The Heavy Mental Podcast

A couple of days ago, Leila and I sat down to have an informal, impromptu chat about everything that’s been going on during this crazy pandemic.

In particular, as a mental health pod, I felt it important to talk about the feelings of health-related anxiety that’ve bubbled to the surface for me recently and some of the ways in which I've been able to cope.

These are difficult, uncertain and unprecedented times for all of us and if you already suffer with an anxiety disorder, you're likely to now feel as though you have a greater burden to bear. I hope this episode gives you some sort of respite from your anxiety. I hope it helps. Even if it’s just that you feel a little less alone with your thoughts.

Stay safe. Focus on what you can control. Look after yourself. Look after those close to you. Turn off news notifications (now). Observe and adhere to official government advice. And we’ll get through this, one day at a time.

In this episode, I chat with James Chant: the man behind the foodie favoured popup currently taking Cardiff’s indie food scene by storm, Matsudai Ramen.

James describes himself as a “dweeb who becomes easily obsessed with things” and his current fixation: serving up banging bowls of ramen.

The interesting thing about James’ story is, he never aspired to work in a kitchen, let alone start his own food pop-up. Matsudai was a complete left turn in his life, one that at 40, he never could've anticipated.

We chat about conditions which led to the creation of Matsudai and the importance of "creative experimentation" in finding your authentic self.

Thematically, we chat:

Experimentation, depression, creativity, medication, music, self-help, rest, learning, procrastination, being obsessive, building momentum, the indie food scene in Cardiff, the role creativity plays in mental health, starting a popup, imposter syndrome, authenticity, music and how story can help in developing a brand.

Hope you get some value out of this one folks, 'cause I know I did!

In this episode, I chat with London-based Latina illustrator and author of the book “Period”, Natalie Byrne.

Nat found her illustrative voice combining colour with topics and social issues important to her like intersectional feminism, sexual assault, mental health and equality.

After seeing Nat post and make a video about “burnout”, I really wanted to chat to her about her experience, particularly because I think it’s becoming more and more common the busier and more complicated our lives get.

So, first off, what is burnout?

In short, it’s a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands.

And at the tail end of last year, Nat burned out and she took a break in order to get some rest, heal and understand what'd happened and why.

In addition to burnout, we also chit-chat about a whole load more, like:

Art as a communicative device, stress, anxiety, guilt, the negative impact the news can have, discovering the internet, feeling connected to a movement, drawing as a means to maintain good mental health, passion, technology, part-time jobs, changing paths, CBT, meditation, community and belonging, people falling off track post uni, life’s inevitable challenges, routines, the inner critic, dealing with trolls, getting back on track and dealing with overwhelm.

In the episode, I chat with London-based writer, comedian and mental health speaker from Germany, Mari Stracke.

Mari is a passionate supporter of the body positivity movement online and describes herself as an “authenticity chaser”.

This is a wide-ranging chat that flows into all sorts of areas: from Mari’s experiences with anxiety as a kid when her mother said “she’d bear the weight of the world on her shoulders”, to finding the body positivity movement online, through to her PTSD experience and we also touch on her stand-up comedy work and the role comedy can play in mental health.

One of the key themes we cover — and within the title of this episode — is authenticity. In particular, being mindful of authenticity when producing, creating and/or speaking.

Thematically, we also chat:

Counselling, medication, social media, long form Instagram captions, standards of beauty, using social media for positive change, the diet industry, brand, meditation (as always), being vulnerable and honest online, Mari’s mental health toolkit, burnout, rest, the importance of educating young people about mental health, change, how failure is an inevitable part of success and the power of the present moment.

It was a really interesting, open and authentic chat and I really think it could be of value to you, so check it out folks.

For this episode, Leila and I took a trip to the lovely Greenwich in East London to speak with Emma Martins.

For ten years, Emma was a TV producer working on factual programming when she caught a life-threatening virus whilst on holiday in Vietnam.

After 3 months in hospital and given only a 20% chance of survival, Emma was left with a "hidden brain injury" called “Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis” - a wordy name which is often referred to as "ADEM".

As a result, Emma has partial sight, cognitive fatigue and severe dyslexia. This has meant that she’s had to relearn everything all over again, from making a cup of tea to crossing the road.

After enduring her own “longest battle” during the rehabilitation process, Emma started a podcast of the same name to help other people who’re fighting their own battles.

We chat about Emma’s history in TV, her brain injury story, the subsequent recovery process and life with, as Emma refers, “hidden disabilities”.

You can also expect to hear us talk about:

Mindfulness, challenging yourself, goal setting, anxiety, positivity, mindset, exercise, charity work and travel.

Emma truly is an inspiration. In the face of adversity, coping with a life-changing brain injury and having to relearn the very basic of things that a lot of us take for granted, she’s been able to achieve all sorts of incredible goals: from producing an Acast-affiliated podcast, to volunteering, to supporting others with brain injuries, working with numerous charities and even running a Half Marathon!

Emma is proof that with the right mindset, there’s nothing that can hold you back from doing what you want to in life.

We know you're going to get a lot of value out of listening to Emma speaking about her journey.

In this episode, I speak with Adam El Tagoury. Adam is an entrepreneur and former Hare Krishna monk. He’s also the man behind one of my favourite eateries ever: the all-vegan, Anna Loka café in Roath, Cardiff.

More recently, Adam has opened an ahimsa vegan café and yoga studio based in the heart of Swansea, named Yogâya — where this very episode was recorded!

After feeling lost, disillusioned and dissatisfied with the ways of the Western world, Adam answered a calling he felt to travel to the Far East. This path would eventually lead him to a spiritual awakening in which he spent four years as a Hare Krishna monk and devoting his life to Krishna.

We also talk about: the relationship between food and mental health, religion, accepting a teacher, finding your life’s purpose, philosophy, travel, spirituality, meditation, addiction, faith, instant gratification, social media, dissatisfaction, the mind/body connection and being an entrepreneur.

Joining me during my chat is my pal and guest co-host, Luke from A Touchline Rant Podcast and Bendigedig Media, who this episode is brought to you in collaboration with.

It’s not every day that you get to speak to somebody who’s climbed Mount Everest at 53, ran the gruelling 254km Marathon Des Sables and helped to raise hundreds of thousands of quid for charity.

But in this episode, I speak with Jeff Smith of Cardiff-based charity, Bigmoose, who’s managed to do all of of those things and a whole load more, as you’re about to hear about.

Bigmoose was born out of a very sad moment in Jeff’s life: the death of his best mate, Gary “Moose” Cloonan.

Moose’s passing made Jeff aware of mortality in a way that he never had been before. So, from that moment on, Jeff vowed to get the most out of every single moment in his life, and this ultimately led to the creation of Bigmoose, which was named in Gary’s honour.

The idea behind Bigmoose was simple: “do fun stuff that inspires people to live better, healthier, kinder lives”, as well as living by the ethos - “LEAVING THE WORLD BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT.”

During our conversation, we talk about everything from Jeff’s career in professional ice hockey, to his Mount Everest climb, to the formation of Bigmoose and all of the amazing work they do, as well as Bigmoose Coffee Co, which now has a home in the centre of Cardiff - so if you’re passing by, grab a coffee!

In terms of themes, we talk:

Having no regrets, giving back to the world, hard work, the importance of planning, goal-setting. challenging yourself, the power of teamwork, learning from your mistakes, dealing with critics, coping in a high-pressure environment, mindset, confidence, enthusiasm, the mentality of a professional sportsperson, planting good seeds, being a father, how your actions affect other people and having passion about what you do in your life.

This is a HUGE slice of posi inspiration and motivation packed into a power-hour that is NOT to be missed. I know you’re gong to love hearing from Jeff as much as I did chatting to him.

In this episode, I speak with my pal — and our first returning guest — Alex Sedgmond.

Alex is a photographer from Cardiff who “favours curiosity and exploring the least conventional path”.

Firstly, if you haven’t heard our earlier episode with Alex, I’d recommend delving back into our archive to Episode 17 entitled “Creativity & Self Doubt: Focus On Connection”, in which we talk about Alex’s creative process, and his issues with both self-doubt and social

This new episode builds upon our last conversation and primarily, it focuses around Alex losing his Dad as a teenager, how he dealt with grief and now, how he’s revisiting the old memories and feelings that he “packed away in boxes”; compartmentalised in his mind.

In terms of themes, we talk:

Processing grief, death, illness, authenticity, self-doubt, the inner critic, perfectionism, being a dad, vulnerability, being curious, wanting to be better, the power of writing, being bullied, hypervigilance, anger issues, the search for acceptance, the fear of being misunderstood, counselling, losing sight of who you are, the “stiff upper lip” mentality, and growing up in a military family.

I want to take this opportunity to commend Al for being so bloody honest. It’s not an easy feat to sit opposite from someone and share your deepest thoughts and feelings, but he did just that. Al’s transparency led to a really connected, open and authentic talk about what is more often than not, a very difficult topic to discuss.

This is two mates. At a table. Having a frank conversation about mental health.

In this episode, I speak with Nōn Wels. Nōn is the dude behind "You Me Empathy" — a podcast for "heart-led feely humans to share their mental health stories".

During our chat, in terms of themes, we talk:

Vulnerability, empathy, emotional wayfaring, eating disorders, writing, the importance of self-care, consistency, boundaries, creating when mentally suffering, exercise, mindfulness, getting into your body, the importance of therapy and finding your why.

We also talk about Nōn’s background and how "You Me Empathy" started, as well as his grand plans for the future. Specifically, "The Feely Human Collective" — an expansion of You Me Empathy and online collaborative platform for all things mental health and beyond.

In this episode, Leila and I are joined by our mate, Rae Dwyer.

Rae is a movement and breath work teacher living in our fair city of Cardiff, and is currently in the final stages of completing a yoga therapy course. Rae facilitates healing by teaching the art of being inside a body and they also make music sometimes.

In this conversation we talk about a wide array of stuff: undertaking a yoga therapy course, flow, mindfulness, finding and raising your baseline, connecting your mind and body, contracting before you expand, nightmares, getting back in touch with your childhood self, sleeping issues, panic attacks, coping mechanisms, addiction, authenticity, social media, self-sabotage, the importance of presenting yourself as you are and gender identity.

We know you'll take something away from this one, because we sure did!

Have a great week all.

Rhys