The Richard Nicholls Mental Health Podcast

Send us Fan Mail For many, anxiety is all about being vulnerable to the possibility of rejection.  It's normal for our brain to seek out what we fear and notice dangerous possibilities. But those with bad experiences may have been primed from an early age to expect rejection by default. Because of this, their brain is going to start perceiving rejection everywhere. Support the show Join the P...

Send us Fan Mail Kindness is often linked with better mental health. It helps us to feel connected to others, creates a sense of belonging and reduces isolation. But I say there's a time and a place for it, and it might not be now and it might start closer to home. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/p...

Send us Fan Mail "Awe" tends to be defined as the emotion we experience when encountering something with such perceived vastness that our brain might find it hard to comprehend how it can exist. Being "awed" by an experience can have some surprisingly powerful, positive effects on us. Awesome Links Watch All The Apple TV Aerial Video Screensavers https://bzamayo.com/watch-all-t...

Send us Fan Mail In his letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963, after being arrested on the rather trumped up charge of marching without a permit,  Martin luther king wrote, amongst other things, this quote. he said "There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love" in other words, if you feel disappointed it's only because you care about something.  Support the show Jo...

Send us Fan Mail Often people will talk about the need to disappear away for a bit to "find themselves" when actually they already knew where they were they just didn't "know" themselves. Well, maybe we don't need to climb a mountain or hide in a retreat for a week to do this. Maybe we can get to really know ourselves a little bit more every day until we're fully...

Send us Fan Mail Research has shown that hope can significantly improve mental health outcomes. It boosts resilience, helps you to cope better with stress and setbacks and means that you're more likely to engage in positive behaviours that support your well-being. But hope isn't something that just happens; it's something you might need to cultivate and it could even save your life....

Send us Fan Mail Are you living your life based on your values or your goals? What's the difference anyway? Let's find out. Link to values list https://richardnicholls.net/?post=episode-238 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/@richardnich...

Send us Fan Mail Gaslighting is a phrase we use to mean being manipulated and to have your reality questioned. Cults have been doing it for decades, maybe even for thousands of years. Today I'm going to scratch the surface a bit. Come and have a listen. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richa...

Send us Fan Mail One thing we can all guarantee is that we'll all receive some sort of criticism at some point. The trick is to not let it get under our skin. Easier said than done though, but don't let that stop you. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://...

Send us Fan Mail When "future you" doesn't even exist, it can be really hard to stick to your plan in the "now" to ensure that future you gets their needs met. 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 Instag...

Send us Fan Mail Back in 1995 when britpop ruled the charts and the UN designated it The United Nations Year for Tolerance, British Telecom started a friends and family service to make it cheaper to call a handful of your favourite people with the slogan It's Good To Talk. Everyone agreed. Hopefully we do still think that, don't we? Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www...

Send us Fan Mail If you've ever set a goal for yourself and then found yourself deliberately sticking a spanner in the works knowing full well it'll cause you to fail then welcome to the human race. Because everyone does it. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads h...

Send us Fan Mail I might not the young man I once was, but there is a certain childishness to me that I'm hoping can keep me young. Looking at the studies into attitude and ageing the odds are in my favour! 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/...

Send us Fan Mail Having free will is generally thought of as a good thing but it also comes with responsibility. That's why decisions cause anxiety, whether it's about the little things or the big things. 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 Most people live their life based around making other people happy to some degree. It's just how far we take it that determines whether or not it becomes a problem. 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 Inst...

Send us Fan Mail Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and its counterpart Complex PTSD, are life-altering conditions. And although the symptoms may often resemble Anxiety and Depression, they need to be worked on in slightly different ways. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads...

Send us Fan Mail Prompted by a few emails over the years. Today is all about dealing with having an insecure attachment style and how to best cope in a relationship despite it.  36 questions that lead to love. 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/@r...

Send us Fan Mail Today is all about biases. In particular the in-group and out-group bias that drives our emotions way more than it should in the modern world. 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...

Send us Fan Mail It's often said that there are 3 types of perfectionism. Self-Oriented Perfectionism, Other-Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism. Let's take a peek into them shall we? 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 I have a couple of catchphrases, or if you ask my wife I repeat myself a lot and can be boring and predictable, either way you'll often hear me say one particular phrase. "The brain can't separate fact from fiction." If you've got this far through my Podcast series and not heard me say that then I must boring after all because you clearly fell asleep, beca...

Send us Fan Mail Gratitude, even about the simpler things in life, helps to dilute down the frustrations about the annoying things. But it's not always easy to find reasons to be grateful is 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/@richardnich...

Send us Fan Mail Seeing as it's Spring, not that you'd know it *shakes fist at the clouds* a time for having a good old clear out. I thought I'd revisit an old topic and talk about the psychology of stuff this week. In particular the way our brain can get very confused. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky htt...

Send us Fan Mail Someone asked me recently what the difference is between meditation, mindfulness and hypnosis. So I thought I'd go into it a little today and encourage you to take some mindful moments to train your brain. Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://...

Send us Fan Mail Are we ALL entitled to an opinion? Am I really worth L'Oreal's products? All these questions and more on this weeks exciting instalment! 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.insta...

Send us Fan Mail An increase in distress around the anniversary of a traumatic event is often called an anniversary reaction.  It can range from feeling mildly upset for a day or two to more extreme reactions where someone experiences significant psychiatric or even medical symptoms. The good news is that we know when it's coming! Support the show Join the Patreon community https://www.patreo...