It was Stress Awareness Month in April so we’re bringing you a belated episode all about stress, what it is, what it means for your body and mind and how to tackle it and cope with stress a little bit better.

This week, we cover:

• Real and perceived stresses and how they’re one and the same thing
• The stress response and the physiological impacts of stress
• Your built-in relaxation system: the parasympathetic nervous system
• Spotting the signs of stress therefore preventing burn-out
• Our own experiences of burn-out
• Manage stress with these top tips

We can’t stress enough (pun intended) the value of social connections and self-care during times of stress: whether that’s driven by internal or external pressures.

Please reach out to loved ones and/or healthcare professionals whilst you engage in lots of self-care to get you to a much healthier and happier place.

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Email: [email protected]

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We know the January Blues are a real thing, and that this month can be a bit of a struggle. We’re no stranger to this, both personally and professionally. If you’ve ever wondered what depression is, what it can look like in people, and what causes it (from a neuroscience perspective), this is the episode for you.

Whilst it’s impossible to put all of the information and science out there in this episode, we’re putting this episode together as a gentle introduction to the topic to expand your knowledge on the subject. Don’t worry, there will be plenty more episodes from us on this subject to come!

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If you’re struggling with feelings of low mood and/or depression, please seek help. Consider speaking to a friend, colleague, family member or your GP as soon as possible.

If you’re in crisis, please consider calling 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: [email protected] for a reply within 24 hours or Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text "YM" if you're under 19

On this episode, we cover:

• What is depression
• What are the signs and symptoms to look out for
• What causes depression
• Brain chemistry and depression 101: neurotransmitters and how they contribute to depression and how antidepressants can work
• Changes in brain activity we see with depression

If you like what you hear, please do consider supporting us to keep our little show running:

Instagram: @joyful_balance.me

Email: [email protected]

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Happy New Year! We’re back with an episode all about a controversial subject: New Year's Resolutions, health habits and how to work towards your health goals.

Here’s a clue: we’re not all that into New Year’s Resolutions! Intrigued? We’ll tell you all about why they can often fail, and we’ll tell you how to set yourself up for success when it comes to habit change.

Some topics we cover:

• Our Christmases
• Habits we want to pick up (again) this year
• How to start building new healthy habits
• Why New Year’s Resolutions often fail
• How hypnosis helps habit change
• Habits we want to stop
• The importance of starting small when it comes to habit change

Like what you hear? Give us a like, follow and/or subscribe and you’ll always receive out latest episode right there wherever you listen to your podcasts.

SUPPORT JOYFUL BALANCE PODCAST: Feel free to share your support with us, by donating a cup of coffee

YouTube: Joyful Balance Podcast

Instagram: @joyful_balance.me

Email: [email protected]

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CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH MEERA (NUTRITION)

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We’re back to you after yet another (unplanned but much needed) hiatus. We’ve been busy trying to get all our ducks in a row to come back to you more regularly with episodes. We’ve missed you and the podcast! Now is a perfect time to be back in your ears and minds in the lead up to what feels like the biggest celebrations that we’ve had in a while: Christmas and how to eat well during this time period.

We’re the first to point out that (we hope) this is a time to let your hair down a little, but to do so consciously - which means being less conscious during specific meals, but more conscious of what you’re doing around those specific celebrations to stay well. Not sure what we mean? Don’t worry we’ll help!

In this episode, we’ll discuss

• What we’re up to over the festive period
• Are Christmas dinners unhealthy?
• How to eat well over the festive season
• The importance of keeping up healthy routines and habits during Christmas
• Our views on celebrations and managing our health during this period
• How to cope when Christmas isn’t a happy time

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• What we think about calories
• Diets based on body shape
• Weight, BMI and health
• Thinking about weight loss as the side effect, rather than the main goal
• Why many weight loss diets fail
• Our problem with diet culture
• The dangers of yo-yo dieting
• The illusion of quick fixes in weight loss
• Why giving up your control to an app isn’t helpful
• Why reading nutrition labels is key
• Making intentional choices with lifestyle changes
• The value of small changes

• How we’re doing
• What is emotional eating and what isn’t
• Our own experiences with emotional eating
• Hedonic and homeostatic hunger
• Why noticing hunger and habits is very important for health
• How to address emotional eating patterns

• Nutrition myths we wished would die (is brown rice really better than white? Is eating fruit the same as eating a candy bar and is a raw diet the best diet for health?)
• Small lifestyle changes that have had an outsized, beneficial effect on health, nutrition and happiness (eg. using smaller plates, practising good sleep hygiene, flexibility in your thoughts when it comes to achieving your health goals)
• AITA: AITA for trying to get my 91 year old grandmother to get some more variety and nutrition in her diet and it’s my week to take care of her?

• Catch up with us since Season 2
• How to get enough iron in your diet if you’re full vegetarian
• Meera’s top tips to set yourself up for success in making changes to your diet
• The value of starting small and knowing your starting point
• Denise’s top tips for healthier living
• Thinking about ‘treats’ differently and the importance of assessing how you feel after you eat

Welcome to the Joyful Balance Podcast! Denise and Meera are here to take you on a journey of understanding your mind, your brain and your body and how all three things are very much interlinked.

This is the final episode of Season 2! The theme running through this season has been about personal change for us both, learning to action the advice we give you! Today we’re rounding up on how we have been finding our own sense of balance between living healthily and enjoying life (knowing the two aren’t mutually exclusive).

On our final episode this season, we cover:

• The value of getting outside your comfort zone

• How to keep going and get back into healthy habits when you face a blip

• Why routines are really important over external pressure for consistently reaching your health goals

• What balance means to us

• The danger of all-or-nothing thinking

• How to maintain balance over the long term

SUPPORT JOYFUL BALANCE PODCAST: Feel free to share your support with us, by donating a cup of coffee

YouTube: Joyful Balance Podcast

Instagram: @joyful_balance.me

Email: [email protected]

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CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH MEERA (NUTRITION)

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Welcome back to the Joyful Balance Podcast! This week we’re talking about a topic not often thought about very deeply - Resilience. A hugely underrated skill, Meera and Denise cover the benefits of resilience on a neuroscience and psychological level, and how you can develop resilience like any other skill - with practice.

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Listen to us as we explore:

• What resilience means to us and what it actually means

• The neuroscience of resilience and what you can use neurobiology to your advantage to make you more resilient

• How you can improve resilience with cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy

• What resilience actually is

• How to identify a resilient person

• The value of positive social connections to resilience

• Other useful factors that help you become more resilient

• Final thoughts on the importance of resilience

YouTube: Joyful Balance Podcast

Instagram: @joyful_balance.me

Email: [email protected]

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CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH MEERA (NUTRITION)

CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH DENISE (THERAPY)