Notes on Vulnerability

Did you know some women find menopause the most liberating time of life? Or that the peri-menopause can last for 10 years? The menopause and the peri-menopause still remain a mystery for many of us - and the language often used around them can make this natural life change feel very vulnerable. The lack of information around options and experiences hasn't exactly helped either.  In this episo...

"You're so sensitive.." As many as 1/3 of us are Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), meaning that we feel things more intensely, have a more in-tune nervous system and can feel easily overstimulated. 50% of men and 50% of women are HSPs. In the right hands - and when you know how to work with it - being an HSP is a HUGE attribute.  In this episode we'll explore what it means to be...

Cynicism  keeps us stuck and stops us from showing up in the world as who we really are in case that’s too much for people. Your Inner Cynic is an internalised control system that someone else has used on you in the past to keep you small. Which is why overcoming it can be so liberating - and is so vital to a more resilient life.  Are you someone who sets goals and never reaches them? Or wants mor...

Play keeps your brain young, makes you more confident, productive and better at dealing with uncertainty. So why don't we do more of it? It feels incredibly vulnerable to reveal your playful side - and giving yourself permission and time to play as an adult is almost a revolutionary act in a world that prizes busyness and fitting in. In this episode we're going to be looking at how to ma...

Trust is an intense and powerful human motivator. And it can also be something that feels vulnerable, especially if you have experience of trust being broken.  But being resilient requires a leap of faith or two -  adjusting how we feel about trust can have a big impact on that. In this episode we're exploring the power of trust in many ways, from trusting the timing of your life to trusting...

Negativity. People pleasing. Self-sabotage. Over-thinking. Fear of Failure. These are all signs of being in Survival Mode, which is the topic of this episode of Notes on Vulnerability. Survival Mode can be how many of us cope with vulnerability - instantly using habitual reactions to avoid whatever is making us feel discomfort. In this episode we'll be looking at how facing your vulnerability...

Want to know more about the gut-brain connection and the solutions it offers for anxiety? How to deal with digestive health issues?  Where to start with a diagnosis like Ulcerative Colitis or Crohns? This episode is all about gut health and how a system like functional medicine can provide a way forward (often supporting conventional medicine). If you're struggling with gut issues you're...

Do you ever feel at the mercy of your emotions? This episode is about how the way we handle our emotions has an impact on how we experience life - and how emotional regulation can help. Emotions can be an intense source of vulnerability but working with them - instead of against them - is the key to a more resilient life. Make sure you subscribe for the bonus extra episode which is specifically ab...

It takes a lot of courage to identify and challenge a dominant narrative. And a lot of vulnerability too. “Man Up” is one of those phrases we all got used to using without really thinking about it - but this episode's guest Jamie Clements is challenging it, as well as any other hyper polarising phrases that get in his way. Jamie is the host of a podcast called Man Down and in this episode we&...

An imperfect and vulnerable discussion around mental health, the healing power of the sea and men and menstruation. Mike Guest is a master of film and photography an adventurer, dyslexic, a life long surfer and lover of all things water. After a phone call with friend Nick Pumphrey Mike decided to  follow Nick’s lead and swim out at dawn with his camera.  This was the start of Dawn Days - a projec...

Yewande Adeside is a former competitive rower now a rowing coach, national-level track racer and SRAM ambassador. She has been a vocal advocate on diversity in cycling and spoken frequently about how her own experiences as a black cyclist have often made her feel like she can't make mistakes or be too visible. In this episode we talking about the need for greater diversity in sports like rowi...

Did you know that some of your favourite wine might only taste so good because it’s been harvested with the lunar cycles? I thought that might get your attention (it's also true). In this episode of Notes on Vulnerability I’m talking to Kirsty Gallagher, a lunar living coach and soul mentor, who is an advocate for cyclical living,  sharing moon and meditation magic and helping people to align...

Money and finances can bring all sorts of challenging feelings to the table. Whether you always feel like you’re struggling to get by or you feel guilty because you have more than others it’s never an easy topic.  Most of us are lugging around money stories of some description, such as wealth is evil or you have to work yourself into the ground to be rich. In this episode with @hannahmindfulmoney...

Mindful sex - how do we have more of it? Dr Anna Hushlak is a sex scientist and pleasure advocate, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at #FemTech company Ferly (@weareferly), an app empowering 50 million women and folx with vulvas to have healthy, confident and pleasurable sex. This episode is about how to have more mindful sex, which is a discussion with a lot of different elements, from the...

Nick Hounsfield (@wavemakernick) is the founder of The Wave (@thewave), Chairman of Surfing England, a stroke survivor at 45 and one of the UK’s most disruptive entrepreneurs - among many other things. In Episode 8 of Notes on Vulnerability we’re talking about breaking down barriers in surfing - and business -, whether relating to diversity, equality or the adaptive community as well as ingrained...

David 'Jacko' Jackson (@jackohumanflag Insta) is the guest on this episode. A former rugby professional - captain and all time top scorer at Nottingham RFC - he suffered a head injury in 2013 that was so serious that he was told any more violent sport could kill him.  In this episode we're talking about the impact of a head injury, motivation and consistency in physical training and...

Anna Blackwell is an adventurer, photographer and writer with a soft spot for the Arctic. Currently based in Cornwall she has embarked on solo expeditions in some pretty inhospitable environments with only a tent for shelter. From the power of snacking to coming to terms with who you are through being in nature, we've covered pretty much everything in this episode. Including what it's li...

When did we decide that being professional means not being yourself?  In this episode I'm talking to Sallee Poinsette-Nash (@salleespeaks Instagram), human brand builder, official Tall Person, dog fanatic and founder of Brandable & Co (www.brandableandco.com).  We're talking about intuition, how vulnerability is an asset in brand building, why we undersell ourselves, the detrimental...

Ian Finch (Insta: @ianefinch @walkwilduk) is a photographer, expedition guide and poetry-writing former Marine Commando. After a life changing sickness at high altitude he was forced to explore new paths in life and began an adventure into wildness. Today he leads guided walks in secret corners of London and Herts, as well as life coaching in nature - and planning new, epic expeditions post-COVID....

Wim Hof, woolly hats, free the nipple and numb extremities... wild swimming and cold water swimming make up one huge trend right now. But what is it really like to get up at 6am and plunge yourself into the freezing cold of a sea, lake or pond? In this episode I'm talking to Hen and Claudia - the @wildswimgirls (Insta). From 6am Stockholm swims to accidental rock climbing in Cornwall and the...

In this podcast we’re talking to Danny Kearney (@solarpoweredbadger), ex-forces and now professional trainer and an ambassador for @operation_waitout and @mentalhealthswims.  We’re focusing on vulnerability and how what is sometimes perceived as weakness is actually often a strength. From the army and how the training impacts mental health, to being a dad, cold water swimming, suicide, climbing mo...

In this first episode of Notes on Vulnerability we speak to Anika, an American living in Holland who once made her living as a naked model and, thanks to the Internet, finds that this follows her wherever she goes.