Minding Your Mind

Many parents say boys and girls are different from day 1. Boys run around more, girls do quieter activities. Is that just people bringing their own preconceptions and prejudices into it, or is there some physiological truth there? How different are the genders? Are men more aggressive? Women more caring? What about those who don’t feel that the gender identity they were given at birth fits? If you...

How are mental illness and mental health conditions diagnosed? How often do mental health professionals get it right? Are they getting better at it?   Shouldn’t there be a machine by now, that can just look at our brain and tell us exactly what is going on? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics...

Many of us have too much stuff, but find it hard to get rid of any of it. Who knows, you just might need that year 10 maths book one day. For some, hoarding becomes a real problem that interferes with their life. Why do people hoard? How do you treat hoarding? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d...

What makes us want to get to the top? What is ambition?  Where does it come from? What is the right mix between having goals, but not being so focussed on them that we forget to enjoy the ride? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at mindingyourmind2@gmail.com . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services...

Do we have kids because of a genetically strong instinct? Or because we want to nurture and love? Could it be because we want to feel important? Or even be because we think doing so might help us become better people? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about...

Finally, the biggest question of all. Who are you? How do we work out our identity? How does it change through life? How does our sense of our who we are affect our mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you ca...

Whenever we talk to someone at work, socially or at home, status is almost always a factor. How is our status determined? Is it all about relative power, or at least our perception of it?  How does our status affect our mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. T...

Everyone has experienced a bully at school or in the workplace. How do you deal with bullies? Why do some people bully others? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  www.headtohealth.go...

When bad things happen – a loved one dies, a natural disaster, the end of a relationship - how do we deal with it? Can we learn to cope better? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  ww...

We think we have free will, but do we? When facing with traffic jams, deadlines, or a free weekend, do we behave very predictably? Is will power all it is cracked up to be? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can conta...

Narcissism involves inflated self-importance, inability to handle criticism, a need for admiration and a disregard for the feelings of others. But aren’t we are all a bit like that sometimes? How do you deal with narcissists? What to do you do if you have some of those tendencies yourself? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let the...

Your self-esteem is what you think of yourself. Do you think you’re a good person, and capable of doing things? Some people have low self-esteem. Others have very high self-esteem. What determines our self-esteem?  How important is it? If our self-esteem is low, how can we raise it? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them...

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? How is it diagnosed and treated? Do kids sometimes grow out of it? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  www.headtohealth.gov.au &nbsp...

Who gets nervous walking alone into a party? Many of us are shy and socially anxious. What can we do about it? Kids often have separation anxiety, where they are uncomfortable being separated from parents. How can it be treated? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out...

What is your subconscious? What is happening in your mind, apart from the thoughts and feelings you are aware of? When you approach a puddle and your steps automatically adjust so your foot lands exactly at the edge, how does that happen? What is instinct? If you think, ‘I don’t trust that guy?’ but don’t know why, is your subconscious analysing tone of voice, patterns of speech, facial expression...

When someone does you wrong, do you hold a grudge? And sometimes quite enjoy it? Is taking the high road and forgiving wrongdoers better for your mental health? Can forgiveness actually be a pragmatic, even selfish, act that we do because we know it will make us feel better? Can we learn to forgive people, even when we don’t want to?

Having a degree of autonomy- the ability to have some control over your life and work- continually comes up as an important factor in good mental health. Why is autonomy so important to us? How can we get more of it? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about d...

Why do mental services lag so far behind the demand for them? Why is there so much difficulty turning government plans into reality? Federal/State, Labor/ Liberal. How can we fix it all and provide a mental health system that  we all need and deserve? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like...

How can our relationship with food become unhealthy? What are the types of eating disorders, and how can each be treated. Ian and James are joined by psychologist, researcher, and director of the Inside Out Institute, Australia’s national institute for research and clinical excellence in eating disorders, Dr Sarah Maguire The “InsideOut Institute Podcast” can be heard at Apple:  https://podca...

If you or someone you care about has a mental health problem, what should you do? Let’s get practical. What do you do? Who do you need to see? How can they help you? What does it cost? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services y...

Many try to treat mental illness, or improve their mental health, through therapy or counselling with a psychologist, counsellor or psychiatrist. But how does therapy work. If you are going to get your knee fixed, a surgeon can tell you exactly the process they will go through, and how it will work. Let’s try and do something similar with therapy If you have any questions or comments email Ian and...

What is love? The highest, most blissful state known to humans, or something close to a mental illness? What are the different types of love? Obsessive, possessive, ‘I must have her/him’  love; Infatuation and ‘in love’, which have similarities to certain kinds of mental illness. Why can love become possessive and turn ugly? What about selfless love, where you just want what is best for the o...

Doctors who specialise in mental health, psychiatrists, are at the top of the tree when it comes to treating those with mental illness. But what can psychiatrists do, that a counsellor or psychologist can’t? When does someone experiencing a mental health issue need to see a psychiatrists, rather than a counsllor If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gm...

What is Long Covid, who is most at risk of getting it, and why are we talking about it on a podcast about mental health? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topics you’d like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services you can contact Head to Health at  www.headtohealth.gov.au &...

Sadly, we’re all going to die. Most of us spend our lives desperately trying to ignore that uncomfortable truth, but is it a good idea to spend some time thinking and talking about death before it gets too close? If so, how do we actually do it? What about those who are dying – do they want to talk about death, or desperately avoid the subject? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and J...