The Proper Mental Podcast

Welcome to episode 230 with Sophie Scott, who is a practicing transpersonal psychotherapist and the Founder of Balance, an award-winning wellness media brand working to bring mental and physical wellbeing to the masses. Sophie is also the author of ‘You Are Not Alone in This' a book aimed at the partners, parents, siblings and children of people who are suffering, that offers practical ideas on how to support a loved one with their mental health without losing your own. In this episode I chat to Sophie about her own experience of growing up around mental illness and having to support family members through challenging times and how that inspired her book. We chat about how to start difficult conversations, how to be there for someone and the messy feelings that come with caring for someone you love. We talk about burnout, compassion fatigue, cognitive distortions, warning signs and safety plans and taking a holistic approach to mental health. This is an important part of the mental health conversation that is neglected and forgotten about and as someone who's mental health has played havoc with his family over the years, I know full well how useful knowing some of this stuff would have been for the people in my life when I was unwell. I stumbled across Sophie's book in my local library and knew straight away that it would make an impactful and insightful episode.  It's a wonderful book, with loads of ideas and tools, and I highly recommend giving it a read! Follow Sophie on social media @sophie.b.scott Learn more about her work and book here:  www.sophiescott.co You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 229 with Glyn Butcher, who is a member of the People Focused Group in Doncaster and an Ambassador for the Citizen Network. Growing up Glyn experienced racism, abuse, poverty and discrimination on a daily basis.  When he was 11 his Mum was sectioned under the mental health act and not long after that he left to school to care for her at home. He spent his youth bouncing in and out of care homes and his adulthood bouncing around the mental health system and spent 39 years as part of one institution or another and struggling with suicide, self-harm and addiction. Things started to change for Glyn when he was introduced to the People Focused Group, an organisation that embraces a new way to deliver support in the community, based on people power and since experiencing true peer support, Glynn hasn't looked back. In this episode Glyn guides me through the challenges and trauma of his early life and how he ended up trapped in the mental health system. We chat about his path to the People Focus Group, what happened when he got there and the incredible work that he does now. We chat about hearing voices, the power of community, taking back control, meeting people where they are at and why Glyn has come to see his experiences with mental illness as a gift. And we talk about the work that PFG are doing in and around Doncaster and how they are harnessing the power of the local community to do things differently to not just change lives, but to empower people to save themselves. Glyn is an incredible human being!  It was a privilege and a joy to chat to him and it's impossible to spend time in his company and not feel inspired and hopeful. If, like me, you're a bit cynical of World Mental Health Day and you want to cut through the noise and the performance of it all, then this is a conversation that you need to hear. Follow Glyn on Twitter @glynbutcher Learn more about the incredible things happening at PFG here: https://peoplefocused.org.uk You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 228 with Dr Eugene Lipov, who is an anaesthesiologist and pain physician and a leading expert in treating post-traumatic stress. When advanced brain scans revealed trauma's invisible scars on the brain, Dr Lipov realised that if trauma could be seen, then it could be treated and he became the pioneer of using a stellate ganglion block to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, a procedure that is so impactful that it has been nicknamed ‘The God Shot' by a Royal Marine who received the treatment. The stellate ganglion is a cluster of sympathetic nerves in the neck that plays a big part in the body's fight or flight response and it's this upregulated state that can become hypersensitive in people who have experienced trauma or have a diagnosis of PTSD. A stellate ganglion block (SGB) is a medical procedure that involves injecting a local anaesthetic in to these nerves, which essentially turns off the stress response, and allows the nervous system to reset to a less anxious state. In this episode, Dr Lipov joins me to talk about this revolutionary procedure, how he came to work with it and the science behind how it works. We chat about his own experiences with trauma and how they informed and inspired his passion for this work and he breaks down the myths around treatment of trauma and PTSD that keep people trapped and offers his take on real healing and full recovery. And we chat about the physiology of trauma, how trauma can be contagious and passed between generations, ending stigma through science and looking at trauma as a physical injury and not a mental weakness. You can learn more about Dr Lipov's work at Dr. Eugene Lipov | Stellate Ganglion Treatment for PTSD His book The God Shot.  Healing Trauma's Legacy: The Science, the Stories, the Solution is out next year and available for pre order here: The God Shot | By Dr. Eugene Lipov and Lauren Ungeldi Follow Dr Lipov on social media @dreugenelipov You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 227 with Angus Collins, an endurance athlete and adventurer who has rowed across the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans, setting multiple records in the process. He is the youngest man to row three oceans and is thought of as one of the world's most successful rowers and he achieved all of this while battling his own mental health, taking on these incredible challenges to avoid facing up to himself. His struggles with depression would eventually lead to a suicide attempt on his 30th birthday. We talk about all of that in this episode, how we started rowing and how these incredible challenges became a way of avoiding his mental health, how he came to the edge of taking his own life, how he got help and what came next. This year he set out on A Great British Odyssey, an attempt to become the first person to row solo and unsupported around mainland Great Britain. A run of bad luck, unexpected challenges and equipment failure left Angus stranded and with Storm Floris brewing, and both the physical and mental weight of the challenge building up, he made the incomprehensible decision to call it off. A journey that originally appeared to be one of physical endurance and mental toughness became an inspirational display of vulnerability and of asking for help when life just gets too much. In this episode I chat to Angus about his passion for adventure and endurance and how rowing across oceans helped him to avoid getting help with his mental health. And Angus takes me through his Great British Odyssey, everything that led to him calling it off and how that affected him mentally, both at the time and since getting back on dry land. And we chat about men's mental health in general, reframing failure, masculinity, real vulnerability and the true meaning of resilience. I followed Angus' journey around the British coastline on social media and I was absolutely blown away by the physical aspect but it was the way that he faced the end of the challenge that really moved me.  There's a lot of talk around men's mental health but not much action and a lot of the words used, particularly around vulnerability, and asking for help, are thrown around as if this stuff is easy. To see Angus completely going through it, and making the hardest but bravest of decisions, was nothing short of inspirational and it was wonderful to get the opportunity to chat about all of that with him. Follow Angus @anguscollinsbe and learn more at www.beyondendurance.co.uk You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 226 with Nick Ray, who is a sea kayaker, wild walker and adventurer who also lives with treatment resistant depression and is a suicide attempt survivor. Nick has undertaken many adventures by sea and over land.  Throughout 2022 and into 2023 he undertook a 12-month solo sea kayak journey around Scotland, paddling over 3000 miles. This year he walked 1000 miles, over three months to reach each of Scotland's four corners. In this episode Nick joins me to talk about these expeditions, what they've taught him and the struggles with depression that have inspired and informed his adventures. We chat about how his upbringing in Zimbabwe that sowed the seeds for a life time of adventure, his experiences with depression and how his mental health has impacted his life over the years. We also chat about some of the incredible insights he has gained from undertaking these challenges and spending weeks at a time on his own and submerged in nature. We chat about hopelessness and hospital stays and we chat about the power of solitude, the beauty of nature, embodying change and the joy of living simply and quietly. It was a joy to chat to Nick and I found him to be insightful and wise and really lovely man.  This conversation offers up a lot to think about! Follow Nick on Instagram @nick_lifeafloat and X @Lifeafloat More info about his adventures, writing and speaking can be found at www.lifeafloat.co.uk You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 225 with Phil Borges, a documentary photographer and filmmaker, recognised for his documentation of indigenous peoples and tribal cultures, with a particular focus on Tibet, human rights, and women's empowerment issues.  His work is exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. While Phil was documenting the various human rights abuses faced by tribal and indigenous cultures around the world, he began to meet their healers and visionaries-the people we often refer to as shamans. He was surprised to learn that many of the shamans he met had been identified in their youth as ‘being gifted' by having visions, hearing voices and experiencing intense mood swings-what we would call a psychotic episode. His documentary ‘Crazywise' explores the growing severity of a global mental health crisis that is dominated by biomedical psychiatry and looks at some the ways that indigenous peoples' acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from. In this episode Phil joins me to chat about his journey from dentist school in San Francisco to photographing the emerging hippie movement of the 1960's and how this led him to exploring and documenting tribal and indigenous cultures around the world. We talk about meeting the Dalai Lama and the differences in how mental illness is viewed and treated in different cultures compared to our approach in the West. And we talk about connection, compassion, community, what can happen when we reframe mental breakdown as a spiritual awakening and how he brought all of these ideas together for his documentary. Watch Crazywise here:  CRAZYWISE – Documentary Film Learn more about Phil here:  Home | PHIL BORGES PRODUCTIONS storytelling for social change Phil has several Tedx talks that you can watch here: Psychosis or Spiritual Awakening: Phil Borges at TEDxUMKC - YouTube You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 224 with Karla Chubb, who is a singer, guitarist and songwriter in Sprints. Sprints formed in Dublin in 2019 and quickly became known for their explosive, cathartic, and incredibly powerful live performances.  After a series of EP's, they released their debut album in 2024 to great critical acclaim.  The follow up ‘All That is Over' is out this month. In this episode I'm joined by Karla to chat about the origins of Sprints, their relentless touring schedule and life on the road in general. We chat about her experiences with depression when she started college, how resisting her sexual identity exacerbated her mental state and how she has come up against her mental health through the years since then. And we chat about dealing with internalised battles, finding the vocabulary to talk about and understand mental health, creativity as an outlet and balancing energy levels as an introvert while being the front person of a rock band. The first Sprints album was one of my favourite records of last year and I am very excited to hear the new one so it was wonderful to chat to Karla about all of it! For all things Sprints, the new record and upcoming tour dates head to www.sprintsmusic.com and follow @sprintsmusic You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 223 with Dr MaryCatherine McDonald, who is a research professor and life coach who specialises in the psychology and philosophy of trauma. Her work focuses on thinking critically about how we understand, define, and heal from traumatic experiences. Her newest book, The Joy Reset is a ground breaking, accessible guide to identifying the key ways trauma prevents joy and hope, with strategies for healing. In this episode I'm joined by MC to chat about her research in to trauma and how things look different when we use both a psychological and a philosophical lens. We chat about misunderstanding joy and the different forms this emotion can take and we talk about how joy interacts with trauma and the research and that informs this work. MC also guides me through the neuroscience of The Hope Circuit and The Fear Circuit and breaks down the 6 thieves of joy and what we can do about them and we discuss how all of this relates to trauma and recovery. We also chat about the nervous system, cultivating kindness, why some people resist joy, overidentifying with trauma and why it's so important to imprint ‘tiny little joys' every single day. This is a fascinating conversation about the complexities of trauma alongside small, actionable steps to change your relationship with it and the science and research to back it up. You can connect with Dr MaryCatherine and join her in imprinting a tiny little joy everyday this year on her social channels @mc.phd Find out more about all aspects of her work at www.drmcmcdonald.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 222 with Anthony Kavanagh, a singer and author who exploded onto the pop music scene in the late 90's when his song ‘I Can Make You Feel Good' was a huge hit all over the world.  At just 18 years old he was touring with the Spice Girls and Boyzone, on the front cover of Smash Hits and countless magazines and regularly appearing on Top of the Pops. Throughout this time Anthony was keeping his sexuality a secret, slowly developing a serious drinking problem and all while trying to stay relevant in the music industry where fame can be quickly taken away and second chances are few and far between. In this episode, Anthony joins me to chat about growing up in Manchester with dreams of being a pop star and how he made those dreams a reality. We talk about Smash Hits awards, sell out tours and being a pop star and we chat about what happens when the hits stop coming and the money starts to run out. We also talk about 90's nostalgia, the mental toll of hiding his sexuality, addiction, rehab, recovery and the beauty of finding humour and hope in the darkness. His recent book ‘Popscars: A Memoir on Fame, Addiction and the Dark Side of 90's pop' is one of my reads of the year so far and it was wonderful to chat about why he decided to write the book and what he learned about himself from writing down his story to share with the world. Anthony is a lovely man and it was absolutely lovely to chat!  Connect with Anthony on social media @kavana_real His book is available everywhere now and you can learn more here: Pop Scars - Bonnier Books You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 221 with Kaila Yu, a journalist, travel writer and the author of Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty. A former model, Kaila became closely associated with the import scene that took off in the late 90's (think Fast & Furious 1) and also featured in many of the high-profile magazines of that time. In this episode Kaila joins me to chat about growing up as an Asian woman in America and how pop culture warped her sense of self-worth and mental wellbeing. We chat about her journey in to modelling, the lack of Asian representation and role models at that time, the emotional and psychological impact of being hypersexualized by media and her own journey with beauty standards self-acceptance, and healing. And we chat about Asian fetish, feminism, finding self-love and compassion, and the intersection of race, body image and mental health. Connect with Kaila on Instagram @kailayu and TikTok @kaila.yu Learn more at https://kailayu.com Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty is available everywhere, learn more at: Fetishized by Kaila Yu: 9780593728017 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 220 with Miranda Arieh, who is a mental health educator and founder of the pioneering HEROES Programme, a holistic, transformation-focused and trauma-informed approach to mental health recovery. Miranda was sectioned under the mental health act at the age of 14 and became a ‘revolving door service user' in the NHS mental health system, bouncing in and out of foster care, homelessness and crisis. This cycle continued until a breakdown at the age of 30 forced her in to an intense period of learning, development, healing and growth and it was her experiences of the mental health system and her own journey outside of it that led to the creation of HEROES. This educational and therapeutic mental health solution has been piloted within the NHS and Miranda has supported the recovery journeys of thousands of patients across Leeds and trained more than 800 NHS and private healthcare staff. In this episode I chat to Miranda about her experiences with mental health and how these experiences inspired her groundbreaking approach to recovery. We chat about the role of lived experience, building capacity for difficult emotions, dis-identifying from your pain and how she is changing the mainstream mental health systems from the inside out. And we chat about identity, self-compassion, forgiveness, embodying change and the importance of tools, resources and actionable steps when it comes to recovery. This is powerful stuff!  It's easy to criticize the mental health system but it's much harder to offer up actual solutions or to make any sort of meaning change but that is exactly what Miranda is doing with HEROES and that is both exciting and inspiring.  It was wonderful to learn more about how it works, where it came from and the impact that it's having. You can learn more about this incredible project at https://mirandaarieh.co.uk/ Follow Miranda on social media @mirandaarieh and @heroesprogramme You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 219 with Andrew Scull, who is a sociologist whose research has centred on the social history of medicine and particularly psychiatry for more than 50 years. He is a recipient of the Roy Porter Medal for lifetime contributions to the history of medicine and the author of more than a dozen books including Madness in Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity and Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness. In this episode Andrew guides me through the history of mental illness and psychiatry. We discuss the earliest documented accounts of madness and lunacy, some of the different ways civilisation has approached the treatment of mental illness throughout history and the role of the religion and the church. We chat about the idea behind asylums, why they didn't work and what came next. We cover surgery as treatment before the introduction of a medical approach and how some of our medications were created and began to be prescribed And we chat about the origins of lobotomy, electric shock treatment, the influence of Hitler and the Nazi's during WW2 on early theories around genetic predisposition and what we can learn about the future of treating mental illness from studying the past. This is a huge episode and we cover an incredible amount of history in a relatively short amount of time.  I can't thank Andrew enough for his insight and I found some of the things we covered absolutely mind blowing! You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 218 with Lauren McQuistin, who is a musician, opera singer and author of No Lost Causes Club, a memoir that explores what navigating sobriety looks like in our modern world. She is also the creator behind one of my all-time favourite mental health related meme accounts @brutalrecovery. While in her early twenties, Lauren was told that her life expectancy could be as low as twenty-five if she did not stop drinking and in this episode, she joins me to chat about her experiences with addiction and her journey towards sobriety. We chat about growing up in rural Scotland, moving to America to become an opera singer and the mental health challenges that fuelled both her music career and her relationship with alcohol. And we chat about low self-esteem, getting sober, staying sober, accepting help when you really don't want to and how wonderful things happen when you realise that you're just not that special. Sobriety is big right now and, on the whole, that has to be a good thing but I think that how we talk about recovery often misses the mark.  It's not all amazing experiences, new friendships and an exciting new lifestyle – although it can be these things – it's often messy and confusing and brutal and I love the way that Lauren talks about all the different sides of her experiences.  And if all of that can be summed up with a great meme, then I am all for it! Follow Lauren on social media @brutalrecovery Here book is available to pre-order now at No Lost Causes Club by Lauren McQuistin – HarperCollins Publishers UK You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 217 with Sam Parker, who is British GQ's Site Director and someone who has worked in culture and lifestyle journalism for over 15 years. He is also the author of Good Anger: How Rethinking Rage Can Change Our Lives and for this episode he joins me to chat about the good bits and the bad bits of getting angry. We chat about his experiences with anxiety that led him to explore his relationship with anger and how these two complicated emotions can feed each other. We chat about the purpose of anger, how to channel to it, why getting angry can be a positive thing and the mental and physical price to be paid by repressing it. We also chat about the important difference between anger and aggression, people pleasing, racket emotions, spiritual bypassing and how anger expression differs between men and women. As a mental health podcast, the topic of anger comes up a lot!  It's a complicated and misunderstood emotion and it was amazing to chat to Sam about his book.  He spent years researching anger and had an incredible knowledge of the subject at his finger tips and I learned a lot, not just about anger, but also about my own relationship with anger. Good Anger is available now: Good Anger: How Rethinking Rage Can Change Our Lives: Sam Parker: Green Tree You can connect with Sam on Instagram @samparkeruk and X @samparkercouk You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 216 with Adam Farrer, who is a writer, lecturer, mentor and editor. Adam's recent book Broken Biscuits and Other Male Failures is all about his struggles to live up to masculine expectations and in this episode, we chat about what it means to be a man and what it's like to fall short of those ideals. We chat about Adam's route to becoming a writer, dealing with rejection along the way and following a creative path just for the love of it. We chat about why he decided to write a book about his failures, the importance of healing emotional wounds, self-acceptance and the relief that comes from engaging with who you really are. And we talk about Adams' experiences with suicidal thoughts and how losing his brother to suicide forced him to get his own mental health in check and we chat about grief and feelings and loads of other things that men are often told they can't talk about. I absolutely loved Adam's book.  It's funny and it's emotional and I saw so many of my own regrets, failures and cringe worthy moments in his stories.   Vulnerability is something we talk about a lot in the mental health conversation and I think it's in these everyday failures and mistakes and awkward moments where real vulnerability lies.  It's these messy parts of being a human, that when shared, are where we can really connect and feel seen and ultimately make some sort of peace with, that allows us to move on and grow and do things differently.  That's the sort of opening up and being vulnerable that really makes a difference and it was a joy to read the book and to chat to Adam about all of it. More about Adam's work here: www.adamfarrer.co.uk and @adamjfarrer Broken Biscuits and Other Male Failures is available now Broken Biscuits: And other male failures by Adam Farrer – HarperCollins Publishers UK You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 215 with Dr Lisa McKenzie, who is a working class academic and anarchistic author. She is a researcher and educator whose work relates to class inequality, social justice, and British working class culture and a founding member of The Working Class Collective CIC. Lisa grew up in Nottingham, in a mining community.  After she left school, she went to work in a local factory with her Mum and her aunties and never considered going to university because it was never on the table.  After her Mum passed away, she was inspired to take an access course at the age of 33, which led to a degree and then eventually becoming a lecturer. Lisa's work centres around class inequality because that's what she's experienced her whole life and, in this episode, she joins me to chat about the impact this can have on mental health. We chat about the stigma that surrounds poverty and why no one wants to talk about class and we talk about the day-to-day challenge of just about scraping by, the myth of social mobility and how damaging it is to live with the unfairness of a system that is stacked against you. We talk about the anger that comes from being ignored and let down, generational trauma and learned coping strategies and finding humour in misery as a way to cope. And we also talk about some of the wonderful things that happen in working class communities, the unseen heroes of council estates, the community coming together and the important role of storytelling in the places. You can't talk about mental health without talking about class and it's a part of the conversation that just isn't happening. This is an episode I have being trying to do for some time and it was incredible to get to chat to Lisa about her experiences and her work in this space. It's a big and complicated topic but we're not scared by that here at Proper Mental and I'd love to hear what you take from it. Follow Lisa on X @redrumlisa and Instagram @drlisa1968 Her own book is called Getting By: Estates, Class and Culture in Austerity Britain and she has also published Lockdown Diaries of the Working Class with The Working Class Collective and you can learn more at Work Class Collective You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 214 with Cormac Russell, who is an author and social explorer. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute. Cormac has spent more than 20 years working all over the world training communities and professional organisations in Asset-Based Community Development and other strengths-based approaches. In this episode I chat to Cormac about his strengths based approach to community, the four modes of change and how these things impact and support good mental health. We chat about what 'helping' someone really means, the downsides to the traditional approach to supporting people who are struggling and what we can do differently as communities when we take an asset based approach and focus on what's strong instead of what's wrong. And we chat about the role of storytelling, how structural change happens at the speed of trust and why 'we don't have a health problem, we have a village problem'. It was inspiring to chat to Cormac and this is a powerful conversation about what is possible when communities come together and how this approach can change how we think and feel about mental health and mental illness. https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/  https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/we-dont-have-a-health-problem-we-have-a-village-problem8259.pdf You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 213 with Darren McGarvey, who is an author, musician, social commentator and journalist. Darren grew up in Pollok on the south side of Glasgow, and has lived through extreme poverty, addiction and homelessness.  He wrote about his life and experiences in his first book ‘Poverty Safari' which received critical acclaim for its insights into poverty and inequality. His upcoming book 'Trauma Industrial Complex' is due out in August and this episode I chat to Darren about the modern phenomenon of lived experience and sharing trauma stories online. We chat about Darren's experience of talking publicly about his life and what happened to him after “Poverty Safari” was an instant bestseller and he suddenly become well known for the things that he had been through. We talk about how social media has produced a culture of oversharing, why telling your story can get in the way of recovery and how this type of advocacy might just have fuelled other modern trends like misinformation and harmful mental health advice. And we talk about why people might feel the need to share their trauma, why there is such a market for it, the hidden consequences of barring your soul and things like victim hood, avoidance and addiction. I'm a big fan of Darren's work, in all its forms, so it was great to chat to him about his new book.  As someone who spends a lot of time, sharing stories and talking publicly about my own mental health, this was a fascinating conversation to be a part of! You can listen now wherever you get your podcasts from and you can pre-order Trauma Industrial Complex: How Oversharing Becomes a Product in the Digital Age, wherever you get your books from! Follow Darren on Instagram @darren_mcgarvey or X @lokiscottishrap Learn more at www.darrenmcgarvey.com and preorder here Trauma Industrial Complex You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 212 with Tana Sirois, who is an actor, theatre maker and coach who is currently touring a one woman show called UnTethered, an autobiographical comedy that follows a queer, demi sexual woman with obsessive compulsive disorder as she attempts to transcend her fears so that she may finally experience what it's like to feel safe and loved. Tana is originally from the States but it was while studying acting at university in Liverpool that she first started to experience problems with her mental health.  Despite struggling for many years, she didn't receive an official diagnosis of OCD until the age of 32. In this episode I chat to Tana about her love of acting, her time here in Liverpool, what was going on in her life when she first started to experience mental illness and how OCD has impacted her throughout her life. We chat about the selfishness of recovery, updating your language as you get better and how mental illness impacts all aspects of identity. We also chat about Tana's show UnTethered, the vulnerability of exploring mental illness, intimacy and sexual identity in front of an audience and why that's important. Tana is getting ready for some dates in London and Brighton before taking the show to Edinburgh and you can learn more about the show @untethered_the_play. I'm a big fan of mental illness being portrayed on the stage.  It's a powerful way to bring the realities of this stuff to people's attention and really connect and bring out the emotions and complexities of mental health so it was wonderful to explore all of that with Tana in this episode. Her website is www.tanasirois.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 211 with Owen Williams, who is the singer and guitarist in The Tubs. He is also a vocalist and guitarist in Ex-Void and the drummer in Sniffany and The Nits and other things in other bands as well, all under the banner of the London based, music collective Gob Nation. In this episode I chat to Owen about his experiences with OCD and the mental breakdown that he was going through while writing songs for The Tubs wonderful second album ‘Cotton Crown' which was released earlier this year. The cover of the record is a black and white image of Owen as a baby with his Mum, who died by suicide in 2014 and we chat about this very specific type of grief and also how people behave around you after you lose someone to suicide. We chat about being in a band, drinking on tour and the realities and challenges of doing music or anything creative as a job. And we chat about intrusive thoughts and compulsions, the guilt and shame that often come with these things and also how they are fed by the societal pressure to be morally perfect all of the time. Cotton Crown is definitely one of my albums of the year already, it's a wonderful record and it's perfect for the summer.  It was great to chat to Owen all about it! @_the_tubs @gob_nation ‘We're like a frat house': meet Gob Nation, south London's oddball music collective | Music | The Guardian You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 210 with Rosie Viva, who is a model, presenter, author and an ambassador for Bipolar UK. Rosie has experienced various mental health challenges from a young age and was originally misdiagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Despite this she built a successful career as a model which took her all over the globe, working with some of the world's biggest brands but in the background her mental health was often moving through cycles of manic highs and extreme lows. In 2018, Rosie was arrested after she caused Stansted Airport to evacuate all its waiting passengers during a psychotic episode.  She spent the next 3 months under section and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In this episode I chat to Rosie about her early experiences with mental illness and what was happening in her life in the build up to being hospitalised. We chat about shutting down Stanstead Airport and going to hospital and we chat about how she went about rebuilding her life after she was discharged. We also chat about the shame and stigma around being under section, accepting the diagnosis of bipolar, adapting to the lifestyle changes that come with staying well, relearning how to socialise and the sadness that comes with being diagnosed at a young age and missing out on some of the usual experiences that young people have. Rosie has written about her experiences in her new book ‘Completely Normal and Totally Fine: My Life with Bipolar Disorder' which is due out next week.  I was lucky enough to get an early read and it's an incredibly brave and important book that will resonate with anyone who has been affected by mental illness. Connect with Rosie on social media @rosieviva Learn more about her book here: Completely Normal and Totally Fine: My Life with Bipolar Disorder: Rosie Viva: Bloomsbury Tonic You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 209 with Dr Dean Burnett, who is a neuroscientist, lecturer and author. Dean is currently an honorary research fellow at Cardiff Psychology School and has also worked as a psychiatry tutor and lecturer at the Cardiff University Centre for Medical Education. He is the author of several acclaimed books about brains, neuroscience, emotions and mental health. And this episode is a little bit different. I wanted to do an episode about mental health and mental illness from the perspective of the human brain. I often focus on society and the things around us that impact our mental health, so for this conversation I wanted get some understanding of what's actually happening to our brains when our experiences, circumstances or environment are affecting us mentally. I thought a lot about common themes and threads from this show over the years and I asked Dean things like What is happening in the brain when we get lonely and why is isolation so harmful to us? Why do brains like nature so much? How does sitting with our emotions actually help our brains to process them? Why do our brains choose to feel anxious even, when we know that there is nothing to be anxious about? And loads of other stuff too. Dean was incredible to chat to! It was absolutely fascinating to be able to explore his extensive, brain related knowledge and we had a lot of fun too. Connect with Dean on social media @garwboy and learn more at www.deanburnett.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 208 with Hyphen, who is a rapper, songwriter and political punk. After finishing university, Hyphen found himself working in finance.  He also found himself bored, depressed and drinking to cope. This came to a tipping point when a close friend of his died by suicide and his own mental health was pushed towards breaking point.  Hyphen started to experience his own thoughts of suicide and it was while working through this that he started expressing himself creatively by scribbling words in to a notebook.  These words became poems and raps and then followed songs and these have evolved into his own style of punk, where he addresses racism, politics, equality and all manner of social justice issues and the state of the world in general. In this episode I chat to Hyphen about growing up in Portsmouth, how he ended up in the corporate world, why he started making music and how that music helped him to deal with his mental health struggles. We chat about suicidal ideation, finding authenticity, undoing societal conditioning and how to build true connection through community and shared experience. We also chat about anger and racism, dealing with online hate and how to stay informed without being consumed and overwhelmed. Hyphen's newest single is currently getting played on BBC Radio 1 and it's incredible to see a fully independent artist crossing over, with music that is calling out the bad parts of our society.  I've been a fan of his for a while now and it was wonderful to chat.  I think this conversation went to a lot of places that neither of us were expecting! Follow Hyphen everywhere on @thisishyphen Is music is available on all streaming platforms and his latest single ‘This Might Be It' is out now and he will be on tour around the UK and Ireland throughout May. Get tickets here:  https://linktr.ee/hyphentour?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=8cd61d91-921f-4829-8a48-bb2ba9b9152a You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 207 with Hana Walker-Brown, a multi-award winning and critically acclaimed storyteller and sound artist who works across film, radio and podcasting and narrative non-fiction. In 2023 Hana was signed off work with severe burnout.  It took a year for her to understand this experience, to unpack it, to make peace with it and to get back to herself and in this episode, I chat to Hana about that process. This isn't a conversation about jobs and working too hard because all of that is just a mechanism for burnout.  This is a conversation about self-discovery, programming and learning to do things differently. In this episode, Hana and I chat about her experience of burnout, how it all came to a head, what recovery looks like for her and what that word even means. We chat about learning how to slow down, accepting the messier parts of ourselves and leaning in to the discomfort of rest. We also chat about the importance of sharing stories, how to really listen, building self-esteem and why it's important to have lots of hobbies. Hana has recently made a documentary for BBC Radio 4 called In Pieces, where she explores different aspects of burnout through her own experience, through the people around her and the experiences of others and we chat about what it was like to make and then to put out in to the world. Listen here: BBC Radio 4 - Illuminated, In Pieces This is a truly wonderful conversation and I've thought about it a lot since we recorded.  It's a beautiful chat and it felt like a special one to be a part of. Connect with Hana @hana_walker_brown or at www.hanawalkerbrown.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 206 with Karsta Lowe, who is an Olympian and professional volley ball player who was a member of the United States women's national team that won bronze medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Karsta has played volley ball, at the highest level, all over the world, winning multiple titles and medals along the way.  But throughout her career she was also struggling with anxiety, depression and OCD which would later lead to an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts. In this episode I chat to Karsta about how both her mental struggles and international career progressed and intertwined. We chat about her childhood experiences with mental health issues and about how these were complicated further by the loss of her father at a young age. We also chat about going to the Olympics and the struggles she faced off the court, how all of this led to Karsta getting help and what that help looked like for her. And we chat about life after professional sport, the different types of grief, learning to be gentle and how life changes when you accept radical compassion. The idea of a lifelong athlete being at the Olympic Games, on the way to winning a medal, but also completely falling apart at the same time, just goes to show that you never know what someone might be going through, despite how strong they look on the outside. You can connect with Karsta on social media @karstalowe You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 205 with Dr Ross Ellenhorn, who is a sociologist, psychotherapist and social worker. Dr. Ellenhorn is encouraging mental health professionals to be more present with patients and think outside the box when it comes to treatment methods. With offices in Boston, New York and LA, he offers the types of care that serve and empower anyone who has been diagnosed with psychiatric and substance-use issues and helps them recover outside of hospital, in their own communities.  In this episode I chat to Ross about his incredible work, how he began working in the mental health space and how that informed his ground breaking approach to working with so called complex states of mind and mood. We chat about using a human first approach, the medicalisation of the human experience, approaching therapy as improv, the importance of play and curiosity and why human conformity is the illness that gets in the way of being authentic. Ross has spent many years researching change.  More specifically why as humans we find it so hard to change, even when staying the same is killing us.  We talk about this work; we talk about why we struggle to do things differently and how underpinning all of this is a fear of hope. I never say this lightly, but this is one of the most powerful episodes that I have recorded.  If you've spoken to me in person over the last few weeks, I've probably told you about it and I've been taking a deep dive in to Ross' work regularly since we spoke. There is some incredible thinking points here and I'm sure it will give you plenty of food for thought.  On top of that, Ross is a really lovely man and he was a lot of fun to chat to! He is the author of two books ‘Purple Crayons – The Art of Drawing a Life' and ‘How We Change (and 10 reasons why we don't) and they are available everywhere. For more information head to www.ellenhorn.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 204 with Ginger Wildheart, who is the singer, songwriter and guitarist in The Wildhearts. The Wildhearts formed in 1989 and over years since have celebrated top 20 singles and top 10 albums and sell out tours all over the world while navigating record company battles, industry politics, multiple line up changes, drugs, depression, splitting up, going on hiatus and getting back together again. Ginger has always been open about his struggles with mental health issues and in this episode, he joins me to chat about how these things have impacted his life and his music over the years. We chat about him being sectioned last year and how that forced him to make some big life changes and how all of this led to the incredible new Wildhearts record ‘The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts' We chat about moving to the countryside and learning to slow down, how he took control over his mental health by asking himself some very difficult questions and why doing the inner work is worth it despite being really hard to do. And we chat about approaching the world from a place of love, the healing power of music and animals and looking forward to the ultimate test of his new approach to life when the band hit the road this month. He also tells me a great story about meeting Dolly Parton! Ginger is a true rock legend and it was an absolute pleasure to chat to him! The new album is currently getting 5 star reviews across the board and is out now in all formats. The Wildhearts are on tour throughout March and you can get all the info here: The Wildhearts Official Website Follow Ginger and The Wildhearts on Instagram @gingerwildheart @thewildhearts Twitter @GingerWildheart @TheWildhearts And Facebook www.facebook.com/TheWildhearts You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 203 with Sam Delaney, who is a journalist, author, broadcaster and podcaster whose work has featured in Guardian, Big Issue and Talk Sport. Sam guested on Proper Mental a couple of years ago back at episode 127, and in that episode, we talked a lot about his problems with addiction and how he adjusted to getting sober. This time around, Sam and I chat about some of the things that drove addictions and the reasons why he turned to drink and drugs in the first place. We talk about work, ambition, competitiveness, about why these things often push people towards addiction and mental health issues and we chat about lad culture, learning to sit with yourself and how self-acceptance trumps self-improvement. We also talk about male friendship, having fun and reframing laziness. Sam's new book is called ‘Stop Shitting Yourself: 15 Life Lessons that might help you calm the f*ck down' and in the book, Sam dissects our obsession with hyper-productivity and high performance living and here he also guides me through the issues with this approach to life and how a low performance mindset is actually the way to go. I always enjoy spending time with Sam.  He's always insightful, always honest and always good fun to chat to! Sam's book is out now in all bookshops!  You can order a signed copy of Sam's book and request a personalised message from him here:  home - The Barnes Bookshop Follow him on Instagram @theresetsam or Twitter @DelaneyMan You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 202 with Dan Astles, who is a musician and singer songwriter from Liverpool who makes music under the name Astles, either on his own or alongside a 10 strong musical collective called The Balloon Moon Orchestra. Dan has a new album on the way that has a very sad but beautiful story behind it.  Dan's uncle Joseph died by suicide before he was born, but it was often commented on by the family that they had things in common.  While searching through his Nana's loft, Dan found glimpses in to his uncle's life through a collection of albums, posters, gig tickets and assorted memorabilia from a fellow music lover. Amongst this musical treasure trove was also a mix tape titled ‘Soundtrack for the 21 Bus Home' and it was this collection of songs, and everything he found with it, that inspired his most recent E.P and upcoming album, which is named after his uncle's handcrafted playlist. In this episode I chat to Dan about his uncle's passing, how it has impacted his family through the years and how he felt that impact around him growing up. We chat about his upcoming album and how his uncle's collection of songs inspired him to reflect on his own struggles with his mental health. And we also chat about growing up as a young lad on Merseyside while embracing the softer side of masculinity, working with local legends Bill Ryder-Jones and Mick Head and what it was like to play one of his tunes for Sir Paul McCartney. Dan and I were acquaintances before having this conversation but since chatting I feel like I can call him a mate.  We were able to record this episode in person, over a cup of tea, and it was an absolutely lovely way to spend a morning! Follow Astles on socials @astlesmusic Pre-order the new record here: Soundtrack For The Twenty One Bus Home | Astles You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 201 with Dr Martin Brunet, who has been an NHS GP for more than 20 years and is also well known for his social media channels and videos about different aspects of mental health. In this episode I chat to Martin about his time in general practice and some of the changes he has seen in mental health over the years. We also talk about his new book ‘Your Worry Makes Sense' and how anxiety and burnout are logical and some ideas about what we can do to overcome these challenges. We chat about worry and over thinking, about facing your fears and seeing your triggers as shortcuts to your emotions and we also talk about how to define and understand burnout and why there is a certain type of person that tends to go through it. I've followed Martin on social media for a while and always get a lot from his video's.  I was also lucky enough to get an early look at his upcoming book and I can highly recommend that too! His book is due out in March and there is more info here: Your Worry Makes Sense | Jessica Kingsley Publishers - UK Follow Martin on social media @doc_martin_gp You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 200 with Professor Joanna Moncrieff who is a psychiatrist, author and researcher who is one of the founding members of the Critical Psychiatry Network. In 2022, Joanna was the lead author of a study that explored the ‘chemical imbalance' theory of depression and found that no clear evidence that serotonin levels or serotonin activity are responsible for depression. The study became one of the 400 most shared of the 21 million papers that have ever been tracked and caused great debate throughout the mental health space. In this episode I chat to Joanna about this research, what it involved and what the findings showed. We chat about some of the response and criticism to this piece of work and how the chemical imbalance theory came to prominence in the first place. We talk about some of the other's factors that could be causing depression if it isn't in fact serotonin as the research shows. We also chat about depression, serotonin, anti-depressants, diagnosis and labels and what the future of mental health treatment and support could look like. Medication is a very personal choice and the aim of this episode isn't to debate or influence anyone on their views on anti-depressants, just simply to explore this aspect of the mental health conversation because I think that's important. Don't make decisions about your own medication without discussing it with a medical professional. You can find the original study here: The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence | Molecular Psychiatry A summary of some of the responses and criticism here:  expert reaction to a review paper on the ‘serotonin theory of depression' | Science Media Centre And a response from Joanna to that specific criticism here:  Response to Criticism of Our Serotonin Paper - Mad In America Joanna's new book is called Chemically Imbalanced: the making and unmaking of the serotonin myth and it's out now. There is loads more information about Joanna's work at her website https://joannamoncrieff.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 199 with Georgia Lock, who is an actor, poet and an advocate for obsessive compulsive disorder. In this episode I chat to Georgia about the moment that her ‘brain broke' and OCD became a part of her life. We chat about what happened next, what helped looked like for her and how she manages her OCD on a day-to-day basis. We chat about things like guilt, memory loss, community, going mental and being scared of your own brain. Georgia uses poetry to explore and understand her diagnosis of OCD and has held workshops to help others to do the same and we chat about being creative and using words to take back control of your story. It's a powerful conversation about what it's like to lose your mind and work to get it back again and it was a wonderful experience to hear Georgia's story first hand. Follow Georgia on social media @georgia_nathalie You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 198 with Dr Susie Bennett, a psychologist and research fellow at the 'Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab' at the University of Glasgow. Her work focuses on trying to understand why men are more at risk of suicide and what can be done to help more men access a dignified and meaningful life. Through this work, Susie has been involved in reviewing two decades of research on male suicide, joining forces with 242 people impacted by male suicide to create an agenda of research priorities for male suicide and asking men who have been suicidal in the past week or year to tell her about the barriers they experience around accessing professional support. In this episode I chat to Susie about why she got involved in researching such a specific topic and how the work has impacted how she sees the world. We chat about some of the outcomes from her research and get in to things like the cultural norms of masculinity, gender bias and psychological pain and we chat about emotions, relationships and success and how they impact men specifically. We also chat about how to move past awareness and just telling men to talk and what needs to change if we want to change the heartbreaking statistics around male suicide. Susie's work is fascinating and vital.  It was an absolute pleasure to explore it with her. This episode is a big one, we cover important things and things that are tricky to talk about but these are the conversations that we need to having and I hope you get a lot out of listening. On Susie's website, http://malesuicideresearch.com you can access all of the studies we talk about in this episode as well as all sorts of interesting reports and talks.  Her socials are amazing too @male_suicide_research. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 197 with Kevin Briggs, who is a retired sergeant for the California Highway Patrol, known as the "Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge”. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California.  It's about 200 feet above the water and there are 6 lanes of traffic that cross the bridge as well as a separate pathway for pedestrians and cyclists.  It is one of the most famous landmarks in the world, partly because of the incredible architecture but also because it's reputation as a suicide hot spot. Part of Kevin's job, as part of the Highway Patrol was to respond to calls for anyone attempting suicide by jumping from the bride.  He was the person responsible for talking them back over the railing and keep them safe.  It's estimated that Kevin helped around 200 individuals over his 20 years on the force. In this episode I chat to Kevin about joining the force and how, as a new police officer, he had to learn very quickly how to talk people off the bridge despite having no formal training in this at all.  We chat about what it was like to do this 4 or 5 times a month, just as part of his job and how his approach changed over the years. We chat about how to talk to someone about suicide and the importance of actually listening and the difference between having these conversations in day to day life versus having them on a ledge, more than 200 feet above water. We also chat about the picture of Kevin talking a man off the edge of the bridge, how that day played out and what it was like when that photo became famous all over the world. I'm sure you've seen that photo; it does the rounds on social media all the time!  It was incredible to chat to Kevin about that day and also all the other days and the work he does now.  He has so much experience in this space and so much knowledge and it was a real pleasure to chat! There is everything you need to know about Kevin's work and links to his Tedx at www.pivotal-points.com and you can follow him on social media @guardianofthegoldengate You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 196 with Rory Lamont, who is a former professional Rugby Union player and the co-founder of CAIM, a health and wellness retreat centre in highland Scotland. During his time as a professional rugby player, Rory played for Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks and Toulon.  He has 29 international caps for Scotland and has represented his country in two world cups. Over the years he was plagued by various injuries and concussions and whilst playing against Wales in the 2012 Six Nations tournament, he suffered a career ending leg break. The injury, the surgeries, medical drugs and loss of both his career and identity pushed Rory in a mental and spiritual crisis which took him to the brink of ending his own life. The collapse of his physical and mental health forced Rory to confront himself and he travelled to Costa Rica where he experienced the transformational healing power of the plant medicine Iboga which helped him to identify the changes he needed to make and he began the journey of healing and inner work that would lead him to the work he does now. In this episode Rory guides me through the highs and lows of his rugby career and the injuries that kickstarted the decline in his mental health. We chat about his first experience with plant medicine and how it helped him and we chat about what we can learn from depression, about learning to let go and to be vulnerable, the importance of healing as part of a community and why this work needs to be made more accessible. We also chat about how scary it is to do these things, why men need rites of passage and the role of the hero's journey and we chat about some of the incredible things that Rory has witnessed while holding space and supporting others. It was wonderful to hear Rory's story and how he learned to navigate his struggles.  I can't thank him enough for his openness.  The work he does now feels vital and I came away from this conversation feeling hopeful and inspired. Follow Rory @rory_lamont and @welcometocaim Learn more about his work at www.welcometocaim.com You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 195 with Dr Linda Gask who is a writer and a psychiatrist who has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation and been awarded the President's Medal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2017. Her latest book is titled ‘Out of Her Mind' which asks the questions ‘Are we failing women's mental health and what needs to be done?' In this episode I chat to Linda about some of the more common societal factors that can impact the mental wellbeing of women and how she went about learning more about these issues for her book. We chat about how the treatment of mental health has historically let women down and if that's changed in more recent times and we chat about the role of feminism in this conversation and whether women are depressed or oppressed. We also chat about community, single issue politics, medical gaslighting and men's mental health too. I really enjoyed chatting to Linda and I got a lot out of our conversation!  Her book (and previous books) are available now and you can connect with her at Patching the Soul – Linda Gask or via @suzypuss1 You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 194 with Dr Benji Waterhouse who is a front-line NHS doctor specialising in psychiatry and an award-winning stand-up comedian. He is also the author of the best-selling medical memoir ‘You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here' where he has written about his work as a psychiatrist and the stories of the patients he has met along the way. In this episode I chat to Benji about his book and his work and why he decided to work in medicine's most mysterious and controversial speciality. We chat about the process of sectioning someone, the origins of psychosis and delusions and some of the myths around mental illness in general. We also chat about the impact that working in mental health can have on medical staff and the difficult decisions that have to be made when mental illness accounts for 28% of the overall disease burden but only receives 13% of funding. We also get in to empathy, burnout, psychedelics and how to deal with a patient who thinks he's a werewolf. This episode is a lovely mix of humour and insight and it was fascinating to learn more about the other side of psychiatry! You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it! You can connect with Benji on social media @doctor_benjis You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 193 with Tom Fleming of One True Pairing and formerly of Wild Beasts! As a member of Wild Beasts, Tom released 5 acclaimed albums, one of them was nominated for the Mercury Prize and two of the records charted in the top 10. Wild Beasts called it a day in 2018 with Tom putting out his first material as One True Pairing in 2019.  His new record, Endless Rain, is out later this month. In this episode, Tom and I chat about growing up in small towns and finding community through being creative and making music. We chat about masculinity, what that term means and how it's affected by society, geography and the class system. And we chat about depression and the guilt and shame that come with the bad behaviour that is caused by mental ill health and we chat about Tom's autism diagnosis that received in his late thirties and how that's impacted his life. Follow Tom on Instagram @onetruepairing and connect via www.onetruepairing.co.uk or www.dominomusic.com. Endless Rain is out on all formats on 25th October 2024. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 192 with Nathan Filer, who is a writer, university lecturer and broadcaster and a former mental health nurse. In this episode I chat to Nathan about his route in to nursing and how it formed some of things that he has written books about. I reached out to Nathan after reading his book ‘This Book will Change Your Mind about Mental Health' and it was great to chat about some of the themes from his work. We chat about the stigma around mental health and mental illness, if it still exists and who exactly benefits from the constant conversation around removing it. We chat about both sides of the diagnosis debate, why language is everything and the why comparing physical health to mental is problematic. There is a lot of complexity to the themes throughout this conversation and it was wonderful to have the time and the space to explore the nuance from all sides. I really enjoyed this and I think it is this level of depth and compassion that is sorely needed in the mental health space.  I hope it gives you lots to think about! Follow Nathan on twitter @nathan filer and learn more via his website www.nathanfiler.co.uk If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 191 with Dave Lock, who is more commonly known as the running telephone. For the last 25 consecutive years, Dave has ran the London Marathon to raise funds and awareness for the Samaritans charity and along the way he has become an iconic part of both the marathon and the mental health space.  This year he ran as team captain for the charity's fundraisers. In this episode I chat to Dave about the mental health challenges that he has faced and how they inspired him to start running in fancy dress. We also chat about his relationship with The Samaritans who he credits with saving his life when he was at his lowest and we chat about how he has also worked for them as a volunteer on the phones. We chat about running, the pressures of the corporate world, connecting with others and the emotional impact of this year's marathon, his 25th in a row, but the first one without the support of his brother who took his own life last year. Dave is a truly lovely man and it was a joy to chat to him about his special relationship with The Samaritans charity and some of the changes he has seen in the mental health space over the years. You can call The Samaritans any time, day or night, on 116 123. Learn more at www.samaritans.org If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 190 with Philippa Dawson, who is a writer, producer and performer who is also the creator of Character Flaw, a show about her experiences with ADHD and how it's impacted her throughout her life. In this episode I chat to Pip about her show, about living with ADHD and how this has impacted her mental health over the years. We chat about the before and after of diagnosis, her experiences with medication and how different aspects of her identity are wrapped up in her ADHD. We also about Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, emotional dysregulation and hyper focus and we chat about dealing with depression, forgetting to eat and going to the Edinburgh Fringe. It was wonderful to chat to Pip about all of this stuff.  Her life and experiences and ADHD all interact in both hilarious and challenging ways and I think a lot of people will relate to that. Follow Pip on social media for updates, show dates and tickets @characterflawtheplay and @probablypip If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 189 with Alex Staniforth, who is an adventurer, speaker and the founder of Mind Over Mountains, a charity that brings together walking in nature, mindfulness & professional coaching and counselling in support of good mental health & wellbeing. Alex was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of nine and this would be the catalyst for several years of bullying, anxiety, panic attacks and a lifelong stammer. He found that time in nature, and more specifically time on hills and mountains, helped his mental health and he was just 14 when he set his sights on climbing Mount Everest. His first attempt, aged 18, ended when an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall killed 16 climbing Sherpas. During his second attempt, base camp was hit by the Nepal earthquake which killed 3 Sherpas in Alex's team. This led Alex to a long period of survivor's guilt, depression and Alex also fell in to bulimia, which he was still dealing with when he set out to climb all of the highest peaks in the UK, in 72 days, with only a bicycle for transport. We talk about all of that in this episode. We also talk about dealing with failure, why it's important to take on challenges and what we can learn from both these things and we chat about identity and what it was like for Alex when he was forced to step away from endurance challenges by long Covid and how he had to learn to do things differently. Follow Alex on social media @alexstaniforth_ and @mindomountains Learn more at www.alexstaniforth.com and https://mindovermountains.org.uk If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 188 with Jaxon Feeley, who is a Life and Mindset Coach, motivational speaker and TV personality. Jax served in the military as an RAF Corporal for 4 years, which included a tour of Iraq, before joining MHP Hindley as a prison officer. Throughout his life, Jax had been through plenty of mental health struggles but had always managed to pull through and distract himself through his work.  Eventually things got to a point where he had to face these struggles head on and face some things that he had been ignoring since childhood. Jax came out as transgender and made the decision to transition from female to male whilst still working at the prison.  He served 3 years as a female officer, and 3 years as Jaxon. Since leaving the prison service, Jax has been on a mission to advocate for the trans community and demonstrate the sort of visibility that he needed to see all those years ago. In this episode I chat to Jax about his time in the military, some of the mental health struggles he faced through this time and how they ultimately led him to start questioning his gender identity. We chat about showing up and being vulnerable, asking yourself difficult questions, living authentically, learning how to be your true self and his recent appearance on Channel 4's Hunted. Jax has an incredible story and it would have been really easy to make this a whole episode about gender but we had so much more to talk about than that alone! Follow Jax on social media @jaxryderfeeley Learn more here: Professional Mindset Coach | Motivational Speaker | Jaxon Feeley If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 187 with Chris Baker, who is a mentor, coach and public speaker. Chris got in to crime at a young age and spent a long time bouncing in and out of prison.  He ended up losing an arm in a motorbike crash while being chased by police and this sent him in to a spiral of depression and self-loathing and he was also sentenced to longer stretch inside. Chris decided that he didn't want to keep repeating this cycle and set out to make some changes.  He started reading, working on himself and exploring Adverse Childhood Experiences studies and the links between childhood trauma and repeat offenders. Now Chris works with prisons, schools and business' delivering talks about his own experiences to promote resilience and inspire hope. In this episode I chat to Chris about his early years growing up and how he started to get in to trouble. We chat about going to prison, why so many people can't get out or stay out and what needs to change in the prison system, particularly with regards to mental health. And we chat about losing an arm, losing identity, building resilience, lessons from fitness and making big changes. You can learn more about Chris and his work at chrisbakerspeaker and follow him on social media @chris_baker_ If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 186 with James McInerney, who is the creator of The Poetry Project. James started off experimenting with words by writing out his thoughts and feelings to instrumental film scores and he found that expressing himself through poetry helped him navigate his way through depression. After publishing several books, he launched The Poetry Project with the aim of spreading mental health awareness, throw people in at the deep end and inspire them to think, pause and reflect. Since his first piece was displayed on a train station platform, the project has grown and James' words have been displayed by some of the world's biggest brands and in iconic locations all over the globe. In this episode I chat to James about his experiences with depression and these experiences led him to poetry. We chat about the origins of The Poetry Project, how he got it started and how it spread all over the world. We chat about creativity, self-expression, healthy distraction and why, when it comes to mental health awareness, it can be useful to throw people in at the deep end. I stumbled across one of James' poems in a Portland shopping mall last summer and it really was striking to see the word ‘depression' in big letters on the wall in the middle of a huge shopping centre.  I love anything that takes mental health outside of the usual clinical spaces and it was awesome to chat to James about his work and the impact that he's having. You can follow James on social media @poetryproject08 and @millsmc07 Learn more on PROJECTS | James McInerney Poetry If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 185 with Dr. Gladys McGarey, who is a 103-year-old still-consulting doctor who is internationally recognised as the ‘Mother of Holistic Medicine'. Dr Gladys was born in 1920 and grew up in India.  She joined Women's Medical College during the second world war and when she began practising, women couldn't even have their own bank accounts. Gladys co-founded the American Holistic Medical Association and she was the first physician to utilise acupuncture in the U.S. In this episode I chat to Dr Gladys about her childhood in India, her early interest in healing and what it was like to be a female doctor when being a female doctor wasn't a thing. We chat about training during WW2, how that influenced the language used in medicine and how she moved towards a different approach and started to think holistically. We chat about finding purpose, learning to listen, claiming your voice and why grief is something that we do rather than something that happens to us.  And we chat about the 5 L's that underpin Dr Gladys' approach to a long and fulfilling life. Dr Gladys is also a bestselling author and her latest book ‘The Well-lived Life' is out now. You can follow Dr Gladys on social media @begladmd and learn more about her life and work on her website www.gladysmcgarey.com. If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 184 with Dr Louise Newson, who is a G.P, menopause specialist and member of the UK Government's Menopause Taskforce who has been described as the ‘medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution.' She is also an award-winning educator and author and regularly appears in the media as an expert in women's hormone health. In this episode I chat to Louise about menopause and perimenopause and how they can impact on mental health. We chat about what the menopause is, signs and symptoms of being menopausal, the hormones involved and what happens both physically and mentally during this process. And we chat about HRT, misdiagnosis and why it's common for women to be incorrectly prescribed SSRI's and the complicated discussion around mental health issues and hormones. I learned an incredible amount from both this conversation and from reading Louise's book – The Definitive Guide to Perimenopause and Menopause – and the paper back is out now. You can follow Louise on social media @menopause_doctor and learn more via her website at www.drlouisenewson.co.uk or www.balance-menopause.com If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 183 with The Artist Taxi Driver, who is an artist, taxi driver, educator and speaker who is also known as Mark McGowan. Mark discovered art as part of his mental health recovery when he was an inpatient.  He uses the media, activism and mental health to create daily artworks. Mark's form of performance art over the years has included eating a swan in protest against royalty and the upper classes, he attempted to cartwheel 60 miles along Brighton beach in protest against diminishing coast lines and he has crawled for sixty miles, with a rose between his teeth, 18 boxes of chocolates tied to him and a sign on his back saying ‘Could You Love Me?' this was to make people think about those who are alone at Christmas. In this episode I chat to Mark about performance art and how he got started.  We chat about self-expression, addiction, social media, the power of performance and all sorts of other things. We also chat about the Live Lounge exhibition that Mark is curating at The Bethlem Gallery, what he's got plans and some of the things happening there between now and July. You can read more about it here Exhibition: Bethlem Live Lounge - Bethlem Gallery   You can follow Mark on social media @theartisttaxidriver and look at his art work here: TheArtistTaxiDriver - Etsy UK   If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 182 with DJ Paulette, who is a renowned DJ, radio broadcaster and author who has spent more than three decades entertaining crowds all over world and breaking down racial and gender barriers along the way. She was the first female DJ to hold residency at The Hacienda, playing weekly at the ground-breaking LGBTQ+ club night ‘FLESH' in the early nighties, and went on to have residencies at Heaven and Ministry of Sound, before serving successful stints in Paris and Ibiza. In 2022 she was the first woman to win the prestigious DJ Mag Lifetime Achievement Award. Her debut book ‘Welcome to The Club: The life and lessons of a black woman DJ' was published earlier this year to huge acclaim. In this episode I chat to DJ Paulette about the mental health challenges she has faced throughout her life. We chat about dance music, hedonism and burnout and we chat about breaking down, breaking through, asking for help and just how vital music and community are to mental wellbeing. You can follow DJ Paulette on social media @dj_paulette1 Her website can be found at https://djpaulette.co.uk/ **PROPER MENTAL LIVE – TICKETS ON SALE NOW!** https://opendoorcharity2.beaconforms.com/form/02ec51d1 If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 181 with Amelia Wrighton, who is the co-founder and CEO of Suicide & Co, a charity that is on a mission to support bereaved individuals and open the conversation around suicide-related grief. Amelia set up Suicide & Co. with Emma Morrisroe after they met at work and realised that they shared the same experience of losing someone to suicide. The charity provides one-on-one professional support through talking therapies and a Helpline that is staffed by bereavement counsellors as well as providing all sorts of resources and initiatives to spark conversations and encourage conversations around bereavement from suicide. In this episode I chat to Amelia about her own tragic loss, the impact it had and how that led to eventually setting up this incredible charity.  We chat about some of the complexities around this very specific type of grief, about using the right words, the importance of knowing how to have conversations about suicide related grief. It was wonderful to chat to Amelia, to hear about the incredible work that her team are doing and learn more about how to have difficult but important conversations. Learn more about this incredible organisation and access support via their website www.suicideandco.org Follow on social media @suicideandco PROPER MENTAL LIVE 17 MAY 2024 Tickets here: https://opendoorcharity2.beaconforms.com/form/02ec51d1 If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 180 with Andrew Jenkins, who is a mental health advocate, speaker and star of the hit BBC series The Traitors. At the age of 21, Andrew was in a car accident that left him pronounced dead at the side of the road. He spent 5 weeks in a coma and when he woke up, was told that he might not recognise his family or be able to walk. The impact that this had on his sense of self, his identity and his life in general would lead to more struggles with mental ill health for the next 20 odd years before Andrew was able to get some help and guidance with his mental state and begin to grieve for the life that he believed he had lost. In this episode I chat to Andrew about his life growing up in Wales before the crash and the immediate aftermath. We chat about the impact that this event had on his mental health and why he suffered in silence for so many years. And we chat about how he got help, got better and how this is driving him to do the work that he does now and the impact that this is all having. Of course, we chat all about The Traitors and about men's mental health, grief, building self-awareness, how hard it can be to tell your family that you love them but why it's so, so important. Andrew is a lovely guy who is determined to make a real difference in the mental health space and he's been doing incredible work since being on the tele earlier this year.  It was really lovely to chat to him all about it! Follow him on social media @andrewjenkinsofficial and @strengthinyou.co.uk If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you'll get early access to any and all episodes that aren't available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You'll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!