The Inner Kindness Therapy Podcast

If you're fully qualified and experienced in your work, or any leadership role - and yet you still feel that you have to "over-perform", as if you could be found lacking at any moment... you could be experiencing "imposter syndrome". Imposter syndrome is not a recognised psychological disorder, but a "cognitive distortion" that was first identified in the late 1970s among high-achieving women. Mor...

These days, we are expected to perform from an early age - online, in exams and in the workplace. We often feel judged, rated and compared. No wonder global anxiety levels are rising. In this podcast I consider a possible solution to this performance-related anxiety which might seem counter-intuitive, but is supported by significant scientific research.

In this podcast I look at some of the psychological teachings of George Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher who was born in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. Gurdjieff first found acclaim in Russia in the 1910s, and after the First World War and the Russian Revolution, he gained a following among the wealthy and influential classes in Europe. His unconventional teachings and methods attracte...

I’ve been doing a lot of Trauma Release Exercises over the past few months, and it’s been an incredibly powerful process. It’s also been really exhausting. It’s not the actual exercises themselves that are exhausting - it’s the emotional release process that’s been draining me, physically as well as mentally. Many people do Trauma Release Exercises regularly and find them just mildly relaxing. So...

Search online for Trauma Release Exercises, and you’ll find loads of information on how to do it, pictures and films of people lying on their backs, tremoring. But there’s very little information on what actually happens when you do these exercises regularly - how it affects your sleep, possible side-effects, even how long it takes to heal from the trauma, to start feeling better. I’ve been doing...

Clearing up can trigger many psychological issues. What are the biggest blocks to clearing clutter, and how do you start to overcome them? In this episode I’d like to offer some thoughts and suggestions. Link to Simply Sort It! download: https://buymeacoffee.com/innerkindnesstherapy/e/506640 Note: when you go to the product page, you'll be prompted to "enter a fair price" - you can ignore this, as...

How often do you go out without taking your phone? And if you’re out somewhere and then you realise you’ve left your phone behind, or if you lose your phone, what sort of emotions are triggered? Think about it. In many ways, modern technology has become a kind of trap. Because we can’t function without it. Take away our technology, and we’re left with our own thoughts - which to many people is an...

Most people today are way more wealthy than our ancestors from two or three generations ago. And yet somehow most of us feel as if we’re struggling to make ends meet - at least, that’s the way it seems in the UK. I think this is because it’s not material possessions that we’re lacking. It’s freedom. In this podcast I’d like to look more deeply into why our lives have become so limited, what these...

Everyone seems to be tracking their fitness levels these days - counting steps, uploading running and hiking statistics to social media, and even tracking sleep. But is all this digital tracking actually helpful for our health? The evidence suggests a mixed picture. In this episode I consider the effects of digital fitness trackers on Image from Pexels Get full access to Inner Kindness Therapy at...

We often see “self help” as a kind of industry, a category in its own right. But this is where things can get tricky. Because as a hypnotherapist, I find that some people expect me to be able do amazing things to them – almost as if I’m a guru or a magician. In this episode I look at why this is, and how we can help ourselves to become more empowered. Image by Rosy on Pixabay. Get full access to I...

Have you ever noticed that it’s often the most accomplished among us, the most reliable and the most dependable people, who seem to suffer the most stress? Creating a legend isn’t easy, but living up to it is the really difficult bit. In this episode I look at the way that many of us fall into the trap of struggling to uphold an ideal identity, to live up to the story we’ve woven around ourselves...

Have you ever stepped away from a challenge or opportunity, and then slightly regretted it? Did fear make you miss your chance to do something that could have changed your life for the better? Some people turn down big career opportunities due to anxieties over travelling or public speaking. Or it might be something different, but whatever it was, it made them feel that they couldn’t take on that...

The film The Secret popularised asking the Universe for what you want. I look at this through a psychological lens, and discuss my own experience of having Jungian therapy many years ago. Is it disempowering to place your trust in a “higher power”? Get full access to Inner Kindness Therapy at innerkindnesstherapy.substack.com/subscribe

Years ago, in the mid-1990s, I watched a documentary about Inuit people who lived in an igloo in the Arctic. A grown-up man in his 40s had been out hunting, and he’d committed some sort of misdemeanour. I watched this film a long time ago, and I can’t remember what the misdemeanour was, but it didn’t seem overly serious. The head of the extended family, an elderly grandmother, was chastising this...