Backstage panic attack at concert changed my life 

Niamh McCarthy was living at warp speed as an assistant to U2 and Madonna until she experienced burnout. Following her work with Deepak Chopra, who teaches meditation and breathwork, she set up a wellness app 

Niamh McCarthy, founder of the wellness app Mindful Nation. 

‘FOR me, music is life. Music has the capacity to change your mood, as well as having a really profound physiological effect. So, when it came to designing a new meditation app, incorporating music was, for me, like a no-brainer,” says Niamh McCarthy.

The 30-year-old music management assistant turned founder of the meditation app Mindful Nation is speaking to me over a video call from Athens, where she “very bizarrely relocated” in the midst of the pandemic. She will soon be returning to Los Angeles, where, judging by the flash of brightness in her eyes, her heart belongs, despite the locals’ persistent mispronunciation of her name.

McCarthy has been in love with the US since she touched down in New York City on a J-1 at 19. That was just over a decade ago when enamoured by the buzz and the sense of limitless opportunity, she became convinced that she could “make her dreams come true here”.

Driven by this hunger for the bustling streets of the metropolitan city and the conviction that her new US connections in music could fast-track her career, the Portlaoise native deferred her final year of college.

With a strong belief in “manifestation and things aligning at the right time”, one chance encounter led to another.

She worked for magician David Blaine’s production company and unexpectedly found herself eating pizza with Guy Oseary, Madonna and U2’s manager. It was soon followed by a meeting with U2 and their management team in Madison Square Garden.

“Within the month, I left New York, moved to Los Angeles, and went on tour with Madonna first and then with U2,” she says.

McCarthy worked as an assistant manager to Madonna and U2 from the ages of 20 to 25, a period she humorously refers to as “well over a decade in music years” due to the industry’s relentless pace and superhuman demands.

Despite once considering it to be the ‘dream life’, the toll on her wellbeing became evident.

The turning point happened when McCarthy had a panic attack at a show in Berlin.

“I was brought to the hospital and they said I was severely dehydrated and my adrenals were shot. I was just so run down with no concept of self-care or self-love. I was feeling kind of broken and exhausted,” she says.

Under the guidance of Oseary, McCarthy travelled to Santa Barbara, California, where she met Deepak Chopra, the Indian-American bestselling author and advocate of mind-body medicine. Immersed in meditation and breathwork, this is where she realised that stress was at the root of her constant exhaustion.

Specifically, she attributes her burnout to routinely forgetting to breathe: “I just couldn’t understand how we were never told that when we breathe, we regulate our own nervous systems.”

Mindful at Maverick

Though McCarthy’s mindset was ‘transformed’ by Chopra’s teachings, she recognised the challenge of incorporating traditional meditation into the fast-paced culture of Maverick, the LA-based management company where she worked.

While now seasoned in transcendental meditation, McCarthy has not forgotten her initial struggle.

“[Silent meditation] was difficult for me because I was so used to being fast,” she admits. “Living in a big city, you’re always on the move. Sitting still in this context felt impossible; I just couldn’t do it. The silence didn’t work for someone as busy as me, constantly thinking of all the things I had to do.”

Upon her return from Santa Barbara, McCarthy was determined to package her newly acquired understanding of work-life balance for herself and her colleagues.

She set up ‘Mindful Maverick,’ a department at Maverick where music managers and assistants sat for 10-minute meditations accompanied by curated playlists and guidance from a trainer, whom McCarthy likens to a motivational coach or a spinning class instructor.

“My vision was always of a more upbeat experience. I wanted to see a physical difference in people leaving the class. There’d be time to set your intention, do some breathwork, visualise how you want to feel, repeat some affirmations, and then get up and go,” she explains.

In keeping the meditation classes short and dynamic, McCarthy’s mission was to design the kind of mindfulness that does not conflict with the demands of one’s daily life, sliding effortlessly into the rhythm of one’s long-established routines.

The entrepreneur says Mindful Nation was the natural product of Mindful Maverick, a music and meditation app adapted for a broader general audience.

According to McCarthy, catering to those with high-speed lifestyles, Mindful Nation doesn’t demand carving out an hour from your busy schedule for silent meditation every day. Instead, it keeps meditations short, never exceeding three minutes.

Much like how Spotify has become the soundtrack to our daily activities, McCarthy suggests integrating the app into your routine — be it upon waking up, brushing your teeth, when on the move, or commuting. She has envisioned the app as a “remote control for your mood” and a “life coach in your pocket” by creating meditations tailored to your desired mood, as well as mindfulness classes with a range of carefully selected trainers.

“It’s like Spotify with playlists designed for your current needs — a playlist for anxiety, stress, motivation, good mood, and sleep,” McCarthy explains.

Focus on frequency

In a world saturated with music playlists and meditation apps, what sets Mindful Nation apart from the rest?

From McCarthy’s perspective, it’s the app’s unique blend of guided breathwork, a focus on practising non-judgment, and the carefully curated selection of music.

She collaborated with scientists from the mindfulness department of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to develop the mindfulness component of the app, while several sound therapists helped select the distinct sounds.

Drawing inspiration from her travels to places like Ibiza and Tulum, Mexico, the former assistant manager has handpicked independent artists for their ability to produce music in specific frequencies.

“Each song is produced in a particular frequency, and different frequencies activate different parts of the brain.

“Some put you into a restorative state, while others make you active and thoughtful. We selected specific frequencies for the different [meditation] classes with this knowledge in mind,” she says.

Looking ahead, Mindful Nation has ambitious plans. “We want to do more live events, more retreats, and to bring the trainers into the world and create more of a global community,” she says.

Wherever McCarthy’s journey takes her, one thing stands out in a culture that prioritises productivity over wellbeing: her steadfast and defiant commitment to work-life balance. This includes her ritual of morning sun salutations, daily meditation, and a resolve not to succumb to road rage when another driver cuts her off in traffic.

Reflecting on those chaotic years in the music industry leading to her eventual burnout, she says, with conviction, “I’ve learned my lesson.”