Naked Insights Podcast - musing all things health, relationships and trauma

🎙️ Episode 20 - Becoming: The Psychology of Personal Growth What does it actually mean to grow? We talk endlessly about healing, self-awareness, personal development and becoming the “best version” of ourselves. But real psychological growth is rarely comfortable, linear or particularly Instagrammable. Sometimes growth means changing. Sometimes it means accepting something you cannot change. And s...

🎙️ Episode 19 - What Happens Between Us: The Hidden Psychology of Every Conversation Have you ever started a perfectly ordinary conversation and somehow ended up in an argument that seemed to have very little to do with where you started? That's because communication never happens between two blank slates. We bring our histories, attachment patterns, expectations, insecurities, previous exper...

🎙️ Episode 18 - The Psychology of Listening: How to Make Someone Feel Truly Heard Most of us think we're pretty good listeners. But while someone else is talking, how often are we actually preparing our response, deciding whether they're right, thinking of advice, defending ourselves internally or simply waiting for our turn to speak? In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore...

🎙️ Episode 17 - The Psychology of Being Heard: How to Speak So People Actually Listen Have you ever explained something perfectly clearly - only to discover that the other person heard something completely different? Good communication isn't simply about choosing the right words. It's about understanding how another human being receives them . In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman...

🎙️ Perimenopause: The Survival Guide Nobody Gave Us Hormones, HRT, food, supplements, exercise and what actually helps Perimenopause can make you feel as though somebody has quietly changed the operating system of your body and forgotten to give you the manual. Brain fog. Rage. Anxiety. Hot flushes. Broken sleep. Aching joints. Weight changes. Gut issues. Exhaustion. A body that suddenly reacts di...

🎙️ Perimenopause Explained: What on Earth Is Happening to My Body? Hormones, brain fog, rage, anxiety, hot flushes, weight, sleep and why it all happens One day you feel relatively normal. The next you're forgetting words, waking at 3am, sweating through the night, gaining weight differently, experiencing bizarre anxiety, losing your patience with everyone and wondering whether you've so...

Autism is not a disease to be cured or a behaviour to be fixed. It's a different way of experiencing, processing, and responding to the world. Yet for many autistic people, living in a world that wasn't designed for their nervous system can be deeply exhausting, and, at times, traumatic. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore autism through a compassionate, evidence-based,...

For decades, ADHD has been described as a disorder of attention. But what if we've been looking at it the wrong way? In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore the growing understanding of ADHD as a condition that is fundamentally about self-regulation, executive functioning, and managing the brain's resources, not simply paying attention. Together, they unpack: 🧠 Why ADHD isn...

Anxiety isn't simply worrying too much or being unable to relax. It's what happens when your brain becomes so focused on detecting danger that it struggles to recognise when you're actually safe. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore anxiety through a compassionate, trauma-informed, and neuroscience-based lens, unpacking why the brain can become trapped in survival mo...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder isn't about being neat, organised, or liking things a certain way. It's about what happens when the brain becomes convinced that uncertainty itself is dangerous. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore OCD through both a scientific and trauma-informed lens, asking what happens when a nervous system becomes trapped in an endless search for safety...

Few mental health experiences are as feared, misunderstood, or stigmatised as psychosis. Popular culture often portrays it as madness, danger, or a complete break from reality. But what if psychosis is far more complex than we've been led to believe? In this thought-provoking episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore psychosis through a compassionate, evidence-based lens, asking a difficul...

At first glance, Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder can look remarkably similar. Both can involve intense emotions, impulsive behaviour, relationship difficulties, and periods of crisis. But beneath the surface, these are fundamentally different conditions and understanding the difference can be life-changing. In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman cut through the confusion...

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), also known as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatised diagnoses in mental health. Too often, people are labelled as manipulative, attention-seeking, or difficult, without anyone asking a far more important question: In this episode, Adele and Dr Lindsay Aikman explore the deeper reality behind the dia...

Depression. It’s a word often used loosely to describe a bad day, but the clinical reality is far more complex than just "feeling sad." In this episode, Adele and Lindsay peel back the layers of one of the most common yet misunderstood mental health conditions to explore what’s really happening when "the color is sucked out of life." We unpack: 🧠 The Clinical Reality: Understa...

Self-Compassion. Is it just "soft and fluffy" indulgence, or is it actually the ultimate tool for high performance and resilience? In this episode, Adele and Lindsay challenge the myth that being hard on yourself is the only way to succeed. They dive into why true self-compassion is a "wise system" that requires immense courage. We unpack: 🧠 Myth-Busting: Why self-compassion i...

"Everything happens for a reason." "Just look on the bright side." We’ve all heard it, and we’ve all said it, but when does optimism become harmful? In this episode, Adele and Lindsay explore the phenomenon of Toxic Positivity: the minimization and invalidation of real human emotions in the name of "staying positive." We unpack: 🧠 Intention vs. Impact: Why well-meani...

Not all manipulation is obvious and not all of it is chaotic. Some of it is calculated, under wraps and highly strategic. In this episode, Adele and Lindsay unpack Machiavellianism, one of the “Dark Triad” traits, and explore how it shows up in real life, relationships, and systems of power. We dive into:  🧠 What Machiavellianism actually is and how it differs from narcissism and psychopathy  ♟️...

Psychopath. It’s a word that instantly conjures fear, danger, and “otherness.” But how much of what we believe about psychopathy is actually true? In this episode, Adele and Lindsay cut through the headlines and Hollywood portrayals to explore what psychopathy really is and what it isn’t. We unpack:  🧠 The clinical reality of psychopathy vs the “monster” stereotype  ⚖️ The difference between psyc...

“Narcissist” has become one of the most overused (and misunderstood) terms in modern psychology. But what happens when clinical language gets turned into a weapon? In this episode, Adele and Lindsay unpack the growing trend of labelling difficult people as narcissists and why this can do more harm than good. We explore:  🧠 What narcissism actually is and how it differs from everyday difficult beh...

Welcome back to the podcast. This first episode marks the beginning of a new season, and it feels important to say that this one is a little different. Not louder. Not shinier. But more grounded, more honest, and more clinically anchored. Over the last few years, conversations about mental health have exploded and in many ways that’s a good thing. But alongside that, we’ve also seen a lot of overs...

In this deeply personal season finale, Sam shares the raw truth behind stepping back, slowing down, and honouring her own limits. After facing a series of personal losses, she opens up about what it really means to choose yourself - even when it means disappointing others. We explore:  💔 The hidden cost of keeping promises that tip you over the edge  🌱 Why sometimes the bravest thing you can do...

Are you always the one fixing, pleasing, or holding everything together, even when it hurts? In this raw and revealing episode, Adele dives into the hidden psychology of codependency and pathological accommodation - the deep, often unconscious patterns that make us sacrifice our own needs to keep the peace. We explore:  🌀 The difference between healthy empathy and self-erasure  ❤️‍🩹 Why “helping...

Your attachment style is running the show, whether you realise it or not. In this episode, Adele unpacks the powerful science of attachment theory and how early experiences wire the way you love, fight, and connect. We dive into:  💞 The three core attachment styles - anxious, avoidant, fear attached and secure - and how they play out in adult relationships 🔥 Why opposites attract… and then drive...

Should you fight for your relationship, or walk away? In this episode, Adele and Sam break down a clear, research-backed process to help you decide with data, not just feelings. We cover:  💔 The cost of skipping compatibility “due diligence” and why many couples do it too late  ⚡ The Gottman Four Horsemen: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling — early warning signs your relationsh...

This episode is raw, real, and deeply personal. Sam opens up about her journey of becoming a young mum: the challenges, the resilience it demanded, and how those early experiences shaped her into the health professional she is today. We explore:  👶 The struggles and lessons of navigating motherhood at a young age  💡 How those challenges sparked her passion for functional medicine  🌱 The transfo...