I Have Issues - Psychology with Dr Mark Rackley

Send us Fan Mail ADHD is not just about challenges to do with shifting attention or hyperactivity, there is so much more to it than that. In this episode I cover the A-Z of ADHD, talking about the major symptoms that occur when you are living with this and how they impact your life.  This list of course is not exhaustive, rather its a starting point to understanding and normalising the way ADHD be...

Send us Fan Mail Why is being a people-pleaser an issue? Why do people become people-pleasers? If you are a people-pleaser, what can you do about it? In this episode I tackle to issue of people-pleasing. Yes, it's nice to be nice and to do our best to make others happy, but this is not always good for our mental health. People-pleasing can leave you anxious, depressed and living a life that i...

Send us Fan Mail What is indoctrination? Why do some people get indoctrinated into ideas and communities that are harmful? How would you know you were indoctrinated and what can you do? We live in a world now where our mind is bombarded with information that is trying to get us to think a certain way.  From religious, political and cultural ideas, our mind has the potential to be indoctrinated and...

Send us Fan Mail Why do we have an imagination? How can your imagination help or hinder you? Why can your imagination cause issues with your mental health? We all have an imagination which can provide us endless entertainment and fun. Especially when we are children, our imaginations can run riot and make life amazing! When we are adults, our imagination can still be fun. However, it can cause us...

Send us Fan Mail What is RSD? How is this symptom linked to ADHD? What can you do if you struggle with RSD? For many people with ADHD, RSD can be the main issue that they struggle with. RSD can cause intense emotional pain and make relationships a challenge to be in. Sadly, RSD can also lead to other difiiculties such as depression and lonliness. In this epiosde I deep dive into RSD and explain wh...

Send us Fan Mail We are hardwired to cry - after all it's how we announce our arrival into the world. But there is more to crying than just tears, there's a physical and psychological effect.  Why do we cry? What happens in our mind and body when we cry? Why do some people see crying as a sign of weakness? This epiosde answers all these questions.  I'm an adolescent and adult charte...

Send us Fan Mail You may have had a favourite teddy, blanket or toy as a child that helped you feel secure and safe.  These are not just toys, we create relationships with them that are meaningful to us and give us a feeling of calm. We may think that these comfort teddy's are only needed when we are children, but that is not the case. In this episode, I talk to 24 year old Sid Batty, who has...

Send us Fan Mail What is the relationship between your gut and brain?  How do the gut and brain impact each other? What does this relationship have to do with your mental health?  In the latest episode of ' I Have Issues,' I discuss the the gut / brain relationship and how this important connection impacts your mental health.  In this episode I'm joined by Dr Miguel Mateas. He is a...

Send us Fan Mail Mental health researchers are very interested in the concept of RESILIENCE, why do some people seem have to more of this than others? Why do some people seem to go through awful experiences in life and cope differently to another person?  Can you learn resilience and if so, how would that work? In this episode I talk to James Elliott, a psychotherapist, resilience coach, ex Britis...

Send us Fan Mail Motherhood can be a rewarding but also challenging time in a woman’s life.  According to research conducted by The Mental Health Foundation UK, between 10% and 20% of women develop mental health problems during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth.  Motherhood can be additionally challenging if you have ADHD / Autism and are trying to parent children who are also neurodivers...

Send us Fan Mail The field of psychology and mental health is a diverse one and it covers all manner of treatments to support people who are struggling with their mental health. Music therapy is an established psychological clinical intervention, to help people whose lives have been affected by injury, illness or disability. Music therapists draw upon the innate qualities of music to support peopl...

Send us Fan Mail Post-Natal Depression effects 12% - 15% of women. Depression is likely to be under-recognised during pregnancy and postnatally.  Mental health problems are as common in the perinatal period as they are at other times of life.  In this epiosde I speak to Sarah Hoover about her new book,'The Motherload, A Memoir. Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood.'  This book is an hon...

Send us Fan Mail If you think you may have ADHD and are undiagnosed, then making sense of this can be overwleming, confusing and challenging. In this episode I talk to Alex Partridge. If you are a regular listener to this podcast, I spoke with Alex in episode 39 about his ADHD Story. Aged just 21, Alex founded UNILAD and LADBible , social news sites which now have a following of 100 million people...

Send us Fan Mail James Longman is the Chief International Correspondent for ABC News, USA. He has covered middle east conflicts, royal deaths and papal appointments. In his memoir, ' The Inherited Mind: A Story of Family, Hope and the Genetics of Mental Illness ', James examines his own mental health issues in the context of his family.   When James was young his father, struggling with...

Send us Fan Mail Why do many men refuse to see their GP, even if they are unwell? Why are the rates of men seeking help from their GP much lower than that of women? What happens when a man visits their GP and says they are struggling with their mental health? Research shows that men are less likely to visit their GP if they have a physical or mental health issue. Research also tells us that men ar...

Send us Fan Mail Grief is the great universal leveller, we will all experience it at some point in our life. When and how grief comes into our life is something that none of us have any control over. Coping with sudden and unexpected loss is unbelievably difficult. In this episode I talk to Ben Kennedy about his story of grief and loss. Tragically 4 years ago when Ben was aged 32, he suddenly lost...

Send us Fan Mail What is dopamine? What does dopamine do in your brain? Why should you care about dopamine? Dopamine is a 'hot topic' right now and social media is flooded with information about this chemical in your brain. There are all kinds of suggestions on how to boost dopamine, why some people chase it and how you can detox from it. Unfortunately not all of this information is fact...

Send us Fan Mail Do you find it hard to manage social situations? Do you struggle with social anxiety? Do you avoid social situations because they make you feel anxious? Social anxiety is a common issue that I treat with my patients. It can affect children, teenagers and adults. Social anxiety can stop you from trying to make friends, limit your social life, prevent you from getting into a relatio...

Send us Fan Mail Are you a man who is concerned about his mental health? Do you have a man in your life whose mental health you are worried about? Are you trying to support a man who is struggling with their mental health? Men's mental health is a serious cause for concern, as sadly suicide rates in men is at an all time high in the UK.  In this epidsode I am joined by Mike Jennings, founder...

Send us Fan Mail Have you been told that you have an issue with perfectionism? Do you expect perfectionsim from yourself and others?  Do you fear failure and find it hard to accept when you don't succeed?  It's healthy to set goals for yourself and also have standards that you hold yourself to. However, if these are not balanced then they can cause us anxiety as we are always striving fo...

Send us Fan Mail As we grow we learn all kinds of things and we have no control of how or what we learn. That is decided by the people who take care of us and our learning is shaped by how they teach us.  When we get older, we then get to decide how we think and this may involve unlearning ways of thinking from our past that no longer align with how we see ourselves and the world around us.  Unlea...

Send us Fan Mail Do you struggle with helping yourself deal with your issues?  Do you find yourself repeating unhealthy behaviours? Do you put up with situations that make you miserable? Learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon where we don't help ourselves to change problems in our life and stay stuck in life putting up with unhealthy situations.  Why does learned helplessness happ...

Send us Fan Mail Do you struggle with intrusive thoughts? Are you worried that you can't manage them? Are your intrusive thoughts causing you to have poor mental health?  Intrusive thoughts are very common and most people have experienced them. However, they can be frightening when they appear as they are not something that we want to think about. For some people, intrusive thoughts can lead...

Send us Fan Mail Many women can spend their whole life living with undiagnosed ADHD and only get diagnosed later on in life. Their undiagnosed ADHD can lead to mental health difficulties and other challenges. Kate Moryoussef is one such woman, who was diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood.  Kate had a career working in the fast-paced, glamorous world of consumer PR when she realised that for the sake o...

Send us Fan Mail Many men can spend their whole life living with undiagnosed ADHD and only get diagnosed later on in life. Their undiagnosed ADHD can lead to mental health difficulties and other challenges. Alex Partridge is one such man, who was diagnosed with ADHD aged 34. Aged just 21, Alex Partridge founded UNILAD and LADBible , social news sites which now have a following of 100 million peopl...