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Normalising open and honest conversation about mental health by having open and honest conversations about mental health.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Welcome to a very special, Christmas episode of the Proper Mental podcast!
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:
My Black Dog | Free Online Mental Health Chat Support
RED January - www.bit.ly/redjanuary2023 and click on 'Join Us'.
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Welcome to episode 111 with William McCarthy who is a musician, songwriter, and the former lead singer of the band Augustines.
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
*PODBIBLE LISTENER POLL 2022 - VOTE FOR PROPER MENTAL*
POD BIBLE LISTENER POLLS 2022 - VOTE NOW! | POD BIBLE (podbiblemag.com)
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!
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Welcome to episode 110 with Hannah Phillips who is a writer, speaker, and mental health advocate.
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
*PODBIBLE LISTENER POLL 2022 - VOTE FOR PROPER MENTAL*
POD BIBLE LISTENER POLLS 2022 - VOTE NOW! | POD BIBLE (podbiblemag.com)
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here:
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!
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Welcome to episode 109 with Mel Bradley, who is the founder of Men Against Mountains and a men’s mental health advocate.
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
*PODBIBLE LISTENER POLL 2022 - VOTE FOR PROPER MENTAL*
POD BIBLE LISTENER POLLS 2022 - VOTE NOW! | POD BIBLE (podbiblemag.com)
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and you can connect with me via the website here:
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!
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Welcome to episode 108 with Shaun Flores, a model, actor, and OCD advocate.
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:
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!
Monday Nov 21, 2022
Monday Nov 21, 2022
Welcome to episode 107 with Sara Prinsloo, who is the founder of the It’s Okay Project.
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:
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!
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Monday Nov 14, 2022
Welcome to episode 105 with Oliver Mol who is a writer, author and train guard.
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!
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Welcome to episode 105 with Emily Laing, who is an actor, writer, singer, recovering addict and survivor.
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!
Thursday Nov 03, 2022
Thursday Nov 03, 2022
Welcome to episode 104 with Katy Georgiou who is a counsellor and psychotherapist.
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!
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Welcome to Proper Mental episode 103 with The Scary Guy, an educator and public speaker who has dedicated his life to teaching others his powerful, solution-based theories and concepts on human behaviour and communication.
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!