The Just Checking In Podcast

In episode 260 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist, presenter and DJ, Amber Haque.We first checked in with Amber in JCIP #177 to discuss her brilliant and powerful BBC documentary series, 'Hometown: A Killing’, series two, which focused on the murder of teenager Yousef Makki.We also discussed her workplace anxiety and ADHD symptoms she exhibited in childhood and adolescence. Since then, Amber has been a very busy bee. She has just joined as the new co-host of an existing true crime podcast on BBC Sounds called 'Bad People'. She has also presented another fantastic documentary, this time a one-off programme on Channel 4 about the rise in diet pills in the UK, as part of the channel’s UNTOLD series. Since we last spoke, Amber is working with a life coach to manage her ADHD symptoms and work out positive coping strategies and tools so she can thrive as a journalist alongside it.In this episode we discuss: the state of the journalism industry and how it’s even more precarious and unstable than it was before Covid-19, a deep dive into her film on diet pills through a mental health lens, some of the stories she's covered on Bad People and the possible psychological reason why women in particular seem to love the true crime genre!For Amber’s continued mental health journey, she got married in 2023 and we discuss the joys of it and the challenges of organising it. We also discuss her continued self-awareness around her ADHD and how she’s trying to manage it better, as well as the stigma she still feels around disclosing it in the workplace.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can listen to Bad People and subscribe on BBC Sounds here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p08lj2szYou can watch Amber's Channel 4 documentary on diet pills here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dangerous-diet-drugs-exposed-untoldYou can follow Amber on social media below:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amberhaque_Twitter: twitter.com/AmberSofiaHInstagram: www.instagram.com/p/Co4JCP9gxVn/You can listen to Part 1 of Amber's journey here: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-177-amber-haqueSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 259 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Patricia Faulks.Patricia Faulks first came on the podcast in JCIP #92 to talk about her blog Just Me & Lilley, where she writes about being involuntarily childlessness, her life, her wonderful dog Lilley and issues affecting predominantly women but also men who are involuntarily childless.She came on again in JCIP #167 to discuss her growing self-awareness of her mental health and well-being and uncomfortable conversations around mental health advocacy when it comes to involuntary childlessness.Since we last checked in, Trish has moved house completely on her own and has also grown frustrated with some elements of the conversation around involuntary childlessness. In this episode we discuss the mental health challenges of moving house as a childless woman of a certain age and her frustration at how the ‘childfree’ (a term which we disagree with), have hijacked parts of the conversation around aging without children. We also discuss the anxieties she has living alone at her age without children or a reliable support network, feelings of insecurity and isolation and also fear if she were to have a fall or a health emergency, who would be there to help her? As always, #itsokaytoventYou can read 'Just Me & Lilley' here: www.justmeandlilley.co.uk/You can follow Just Me & Lilley on social media below:Instagram: www.instagram.com/justmeandlilley/Twitter: twitter.com/JustMeandLilleyYou can listen to Part 1 and 2 of Trish's journey below: Part 1: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-92-patricia-faulksPart 2: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-167-patricia-faulks-part-2Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 258 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Gabriella Pearson.Gabriella is Co-Founder of an organisation called Menstrual Health Project (MHP).Gabriella co-founded MHP with her friend Anna, whom she met through Instagram. Gabriella was based in Brighton, Anna was in North Wales and they came together with the idea to start a community project.They created a toolkit to help women who lived with endometriosis in February 2022 and launched it the following month.They then created another toolkit for women aged 18 or under for their menstrual health in February 2023. Since then, they have set up MHP as a charity and a fully-fledged company in February 2024.Menstrual Health Project’s mission is to provide practical support for those suffering with menstrual health concerns and conditions through educational tools and resources. They are aware of the challenges those suffering with these concerns and conditions face and strive to help people navigate these conditions more confidently, accurately and comfortably, whatever stage in life they are at.Their vision is to create a world where menstrual health is no longer stigmatised, considered a taboo and is normalised in today’s society - leading to people feeling empowered, informed & heard.Gabriella lives with endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibromyalgia herself and in this episode we chart the journey of Menstrual Health Project and all of the important work it does, Gabriella’s own experience with these menstrual health conditions and how it affected her fertility, menstruation, relationships, work and mental health. As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about Menstrual Health Project here: https://www.menstrualhealthproject.org.uk/You can follow Menstrual Health Project on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menstrualhealthproject/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@menstrualhealthprojectTwitter: https://x.com/menstrual_h_pYou can follow Gabriella on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsgabz/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 257 of The Just Checking In Podcast our Founder Freddie Cocker speaks about getting officially diagnosed with autism. Freddie was first diagnosed by his GP in December 2023 but given the role he holds through Vent in the men's mental health space, he wanted to be 100% certain before declaring it online. He was fortunate enough to be in a position where he could pay for a private assessment and in July 2024, he received confirmation that he met the diagnostic criteria for autism. He also has many traits associated with ADHD but has not been diagnosed with the condition so he will be seeking a further assessment for it next year. In this episode he discusses: the history of autism itself, the many red flags he has exhibited from childhood to adulthood, being diagnosed and all of the emotions he experienced as a result, why his autism does not define him, his issues with the term 'neurodiversity' and what the next chapter of his life will look like alongside this diagnosis.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can read the full article Freddie wrote here: http://vent.org.uk/autism-at-30-what-nowYou can find links to all the resources Freddie discussed in this podcast below:The National Autistic Society: https://www.autism.org.uk/Dr Lucy Foulkes - Coming of Age: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/451093/coming-of-age-by-foulkes-lucy/9781847927293Temple Grandin - The Autistic Brain: https://amzn.eu/d/bwtGhMwBlocked and Reported Podcast - Episode 220: 'How Autism Got Hip': https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-220-how-autism-got-hipSteven Pinker - The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature: https://amzn.eu/d/9A2ABBDUniversity of Cambridge - Cambridge Laboratory for Research into Autism: https://www.clara.psychol.cam.ac.uk/Valerie L. Gaus - Living Well on the Spectrum: How to Use Your Strengths to Meet the Challenges of Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism: https://amzn.eu/d/iIM4C9hJenara Nerenberg - Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You: https://amzn.eu/d/3WBcWk8Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 256 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Scott Johnson.Scott Johnson is the Founder and CEO of the Proper Blokes Club (PBC) C.I.C, a community organisation which provides walk and talk groups for men across London and hopefully, the country very soon!Scott founded PBC in September 2020 when he was going through the family court system on two occasions from two ex-partners whom he had children with. The former he had one daughter with, the latter his other two daughters. From when he first entered the family court to present day, it has lasted 10 years and he is still navigating it at various points at time of recording. In this episode we discuss: the family court process and the mental health impact it had on him, whether he feels he was the victim of parental alienation, and why dads who have been victims of it face huge stigma and reticence to speak out about it because of fear it will affect their relationship with their ex-partner or even to cause them to lose custody of their children.We also discuss his experience of addiction, specifically alcohol and gambling, which was made worse by the family court system, his journey to sobriety and how PBC was a vehicle for maintaining that. We then discuss the genesis of PBC, the walk and talks they have across London and their expansion plans, the impact the walk and talks have on the 500 lads who have joined these groups and what seeing that impact has done for him.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about the Proper Blokes Club and where your local walk and talk is here: https://theproperblokesclub.co.uk/You can follow the Proper Blokes Club on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_proper_blokes_club_cic/X: https://x.com/BlokesClub?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.proper.blokesSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 255 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Gary Quinn.Gary Quinn is a professional painter and decorator by trade and the business owner of ‘Quality Brushstrokes’. Gary was sexually abused by his stepfather from the ages of 10-12 years old. Then, when he was 17, his mother entered another relationship with a man who domestically abused her and one night, he murdered her whilst Gary and his siblings were in the house. The man who murdered her then took his own life the day after.We then fast forward a few years and Gary has entered a relationship and his partner becomes pregnant. The child is born in 2005 and Gary and his then-partner end the relationship. Fast forward four years later and the daughter he believes is his and has put his time, love and investment into turns out to not be his, and the father is his best friend at the time. Both his then-friend and ex-partner knew the child was not Gary’s when she was born. Heartbroken, Gary had to not only deal with that trauma but also navigate how to distance himself from the child he had previously thought was his daughter, not just to protect her but to protect himself as well. In this episode we discuss: all of that trauma and the mental health difficulties they gave him, how he has recovered and not let those experiences define him, the support and love his current partner has given him, qualifying as a professional counsellor and the pride in his work as a painter and decorator, which he has done for the past nine years. As always, #itsokaytoventYou can follow Quality Brushstrokes on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quality_brushstrokes/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 254 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Tom Bradley.Tom is a photojournalist, artist and the Founder of the project ‘Leprosy Eliminated?’. In this project, he has taken pictures of people living with leprosy across the globe for the last 15 years. It includes people in 12 countries including Togo, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh andIndia.Until 2022, a country was declared eliminated of leprosy if fewer than 1 in 10,000 people have it - yet in somewhere like India, where the government declared leprosy in 2005, it means that there are more than 100,000 new cases of leprosy per year.There are still countries in the world where leprosy detection is barely being done, or where figures are unknown, even 'fiddled' because governments are eager to reach this status ofhaving leprosy eliminated. There are also areas where war has crippled leprosy programmes and it's not seen as a priority in the rebuilding of a nation.In this episode we discuss: how and why Tom got into photography and photojournalism, hisdesire to cover the issue of leprosy and a history of the condition (including biblical history), why society has moved away from terms like ‘leper’ and the resilience and character Tomneeded to persist with photojournalism in times of financial hardship during his early years.For Tom’s mental health journey, we discuss his privileged upbringing but also faced bullying in school from the ages of 9-10 years old.He then went to secondary school, where he joined the school’s Christian Union and found a place where he could be himself, be accepted and move on from the bullying he went through at primary school.We then talk about his desire to live a nomadic existence through his photojournalism career and where that comes from, personal growth and the importance of ‘stillness’ and having space in his life.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about Tom's work here: https://www.tom-bradley.com/You can follow Tom on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tombradleyarchive/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 253 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dr Ashley Frawley.Ashley is currently Visiting Researcher in the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies at the University of Kent, as well as Visiting Research Fellow at the MCC Brussels in Belgium.She was also previously Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at Swansea University until 2023.She is the author of Semiotics of Happiness: rhetorical beginnings of a public problem published by Bloomsbury in 2015 and the newly released Significant Emotions, published in January 2024.She is also the host of her own podcast, ‘Based AF’, a columnist for Compact Magazine and COO of Sublation Media.In this episode we discuss: her route into academia and how a chance email sent to her idol Frank Furedi ended up in working with the man himself and to the she holds at the University of Kent today, her critiques of ‘therapy culture’ in the mainstream mental health conversation and her view that there is NOT an epidemic of mental illness in the world right now. We also discuss an article she wrote for Compact Magazine on the overreach of discourse around ‘neurodiversity’ and where she sits on the debate currently being had on the impact of smartphones and social media on young people’s mental health.For Ashley’s mental health, we discuss an eating disorder she lived with from the age of 14-21 years old, how viewing it as a health issue was not helping her tackle it initially and how a change in her outlook on the condition, allowed her to get a handle on it and eventually overcome it. As always, #itsokaytoventYou can follow Ashley on social media below: X: https://x.com/AshleyAFrawleyYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AshleyAFrawleyYou can subscribe to her Patreon and listen to her podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/AshleyAFrawleyYou can read Ashley's article on neurodiversity we discussed in full here: https://www.compactmag.com/article/how-everyone-became-neurodivergent/Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 252 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jide Ehizele.Jide was born and raised in Lewisham in south-east London and acts a leader and mentor at his church, St Peter's Church in his local community of Brockley, where he still resides today. He also has a Substack where he writes about issues related to class, race, countering identity politics and faith.In this episode we focus on three events which shaped Jide’s life. The first was a dream he had when he was just four years old which gave him a fear and perception of death and his mortality.The second was a feeling that he was not ‘good enough’ as a man compared to a lot of his peers in school. This came from comparing himself to them, whom were much more confident, had success with the opposite sex and exhibited a level of braggadocchio and confidence which he felt he could not reach.The third was the rampant gang culture which was present in many parts of his peer network growing up, the fear he had getting to and from school and having to navigate all of this danger.We then discuss the role that his Nigerian parents had on him growing up and the importance of a stable, happy two-parent household in being a bulwark against the problems that many of his peers fell into who didn’t have that.We dive into his Christian faith and how that has shaped his attitude towards many issues, as well as the community role he plays in his local church and the impact he wants to have on the young men in his congregation.We finish by discussing an article he wrote entitled ‘Does black culture exist?’ and all of the themes it explores.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can follow Jide on Twitter here: https://x.com/OBEhizeleYou can subscribe to his Substack here: https://substack.com/@zelexYou can read Jide's article we discussed in full here: https://www.wrongspeakpublishing.com/p/does-black-culture-exist-a-uk-perspectiveSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 251 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Lauren Seager-Smith.Lauren is the is the CEO of the For Baby’s Sake Trust (FBS), a charity which empower parents to break cycles of abuse, transform the life-chances of whole families and move forward in positive change, starting with the baby. The baby is at the heart of everything they do.The Trust was set up philanthropically by philanthropist Stelio Stefanou. His founding vision was to tackle the root causes of disadvantage and vulnerability, focusing on very young babies who do not have a voice. We came across For Baby’s Sake through an illuminating BBC News article which highlighted case studies of several individuals and couples who have been helped by the charity. Some of these couples were supported and stayed together, other men and women were supported and were able to successfully exit the relationship whilst protecting the child involved.Prior to joining FBS, Lauren was head of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, before moving to Kidscape and then joining the role at FBS where she is currently today.In this episode, we discuss her professional journey, the high percentage of parents who were bullied at school who they work with at FBS (both perpetrators and victims), the statistic that 70% of both parents have six or more adverse childhood experiences and where do we draw the line between abusive experiences and personal responsibility.We also discuss if people can change in domestic abuse cases, how do abusers reform and can they stay that way.For Lauren’s mental health, we discuss the support she provided to her sister who had severe Bipolar growing up from childhood and into adulthood. We discuss: the taboo of Bipolar growing up in a small mining town community in Scotland, the emotional strain of the reality of supporting someone with severe mental health issues, the hyper-vigilance Lauren had to have all the time, her sister’s experience of psychiatric wards and her father’s own experience of severe mental health difficulties too.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about For Baby's Sake here: https://forbabyssake.org.uk/You can follow For Baby's Sake on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forbabyssake/Twitter: https://x.com/forbabyssakeYou can read the BBC News article we discussed in full here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68942471Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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