The Proper Mental Podcast

Burning out, slowing down and learning to do things differently with Hana Walker-Brown

Welcome to episode 207 with Hana Walker-Brown, a multi-award winning and critically acclaimed storyteller and sound artist who works across film, radio and podcasting and narrative non-fiction.

In 2023 Hana was signed off work with severe burnout.  It took a year for her to understand this experience, to unpack it, to make peace with it and to get back to herself and in this episode, I chat to Hana about that process.

This isn’t a conversation about jobs and working too hard because all of that is just a mechanism for burnout. 

This is a conversation about self-discovery, programming and learning to do things differently.

In this episode, Hana and I chat about her experience of burnout, how it all came to a head, what recovery looks like for her and what that word even means.

We chat about learning how to slow down, accepting the messier parts of ourselves and leaning in to the discomfort of rest.

We also chat about the importance of sharing stories, how to really listen, building self-esteem and why it’s important to have lots of hobbies.

Hana has recently made a documentary for BBC Radio 4 called In Pieces, where she explores different aspects of burnout through her own experience, through the people around her and the experiences of others and we chat about what it was like to make and then to put out in to the world.

Listen here: BBC Radio 4 - Illuminated, In Pieces

This is a truly wonderful conversation and I’ve thought about it a lot since we recorded.  It’s a beautiful chat and it felt like a special one to be a part of.

Connect with Hana @hana_walker_brown or at www.hanawalkerbrown.com

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

I might look like a superhuman, but I'm a human first. Olympic medals, mental struggles and radical compassion with Karsta Lowe

Welcome to episode 206 with Karsta Lowe, who is an Olympian and professional volley ball player who was a member of the United States women's national team that won bronze medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Karsta has played volley ball, at the highest level, all over the world, winning multiple titles and medals along the way. 

But throughout her career she was also struggling with anxiety, depression and OCD which would later lead to an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts.

In this episode I chat to Karsta about how both her mental struggles and international career progressed and intertwined.

We chat about her childhood experiences with mental health issues and about how these were complicated further by the loss of her father at a young age.

We also chat about going to the Olympics and the struggles she faced off the court, how all of this led to Karsta getting help and what that help looked like for her.

And we chat about life after professional sport, the different types of grief, learning to be gentle and how life changes when you accept radical compassion.

The idea of a lifelong athlete being at the Olympic Games, on the way to winning a medal, but also completely falling apart at the same time, just goes to show that you never know what someone might be going through, despite how strong they look on the outside.

You can connect with Karsta on social media @karstalowe

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

Why is it so hard to change? with Dr Ross Ellenhorn

Welcome to episode 205 with Dr Ross Ellenhorn, who is a sociologist, psychotherapist and social worker.

Dr. Ellenhorn is encouraging mental health professionals to be more present with patients and think outside the box when it comes to treatment methods.

With offices in Boston, New York and LA, he offers the types of care that serve and empower anyone who has been diagnosed with psychiatric and substance-use issues and helps them recover outside of hospital, in their own communities. 

In this episode I chat to Ross about his incredible work, how he began working in the mental health space and how that informed his ground breaking approach to working with so called complex states of mind and mood.

We chat about using a human first approach, the medicalisation of the human experience, approaching therapy as improv, the importance of play and curiosity and why human conformity is the illness that gets in the way of being authentic.

Ross has spent many years researching change.  More specifically why as humans we find it so hard to change, even when staying the same is killing us.  We talk about this work; we talk about why we struggle to do things differently and how underpinning all of this is a fear of hope.

I never say this lightly, but this is one of the most powerful episodes that I have recorded.  If you’ve spoken to me in person over the last few weeks, I’ve probably told you about it and I’ve been taking a deep dive in to Ross’ work regularly since we spoke.

There is some incredible thinking points here and I’m sure it will give you plenty of food for thought.  On top of that, Ross is a really lovely man and he was a lot of fun to chat to!

He is the author of two books ‘Purple Crayons – The Art of Drawing a Life’ and ‘How We Change (and 10 reasons why we don’t) and they are available everywhere.

For more information head to www.ellenhorn.com

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

Taking control and rocking out with Ginger Wildheart

Welcome to episode 204 with Ginger Wildheart, who is the singer, songwriter and guitarist in The Wildhearts.

The Wildhearts formed in 1989 and over years since have celebrated top 20 singles and top 10 albums and sell out tours all over the world while navigating record company battles, industry politics, multiple line up changes, drugs, depression, splitting up, going on hiatus and getting back together again.

Ginger has always been open about his struggles with mental health issues and in this episode, he joins me to chat about how these things have impacted his life and his music over the years.

We chat about him being sectioned last year and how that forced him to make some big life changes and how all of this led to the incredible new Wildhearts record ‘The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts’

We chat about moving to the countryside and learning to slow down, how he took control over his mental health by asking himself some very difficult questions and why doing the inner work is worth it despite being really hard to do.

And we chat about approaching the world from a place of love, the healing power of music and animals and looking forward to the ultimate test of his new approach to life when the band hit the road this month.

He also tells me a great story about meeting Dolly Parton!

Ginger is a true rock legend and it was an absolute pleasure to chat to him!

The new album is currently getting 5 star reviews across the board and is out now in all formats.

The Wildhearts are on tour throughout March and you can get all the info here: The Wildhearts Official Website

Follow Ginger and The Wildhearts on Instagram @gingerwildheart @thewildhearts

Twitter @GingerWildheart @TheWildhearts

And Facebook www.facebook.com/TheWildhearts

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

Stop sh*tting yourself! Sam Delaney is back to help you calm the f*ck down

Welcome to episode 203 with Sam Delaney, who is a journalist, author, broadcaster and podcaster whose work has featured in Guardian, Big Issue and Talk Sport.

Sam guested on Proper Mental a couple of years ago back at episode 127, and in that episode, we talked a lot about his problems with addiction and how he adjusted to getting sober.

This time around, Sam and I chat about some of the things that drove addictions and the reasons why he turned to drink and drugs in the first place.

We talk about work, ambition, competitiveness, about why these things often push people towards addiction and mental health issues and we chat about lad culture, learning to sit with yourself and how self-acceptance trumps self-improvement.

We also talk about male friendship, having fun and reframing laziness.

Sam’s new book is called ‘Stop Shitting Yourself: 15 Life Lessons that might help you calm the f*ck down’ and in the book, Sam dissects our obsession with hyper-productivity and high performance living and here he also guides me through the issues with this approach to life and how a low performance mindset is actually the way to go.

I always enjoy spending time with Sam.  He’s always insightful, always honest and always good fun to chat to!

Sam’s book is out now in all bookshops!  You can order a signed copy of Sam’s book and request a personalised message from him here:  home - The Barnes Bookshop

Follow him on Instagram @theresetsam or Twitter @DelaneyMan

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

Dan Astles on music, masculinity and the sad but beautiful story that inspired his debut album

Welcome to episode 202 with Dan Astles, who is a musician and singer songwriter from Liverpool who makes music under the name Astles, either on his own or alongside a 10 strong musical collective called The Balloon Moon Orchestra.

Dan has a new album on the way that has a very sad but beautiful story behind it.  Dan’s uncle Joseph died by suicide before he was born, but it was often commented on by the family that they had things in common.  While searching through his Nana’s loft, Dan found glimpses in to his uncle’s life through a collection of albums, posters, gig tickets and assorted memorabilia from a fellow music lover.

Amongst this musical treasure trove was also a mix tape titled ‘Soundtrack for the 21 Bus Home’ and it was this collection of songs, and everything he found with it, that inspired his most recent E.P and upcoming album, which is named after his uncle’s handcrafted playlist.

In this episode I chat to Dan about his uncle’s passing, how it has impacted his family through the years and how he felt that impact around him growing up.

We chat about his upcoming album and how his uncle’s collection of songs inspired him to reflect on his own struggles with his mental health.

And we also chat about growing up as a young lad on Merseyside while embracing the softer side of masculinity, working with local legends Bill Ryder-Jones and Mick Head and what it was like to play one of his tunes for Sir Paul McCartney.

Dan and I were acquaintances before having this conversation but since chatting I feel like I can call him a mate.  We were able to record this episode in person, over a cup of tea, and it was an absolutely lovely way to spend a morning!

Follow Astles on socials @astlesmusic

Pre-order the new record here: Soundtrack For The Twenty One Bus Home | Astles

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

Making sense of worry and anxiety with Dr Martin Brunet

Welcome to episode 201 with Dr Martin Brunet, who has been an NHS GP for more than 20 years and is also well known for his social media channels and videos about different aspects of mental health.

In this episode I chat to Martin about his time in general practice and some of the changes he has seen in mental health over the years.

We also talk about his new book ‘Your Worry Makes Sense’ and how anxiety and burnout are logical and some ideas about what we can do to overcome these challenges.

We chat about worry and over thinking, about facing your fears and seeing your triggers as shortcuts to your emotions and we also talk about how to define and understand burnout and why there is a certain type of person that tends to go through it.

I’ve followed Martin on social media for a while and always get a lot from his video’s.  I was also lucky enough to get an early look at his upcoming book and I can highly recommend that too!

His book is due out in March and there is more info here: Your Worry Makes Sense | Jessica Kingsley Publishers - UK

Follow Martin on social media @doc_martin_gp

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

You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at
www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

The serotonin theory of depression with Professor Joanna Moncrieff

Welcome to episode 200 with Professor Joanna Moncrieff who is a psychiatrist, author and researcher who is one of the founding members of the Critical Psychiatry Network.

In 2022, Joanna was the lead author of a study that explored the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory of depression and found that no clear evidence that serotonin levels or serotonin activity are responsible for depression.

The study became one of the 400 most shared of the 21 million papers that have ever been tracked and caused great debate throughout the mental health space.

In this episode I chat to Joanna about this research, what it involved and what the findings showed.

We chat about some of the response and criticism to this piece of work and how the chemical imbalance theory came to prominence in the first place.

We talk about some of the other’s factors that could be causing depression if it isn’t in fact serotonin as the research shows.

We also chat about depression, serotonin, anti-depressants, diagnosis and labels and what the future of mental health treatment and support could look like.

Medication is a very personal choice and the aim of this episode isn’t to debate or influence anyone on their views on anti-depressants, just simply to explore this aspect of the mental health conversation because I think that’s important.

Don’t make decisions about your own medication without discussing it with a medical professional.

You can find the original study here: The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence | Molecular Psychiatry

A summary of some of the responses and criticism here:  expert reaction to a review paper on the ‘serotonin theory of depression’ | Science Media Centre

And a response from Joanna to that specific criticism here:  Response to Criticism of Our Serotonin Paper - Mad In America

Joanna’s new book is called Chemically Imbalanced: the making and unmaking of the serotonin myth and it’s out now.

There is loads more information about Joanna’s work at her website https://joannamoncrieff.com

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

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

OCD, poetry and the day that Georgia Lock's brain broke

Welcome to episode 199 with Georgia Lock, who is an actor, poet and an advocate for obsessive compulsive disorder.

In this episode I chat to Georgia about the moment that her ‘brain broke’ and OCD became a part of her life.

We chat about what happened next, what helped looked like for her and how she manages her OCD on a day-to-day basis.

We chat about things like guilt, memory loss, community, going mental and being scared of your own brain.

Georgia uses poetry to explore and understand her diagnosis of OCD and has held workshops to help others to do the same and we chat about being creative and using words to take back control of your story.

It’s a powerful conversation about what it’s like to lose your mind and work to get it back again and it was a wonderful experience to hear Georgia’s story first hand.

Follow Georgia on social media @georgia_nathalie

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

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!

Why do men die by suicide? with Dr Susie Bennett

Welcome to episode 198 with Dr Susie Bennett, a psychologist and research fellow at the 'Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab' at the University of Glasgow.

Her work focuses on trying to understand why men are more at risk of suicide and what can be done to help more men access a dignified and meaningful life.

Through this work, Susie has been involved in reviewing two decades of research on male suicide, joining forces with 242 people impacted by male suicide to create an agenda of research priorities for male suicide and asking men who have been suicidal in the past week or year to tell her about the barriers they experience around accessing professional support.

In this episode I chat to Susie about why she got involved in researching such a specific topic and how the work has impacted how she sees the world.

We chat about some of the outcomes from her research and get in to things like the cultural norms of masculinity, gender bias and psychological pain and we chat about emotions, relationships and success and how they impact men specifically.

We also chat about how to move past awareness and just telling men to talk and what needs to change if we want to change the heartbreaking statistics around male suicide.

Susie’s work is fascinating and vital.  It was an absolute pleasure to explore it with her.

This episode is a big one, we cover important things and things that are tricky to talk about but these are the conversations that we need to having and I hope you get a lot out of listening.

On Susie’s website, http://malesuicideresearch.com you can access all of the studies we talk about in this episode as well as all sorts of interesting reports and talks.  Her socials are amazing too @male_suicide_research.

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

Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.

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

Thanks for listening!