Minding Your Mind

Do we all experience Fear Of Missing Out? Can FOMO be a good thing, or does it just make us anxious and unhappy? How does FOMO affect our mental health? If you don’t listen to this episode, will you regret 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 s...

What role do adverse events, for example losing a job or a relationship, play in triggering mental illness? What is a trigger? Do people have the same, or different, triggers? Can knowing more about our triggers help us reduce our risk of experiencing poor mental health?   If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  ⁠mindingyourmind2@gmail.com⁠  . Let them know any other topics...

Many are anxious about the effects of climate change. It can seem like a huge problem that we are powerless to fix. How can we learn to deal with, and control, climate 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 services, you can contact...

Emotions are powerful. Sometimes they take us over. How can we avoid being overwhelmed by anger or fear? Can we learn to control our emotions?  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.headtohealt...

When two people with kids from previous relationships get together, how does it all work? How do you suddenly become a step-parent? What happens when a child resents the arrival of a step-parent, or when step-siblings don’t get on? 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...

What are the best ways of encouraging people to be more aware of their mental health? How can we learn to monitor and take care of our mental health? 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 like them to cover. To find out more about depression and support services, you can contact...

Some with mental illness may need medication for a long time. If the medication has adverse side effects, how do you trade that off against the benefits? How do you know how much of a difference the medication is making? When should you experiment with withdrawing from medication? If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let them know any other t...

Can being exposed to traumatic and adverse events – abuse, poverty, violence, natural disasters or forcible separation from family – affect some so deeply that adverse effects are passed on to their children? 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 sup...

We all lie. Why? To protect the feelings of others, to make people think better of us, to improve a story. But is the line between truth and lie as clear as we think? 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 Hea...

What are dysfunctional, co-dependent and toxic relationships? How can being in these relationships affect our mental health? How do you know if you are in one? What should you do if you are? 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...

Many find it hard to access specialised care from psychologists and psychiatrists. Others are sceptical about the benefits of seeing a specialist. Who needs to see a specialist? What benefits can they  provide? How can we organise health care to best respond to the surge in demand for specialists?  If you have any questions or comments, email Ian and James at  mindingyourmind2@gmail.com  . Let the...

When a relationship ends, it’s a difficult and challenging time that can test our mental health. What is the best way to get through 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.a...

Ian is joined by Professor Joe Takahashi, a world expert in how the human body clock works and its implications for our health, mental health and successful ageing.  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 Hea...

We tend to think of treatments for bipolar and mood disorders as being mainly medicine based. But our guest, Dr Jan Scott, believes that those with bipolar and mood disorders can greatly benefit from learning and using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy strategies. 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 t...

If we go deaf or blind, lose a limb, or our balance deteriorates, our brain actively works behind the scenes to help us cope. How does it do that? 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.headtohealt...

What can you do to decrease your risk of getting dementia? If you have dementia, what can you do to slow its progress? How are treatments improving? 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...

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? How can it empower and help those with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues? CBT techniques may be easy to learn, but how easy are they to use when you feel distressed? CBT expert Dr Jan Scott joins us. 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 cov...

When we have a period of poor mental health, why is it so important to keep a record of medication, counselling and strategies we try to combat anxiety, depression, etc? And of how helpful each of them was? 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...

How long is your attention span? Has it got shorter since you got a smartphone? How can we learn to concentrate for longer periods? 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.headtohe...

From July 2023, psychiatrists will be able to prescribe psychedelics to treat those with long-term depression and PTSD. Do these treatments work? If so, how? 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....

Can we really be divided into extroverts, who love parties, and introverts, who love being home alone, or is it more of a bell curve? Where on the scale are you? How do the ways that extroverts and introverts take care of their mental health differ? 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...

What makes a good leader? When should a leader listen, and when should they take control? How democratic should good leadership be? How do you become a better leader? 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 H...

Our immune system fights infection and viruses. We explore how it can also affect our mood and mental health, as can medications used to treat illness and disease. Could anti-inflammatory drugs be used to treat depression? 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 a...

Not only does being lonely feel bad, it can also shorten your life. What can you do about loneliness? How do you find new social connections if you are shy and socially anxious? Why can we feel lonely even when there are people all around? 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...

The federal government has halved the number of counselling sessions you can get a Medicare rebate for each year, from 20 to 10. Why does Ian think this is a good move? If the real problem is a lack of psychologists, how do we fix 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 fin...