Mental Health & Me

Eugene AKA Max Roddy is this weeks guest, and he shares his life story with me, publicly, for the very first time!
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What a conversation we had, with lots of LOLs & some deep, dark moments.
Eugenes' journey has been anything but ordinary. From battling addiction to enduring brain surgery, from navigating the shadows of psychosis to standing in the spotlight as a comedian, his story is one of resilience & rebirth. Now, he shares his story for the very first time with courage & honesty. 
Through laughter, he reminds us that healing is possible & that hope can rise from the darkest places.

In this weeks episode, I get to have an amazing, emotional & inspiring conversation with Amanda St John.
What. A. Woman!
Amanda openly discussed her battle with her mental health when she was just 16 years old, bullied throughout school & into her work life. Amanda stared death in the face when she was just 17 after contracting meningitis. She battled the odds and then got married & had a beautiful baby girl. 
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Amanda speaks about the breakdown of her marriage, the post separation anxiety that followed, the financial struggles she went through & how, just as she was rebuilding her life back up, she drove her car accidentally off a 300foot cliff, leaving her unconscious with no pulse. Staring death in the face a second time, Amanda explains how she heard a voice telling her to 'sing'. After recovering from her car accident, she did, in fact, sing & she released two albums: “Grow” (2016) and “The Muscle Shoals Sessions” (2019)
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Amanda transitioned into motivational speaking and life coaching. She now hosts the podcast “A Created Life”, focusing on mindset, personal growth & empowerment. She is also the creator of the “High Vibe Tribe,” a membership and coaching platform encouraging purpose-driven living and personal transformation  .
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The heat in the room that day was 42 degrees, so the background noise is the fan going for gold 🤭

This week, I get to have a conversation with Jude Morrow. Jude is a highly influential neurodiversity advocate, author, speaker & long-time friend of mine.
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In this episode we discuss Jude being diagnosed as autistic (although not told until he was 18), having a classroom assistant until he was 16 & how he adapted to becoming a dad aged just 22, to a son with the same autism/ adhd diagnosis as himself.
We spoke about Jude being a social worker for 9 years before he published his first memoir- sharing his experiences as an autistic dad.
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Jude also speaks of the organisation that he founded - Neurodiversity Training International, which offers autism-focused training, online learning, diagnostics, coaching & consulting. The organization is autistic-led & helps other neurodivergent individuals build businesses rather than simply fitting into neurotypical structures.
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We recorded this wayyyy back in February, but we thought we lost it! I'm so glad we got it back as it took us so long to get into a room together & I always enjoy Judes' chats 🤍

In this weeks episode, I get to have a very seriously unserious conversation with Emer Maguire! 
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A native from Strabane - who claims she LOVES Strabane - but has moved to Belfast...
This episode was SO much fun! We went from very serious, to almost crying laughing in minutes.
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Emer & I discuss our diagnosis of OCD, how it affects us & how scary it can be. Emer also openly discusses her autism diagnosis, her career in comedy & music, her experience in university & graduating as a speech & language therapist, her first time seeing two girls kiss (😂😂) and SO much more!
No one can make me laugh as much as Emer can! We always have the best time when we get together!

On this weeks episode, I get to have a conversation with Danny McGinn about the devastating effects pregablin, that he was prescribed & given from a doctor, had on his whole entire life. 
 Danny spoke about the instant relief he felt from the moment he popped the very first pill after injuring his back in a freak accident. In his own words, he quickly became hooked & his life quickly began to crumble down around him, it affected his wife, his children, his family & he also lost his job.
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 Dannys message that he wishes to share is - just because a doctor has prescribed you a certain medication, it doesn't mean it is safe for you & it shouldn't be taken without full discussion & disclosure of the effects. Addiction destroys lives.

This week, I sat down with Shaun AKA Shane Todd! I fan girled so hard during this episode since I've been a fan of Shane's this past 15 years - so much so, that I got his name wrong in the first 14 seconds of meeting him.

Shane & I speak about how Shane left school at 16 to go to tech, his introduction to being in front of the camera instead of behind the camera, his time as a choir boy, dropping his new rap album, working his way up the NI comedy scene, his boring 'rock & roll' life style, how he met his wife, how becoming a dad has changed him, his chrons disease diagnosis, we talk about hair transplants, nose jobs, botox & so much more!
I really, really enjoyed this conversation & I know you will too! 

This week, I sit down with ultimate girls girl & 'strong woman' Claire O Hagan.
 This was such a lovely open & honest conversation were we discuss rumours, the affect they have on people, social media, toxic relationships, strong woman prep, periods, hormones, ozempic & so much more!

••The Mental Health & Me podcasts are conversations about the guests personal journeys, their own point of view & based on their own version of events••

This week, I get to chat with Chrisina Doherty, who bravely shares her story publicly for the very first time.
This has been the most traumatic & complex conversation I've ever had on the podcast, but I really want to show Christina how proud I am of her.
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Sitting today, clean & sober for this past 4 years, Christina spoke about the many hardships she had faced before she even reached the age of 18.
Christina had her first baby aged 17, but at only 6 weeks old, he passed away due to cot death.
This saw Christina's first major trauma and her turn to alcohol & substance misuse that took over her life.
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Christina's story includes drug abuse, social services, domestic violence, s*icide, loss, rehabilitation, recovery & so much more.
Hearing real stories from real people, just like Christina, not only show us that everyone has their own battles, but they also show us how we can rebuild & recover.
Please do not miss this episode.