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Normalising open and honest conversation about mental health by having open and honest conversations about mental health.
Episodes
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Welcome to episode 119 with Professor Rory O’Connor, who is an author, speaker and educator who has spent 25 years working in the field of suicide research and prevention.
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!
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Welcome to episode 118 with Danny Gray, who is the founder of JAAQ and War Paint for men.
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!
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Welcome to episode 117 with Elliott Rae, who is the founder of Music Football Fatherhood (MFF).
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
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!
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Welcome to episode 116 with Angela Samata, who is an Arts Professional and a suicide awareness advocate.
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!
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Welcome to episode 115 with Alastair Campbell, who is a journalist, author, broadcaster and mental health campaigner.
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!
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Welcome to episode 114 with Paul Andrew Williams, an acclaimed writer and BAFTA winning director.
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!
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Welcome to episode 113 with Alex Holmes, who is a mental health consultant, author and podcast host.
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!
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Welcome to episode 112 with Tanya Marwaha who is the founder of Championing Youth Minds.
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
*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!
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!