The Self Help Podcast

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At some point in our lives, like it or not, a potentially traumatic event will hit us.

Trauma is a Greek word meaning “wound”. A wound can be physical, mental, emotional, financial and so on. The concept of trauma comes from the idea that the wound, or event that is being experienced, is greater than our resources to deal with it. In that sense we have been overwhelmed. However there is a difference between experiencing trauma and being traumatised.

This week we're joined by our good friend Mark Pollard of Vantage Law. Why do we have a solicitor on The Self Help Podcast? Well, Mark is all to often the first point of contact for people looking for help following a traumatic event (think car accident, injury at work, etc.) so he, as you'll find, has a great deal to offer.

Don’t worry, be happy. It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Check out the Vantage Law website and do drop Mark and his team a line for an informal chat if you need to
• Sean has of course written a blog post for this week's show and here it is
• Ed's off on his cycling adventure soon… follow this link for more info
• We talked about some really hard hitting events that caused trauma and massive emotional stress to scores of people. Think Hillsborough, 9/11, 7/7 and the Jamie Bulger case
• Films that Ed mentioned this week: Superman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind & Born on the Fourth of July
• Lego highlights of Brazil vs Germany from the recent World Cup demolition
• What is CBT?

• Sean has found a ‘Directory of Local and National Agencies and Helplines‘ PDF and also mentioned Headspace along with One Moment Meditation
• Ed demands that you register for the site Quora – their weekly emails are fascinating
• Mark found a great app for iPad app called ‘Don't Panic‘. Great find! He also quite rightly plugged his own website which will tell you all you need to know about Vantage Law

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Worrying is a habit, being happy is a habit. If you are a worrier, or if you are happy, where did you learn it?

When you are a worrier it is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD. Rumination on anything will make it bigger and bigger. It follows that rumination on positive things will lead to positive feelings and happiness. So…

Don’t worry, be happy. It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Sean has of course written a blog post for this week's show and here it is
• Here's the chap that is documenting his progress whilst he works his way through our LITP book. We LOVE this
• We always bang on about the local coffee shop we hang out in, here where you can find it
• Letters from a Stoic by Seneca might just change your life
• More on Stoicism here

• Sean has found a great web page titled How to Stop Worrying: Self-Help Strategies for Anxiety Relief
• Ed is addicted to reading the Philosophers' Mail, an offshoot of Alain de Botton's The News: A User's Manual

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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It's special guest time. This week we're joined by Chris, a 47 year old ‘bloke from Liverpool' who has been a Kadampa Buddhist* for 15 years, who goes under the pseudonym of Vide Kadampa. Chris explains to us how he came to be a Buddhist, how it has effected his life and how it has shaped his understanding of the world.

Take away points from this week's sin depth chat? Compassion, meditation, spirituality, mental health and finding and doing worthwhile work are all discussed. The 5 commitments Chris highlights are jam packed full of amazing advice for living, whatever your religious/spiritual persuasion.

Huge thanks for Chris for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us this week. Links below to follow him online which we highly recommend you take a look at.

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Sean has of course written a blog post for this week's show and here it is
• Chris has a blog that he updates each day called the Daily Lamrim, superb
• Follow Chis (or Vide Kadampa) on Twitter here or check out his Facebook page here too
• We mentioned Headspace for the first time in a while so we should probably link to their site again!
• Sean is into Vipassana Meditation as regular listeners will know
• Principles of Buddhism by Kulananda
• Universal Compassion by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
• A free eBook called Modern Buddhism was mentioned
• Interested in finding out more about Kadampa Buddhism? Here's the place to start

• Sean recommends a book Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world
• Chris stepped up and mentioned the blog that got it all started for him, Kadampa Life written by Luna Kadampa
• Ed thought of something just in time. A documentary about a wonderful man, Richard Feynman – The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Some addictions are unconscious habits while others are avoidance habits. It can be easy to slip into habits of behaviour through family and friends etc. You may even have a genetic propensity towards certain behaviours.

What are you addicted to?

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Sean's blog post from this week, the perfect companion to the show 🙂
• That Visa World Cup advert is kinda interesting
• We've talked about addiction in the past of course. Here's a link to episode 12
• ‘Almost two-thirds of adults in England classed as overweight by health body‘
• Emile Coue and the “Law of Reversed Effort“

• Sean found this page which lists 9 Addiction Recovery Apps. Nice
• Ed has stumbled across a clever guy called Jason Silva who has an amazing YouTube channel called Shots of Awe

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Feedback is either a blessing or a curse depending on whether you want it or, the intention of the person giving it to you. Feedback can be positive or negative, useful or critical. However, even critical feedback is useful when it is well intended and given from the point of care or love.

Anyway, what is feedback? Should we do it and is it useful?

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Sean's blog post from this is worth a read as always!
• Link to last week's ‘Retirement' episode which had tongues a'wagging

• Sean found this page called ‘How to Give a Feedback Sandwich…‘
• Ed urges you all to take 20-25 minutes to read this great blog post on kindness: ‘Masters of Love: The Importance of Kindness in a Relationship’

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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At what point do we stand back from life, do we retire?

For some people this begins at fifty and for others it never happens. Our definition of success and happiness is waking with a smile on your face feeling that you have something that you truly want to get out of bed for something to go and do that if both meaningful and fulfilling. For many this is called work, though many do not realise it until they retire.

Whether you do it for money, or the love of it, don’t stand back, remain involved and engaged in the process of life and living. We promise you that you will be happier.

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Sean's blog post from this is worth a read
• Sean and Ed talked about Blue Zones AGAIN
• Not bought our book yet? Why ever not?!
• Why work more? We should be working less for a better quality of life
• Best retirement advice for many: Never retire
• 5 Compelling Reasons Never to Retire
• The Tim Ferris Show is online, really cool podcast

• Sean recommended a book ‘Avoid Retirement and Stay Alive: The New Retirement Revolution‘ by David Bogan and Keith Davies
• Ed has a TED Talk for you. ‘The Power of Time Off‘ by Stefan Sagmeister

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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First up, apologies for the sound quality on Sean's side of the microphone this week. The test run was fine I swear! We'll make sure all is as it should be next week once more. ^Ed

Forgiveness may be difficult but it’s not impossible.

Again and again I work with people who are weighed down and disabled by their past experiences or from their negative attachment to what is happening to them right ‘now’. They can get angry with me when I talk about forgiving and letting go. They will often shout and tell me that I don’t understand when I tell them that if they become grateful for what they have ‘now’ they will be able to let go of their negative thoughts and feelings of the past and create a happier, healthier future.

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Here's Sean's blog post on today's topic: Forgive, Let Go & Live
• Having trouble with iTunes when subscribing to the show? Try Stitcher instead
• Richard Branson's thoughts on forgiveness
• Ten Great Moments in Forgiveness History
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Great movie!
• Live in the Preset, the book. Well worth a read

• Sean recommended The Secret Gratitude Book
• Ed suggests you check out and try the Forgive Challenge, setup by Desmond Tutu

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Oh my word, we've somehow managed to clock up a whole year of podcasts! It's been a joy to be honest (aside from the late Wednesday nights editing the darn thing) but first we'd like to say a HUGE thank you to all who have listened and continue to support the show – we actually crossed the 100,00 download mark last week which is kind of mind boggling.

Aside from discussing our anniversary this week, Sean and Ed dive deeper into the subject of age, ageing and why some people seem to be able to appreciate their ‘twilight' years better than others.

Thanks again and here's to another year of getting better each and every day.

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Episode 1 sounded like this – blimey!
• Here's the link to Sean's blog post for this week. Well worth a read
• Thanks to GoodPodcasts.com for the support, traffic and feedback. Check 'em out – great resource
• ‘Can we be taught how to grow old gracefully?‘
• 23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?
• Learn from the Blue Zones
• Portrait of my grandfather : 80 and still cycling
• Is this ‘160-year-old’ Ethiopian man the world’s oldest ever person?

• Sean has a book called Wisdom. There are a series of products available in the ‘range' and all are wonderful
• Ed stumbled upon an amazing resource which lists and links to the ‘300 best commencement speeches of all time‘. Watch one a day and you'll be sorted

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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What is life about ? Why are we here? It is easy to think that we know it all, that we have the physical world taped and that we know all about life, but what is really going on here? Finding the purpose of life is a lifelong journey but it's worth investing the time.

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• This week's blog post, written by Mr (Dr?!) Sean Orford
• Ed's been to Chester Zoo! What a place
• Bill Hicks' famous speech – It's Just a Ride
• Steve Jobs' even more famous commencement speech
• Ed helps out at the Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted, check 'em out
• Check out Charity: Water – and here's an interview with the founder, Scott Harrison
• That sculptor Ed mentioned? Stephen Hitchin? Here's what he does…

• Sean took a small swipe at The Secret and suggested The Passion Test instead
• Ed demands that you read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, a classic

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Kindness is in the same spectrum as love. It is part of the positive forces that brings people together, solves problems and creates happiness. Worth discussing then wouldn't you say?

It's The Self Help Podcast! Enjoy the show 🙂

• Sean's blog post where he writes about kindness
• It's not too late to sponsor Sean – he completed his 1ok run and lived to tell the tale
• The Importance of Kindness – the video that inspired this week's episode
• Pharrell Williams – Happy
• Crime rate in England and Wales falls 15% to its lowest level in 33 years

• Sean mentioned an app, an Acts of Kindness app! There really is an app for everything hey?
• Ed suggests a book – Congratulations by the Way, Some Thoughts on Kindness – by George Saunders, who just happened to be the chap that narrated the video that kickstarted this episode

We're all over the web, so feel free to stay in touch:

• Follow Live in the Present on Twitter and Facebook for daily doses of inspiration
• Follow presenter Edward Lamb on Twitter
• Follow therapist Sean Orford on Facebook and Twitter
• Subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes

We'd be amazingly grateful if you could leave us a review on iTunes. It will really help us to build our audience. So, if your like what you hear (and would like to hear more great free content) then visit our iTunes page and leave us an honest review (all feedback gratefully received!).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.