Minding Your Mind

Anxiety can be important and useful in helping us to be aware of, and react to, threats, study for exams and prepare for job interviews. But why does worry sometimes get out of control? When does anxiety become a mental health issue? And when it does, how do we get an over-anxious mind under control? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.co...

In this episode, Ian and James discuss depression. What is it? How do you know you're depressed? Everyone feels sad sometimes, but what are the signs that you or someone you know might need some help? How do you treat depression? What works? And what doesn’t? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at mindingyourmind2@gmail.com . Let them know any other topics you’d li...

Ian and James each pick their favourite five topics that they have discussed this year. 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  , Beyond Blue at www.beyondblue.org.au , Lif...

Resilience is our ability to cope with adverse events, to get back up after we have been knocked down. What determines how resilient you are? How can you become more resilient? 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 Hea...

If you want to drink less, get fitter or hit a work or personal target, how do you get motivated? And how do you stay motivated after the initial drive subsides and it becomes a hard slog? What sort of motivation works, and what doesn’t work? 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 o...

When you eat, what comes first: the feeling ("I feel hungry"), the thought ("It’s lunchtime, so I should eat") or the behaviour ("I just walked past the cupboard and now I have a handful of peanuts. How did that happen?")? How do thoughts, feelings and behaviours influence each other? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at mindingyourmind2@gmail.com . Let them know any other...

When the kids move out of home, how do parents adjust? Is it liberating? Sad? Scary? An exciting, next stage of life? What is "empty nest syndrome"? 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.headtohea...

You know you should, but you don’t. Why do we put off tasks that we know are important? How can we overcome procrastination? What is the relationship between procrastination and  anxiety? 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 s...

What is vulnerability? What is the upside of showing your weaknesses, fears and hopes to another person? Does opening yourself up to them create a strong, trusting bond between you, or are you just arming them with the means to hurt you? 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...

What is the best way to parent a child in their first few years? Clear boundaries, with consequences for transgressions? Or smother them with love and teddy bears, and let them do what they want? Should parents be less protective, or more? Should a parent’s life revolve around their kids, or should the kids fit into their parents’ world? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James a...

Shame has been used for centuries by groups and societies to express disapproval to those who behave outside the bounds of what is considered acceptable. Banishment, the stocks, the law, the media and Twitter have all been used to shame. Does shaming work? How damaging is being shamed to your mental health? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail....

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Is empathy a superpower that allows us to understand others and that binds social groups together, or can understanding the pain others feel paralyse us and affect our own mental health? Do some have no empathy? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know...

Desire happens when we want something; an apple, ice-cream, love, sex. Should we follow our desires? Can desire overwhelm our rational mind, and lead us to make dumb choices? What is the right mix between following our desires and controlling them? 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...

Cognitive dissonance occurs when we hold two competing ideas, like ‘I like  eating meat’ and ‘eating meat is cruel and bad for the planet’, or ‘I believe in fairness and equality’ and ‘Many don’t have enough to eat and we subscribe to three streaming services,’ or ‘My family must be okay!’ and  ‘I can’t control everything that happens to them.’ How does cognitive dissonance affect our me...

Of all the factors that can affect our mental health, one of the most ignored and least understood is the changing of the seasons. During Spring and Autumn, our mental health can be affected by the changing amount of daylight hours. Why does this happen? What can we do about it? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any...

We think we are rational beings, but every day we are affected by cognitive biases. There are common thinking errors we all make all the time. What are they? How can being aware of them help us make better decisions? 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...

When does someone with a mental illness need to go to hospital? How does it happen, especially if the person doesn’t want to go? What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary hospitalisation? What happens to someone who is in hospital for a mental illness? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other topic...

Can your mind help you control pain? Is there a difference between physical and emotional pain? How similar is the pain of getting dumped by your partner to the pain of putting your hand on a hotplate? 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 s...

Should we regret our mistakes, or just move on? What purpose does feeling guilty serve? When are regret and guilt useful? Can we get stuck on regretting the past and feeling guilty in a way that damages 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 ab...

What causes our moods? Why are some people more moody than others? Do we get less moody as we get older?  Can we learn to control or at least influence our moods ? How do we cheer ourselves up when in a bad mood? 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...

Denial is when we pretend something isn’t happening, and deliberately don’t think about it.  Humans do it a lot. ‘No, I don’t have a drinking problem.’ ‘I’m not stressed, just a bit busy at work’. ‘I’m fine. I feel great’. Why do we go into denial?  How do we stop? Is denial sometimes useful? If you have any questions or comments email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com &n...

How much influence does what you eat and drink have on your mental health? What should you eat and drink for good 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....

Atypical depression is a type of depression that is more episodic. Someone feels fine for a few days, then plunges into a deep depression for the next few. Then the pattern repeats. What causes it and how is it 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 more abou...

How important is friendship at different stages of life? How important is it for good mental health? How do you make friends? What makes a good friend? 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&...

If you are living with someone who has mental illness, what should do you do?  How can you help? What are the right, and wrong, things to say and do? And how do you take care of yourself? 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 se...