This episode, Rebecca speaks to Rochelle Hanslow, an author, chronic illness and mental health writer, podcaster and M.E. Support UK ambassador.   

Rochelle is doing incredible work promoting more education and challenging misconceptions around lesser-understood physical and mental health conditions. They discuss a range of important topics and issues, including:  

• Misunderstandings around the day-to-day difficulties of chronic illness, such as M.E. and fibromyalgia  
• The difficult relationship between body image and chronic illness  - and the value of the body neutrality movement
• How animals help our mental health and coping with pet bereavement, which Rochelle’s debut children’s book ‘How to Rest on a Rainbow’ was based on  
• The gaps in knowledge and support for neurodiversity in children and adults, including ADHD and autism  
• Having a parent come out as transgender in childhood and dealing with the heartbreaking prejudice that affected her family  
• Coping with the trauma of an emotionally abusive relationship and the journey to regaining her sense of self 

If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify. 

Visit the event page more for Same Shit Different Brain's first ever live panel talk:

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-make-friends-and-find-communities-as-an-adult-tickets-379273576477

Follow Same Shit Different Brain and Rochelle Hanslow on the socials:
 
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https://twitter.com/SameSDiffBrain

https://www.instagram.com/thestingingbelle/ 
https://twitter.com/RLHanslow

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, we hear a recap of every guest from series 1 talking to Rebecca about mental health, in the first of two special compilation episodes. Here's an overview of some of the themes discussed in these episode snapshots: 
 
S1 Ep1 - Stewy Axon: Body image and social media 
S1 Ep2 – Sarah Wain: CBT and panic attacks 
S1 Ep 3 – Alison Carlin: Skin confidence with eczema and redundancy 
S1 Ep 4 - Jade McSorley: Anxiety and eating disorders 
S1 Ep 5 - Jade Hark: The stress of self-employment 
S1 Ep 6 – Fran Bibby: Intrusive thoughts 
S1 Ep 7 – Laura White: Seasonal affective disorder and PMT 
S1 Ep 8 - Rachel: OCD and imposter syndrome 
S1 Ep 9 - Hannah: Managing frustration and not being heard 
S1 Ep 10 - Caroline: The stages of grief 
S1 Ep 11 - Kristie: Anxiety and brain fog 
S1 Ep 12 - Lewis: Work-related stress and male mental health 
S1 Ep 13 - Liam: Depression as a new parent 
S1 Ep 14 - Helen: The different types of trauma

If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/same-shit-different-brain/id1553870136
https://open.spotify.com/show/0bmWeW2gx1YMriycq3A19d?si=bc3ef7f7cb004cd8

Follow Same Shit Different Brain on social and visit the website:

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This week, Rebecca speaks to Bonnie Bowron, a breathwork facilitator and energy healer from Birmingham. She discussed how breathwork changed her life after years struggling with addiction, and how getting clean from the coping mechanisms of alcohol and drugs helped her to become more self-empowered and find out who she really is. This then led her to train in breathwork so that she could help others and see them change their own lives for the better. Bonnie realised it was what she was meant to be doing and felt an inner calling while furloughed from work in the first lockdown, finding it a saviour after old traumas started to resurface. She shared how conscious connected breathwork has helped her to overcome her past and manage her mental health day-to-day. 

If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/same-shit-different-brain/id1553870136
https://open.spotify.com/show/0bmWeW2gx1YMriycq3A19d?si=bc3ef7f7cb004cd8

Follow Same Shit Different Brain and Bonnie Bowron on social:

https://www.instagram.com/sameshitdifferentbrain/?hl=en
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https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bonnies-monthly-breathwork-journey-tickets-304648209997
 

This time on the podcast, Rebecca speaks to Liam Browne. Liam is a published author, with his two autobiographical books Dealer to Healer: A Modern Tale of A Fucked Up Male, and HITCHHIKING: Feel the good vibrations. He is also a healer, yoga teacher and the founder of Full Power Cacao, a powerful plant medicine which is also a superfood. Full Power Cacao regular ceremonies and chocolate dance parties around the UK, with healing, guided meditation, drumming, poetry and dancing. In addition to all this, Liam is the founder of Stone Cold Sober, which hosts nationwide sober raves and retreats, and this year is launching the UK’s first totally sober festival. Liam discussed his no-nonsense approach to spiritual coaching, helping people to reach self-realisation and enlightenment with loving honesty (even if it means risking losing them when they don’t want to hear it). He also discussed his journey from reaching rock bottom and going to prison after losing his mum, to turning things around as he went into his 30s and all the joy that’s brought him in this lifetime, after he went on a life-changing trip to Guatemala. His expediences have helped him to support others in rising up from their darkest moments, becoming the ‘magnificent’ beings we’re all supposed to be.
If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify.

Follow Same Shit Different Brain, Liam Browne, Full Power Cacao and Stone Cold Sober on social:

https://www.instagram.com/sameshitdifferentbrain/?hl=en
https://instagram.com/liambrownelove?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://instagram.com/fullpowercacao?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://instagram.com/stonecold_sober?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Liam’s full website, with details of all his brands, products and events, can be found at https://linktr.ee/liambrowne.

This time on the podcast, Rebecca speaks to Craig Seaton, whose Create Your Own Reality  retreat in Wales she recently went on for the second time (you may remember the previous episode with his co-host Briony). Craig is a Breathwork Facilitator, whose sessions you can book at Blok gyms, along with regular events in Manchester city centre and other venues. He’s also a kundalini yoga instructor, lucid dreaming coach and sound healer. He has so much knowledge and many experiences to share from his own really committed, far-reaching journey of self-discovery, training and studying in China, Japan as well as closer venues such as the Manchester Buddhist Centre. This has given him the ability to help and empower so many others with their healing, consciousness and emotional understanding through the work that he does. 

Craig shared his own story from starting out aiming to be in the fire service, then becoming a personal trainer and through his physical health transformation, being made aware of the positive changes he could make to his mental health too and discovering spirituality in a big way, going on to train under different gurus and philosophers. He discussed exploring consciousness through meditation, expanding the mind through psychedelics, including plant medicine like mushrooms and ayahuasca, and how we have it within ourselves to create those same mind-altering experiences through breathwork. They talk a little longer about lucid dreaming as it’s a little more mysterious and unknown, so a fascinating topic. 

If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify. 

Follow Same Shit Different Brain and Craig Seaton on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/sameshitdifferentbrain/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/craig_seatono2/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/craig.seaton.3

This week, Rebecca’s guest is Sarah Adams, who runs the brilliant Manchester Choirs. Run in three different venues, they are fantastically supportive and uplifting sessions singing gospel-inspired songs, providing a creative and emotional release singing with other ladies on a weekday evening. They allow members to feel the connection of community in a really fun way, allowing performance and expression without any pressure to be perfect.

Sarah is a musician and performs both solo, with her new project And Loops, as well as with her vintage gospel band Canter Semper. She spoke about everything from having to start running her business online during the lockdown living at her parents, how she copes with anxiety and overthinking, to the huge benefits that therapy has had for her, dealing with the end of a relationship, why space is so important, and how there’s value in the little things we can do to feel better when we’re down. 

If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify. 

Follow Same Shit Different Brain, Manchester Choirs and Sarah’s solo and group musical acts on social: 

https://www.instagram.com/sameshitdifferentbrain/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/choirsmanchester/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/andloops23/?hl=en

This week, Rebecca speaks to John Hester, co-founder of Lonely thoughts clothing, which he started with his wife Lyndsey in 2020. This independent local brand up in the Scottish Highlands have already made a more positive impact on the world than 10 big fast fashion companies. They support some fantastic causes, giving help to those in need around mental health by donating all sales to their chosen charity.

Rebecca and John discussed numerous fascinating topics, from changed perceptions of those in key worker roles over the pandemic, to the difference we can all make to the world as individuals, the changing fashion market as more people shop consciously, the power of being vulnerable, and how we can appreciate our strengths and weaknesses in order to do the best we can in all areas of life.

If you like the show, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate it on Spotify. 

Follow Lonely Thoughts Clothing and Same Shit, Different Brain on social:

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https://www.facebook.com/lonelythoughtsclothing/
https://lonelythoughtsclothing.com/

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We're back for 2022 with episode five of series two!

This week, Rebecca speaks to Darren Hodgkinson, who she first met in November taking part in cold water immersion with Reservoir Doggs, of which he was a founding member. She went on a hike he was leading and threw herself in the deep end, literally, and now takes part in these dips regularly with this wonderful welcoming community.

Darren spoke about everything from living with ADHD and depression to being bullied as a child, his experiences in a successful career in the police, become more creative with photography, music, poetry and writing his first book, and going on his self-help journey following years in traditional mental health treatment. He’s found a lot of success in alternative therapies over the years, from hypnotherapy to reiki, breathwork and most importantly, cold water immersion. Darren has been doing cold water dips every single day, raising money for the Mental Health Matters charity, which he is doing for a full 120 days. Darren also discussed the unfortunate passing of his father during the first wave of Covid, and how that has impacted the way he perceives and lives his life. 

Follow Darren, Reservoir Doggs and Same Shit, Different Brain on social - and you can donate to Darren's charity page for his fantastic cold water immersion challenge:

https://www.instagram.com/mancpov/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/breathimmersion/?hl=en
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/120dayscoldwaterimmersion
https://www.instagram.com/sameshitdifferentbrain/?hl=en
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For this special Christmas episode, Rebecca reunites with her former guests from series one. They talked about this year's 'realisations', achievements and what may have changed since they recorded their episodes during the last UK lockdown. They also discussed what they think of new year’s resolutions and whether they’ve made any for 2022.

Rebecca hosts a festive quiz looking back at some of the insights from each of the guest's episodes, along with a few musical interludes.

Thank you to everyone who listened to Same Shit Different Brain this year. Also, THIS IS EXCITING! You can now rate the podcast on Spotify (as well as Apple Podcasts). So if you have a minute, please go to the show page to award it stars out of five. 

Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy 2022, whatever it may bring.

Follow Same Shit, Different Brain on socials:

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For episode three of series two, Rebecca spoke to wellbeing laughter yoga coach Sara Kay. She attended some of Sara’s laughter yoga sessions over Zoom during lockdown and, well, they’re genius. Laughter is of course, the best medicine, and we all know the difference it can make to our mood, but it perhaps isn’t part of our everyday, as we’re not always watching comedy, attending a show or having rib-tickling conversations with people.

The beauty of laughter yoga is that you force yourself to laugh through various exercises, because your body doesn’t know the difference between real and pretend laughter. So it’s still just as effective, making for an excellent de-stressing activity. Dancing round her living room to Sara’s sessions laughing her head off (and scaring her neighbours) was just what Rebecca needed in the middle of the pandemic.

Sara herself got into laughter clubs and workshops after being on antidepressants, coming out as LGBTQ and ending her marriage. So learning this skill and becoming a coach was a huge turning point for her,  helping her to better cope with everything life brings and becoming more resilient to challenges. She spoke beautifully about self-acceptance, the importance of ‘letting go’ and embracing your inner child; and helping others to overcome obstacles, improve their self-esteem and enjoy their lives again.

Follow Sara and Same Shit, Different Brain on social - and check out Sara's laughter advent calendar on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBGG5sYNi8Qd1dhuDs_x1zw
https://www.instagram.com/seriouslaughuk/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/seriouslaughuk
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