On Wellbeing

Feeling stuck is a common experience for many of us.  We know we do not want this situation or pattern of behaviour anymore, but we can’t seem to shift it.   Dr Heather Mckee helps us to reframe the feeling of stuck and to make positive mental health a habit.  She uses examples from mindfulness, movement, relationships as well as examples of gratitude, acts of kindness and how we can look forward to things as mechanisms for moving from ‘stuck’ to action.  If you feel as though you are unable to shift into a more positive mindset or different ‘space’ in life then this podcast if full of ideas and tips.

This podcast will help you to understand either as a people manager or a colleague how we can come together to make our workplaces ‘safe spaces’.  Psychological safety is critical for a workplace to thrive.  Dr Nicola Stenberg explains what psychological safety is and how we can positively change it.  It’s also increasingly important with the rising number of individuals struggling with their mental health.  Psychological safety allows people to feel a sense of, ‘unconditional worth’ with minimal evaluation or judgement in the workplace.  It means working without fear of negative consequences.    In previous generations, pace and precision on the assembly line was the critical skill.  In this modern workplace we manage complex relationships and process diverse information, making hundreds of minute decisions daily, trying to fight ‘fire’ and solve new problems.  We have to take risks without a fear of consequences, experimenting with ideas without feeling stupid.   If we don’t feel psychological safety then we feel fear which counteracts effective thinking, leadership, co-operation and decision making.

There is a new science around kindness and compassion, and how transformative it is for mental health.  In this podcast, Carey Davis Munro discusses the benefits of being kind and how this research around the ‘helpers high’ demonstrates the positive benefits for the self in being kind and helpful to others.   Carey discusses random acts of kindness and how these differ from kindness itself.   The concept of self-compassion and self-care is also unpacked, Carey discusses how the social media illustration of baths and candles really is not reflective of true self compassion and kindness.  This podcasts really helps us to realise that the simple practice of kindness can be transformative for ourselves and others.

If we want to eat more healthily, start an exercise routine that you commit to, or any other positive ‘lifestyle change, your focus should be on ‘habits’ rather than motivation or willpower.  Dr Heather McKee, global behaviour change expert unpacks how building a habit is the most important thing we can do when it comes to changing our behaviour.    She describes the practical ways in which we build habits, tacking them onto existing behaviours in small doses.   Making the desired new behaviour ‘effortless’ is also important and Heather describes ways that we can make the ‘healthy’ behaviour easier.   If you are struggling to make changes or have consistently failed to keep up new changes up then listen to this lively discussion with some really practical advice.

Dr Lisa Gatenby registered nutritionist offers a real-world view on the chaos and confusion which surrounds what and how we eat.  This podcast is full of scientifically backed advice and support to take the stress and guilt out of our relationship with food. Lisa discusses the way in which we over complicate food with an excessive amount of food information and social media misinformation.  She describes the problematic terminology around clean food and offers sound advice on an every day healthy and achievable diet.  Lisa also unpacks the real truth about gut health and how this links to mental health.  For anyone who struggles to understand what they should be eating this podcast is full of simple, clear and effective advice.

Paula is an experienced BPS Chartered Psychologist with 18 years’ experience of developing and delivering health behaviour change interventions.  Paula’s vast experience of working with different people to build exercise as a long lasting habit has created a wealth of effective tricks, tools and techniques which she discusses in this podcast.  So many of us find it virtually impossible to create a true exercise habit and instead find ourselves on a rollercoaster of exercise and then inactivity across the months and years.  Paula helps us to understand how our minds can get in the way of movement and how past experiences, perceptions and expectations play such a significant role in our relationship with our bodies and physical movement.  If you are someone who has struggled to get into an exercise habit and find a way to move that fits with your lifestyle then listen to this podcast to find out how to make exercise ‘stick’

Dr Louise Lambert, employee wellbeing specialist and positive psychologist explores the issue of materialism, the high valuation of material goods.  Louise unpicks the way in which our focus on buying thing negatively impacts our mental health.  Louise describes the consistent inverse relationship between materialism and wellbeing; such that as materialism increases, wellbeing decreases. It’s more than liking nice things, it’s measuring one’s self by them and considering them as indicators of one’s worth.  How can we navigate a materialistic world and manage our mental health?

Listen to Carey as she explains how fear and anxiety, common emotions that overwhelm so many of us are detrimental to our health.   Carey describes how these powerful emotions extract energy from us and alter our daily experiences, mood and reactions.  This podcast helps us to understand how we can begin to cognitively understand, detect and manage fear and anxiety to cope more effectively with day to day life.

Maya Raichoora, expert in mental fitness and TEDx speaker describes the power of visualisation to reverse a medical condition in her own life.  Maya discusses how the power of imagination led to an empowered journey to take charge of her own health.  Maya illustrates the way our own thoughts and beliefs limit us and describes how we can begin to use tools and techniques to imagine ourselves into a different space in our lives.

In this interesting conversation Dr Louise Lambert, employee wellbeing specialist and positive psychologist describes how art and history can support positive mental health.  Louise discusses how art evokes emotion.  This is the role of art.  Within this there is room for contemplation and reflection. We can examine what we feel and why. Art and culture forces us into emotion regulation: we feel it, we need to solve it. Art and history can also validate our emotion, because someone else has felt it in a painting or as an artist.  It also allows for distance and perspective, we can experience it from afar and so might be able to deal with the emotions that are evoked more effectively.  Louise also discusses how engaging in art, history and culture offers mental stimulation, a break from ourselves to see into the lives of others, examine their thoughts and their feelings.   In a world which does not always appreciate the role of art and culture, this podcast offers a fresh insight into what contribution it makes to our mental health.

A chiropractor for over 20 years, Rachel Wilkinson has an intuitive understanding of the way the body reflects so much of our mental health and trauma. In this podcast she describes how so many problems relating to our back and body have a root in mental health. Rachel illustrates with real -life example clients who present with pain and dysfunction with no apparent cause. When unpacked these almost always emerge from mental stress or trauma. Rachel describes the interconnection between mind and body and how we can look after ourselves from a truly holistic perspective.

Why your anxiety is serving a purpose and how you can reframe it".  Content descriptor: Jonny Ward aka 'The Anxious Firefighter' brings a fresh perspective on anxiety.  A station manager in the Fire and Rescue Service in the North of England he describes his own raw and traumatic journey with anxiety across his career.  He explains how he learnt to manage his anxious thoughts with a combination of tools and the lessons he learnt along the way.  This gritty and heartfelt journey he shares will help you to consider ways of seeing your anxiety differently and techniques to support you.

We are talking with different people to better understand ourselves and others. Sharing tools and tips on how to live our lives with more purpose and peace. Join us from wherever you may be and indulge in the conversations we have to offer.