The Richard Nicholls Mental Health Podcast
To inspire, educate and motivate you to be the best you can be. Learn about tackling mental health problems like Anxiety and Depression as well as simple tips to understand the world better, in a down to earth and genuine way with the Best Selling Author and Psychotherapist Richard Nicholls.
A Brick and a Purpose
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Today I'm looking into the deeply human need we have for purpose. What does it really mean to live a meaningful life? And why do we sometimes feel so lost without it?Â
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The Mind-Body Connection
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Does our mind really have the influence over us to create or prevent genuine physiological problems?
There's only one way to find out.
Today we look at some research and find out for ourselves.
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Accepting Criticism
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According to multiple studies, fear of judgement is the number one biggest fear, above dying.
The author Elbert Hubbard once wrote, "Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you'll never be criticised." And that's probably the only way to avoid criticism, isn't it?
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Trauma Re-enactment
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In short, re-enactment in response to trauma means repeating past events as a way of trying to resolve them. But until we are made aware of it we often compulsively and unconsciously make things worse for ourselves.
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Perspective
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The idea of our thoughts influencing our emotions, which influence our behaviour is regularly talked about in therapy. But often misses out the important bit in-between. Emotions and behaviour, which is our world view, our beliefs.Â
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Guided Relaxation
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Today is International Relaxation Day. So I thought I'd do something different this week for my bonus episode and guide you through a 5 minute relaxation exercise.
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Shyness
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Let's take a look at overcoming shyness, why it develops, how it holds us back, and what small steps can help people break free from it.
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Boundaries
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Most people think of boundaries as being like a physical thing as if there's a chalk outline on the ground everywhere you go and if someone steps into it it makes you upset. The thing is the only one that knows the boundary is there is you.
Today is all about why boundaries are important, how to set them and how you know if someone's crossed the line.
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Stages of Growth
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Today I want to give you a little introduction into a way of understanding emotional and psychological growth called the 7 stages of process.It gives us a compassionate, flexible way of thinking about where we are on our journey. Whether we’re stuck, shifting, or feeling fairly sorted.
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Ego States
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Carl Jung once said " those who look outside dream, those who look inside awaken." And if you've ever seen an analytical Psychotherapist you'll know what he meant.
One way of learning what makes us tick is through a concept called Ego States.
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Friendships & Boundaries
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This week, I'm reflecting on the complex, shifting nature of friendship. Why some relationships thrive, others fade, and how that’s all a natural part of life.
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Mood Boosting
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We all get those off days when our mood has dipped. But don’t worry, you’re not stuck there. In this episode, I’m sharing some friendly nudges to help shift a grumpy mood. Let’s see if we can’t turn your day around together.
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Avoidance & Anxiety
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People often think that avoidance is all about procrastination, avoiding the pain of being thought of as having done a bad job by not doing the job in the first place. And although that is avoidance it can also extend into many areas of your life.Â
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Motivation
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What's the difference between someone who has all the motivation and enthusiasm you could wish for and someone who, even though they don't have depression, still can't feel motivated? Well, in order to answer that I think it's worth looking at what motivation actually is.
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Foundations of Mental Health
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We often look at mental health as being a brain thing rather than a body thing but of course our brain is part of our body, it's an organ that needs looking after like every other organ does.
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Social Capital
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This week I'm looking at how everyday moments with others help us feel more connected. From quick chats to shared experiences, we explore what fills our social meter and what happens when it runs low. It’s a gentle reminder to reach out, notice those around us, and stay open, even when it feels easier to hide.
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Superstition
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It's Friday 13th, so today I've got a bonus episode for you about the psychology of superstition.
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Fake It Till You Make It
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Fake it till you make it sounds a little problematic and it can be, but when done properly learning to model confidence isn’t about being fraudulent, it’s about becoming a fuller, braver version of yourself.
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Brain Training & Anxiety
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Your brain has a remarkable ability to filter and remember important experiences while discarding the less significant ones. It does so by comparing new experiences with past ones and using emotional reactions to determine their importance.
Let's look at how we can train it!
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Emotional vs Rational Thinking
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Striking a balance between too much logic and too much emotion isn't easy. But with a bit of practise you can create what therapists sometimes refer to as the Wise Mind.
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Rumination
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Outside of psychology, "Rumination" is the word used for the way certain animals chew their food.
Animals with multiple stomachs are able to move food from one stomach back up to their mouth to chew it some more before swallowing it back down again ready to chew it again a bit later.
That's why we use it in psychology to mean to chew over your thoughts. Even if you swallow your thoughts down they keep coming back up for you to chew over again.
That's rumination.Â
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Why Do We Get Anxiety?
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Going back to basics today with a refresher about anxiety.
If you're new to my content this is a great place to start to learn how to deal with it.
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Triggers
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Sometimes our brains take us back in time, whether we like it or not. A smell, a sound, a certain day on the calendar can pull us into the past like we’ve put on a pair of VR goggles.
In today’s episode I'm talking about getting triggered, what that really means, and how we can gently take those goggles off and come back to the here and now.
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HALT
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Self care and self awareness go hand in hand. By taking care of ourselves and recognising some of the reasons behind our urges and behaviours we can overcome so many obstacles.
Today's episode is all about using the acronym H.A.L.T to help us remember that there may be other things going on with us.
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Obsessive Compulsive Personality
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Today is all about Obsessive Compulsive Personality.
OCD is talked about a lot because it's such a life destroying disorder, and so is quite obvious if someone has it. But when it's a personality trait people can often just get labelled as "difficult" and they don't seek help.
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Mindset
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Personal growth can really only happen by having gone through some sort of pain, some bad experience.
Living inside our comfort zones gets us nowhere unfortunately.
What we need though, is the right mindset so that those bad experiences push us forward, not hold us back.
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<...The Tyranny Of The Should
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This week I'm looking at the constant battle between our real self and our ideal self, and how those nagging “shoulds” (“I should be more productive,” “I should have my life figured out”) create unnecessary pressure and self-criticism.
Dove Real Beauty Sketches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrHoDJinMQI
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Commitment To Goals
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Today's episode is all about Commitment and why it's so important when it comes to personal development.
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Regulating Emotions
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Today's is a follow up from the personality disorders episode and is about how we can regulate our emotions when we're overwhelmed.
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The 100mph Life
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Being behind on your goals doesn't mean rushing to get everything finished, it doesn't mean disrespecting yourself and not looking after yourself.
One of the most important factors in getting through a busy life with a healthy and happy mindset is the quality time that you put to one side just for you.
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Self-Care
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Not everyone benefits from traditional forms of self-care. Some people actually find it quite distressing. If you’ve had difficult experiences in your past—especially in childhood—you might struggle with the idea of sitting in silence with yourself.
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Addiction
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Is there really such a thing as an addictive personality?
Or do people who are addicted to something just need to prove to themselves that they DO have control?
Let's explore the nature of addiction, debunk some common myths, and discuss practical strategies.
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Personality Disorders
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Not everyone likes labels when it comes to mental health issues, but for some people it can be quite reassuring to be told that their reactions to the world are so common that we even have a name for it. So today I'm giving you a very brief introduction to what we call Personality Disorders.
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Emotions Are Not Instructions
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Feeling anxious doesn't mean that we need to run and hide.
Sometimes our emotions make mistakes and very often their instructions come from our beliefs.
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Highly Sensitive People
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Ever heard of Sensory Processing Sensitivity?
It's a neurological trait that means that one in 6 people have super duper processing abilities of all of their experiences. Sounds like a superpower doesn't it?
Some with it don't always think so though.
Take the test
https://hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/
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Setbacks Aren't Failures
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Why do small setbacks make us feel like giving up completely—and how can we break free from all-or-nothing thinking to finally reach our goals?
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...Motivational Mortality
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If you had all the time in the world, what would you do?
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Positive Self Talk
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The words in our head and the words we hear ourselves say have a surprising influence on our life. It's worth checking sometimes whether the self talk we have is a friend or a foe.
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Love Yourself
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It may be Valentine's Day this month, a day to remind someone that you love them, but I think we very often need to bring it closer to home.
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Manipulating Emotions
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Bit of a psychological education episode today all about our decision making and how our emotions can influence it.
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