The second ever podcast episode of our mental health series, Composed, is now available in video format on YouTube.

The discussion this time centered around expectations, especially relating to content creation and being a creator on the internet, which can be a difficult thing to wrangle sometimes! We split the talk into four segments, one for each panelist, and each section focused on one way that “expectations” can manifest: commitment, presence and consistency, completionism, and maintaining good self-care habits while facing these expectations.

Even though the four of us have lived different lives and have very different experiences when it comes to streaming, our feelings and our advice are pretty well aligned. It’s easy to feel guilty to have to say “no” to commitments; it’s easy to feel like we’re letting people down if we’re not constantly engaged with our communities. We all feel the pressure to complete the things we start on stream; in fact, folks in the comments expressed solidarity with the idea that if we start a game on stream, we have to finish it on stream. In reality, no one is making us do these things. We just feel societal or cultural pressure because we are part of this streaming community (and, honestly, because we’re all a little too hard on ourselves).

But in the end, we are all human. We’re all just trying to be kind to one another. We should afford ourselves the same grace as we give to others.

A few key takeaways:

• You can be a people pleaser, but you’re a person worth pleasing.
• Your presence is precious to you, too.
• Ultimately, the satisfaction of completing something has to outweigh the effort that goes into it.
• Challenge any expectations that don’t serve a higher purpose in your life!

Our panelists:

• katryam: https://twitch.tv/katryam
• Island Grandpa: https://twitch.tv/island_grandpa
• Redria: https://twitch.tv/SuperRedria64
• Biscuit: https://twitch.tv/FaerieBiscuit

Check out the full video here: