Joshua Bassett: Healing in the Public Eye

Joshua Bassett: Healing in the Public Eye

From The Squeeze by Taylor Lautner

May 20, 2026 · 1h 10m · Episode 129

About this episode

Joshua Bassett discusses his experiences with anxiety, depression, and the impact of social media on mental health.

In this week’s episode, Tay sits down with singer, actor, and author Joshua Bassett! Joshua opens up about first experiencing anxiety and depression at a young age, how overwhelming online hate and constant criticism affected him, and the ways he learned to cope during some of the hardest seasons of his life. He shares how being misunderstood publicly impacted his mental health, why social media can be so harmful, and how staying grounded in your own purpose can help make outside opinions feel less consuming. Joshua also talks through the boundaries he now has with social media, what motivates him to continue speaking openly about mental health, and why he believes it’s so important for men to have spaces where they can be emotional, vulnerable, and honest about what they’re going through. Joshua also opens up about some of the difficult topics he addresses in his book, including his experience with sexual abuse, addiction, trust issues in friendships, and the emotions that came with releasing something so vulnerable into the world. He shares where the idea for the book first came from, the topic he was most afraid to write about, and what he hopes readers take away after…

People in this episode

Host: Taylor Lautner

Guest: Joshua Bassett

Topics covered

  • mental health
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • social media
  • vulnerability
  • emotional well-being

Keywords

  • Joshua Bassett
  • mental health
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • social media
  • vulnerability
  • Rookie

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Instagram

Books & works: Rookie

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