Feel Better Every Day

You're never too old to play. And your brain will thank you.

In this episode, I share why play isn't just for children and how reconnecting with your playful side can be transformative for ADHD brains and trauma survivors.

From my dolphin encounter to pretending to be dolphins on the harbour with a friend, I explore how silliness and joy can heal.

This episode includes:

✨ Why our brains learn so well through play (and how to do it deliberately)

✨ Permission to be 'foolish' and silly, even as an adult

Are you dealing with trauma? PTSD? Complex PTSD? ADHD? Feeling overwhelmed by what’s going on in the world?

In this PTSD awareness episode, trauma therapist Eve Menezes Cunningham shares some of her personal journey from PTSD diagnosis to healing, and uses the Feel better. Be better. Do better method to support you in navigating personal and collective trauma.

‘Instead of being consumed by hate, his hope was that Israelis and Palestinians and Christians could live in peace and harmony. And he created this school, Hope Flowers.’ Eve also reflects on an interview she did 20 years...

Do you wish you could help heal the world but find yourself overwhelmed? Learn to Feel Better, Be Better and DO Better. Subscribe for trauma-informed and ADHD-friendly self-care ideas every Tuesday.

Are you navigating trauma and ADHD? This episode is for you. As we approach the Summer Solstice, it's a powerful time to reflect on what you're giving your energy to and how you allow yourself to shine.

But what if you don't feel ‘shiny’? Or have the energy you wish you did? Learn to honour your current capacity, especially when living with a trauma hist...

Trauma and/or ADHD? Stop worrying you're 'too much' and be more you

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when navigating ADHD and trauma recovery. You might constantly receive messages to tone it down or conform. But what if your unique sensitivities and intensity aren't something to suppress, but an expression of your Self?

This is where psychosynthesis and its concept of The Ways offers an empowering perspective. Developed by Roberto Assagioli, psychosynthesis is a transpersonal approach that honours your inherent wholeness and the unique ways your soul seeks to express itself. Instead of shaming you...

This week’s guest, the Booby Physio (aka former Ireland rugby player Siobhan O’Donovan) shares some life changing advice (well, it has been for me!) on all kinds of ways in which we can better support our whole selves. You can find her at posturefittingphysio.com and on social media at posture.fitting

Watch here or listen wherever you get your podcasts

Let me know how you’re going to start better supporting yourself today (and while a lot of the conversation is about boobs, much of it is beneficial for all genders).

...

For World Digestive Health Day, am delighted to be welcoming Jayne Leonard back to discuss a super simple way (even I’m enjoying experimenting with it) to improve our gut health, ADHD symptoms and mental health.

And Sole to Soul Circle members can join us tomorrow for a deeper dive into getting our inner (and actual) toddlers on board.

le grá (with love),

Evei

Watch here

Full transcript

… and found that those people who ate 30 or more plant foods a week had a far more diverse gut micro...

I’ve been meditating daily (at least once a day) since March 2013. Sporadically since 2001. And teaching different types of meditation since 2003.

And I still find it really challenging. But I can’t imagine life without it.

I hope that by sharing some of the joys and challenges of different types of meditation and ADHD and trauma, my own history (with a deeper, more personal dive for the Sole to Soul Circle members tomorrow), that you’ll be kinder to yourself around any challenges you have in keeping your focus on the meditation.

Remember, it’s a...

How are YOU feeling this European Mental Health Awareness Week?

What one thing might help you feel even a little bit better?

There are lots of self-care ideas in this week's podcast.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch here

le grá,

Evei

Full transcript

Everything I do, I’m a mental health professional, I attend to my own mental health on a daily basis…

Hi, you're listening to The Feel Better Every Day Podcast. I'm Eve Menezes Cunningham and I'm here to he...

‘OK, well I'm not going to have children so what do I do with my life? What does life look like? How do I prove myself? How do I validate my existence?’

I so adored talking to Margaret O’Connor and hope you enjoy Episode 57 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast where she explores her journey with self-care and becoming an advocate for the child-free.

And for this week’s deeper dive for the Sole to Soul Circle, I’m delighted to be sharing more with Margaret O’Connor around discerning our energy levels, the impacts...

Bealtaine is a festival of fertility, love and lust and this year, we're braving the parts of ourselves we find hardest to love...

Full transcript

Thinking again about who you love but this time bringing it more to yourself and thinking about all the different parts of yourself and the parts of yourself you find it easier to love and harder to love.

What parts do you appreciate about yourself and what parts do you find more challenging if love feels too strong? And I want you, if you're familiar with Friends, to...

Would you like to add to your self-care toolkit by managing life's stresses with more compassion for yourself and others? This new episode is for you.

Full transcript

We can internalise shame about not handling the situation with more grace, and even when it is extreme pressure. Stress can be a good thing. Think about a coal turning into a diamond, or think about a toddler, no one is yelling at that toddler, ‘Toddle! Walk!’ There's that inherent drive within all of us that we want to grow, we want to evolve, we want to lear...

It was such a joy to interview my own herbal medicine magician for this episode. I cannot overstate how much Colleen has helped me over the years and hope this episode helps you…

Full transcript

Food is there to be enjoyed. We're very blessed to have an abundance of food around us and you know what? Like yeah, a bit more gratitude that we're lucky that we can have whatever we want whenever we want really and that we're being nourished and nurtured and not to be having the negative dialogue around food. There's a lo...

Including 4 new letters that may become as familiar to you as ADHD as Drs Hallowell and Ratey’s potentially less stigmatising VAST model (Variable Attention Stimulus Trait) becomes better known…

Which of these 25 terms resonate most for you?

Which ADHD (or VAST) terms had you hoped to see included?

Comment or reply to let me know for a future episode.

le grá (with love),

Evei

FULL TRANSCRIPT

I remember part of the training involved the recognition, both through our own practice and throu...

This April Fools Day, we’re exploring ways in which our ADHD brains keep us fooling ourselves

And how awareness and compassion really help…

How about you?

Le grá (with love),

Evei

FULL TRANSCRIPT

For me, if I don't have something to read, I feel quite anxious. I don't want to be anywhere where I could be reading and I'm not reading, but also I don't know what mood I'm going to be in at that time, so I tend to bring like different journals and magazines as we...

There’s something magical about simply slowing down enough to notice all the beauty around us.

This week, I’ve changed my schedule to actually make time to do all the things I ‘should’ be doing and ‘need’ to do in the garden and field.

We’ve made a proper start on the deadhedge I’ve been planning since before even moving to Ireland and I cannot believe how happy it’s made me. I’ve been taking my breakfast outside and eating it while looking at this pile of branches and sticks.

It’s the little thin...

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone – neurodivergent and neurotypical – celebrated our brains and unique ways of seeing and being in the world? If the world were set up to better support ALL of us? If no one was shamed simply for being the way they were?

‘For us late diagnosed ADHDers, there is that mourning and that grief and that loss and that rage around how different entire lives could have been had we known, but also if the world were different and if the world were more set up. Even now, kids struggle having accommodations made for...

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Soothe your ruminating mind, again, especially with ADHD or trauma histories, getting away from all the catastrophic thinking, the stressful thoughts that are kind of putting you in Stress Response rather than Rest/Digest mode, allowing yourself to have something really easy and accessible to redirect your brain from those ruminating, catastrophising thoughts into something.

Hi, I'm Eve Menezes-Cunningham and welcome to The Feel Better Every Day Podcast. I am so excited to be sharing new trauma-informed and ADHD-friendly ideas for you to help you take better care of yourself, that highest, wisest...

This week, we’re making Polyvagal Theory even simpler with the help of Rainbow MagnifiCat and your own beloved animals.

I developed Cattitude (aka Cat Coaching and Feline Better Every Day) after adopting Rainbow MagnifiCat from the rescue cat shelter in 2013 and realising how attending to her nervous system, practising what I had learned about Polyvagal Theory and other trauma-informed therapies was helping me (and later clients and groups).

With ADHD and/or trauma histories, your extra sensitive nervous system can be a gift when you treat your whole self with compassion.

In th...

Inspired by Jessica McCabe's How to ADHD (and building on 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing) this week, we're exploring a super simple way to increase the odds of you treating yourself WAY better in those spare moments, minutes and hours...

WATCH HERE

FULL TRANSCRIPT

What I'm talking about here with the dopamine, they've not been measured in terms of how much they increase dopamine production. It's quite a subjective idea. You're thinking about the things that help you feel better, the things that are going to motivate you, the...

‘It's the abundance of diversity. It's not about tolerating. It's about welcoming…’

Much as I adored Moana, I think I loved Moana 2 even more. And with the current threats to #DEI (Diversity Equality and Inclusivity) in America, it feels like an especially good time to remind everyone that immigration (yes, I’m biased as a daughter and granddaughter of immigrants and now immigrant myself) is A GOOD THING.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it and the film. If you’d like to read some of the ol...

With special guest Jayne Leonard

WATCH HERE

Does the idea of loving your whole self (including your ADHD brain and/or traumatised parts) feel impossible? You’re not alone. In this episode, I welcome my vegan and ADHD friend Jayne Leonard of Vive Counselling back. Our conversation includes shock that we’ve both found it easier to accept ourselves since a psychiatrist gave us permission! Even though this is our WORK. You too may be surprised at how much better your life feels when you amp up that self care, self love, self compassion and self...

‘If you have tried counselling or you've tried therapy and it has made you feel worse, know that you're not alone. That, unfortunately, is quite common, but fortunately there are many, many styles and many, many different people who can help you’

This special extended episode of The Feel Better Every Day Podcast was recorded to support you with any mental health issues you might be struggling with by sharing parts of my own journey.

And a) I forgot to mention an enormous part of my own journey – the house fire that led to my PTSD t...

Happy Brigid for 1st February! As well as working with the energies of this special time of year, there’s the potential for therapeutic time travel and giving yourself the gift of silence.

https://youtu.be/8ohlnm6jt6k

As we move into February by honouring the Irish Goddess Brigid and the part of YOU (whatever your gender) that is Divine, as well as working with the seasonal energies of the Celtic Wheel of the Year (renewal! Strength! Energy! Creativity!), we’re also exploring (with embodied journalling prompts) past, present and future. And the power of s...

I’m delighted to welcome Jayne Leonard of Vive Counselling back. We’re talking about self care with ADHD and connecting with that most empowered, deserving part of ourselves in order to be of service.

You might remember Jayne from Episode 28 where she helped me reframe cooking from chore to self care.

Today, we’re diving into another self care idea from my book, 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-Care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing

Connecting with your Inner Queen or King

Both Jayne and I were...

How organising your home and business can revolutionise your life: a conversation with Lisa Woodruff

You can become a Half Moon (free) or Full or Super Moon (paid) member of the Sole to Soul Circle at evemc.substack.com for bonus content and deeper dives into this and other episodes.

If you’ve ever found yourself drowning in clutter, overwhelmed by to-do lists, or unsure how to manage everything on your plate, you’re not alone. Many of us struggle to balance daily tasks, especially when managing ADHD, multiple roles and family demands.

I re...

Setting intentions for a better 2025

As we embark on a New Year, it's the perfect time to reflect and set intentions for the months ahead. In this episode of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast, we explore some powerful techniques to help you use your imagination for GOOD as you work towards co-creating your ideal future.

Imagining a happy, healthy and thriving Future You

Take a moment to imagine yourself a year from now, at the beginning of 2026. Picture yourself happy, healthy, and thriving. What does this version o...

As we embark on a new year, many of us are seeking ways to improve our wellbeing and reduce stress in our lives. One powerful tool that has stood the test of time is the Relaxation Response, a concept developed by Dr Herbert Benson, a Harvard cardiologist and pioneer in mind-body medicine.

The Relaxation Response is a physical state of deep rest that counteracts the Stress Response that may well feel more familiar in our bodies in these go go go 24/7 times we live in.

The Relaxation Response is a natural antidote to the Fight...

Happy Christmas! What’s your vibe for 2025?

So long 2024! As we prepare to welcome 2025, you might want to reflect on your experiences and set your sights on the year ahead. This period offers a wonderful opportunity to contemplate the energy we wish to bring into 2025 and beyond.

In January, we'll delve deeper into this concept, drawing inspiration from the book, 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-Care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing. We'll explore various methods to focus our energy, intentions, and awareness, utilising the Reticular Activation System.

This approach combines scientific backing with a gentle, re...

Solo episode: Embracing the Yule Log tradition: a ritual of release and renewal

What's a Yule Log?

The Yule log is more than just a festive decoration – it's key to powerful symbolic rituals rooted in the Celtic Wheel of the Year. As this Winter Solstice approaches, I’m sharing a fun and simple ritual that can offer a meaningful way to reflect on your past and prepare for the coming year.

If you’d like to join me for this unique Yule / Winter Solstice Circle on Friday 20th December (9.15pm Irish time), RSVP for th...

This episode is an unexpected one but I was so quick to find solace in my habitual self and Self care practises this morning, I wanted to share them with as much love as I can for all beings on the planet. The US election results are horrifying (that a self confessed sexual predator and multi convicted felon is somehow considered better than someone as accomplished and talented as Kamala Harris - am telling myself all sorts of stories about how much men (and many women) must really hate women, migrants, LGBTQ+ people and others but that's not helpful.<...

Thank you so much for listening and for joining me on this journey. This final episode of Season 1 is where I am honest about what I've ACTUALLY integrated from my gorgeous guests' episodes.

Scroll down for links to all the episodes on YouTube and audio.

WHO AM I?

I'm your producer and host, Eve Menezes Cunningham, author of 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing (Pen & Sword, 2017), freelance journalist and Editor-in-Chief of the Irish Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy.

I'm also an online trauma therapist (with lived experience), supervisor...

Do you include other people in your self and Self-care? When do you feel most regulated (ready to thrive and flourish?)?

a) with loved ones?

b) in nature?

c) connecting with your Self?

d) in gratitude at being alive?

Let us know in the comments :)

TODAY'S GUEST

Athena Sayaka is a neuroexpansive practitioner and mystic. She helps neurodiverse creators develop supportive frameworks to honour their whole being as they navigate the world. In her corner of the internet, you are free to be fully you...

Did you know that lymphatic drainage massage has so many benefits and you can do it yourself, quite easily, every morning?

Which of Colleen's are your daily ideal and essential self care practises?

a) lymphatic drainage massage?

b) gratitude?

c) reading?

d) prioritising good sleep?

Let us know in the comments :)

TODAY'S GUEST

Colleen Kneafsey from Rise Strong Mind & Body Transformation online coaching is a nurse specialist with 23 years' experience. She specialises in menopause, diabetes, fitness, heart health and weight loss.

...

The author and 5 Minutes to Change Your Life podcast host, Joanne Mallon, shares her ideal and actual daily self care practices.

Which of Joanne's favourite ideal and actual elements are your favourites?

a) stopping and smelling and talking to the roses

b) rolling out of bed and into a yoga / tai chi practice?

c) gratitude?

d) early nights?

Let us know in the comments :)

TODAY'S GUEST

Joanne Mallon is the author of How to Find Calm and other books, a podcaster and one...

The Grow Your Private Practice author and podcast host, Jane Travis, shares her ideal and actual daily self care practices (and we chat about how much we dislike the term self-care even though it's essential).

Which of Jane's favourite ideal and actual elements are your favourites?

a) being kissed awake by a handsome man (woman / non binary person)?

b) luxuriating in a skincare routine that helps your skin?

c) setting boundaries with yourself (around time) as well as with others?

d) prioritising relaxation, beauty and pleasure?

Let...

How do you create stillness and make space for yourself and your Self (for that highest, wisest, truest, wildest, most joyful, brilliant and miraculous part of yourself) care?

Mick Devine shares some of the self care practices that continue to support him.

How about you? How might you find a way to prioritise stillness, space and PEACE in your life?

Let us know in the comments :)

TODAY'S GUEST

Mick Devine is a Counsellor specialising in the area of addiction. He is Clinical Director of a leading addiction treatment agency...

How do you navigate your self and Self (for that highest, wisest, truest, wildest, most joyful, brilliant and miraculous part of yourself) care when life is incredibly challenging?

The fantabulous Fiona Morris shares some of what's been helping her through enormous transitions, grief and loss.

How about you? How might you find a way to both prioritise what will help you most while also giving yourself more grace around things having to be a bit different at this time?

Let us know in the comments :)

TODAY'S GUEST

Fiona Morris...

Have you ever considered COOKING to be part of your self care?

I hadn’t but talking to Jayne for this episode has revolutionised my life! No longer seeing cooking as a chore and boring, I’m suddenly loving becoming more whole food vegan v the junk food vegan of the past several years.

Who knew cooking – this BASIC basic self care – could be so satisfying?

How about you? How might you find a way to reframe one of the things you HAVE to do so it becomes more fulfilling and potentially even fun?

When is it best to go for a long walk and when is it best to opt for a slice of chocolate cake in front of Netflix?

Grainne O'Neill shares her wonderful mix of what she calls 'worthy' self care and Self care (exercise, an embodied meditation to help her plug into the day's energies, EFT Tapping (of course), lifting weights and a 'gratitude countdown' to end each day.

How about you? How might you give yourself more grace when you're at your best AND when you most NEED that grace and compassion?

...

'We all feel more comfortable in our own skin,' says Dr Sabina Brennan. 'We don't sweat the small stuff.'

I know I feel better with each passing year as I get a better sense of what works for me and what doesn't (including navigating joints that didn't used to ache and eyes that didn't used to need reading glasses) but I've adored Dr Sabina Brennan's approach to aging since I met her the year I moved to Ireland when she was promoting her then new book 100 Days to a Younger Brain.

How about...