In my latest interview with Susan Schwartz,

We discussed the importance of being real and what that actually means in the world of social media, and how do we navigate our way through the confusion to find ourselves again.

No matter how successful a person might be,

I hope you will enjoy this episode as much

Ana has devised a very successful parenting programme that walks parents through how to help and support their teen through depression and mental health issues. Ana is a trained psychologist who struggled with her own mental health and health issues and in this episode, we talked about her desire to help parents and teenagers, her methodology and her philosophy on life.

Ana teaches parents what she calls, The Game of Life. Her belief is that if we, as parents, work through her guided steps with our teens to help get them out of depression and self-harm by applying the steps to ourselves first and then applying them to our teens, the results can be long-lasting.

Find out more about the amazing work Ana does at www.betteraskana.com with free offers and content for parents and teens.

In my second interview with Richard, we wanted to look at how the pandemic had affected young people in regards to their drug and alcohol use, and how that has impacted the rise in mental health illnesses we are witnessing across the globe. We also talked about the differences in the ways that girls and boys misuse substances and how we as parents and adults should start a conversation with them about the dangers and long-term effects of drug use on the developing brain.

I was honoured and delighted when Harshil reached out to me and asked if we could do a follow up podcast interview on his journey with self-harm and depression. It’s a year ago since we recorded our first conversation and now, at 16, Harshil has matured into a lovely, well-rounded and intelligent young man grappling with the complexities of like just like all of us. 

Harshil's story gives us hope because he openly discusses his relapses into self-harm and how he can still get triggered, but has learned how to deal with those events better. He’s surrounded by a loving, supportive network of family and friends, and realises how fortunate he is to have those people in his life. 

Let me know your thoughts and please share this episode with someone who might need to hear Harshil’s story.

The earlier parents can start a conversation with their child about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and it's effects on the developing brain, the better. That's why I was so pleased to interview Richard Capriola, an addiction counsellor, who has just written a book called "The Addicted Child". In this episode we discuss how to spot signs of addiction, how to have a conversation with our teen about substance misuse and how to get help for them and also where, as a parent, you can look for support. Richard also created a workbook specially for parents to accompany the book which has exercises and tips on addictions as well as self-harm.

It's a revealing conversation about how we can help our children overcome an addiction with the right tools, advice and support from family and friends.

More information on Richard's book can be found at helptheaddictedchild.com. If you have a story you would like to share or need support, then get in touch with me [email protected].

In this episode, we conclude my conversation with Aaliyah. The journey picks up with Aaliyah, aged 19, having left home and now living in a large room with her girlfriend and her girlfriend's boyfriend and baby. Aaliyah leaves and ends up in an abusive and violent relationship managing to escape with her life. From there she becomes pregnant with a guy she went out on one date with.

Its quite a rollercoaster of a story which brings us to the present day where Aaliyah is now living in the UK with her mother and her own two young children.

It's a lot to have experienced in 24 short years, but Aaliyah's story is an inspiration for everyone out there who has been through a similar situation. It's a message of hope.

In this episode, it's a two-conversation that I had with Aaliyah, a young woman who talks very openly and candidly about what life was like growing up in the States. Aaliyah was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 2 and, in her own words, her life starting spiralling downwards from that point on. She moved from school to school, across different parts of the country, experienced bullying everywhere she went, got herself into situations that made her already difficult life even more challenging. 

If you're ready to be inspired and blown away by this young woman's resilience and determination, then you're going to love this episode.

In this episode, I talk with Gladys about her work as a coach helping working moms in the corporate world master the complexities of being a parent and the demands of a job. 

Getting the balance right isn't easy and we referred to it as a 'blend' where the one role merges with the other and becomes inseparable. So sometimes we find ourselves doing more parenting and at other times our executive role demands more of our attention. In the mix was, of course, how we need to remain mindful of the wellbeing of our children as they go through the school system and the inevitable fallouts that accompany those pivotal phases.  

In this episode I talk to Carolyne about her years of going through depression and alcohol addiction. We talked about the impact of growing up with emotionally unavailable parents and how that affected her life from a very young age. Carolyne spoke about the importance of having an accountability buddy to check in with and to call whenever she's struggling. An important message to all of us about the damage we could be doing to our children, unintentionally, because we don't know how to love ourselves.