A Mental Health Journey
By Conor Stone
Conor Stone has lived with anxiety and depression for a number of years and in this podcast he looks to share his experiences in a way that can hopefully help others in their own journeys with mental health.
See amentalhealthjourney.com for more blogs and podcasts
A Mental Health JourneyOct 09, 2019
#23 Nutrition & Mental Health w Margaret O'Brien
In this episode, Conor is joined by the founder of Balance My Life, Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach, Margaret ('Mags') O'Brien to discuss the important roll that our nutrition can have in our mental health. They discuss how food impacts the serotonin in our bodies, how it effects our sleep, how it influences our energy and how things like alcohol and caffeine can effect us.
To reach out to Mags' you can find her at www.balancemylife.ie :)
#22 Becoming More Mindful in Day to Day Life
This episode is all about becoming more mindful in your day to day life. It recognises that mindfulness doesn't need to be meditation. Mindfulness in its most simple form is having an awareness of your present experience, without any judgement for that experience.
That could mean you are mindful when you recognise how tough your run is; when you notice a beautiful view on your walk; when you hear the traffic you pass outside your window; or when you feel the wind and rain against your body at the bus stop.
Mindfulness is everywhere, once you allow yourself to notice - Enjoy ❤
#21 Improving Your Mental Health
In this podcast, Conor follows on from episode #20 with ways, in his experience, that we improve our mental health when we think it could be declining, or just in general. Take 20 minutes and see what you think :)
Conor is not a therapist so these thoughts are his own and from his own experience.
#20 Noticing A Mental Health Decline
Mental health issues are a weird one where often times you yourself are the last person to notice they exist. Before we can reflect and act, we have to notice. The challenge is that noticing isn't always as simple as it sounds. In this podcast, Conor shares his experiences of not noticing he was anxious/depressed/panicked until weeks down the line, and he discusses the things he spots in his self that helps him to notice potential declines now before things get too bad.
Enjoy :)
#19 My Covid Year
#18 Helping a Loved One
#17 Growing Up In War & Taking the Fight To ill Mental Health with Mandana Ahamadi, CEO of Aya
Mani has a PhD in Computational Neuroscience and is the CEO of an exciting mental health start-up in the UK, but that reality did not look likely when she was growing up in war-torn Iran during the 1980s. Then, as a young girl, she watched as planes flew overhead and looked to drop bombs on her community; she was forced to flee to shelters in the middle of her school day; and she was denied so many of the opportunities that young children deserve to have. Those experiences have stuck with Mani and have given her a special perspective on the world. It is that perspective that led her to dedicating her academic and business careers to the world of positive wellbeing.
In this episode, I talk to Mani about; growing up in war times; resilience; better looking after ourselves during this pandemic; computational Neuroscience; and the idea behind Aya.
Sign Up to the Aya Beta App Here
#16 The Toughest Days of My Depression
This is a podcast for anyone who is having a sh*tty time at the moment. I have talked about my depression a lot, but in this podcast I want to share what my toughest days looked like, how I got through them and where I am now. Essentially, I get it. Just know that you aren't crazy, there are lots of us who do feel or have felt like this.
Please subscribe, review and share :)
#15 Wellbeing at Work with Dr. Nick Taylor, CEO of Unmind
Dr. Nick Taylor's interest in wellbeing began in his youth, while growing up with a sister who has down syndrome. His interest in the area led him on a path to becoming a trained clinical psychologist and eventually being appointed the NHS's lead clinical psychologist in Central London. It was in that role that Nick came up with the idea for Unmind, which four years on is one of the UK's fastest growing and most reputable wellbeing start-ups. Unmind is a workplace mental health platform, that empowers employees to measure, understand, and improve their mental wellbeing.
In this episode, Conor speaks to Nick about wellbeing in the workplace - where it is at in Ireland and the UK, where it is moving, how it can be improved by an employer and how it can be improved by an employee. Nick's own wellbeing routine as the owner of a fast growing enterprise is another key topic of discussion.
This is a must listen for any employer, employee or start-up founder who is looking to improve their colleagues and their own wellbeing at work :)
Unmind Website - https://unmind.com/
A Mental Health Journey Website - https://amentalhealthjourney.com/
#14 The Physical Effects of Stress, Anxiety & Depression
Please subscribe, review and share :)
amentalhealthjourney.com/
#13 Self Compassion - Finding the courage to love youself
In this episode, Conor shares his difficulties with having a naturally self-deprecating mindset and how he has used CBT to develop a more caring relationship with himself. The episode finishes with a short loving kindness meditation. Namaste.
(Full meditation also available here - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7aulfaVGqpYGPgZrUIOpoP)
#12 Children's Mental Health & Well-being
Episode includes references to #self-esteem building, activity participation, emotional understanding, #mindfulness and #CBT for children.
Enjoy and let us know what you think at amentalhealthjourney@outlook.com or through messenger ☺️
#11 Panic Attacks
#10 Therapy & Tapping with Gráinne Stone (My Mammy)
#9 Wellbeing in Lockdown
#8 Processing Trauma
#7 My Daily Mental Workout
#6 Medicated Me
He has been on antidepressants since June 2019 and has had plenty of ups and downs on them. Here, he reflects on his initial resistance to medical treatment; his decision to start taking SSRIs; the change he made from Sertraline to Fluoxetine in October 2019; and how he feels about medication now.
#5 Social Media & Mental Health
In this episode, Conor shares his experiences of life with and without social media and the impacts of each on his mental health.
For the last year, Conor has tried his best to reduce the role that social media plays in his life. His struggles with mental health and the research he put into recovery opened his eyes to the issues that his phone nurtured. Since 2018, his daily phone use has cut in half and his issues have reduced alongside it.
#4 Alcohol, Caffeine, Anxiety and Me
#3 Psychotherapy & CBT
Conor has had over one hundred psychotherapy sessions in the last three years and has also completed a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) course with the NHS. In this piece he explains what these two therapies involve, what his own experiences of them have been like and how to find a counsellor and therapy type that is right for you. Listen with volume low to reduce feedback noise! Sorry :|