Sideways

This week we're talking about how to manage anxiety and the way in which almost everything that works best is counterintuitive. Martin leaves his dartboard outside, and celebrates a day just for him. We make arrangements for handling a bear attack and ask, "Should apples be stored in the fridge?" (of course not). https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.c...

This week we're talking about why we find giving and recieving compliments so awkward, what it says about us, and how to change it. There's squirrel talk, a discussion about whether we all end up dressing our age, some dull exchanges about loose-leaf tea, and a tale about sheep on drugs. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@gr...

This week, we're talking about all the benefits of being kind to other people, many of which are incredibly powerful for the giver of kindness as much as they are for the receiver. Martin gives away some chocolate but can't take advantage of a client's similar act of kindness, I enjoy floor coverings, and we have a night in London that culminated in a jog to the station that played...

This week we're discussing all the methods we use to get in our own way. Procrastination, perfectionism, low self-esteem, disconnection, and lots more. I help my daughter liberate a spider, Martin oversleeps, we debate the merits of measuring things by using other things, and remember the heady days of the conker battles we had in our youth. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://gra...

We're back, and this week we're talking about five common signs that you've developed or are developing a dependence on a substance or behaviour. There are guitar-shaped coffins, tales of being attacked by two wild animals simultaneously, short trousers, and neck ties. It's good to be with you again. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You...

A short trailer to let you know that we've had enough of being without you and are looking forward to returning next week. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk Thanks again for listening, we really appreciate it.

In the last episode of this season, we're talking about how we create conditions for inspiration. We reminisce about bringing games into school on the last day of term, I learn a lot about work charming, and Martin reveals his fondness for bouncy balls. We'll be back in September but, if you can't wait that long, there are 174 other episodes for you to listen to. Have a lovely summe...

This week we're talking about why we find it hard to make decisions and what we can do about it. There's money to be made from scaring birds, especially those with a drug habit, Martin dresses up as a Cavalier, and we get all wistful about paddling pools. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk Thanks a...

This week we're talking about the fine line between supportive behaviour and the point at which it slips into enabling a continuation of the problem that you're trying to help address. We allow ourselves a once in 43 years moment or two of euphoria at our football team finally winning something and consider sober ways to celebrate . We deconstruct the phrase "tough love", and M...

This week, we're talking about doubting your own ability and why there is no benefit in believing the worst about who you are and what you can do. If that weren't enough, there is also chat about getting old,  parking apps, novelty coffins, and flowers with low self-confidence. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@grahamlandiw...

This week we’re talking about how and why we’re easily led astray. During a conversation about library fines, I make a long overdue confession, Martin is grateful for haggis, and I buy some new pots. It's better than it sounds. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk Thanks again for listening, we really app...

This week, we're discussing how much we struggle to know who we are, especially through difficult periods of our lives and how who you were yesterday is almost certainly different from who you are today. I Google my name to see who the internet thinks I am,  there is a tale about a furious cow, Martin's late father falls into a river and he (Martin) gets himself a new set of wheels https...

This week we're talking about ways to rethink our negative thoughts and I make the lofty claim that there is no negative thought that cannot be reframed positively. I reveal my difficulty with irritating sounds, Martin has some more tales about animals, we disagree about waking up to the sound of a legendary guitarist, and we ponder the possibility that Martin might be distantly related to To...

This week we're talking about why we find it hard to face the end of things, even when they have been destructive and painful.   We discuss too, the space between endings and new beginnings which can be incredibly uncomfortable yet super helpful if we can learn to navigate it properly. I bemoan street parties, Martin praises leftovers, and we wonder about what he might have forgotten about du...

This week we're discussing what makes us feel the need to tell other people what they ought to do,  why it never works and what we might be better off trying instead. There's all the usual tomfoolery too, including the joy of a charity shop, why Martin enjoys a hog roast, and we each choose a musician for very unsavoury purposes. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamland...

This week we’re discussing why people place themselves in the position of victim when all it does is render them incapable of taking action to change the situation they are so frustrated with. Martin reflects on how pub opening hours might have been a godsend, we make up stories about people while one listener takes it further and judges quiz contestants on the basis of the way they play the game....

This week we’re talking about how giving up one addiction can lead you straight into the arms of another one if you aren’t on your guard, and we explore the way that some people have their own ideas about what constitutes a dependency and whether some behaviours or substances can be exempt. (Spoiler alert: They can't) There’s also a bag of snakes, the dangers of virtual sports, cheating at th...

This week we’re talking about the damage we do to ourselves and other people when we allow our mistaken conscious and unconscious beliefs to dictate the way we think and behave. We also cover, the Easter bunny, sweary parrots, Martin’s hatred of Genesis (the band not the book of the Bible), the liturgical calendar, and why Malteasers can sometimes be painful. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk...

This week Martin takes use through some keys ways in which its possible to identify addiction distinct from other mental health difficulties. We manage to move through that with some brevity leaving us plenty of time to discuss buying too much of something, dropping your phone into water, getting confused in McDonalds, drinking alcohol at breakfast, ferrets, and Gwyneth Paltrow. https://www.graham...

This week we're debunking some of the common misconceptions around sobriety that keep people from putting down their drink and drugs. Martin has some startling information about birds' anatomy and our gratitude list entries are unusually serious and heartfelt. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk Tha...

This week we're looking at some of the reasons people give for relapse and discuss ways in which such self-destructive action can be avoided. We reminisce about amusing news headlines, hear about a spiteful octopus, and the time that Martin went "Zorbing". https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.com/ You can email us at info@grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk Th...

This week we're talking about the things that it's best not to change in the first year of recovery to make sure you keep yourself on track. Martin and I disagree over the correct use of a travel mug, he shares some disturbing information about dolphins and their use of narcotics,  we wonder about tattoos and celebrate "Check Your Batteries" day. https://www.grahamlandiwellbein...

This week we're talking about human relationships and the way in which they are the most consistent predictor of long, happy and healthy lives. Martin develops an interest in how flamingoes choose their partners, we reminisce about boring holiday jobs in factories, and the difficulty of putting on a pair of tight football socks. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.subs...

This week we're discussing the negative impact of gossip whether you're being gossiped about or doing the gossiping. There's chat about royal headgear, a revelation about "foreign accent syndrome", cautionary advice about flammable dressing gowns, and unappealing ways of using a tin of pineapple rings. https://www.grahamlandiwellbeing.co.uk/ https://grahamlandi.substack.co...

This week we turn our attention to rumination and explore the reasons why we can't get out of destructive circular thoughts and what to do about it. We reminisce about our time in rock bands and how, on occasion, our art was not fully appreciated, while Martin helps me out with a question that has worried me for years concerning criminals' luggage. There is also a sobering tale about the...