Crazy Talk

This week I spoke to my friend Emma Underwood about mental health in the transgender community, we discussed the stigma around both mental illness and being trans, coming out, transphobia and gender dysphoria among a range of other topic areas (including JK Rowling!). We also talked in depth about how people can better support their trans family members, friends and partners, and what changes we need in our society to ensure that trans people do not face inequality.  This is a particularly important episode and may not only be relatable to many but provide some useful information for anyone looking to be a better ally to trans people, so we would really appreciating you sharing it far and wide!

Trigger Warnings for: transphobia, transphobic violence, coming out, gender dysphoria, mention of sex assigned at birth and the difficulties often faced during the process of transitioning. 

Below are links to the resources Emma mentioned in the episode:

http://lgbt.foundation/who-we-help/trans-people

https://lgbt.foundation/who-we-help/trans-people/resources-for-trans-people/lgbt-foundation-resources-for-trans-people

https://www.transunite.co.uk/

https://genderkit.org.uk/

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Email: [email protected]

In this episode of Crazy Talk I sat down (remotely) with my pal Pippa to discuss our experiences of lockdown in the UK. As two people who have struggled with severe depression and anxiety amongst a super fun selection of other mental health issues over the years, we were able to share our own insights into the impact of lockdown on our lives and how it has changed our outlook on life and shaped changes that we aim to continue with once things begin to return to normal. We acknowledged that both of us have been extremely privileged in our experiences with the COVID19 pandemic and it's impacts but were also keen to share how our own lockdown experiences and those of people close to us relate directly to mental health. 

We discuss new hobbies, fluctuating anxiety, trends that we've seen in our communities and our hopes for the future, in between some extreme tangents! We really hope our conversation is relatable to many of you and have linked below are some general mental health and wellbeing resources that may be of use/interest.

Headspace - https://www.headspace.com/

Insight Timer - https://insighttimer.com/

Tide - https://tide.fm/en_US/

Some Good News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5pgG1M_h_U

Free Yoga - https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

Happy: Finding joy in every day and letting go of perfect - Fearne Cotton

Anxiety Rebalance: Carl Vernon

365 Ways To Feel Better: Eve Menezes Cunningham

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/crazytalkpod

Ever wondered how mental health and medical treatment of mental illness interplay with holistic or spiritual approaches? Are you curious about herbal remedies, meditation, and for women, our roots in witchcraft and healing? 

In this episode I sat down (remotely) with my friend Grace Kirkby (AKA Madame Culpeper), Grace is a practising, hereditary witch, holder of sacred spaces, herbalist, astrologer and tarot reader and comes from a family in which spirituality and a strong connection with the earth have always held an important place. 

Over the past year or so my personal struggle with mental illness has led me to pursue every possible alley for healing and Grace has been an amazing guide for me, sharing her wisdom whether I'm delving into healing herbs, confronting my shadows through meditation or finding peace in nature. 

We've included below some key resources for anyone who is keen to explore these topics further.

Books recommended by Grace:

When Women Rise Rooted by Carol Blackie

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer

The Great Cosmic Mother by Barbara Mor and Monica Sjjoo

The Witch's Herbal Apothecary by Marysia Miernowska

The Little Book of Chakras by Patricia Mercler

Moonology by Yasmin Boland

Witch by Lisa Lister

Code Red by Lisa Lister 

Podcasts:

Spirituality in Progress

Highest Self 

Follow Grace: https://www.instagram.com/madameculpeper/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/crazytalkpod

On this episode of Crazy Talk, I spoke to my pal Steven, about his experiences with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder). We discussed the lack of information/representation around BPD, Steven's experiences of diagnosis and treatment as well as specific triggers, the impact of lockdown and cultural differences in mental health treatment.

Trigger Warnings: BPD, anxiety, social anxiety, therapy and misdiagnosis and brief mention of suicide. 

Resources for BPD: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hate-You-Dont-Leave-Understanding/dp/0380713055 - I Hate You Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Straus

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stop-Walking-Eggshells-Borderline-Personality/dp/1572246901 - Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder Paperback by Kreger Randy and Paul T Mason 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/ - NHS info on BPD

https://www.rethink.org/advice-and-information/about-mental-illness/learn-more-about-conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/ - Rethink Mental Illness resources on BPD

https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/ - Young Minds resources on BPD

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On this episode I was joined by Agnes to chat about mental health in the workplace, job hunting, working from home, and cats! 

If you want to find out more about how to support employees with mental health issues, gaining the confidence to be open with your manager about what you're going through, or top tips for self care throughout the job hunting and new job processes, this is the episode for you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-work - Here you can find an in depth report on mental health and work by Royal College of Psychiatrists that explains why mental health problems have a greater impact on people’s ability to work than any other group of disorders.

https://www.acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace - Resources for supporting employees with mental health issues and legal details for employees.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/blog/getting-people-thriving-good-mental-health-workplace - Blog discussing mental health in the workplace and how we can improve it.

https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk - Additional resources for employers. 

Follow Crazy Talk:

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Website - http://somethingforyourmind.org/

Instagram - @crazytalk_pod

Twitter - @CrazyTalk_pod

Tash's Instagram - @tashb_94

If you have any questions, comments or ideas for what you'd like to see in future episodes, I'd love to hear from you! You can message directly on any of these platforms.

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In the first episode of Crazy Talk, we discuss topics including (but not limited to) DnD, 5G conspiracy theories, and whether Ronald Reagan replaced all birds with spies. In between these tangents we work our way through a list of top tips and advice generously shared by a range of people currently getting creative with ways to protect their mental health and wellbeing during a COVID-19 lockdown.

Blog: https://somethingforyourmind.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mufasabarrett

Apps/other cool stuff we mentioned:

Calm - https://www.calm.com/

Headspace - https://www.headspace.com/

Insight Timer - https://insighttimer.com/

Tide - https://tide.fm/en_US/

Astral Tabletop - https://www.astraltabletop.com/

Some Good News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5pgG1M_h_U

Free Yoga - https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene