Self Detective Club

Games. Playing. Acting. Dressing up. Doodling. Music. Symbols. Imagination. These are just some of the topics we'll be exploring for July. You might want to bring some paper and pens to this episode. As well as your inner child. "“We need to be childish to understand. Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because it hasn't developed all those filters which prevent us from see...

The trouble with this podcast is that there's not enough dissent. It's too fixated on individuals solving their own problems. There is a whole world of systems, structures and institutions that are failing us day in day out. Can we at least shine a light on this - even if we can't change it overnight? So at the very least we don't end up gaslighting ourselves!!! This is a sonic jou...

Did anyone notice that within the word citizenship there exists the smaller word ' zen' . This episode sees self-detectivism expands its reach into the realms of universal wellness. Here we share ideas and notions that serve the collective good, not just our own individual needs. Be prepared to be tentatively challenged!!! Here's some show notes that add to the themes of the episode: T...

We have a process when it comes to death. We call it grieving. But there's not much going on, ritualistically speaking, when death brushes past us. In this episode we will be staying with these reminders, these close shaves. We have instances from poems, songs and prose. While Simon, your host, will also be sharing his own lived experience cheats, inspired by Maggie O'Farrell's non-fic...

How much of our internal world do we understand? Our thinking, feeling, actions? Our senses, hormones, nervous system? Would it be useful to delve into this world for the sake of our wellbeing? If so, listen up. Here's some show notes: The B ook of Human Emotions The Action Cycle (aka The Gestalt Cycle) Bad Faith Defence mechanisms Polyvagal Theory NLP: changing bad memories

If the body expresses what the mind represses then we're going to need some somatic knowledge to help us out. In this episode Louise shares her lived-experience as well as her professional wisdom when it comes to healing, regulating, and generally being at one with our bodies. She's full of ideas, interventions and challenges. Enjoy. Here's some links to go with this episode... Top Ten...

Isn’t just about everything we do based around relationships in some way or other? Aren’t relationships the source of  99.9%  of all our happiness and  99.9%  of all our distress?  In today's episode we are going to explore themes such as games people play, attachments, love, as well as substitutes of love. Here are some show notes that follow up on some of these themes... Games people play ht...

It's all very well having a cognitive self. But if we want to work out stuff that isn't so easy to pin-point or find answers to, then we'll likely need a wider approach. Welcome to the world of creativity - as a means of tapping into our unconscious self. Welcome to the idea that when we are actively expressive we are less dominated by our neocortex and more open to accessing more aspe...

“I use this word ‘I’ and I don't know what it means. I don't know where it begins and ends. I don't even know what it's made of.”    Scarlett Thomas, The End of Mr. Y This episode  of the Wellness Calendar finds us devoting our energies towards understanding our self. Who are you? What makes you who you are? What are the essential qualities that separate you from others? When you t...

In this episode we are seeking ways to engage with music on a wellness-focused level. Rather than treat sounds passively we're looking to utilise all that sonic waves can offer us. We'll be exploring different tempos, rhythms, instruments, genres, lyrics, soundscapes, etc, etc, in order to help regulate and enhance our emotions, our senses, our bodies as a whole. Have a listen. See what you think....

Welcome to another series of bite-sized ideas to get us thinking about ourselves and our wellness. This time we are focusing on coping strategies. Listen in and you'll find notions such as mood wheels, recovery bags and leaky buckets. As ever, take the gems away with you and bin the rest.

Could this episode be useful to you? Could it be used to expand the range of tools you have available for your own self detective purposes? Could shapes be of use? Symmetry? Periodic tables? Playing cards? Spinning plates? Aliens? Have a listen. See what you think. And in the meantime here are some links to stuff from the show... Using Shapes pdf Using Spinning Plates pdf Using Aliens pdf Using Th...

In total, across the year, we have 365 bite-sized nuggets for you to consider - on the subject of your very own wellbeing. January's 31 mini-blogs explore the ideas, tools and skills that might be useful to create and develop your own self detective agency, your own wellness landscape.

This episode is an open letter to anyone who is in a dark place. And who is looking for a way out. It contains an alternative method to actual physical suicide. It speaks of a different way to end pain and distress. One that involve leaving your existing psychological life without taking away your very own life force. If you or someone you know may benefit from the content of this letter, please k...

This episode is a spoken word version of a pamphlet. It's written by a group of counsellors who have had counselling themselves. It's designed to empower clients with knowledge/informed consent before they start the process - rather than having to figure it out on the hoof. We find it crazy to think that people (of all ages) might engage in therapy without really knowing how it works. So h...

In this session we are concentrating our efforts on the art of making a start: making a start on ourselves, our wellness, on setting up our own detective agency. Hopefully there will be something within all the shared examples and case studies to get you up and running on your own journey of discovery - whatever that might be. Good luck! Below are some links to stuff that might be worth exploring...

Why bother understanding yourself - when no one else can be bothered to do it? Why bother to spend time on your self-care, when you just eat a nice cheese sandwich instead? Why bother with self-sustained wellness when it doesn't make you anymore successful or wealthier? In today's episode we will be taking a historical and critical look at why bothering to know thyself could be one of the...

How can we enhance our lives so that we get more fulfilment and less hassle? In this episode two counsellors, Linda and Violet, share their thoughts and experiences on the subject of safe and nurturing spaces. We hope you enjoy their company, just as we hope you get some useful take-outs from the conversation. BTW, here are some links to information that came up in this session... A brief account...

Can this club become a nurturing haven in its own right? An independent principality of psychological safety and stability? A landless, borderless place where wellness is always - always, always - the number one concern? Where people can do some good work on their own well-being, free from the restrictions and hostilities of their day to day lives; away from the oppressions of their own societal c...

Welcome back to the lived experience part of the club. Here we have Anna-Lou and Jillie sharing how they navigate their way around adversarial environments.

How can we navigate our way through hostile realms within our society, within our day to day life? Tune in to find out.

Welcome to the lived experience part of the show. Here we get to hear Jillie and Richard talking to your SDC host about what wellness means to them. We trust that listening to them speak so freely and openly will help generate your own thoughts on the subject.

Is there anything more important than wellness? If there  is  something – anything – that’s more important than wellness, shout it out.  If there isn’t anything more important than wellness, then what are we waiting for? Let’s reverse back along the road. Let’s find out what it’s made of. Let’s start learning about the stuff.  Let’s immerse ourselves in the stuff.

Do you prefer to think for yourself, rather than be spoon-fed stuff? Do you prefer curiosity to being judgmental? Would you rather collect insights than medals? Do you have the capacity and desire for self-reflection, self-love and self-care? Would you like to be part of a human-sized platform that promotes freedom and equality not just culturally and interpersonally, but intrapersonally? Would yo...