Because being an actor, whether it's on camera or a voice actor, your job is the audition. It's not the role. The role is the prize. Your job is to audition and give the best that you can, knowing that 95% of the time, this is an unofficial percentage, but 95% of the time you're gonna get a no. Or. Right.

23:28
you're not gonna hear anything more than likely. You just kind of do this out into the ether and you gotta be able to pick up, move on to the next thing. Doesn't matter what that was, it might've been, hey, Katie, we want you to sing Christine here, audition. You'd be like, okay, cool, done. You cannot look back and think about it and wish it was somehow here again. Nope, missed it. Didn't pick up that, come on, come on, that was a song from Phantom, come on.

23:58
Wait, wait, time out. What did you just say? What did I just miss? I said that you've got to do the audition for Christine and then forget about it. You can't just wish it was somehow here again. Ah ha ha ha. Listen, I am like, I have a sick toddler. I'm surviving on four hours of sleep. That is genius. That's gold. No, no, no. I apologize, sir. No, no, no. I don't accept.

24:25
Now that song is just gonna play in my head for the rest of our conversation here. But what I was saying is you do have to be able to just move on to the next thing because it is a bunch of rejection. And if you have a hard time dealing with rejection or ambiguity where it's just, you don't know, you just did something, you don't know what's gonna happen. It's not gonna be fun. And I'll say a couple of things to that. One thing that I've learned, I think it's great that you said auditioning is the job.

24:53
because I've heard a lot of voice actors, and myself included, if you hear a commercial on TV, and you auditioned for it, right? And you're like, oh my gosh, that is so incredibly different than what they were initially asking for in the audition. And that's why I think it's so important to keep in mind that, like you said, your audition is your job. Your audition is to give to at least...

25:21
you know, if they're asking for it, at least two completely different takes that are gonna showcase, I can't talk, that are gonna showcase your creativity and are gonna show that like, hey, I can do whatever you ask me to do. Let me show you some of the rig that I have. And going back to your point about ambiguity, I have had, I've submitted an audition.

25:46
months ago, right? And I've had people pop up and say, hey, you auditioned for this, you know, back in July and we're finally ready to move forward with you, you know? So that's where it's like, you have to give yourself grace and time. You can't think about it. You just have to, I mean, and isn't that just life, right? Isn't that mental health? Just give your best, just do your best and let it go and understand.

26:15
You're gonna make mistakes, understand. Not every audition is gonna show your best, you know? But if you can just continually move forward, just take those baby steps, like that's all that we can do as human beings, right? Yeah, and I think that's where the finding an accountability group, like you're talking about, finding your tribe, finding your inner circle, your group.

26:43
And there are different levels to that. I mean, you can have that tight knit group and then you have that not as tight knit and then that loose knit group, you know what I mean? But, you know, so that you can turn to these people and have somebody because we're all going through the same thing. We all know exactly what you're talking about.

27:00
And in the forums and stuff like that, you always say, it's like, oh, well, I got this email and it wants me to do this. But I was like, nope, got the same one, don't do that. It's such a scam. You know what I mean? And that's when you find those people, they're like, hey, I don't want you to get taken. Like I almost got taken. That's what really helps this. And I've never found another, well, other than community theater, I've never found really another group that is as caring and really helpful as this group.

27:30
in voice acting and it's a great place to be a part of. It really is. It's amazing. I had the opportunity to go to the Mid-Atlantic VoiceOver Conference this past November. It was my very first VoiceOver Conference. And I was like just amazed at how easy it was to...

27:53
have relationship with people and to talk to people. And I was like, geez, I almost feel like I'm at camp. You know, like we're all here, like we're all on the same level. And it was funny because Tim Friedlander was giving the keynote address and I found myself just tearing up, you know, which, I mean, it doesn't really take much for me to cry, but I get, in public, yes, in public, you know.

28:21
It's, it's, the tears don't flow as easily, but Tim gave this amazing speech that just really resonated with me that he was talking about basically going through his life and explaining how all of the failures in his life led him to where he is today. And that just really hit home for me because like I was sitting back.

28:45
Thinking to myself, you know, five years ago, when I was dreaming about being an actor, being in voice acting, I couldn't have imagined that I would be sitting in this room feeling so connected, feeling so supported and loved by all of these people, you know, and I kind of felt a little bit of shame, you know, that my career in higher education didn't work out the way that I wanted it to. But kind of like what Tim was saying.

29:14
That failure led me to where I am today, right? And that just really hit me. Like I just remember feeling during his talk, like I'm home. Like I am right where I need to be. I'm connected with these people. I feel like I'm finally home and I've finally found my people. I love that. Yeah. I love that. Well, I was gonna say,

29:42
What does your family think of what you're doing now? Yeah. I mean, I'm assuming they're very supportive. Obviously your husband's very supportive. He built your booth there. Yeah. Well, I built my booth. Well. He financed it. Oh, gotcha, gotcha. But I mean- That's terrible. I'm so privileged. That's terrible. No, no, that's great. That's great.

30:12
Is does your little one I mean they only four but do they have any desire to kind of do what mommy does you know he one of the so one of the things that like attracted me to my husband right away is he is Hilarious and I told myself like you know and in my earlier years when I was dating I was like I have to find a guy that makes me laugh like they're you know, and

30:40
Most people who know me, I have a very distinctive laugh. So I just fell in love with that about him immediately. And both my husband and I are pretty silly people. And my son, it is so much fun to see how he's just fitting right on in with the silliness. And he might have, I don't know, he might have some acting chops. He is actually.

31:09
I feel like one of those moms who's like, here, take, look at this picture of my son. I don't care if you want to see it or not, but he is, he's actually a pretty good athlete for his age. Like we were sitting up in the living room the other day and throwing the ball back and forth. And I'm like, jeez, he has a really good arm. But yeah, it's funny. My son always wants to come into my booth.

31:33
So I actually, I almost posted a video about this because I just thought it was hilarious. I actually had to get one of those like child proof doorknobs like that you put. And the other day I was like, I got a notification like for an audition that was due yesterday, right? I had to do it now.

31:53
and I had just put some lotion on my hands. And so I'm running downstairs to my basement, trying to open the darn door and I can't because of the toddler door. No. Oh, but yeah. So my son loves it. He loves recording himself. I personally think that my husband would be really good in voiceover, but he has no interest in it. But my husband is so...

32:20
it's just, I'm just so incredibly blessed to, we've always supported each other, right? In whatever vocation we've sought out, you know? And we've, you know, we've career hopped a bit, but that has been like our main thing for each other is, hey, you have a passion for something, go get it, go after it. And I just feel so incredibly blessed that I have, that I have a partner who,

32:49
wouldn't balk at my dream and would say, do it. You know, yeah, I feel very blessed for that. I love that. And to follow up on that, for aside from the work that you're doing, what's bringing you joy right now? Oh, that's such a great question. It gives me all the feels. I mean, honestly, just my son is really into Santa Claus right now. And I love it.

33:19
And one thing that he does, okay, so this is kind of voiceover related. So one of our games with each other is that he knows I do funny voices, right, or silly voices. So sometimes he'll just, he'll prompt me into a voice, like he'll say, hey, Santa, what's she gonna bring me for Christmas? And then I'll have to be like, well, Joshi, I'm going to bring you a dump truck for Christmas. I kind of sound like.

33:47
Oh gosh, what's his name? I sound like Daniel Day-Lewis from There Will Be Blood, don't I? I'm gonna take my straw and put it in your milkshake. Anyway, but yeah, so that's a really fun game that we play together. And then honestly, I...

34:10
I think writing the songs, I'm just like, I'm having a lot of people kind of reach out to me and thinking about songs to do for people in the voiceover community. So I've just been like writing, writing, writing. So that has been a lot of joy for me as well. Yeah, just, you know, hanging out with my family and, and doing what I love to do, you know.

34:35
And honestly, like connections like we're having right now, like I just feel so grateful that I get to connect with people in this community and people like Billy Joe and Brad. I just, you know, I have a chosen family, which I'm so grateful for.

34:59
Hey, Katie, this is the second segment of this show. This is where we dive a little bit more into your mental health journey. One thing that I know just from my personal experience is that depression wants to tell you that you're alone. And that's how it tries to control you, is you're the only one that feels this way. But the great thing is when you realize there are so many people that are going through the same thing and are feeling the same thing, that you're not alone. And that takes some of that power away from depression.

35:29
Whether you have it, you know, you know, clinically diagnosed or not, or you just have those days that you just don't feel like doing anything and you start to talk down to yourself because you're being lazy or being a slob. You know, sometimes you just have to do some self-care like that. So for you, how do you keep the darkness at bay? Yeah. Yeah, that's such a great question. It has been, gosh, I think I've been struggling with depression and anxiety since I was a

35:58
I remember my first panic attack was in first grade. I remember it pretty vividly and I had no idea what a panic attack was. I had no idea why I was feeling a certain way. And thankfully in my family, they were always proponents of going to therapy. So in my teenage years, I went to go see a mental health counselor.

36:25
And that has been, that's something that I've done my entire life. And then in my early twenties, when I really struggled, um, then we kind of started in my family, we started having conversations about, you know, this is, this is a genetic thing, you know, that we, in my family, we have had a long history of depression, anxiety, you know, I'm, there's some bipolar in there. There's some alcoholism, um,

36:53
So it really, you know, so then I started, you know, having conversations with doctors about medication. And I found that to be super helpful for me. Actually, one of my favorite adaptations of a song right now. I learned from Glennon Doyle, who's the author of Untamed and has the We Can Do Hard Things podcast.

37:17
And I died laughing one day because she, you know, she talks about her mental health struggles and how she takes medication. And she was like, I have a song for everybody. Jesus loves me this I know, for he gave me Lexapro. And that just like, that's definitely what helps me keep the darkness at bay is the humor, you know.

37:44
I think that, again, doing the videos has definitely, and the songwriting has exercised that funny creative side of me, keeping creative helps. There are times that I can't do anything, right? One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this show was because just in November, I went through this really bad bout of depression, probably...

38:12
Probably one of the worst bouts I've had since after having my son and having postpartum depression and anxiety where I just couldn't do anything. I couldn't be the kind of wife I wanted to be, the kind of mom, the kind of voice actor. And you know, I just so relate to what you said about those intrusive thoughts that say you're lazy.

38:38
you know, look at you, you can't even do anything, you can't even offer anything right now. And I know that, you know, I understand that those are limiting thoughts and beliefs. They're also, I'm kind of interested in internal family systems as well, which is basically like they're, you're composed of all these parts, right? It's almost like you're sitting at this long dinner table.

39:05
and like your best self is at the head of the table and then you have other parts of yourself like anxiety, anger, depression, you know, all these parts of you that are trying to keep you going. Right? And one of the most powerful things that I've been able to do with some of those, you know, I guess uglier parts is just give them a chance to talk, right? Like say, okay, so.

39:33
So what you're saying right now, like, you know, please, please tell me, tell me what you're saying. You're saying that you feel like I'm being lazy or, you know, what have you, you know, and then just saying, hey, intrusive thoughts, I know you're trying to protect me. I know that you are trying to make sure that I survive. And that's why you're saying these things that are making me feel like I don't want to act or do anything that would be beneficial to me.

40:02
But guess what? So I appreciate your service, but I've got it. I've got it. And one time I even had the, this might be a little woo woo for the audience, but one time I even said to, there was a part of me that I think I was doing an audition, and there was just this really critical part of me saying, you can't do it. You can't do this. You're not good enough. And I just was like, hey.

40:32
to this part, I was like, hey, what are you, what's going on? Like, what are you really thinking here? And I felt like the part just said back to me, I just really don't want you to get hurt. I really don't want you to get hurt. And that, it just made me cry because I was like, listen, you know, I thank you so much for taking care of me. I can do this, you know? And so a lot of the time, those

40:59
those parts within us that are critical are trying to do something beneficial for us, right? But they're, they no longer serve us anymore, right? So, um, so that's why I'm in therapy. That's why I'm taking medication. I do group counseling. Sometimes I reach out to people who I know are not going to judge me about whatever it is, you know, that I'm talking about.

41:28
And lastly, how do I keep the darkness at bay? Sometimes the only way out is through, you know? Like my husband and I sat down when I was having this bout and I just said, he was just like, well, maybe we can try this or, you know, maybe this or this like, you know, exercise at the gym, eating well, you know, blah, blah, blah. And those are all great things. Those are all things that you should do. But it's also important to remember you are not something to be fixed.

41:58
Right? You are some, you are a person who deserves love and who deserves time, time to get through that difficult bout of depression. And you will get through it. You will. That's, that's what I always tell myself. Like I know I have nothing to give right now. I'm probably not great company to be around, but I know I'm going to get Katie back. I just have to give it some time. Right? Yeah. Yeah.

42:25
And that's one of the things that I've heard from other people too. So, you know, sometimes you have to sit with it. Sometimes you have to sit in the darkness for a moment. Not that you're going to stay and not that you're going to wallow, but you have to acknowledge it. Hey, I'm here, but I am not the darkness. The darkness doesn't define me. I can move through. I will continue on through this. You know, take comfort and strength in knowing you've

42:54
gotten through all of your hardest days prior to this. Those days that you thought you would never get through. Yet here you are. Could be weeks, months, years past those hardest days that you had and that you thought were the end and they weren't. You didn't let the darkness define you. You acknowledged it, you moved through it. You gave yourself the grace and time, like you said, that you needed.

43:24
to be able to do what needed to be done. Yeah. Yeah, and also just remembering, you know, there are times when your brain is going to lie to you. Like when you're having thoughts, which I often have these intrusive thoughts that I've had to work my entire life to deal with, intrusive thoughts like you're nothing, you're not worthy.

43:47
Those are lies. Those are absolute lies. And it's really hard, especially when you're deep in your feels, not to believe those lies in that moment. And again, that's one of the reasons why I wanted to come on here because just like you, I wanna be open and vulnerable about the fact that I have those thoughts, those feelings. I have those down days, sometimes weeks.

44:14
And anybody else who's listening and experiencing that, you are not alone and you are not unworthy. And I just, you know, again, in whatever I've done, I used to leave my classes when I taught with that thought. I remember I used to say to them at the end of the semester, please just remember you're perfect just as you are. And if you've done anything that, you know, has brought you shame, you can always turn the page. You can always start new again.

44:43
And, you know, I still hold to that.

44:52
Katie, this is the third segment of the show. It's time now for the fast five. The fast five is done now for the fast five. Fast five. Sorry, still working on a theme song. I know it's been four years, but eventually. I'll let it go down. Love it. That was gorgeous. Fast five is powered by Pod Decks. It's an app created by my friend Travis Brown. If you go to chewingthefatbr.com/poddcks, it will take you to the link. We can download it. It's a...

45:21
Made for podcasters, but they're great icebreaker questions, all types of different categories and stuff. So you can check that out, but I'm gonna hit the randomize button here. It's random five questions, no wrong answers. Just first thing pop to the top of your head. Are you ready? Ready. Here we go, question number one.

45:42
Do you prefer live action or cartoon superhero shows? Oh my gosh, probably live action. Hmm, interesting that the voice actor I know, right? Has to see live action. Yeah, very weird, I know. Yeah, yeah, but I get it. Especially if it's a good, if it's a great adaptation or whatever. Like, I'm sorry, the three Deadpool movies are just, oh.

46:10
Amazing. So good. Yeah. So freaking good. I mean, if you were to ask me, like, would I prefer to watch, like, a Marvel movie or play one of the earlier God of War games, I probably would prefer to play a God of War game, to be honest. Gotcha. But movie-wise, yeah. Movie-wise, yes. I love it. Question number two.

46:35
Ooh, if humans came with a warning label, what would yours say? Oh my gosh. Um, may scare away the children. I feel like, especially, you know, what, one of my good friends, Jim Fronk is always just like, you're insane. You're nuts because I, because I am. I love it. Caution for the children.

47:05
Question number three.

47:09
Hmm. What was the first car you ever owned? Oh my gosh. The first car I ever owned was a Chevy Cavalier. Oh yeah. I was beating the boys off with a baseball bat. What color was it? It was black. Okay. Yeah. Nice. Nice. All right. Question number four.

47:37
If you could learn any language fluently, what would it be? Oh my gosh, you know what's funny? If you're familiar of the biblical story of Solomon and how God grants him one wish, one thing, and Solomon asks for the gift of wisdom, I would ask to be able to communicate and understand in all languages across the world. So I know that doesn't really.

48:05
answer your question, but I want to know every single language. I want to communicate with everybody. Okay. But if you had to narrow it down to one for right now, you're going to get a one year subscription to Duolingo to work on one language. I love French. I absolutely, I love French. It's c'est magnifique. I love, I love it. I studied it.

48:30
in high school and a little bit in college and it slowly started to leave me but I love French. Yeah that's good and you're up close enough to Canada it would be useful as well. I like it. And pity.

48:52
If someone left you a cottage somewhere in the countryside in their will, where would you want the cottage to be located? Within the U.S.? It just says in a countryside. It doesn't say which country. So anywhere, you in the cottage. Well, if you were asking this question to my husband, he would say that his dream is to get a cottage on Lake Huron. I love the warm weather.

49:21
I have actually traveled to France, to the south of France. And... You mean the cottage on the French Riviera or something? Yeah, yeah. I think that that would probably be my choice. I don't know what the French word for cottage would be. I guess it would be a chateau on the French Riviera. We'll just go with that. I don't know what...

49:42
cottages in French. I don't know either. I have to learn. I have to learn what it is, right? Cotage. My task. Yeah, cotage. Cotage. The cotage on the French. I love it. That's awesome. Well, that is our Fast Five and that is the show. Katie, thank you so much for being here. Well, thank you, Robb. I mean, thank you so much for spreading and spreading good words about

50:09
Just being worthy, just as you are, no matter what you struggle with. It's just, again, after I went through my difficult time in November, I was like, I wanna talk about this. I wanna talk about how, you know, how sometimes it's really hard and it's okay. Everybody struggles. So thank you so much for this opportunity to share. I love that you could be here and thank you for being so willing and open to sharing. If folks...

50:38
do want to keep up with you. What's the easiest way they can do that? Yeah, so I'm on Instagram, Katie Jostock Vo. I'm on Facebook. I'm on TikTok. I also my website is www.katiejostock.com So, yeah, you can find just Google Katie Jostock. I'll pop right up.

51:01
Well, I make sure that I put those links in the show notes and so that people can find you and keep up with you. And thank you again for being here and thank you for your friendship. I love you and I love what you're doing and I can't wait to continue to see how much further you are going to go. And I'm so glad to be a part of that journey now as well. Well, thank you, Robb. It's been an honor.

51:25
Thank you again. And if you would like to support this podcast, again, we're shutting it down for about a month or so, be back in February. You can buy me a coffee at chewingthefatbr.com. It's the little yellow coffee mug that's on there, a little coffee cup if you want to, to help support the podcast. If not, no worries, I'll still be here. In the meantime, we'll look forward to the next chance we have to sit a spell and chew the fat.