Inside Your Head

My introduction reveals that I am currently facing a health condition that most of us have come to dread for quite some time: Coronavirus. Luckily, my symptoms are currently mild, but the emotional impact has been greater than expected because of the ongoing after-effects of the drug I was given to combat prostate cancer—Prostap-3—so I go on to discuss the impact of this on not just my life, but those of other sufferers too.

The main interview is with Anne Goodwin, a novelist and short story writer who had a long career in the British National Health Service as a clinical psychologist. She spent a large portion of that career in a long-term psychiatric hospital, and she provides some fascinating insights into that work before going on to talk about her novels and the way she weaves her knowledge of psychiatry into her stories.

We cover the history of mental health institutions and how they first came into being during the 19th century, but also how they ended up growing to become far too large to provide the kind of care that was really needed, with both the patients and staff becoming 'institutionalised' in a way that was actually detrimental to mental health.

During Anne's time working with the NHS, these large hospitals were gradually dismantled, with the emphasis shifting to providing 'care in the community', which has had its own set of challenges. But Ann is something of an activist on behalf of the benefits of good mental health care, as well as criticising bad practices, and is particularly motivated to support early intervention, where parents are given the best possible chance to raise young children in a nurturing environment.

Ann then talks about her three novels, Sugar and Snails, Underneath and Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, and the way in which they are informed by her work as a psychologist, which makes her characterisation especially strong and believable!

Finally, the Relaxation on the Beach meditation explores how to allow thoughts to come and go during practice, before focusing on the value of close friendships and ensuring that we express our gratitude for them.

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In this episode, my introduction gives me a chance to talk about showing compassion both to others and ourselves at a time of year that is challenging for many of us. I also review some books that I’ve been reading recently that range from in-depth Transactional Analysis through to tips for organising your days more efficiently and getting more done.

This is followed by an interview with multi-talented author, editor and horsewoman Roz Morris, who provides some insights into the challenges faced by General Practioners thanks to her job editing a medical magazine, including their desire to have more face-to-face time with patients, and the dangers of burnout because of the overwhelming pressures over the last few years, especially as a result of Covid. We also talk about the challenges of the creative process, coping with feedback, and building the grit and resilience needed to keep working on long-term projects. And of course, with Roz on the show, we talk about horses, the psychology of both the rider and the ridden because of the unique bond that forms between owner and horse.

Finally, my Relaxation on the Beach meditation guides you in an appreciation of awe, which can create such positive and valuable feelings, whether it's watching a beautiful sunset, walking into a magnificent building like a cathedral, or gazing up at the night sky full of stars – and I encourage you to make a list of the things, places, people, animals, events or artwork that inspire you.

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Hi, this is Henry your host and I've produced this as a special announcement today because I've had to make a very difficult decision about the podcast. And the decision is that for the time being, I'm going to have to cut back the podcast from being fortnightly to just monthly. It takes me at least two or three days every episode to plan, record, edit, release, and then publicize the show as well as the time taken to try and persuade guests to come on the show in the first place!

I've done 10 episodes so far, plus all the Relaxation on the Beach episodes separately, with no financial backing whatsoever, other than a handful of very kind souls who made donations via the Ko-Fi page. But the fact is, and it should come as no surprise, with bills to pay and audience figures still too low to attract advertisers or sponsors, it's time for a reality check. And I need to focus on my paying careers, which include, interestingly, another podcast! Naturally, I'm really sad about this because my own life experience in the last couple of years has made me really passionate about mental health, psychology, neuroscience, and the whole self-help thing.

And my mission is to want to educate and inform those who can benefit from what I've learned and from the knowledge of my amazing guests. But the fact of the matter is that unless the podcast can pay its way – even covering its costs would be a good start – I'm just going to have to treat it as a passion project, a personal passion project that I do for the love of it.

Not for the money, until, or unless it manages to attract sponsorship of some kind. And whilst I'm well-known in some circles which is why I'm able to do another podcast using the Patreon gig, in this sphere, I'm a complete outsider. Nobody knows me. Why would they, I'm a guy with a history degree who's decided to start talking about psychology!

So anyway, thanks to everyone who has been listening to the shows, including you, obviously, if you're hearing this and hopefully benefiting from them or at least finding them interesting. And I want to send out special thanks to those of you who adhere to the social media motto, to like is lovely, but to share is divine, your support is truly appreciated.

Anyway, this isn't the last time you're going to hear from me, as I say, I'm going to be doing the show monthly from now on, but there won't be the regular kind of Friday fortnightly slot happening. And I, you know, if you've got any thoughts about this and the opinions about this, please do leave comments, do get in touch.

I'm on Twitter, on @insideyourhead0 and I've got a Facebook page, and obviously you can email me at [email protected] with hyphens.com and I'd love to hear from you. And of course, if you're someone who would like to sponsor the show or advertise on the show to help fund it, that would be absolutely fantastic.

If you're someone who would like to be a guest on the show, by all means, please do get in touch because one of the things I've discovered is that because I'm not terribly well-known in this, you know, the kind of mental health, psychology, psychiatry sphere, knocking on people's doors and saying, "please come on my show" is really, really hard work because naturally they tend to go," "Yeah. And who are you? And yeah, if you don't have an audience of many thousands of people, which as yetI don't, cause I'm just starting, it's really hard to be taken seriously. But anyway, thanks for listening to this little special announcement.

And for those of you who have been loyal supporters of the 10 episodes I've done so far I hope you're not too disappointed. And if the opportunity arises and if it looks like it could pay for itself, of course, I'd love to get back on a fortnightly schedule. In fact, my ambition is I'd love to be on a weekly schedule, but there we are, reality calls.

Thanks for listening everyone. And until next time, be well.

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My introduction focuses on a recent lived experience in which a line in a film triggered a distant memory loaded with overpowering emotions. I describe what happened, why this memory was so overwhelming, and the tactics I have used to soothe myself and cope with this incident in the hope that hearing my experience might one day be useful to you.

The main interview is with Orna Ross,. Not only is she an accomplished and award-winning author and poet, she is also the Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), a worldwide organisation that brings together self-publishing creatives to support each other and gain access to useful services such as graphic designers, illustrators, editors, publishing outlets like Amazon and IngramSpark and legal experts.

But more than this, Orna is someone who is steeped in the lore of creativity and flow, and she draws upon her own experience, eastern philosophy and scientific techniques to help people to release their own creativity and make a success of it via self-publishing routes, bypassing traditional 'gatekeepers'. We mention works like Flow and Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler, as well as Orna's own project that is under development.

Finally, the Relaxation on the Beach guided meditation uses a relaxing body scan and focuses on the breath before helping you to draw upon happy memories to enble you face difficult times in the future.

Orna can be found on Twitter @OrnaRoss , her website is https://www.ornaross.com and her Patreon is https://www.patreon.com/OrnaRoss

Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler

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In my introduction, I explore a link I have realised exists between mindfulness, Transactional Analysis and Attachment Theory as ways to regulate our emotions. I also read out a wonderful thread I found on Twitter by Miranda @mir_and_a entitled How to Stop Out of Control Emotions. (Thanks for granting permission, Miranda!)

My interview is with the amazing Kari Olsen-Porthouse who creates choirs and singing groups. Kari has had an amazing career path, including working as a primary school teacher and working in an advertising agency. Now she runs her own business going into other companies and creating choirs amongst the staff members to raise morale. Following a bout of Covid, she was inspired to thank the NHS staff who had helped her and set about creating The Liberty Singers for ICU staff who have been at the front line during the pandemic, many of whom suffer from PTSD and other mental health issues as a result of the constant strain of the work they do.

As well as creating the choirs (which have members throughout the UK who meet regularly over Zoom), Kari has masterminded the recording of a single to raise money for charity: you can listen to Every Breath You Take (We Watch Over You) on Spotify and other music sources. kari is a truly inspiring person, and you can get in touch via her Twitter account @libertysinger73 .

And our Relaxation on the Beach guided meditation is all about exercising mindfulness in our difficult conversations. Enjoy the show!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.