Andy met Alex Turner and Matt Helders at high school, they asked for instruments one Christmas, formed a band and the rest is history.  Their debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ became the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history.

Andy left the band in 2006 and in this episode, we talk about what he did next.

We talk about the impact that leaving the band had on his mental health and how this impacted him in the years following the split.

We talk about how discovering fitness and learning to open up about his mental state became a springboard to getting the vital help that he needed and what that help looked like.

And we talk about things like acceptance, letting go, self-development, inner work and moving on.

Andy has just released I Bet This Looks Good On Your Coffee Table, a book filled with personal photos taken by Andy during his time touring in the Arctic Monkeys and we chat about putting this together and what it’s been like exploring the past and finding peace. 

How the Arctic Monkeys came to be is a great story but it’s a story that’s been told many times and both Andy and I wanted to go somewhere else with this conversation.  I think we did a great job.  He’s done some amazing things since leaving the band, both in and out of the music industry, and we only really scratch the surface here but it was great to chat about the mental health stuff and everything he’s learned along the way. 

Follow Andy on social media @iamgoldteeth

Order the book and learn more at www.iamandynicholson.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!

Beatrice has worked as an artistic therapist and consultant since 1986 and over these years she has worked in schools, hospitals, rehab facilities and prisons in the United States, England and Holland, and has lectured as far afield as Taiwan.

Inner Fire, founded by Beatrice in 2015, creates a framework for deep and lasting healing, through an intensive program that first stabilises a person in crisis, gradually replaces medication with holistic healing practices, addresses the core issues and develops skills for growing beyond these issues.

In this episode I chat to Beatrice about her early work as an artistic therapist, how she came to work in this space and the events and experiences that led to starting Inner Fire.

We chat about the Inner Fire approach to recovery and healing, what an average day looks like, how it all works and the process behind it.

We chat about the role of choice, the importance of rhythm and how these things support the process of tapering medication and we chat about working with clay and water colours, the creative spirit and why Beatrice feels that mental health is a reductionist term for soul health.

We all know the stats around mental health and they aren’t getting any better and if we want things to be different then we need to do things differently and Beatrice is doing exactly that, and like she’s says during our conversation, her work is simply about offering people a choice.

It’s exciting to know that places like Inner Fire exist and it was wonderful to learn more about this incredible space and how it came to be.

Learn more at INNER FIRE | Residential Healing Community | Addiction Recovery Without Medication

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!

On Saturday 11th October I was joined by Sam Delaney and Shaun Flores for a live recording of Proper Mental which was titled ‘On Being a Man: Contemporary Masculinities & Mental Health’

We set out to explore what it means to be a man in 2025, the mental health challenges men face, and the resources and interventions available to help support and enhance their wellbeing and we did so in front of a sold out, live audience.

Huge thanks to Ian Tucknott and City Lit for getting me involved, creating a great atmosphere and handling all the recording side of things.

And another huge thank you to Shaun and Sam for their insight, wisdom and humour on the day!

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!

One of her many published works is the incredible memoir ’18 Seconds’ where she writes about the day her mother jumped from the Humber Bridge and somehow survived the fall.  This event inspired Louise to look back at her life and recon with the impact that parental mental illness and alcoholism had on her childhood.

In this episode I chat to Louise about her mother’s suicide attempt, the lifetime of madness that led to it and how her mother’s behaviour over the years impacted both her and her siblings.

We chat about growing up in and out of the care system and her complicated relationship with her mum and we chat about unhealthy coping mechanisms, cutting ties, moving on and why trauma is not an excuse for harmful behaviour.

We also chat about Louise’s lifelong passion for writing and how she refused to give up on her dream of becoming a published author despite years of trying and hundreds of rejections.

Despite an incredibly challenging subject matter, it was a joy to chat to Louise!  We really get in to some deep waters here but we do so with Louise’s trademark humour and openness.

Learn more about 18 Seconds and all aspects of Louise’s work here:  https://louisebeech.co.uk

Connect on social media @louise_beech_swanson

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

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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!

Andy found a passion for acting in high school and it was almost by chance that he landed a part in Shane Meadow’s BAFTA winning film ‘This is England’.  He went on to star in a number of film and television productions as well as reprising his role as the lovable ‘Gadget’ in ‘This is England’ television series.

In this episode I chat to Andy about growing up in Manchester, getting in to acting and why it’s particularly hard for working class people to find work in the creative industries.

We chat about the coaching side of his work and how acting can help people to get in touch with their emotions, be part of a community and practice being vulnerable in a safe space.

And we chat about dealing with rejection and navigating the feast or famine nature of Andy’s work, how going to counselling and learning to open up helped him to find a way through some dark times and we also talk about his recent short film ‘Blackpool’ which touches on themes of class, mental health and suicide.

There’s loads of This is England chat in here too and it was very cool to chat to Andy about acting and mental health and everything in between!

Follow Andy on social media: @andy_lp_ellis

Scene to Screen Acting School: @scene2screenmcr

Watch the ‘Blackpool’ trailer at: https://vimeo.com/1067269265?fl=pl&fe=sh

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

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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!

For over 20 years, he has worked to bring the insights of the Christian Contemplative tradition to wider public awareness, particularly in relation to modern mindfulness theory and has worked as a retreat giver and chaplain in various settings, including schools, hospitals, and prisons.

He is the author of two books about mindfulness and mediation and his poem 'Lockdown' went viral in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and was translated into twenty-six languages.

In this episode I chat to Brother Richard about why he decided to join the priesthood, his path to becoming a monk and the origins of the Capuchin Franciscan brotherhood.

We chat about the difference between meaning and purpose, how to find meaning in all aspects of life, facing our own mortality and looking for answers to life’s big questions.

We also chat about small acts of service, getting curious, the importance of differentiating between self-centeredness and self-compassion and how to cultivate compassion for ourselves as well as others.

This conversation with Brother Richard had quite a profound effect on me and I’ve found myself coming back to it several times since we spoke.

I can’t wait to hear what you take from it if you choose to listen!

Follow Brother Richard on social media @brorichard

His blog can be found at Brother Richard's blog: mindful mystical musings.

More about his books here: Brother Richard Hendrick | Hachette 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!

After years of struggling with her mental health and fighting to access support, Katja received a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD).  She was later diagnosed with Schizotypal Personality Disorder (STPD), which is now her primary diagnosis, and an eating disorder.

In this episode I chat to Katja about her experiences with mental illness, everything that led to her diagnosis and why she decided to set up Lives Not Labels with her oldest friend and co-author, Kay Garbett.

We chat about personality disorders and variations of these types of conditions; we chat about some of the common misconceptions and stereotypes that drive the stigma and fear around them and we chat about the day-to-day realities of living with multiple labels and knowing where one diagnosis stops and another one starts.

We also chat about the new book that Katja and Kay have written, which is called ‘Sorry My Mental Illness Isn’t Sexy Enough for You’ which is part memoir, part self-help guide and tells the story of how the project came to be and the unique journeys of the authors.

Some people are just left out of the mental health discourse and it’s all OK to not be OK until you have a label or diagnosis that isn’t as palatable or as common as anxiety or depression.

Stigma can exist for everyone of course, but there is definitely more of it for some than there is for others and through Lives Not Labels and this new book, Katja and Kay are doing incredible work to give everyone a voice.

Follow on socials @livesnotlables and learn more about this incredible work at www.livesnotlables.com

The book is available everywhere learn more here: Book Sorry My Mental Illness Isn't Sexy Enough for You

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

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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!

Krystal is also the author of The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp, a memoir about growing up poor in America, living with a mentally ill mother and narrowly escaping a house fire that led to the unimaginable tragedy of losing her sister.

In this episode I chat to Krystal about the chaos of her childhood, the impact of constantly moving from place to place, changing schools and repeatedly starting over and how identity and a sense of place are important for how we come to understand ourselves and build a foundation for good mental health.

We chat about what it’s like to grow up in an unpredictable household, why things like blame and responsibility get complicated when it comes to family and how everyone assumes a traumatic childhood automatically leads to a messed-up adult.

We also chat about the housefire that Krystal survived when she was 14, the process of finding comedy in that tragedy and how she wrote about it for her comedy special and her book.

Krystal’s book is funny and heart breaking and a lot of other things too and it was a pleasure to chat to her all about it.

Follow Krystal @krystalevanscomedy and learn more at www.comedykrystal.com

The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp is available here: Buy the Book | Krystal Evans

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!

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!

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

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Thanks for listening!

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!

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!

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

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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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&ltsid=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!

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!

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!

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

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Thanks for listening!

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!

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.

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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.

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Thanks for listening!

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.

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Thanks for listening!

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.

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Thanks for listening!

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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!

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

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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!

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!

Tim, Mike & Andy are 3 dads, bereaved by suicide who have been walking in memory of their daughters, Emily, Beth & Sophie.

In 2021 they walked 300 miles between their 3 homes, to highlight the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of young people across the entire UK.

In 2022 they set off again, this time walking 600 miles, between the parliaments of the 4 nations, petitioning the Government to make suicide prevention a compulsory part of the school curriculum.   They collected over 100,000 signatures for this petition, which prompted a debate in the House of Commons and led to them sitting down with the Prime Minster.

Along the way they have raised more than 1 million pounds for PAPYRUS, a UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people.

This year, they will be undertaking the Walk of Hope, covering 500 miles and visiting newly opened offices of PAPYRUS all over the U.K, many of which have been setup thanks to the dads’ fundraising efforts.

They also have a book out any minute now, it’s called Three Dads Walking: 300 Miles of Hope and it’s been written up from diary entries that the dads have been writing throughout their adventures.

What The 3 Dads have achieved over the last few years is nothing short of incredible and this episode is both heart breaking and heart walking and everything in between.

It was an honour to chat to Tim, Mike and Andy.  They speak so openly and warmly and I found our chat incredibly moving but a lot of fun too!

Follow them on social media @3dadswalking and keep update with this year’s campaign via their website www.3dadswalking.uk

Learn more about the incredible work of PAPYRUS here www.papyrus-uk.org

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!

Han is a returning guest and first appeared on Proper Mental back at episode 110. 

In that episode we covered her early experiences with OCD, her relationship with alcohol, getting sober and hitting crisis point shortly after.

I reached out to Han to invite her back on for a specific conversation. 

For episode 177 I spoke to Joe Griffin who is a psychologist and co-founder of the Human Givens approach to psychotherapy.  I was a wonderful conversation and I was very taken both with Joe and the approach to therapy that he co-created.

I wanted to chat to someone who has worked with Human Givens as a therapist and someone who has experienced the other side and received this type of therapy.

Hannah Phillips is both.  After coming within hours of taking her own life, Han was referred to a Human Givens therapist and she credits these sessions with both saving, then changing her life.  After getting back on her feet, she began training to be a Human Given therapist.

In this episode Hannah and I chat about the therapy that she received and how it helped.  We chat about the courses she has been doing and how she is implementing everything that she’s been learning.

We also chat about the work she is doing around men’s mental health in her local community and her upcoming ultramarathon.

Hannah is one of my favourite people and a constant source of inspiration for me.  It was wonderful to have her back on the podcast!

Connect with Han on social media @hantherunner and @wonder_ful_women or @tydtalks

Her website is https://hantherunner.co.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Human Givens is a practical, holistic and scientific approach to therapy that focuses on what individuals need to live mentally healthy and fulfilling lives.

It draws on the latest insights from neuroscience and psychological research, and combines this knowledge with proven therapeutic techniques from a wide range of approaches to provide highly effective interventions.

Joe has many years of experience in both psychotherapeutic practice and in training psychotherapists and in this episode, I chat to him about how he started working in this field and how this work led to the creation of Human Givens.

At the core of the Human Givens framework is the idea that all humans have a set of 9 emotional needs and when these needs aren’t met, it can lead to mental ill health.

Joe and I chat about the 9 emotional needs, what they are and what gets in the way of these needs being met.

We chat about the cycle of depression, the role of metaphor and storytelling in the healing process and about how sleep ties all this together.

If you are interested in exploring the Human Givens further, Joe’s team have provided some resources below:

Emotional needs poster

Emotional resources poster

Information sheet about our approach and training. 

Free mental health resources

Identifying what needs are not being met - The Emotional Needs Audit form. 

About ENA. 

You can learn more via the website www.hgi.org.uk and connect on social media @thehumangivens or @joegriffin_hq

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Vince started out by running and playing club shows and regularly racking up 300 gigs a year.  He appeared on The Voice in 2012, written multi-million streamer dance tracks, had 5 European Top 10 hits and played at the FA Cup Final and The Royal Albert Hall.  He even has a thank you on Ed Sheeran’s debut album.

He’s also experienced mental health issues and spent six years living in chronic pain with a debilitating back issue that required multiple surgeries and threatened his ability to walk and play music.

In this episode, Vince and I chat about his introduction to music and how he started writing songs and we chat about chasing fame, going on the voice, losing several years to a couple of compressed discs and 3 spinal surgeries and the impact these things have had on his mental health along the way.

And we chat about the pandemic forced a temporary career change and how making a coffee and a chance encounter led to his return to music and his debut album which is due out in June.

This is an incredible story of bad luck, resilience, hard work and good karma and it was wonderful to hear all about it.  Vince is the loveliest man it is impossible not to root for him!

Connect with him on social media @vincefreemanofficial and keep up to date with the album and the tour via his website https://vincefreeman.com

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

She was the first woman to run 100 miles across a frozen Lake in Mongolia, has ran the full length of the Panama Canal, crossed the inhospitable Namib Desert three times, and completed a 1,000-mile off-road version of the classic Land’s End to John O’Groats route in just thirty days.

Allie has finished over 200 marathons and ultramarathons in some of the most extreme places in the world and she ran most of them while battling depression and alcoholism.

For many years Allie had a dream career in the music industry, working with major record labels and meeting some of the world’s biggest bands.  Throughout this time, she was also struggling with mental illness and alcohol addiction and originally started running to help her mental state.

Running didn’t save Allie but it started to become a big part of her life.  After reaching another crisis point in 2021, she was forced to admit the depth of her problems and start to work on getting better.

In this episode I chat to Allie about her relationship with alcohol, how it started, how it helped and how it started to wrong.

We chat about her journey to finding running and how it didn’t save but her did give her the time and space to start making sense of her mental health.

And we chat about recovery and what it looks like for her, the ultrarunning community, the music industry, some of her incredible running challenges and what it was like to revisit some incredibly dark moments to write her book ‘There is No Wall’.

It was awesome to chat to Allie!  She has spent so much time working on herself and has an incredible amount of self-awareness, I really took a lot from this episode.

You can find out more about all aspects of Allie’s work on her website here: alliebailey.co.uk and you can connect with her on social media @ab_runs.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Paul shot to fame when he landed a part on Hollyoaks straight out of drama school.  He has worked on stage and film productions, featured on several high-profile reality TV shows, hosted a chart-topping podcast and at various times in his life been a tabloid regular.

Over the course of his career, Paul has suffered with mental issues, problems with addiction and had multiple stays in rehab.

In this episode I chat to Paul about setting up MAD, where the idea came from and how they are using acting, improv and community to improve mental health.

We chat about his time on Hollyoaks, his move to LA and the impact that had on his mental state, his love of acting and some of the mental health issues behind his addictions.

And we chat about Paul’s acting career, becoming famous and dealing with rejection and we chat about addiction, going to rehab, self-worth and self-esteem.

You can learn more about MAD at Home | Morning After Drama and follow then on social media @morningafterdrama

You can connect with Paul on social media @pauldanan and @paul_danan_official

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Gulwali was sent away from Afghanistan at the age of twelve, after his father was killed in a gun battle with the US Army.

He was smuggled into Iran and spent the next 12 months traveling through Europe.  He crossed 10 countries, was put in prison 6 times, endured a desolate month in the camp at Calais and almost drowned at sea before making it to Britain.

When he arrived, the authorities did not believe he was a child of 13 due to his appearance.

Eventually he was fostered, sent to a good school, won a place at a top university, and was chosen to carry the Olympic torch in 2012 and he has told his story of life as a refugee in his autobiography: “The Lightless Sky” which is an incredible read.

In this episode I chat to Gulwali about his childhood in Afghanistan before being forced to leave.

We chat about the impact that fleeing a war zone had on his mental health and how the struggles with bureaucracy, isolation and racism added to his mental struggles.

We also chat about how his story is just one of thousands of similar stories and we talk about compassion and understanding and breakdown some of the myths and misunderstandings around refugees and asylum seekers.

In the general conversation around the refugee crisis, people tend to talk in numbers or about boats and barges and benefits but behind every figure and statist is a person, who just like Gulwali, has probably lived through some horrific experiences and I wanted to do an episode about the mental health side of that.

This is an episode that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  It’s a little different but it’s important and I can’t thank Gulwali enough for his insight and his time.

You can follow Gulwali on social media here: @gulwali_passarlay

Watch his Tedx Talk here: How I got to Manchester from Afghanistan: Gulwali Passarlay at TEDxManchester (youtube.com)

And his website is Gulwali Passarlay | The official website of an influential Afghan refugee who is a published author, TEDx speaker, and a Politics major at the University of Manchester. (wordpress.com)

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Bill was a co-founder of The Coral, which they started when he was 13, and he played lead guitar on the first five albums, eventually leaving in 2008.

It was around then that Bill started to experience depression, agoraphobia and panic attacks which would eventually lead him to leave The Coral at the height of their success.  At that time, it wasn’t made public that Bill’s mental health issues where a result of witnessing the death of his brother in a freak accident while they were on a family holiday as children..

After the breakdown that followed, Bill started to work on his solo career and to date has released 5 albums under his own name and has collaborated with the Arctic Monkey, Graham Coxon and Paloma Faith and produced records for the likes of Mick Head and Saint Saviour and many others.

His latest record, Iechyd da, was released in January to a fanfare of praise and glowing reviews and its already a contender for album of the year.

In this episode I chat to Bill about the album, the songs and the upcoming tour.

We chat about Bill’s experiences with agoraphobia and how it affects him day to day and in relationships and we chat about touring, drinking, getting older and making music.

We also chat about panic attacks and dealing with fear and being alone how sometimes choosing an unhealthy coping strategy is choosing the lesser of many possible evils.

I loved chatting to Bill.  He is such a lovely man and we laughed a lot despite getting in to some really deep topics.  I’m a huge fan of his music so getting the opportunity to ask him about it was a personal podcasting highlight for me and I can’t thank him enough for his openness and his time.

Follow Bill on socials @billryderjones tour dates and tickets available now at Bill Ryder-Jones (billryderjones.co.uk)

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Mark suffered with PTSD and depression after the birth of his son and he suffered in silence for many years while trying to support his wife who was also struggling with her mental health and they were both in at crisis point at the same time.

He is an incredibly active campaigner for parental mental health and has appeared on national radio and television, founded International Father’s Mental Health Day and published 5 books, one of which was made in to a short film by Amazon Prime. And he has also been voted Inspirational Father of the year and local hero at the Pride of Britain Awards.

In this episode I chat to Mark about becoming a dad, how that impacted him mentally, and how he and his wife supported each other through that time when they were both struggling.

We chat about some of the things that can impact new parents and some of the reasons why dads can struggle and we look at how these issues can show up and play out and look at a few things that can be done to help.

We also chat about growing up in a rural area, how working-class people are often forgotten about in mental health advocacy and why community is so important to health.

Follow Mark on social media @

For more info head to How are you Dad, his newest book is available everywhere now!

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 help 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!

We also chat her new book, When I Feel Red, written for middle grade age children, about a young girl with Dyspraxia, which is a neurological condition that affects movement and co-ordination and something that Lily has lived with since childhood.

We chat about Dyspraxia, how it’s affected Lily over the years and why she decided to write about it.

We chat about writing for young people, and how she approaches challenging topics like mental illness when writing for young people.

And we chat about navigating the challenging teenage years, being different, trying to fit in, the importance of telling stories and finding compassion for others through reading stories.

This was a really lovely chat and it was fascinating to learn about Dyspraxia and the wider implications of the condition.  I highly recommend Lily’s writing as well and the new book is fantastic!

You can follow Lily on social media @LilyBaileyUK

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Why So Sad? Is a skate and cycling focused campaign with the goal of driving awareness and education around mental wellbeing and suicide prevention.

In this episode I chat to John about getting in to skating and the importance of community and sub cultures.

We chat about his experiences with depression at different points in his life and where the idea for Why So Sad? came from and how Nike got involved to produce a WSS? Signature shoe.

And we chat about some of the themes and ideas that inform John’s work, the Adverse Childhood Experience study and how learning about what’s going on in our brains and our bodies can help us to understand mental distress and what to do about it.

You can watch Why So Sad? here: Nike SB | Why So Sad? Comic | Skateboarding and Our Mental Health (youtube.com)

And the Your Brain on Sport video is here: Your Brain on Sport (nikesb.com)

And you can follow John on social media @ratt_ray

The books that John mentions in the episode are: What Happened to You? by Dr Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey, Lost Connections by Johann Hari, Waking Up, Alive by Richard Heckler.

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!

In this episode I chat to Jess about singing, the music industry and balancing being a mother and a touring musician.

We also chat about Jess’ experiences with post-natal mental health issues, the impact that had on her family and how she got through it.

We chat about the vulnerability of singing, parental anxiety, asking for help and the loss of identity that comes with becoming a parent.

There is also loads of music chat in this one!  It was great to hear about everything Jess is doing with Wonder 45 and of course we chat about how Jess came to join Noel Gallagher’s band and what it’s like to play on some of the biggest stages in the world.

Jess was also good enough to let me use one of Wonder 45’s singles as part of this episode!  I used an incredible live audio of the song Cry and you can also watch that here:

Cry - Wonder 45 - Live Studio Session (youtube.com)

You can follow Jess on social media @greenfiledsings and @wearewonder45

Her website is www.jessgreenfiledmusic.com

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Nadia was introduced to yoga as a teenager when her Mum took her along to a class as a way of helping her mental health.

Since then, yoga has been a constant and important part of her life but her relationship with the practice has not always been a smooth one.

In this episode I chat to Nadia about her experiences with mental illness that started when she was a teenager. 

We chat about that first yoga class, what led her there and the impact that finding yoga has had since.

And we chat about eating disorders, sobriety and recovery and we chat about movement, physical health and why wellness is bullshit.

Of course, we chat a lot about yoga, how it can be beneficial with regards to mental health but also how it’s not the answer to everything like it’s often sold to be.

I absolutely loved chatting to Nadia!  We had one of those wonderful conversations that goes absolutely everywhere and we really got in to some big topics.

I highly recommend her book The Yoga Manifesto which covers a lot of the themes we talk about here and a lot more besides.  It’s out now and available everywhere.

You can follow Nadia on social media @theyogadiddident and learn more about her work via her website https://nadiagilani.co.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Tate started to experience anxiety at high school but this had nothing to do with his gender. 

It was only later on in his teenage years that he became aware of what it means to be trans and was able to start making sense of himself.

In this episode I chat to Tate about anxiety, why it started and how it affects his life.

I also chat to Tate about coming out as trans, how that was received in his workplace and the last few years he has spent working towards becoming his true self.

We discuss stigma, hate and misunderstanding and we discuss joy, freedom and authenticity.

It was also fascinating to get Tate’s perspective on the current men’s mental health crisis as someone who has presented as both female and male

Tate is so wonderfully open about his life and his experiences and it was great to chat, to debunk some myths and look at men’s mental health from a completely different perspective.

You can follow Tate on social media @tatemichaelsmith

Learn more about his activism and consultancy via his website www.tatesmith.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

When Roxy was 13, she was coerced then blackmailed into sending explicit photos, which were spread around her school.

The school blamed all of this on Roxy and the shame and embarrassment that was heaped down on her, by the very establishment that was supposed to be looking after her, took a huge toll on her mental health and eventually led to self-harm and hearing voices. 

At 14 she suffered a psychotic breakdown and was hospitalized.

She spent the next four years rebuilding her mental health, and her life, and she wrote about all of this in the memoir ‘When You Lose It’.

The book is an incredibly emotional read.  Half is written by Roxy from her perspective, the other half is written by her Mum and it details the impact that mental illness has on both the person experiencing it and the people that love them and have to help them through it.

In this episode I chat to Roxy about being a young person and growing up in this technology driven age.  We chat about the events that led to the photos being taken and shared and everything that happened after.

We chat about psychosis, self-harm, being in hospital and working with difficult emotions like anger and shame and we chat about the experience of writing the book, reading her Mum’s side of the story and the complex relationships between teenagers and parents.

I reached out to Roxy after reading her book, which I found incredibly moving and challenging to read.  She has a wonderful understanding of everything that happened and her own mental health and it was a privilege to chat to her about all of it.

The book is available in all good book shops and you can follow Roxy on social media @roxylongworth_

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

The festival is an annual event that provides a forum for informative, challenging and inspiring discussion through workshops, talks, exhibitions, and other activities.

In this episode I chat to Ian about the festival, the incredible work that they do and how it has evolved over the years.

We talk about Ian’s own mental health challenges and how a mixture of art, creativity and a men’s retreat helped him to overcome them.

We also talk about the importance of having any sort of creative outlet and how being creative can help us to understand and express ourselves and understand the world around us.

I met Ian last year as part of the Mental Wealth Festival and knew straight away that he would make a brilliant guest.  It was absolutely wonderful to chat to him and explore his ideas around art and everything else.

Follow Ian @iantucknott @mentalwealthfestival @citylit

Find out more about the festival here:  Mental Wealth Festival 2023 | City Lit

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

In this episode I chat to Steve about his relationship with food from a creative perspective and a mental illness perspective.

We chat about Steve’s history with Bulimia, how it showed up in his life and how he learned to manage it.

We also chat about his diagnosis of BPD, what that means to him and what it was like to get diagnosed at a young age with a mental illness that is hugely misunderstood.

And we chat about getting sober, fitness, healthy eating and why it’s so important for men to join the conversation around eating disorders.

I’ve done a lot of episodes about food and mental health but this is the first one with a male guest.  It was wonderful to get Steve’s perspective on such complex topic!

You can follow Steve on social media @healthy.done.sexy.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Aidy created The Three Drinkers on Amazon Prime; the show has released 3 seasons since 2019 in over 100 territories and 10+ languages around the world.

In this episode I chat to Aidy about Tourette Syndrome, when it showed up in his life and the impact it has had on his mental health over the years.

We chat about the stigma around Tourette’s, what the condition actually is and the day-to-day realities of living with tics and twitches.

And we chat about bullying, finding work, the drinks industry and how Lewis Capaldi at Glastonbury this summer was so important for raising awareness around Tourette’s.

It was an absolute pleasure to chat to Aidy!  He has an incredible story and it was amazing to hear all about his mindset and approach to life.

You can follow him on social media @sypped and connect via his website www.aidysmith.com

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Adam has made national TV appearances in Britain and The U.S. and has also ghost-written for 50 comedians.

Adam has a diagnosis of Bipolar and in this episode, we chat about his experiences with hypomania which is the less extreme part of bipolar and very different to hyper mania.

We chat about getting into comedy and the art of writing funny stuff, we chat about the mental impact of becoming successful at a young age and we chat about stress, anger, medication and all sorts of other fascinating things.

Adam is often described as the comedian’s comedian and here we also talk about why that’s important to him and how he measures success.

His book, Finding Your Comic Genius: An in-depth guide to the art of stand up is out now and is a wonderful guide to the mechanics of writing comedy and we chat about that in this episode too!

I reached out to Adam after hearing him mention hypomania on another podcast.  It’s not something that has come up on Proper Mental before and it was wonderful to hear about Adam’s experience.  He was absolutely lovely to chat to!

Hi book is available on Amazon here: Finding Your Comic Genius: An in-depth guide to the art of stand-up comedy: Amazon.co.uk: Bloom, Adam: 9798859382385: Books

You can connect with Adam on Instagram @adambloomcomedy or Twitter @adambloomie2.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Tis the season that not everybody enjoys, for a lot of different reasons.  I wanted to put something out at Christmas that might give someone a little lift if they needed one, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. 

Sometimes 5 minutes can make all the difference.

I reached out to advocates, campaigners, authors, speakers and podcasters and friends and I asked them to record a voice note that might be nice for someone to hear over Xmas.  Some of these people I knew and some I didn’t but all of them are wonderful and inspiring and I was so touched by the response. 

You’ll be hearing from Chris Young, Laura Belbin, Shocka, Natasha Devon, Hannah Phillips, Yvette Caster, Natasha Rae, Tatton Spiller, James Whithey, Gabriel Nathan, Eva Echo,

I’ve put them all together here in this episode.  There are some anecdotes, some advice, some kind words or useful ideas.  You can listen in one go or dip in and out when you want to. 

It might help if you’re not really in the mood for Christmas and if you love this time of year, then it will inspire you to love it even more.

I reached out to a bunch of strangers and asked them to leave a supportive message for a different bunch of strangers and all these people said yes. 

That truly is a sign that you are not alone and to me, it’s the true spirit of Xmas.

There are so many support services that stay open and available during the Xmas period, please reach out if you need to. 

Please talk to someone if you need to.

If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, head to www.hubofhope.co.uk.  There’s a link in my bio.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in this episode and a huge thanks to you, for listening!

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, in whatever shape or form that needs to take for you, and all the best for the New Year.

Here are some more links that might help:

www.hubofhope.co.uk

Useful contacts - Christmas and mental health | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems

My Black Dog | Free Online Mental Health Chat Support

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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 £5 a month you’ll get early access to any and all episodes that aren’t available to watch anywhere else and help 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.

Thanks for listening!

Tasha is an author, content creator and psychotherapist who specialises in trauma, self-love and creativity.

In this episode I chat to Tasha about why she decided to become a therapist and some of the different ways that she supports the people she works with.

We chat about the language of therapy becoming more common place and how it’s very easy to learn the words without necessarily doing the work.

And we chat about learning to talk about feelings and emotions, how challenging it can be learn about yourself and why it’s important to build trust with your therapist.

We also have a lovely chat about the E4 show @mafs, what we can learn from watching and why these sorts of shows are so popular.

It was a real pleasure to chat to Tasha about her work.  Therapy accounts on social media can be pretty wild but Tasha really cuts through all that and her content is brilliant so it was great to dig in to all that a bit deeper.

Tasha’s book, Real Talk: Lessons from Therapy on Healing and Self-Love, is out now and available everywhere.

You can follow her on social media @realtalktherapist and connect via her website www.realtalktherapist.co.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

At Christmas 2020, his other band The K*nts, had an unexpected top 5 hit single with their protest song Boris Johnson is a F**king C**t.  Since then, they have had top 20 hits with Boris Johnson is STILL a F**king C**t, F** The Tories and Scrap The Monarchy despite having no record company, no management, no PR company and no financial backing.

In this episode I chat to Mr K about his about his extensive career on the cold, outer fringes of show business and the mental impact of trying to live a creative lifestyle and go against the grain.

We chat about being skint, the state of the nation and the importance of community and protest. We also chat about why he's not doing a Xmas single this year and has chosen to support a mystery, Bansky style musical outfit called The Krackpots who are releasing 'Proper Christmas' under very mysterious circumstances on 8th of December.

This is a much lovelier and profound chat than you’ll be expecting and I really enjoyed being part of it!  I’ve loved what Mr K has done to the Christmas charts over the last few years and I will always cheer for the independent artists and the underdogs who are trying to do something different. 

Get all the info about The Krackpots – Proper Christmas at www.properchristmas.info

Connect with Kunt on social media @kuntandthegang or katg.info

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Dr Ro Bevan got things started after working on CAMHS wards at Christmas and noticing a huge disparity in the way CAMHS units were treated over the festive period compared to other NHS services for children and young people.

Now Christmas for CAMHS aim to make children and young people who are inpatients over the festive season feel thought-about, special and included

In this episode I chat to Ro about how the charity came to be and the wonderful work that they are doing for young people on mental health wards at Christmas.

We chat about where the idea came from and how it got started and we chat about the logistics of organising and delivering gifts all over the UK and the wonderful volunteers that make this happen.

I think what Ro and the team are doing is incredible!  Please go and see what they are up to and get involved if you can!

Instagram @christmasforcamhs

Twitter @Xmas4CAMHS

Facebook @ChristmasForCAMHS

www.christmasforcahms.org.uk and Donate Here Christmas For CAMHS - JustGiving

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!

Reed describes herself as an anxious child and she became aware of her mental health from a young age.  In this episode Reed guides me through her early experiences that led to her being diagnosed with OCD.

We chat about the different ways that OCD has affected Reed over the years and all the things she’s tried to manage it.

We talk about being addicted to drugs and phones, body image, resisting medication, different types of therapy, breakdowns and break throughs.

We also chat about sex and Reed’s work around anti-shaming.  Shame and guilt are both words that are far too often associated with both sex and mental illness and it was wonderful to explore this complicated topic with Reed.

I loved chatting to Reed!  She was a lot of fun and has some fascinating insights to s*x and mental illness.

You can connect with reed on social media @reedamberx and subscribe to her Only Fans here: Reed OnlyFans

You can find Come Curious here Come Curious - YouTube and follow @comecurious

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

An 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!

The Mental Wealth Festival is an annual event, hosted by City Lit, and offers free or low-fee events, including in person and online workshops, talks, discussions, exhibitions, and other activities.

I was honoured to be asked to join a panel for experts and campaigners to chat about men's mental health in contemporary society, the possible factors that impact men's wellbeing, and explore the ways in which authentic social connection and creative activity can support psychological health and healing.

The event was hosted by Ian Tucknott, who is an educator, cultural theorist, creative practitioner, and trainee art psychotherapist, with 15 years’ experience of teaching & managing in the areas of contemporary art, critical & cultural theory, and art history.

Joining me as part of the panel were Yashoda Rodgers, who is Public Programmes Manager at 64 Million Artists and they work to explore the impact of how our individual and collective creativity can make positive change in our lives and the world around us

Jon Salmon, an award-winning video producer, a digital pioneer and Co-CEO of the Speakers Collective who are challenging stigma and facilitating important conversations with lived experience speakers.

Stu Mills is Founder and Director of The Noisy Brain, a global Social Enterprise that aims to help people with mental health issues and up-and-coming musicians through lyrics, music and social connection.

Luke Ambler who is a former professional rugby player, dad, storyteller, the founder of ANDYSMANCLUB, 3 x Ironman, and an award-winning mental health campaigner.

This bonus episode is the audio from the evening that was recorded live over Zoom.  You can watch the video recording by joining the Patreon community.

It’s £5 a month for early access to episodes as soon as the recording is finished, a monthly Zoom hangout and loads of other behind the scenes updates and everything goes towards keeping the show independent and ad free.

Sign up here: Proper Mental Podcast | Normalising open and honest conversations about mental health! | Patreon

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!

I reached out to the lads to borrow the Hardcore Listings format and do a Top 5 and they chose to do songs that are good for your mental health.

I also really love how comfortable both Chris & Stu are talking about things like mental health and emotions and all the things that men are always told they don’t speak about.

I also love the way they talk about this stuff, with humour and compassion.

These deeper conversations can be fun as well, it doesn’t always have to be serious and official and I wanted to show that with this episode.

We chat about sadness, grief, mental health and bad days and we chat about happy memories, good times and great songs.

We chat about The Bee Gees, Kae Tempest, Reef, Royal Blood, Sage Francis and the Grease soundtrack and we also chat about feeling your feelings and why music can feel like a hug when you need one.

You can check out all the songs from this episode on this Spotify playlist!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZqjlJF07aCNBqD4mZab1c?si=3876a98af9cd4c99

I love hanging out with these two idiots!

Follow them @hardcorelisting

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Sammy started writing the show while she was in a psychiatric hospital and the reasons why she ended up in hospital are what the show is based around.

In this episode I chat to Sammy about writing the show and about open up conversations through performance, stories and humour.

We talk about the impact that society has on mental welling being and just trying to be a good person, getting by in life can be so difficult in a world that doesn’t necessarily value those qualities.

We talk about Borderline Personality Disorder, rejecting labels, being creative and rebelling against social norms.

This is a wonderful chat and I loved hanging out with Sammy.  We could have talked all day and we really explored a lot of different aspects of mental illness.  It was great to talk freely and dig in to these things with the nuance and compassion that they deserve.

Connect with Sammy and keep an eye out for tour dates here:

@thatsnotmynameofficial

@sammytrotman

@coveredinjam

www.coveredinjam.info

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

As a child Mark found that playing drums was the only that kept him from bouncing off the walls and he eventually moved to London to join Little Angels before joining Skunk Anansie after he met the band at the Kerrang! awards.

Mark struggled with addiction for many years before getting sober in 2003 and in this episode, I chat to him about the role that drink and drugs have played in his life, the events that led him to get help and the 3 years it took him to finally stop.

We chat about identity, wearing masks, going to AA and the realities of the so-called rock and roll lifestyle.

Mark is one of the co-founders of the Music Support charity that is a non-profit collective of volunteers and professionals providing help and support for individuals in any area of the music industry and we chat about how they got started and the incredible work that they do.

Mark has also been involved in to lots of research about the positive impact of playing drums on wellbeing. Neurodiversity and dementia and that’s a fascinating part of this conversation.

Here is everything you need to connect with Mark and learn more about Music Support:

@markrichdrums

@musicsupport_uk

@officialskunkannansie

http://musicsupport.org

http://skunkanansie.com

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

At one point in time, Vanessa had everything that she thought she was supposed to.  She had the perfect family and the perfect life and no idea who she really was. 

This disconnection pushed her to a dark place and she was forced to look at her life, and herself, to work out how to reconnect with herself and the people in her life.

In this episode I chat to Vanessa about the breakdown and the breakthrough that forced her to really look at herself.

We chat about living authentically, showing up, holding space and getting better and we chat about what these things actually mean and how to get started.

I’ve followed Vanessa on social media for some time and her content often gives me pause for thought, so it was wonderful to spend some time with her and learn more about her work and why she does it.

You can follow Vanessa on Instagram @vanessacornell and @nushu.

Her website can be found at https://nushu.com

You can support Proper Mental by signing up to the Patreon community!  It’s £5 a month for early access to episodes as soon as the recording is finished, a monthly Zoom hangout and loads of other behind the scenes updates.

Sign up here: Proper Mental Podcast | Normalising open and honest conversations about mental health! | Patreon

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!

After being diagnosed with Bipolar 1 while at university, Kieran spent a decade travelling around the world trying to figure out what he wanted to do and how he was going to live with this diagnosis.

Along the way he found that climbing was the perfect way for him to find peace and manage his illness.

Eventually he landed in Italy where the mountains and local climbing community helped him to keep well but that changed when Covid hit and Italy became one of the first countries to lock down.

In Kieran’s book ‘Climbing the Walls’ he writes about what it was like to be trapped inside, away from the mountains, on his own and feeling his mental state drift towards mania while rapidly running out of medication.

In this episode I chat to Kieran about being diagnosed with a mental illness, at a young age and at a time when no one was talking about bipolar.

We chat about how bipolar has impacted him throughout his life, his love of climbing and how it helps his mental state and we chat about his time in Italy that led to him writing the book.

We chat about shame, stigma, nature, travel and all sorts of other stuff.

Climbing the Walls is available in all good book shops and you can follow Kieran on Instagram @kieranjamescunningham.

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!

My wife Kim and I originally recorded and released this episode in April 2021.

At that time, we were both quite nervous about putting our story out there so I just slipped it out as a bonus with very little promotion.  It had such a wonderful response and is still one of the episodes that I get the most feedback from.

I can’t tell my story without Kim telling hers so I wanted to give it a proper release alongside episode 150 which is also out today and is me being interviewed on the Full of Beans podcast.

At that time Proper Mental was only a few episodes in and I was still very much learning on the job.

We put the kids to bed, set a mic on the table, put the kettle on and just had a chat in the kitchen.

It’s scruffy and loose and really quite beautiful to listen back to it now.

A lot came out in the conversation that neither of us were expecting and it was moving for me to get Kim’s side of the story.

We actually tried to do a follow up but it didn’t work and it just felt like there was nothing left to say.

This episode says it all.

Depression can be all consuming and as much as the person struggling feels like they are drowning, they can also be pulling the people around them under. 

This chat is a real insight in to watching someone you love suffer.

We chat about what it’s like to live with someone who is struggling, why it’s important to talk and how Kim navigated the ups and downs of my mental health.

We also chat about how my problems brought us closer together and by nearly ruining our marriage, actually made it stronger.

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!

I’m not sure if 150 episodes is an actual milestone or not, but it sort of feels like one so I wanted to mark it in some way.

I’ve been lucky enough to be asked to tell my own mental health story in a lot of different places but it’s been a long time since I’ve talked about myself on Proper Mental.

Very early on, episode 7 in fact, I did my own episode.  At that time, I had a really limited understanding of my own mental health.  I didn’t have the vocabulary that I do now and I hadn’t done any of work to explore what had really been going on.  I was only a few months post break down, newly medicated and still figuring it all out.  It was all very new.

Recently I’ve been getting asked about my experience a bit more and I realised it’s been a long time since I put anything out about me.  So, this feels like a good time to put something out.

I didn’t want to do a solo episode and just waffle on for an hour.  That feels self-indulgent and I think it would be boring for you to listen to and boring for me to record.

Last year I guested on a wonderful podcast called Full of Beans, it’s hosted by my friend Hannah (who is also a previous Proper Mental guest) and it was one of my favourite podcast appearances.

Hannah was good enough to let me have the audio and that’s what I’m putting out here.

Han is an incredible host.  She asks great questions; she really listens and she a lot of wonderful insight that her own experiences have given her.  I’ve guested on a lot of awesome podcasts but this one felt particularly special and I ended up chatting about things I wasn’t expecting to.

Huge thanks to Hannah for the original invite and for sharing the recording and go and check out Full of Beans because it’s brilliant!

You can follow Hannah on Instagram @thefobpodcast or connect with her via www.fullofbeansed.co.uk

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!

James has lived with OCD for most of his life, although for a lot of that time he had no idea what it was or how to get help.

In this episode James and I chat about his own particular brand of mental illness, how it showed up and how it’s impacted his life over the years.

We chat about the support group he attends and the importance of community and relatability and we chat about how mental illness impacts the people around us.

We also chat about getting well and trying to stay there, empathy and what it’s like to have too much of it, Joe Rogan, Twitter, and the state of the world in general.

I’m a big fan of James’ podcasts and I was an avid reader of the NME during the era that he was there so it was really cool to chat to him!

Follow him on Twitter@ or Instagram @

His website is www.jamesjammcmahon.com

His Substack is Spoook - the Substack of James McMahon | Substack

The James McMahon Music Podcast and Brain Worms are available everywhere.

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!

For over 30 years Ben has worked as a prison psychiatrist, community psychiatrist and as a consultant in medium-secure, low-secure and general mental health units.

He is also the author of ‘What We Fear Most’ in which he reflects on a lifetime on the frontline of forensic psychiatry and the extremes of mental illness.

In this episode I chat to Ben about his work, what he does and why he started doing it.

We talk about the more challenging aspects of mental illness and the good and the bad side of diagnosis and we chat about the misconceptions and stigma around mental illness and how that is getting lost in the wider conversation about mental health.

As I’m sure you can imagine, we cover some big topics in this one!  Ben was wonderful to speak to and it fascinating and important to learn about the realities of treating some of the most troubled men and women in society.

You can learn more about Ben and his work via his website ben-cave.com.

Instagram @drbencave

Twitter @DrBenCave

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!

In 2015 he suffered his first manic episode and was sectioned under the mental health act for 4 months.

He is currently putting on a fully immersive art installation called ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ which explains his experience of being sectioned including his diaries from that time, recorded conversations from his friends and family and loads of anecdotes from his time in hospital.

In this episode I chat to David about his experiences with mental illness and how he ended up being sectioned.

We chat about his time in hospital, what it was like day to day and some of the things that happened and we chat about what life was like once he was discharged and some of the artistic projects he’s worked on since that are all mental health focused.

David also takes me through his recovery from a life-threatening brain injury that he had after jumping off the roof of a mental health hospital and many more incredible stories from his life.

David has some incredible stories and he was so much fun to chat to!  I love the idea of his installation and how he can use it to offer an insight in to being sectioned which is still a part of the mental health conversation that is not widely discussed or understood.

You can learn more about where to see David’s work here: www.davidparkin.org

You can follow him on social media @davidparkinartist

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!

In this episode I chat to Kim about her experiences with OCD, which started after she become a mum in 2020.

We chat about the way OCD impacted her early experiences of motherhood and we chat about intrusive thoughts, rituals and the realities of living with mental illness.

We chat about Kim’s journey towards recovery and what that has looked like for her over the last couple of years and we chat about her decision to start speaking openly about perinatal mental illness and how that’s been received.

And we chat growing up in Wales, becoming an actor and balancing work with family life and we chat about compassion, therapy and asking for help.

This is one of my all-time favourite episodes!  I saw a lot of my own experiences in Kim’s story and I was both moved and inspired by her openness.  She was wonderful to talk to!

Kim writes about her life and her mental health on her Stubstack and she has a wonderful podcast there too, you can find it here: Kimfluencing My Brain | Kimberley Nixon | Substack

You can follow her on Instagram @therealkimberleynixon

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!

Jeremy has had a really exciting life and a lot of this is down to him living a big chunk of it with undiagnosed manic depression, a condition that is now known as bipolar.

He started off as a plugger for Decca Records in the 70’s working with the likes of Thin Lizzy and Al Green before moving away to start his own label.

It was around this time that Jeremy fell in to a deep depression that took him to the brink of suicide.  The bounce back was even more severe and for a long time Jeremy would experience bouts of undiagnosed mania and his lifestyle become more and more extreme.  It would be sometime before he was able to get help and would eventually be diagnosed with manic depression.

In this episode Jeremy takes me through his life from boarding school to the music business, and on to New York and 3 years on a Greek island.  This story takes in armed guards, a Lordship, bankruptcy and a lot of excess!

Jeremy credits attending AA and getting sober along with medication and diagnosis as the turning point and through all this is has amassed a huge amount of insight in to mental illness.  One of his talks is titled ‘How to stay sane in an insane world.’

He also hosts the Shed Talks podcast where he speaks to some incredible guests about their lives and experiences.

It was a lot of fun chatting to Jeremy and I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

Find out more at Informative, Entertaining Good Mental Health Talks with Jeremy Thomas (jeremythomastalks.co.uk)

Follow him on social media @jeremythomastalks

Shed Talks is available on all podcast platforms!

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!

It took Eva a long time to figure out who she was and learn to live as her true self and this had a hugely negative impact on her mental health from a young age.

In this episode Eva and I chat about what it’s like to be transgender and she guides me through some of the current challenges that gender diverse people are dealing with on a daily basis.

We chat about how and why she became a campaigner and the importance of education and understanding in the work that she does.

We also chat about the journey she has been on with her own identity and the mental health struggles that ran parallel to that through her life until she was able to authentically be her true self.

We chat about compassion, language, acceptance and coming out and we chat about what makes a good ally.

I’ve followed Eva for some time and her work has been a really valuable resource for me to learn about the trans community so it was really lovely to meet her properly and really explore the conversation around gender and identity and the role of mental health within that.

You can follow Eva on Instagram @evaech0

A 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!

Embrace released their debut album ‘The Good Will Out’ in 1996 and have gone on to release a total of 8 albums, all of which have charted in the top 10.

Danny experienced mental health challenges as a teenager, at one point having 15 panic attacks a day.  He would eventually be diagnosed with PTSD and later with Pure O OCD.

In this episode I chat to Danny about the early days of the band and his memories of recording their seminal debut album.

We talk about how PTSD entered his life after a traumatic event and the impact that had on his life and we chat about how he eventually recovered.

We also chat about the importance of talking, the benefits of therapy, being in a band and we chat about how getting married and having kids finally brought Danny some peace.

This was a special one for me!  I’ve been a fan of this band since day one, the debut was the 3rd record I ever bought, and I’ve seen them live many times!

Danny speaks wonderfully about his experiences and it was an absolute pleasure to spend some time with him!

Everything you need to know about Embrace can be found at www.embrace.co.uk

Follow them on all platforms @embrace

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!

In this episode I chat to Cara about her work in mental health services and some of the reasons why she got in to nursing and trained to be a therapist.

Cara has many years of experience of living with an eating disorder and bipolar disorder and in this episode Cara and I chat about some of the ways that these diagnosis impact each other and how she manages both of them day to day.

We chat about her experiences of mental ill health during childhood and the differences between child and adult services and we also chat about relapse, recovery and the bits in between.

Cara is the author of creative activity journals for eating disorders, bipolar and OCD which were inspired by some of the creative tools that she used as part of her own recovery and we also chat about creativity and the role it plays in good mental health.

I really enjoyed chatting to Cara and we cover a lot here.  Her experiences of mental health services on both sides and at different stages of her life have given her an incredible insight which was fascinating to explore.

You can find out more about Cara’s books and ll the other work that she does via her website https://caras-corner.com.

You can follow her on social media @caralisette

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

The idea for his expedition came after losing his sister to suicide in 2022.  They had always planned to ride a tandem together but never got the chance and now Xani is offering up the back seat of his bike to a different person on each leg of the journey, all of whom have been affected by suicide in some way.

I caught up with him on a rare rest day when he was about 2/3’s of the way through this 88 day challenge which will finish in Edinburgh towards the end of August.

In this episode I chat to Xani about the story behind his cycle, the logistics involved and how he actually quit his job to make this happen.

We chat about some of the obstacles and challenges he’s come across during the journey so far and he shares some of the incredible stories on behalf of the people who have joined him along the way.

I heard about Xani and his tandem after he passed through where I live and it was such a pleasure to be able to chat to him about this incredible bike ride and the story behind it, especially as he is still in the saddle at the time of recording!  He’s a great guy and he’s doing something really special.

Xani’s Just Giving page can be found here: Tandem Against Suicide UK fundraising on JustGiving

You can follow him on social media @tandemagainstsuicide

There is more info about his chosen charities here:

Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org)

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide – Overcoming the isolation of people bereaved by suicide (uksobs.org)

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Her recent book, Snowflake, takes a deep-dive into some of the most harmful mental health stereotypes and in this episode Lucy and I chat about where these stereotypes come from and the impact that they have.

We chat about Lucy’s own experiences with anxiety and panic attacks and how the conversation around mental health has changed since her teenage years.

We chat about the stigma that surrounds mental health in general but also what the word stigma actually means and how the way we talk to each other matters just as much as what we’re talking about.

We chat language, identity, compassion and some of the wonderful ways that young people are changing and impacting society and we explore some of the reasons why some people are so against that change.

It was wonderful to chat to Lucy, not just about mental health, but about lots of other areas of society that can affect how we think and feel about ourselves and our place in the world.

However, if you are the sort of person that doesn’t like listening to woke, snowflakes having a chat then this probably isn’t the episode for you!

You can connect with Lucy via her website https://lucynichol.com or via social media

Instagram @lucynichol

Twitter @LucyENichol

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

First Person Project is a not-for-profit social enterprise who are on a social mission to promote empowerment in communities across Liverpool City Region, improving mental health through socially progressive action.

Matty has 17 years’ professional experience working in the field of mental health with more than a decade of Matty’s career spent working as a Registered Mental Health Nurse.

During this time Matty became frustrated with the restrictions and barriers in the health care system that get in the way of people getting help.

He had to take some time away from work after he started to experience depression and psychotic episodes which would eventually result in multiple suicide attempts and as part of his recovery Matty started the First Person Project.

Initially knocking on doors in his local area to support anyone in the community who was struggling and unable to access the right help, his work swiftly grew and we now has a team around him and several support hubs in the Liverpool City Region.

It’s an inspiring story and the community-based approach to mental health support just feels exciting and groundbreaking.  I cannot wait for you to hear about this work and the impact that Matty and his team have had in such a short space of time!

Everything you need to know can be found here:

www.firstpersonprojectcic.co.uk

Twitter @FirstPersonCIC / @mattycaine87

Instagram @firstpersonprojectcic / @mattycaine1

www.facebook.com/FirstPersonProjectCIC

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

On 3rd June 2017 three terrorists drove a white van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then leapt out and started attacking bystanders.

As the attack took place, Leon was just starting a night shift and happened to be walking through the area as the attack took place.  He was one of the first officers on the scene, giving chase to the attackers and administering first aid and getting people to safety.  He was later awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his actions that night.

Shortly after these events, Leon’s mental health started deteriorate and, in this episode, Leon takes me through his recollections of the attack, how it played out around him and the impact it all had on his mental state.

We talk about the days and weeks that followed, how he dealt with it all and the impact that it had on his personal life and the people around him.

Something that really stands out from Leon’s story is that although the catalyst for him was incredibly specific, the way it impacted him and how it all played out is really relatable and that just shows how much common ground there is when it comes to mental health and why sharing stories is so important.

This is an incredible episode and I cannot thank Leon enough for speaking so openly about his experiences.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Growing up, Harriet just thought that she was just eccentric but as she got older, and people kept trying to have her sectioned, she came to realise that there might be more going on.

She would eventually be diagnosed with bipolar and has incorporated her experiences with mental illness in to her comedy ever since.

In this episode I chat to Harriet about the fine line between being eccentric and mentally ill and we talk about some of the experiences that led to her diagnosis and performing stand up about it.

We chat about mental health in the world of comedy, making mental illness funny and the different ways that people react and we chat about her award-winning mental health comedy night, Barking Tales, and how that came to be.

I also highly recommend the Make Me Better podcast that Harriet co-hosts with Louise Young where they try out different self-improvement fads to see if anything makes them less insane and we chat about some of the things Harriet has tried in this episode too.

It was so much fun to chat to Harriet and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

You can learn more about Harriet and her Barking Tales comedy night via her website www.harrietdyer.com.

Follow her on social media @harrietdyercomedy and @makemebetterpod

Make Me Better is available on all podcast platforms

You can watch her special Trigger Warning here: Harriet Dyer: Trigger Warning - YouTube

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

In this episode I chat to Dan about his background, how he got in to the world of fitness and how he became a coach.

We chat about his own experiences with mental ill health and the impact that has had on his coaching process, the way he works with his clients and how he sees the world.

We chat about identity, avoidance, choosing to get help and making big changes.

We also chat about body image, particularly in men, and some of the societal reasons that affect how men see themselves and how they feel about their body’s.

I’m a big fan of Dan’s social media content and how he writes and talks about mental health and life in general so it was great to get the chance to explore some of his ideas.  This conversation goes absolutely everywhere and to a lot of places that neither of us expected. 

There is something really nourishing about two men, who don’t know each other, just chatting openly about their insecurities and being really honest and this was an absolute joy to be a part of! 

You can follow Dan on social media @the.dan.osman and I highly recommend you do so as his content is brilliant!

I also highly recommend Dan’s podcast ‘Ramblings of a Mad Man’ which is available on all podcast platforms.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

He is also a patron for My Black Dog, a mental health charity and ground breaking peer-to-peer service that’s hosted by volunteers that all have lived experience so anyone who’s struggling can web-chat with someone who really gets it.

In this episode I chat to Eddy about his work with My Black Dog and his own experiences with anxiety, insomnia and suicidal thoughts.

We chat about mental wellbeing and the practices that Eddy uses every day to look after himself.  We cover meditation, the Wim Hoff Method, food, music, nature and all sorts of other wonderful things that are good for the mind, body and spirit.

And we chat about the importance of talking, connecting with others and the importance of shared experience and using ADHD as a super power.

Eddy has been actively involved in the mental health for a long time and has gained some incredible insights along the way.  He was actually on the dream guest that I wrote up when I first started Proper Mental so to get to chat to him was really special and he is just the loveliest man!

You can listen to Eddy on Virgin Radio through the week 10:00 – 13:00.

Catch up with everything that Eddy does via his website https://eddytm.com or via his social media @eddytemplemorris.

You can learn more about My Black Dog at www.myblackdog.co or @myblackdog_co

You can check out the record Eddy mentions towards the end here: The Nightfly - YouTube

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

She is also a yoga teacher, author and coach who is recognised as one of the world’s leading self-care experts.

In this episode I chat to Suzy about her life experience of motherhood colliding with the terminal illness of her father that sparked her passion for self-care.

We chat about the importance of rest, some of the reasons why slowing down isn’t valued by society and why the language we use to talk about resting is important.

Suzy also takes me through her ‘8 Pillars of Rest’ and we look at different ways to rest and how we can start to apply them.

We also chat about setting boundaries, using Mantra’s, switching off and letting go and why we all need a rest prescription based on our own individual needs.

I loved to chatting to Suzy and even just talking about this stuff helped me to feel replenished and energised!  This episode has loads of practical advice and ideas to get you started on a more compassionate and restful way of being.

Suzy’s latest book ‘Rest To Reset: The busy person’s guide to resting with purpose’ is out now and available everywhere.

Everything you need to know about Suzy and her work can be found at www.suzyreading.co.uk and you can follow her on social media @suzyreading and I highly recommend her Instagram page!

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Adam formed The Music with some friends (Robert Harvey, Stuart Coleman, Phil Jordan) while still at high school and the band were quickly called the best unsigned band in Britain by the NME.

When the group turned 18, they released their debut album which went in to the charts at number 4 and they set off on tour with the likes of U2, Oasis and Coldplay.

After two years of relentless touring, there was suddenly a lot of record label pressure to make a follow up record and the next few years would be complicated by the stresses of touring, music industry politics, burn out and the impact of streaming music.

The band called it a day whilst working on what would have been album number 4 and Adam found himself back at home and estranged from the rest of the band and without the only job that he knew how to do.  He was still only in his late twenties at this point and all of this combined took a massive toll on his mental health and his sense of identity.

He turned his back on music, put his guitars in storage and wouldn’t play again for a decade.  He would also be diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar and had to try and work out who he was and what he was going to do with the rest of his life.  He spiralled in to a really dark and angry place.

An unexpected but lovely series of events, linked to lockdown and the pandemic and a Tim Burgess Twitter Listening Party, would allow Adam to reconnect with this band mates and the fans of the music they made together. 

He started playing guitar again and made peace with everything that happened by writing his new solo album ‘Badlands on Fire’.

It’s an incredible story and it was hard to hear at times but it does come with a really beautiful ending and I can’t thank Adam enough for sharing it with me!

His new record is available here:  Adam Nutter | "Badlands on Fire" - OUT NOW

Adam has his own podcast ‘The Music and More’ which is available everywhere.

Everything else you need is here: adam_nutter | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

One day Michelle started crying at work and couldn’t stop.  She would end up spending the next two weeks in bed and would eventually have to leave her job.

As part of her recovery journey, she started medication and started going to therapy and began looking at different parts of her life that had impacted on her mental health and contributed to her being unwell.

She wrote about this process and her experience with mental illness and bad therapists in her book and in this episode, I chat to Michelle about her mental health and how a series of life events all arrived at once and caused her mental state to collapse.

We also chat about medication, self-care, running and how mental illness isn’t always about the extremes but more often about managing in the middle.

I enjoyed this conversation so much!  Michelle has some wonderful insights about mental health and we explore her traffic light system, the good and the bad things about therapy and why it’s important to include everybody in the mental health conversation.

You can find out more about Michelle and her work here: www.michellethomas.org and connect with her on social media @msmthomas.

Her book, My Sh*t Therapist and Other Mental Health Stories, is available everywhere and it’s really good read with loads of useful and amusing ideas and stories about mental health.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

Tim Clare is a writer, a poet and a coward.

Tim has experienced anxiety and panic attacks for over a decade, sometimes having attacks several times a day.  These would often leave him curled up in a ball on the floor, screaming for help.

Eventually Tim got to a place where he could no longer go on living in fear and he made the decision to get control of his anxiety.

He set out to explore all of the common treatments, cures and support options and spent a year trialling and learning about things like exercise, hypnotherapy, medication, cold water, diet and psychedelics.

He researched science, looked at the studies, spoke to the experts and tried everything himself.  He wrote about all of this in his book, Coward: Why We Get Anxious and What We Can Do About it.

In this episode I chat to Tim about anxiety and what it feels like to have a panic attack.

We also chat about his yearlong experiment, some of the different things that he tried and what he learned about anxiety, and about himself, along the way.

It was great to chat to Tim about his book and everything that went in to it.  The amount of work he put into researching different aspects is incredible and I could have picked his brain for hours!

His book is great and if you want to know more about anxiety and about what can be done to potentially help, then I would highly recommend you give it a read after listening to this!

Episode 131 is out now in all the usual places!

Find out more about everything that Tim does here: www.timclarepoet.co.uk

You can follow him on twitter @timclarepoet

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

The Lottery Winners are a four-piece indie-rock band hailing from the Leigh area of Greater Manchester. Their latest album, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, contains collaborations with the likes of Boy George, Shaun Ryder and Frank Turner and recently charted at number one in the U.K album charts.

The album has strong mental health themes throughout and I caught up with Thom and Katie before their recent show in Liverpool to chat all about the record.

We chat about the years of graft that went in to getting a number one album and how the band has dealt with the highs and lows of the music industry.

We chat about music and mental health, song writing, touring, medication and ADHD.  They also share an incredible story about what it’s like to be in the studio with Shaun Ryder!

To have an album at the top of the charts with the word ‘Anxiety’ in the title is huge for normalising talking about mental health and it was awesome to chat to the band about how that came about.

I’ve been a fan of these guys for a while and they are one of the best live bands around!  I cannot thank them enough for their time.  This was really cool for me and the band were so lovely and so much fun to chat to!

The record is out now and the band is touring throughout the rest of the year.  Go and see them live, it’s a wonderful experience!

Everything you need is here: thelotterywinners.co.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

A 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!

His first book Food for Free was published in 1972 and has never been out of print.  He has written over 30 books since.

At the age of 61 Richard endured a series of life events that led to a breakdown and a period of depression that lasted for two years.  He fell out of love with the natural world and was unable to write.

After some time in hospital, Richard moved to Norfolk to be cared for by friends and slowly started to write about his new surroundings, and his recovery, in real time.  This work became the memoir Nature Cure which was published in 2005.

In this episode I chat to Richard about his early years and how his interest in the natural world began.

We chat about his life and his experiences with mental ill health and we chat about the series of events that led to his two years of depression and how he came back from it.

We also chat about the association between nature and mental health and how we could be in danger of degrading nature in to a form of green anti-depressant.

Richard’s books are available everywhere and you can learn more about his work via his website www.richardmabey.co.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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!

She also runs song writing workshops for anyone who has experienced or been affected by post-natal depression and has been described by Prince Harry as ‘an inspiration’ for her mentoring and charity work.

Rachel experienced post-natal depression after both her pregnancies and in this episode, we chat about her diagnosis and what life was like for her at that time.

As part of her recovery from PND, Rachel joined support groups and found comfort in the experiences of others.  She collected some of these stories and, along with her own, published them in the best-selling book, Not the Only One.

In this episode we chat about recovery, what that looked like for her and how the pressure to be seen as a good parent can get in the way of asking for help.

We get in to the song writing workshops she does with people who have experienced PND, how creative process is affected by depression and how mental health features in songs written by those who have also faced challenges.

I loved chatting to Rachel and it was great to be able speak about parenting and mental health in such an open and honest way.

Connect with Rachel on social media @rachelwalkermason or learn more about her work via her website www.rachelwalkermason.com.

Her PND workshops can be found at www.lyricallight.com.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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!

He is also a podcaster and an author and I reached out to Sam after reading his recent book, Sort Your Head Out: Mental Health without the Bollocks.

It’s a great read and I can’t recommend it highly enough!  It was great to chat to Sam about his work in the media and why he started writing about his mental health.

We talk about feelings and emotions and how it’s easier to drink them away rather than actual feel them.  We also talk about why that strategy doesn’t work very well at all!

We chat about Sam’s struggles with addiction and how he got sober and we chat about the impact that his childhood and lad culture had on his mental health as he got older.

We chat about boozing, anxiety, looking out for your mates and going to therapy.

It’s a really open and honest conversation between two blokes who both had to learn to talk about this stuff the hard way and it was a lot of fun to be a part of!

You can connect with Sam on Twitter @DelaneyMan or Instagram @theresetsam and links to everything is does can be found at www.samdelaney.co.uk

Sort Your Head Out (Mental Health Without the Bollocks) is available now in all bookshops.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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!

Debbie started the service after losing her brother Sean in 2019, after a long battle with his mental health.

Sean’s Place offers a range of practical, proactive support that is free to access that includes therapy, hypnotherapy, medication support, as well as yoga and mindfulness sessions, an angling club, drop in socials and a whole host of different courses and activities.

In this episode, Debbie ad I chat about setting up the service and building different support options based on what the members need.

We chat the usual barriers that stop men attending sessions or asking for help and the challenge of just letting men know that this help is out there.

We also chat about Debbie’s brother Sean and the story behind this wonderful space which highlights just how vital places like Sean’s Place are to the local community.

I was lucky enough to visit Sean’s Place and get a guided tour before recording this episode in person.  It’s an incredible space filled with incredible people and I can’t thank Debbie enough for having me.

Please go and follow Sean’s Place on social media @seansplaceuk. 

You can learn more and have a look at the time table via the website seansplace.org.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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

Running Fundamentals is available now at www.movementrestored.co.uk/programs

Thanks for listening!

She holds 11 Guinness World Records, has ran over 70 marathons and has completed 22 years’ exemplary service in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Physiotherapy Officer. This included an operational tour of duty in Afghanistan.

She captained the first British female team to complete the relentless Race Across America, the world’s toughest cycle race and has also ran the toughest footrace on earth, the Marathon des Sables. 

And she’s also cycled the length of New Zealand, swam the English Channel relay and skied 250km across the largest plateau in the Arctic Circle.  Most of which she has done dressed as various pieces of fruit to start stigma busting conversations about mental health.

In this episode I chat to Sally about her first marathon at the age of 34, why she started running and how it led to these adventures.

We talk about her own life long mental health challenges and how she balances looking after herself with taking part in these endurance events.

We also talk about fancy dress and starting conversations, her 22 years in the Royal Army Medical Corps and how to dig deep when you need to.

It was amazing chatting to Sally about her adventures and equally amazing to hear the mental health story behind them!

You can follow her on social media @sallyorange and learn more about her future adventures on her website www.sallyorange.com.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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

Running Fundamentals is available now at www.movementrestored.co.uk/programs

Thanks for listening!

He became a therapist after his own challenges with panic attacks, agoraphobia and intrusive thoughts and is now one of the leading voices in anxiety support and recovery.

In this episode Josh and I chat about his own experiences, where his version of anxiety came from and what he did about it.

We chat about the different ways that anxiety can present and go through some of the different ways to deal with it.

We cover exposure therapy, proving anxiety wrong, using compassion and retraining the brain.

It’s a fascinating conversation and it definitely gave me a better understanding about anxiety and all the stuff that comes with it.

You can follow Josh on all social media platforms @anxietyjosh and learn more about everything he does via his website schoolofanxiety.com

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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!

She has also co-hosted the acclaimed podcast, Mentally Yours, since 2017 and in that time has interviewed some incredible people about all aspects of mental health and mental illness.

Yvette has diagnosis of Bi Polar Disorder and Binge Eating Disorder and in this episode we talk about her early experiences with mental illness and everything that came with it.

We chat about what it's like to experience a manic episode and the depression that can follow and we chat about the importance of medication, therapy and self-care in living with these things.

We also chat about her time in a young person’s mental health unit and growing up with a mental illness and we chat about podcasting, relatability, and the stigma surrounding emotional eating.

Yvette was so lovely to chat to!  Her story is moving and emotional and her openness and passion for helping others by telling it is a wonderful thing.

You can connect with Yvette on social media @yvettecaster or via her website Yvettecaster.com.

Mentally Yours is available wherever you’re listening to this and if you need a place to start you could try my episode from 2021!

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

Another way to support 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!

She is the author of 4 best-selling books 15-Minute Parenting (0-7 years; 8-12 years and teenage years) and Why We Play and hosts her own podcast, 15-Minute Parenting.

She is also a TEDx speaker and regularly contributes to a variety of print media outlets.  

In this episode I chat to Joanna about therapy and learning to explore our behaviour through self-inquiry.

We chat about emotions and feelings and how we can learn to explore these things with our children in a way that will help them as adults.

We also chat about play and its importance in looking after our mental health and how we can bring more play in to our busy, modern lives.

We chat about parenting, building self-esteem, boredom and how to work on emotional fluency.

I got so much from this conversation!  It’s not just for parents and so many of the things we get in to here could help you to understand the human experience and how childhood impacts us as adults.

You can connect with Joanna via social media @joannafortune or via her website www.solamh.com.

You can watch her Tedx talk here: Social Media - The Ultimate Shame Game? | Joanna Fortune | TEDxHa'pennyBridge - YouTube

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!

He previously worked as a teacher before starting Simple Politics in 2015.

Tatton has been interested in understanding politics from a young age and found campaigning to be a useful outlet for the anger he felt as a young man living with mental health conditions.

After going through a breakdown in 2014 Tatton would eventually be diagnosed with BPD and Bi-Polar Disorder with a little Depression and Anxiety sprinkled in for good measure.

In this episode we chat his early experiences with both politics and mental illness.

We chat about diagnosis, defining mental health, the good and bad bits of mental illness, music, literature and the chaos of keeping up with the news.

This is a wonderful conversation that goes absolutely everywhere except politics!

You can connect with Tatton via @simplepolitics or @tattonspiller.

Or stop by simplepolitics.co.uk or tattonspiller.co.uk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

She is an honorary lecturer in psychology at UCL and her book ‘What Mental Illness Really Is (and what it isn’t) explores how we talk about mental health and mental illness and explains why we need to rethink the conversation around these things.

In this episode I chat to Lucy about her book and what inspired her to write it.

We chat about the language that is used to talk about mental health and mental illness and how the words we choose can have both a positive and negative impact.

We look at the need to distinguish between the 'normal' challenges of modern life and actual illness and discuss the medialisation of human emotions.

We chat about the good bits and the bad bits of mental health awareness and have a good look at what that even means and who that conversation helps.

We get in to social media, environment, parenting, diagnosis and everything in between.

This was a fascinating episode to record!  It’s a deep dive in to a topic that is not straightforward and it was great to get the chance to explore it with both nuance and compassion.

Follow her on Instagram @drlucyfoulkes and Twitter @lfoulkesy

Her website is www.lucyfoulkes.com and her book is available everywhere!

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

He also leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory at Glasgow and is one of the leading suicide and self-harm research groups internationally.

In this episode I chat to Rory about suicide, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

We look at some of the contributing factors to suicidal behaviour and we dismantle some of the common myths and misconceptions about suicide.

Rory also takes me through his journey in to this work and the personal reasons behind his passion for what he does.

And we chat about the research itself, what that looks like and why it’s can help people to understand something that can be almost impossible to understand.

This is a really important conversation and whichever side of the conversation you are on I think you will relate.

You can follow Rory on Twitter @suicideresearch or Instagram @oconnor_roryc.

His book ‘When It Is Darkest’ is available now and is highly recommended!

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

JAAQ (Just Ask A Question) is a free mental health platform providing interactive responses to over 50,000 questions on topics from depression to eating disorders to anxiety and addiction.

Danny has lived with Body Dysmorphia Disorder from a young age and one of the tools that helped him to manage this was make up. 

He found make up helped his confidence and positively influenced the way he felt about his appearance and that led him to launching War Paint, for men, the first ever cosmetic brand created specifically for men.

After appearing on Dragons Den, where he spoke openly about his experience with mental illness, he started to get asked a lot of questions about BDD and mental health in general and that is where the idea for JAAQ started to form.

In this episode I chat to Danny about BDD and the impact that it has had on his life.

We chat about some of the tool he uses on a daily basis to be able to live with BDD and we chat about how his experiences let to setting up both War Paint and JAAQ.

JAAQ is an incredible platform and the potential it has to reach and help anyone who needs it is huge!  It was amazing to chat to Danny and hear all about how he brought some of the world’s leading experts together to make it all happen.

You can access JAAQ via the website here JAAQ: The new mental health social media platform

And you can follow both Danny and JAAQ on social media @jaaqofficial or @danny.h.gray or @warpaintformen

Danny on Dragons Den: Dragons swoop over ‘flawless' men’s makeup biz | Dragons' Den - BBC - YouTube

Huge thanks to Svnty6 for the help with the sound catch him here: WORDSnBEATS oe @svnty6spoken

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

MFF is a parenting platform for men which is all about open conversations around fatherhood and has been described as the ‘Dad’s version of Mumsnet’ by the BBC.

After the traumatic birth of his daughter, Elliott struggled with his mental health but went without help for over a year.  He would eventually get the help he needed and be diagnosed with PTSD.

He started writing about his experiences as a new Dad and his experiences with mental health and his writing would go on to become the MFF platform and he has now supported thousands of Dads since starting in 2016.

He is now one of the UK’s most prominent speakers and writers on topics around fatherhood, masculinity, mental health, equal parenting and gender equality. 

In this episode I chat to Elliott about becoming a Dad and the impact that has had on all aspects of his life.

We chat about the birth of his daughter and the mental health challenges he faced afterwards and everything that led to him being diagnosed with PTSD.

We also chat about setting up MFF and the incredible work that they do and we chat about parenting, being dads, being husbands, masculinity and everything in between.

A lot of the things that we covered in this episode where very close to my own experiences with fatherhood and my mental health so it was amazing to chat to Elliott and shows just how important his work is.

Elliott is particularly active on Linkedin linkedin.com/in/elliott-rae-a3a469144

Connect with him on Instagram @iamElliottRae or his websites:

https://musicfootballfatherhood.com

https://elliottrae.com

You can watch his BBC documentary here: BBC iPlayer - We Are England - Series 1: Becoming Dad - Watford

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Angela presented the BAFTA award nominated documentary ‘Life After Suicide’ which was shown on BBC1 and watched by more than 5 million people.

She made the film to challenge the stigma around mental illness and suicide after her partner took his own life.  The documentary describes her own experience, and that of her children, as she travelled the country speakers to others who have experienced the same type of loss.

I had the privilege of recording this episode in person and it was both moving and inspiring to chat to Angela about the film and the events that let to it being made.

We chat about the stigma that surrounds suicide and the challenges that come with this particular type of grief.

We also chat about mental health awareness, her decision to become an advocate and how these things have changed over the years that she has been working in this area.

Sitting down to have this conversation with Angela was a wonderful experience and while it’s not always an easy listen there is also a lot of light here too and I think that you’re going to have a lot to think about after listening.

You can connect with Angela on Instagram or Twitter @angelasamata and @superstarsourdough

You can watch the documentary Life After Suicide here: Life After Suicide | Documentary Heaven

You can learn more about Angela and her work at www.angelasamata.co.uk or www.speakerscollective.org.

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

He is best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy.

Alastair is a long-time campaigner for mental health and has worked with some of the U. K’s biggest charities and organisations.  He has written two personal memoirs about depression and the pursuit of happiness.

In this episode I chat to Alastair about the work he does in the mental health space and where his passion for this work comes from.

We chat about his own experiences with psychosis, depression and addiction and about his brother Donald, who had a lifelong struggle with schizophrenia.

We also chat about cold water swimming, his love of Burnley F.C and how his depression impacts his family.  We even chat a little bit of politics towards the end too.

It was lovely to chat to Alastair about his life and his work and everything in between and I really can’t thank him enough for his time and his openness.

You can follow him on Instagram @alastaircampbell or on Twitter @campbellclaret or his website www.alastaircampbell.org.

His BBC documentary can be found here: ‘Alastair Campbell:Depression and Me’ Full Documentary on Vimeo

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Paul has an incredible body of work including T.V like Broadchurch and The Walk In and films like London to Brighton, Cherry Tree Lane and Bull.

He began his career as an actor and attended drama school and then went on to direct pop-promos and short films before releasing London to Brighton which won several awards.

Throughout his career Paul has dealt with mental health challenges and has had to learn how to balance his mental health while working in the world of film and television.

Paul is a big believer in talking about mental health and is always incredibly open and honest about his own experiences.

In this episode I chat to Paul about how and when he started to suffer and how his mental health has impacted him over the years.

We chat about mental health in relation to his work, his reluctance to take medication and why he changed his mind and we chat about imposter syndrome, anxiety and panic attacks.

Paul and I really hit it off and we were chatting away straight from the off!  He talks very openly about a recent patch of bad mental ill health and it’s a really moving and emotional part of the conversation.  He is a lovely, lovely man and it was an absolute pleasure to chat to him!

You can follow him on social media @pawcorestar and you can watch his films and television programs on all the main streaming platforms!

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Alex started to experience anxiety and panic attacks whilst at work but at that time he felt that he couldn’t talk to anyone about what was happening.

After carrying the weight of this in silence for some time, he eventually went to therapy and as he began to get a better understanding of himself, he set out to explore his experience, and the experiences of others, with his podcast, The Time to Talk Sessions.

Alex is now a well-known and respected voice in the conversation around mental health and his work focuses on the ways that boys and men can achieve better mental and emotional health.

His book, Time to Talk: How Men Think About Love, Belonging and Connection, was published in 2021.

In this episode I chat to Alex about growing up and how society’s view of what a boy should be would go on to affect him as a man.

We chat about men, masculinity, and some of the potential reasons behind the shocking statistics around men’s mental health.

We also chat about self-awareness, emotional freedom, going to therapy and the wizarding world of Harry Potter and how it relates to mental wellbeing.

I’m always interested in anything that Alex is involved with and I absolutely loved his book so it was a real pleasure to chat to him and explore his work and hear the story behind it!

You can connect with Alex on social media @byalexholmes or via his website Alex Holmes | Mental Health Consultant

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Championing Youth Minds provide free, online resources to schools, parents, and young people to help them to understand mental health and problems and what to do about them.

It was started by Tanya after she witnessed first-hand the lack of help and support that is offered to young people by the current education system.

She has created a platform that gives young people a platform and a voice so that anyone who uses it can educate themselves on mental health and wellbeing and share their experiences with other people.

Tanya and I chat about her early experiences with grief would lead to mental ill health problems and long-term chronic pain issues and we chat about how she manages these issues as a young person.

We chat about the need for Championing Youth Minds and why Tanya set it up and we chat about all the wonderful things that she is doing and her plans for the platform in the future.

We also chat about mental health in the South Asian community, attending university during the pandemic and some of the additional challenges that young people are dealing with in regards to their mental health.

Tanya is really making a difference to everyone who is using her platform and it was wonderful to hear all about it!

This is an episode that is worth sharing with any young people in your life or anyone that you know who works with young people and I think it’s really important that more people know about this work.

Learn more here www.championingyouthminds.com and connect via social media @championingyouthminds and @­_tanyamarwaha

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You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Tis the season that not everybody enjoys, for a lot of different reasons.  I wanted to put something out at Christmas that might give someone a little lift if they needed one, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. 

Sometimes 5 minutes can make all the difference.

I reached out to advocates, campaigners, authors, speakers and podcasters and friends and I asked them to record a voice note that might be nice for someone to hear over Xmas.  Some of these people I knew and some I didn’t but all of them are wonderful and inspiring and I was so touched by the response. 

You’ll have to listen to hear if there is anyone you recognise!

I’ve put them all together here in this episode.  There are some anecdotes, some advice, some kind words or useful ideas.  You can listen in one go or dip in and out when you want to. 

It might help if you’re not really in the mood for Christmas and if you love this time of year, then it will inspire you to love it even more.

I reached out to a bunch of strangers and asked them to leave a supportive message for a different bunch of strangers and all these people said yes. 

That truly is a sign that you are not alone and to me, it’s the true spirit of Xmas.

There are so many support services that stay open and available during the Xmas period, please reach out if you need to. 

Please talk to someone if you need to.

If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, head to www.hubofhope.co.uk.  There’s a link in my bio.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in this episode and a huge thanks to you, for listening!

Eddie Temple Morris/Virgin Radio.  Susie Weaver/So Happy in Town.  James Withey.  Dr Mike II/NHS GP.  Natasha Devon MBE.  Kirsty Eaton & Stu Whiffin/Reach Out for Mental Health.  Gavin Thorpe/Talk Club.  Chris Young/Walk a Mile Podcast.  Amy Bullman/Mum and Mummer Podcast.  Jon Salmon/Speakers Collective.  Tom Davies/Proper Mental.

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, in whatever shape or form that needs to take for you, and all the best for the New Year.

Here are some more links that might help:

Useful contacts - Christmas and mental health | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems

My Black Dog | Free Online Mental Health Chat Support

RED January - www.bit.ly/redjanuary2023 and click on 'Join Us'.

Bill grew up around mental illness, alcoholism, and poverty.  When he was 19, his mother died by suicide after many years of addiction and deteriorating mental health issues.  His younger brother was also diagnosed with a mental illness and also died by suicide whilst being held in prison without the proper care and support.

These experiences, and the story of Bill’s childhood, largely inspired the songs for the first Augustines record and his story, and that of the band, was told in the documentary ‘Rise: The Story of Augustines’ which came out in 2018.

I caught up with Bill to chat about his early experiences with mental ill health and how they form the basis of his personal crusade to raise awareness around mental health issues.

We chat about being in a band and life on the road.  We chat about how mental illness is misreported by the media and how that informs stigma, and we chat about human connection, showing compassion and the need for good role models.

Bill has recently been to Canada to play music and speak to school children about mental health and we chat about that too.

William McCarthy is one of my all-time favourite musicians from one of my all-time favourite bands so to say this episode was special for me was an understatement!

You can find out more about Bill and everything he’s up to via his website here: www.williammccarthy.org

You can follow him on social media @williamjmccarthey

You can buy his music via Bandcamp here: Music | William McCarthy (bandcamp.com)

The documentary is available on amazon, watch the trailer here: RISE: The Story of Augustines (Official Trailer 2019) - YouTube

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You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here: www.propermentalpodcast.com

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Another way to support 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!

She is also an ambassador for Big Moose Charity, who she credits with saving her life, and the founder of Wonderful Women.  We chat about all of that in this episode!

Han grew up around mental illness and experienced OCD herself as a child.  She would hide her struggles from those around her for many years before things came to a head.  After giving up alcohol, which was her biggest coping mechanism, Hannah’s mental health started to decline rapidly.

She just happened to pop into the Big Moose coffee shop at the very start of their fundraising campaign to provide 1 million pounds worth of therapy and support for anyone who needs it, and a very reluctant Hannah was one of the first people to receive help through the project.

It was that help that empowered her to take back control of her mental health and since then she has been on a journey of advocacy, using her writing and speaking to raise awareness.

We recorded this in person whilst walking around the forestry at Pembrey Country Park and it was an incredible experience!  The fact that Hannah is a good friend of mine just makes it even more special.

We chat about giving up drink, suicidal thoughts, self-awareness, running, writing and everything in between.  And we chat about setting up Wonderful Women and the importance of amplifying working-class voices.

Follow Hannah on Instagram @Hannahtherunner or @wonder_ful_women

Check out Wonderful Women here: Wonderful Women (godaddysites.com)

Sign up for her Patreon here: Hannah The Runner is creating Blogs, Vlogs, Joy! | Patreon

Check out Big Moose on social media @bigmoose.charity and @bigmoosecoffeco

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You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here:

www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Men Against Mountains is an online platform for conversations and connections around men’s mental health and everything that comes with that topic.

Every Sunday, Mel hosts The Sunday Summit, a live conversation in which a different man each week joins her to tell his story and share his experiences.

Through these live sessions Mel has reached an incredible number of men and her page has connected people from all walks of life and many friendships and support networks have started from the conversations that she has.

This week I chat to Mel about her own mental health experience and where her passion for helping others comes from.

We chat about setting up her page and how she holds space for others in a way that allows them to be vulnerable and inspire others to do the same.

We also chat about the importance of asking for help, sharing stories and we get in to some of the reasons why so many men seem to be struggling in recent years.

I’ve known Mel through the online mental health community for some time so it was lovely to get to have a proper chat and hold space for her story like she does for so many others!

You can join her movement on Instagram @menagainstmountainsthemovement and you can catch my appearance on The Sunday Summit here:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/ClMeYfZop56/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here:

www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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

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He is also a 2 x TED speaker where he talked about ‘The Straight Jacket of Masculinity’ and ‘The Failures of Multiculturism’.

Shaun began to experience OCD seemingly out of nowhere when he woke up from a dream and was convinced that he had become gay overnight. 

While obsessively searching for evidence that this wasn’t the case, these thoughts transformed in to harm OCD and he began to fear that he would hurt someone close to him.

These thoughts terrified him in to a breakdown and not long after that Suicide OCD began to terrorise him.

From there he began therapy and has been able to rebuild himself and get a better understanding of what OCD is and how to live with it as part of his life.

He is now dedicated to supporting others by unapologetically telling his story to raise awareness around his illness, particularly in the BAME community, where there are additional barriers around getting support with mental illness.

In this episode we chat Shaun’s story from his first experiences of OCD to his breakdown and how he was able to get though it and out the other side.

We chat about the particular type of therapy that Shaun uses as part of his recovery and how that works for him and we chat about the nature of his intrusive thoughts.

We chat about the layers of stigma around mental health in relation to masculinity, race and culture and we chat about shame, owning your story and taking back control.

Shaun has an incredible story that is both inspiring and challenging and it was a pleasure to spend some time in his company!

Watch his TED Talks here: shaun flores | Search Results | TED

And connect with him on social media @theshaunflores

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here:

www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

The It’s Okay Project is a Zine that contains artwork, poems and written pieces that focus on mental health and creativity.

Sara started the project as a way to process her grief after losing a loved one.  It started will an open call on social media for creative pieces related to mental health and has grown into something very special.

I met Sara back in the summer at the Coping Uk festival where she was running a workshop and I was so taken with everything that she’s doing.  I took part with my kids, and we all loved it.  We chat about the workshops in this episode, and I would highly recommend them if you’re looking for something a bit different in the mental health space.

We also chat about skateboarding, community, the complexities of grief and the importance of having a creative outlet when life gets tough.

You can grab your copy of the latest issue and learn more about the project via the website here:

About | It's OKAY Project (itsokayproject.com)

You can connect with Sara on social media @itsokayproj or @saraprinslooart

Sara’s own artwork can be found here:

Funky Art and Urban Subjects – SARA PRINSLOO ART

Check out the Coping Festival @copinguk

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here:

www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

In 2015 Oliver started to suffer with a migraine that lasted for 10 months.

He lived with constant, excruciating pain which was made worse by looking at any sort of screens.  He saw all manner of doctors, physio’s, therapists and healers and no one was able to help.

He slowly became a writer who couldn’t write and a person who could no longer interact with the modern world.  He experienced a breakdown and slid into a spiral of depression that took him to the brink of suicide.

One night, while high on pain killers, Oliver Googled ‘full time job, no experience, Sydney’ and applied for a job as a train guard.

He spent the next two years working on the trains, reconnecting with life and reconnecting with himself.  He slowly started to write again and find his way out of both mental and physical pain.

I recently read Oliver’s memoir ‘Train Lord’ and was incredibly moved by his story.  We caught up for this week’s episode to chat about chronic pain and the impact that it had on his life.

We chat about loss of identity, people pleasing, the importance of stories and learning to breath.

Oliver not only has an incredible story, but he has an incredible understanding of his story, and I loved chatting to him about it so much! 

You can connect with Oliver on Twitter @Oliver_Mol or Instagram @train_lord.

You can connect with me on all social platforms @propermentalpodcast.

The best way to contact me or learn more about the show is via www.propermentalpodcast.com

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

She is also the creator of the Why Do You Think You Have No Friends podcast where she talks about her own experiences with mental health and chats to guests about theirs.

Emily suffered a breakdown at the start of 2022 which landed her in rehab, this helped her to find a way back to herself and start to live life differently.

She was diagnosed with BPD and CPTSD and it was in rehab that she started to write her story which would go on to become her incredible podcast.

Emily and I chat about the life events that led to her break down and how her destructive behaviour was a response to trauma.  We chat about the changes she was forced to make and how life has been since leaving primary care and re-joining the world but without her usual coping mechanisms.

We chat about sobriety and rehab, hitting rock bottom and dealing with the shame that followed it and we talk about getting help and the power of diagnosis.

I love Emily’s podcast and was blown away by not only her honesty but her understanding of her own situation and her ability to articulate it so it was awesome to chat to her all about it!

You can follow Emily on Instagram @emily_laing_uk and you can listen to WDYTYGNF on all podcast platforms!

You can catch up with me at www.propermentalpodcast.com or connect with me via social media @propermentalpodcast.

You can buy tickets for The Hope Conference at this link:

Hope Conference 2022 Tickets, Fri 11 Nov 2022 at 09:30 | Eventbrite

You can get any more information you need here: 

Hope Conference 2022 | Speakers Collective

And the code for a 10% discount on your ticket is propermental

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Katy’s latest book is called How to Understand, and Deal with Stress and she joins me in this episode to chat all about it.

We talk specifically about stress and Katy guides me through some of the common causes, what happens to us when we start to feel the pressures of life building up and the impact that stress can have on mental health. 

We also chat about music and mental health and her podcast, Sound Affects, which has been featured in NME, and how her love of music and journalism inspired her to start the show.

Katy also tells me about her time as a Samaritan and supporting people on the helplines and she tells me a really lovely story about the time her Mum met Liam Gallagher.

You can connect with Katy via Twitter @SoundAffectsPod or Instagram @sound_affects_podcast

Her website is Counselling and Psychotherapy in Highgate | Counsellor near Hampstead Heath and Camden (kgcounsellor.com)

You can catch up with me at www.propermentalpodcast.com or connect with me via social media @propermentalpodcast.

You can buy tickets for The Hope Conference at this link:

Hope Conference 2022 Tickets, Fri 11 Nov 2022 at 09:30 | Eventbrite

You can get any more information you need here: 

Hope Conference 2022 | Speakers Collective

And the code for a 10% discount on your ticket is propermental

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Scary changed his name more than 24 years when a chance encounter forced him to look at his life and the way that he was choosing to live it.

Since then, he has travelled the world working with schools, police forces, the military and a host of

communities and corporate organisations to spread his message of kindness and working towards the elimination of hate.

Scary and I caught up to chat about his journey from a hard living, Harley driving, tattoo studio owner to becoming The Scary Guy and an advocate for kindness.

We chat about being kind and how the flow of negative energy impacts how we interact with the world around us.

And we chat about managing emotions, impacting the local community and achieving world peace in our lifetime.

You can learn more about Scary and his work at thescaryguy.com or connect with on social media

Instagram @realscaryguy and @thescaryguypodcast

Facebook @scaryguyofficial

Twitter @scaryguy

You can listen to The Scary Guy Podcast on all podcast platforms!

You can catch up with me at www.propermentalpodcast.com or connect with me via social media @propermentalpodcast.

You can get tickets for The Hope Conference 2022 here:

Hope Conference 2022 Tickets, Fri 11 Nov 2022 at 09:30 | Eventbrite

Any more info you might need is right here:

Hope Conference 2022 | Speakers Collective

And for 10% off your ticket use the code propermental

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!

Han in on a mission to reduce the stigma around eating disorders and increase ED awareness and she does this with her podcast and the wonderful community that’s she has built around it.

In this episode I chat to Han about her own experiences with Atypical Anorexia and Body Dysmorphia and how she was able to hide her illnesses in plain sight by throwing herself in to the world of fitness.

We chat about diet culture and how societies obsession with weight and food can impact mental health and we chat about recovery and what that looks like for Hannah.

I always feel inspired by Han and how she shows up for herself and her community on social media, so I knew this was going to be a powerful conversation.

We ended up going in really deep on this one and at times it gets quite emotional but in a really beautiful way.  I cannot thank Han enough for her openness and honesty about her own experiences!

I was lucky enough to be a guest on Full of Beans and you can listen to my episode and all the others here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5n4ajipSOEUBCi6glX3Wg7?si=th9aGy3hQ6GwEoT9_yCe4g

You can connect with Han and learn more about the Full of Beans Workshops and Community Blogs here: Eating Disorders | Full Of Beans (fullofbeansed.co.uk)

You can follow Hannah on all social media platforms @thefobpodcast

You can catch up with me at www.propermentalpodcast.com or connect with me via social media @propermentalpodcast.

You can buy tickets for The Hope Conference at this link:

Hope Conference 2022 Tickets, Fri 11 Nov 2022 at 09:30 | Eventbrite

You can get any more information you need here: 

Hope Conference 2022 | Speakers Collective

And the code for a 10% discount on your ticket is propermental

If you would like to support Proper Mental by buying me a virtual coffee, please go to www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another way to support 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!