The Proper Mental Podcast

Hope Virgo

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 25!

My guest this time around is Hope Virgo!

Hope Virgo is a leading international and award-winning advocate for people with eating disorders.  She is an activist and a campaigner and an all-round force of nature!

She is the author of two books ‘Stand Tall Little Girl’ and ‘Hope through Recovery’ and actively campaigns for change in the way that eating disorders are diagnosed and treated.

Hope suffered with anorexia for over 4 years, before being admitted to a Mental Health Hospital in 2007. She lived in the hospital for a year, fighting one of the hardest battles of her life. Since being discharged, she has fought to stay well.

She now wants to use her experiences of mental health illness to champion the rights of others, inspire them to get well, and help break the stigma of mental illness.

I find Hope to be nothing short of inspiring and it was fantastic to get to chat to her about her work and activism.  She is fighting for genuine change and is holding space for so many people, she really is incredible!

We chat all things eating disorders, the effects of society on mental health, changing the system, the process of recovery and everything in between.  There’s a lot going on!

You can find out more about Hope and her campaigns on www.hopevirgo.com.  You can also access the petitions for Curb the Count and Dump the Scales via her website so please take five minutes to have a read about what she is trying to achieve and sign to lend your voice.

You can connect with Hope on Instagram @hopevirgo_

You can chat to me on all social media platforms @propermentalpodcast and I’m always happy to chat so let me know if anything from any episode stands out for you!

If you need support, please go to www.thehubofhope.com

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

Mikie Kitaruth

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 24!

My guest this week is Mikie Kitaruth from Radical Clothing UK!

Radical Clothing UK is a surf, skate, snow and music inspired clothing brand from Cornwall.

Mikie launched the brand after struggles with his mental health during the pandemic and with Radical he is doing things a bit differently to other clothing brands. 

Not only has beach life, snow covered mountains and being outdoors been Mikie’s passion for most of his life, but so has the fashion that comes with that lifestyle.  He wanted to combine that way of living with some aspects that are rarely spoken about, like mental health for example... so our mission is to launch ranges to help raise awareness, donate proceeds to charity and to help people feel ok to talk about things!

Raising money for Mental Health Awareness, the Everything is Radical range donates proceeds to selected charities whilst trying to help bring people together.

We chat about Mikie’s own mental health journey and how he got through it, we chat not only about the importance of reaching out for help but also how hard it can be to do and we chat about recovery and rebuilding after challenging times.

We also chat about depression and anxiety, flaws in the current mental health system, men’s mental health and all sorts of other stuff!

You can shop the current designs via the website www.radicalclothinguk.com and connect with Mikie via social media @radicalclothinguk.

If you would like to watch the video that Mikie and I talk about in the episode, you can do so here:

Everything Is Radical - Mikie's Story - YouTube

You can follow the podcast on all social media platforms @propermentalpodcast and I would be absolutely over the moon if you would take the time to review this episode and maybe even subscribe so you don’t miss any others!

If you need to seek support, find services close to you by visiting www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

Kate Lucey

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 23!

This week I’m joined by Kate Lucey!

Kate Lucey is a journalist, editor and author.  Her recent book ‘Get a Grip, Love’ is a hilarious, honest story about living with depression, and how-to self help guide to recovering from a mental health illness.  Or as Kate says “a book about being a sad twat”.

Kate is formally the Editor at Cosmopolitan.co.uk and has written for the likes of Vice, Guardian and The Sunday Times Style.  She also writes a regularly column about mental health for Metro.

Having lived with depression for about 6 years, Kate has tried “many, many things to ignore it, fix it, make it go away and try to make herself feel better” and realised that a lot of the advice offered is not only nonsense but often offered by people who have no business offering it!

I really enjoyed her book and found it to a very useful and relatable resource for anyone with an interest in mental health and mental illness.  It’s also very funny!

Kate and I chat about receiving useless advice, how it feels to speak openly about dealing with depression and how it affects friends and loved ones.  We also chat about magic mushroom retreats, the importance of ice cream and the healing powers of trashy television.

I really enjoyed her book and found it to a very useful and relatable resource for anyone with an interest in mental health and mental illness.  It’s also very funny!

You can grab a copy here if you’re interested:

Get a Grip, Love: 2021’s hilarious, honest story about living with depression, and how-to self help guide to recovering from a mental health illness: Amazon.co.uk: Lucey, Kate: 9780008401054: Books

You can connect with Kate on Twitter @KateLucey_ or Instagram @katelucey.

You can connect with me on all socials @propermentalpodcast and if you could leave me 5 stars and a kind review, I would be incredibly grateful!

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

If you need to seek support, find services close to you by visiting www.hubofhope.co.uk

Lucy Lord

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 22!

My guest this week is Lucy Lord!

Lucy Lord is a self-taught cook who recently released the Sunday Times Bestselling cookbook ‘Food for the Soul’.

Lucy’s aim is to share recipes made from real foods, cooked simply, done well and enjoyed mindfully and she takes that caring and mindful approach and applies it to all areas of her life.

If you follow Lucy on social media, you’ll know that she has a lot of wellness practices that are commonly recommend to maintain and improve good mental health.  I really wanted to chat to her about some of these as she seems to incorporate them in to a very relatable and authentic way of living.

And that’s exactly what we do!  We chat about meditation, yoga and why they aren’t just for hippies, we chat about mindful eating, self-compassion, travel and, of course, all things baking. 

Lucy was so easy to chat to and we had a really fun conversation!  There’s also a lot of very inspiring cake chat so prepare to feel the needs to get your apron on!  If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of wellness or struggle to balance the good stuff with a normal life then you’re going to get a lot from this conversation!

You can follow Lucy on social media @lordlucy and learn more about her via her website www.lordlucy.com.

Her best-selling cookbook Food for the Soul is out now everywhere and I highly recommend it!

You can connect with me @propermentalpodcast and if you could do me a solid and leave me a 5-star review, I would be eternally grateful!

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

In Earnest

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 21!

This week I’m joined by Tom and Sarah from In Earnest!

In Earnest are a band from South End on Sea, consisting of Tom (vocals, electric guitar), Sarah (vocals & keys) and Toby (violin, acoustic guitar). Tom and Sarah write the bulk of the songs and Toby makes them pretty. They mostly write around personal topics such as mental illness, nostalgia and identity, with a view to inspiring people to talk openly about these difficult topics.

They released their self-titled debut E.P last year and followed it up in March of this year with a double A side ‘Your Dog/Good Boy.  They are currently working on a new E.P due in October.

In Earnest are also ambassadors for @myblackdog _co, an online peer to peer chat service that supports people struggling with their mental health.

I had a great chat with Sarah and Tom about the personal reasons behind the band’s advocacy, about how depression can affect the creative process and what it’s like to try and put these sorts of things in to songs.

We also talk about what it’s like to be in a couple and see your partner struggling with mental health issues and how anxiety and depression affect not just the person dealing with these things, but the people around them too.

For obvious reasons I found this one incredibly relatable and I hope you do to!  It’s a really important and powerful conversation and I can’t thank Tom and Sarah enough for their openness and honesty because we really get in to.

I listened to their E.P a lot as part of my preparation for this chat and I’m still listening to it a lot now, they are making incredibly beautiful music and I highly recommend you give them a listen! 

The band were good enough to let me pick a track to add to the episode and I picked Put Me Under and In Between for all the reasons mentioned in the intro. 

The video we chat about during the episode can be watched here:

'put me under' - in earnest (music video) - YouTube

You can download or stream their music on all platforms and find out more about them via their website www.inearnest.co.uk or social media @inearnestband.

You can connect with me on all socials @propermentalpodcast and if you would take the time to leave me a review you would make my day!

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

Caroline Arnold

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 20!

This week is a special nature themed conversation and my guest is Caroline Arnold!

Caroline Arnold is the CEO at Bore Place, a not-for-profit organic farm and venue committed to sustainability, outdoor education and supporting young people.

She’s passionate about the environment, the countryside and the great outdoors and actively works with young people to educate them about the environment, sustainability, and how getting out in nature can help manage mental health issues. 

In 2016 Caroline was invited to deliver a TEDx talk titled ‘Get Back to Nature for Good Mental Health’.  She firmly believes that being connected to the natural world benefits mental health and this is exactly what she joined me to chat about on this episode.

Bore Place is set in 500 acres of countryside which encompass an organic dairy farm, organic market gardens, conference centre, environmental education centre, as well as programmes to provide opportunities for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.

Caroline and I chat about nature and why it’s so useful to help with mental health, we talk about getting out in to nature and what to do when you get there.

We also explore some ideas about modern society and how it has pulled us away from the outdoors lifestyle and how that affects us mentally.

We also talk about sustainability and how taking more care in what we produce and how we consume, can in turn help us to take more care of our mental health collectively.

It’s such a great conversation and Caroline was so easy to chat to and generous with her time.  She cares so much for the natural world and has dedicated her life to looking after it and being a part of it.  She has some great ideas about how to connect with nature if you’re interested in getting started!

You can check out Caroline's TEDx talk here:

Get Back to Nature for Good Mental Health by Caroline Arnold — TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells

You can have a look at the amazing things happening at Bore Place on their website www.boreplace.org or on social media @boreplace.

You are more than welcome to connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast and I’m always happy to chat!

If you need to seek support you can find services close to you by visiting www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

Jake Mills

Welcome to Proper Mental Episode 19!

This week I chat to Jake Mills!

Jake Mills is an award-winning stand-up comedian, mental health campaigner and the founder and CEO of Chasing the Stigma.

In 2013, after his own battles with depression and a failed suicide attempt, Jake founded Chasing the Stigma, a national mental health charity that is committed to normalising mental health.

Jake has driven the organisation forward to become one of the fastest rising and well-respected mental health charities in the UK and has gone on to create the Hub of Hope, a ground-breaking mental health database that has since become the UK’s biggest and most comprehensive mental health signposting tool, revolutionising mental health pathways in the UK.

If you put your postcode or location in to The Hub of Hope it will give you a comprehensive list of all mental health support and services in your local area.   It’s an incredible resources and now more than ever should be considered vital to absolutely everyone, whether they are experiencing mental health related difficulties or not.  We all have mental health and we should all know how to protect it and where to go when we need help with it.

The charity also delivers mental health training courses and have worked with organisations like Network Rail and Everton Football Club.

Jake and I go over his story from stand up to suicide to national tv and an award-winning charity.  We chat about the need for change in the approach to mental health support and why we need to focus on why people aren’t getting the help they need.

We chat about mental health in children, pressures of society, the challenges of speaking out and what it’s like to end up on national t.v and everything that comes with suddenly developing a big profile in the mental health space.

Jake is so incredibly passionate about helping other and making a real difference and I personally found this conversation to be very inspiring!

Go and have a look at The Hub of Hope, see how it works and spread the word because the importance of this resource cannot be repeated enough.

You can find out more about Chasing the Stigma here:

www.chasingthestigma.co.uk or @chasingthestigma

You can find out more about The Hub of Hope here:

www.hubofhope.co.uk or @hubofhopeuk

You can connect with Jake @jakemillscomedy on Instagram and Twitter.

You can chat to me about all thing mental health and podcasting on all social platforms @propermentalpodcast.

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

BONUS: Christine Davies

Welcome to this bonus episode of Proper Mental, this time I am joined by my Aunty, Christine Davies!

My Aunty Chris is an Occupational Health Nurse in a factory that employs over 500 men.  Part of her role is to protect and promote the health of the staff.  She is the first port of call for health-related problems or advice and this includes mental health and wellbeing.

We all know that male mental health issues are on the rise and that men aged 40-49 have the highest suicide rates in the UK. 

The reason I was so keen to chat to Chris about this is because her work brings her directly in contact with this particular demographic.  She has a life time of experience as a nurse and several years working in a very male dominated environment.

We sat down to chat about her work and the rise of mental health related issues.  We chat about her process and how she can help the people she works with and we chat about our own experiences with mental health and all sorts of other things in between.

Chris played a big part in my own mental health journey and has been mentioned previously on the podcast.  I was visiting my family in Wales and took the opportunity to sit down with Chris and catch up.  It was the first time I’ve seen her in person in over half a year which definitely adds something to the conversation

I think it’s important to look at mental health from all sides, from the people suffering to the people affected by the suffering of others and the people that are working to help them.  This episode definitely adds something to the wider picture of mental health and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I’d love to hear what you think and you can let me know on social media @propermentalpodcast and if you like what hear please leave a review!

If you’d like to know more about Chris, then here she is on Come Dine With Me in 2014!

www.channel4.com/programmes/come-dine-with-me/on-demand/55243-038

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

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!

Dr Punam

Welcome to Proper Mental Episode 18!

My guest today is Dr Punam!

Dr Punam Krishan is an NHS GP in Glasgow, a medical educator and Director of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.  She is also a TV broadcaster on the BBC, a writer and podcast host. 

Her specialist interests also include public health, women’s health and mental health and wellbeing and her passion is to prevent chronic disease through prescribing lifestyle and educating about root cause medicine.

Dr Punam joined me via Zoom to talk, amongst other things, about medication.  I wanted a guide through this conversation as there is a lot of misinformation around the topic and it does invoke some strong opinions.

I wanted to outline the basic information about medication and break down some of the stigma to give anyone listening the information they need to make an informed decision.

It’s not a recommendation or promotion, just a discussion with someone who has over a decade of experience in general practice.  The idea being, that once you have all the information, you can make the right choice for you regarding using medicine for your mental health.

It’s a great conversation and as well as medication we also talk about our own experiences with mental health and why the statistics seem to be moving in the wrong direction.  We chat about juggling family and modern life, life style medicine, self-care and the importance of “mental health snacks”.

If you follow Dr Punam on social media, you will know how busy her life is.  She is a Mum and a Wife as well as a doctor, she sees over 30 patients a day when in clinic and balances this with her television commitments, newspaper articles and a podcast!  I was so grateful to her for giving me an hour of her time on a precious weekend and it just shows how passionate she is about mental health and how committed she is to her work.

You can connect with Dr Punham via Instagram @DrPunamKrishan or Twitter @DrPunamKrishan.

Her podcast, The Medic Mum, is available on all podcast platforms.

If you would like to connect with me about this episode or any others then @propermentalpodcast on all social platforms is a good place to start.

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!

Mick Coyle

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 17!

My guest this time around is Mick Coyle!

Mick Coyle is an award-winning Broadcast Journalist, Radio Presenter and Event Host. He is the senior correspondent at Bauer Media and the founder of Mental Health Mondays.

Mental Health Monday is a weekly radio show and podcast and each week Mick explores a different aspect of mental health and well-being with special guests sharing their lived experiences, where to seek help and how to navigate your way through difficult times in your life.

Mick’s show very recently reached the landmark of 200 episodes which gives him an incredible insight in to mental health from a several different perspectives and he is considered a UK Leader in Mental Health journalism and programming.

In 2018 and 2019, Mental Health Monday was the winner of the Mind Media Award Radio Program of the year and Mick was shortlisted for the Mind Media Award Journalist of the year in both 2017 and 2019.

Mick has spent so much time in the mental health space and his knowledge and passion about the topic really come out during our chat!  He has spoken to so many different people about their lived experiences and it gives him an incredible insight.  He is also a really compassionate human being and some of his ideas around changing our approach towards mental health are really important and could make a real difference.

We talk about the impact of modern society on mental health and the importance of teaching kids about their mental health.  We also cover self-awareness, being kind and then being kinder and we chat about some of the insights that Mick has gained from 200 episodes of Mental Health Monday.

It's another great conversation and I hope you get as much out of it as I did!

Mental Health Monday is available on all podcast platforms every week.

You can connect with him on Twitter @MrMickCoyle.

If you need to seek support, find services close to you by visiting www.hubofhope.co.uk

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!