The Proper Mental Podcast podcast | Listen online for free

Available Episodes

5 of 216

Why is it so hard to change even when staying the same is killing us? 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!
--------
1:06:54
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!
--------
56:52
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!
--------
1:08:59
Dan Astles on music, masculinity and 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!
--------
1:15:02
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!
--------
59:59