The Richard Nicholls Mental Health Podcast

Send us Fan Mail This week I’m talking about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT. A therapy model that sounds a bit like “just accept things” on the surface, but actually has a lot more depth to it than that. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.n...

Send us Fan Mail Jumping into the time machine today, back to 1968 when a researcher built a paradise for mice. A place with unlimited food, total safety, nothing to fear, and watched the whole thing fall apart anyway. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threa...

Send us Fan Mail People often use the word panic to mean the same as anxiety. But in my world, the 2 are separated so as to ensure people get the right sort of therapy. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www....

Send us Fan Mail Attention seeking gets used as an insult, doesn't it. But wanting to be noticed is one of the most fundamental human drives we have. Today I'm looking at why we got this so badly wrong, and what's actually going on when someone gets labelled that way. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https...

Send us Fan Mail Self forgiveness isn’t about pretending the past didn’t happen, or letting ourselves off the hook. It’s about learning the difference between responsibility and punishment. Because you can’t hate yourself into becoming well. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Th...

Send us Fan Mail Who's responsible if we fall flat on our face and nothing goes right? More importantly, who's responsible if we don't pick ourselves up again? Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https:...

Send us Fan Mail A bad attitude is like a flat car tyre. You're not going anywhere unless you change it. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.face...

Send us Fan Mail The rules of toxic masculinity suggest that to be a real man you should never lose, have no needs, suffer in silence, show no emotions except bravado and anger, be independent, show no weakness. It’s an impossible code to live by and it hurts everyone. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/pr...

Send us Fan Mail Because we're not born knowing how to do anything that comes naturally to us as adults, we're literally born to fail along the way. Whether that's learning to walk, talk or how to be calm in difficult situations. We have to learn. We have to practice. And the only way to do that is to get it wrong. Time to embrace our failures! Support the show Join the Patreon comm...

Send us Fan Mail Call it a crush, call it new relationship energy, call it infatuation. But if it becomes an addiction, then you can easily become your own drug dealer by retreating into fantasy. That's when it starts to become a very serious problem. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richard...

Send us Fan Mail Not only is my house full left over Christmas chocolate but the supermarkets are already pushing Easter eggs onto me and there's only so much willpower we have to resist. But sometimes it's all a matter of perspective. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.ne...

Send us Fan Mail Understanding a little bit about the effects of different parenting styles can really help us understand ourselves better. As well as help us to understand others. Let's have a peek into some of the basics shall we? Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Thread...

Send us Fan Mail Phenomenology is a posh word that psychologists use to mean the idea of someone's subjective and individual experience. We could all have exactly the same experience but feel completely different about it and it's important we understand why. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/pr...

Send us Fan Mail If your sense of self is based around helping others and it's the only place where you get your self worth from. It might be worth checking that you don't make things worse. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnic...

Send us Fan Mail According to multiple studies, fear of judgement is the number one biggest fear, above dying. The author Elbert Hubbard once wrote, "Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you'll never be criticised." And that's probably the only way to avoid criticism, isn't it? Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Soci...

Send us Fan Mail Today is International Relaxation Day. So I thought I'd do something different this week for my bonus episode and guide you through a 5 minute relaxation exercise. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Insta...

Send us Fan Mail Most people think of boundaries as being like a physical thing as if there's a chalk outline on the ground everywhere you go and if someone steps into it it makes you upset. The thing is the only one that knows the boundary is there is you. Today is all about why boundaries are important, how to set them and how you know if someone's crossed the line. Support the show Jo...

Send us Fan Mail What's the difference between someone who has all the motivation and enthusiasm you could wish for and someone who, even though they don't have depression, still can't feel motivated? Well, in order to answer that I think it's worth looking at what motivation actually is. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social...

Send us Fan Mail It's Friday 13th, so today I've got a bonus episode for you about the psychology of superstition. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook h...

Send us Fan Mail Your brain has a remarkable ability to filter and remember important experiences while discarding the less significant ones. It does so by comparing new experiences with past ones and using emotional reactions to determine their importance. Let's look at how we can train it! Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links...

Send us Fan Mail Today is all about Obsessive Compulsive Personality. OCD is talked about a lot because it's such a life destroying disorder, and so is quite obvious if someone has it. But when it's a personality trait people can often just get labelled as "difficult" and they don't seek help. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicho...

Send us Fan Mail Being behind on your goals doesn't mean rushing to get everything finished, it doesn't mean disrespecting yourself and not looking after yourself. One of the most important factors in getting through a busy life with a healthy and happy mindset is the quality time that you put to one side just for you. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/r...

Send us Fan Mail Ever heard of Sensory Processing Sensitivity? It's a neurological trait that means that one in 6 people have super duper processing abilities of all of their experiences. Sounds like a superpower doesn't it? Some with it don't always think so though. Take the test https://hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/ Support the show Join the Patreon community https://ww...

Send us Fan Mail It may be Valentine's Day this month, a day to remind someone that you love them, but I think we very often need to bring it closer to home. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instag...

Send us Fan Mail Cognitive Distortions are the thinking traps where our mind convinces us of something that isn't actually true. Once habitual and almost a part of our personality, they can very often start the ball rolling for depression and anxiety. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richard...