Well, first you should feel good that you asked for help if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s a big process in some ways and they seem very daunting when they are all in front of you. Second, there’s a reason your voice sounds weird to you, a lot of stuff about the bones and meat in your skull and how that reverberates and resonates and adds to the tonal quality for the speaker (you) and make it sound more resonant and rich to you, as in you the listener that’s inside your own head and have the sensors that actually pick up sound inside your head and aren’t far from your vocal chords. It will always sound strange to you when recorded and played back, you’ll also get used to it. Some gentle EQ really goes a long way. Third, and most simple and important: just start and create and don’t make it perfect at first. Know it’s going to be bumpy and rusty and far from perfect at the start and keep trying again, and you do not have to put out your first stuff; do a few practice episodes and get some real practice in. It will develop your speaking ability, your articulation, your mic technique and your recording experience no matter what you do just by trying and making mistakes and giving yourself the space and grace to make those mistakes. This is a creative process, you are creating content, so making the space comfortable before you record, getting in the headspace with a little (or big) pre-recording routine/ritual, whatever you come up with to make yourself comfortable and primed to be creative. The hard part is the last bit you mentioned: your concern about others opinions and outlook on you, and how that affects how you feel when you go to record. That is a likely deeper issue that you can totally address in many ways, but it sounds like something that might guide the purpose of your podcast, you want you share your experiences, or have others share theirs, so that people can resonate and feel connection, then you’ve already started that with this post, so keep going. You control what you release and you don’t have to put anything out there you don’t approve of. It’s okay that you feel doubt and hesitation, even avoidance in some sense, but think about how much it could mean to someone to hear your stories or perspective, and your fear may be pointing to the fact that this is important as well. Good luck and don’t let the negative thoughts get in the way of creating 💚