Mind Vox

After two months of radio silence, Claire is back with a new Mind Vox episode.

This is more of an update to what’s been going on, as well as what she’s learnt through the current issues she’s faced, and what’s coming up for the pod.

This episode explores:

-Why Claire hasn’t uploaded a pod episode in a while!

-Some of the symptoms she’s recognised as Autistic and ADHD Burnout.

-Recent transitions that have been adding pressure and increasing the burnout, including school transitions and holidays.

-The limitations she’s faced to recover, including summer holidays as a single parent and being a sandwich carer.

-What Claire’s been doing to reduce the burnout and which have been the most helpful.

-Things she’s learnt from this most recent burnout to take forward for the next time.

-Ideas for future episodes.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Burnout, ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Sensory Processing, Perimenopause, AUDHD, Trauma and Social Isolation.

Links

Allie Mason is a Children’s Author and a Landscape and Training Coordinator.

She was diagnosed Autistic at the age of 23 in 2020, and wants to talk about her late-diagnosis journey and what she has put in place to help with the Autistic traits that affect her wellbeing.

Allie describes herself as an Autistic Adventurer Extraordinaire, as she finds outdoor adventures help improve her wellbeing.

She wants fellow neurodivergent people to get outdoors for the same reason, which has inspired her first non-fiction book.

The Autistic Guide to Adventure was written to support Autistic young people to feel able to explore outdoor adventures if they have sensory processing issues that previously put them off attempting this.

Allie has come onto the podcast to talk about her late-diagnosis journey and the positive coping mechanisms she’s adopted since learning about her traits.

This episode explores:

-Allie’s Autistic late-diagnosis journey.

-Her reflections on being undiagnosed for 23 years, and misdiagnosed with other conditions.

-What Allie’s learnt about Autism and how to manage her traits since diagnosis.

-How Autism affects Allie’s wellbeing.

-How the outdoors and adventuring improve Allie’s wellbeing.

-Advice for ways other neurodivergent people can get outdoors when they’ve previously assumed it won’t work with their sensory needs and other traits.

-Creating a Sensory Toolkit to help indoors and outdoors.

-Exploring ways to enjoy nature with chronic pain and physical disabilities.

-What inspired Allie to write a book for Autistic young people, and how she hopes it will help them.

-How Allie managed the long editing and publishing process as a Neurodivergent.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Sensory Processing, Lockdown, Skin-Ripping and unhealthy coping mechanisms including Self-Harm and Social Isolation.

Links

Carrie Kearns is a Veterinary CPD Tutor and Student Hypnotherapist and Counsellor.

They were a Pet Bereavement Counsellor for 22 years and are currently training as a Hypnotherapist.

Carrie has two children and is a late diagnosed Autistic who uses They/Them pronouns.

They were misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety before getting an Autism diagnosis, and their experience within the mental health system inspired them to now train as a counsellor.

Carrie talks about their late diagnosis journey, why they think functioning labels can be harmful and their experience of the mental health system, both diagnosed and undiagnosed.

This episode explores:

-Carrie’s misdiagnosis of depression and anxiety, which was actually Autism and ADHD, and their experience of burnout.

-How Carrie got through burnout and the work they’ve done to reduce future burnouts.

-The abuse and struggles Carrie dealt with throughout their life.

-Carrie’s late-diagnosis journey and how they’ve dealt with it.

-Why Carrie feels functional labels can be harmful.

-Carrie’s views on the mental health support offered in this country and how it could be improved for Autistics.

-Why Carrie decided to train in Hypnotherapy.

-The ways Carrie adjusted their parenting to meet their son’s Autistic needs, and their (suspected neurodivergent) daughter’s too.

-Autistic Meltdowns, Shutdowns and Burnouts- the differences between them and how Carrie manages them.

-Challenges Carrie has faced with trying to get their daughter assessed for Autism and ADHD, when she doesn’t present stereotypically.

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about Physical and Mental Health Conditions, Trauma, Stress, Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, Abuse, Bullying, 17q12 Duplication Syndrome, Suicidal Ideation and Attempts, OCD, Dyslexia, Medications, RSD, Pet Bereavement and Aphantasia.

Links

Sylvia Tillmann is a TRE® (Trauma & Tension Releasing Exercises) Provider, specialising in teaching therapeutic ways to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

She’s founder of Tremendous TRE®, and is also trained in counselling, Jikiden Reiki and Laughter Yoga.

Sylvia feels that people hold too much tension in their bodies which can manifest in many forms, from chronic physical pain to mental health issues.

She believes TRE empowers us to learn to help and heal ourselves, rather than relying on others for various physical and psychological issues.

She's come onto the pod to talk about the benefits of TRE and to give examples of tools we can use to help ourselves at home.

This episode explores:

-What somatic tools are

-What TRE is and the benefits of it

-The benefits of somatic tools such as TRE

-Who TRE is designed for and what issues it can help with

-The impact that stress can have on our physical and mental wellbeing

-How we can improve our physical and mental wellbeing using TRE techniques

-Examples of TRE tools we can try at home for various issues and ailments

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about Physical and Mental Health Conditions, Trauma, Lockdown, Stress, Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, Abuse, Trying to Conceive, War Zones, PTSD, Parkinson’s, MS and Alzheimer’s.

Links 

Sue Bordley is an Author, Teacher and mother to two teenage sons.

She’s Autistic, which was discovered when her children were formally diagnosed with Autism. Sue’s self-diagnosed, and has some experience of the stigma surrounding self-diagnosis.

Sue’s taught English at secondary school for 26 years, whilst also writing novels for adults and teenagers.

Her latest book, Sweet Like Candy, features an Autistic family based on her own experience of family life.

Sue uses the pen name Jess Molyneux for some books, including XY, Z, which aims to educate teenagers about sex and consent. It also includes the message that women should be treated as equals in relationships.

Surrounded by ‘chick lit’ where women are often depicted as stereotypical shopping-obsessed, wine-loving and looking for a man to depend on, Sue wanted to change the narrative.

Sue chooses to empower women and girls through positive representation in literature, so female characters in her books are strong, sharp, funny and self-sufficient.

Sue’s come onto Mind Vox to discuss parenting neurodivergent children, her self-diagnosis journey and how she’s empowering women and educating teenagers about equality, consent and sex using books.

This episode explores:

-Sue’s journey to becoming an author for both teenagers and adults.

-Why Sue felt the need to educate teenagers about consent and gender equality within relationships by writing teenage fiction.

-Advice for how parents can use books like XY, Z to educate their children about sex, consent and relationships.

-Sue’s feelings around how women are represented within ‘chick-lit’ fiction and how she’s trying to encourage more positive representation of women in her work.

-Her experience of Autistic late self-diagnosis and reflections of being undiagnosed for so long.

-Sue’s experiences of parenting her (diagnosed) Autistic children, who also have Dyspraxia.

-How she’s been inspired by her own family to create an Autistic family in her latest book.

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about Autism, ADHD, Sexual Consent, Gender Equality, Contraception, STIs, Andrew Tate, Peer Pressure, Sexuality and Dyspraxia.

Links

Vanessa is a Vision Board Mentor and trained life coach, who specialises in helping people reconnect with how they want their life to be, if they’ve become overwhelmed or lost.

She was a successful business owner for 25 years and raised two children whilst experiencing grief, loss and serious illness.

With all of these factors at play, she began to feel stuck, so Vanessa tried vision boards and managed to make changes to her life that improved her wellbeing.

She believes vision boards can help with a multitude of issues, including finding a new direction in your life, and gaining motivation, focus and clarity.

Vanessa is now the founder of Vision Boards for All and believes there’s a vision board for everyone’s needs, and wants to explain the benefits to using them.

This episode explores:

-What vision boards are and how they can help our practical life, emotions and mental health.

-How vision boards helped Vanessa with her own life stresses.

-The theory and statistics behind vision boards.

-The benefits to using vision boards to increase motivation, positive outlooks and life goals.

-What our inner compass is, why we need to find it and how vision boards help us to do this.

-How vision boards can help you to reflect on your life and gain self-awareness of your current needs.

-The ways sports people use vision boards to help their mindset when competing.

-The types of vision boards that can be used and which work best for each type of issue, including holistic, digital and paper boards.

-How vision boards can be useful for Autism and/or ADHD in areas such as impulsivity, decision paralysis and burnout.

-Ways you can use vision boards with children for their wellbeing and difficulties they might be experiencing.

-Tips for creating vision boards, including life wheels.

-Ways to use the board effectively, including questions to ask yourself when looking at it, how it can motivate you to achieve goals, and using journaling and meditating alongside it as a tool.

-Using boards over long periods of time to assess how far you have come, or to notice changes you’ve made when you assume you’re still stuck.

ACTIVITY

I’m going to attempt a vision board and might try to get my son to do one, so if you feel inspired by this episode, let me know on the socials how you got on, and tag Mind Vox on any you share!

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about Grief, anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Burnout, Depression, Divorce, Children’s mental health and trauma.

Links

Brooke Bownes is a Therapist, Brainspotting Practitioner and Trauma Coach, specialising in narcissistic abuse.

Throughout her life, Brooke has personal experience of trauma from a Narcissistic mother, a lack of self-confidence and imposter syndrome, until she found strategies to heal herself.

Referred to as the Trauma Breakthrough Queen, Brooke has also written a self-help book about the self-sabotage cycle.

Brooke’s mission is to raise awareness of The Mother Wound trauma from narcissist mothers, and educate others about ways to stop living in fear behind a mask, so they can be seen and heard.

She’s also a mother to four adult children, and has 9 grandchildren.  

This episode will explore:

-How adults can try to heal childhood trauma.

-Brooke’s personal story and journey of being parented by a narcissistic mother.

-What narcissism is, including covert narcissism.

-What a narcissistic parent looks like, including how they treat each child differently, causing some to become co-dependent and others to also be narcissists.

-How gender can play a part in which child is targeted by the narcissist.

-The Mother Wound and Father Wound traumas, and how to heal from this.

-How narcissism can be misdiagnosed as other conditions, including Autism and Bipolar, and vice-versa.

-Ways to manage still having a narcissistic parent in your life when you’re an adult, to avoid further trauma.

-Advice for how to calm your nervous system.

-What to do if you recognise narcissistic behaviours within yourself.

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about Childhood trauma, Narcissism, Covert Narcissism, Inner Child Wounds, EMDR, Brainspotting, Autism, ADHD, Gaslighting, Co-dependency and Domestic Violence.

Links

Lydia Wilkins is a freelance journalist, author and speaker, covering topics including disability, neurodivergence and social issues. She’s been featured in publications such as The Independent and The Metro.

Lydia is Autistic and has recently published a book called The Autism-Friendly Cookbook, for Autistic adults and teenagers to use on low-energy/ burnout days, or when needing inspiration.

The book contains 100 recipes, including modifications for those who are sensory seekers, sensory avoiders and those wanting new challenges.

Lydia has come onto the pod to talk about her own experience of Autism, and the sensory issues that can be part of both this and ADHD.

She will give some useful tips for managing sensory issues, including around the kitchen when trying to navigate cooking, especially on meltdown or shutdown days.

Lydia also has knowledge around the role of gender and eating disorders for Autistics, and strategies for parents trying to support their neurodivergent children’s needs.

This episode explores:

-Lydia’s personal journey to being diagnosed Autistic.

-How Lydia feels she is treated as an Autistic female by professionals.

-The traits that affect Lydia’s daily life, including sensory and socialising issues.

-Sensory Avoiders and Sensory Seekers: issues associated with Autism and ADHD, and what that means in the kitchen and eating.

-Ways to manage traits around eating for parents of neurodivergent children.

-Access issues in the kitchen, including interoception and proprioception.

-Adaptations that can be made to improve access issues.

-Lydia’s experience of the PIP process.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Autism, ADHD, Chronic Pain, Disabilities, Mental Health, Thalidomide injuries, Long Covid, Shutdowns, Meltdowns and Eating Disorders.

Links

After a two week break, Claire is back to talk a bit about Autism and how it can present in women, based upon her own research and experiences.

Claire was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago, but has spent a year researching Autism which she now also identifies with.

This episode explores:

-How ADHD and Autism are common to have as dual diagnosis for up to 70% of people.

-Claire’s own experience of ADHD and Autism.

-Why Autism can be missed for many women for many years of their lives (including Masking).

-The similarities and differences of ADHD and Autistic traits.

-The comorbidities of both conditions.

-Some of the common myths about Autism

-Identifying some female Autistic traits and resources for where to find out more.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Misophonia, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, Eating Disorders and Dyspraxia.

Links

Kirsty Hayward is a Workspace Consultant who focuses on adapting workplaces to improve staff wellbeing, mental health and productivity.

After years of working long hours, lockdown showed Kirsty she needed to make changes for her own health.

She resigned and set up her own business, putting her health and wellbeing first, which naturally increased her work performance and productivity.

During this time, she was diagnosed with ADHD and learnt ways to adapt how she worked to benefit her neurological condition.

She now has a keen interest in educating businesses about the importance of being inclusive of divergence in the workplace.

During this episode we explore:

-How wellbeing can affect work productivity and performance.

-Kirsty’s personal journey to changing her career to improve her wellbeing.

-How Kirsty came to be diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and how this affected her career.

-Common problems neurodivergent people can experience in the workplace.

-Tips for ways to improve the workplace for neurodivergent people, and those with mental health conditions, including Sound Masking, Zoning, Lighting and Biophilic Design.

- Ways to make changes that aren’t just to the space, including working with your individual wellbeing needs.

-Advice about how to ask for support from your manager to improve working conditions for your wellbeing or neurodivergence.

-Future workspaces: What these are and the benefits of them.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Sensory Processing Disorder and Burnout.

Links

Dawn-Marie Farmer and Laura Mears-Reynolds moved to the same street, at the same time, at the same age, and had the same undiagnosed disability.

After discovering the impact that undiagnosed ADHD had on their lives, and the high numbers of mis/undiagnosed ADHD women who've endured the same struggle, they created a podcast to raise awareness and break the stigma around neurodivergence.

ADHD As Females now has 320,000 downloads in 172 countries in just 9 months, and is regularly in the top 30 UK podcasts in Society and Culture, alongside the likes of Louis Theroux and Russell Brand.

They have interviewed a range of women, including well-known figures like Clementine Ford, Louise Williams (who has also been on Mind Vox) and even me, your Mind Vox host!

With an ever-increasing audience on their pod and across social media, they’ve come onto this pod to talk about their ADHD experiences, the highs and lows of being an important voice in the ADHD community, and why it’s so important to open up the conversation around neurodivergence for women in this current climate.

This episode explores:

-Laura and Dawn’s journey’s to meeting each other and discovering they were undiagnosed ADHD.

-The similar and completely different ADHD traits they each experience.

-How each trait can present differently from person to person.

-The varying traumas people can experience from undiagnosed neurodivergence.

-Unhealthy coping mechanisms that can be created from a life undiagnosed.

-Laura and Dawn’s incredibly different journeys to reaching diagnosis.

-Why diagnosis is important, regardless of age.

-Their titration experiences.

-Why they created the ADHD As Females Podcast.

-What it’s like to have a pod that’s become incredibly popular, and what they’ve learnt along the way.

-The highs and lows of running a popular podcast with ADHD, and how they cope with the demands of it.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Emotional Dysregulation, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, Dyscalculia, ADHD, Autism, Depression, Suicidal thoughts, Binge Eating Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Addiction and Trauma responses.

Links

Dr Marianne Trent is a Clinical Psychologist, specialising in Grief and Trauma therapy, and the author of The Grief Collective.

During her career, Dr Trent has worked with NHS adults’ and children’s mental health teams, and now supports trainee psychologists, which includes hosting The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast.

Dr Trent has come onto the pod to talk about how grief can affect us all, but in particular how children and teenagers can process it.

She will explain how the loss of somebody significant to a young person can affect them, and how this also presents for those with neurodivergence, such as ADHD and Autism.

The episode offers advice for how we can support our young people through this, including alternative ways to support for those who are neurodivergent.

This episode explores:

-What we mean by grief and the impact that a significant loss can have on young people.

-The common stages of grief that young people can go through, and how this can differ with age and developmental stages.

-Comparing how adults, teenagers and children process and experience grief.

-Dr Trent’s own experience of supporting herself and her children through the death of her father.

-Ways to talk to a child when they ask about their own mortality.

-How people with ADHD and Autism process grief.

-Whether it’s healthy for young people to never want to talk about the person they have lost.

-Advice about ways to support children and teenagers with grief.

-How to adapt your support if the child is neurodivergent.

-Ways to support young people with Complex or Complicated Grief.

-How to recognise the signs that the young person is stuck in their grief and requires professional support.

-The future implications for young people who never allow space to grieve.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Death, Grief, Childhood loss, ADHD, Autism, Suicide, Self-Harm, Trauma, Hyper and Hypo Arousal and OCD.

Links

To send us ideas for future episodes, or offer to be interviewed, please contact us via Instagram or email mindvoxpod@gmail.com

Eloise Skinner is an Existential Therapist, Author, Teacher and Business Founder

Studying at Cambridge and training at Oxford, Eloise began in corporate law before spending a year in a Monastic Community training as a monk and now focusing on Existentialism (living with intention).

Eloise is also a Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher and has presented a TEDx talk about life meaning, purpose and wellbeing.

She has come onto the pod to talk about the various practices she’s trained within throughout her life, and how they’ve enabled her to learn ways to live her life with meaning.

This episode explores:

-What Existentialism is.

-What living with intention, depth and purpose looks like.

-The benefits to finding depth and purpose in our everyday lives.

-Ways we can give our lives more meaning, purpose and intention.

-Small steps we can take to improve our daily wellbeing.

-How yoga, meditation and mindfulness can contribute to wellbeing.

-Ways to manage difficult transitions, such as mid-life crisis, adult children leaving home and marriage.

-Eloise’s personal journey to finding her own meaning and intentions.

-What Eloise learnt from her time within Monasticism and how this adds to how she lives with purpose and intention.

-Understanding the importance of forming intentions.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Monasticism, Anthropology, Liminal Space, Midlife Crisis, Divorce and Quarter-Life Crisis.

Links

Daisy Cordell is a Professional Declutterer and Organiser, specialising in helping people find easier ways to declutter and maintain their homes.

She believes clutter can negatively affect daily wellbeing, and understands how overwhelming it can be to try to declutter.

Decluttering has always been a hobby for Daisy, and during lockdown she turned this passion into a business, called Whole and Home.

During her time working with clients, Daisy has created a range of strategies to help people keep their homes organised to maintain their wellbeing.

Daisy also has strategies for people with ADHD and Autism, as well as and mental or physical health conditions.

This episode explores:

- How clutter can affect our mental health and wellbeing.

- Types of clutter we can have, including physical, emotional and digital.

- The benefits of time mapping for decluttering.

- Why it can be so hard to let go of physical things in our home.

- How to tell if someone might have Hoarding Disorder.*

- The barriers people can have to declutter.

- Tips and strategies for trying to declutter when you don’t know where to start and are overwhelmed by it.

- Common clutter problems for those with ADHD and/or Autism and ways to overcome these.

- Tips for maintaining the home once it has been decluttered.

- How organising the home can also help, and useful ideas for organising the home.

- Ways to teach children and teenagers to declutter and keep their space organised.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression and Hoarding Disorder.

Links

To send us ideas for future episodes, or to offer to be interviewed, please contact us via Instagram or email mindvoxpod@gmail.com

Abbey Booth is an Uplifting Personal Stylist, and founder of Stories With Clothes.

Abbey believes the colours we wear can have positive or negative effects on our wellbeing and confidence. She feels colour can be used to boost our mood and energy, provide a sense of direction or protection, and reduce anxiety.

Clothing can also boost dopamine for those with ADHD and/or Autistic.

Abbey is also a course leader for the Women’s Styling Diploma at The London College of Style, and a mother of two teenagers.

This episode explores:

-The power of colour: How we can use it to get noticed, feel a sense of direction and purpose, but also give us a sense of calm and reduce anxiety.

-The science and research about colour and what it does to the brain.

-Dopamine dressing: what is it and how we can use it, especially if we have ADHD or are Autistic.

-What is colour analysis and how is it done, including the benefits of draping.

-What are the differences we can expect when wearing colours that work for our skin tone?

-How we can use colour analysis to use colours to help our mood, confidence and wellbeing.

-Tips for ways we can add colour to our wardrobe for little, or no, cost.

-Advice and resources to find out your body shape and how to dress to accentuate your specific shape.

-How diet culture within society affects the views we have about our bodies.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Suicide, Grief, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, Autism, Wellbeing, Menopause, Diet Culture and Body Shape.

Links

Christmas can be a confusing, overwhelming and stressful time for those with ADHD and Autism.

These neurological conditions are largely ‘invisible’ and misunderstood by many, so the challenges we face are often overlooked by society during times like Christmas.

It can be mentally and even physically painful, with the festive traditions and expectations causing more stress and anxiety than we usually have.

This episode focuses on giving advice and tips on how to navigate the stressors and triggers that Christmas can bring for those with ADHD, Autism, OCD, Depression and Anxiety Disorders in particular.

*(Please note, using a new mic which picked up the heating turning on for the end half of the episode, so apologies for the background humming noise!)*

This episode explores:

-Challenges at Christmas when you have ADHD, Autism, OCD, Anxiety and Depression.

-Ideas for managing Christmas when Neurodivergent.

-The complexities of managing relationships with family, friends and partners at Christmas.

-Setting boundaries for yourself and others to reduce overstimulation.

-Social expectations and pressures, and ways to manage these.

-Christmas Parties with family, friends and also office parties and secret Santa overwhelm.

-Routine disruption that festivities bring and ways to reduce this.

-Budgeting over Christmas and ways to reduce impulse spending.

-Giving and Receiving Gifts, including ideas for reducing the risk of offending others when disliking their gifts.

- Exploring Christmas traditions to identify which can be avoided to reduce overload.

-Ways to prioritise and implement self-care during this hectic season.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about ADHD, Autism, OCD, Addiction, Stimming, RSD, Depression, Medications, Addiction, Anxiety Disorders and Masking.

Links

The written version of this episode, in more detail, can be found on my Single Parent Pessimist website:

Louise Williams is a well-known blogger and ADHD content creator across social media and even appearing on BBC’s The One Show about late diagnosis in women.

To support this community, Louise runs a Facebook support group for late diagnosed ADHD adults and has recently opened a wellbeing gym in her local area.

Louise is a single parent to two children aged 10 and 12, and has regularly talked online about post-natal depression.

This episode explores:

-Less obvious signs of ADHD

-Stimming behaviours used to mask ADHD in childhood.

-Autism and ADHD crossover traits.

-Louise’s late diagnosis journey.

-ADHD medication, the pros and cons.

-The unmasking process after diagnosis.

-How using social media has helped Louise come to terms with her ADHD diagnosis.

-Self-diagnosing from social media content and the power of social media in helping to get a diagnosis.

-Parenting as a single mother with ADHD, including post-natal depression after pregnancies and setting boundaries for the first time once medicated.

-The grief process after late diagnosis.

-Strategies Louise uses to manage ADHD traits and dysregulation.

-Creating a business with ADHD.

-The importance of support from others with neurodivergence, forming online communities.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation ADHD, Autism, Eating Disorders, OCD, Addiction, Stimming, Body Repetitive Behaviours, Skin and Nail Picking, RSD, Post-Natal Depression, Medications, Imposter Syndrome, BPD/EUPD, PMDD and Masking.

Links

Ambila Nath is a Spiritual Business Coach, entrepreneur, international speaker and award-winning magazine editor.

Known for her straight-talking spirituality, Ambila went from a high-paid corporate job to building a business based on Spirituality.

She believes the most incredible journey you can take is the one in building a relationship with yourself, which starts with healing from within.

In order to heal, firstly we need to use intuition to know what needs healing and how.

This episode explores:

-Ambila’s personal journey as a second-generation Asian woman with a corporate career, to finding a better balance by changing career and leaving her family due to cross-culture struggles.

-Why it’s important to heal from within, and how to use your intuition and manifesting to do this.

-How the Pandemic caused trauma for so many people in the long-term and ways to release this and other long-term traumas.

-Trauma healing- the various types of healing that can help.

-Types of energy in the environment (negative, positive), how they affect us and how we can change energy vibrations.

-The benefits of manifestation in most areas of life.

-How to manifest using strategies to align your energy, shift your mindset and create positive daily habits.

-How to connect with our intuition- so can listen to it and use it.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Trauma, Depression, ADHD, Autism, Anxiety and the trauma caused by the Pandemic.

Links

Priyanka Patel is a Clinical Mental Health Pharmacist, and was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult this year.

She is using personal and scientific knowledge to educate and raise awareness about ADHD across social media.

Priyanka is also currently campaigning to make a change within the UK Healthcare System for the Neurodivergent community.

This episode explores:

-What ADHD is and how this neurological disorder presents.

-Whether some ADHD traits can be superpowers.

-The lack of psychosocial education and therapeutic support after diagnosis.

-Priyanka’s rollercoaster ride to an ADHD Diagnosis journey

- Priyanka’s experience of ADHD and mental health stigmas within her Indian culture.

-Other stigmas including gender, ADHD and mental health and where these can occur (by health professionals, workplace, family, friends).

-The impact of various stigmas that can occur together, including Priyanka experiencing alopecia.

- The difficulties women can face when trying to get ADHD diagnosis and acceptance from society.

- Jack Vening’s distasteful article in The Guardian about ADHD and it’s potential to negatively impact on the neurodivergent community.

-ADHD medication

-The new research project Priyanka is trying to get funding for to benefit women with ADHD.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Trauma, Suicidal Ideation, Depression, Alopecia, ADHD, Autism, Anxiety and ADHD Medications.

Links

Simran Sondhi is a transformation alchemist, with a mission to empower people to live by their own unique soul blueprint.

She believes our power is in the present moment.

After years of feeling stuck in a rut and not enjoying her career, Simran went through some major change and transformed her life.

Through this process, Simran became passionate about helping others to transform their lives through changing their perspectives.

Simran specialises in freeing people from their blocks, healing past traumas and uses a range of ways to do so, including trauma release techniques, Reiki, Sekhem, Bodytalk, astrology and proprietary energetic methods.

This episode explores:

- Limiting-Beliefs: What they are and how we can get healthier belief systems.

-How trauma can be stuck in our body physically and mentally, causing blockages.

- Signs of burn out, feeling stuck and having trauma to address.

-Generational and Ancestral traumas.

- What we can do if we feel stuck or at a crossroads in life, lack direction and even creativity.

- Why reaching rock bottom can be useful for growth.

-How to heal from the past and escape self-limiting beliefs.

- How to get through burnout and break out of the systems and mindsets that limit us.

- Positive changes that can be made to help have a better life, including using live foods, sunlight, nature, reparenting tools, somatic therapies, mindfulness, brain-dumping and EFT.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Trauma, Generational Family Trauma, Chronic Pain, Mental Health, ADHD, Depression, Disabilities, Trauma Release and Anxiety.

Links

Maria Jones is a Special Yoga Practitioner and Therapist and mother to a teenage son.

Maria teaches chair yoga to adults and children with special needs, including physical disabilities, Autism, ADHD and mental health conditions.

She talks about the benefits Chair Yoga offers to the body and mind, and how practising within a group setting is the most powerful part of it.

Maria has Systemic Lupus, and has had dialysis and a kidney transplant, so hasn’t always been able to move her body the way that can help.

She was attracted to chair yoga to discover ways to manage her symptoms through the practice.

As she practised this form of yoga, Maria discovered other benefits for her mental health, particularly when working in groups, and how powerful this was for her wellbeing.

This episode explores:

What Special Yoga is, and the benefits it has as a particular yoga speciality for SEN.

The physical and mental benefits of Chair Yoga for those with chronic pain, disabilities, SEN and mental health conditions (includes mobility, bilateral coordination, helps memory processing and poses can create new neurological pathways).

How yoga within a group or communal setting can also benefit the nervous system, social isolation, communication and self-confidence.

The positive impact for people trying to process their newly diagnosed conditions.

The benefits of dynamic movements and how breathing techniques can encourage endorphins, similar to the effects if a high-impact cardio workout.

Examples of Chair Yoga poses.

Maria’s personal journey with chronic pain and how using Chair Yoga and Special Yoga has helped her.

The benefits of Yoga Therapy.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Multiple Sclerosis, Special Educational Needs (SEN), Chronic Pain, ADHD, Autism, Depression, Extreme Fatigue, Disabilities, Anxiety, Systemic Lupus, Dementia, Cognitive Impairments, Fibromyalgia, Sciatica and Alzheimer’s.

Links

Could most of our health problems be in our minds?

Rachel Claire Farnsworth believes that while the symptoms of chronic pain and long-term health conditions are very real, our emotions can be responsible for some of the physical and mental health issues we can experience.

As a Transformational Life Changer, Rachel uses advanced hypnotherapy methods to access the subconscious and resolve traumatic moments from a person’s past which could be making them ill today.

During this episode we explore:

What the subconscious is and how it loves imagery.

Familial generational trauma and how it’s passed down to us and our children without intention.

How trauma and past emotional issues can affect our physical and mental health.

The ways trauma can manifest through chronic pain, anxiety and other conditions, and the areas of the body that can indicate the types of trauma we may have.

Rachel’s personal experience in supporting her child with an autoimmune condition that disappeared after releasing early childhood emotions.

Ways you can try to find and release these emotions at home.

How those with ADHD or Autism can benefit from this form of work.

Silent counselling.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, anxiety, depression, trauma, CPTSD, ADHD, Autism, chronic pain conditions and stress.

Links

Hyacinth J Myers is a Soul Alignment Coach, Life Strategist and Author, with 35 years of experience within community work, mental health and holistic therapies.

She currently works with women to help them overcome serious trauma.

Hyacinth has three children, one of which is neurodivergent and one sadly died as a baby.

During this episode she talks about how she overcame the loss of her baby, a childhood witnessing domestic violence, a sexual assault and other challenges, using 7 specific steps she created herself.

Hyacinth believes we’re not our story, we’re not broken and we’re not victims. Instead, we are soul conscious creators of our future.

This episode covers:

· The traumas and challenges Hyacinth experienced as a child, including domestic violence, growing up without her father and escaping to a refuge with her mother as a teenager.

· How meeting her birth father as an adult was the catalyst of deep change within her.

· Being sexually assaulted and then overcoming her fear of men by working with abusers in prison and seeing the souls behind the crimes.

· The challenges she faced as a solo parent and the awakening she had during a lone trip to Egypt at a time where she felt stuck in life.

· How Hyacinth overcame giving birth to premature twins, then losing one twin three weeks later and having to parent alone through grief.

· We talk about Baby Loss Awareness Week which happened during this recording, and Hyacinth offers advice and tools that helped her in the first stages of her baby loss.

· The tools she used to get through severe trauma, how she came to form her EMPOWER 7 Step Method, and what the method consists of.

· The creative outlets Hyacinth has used during the 7-step process, including journaling, photography and meditation.

*Trigger warning*

Contains talk about domestic violence, sexual assault, abortion, baby loss, trauma, emotional abuse, premature birth, grief, ADHD and neurodivergence.

Links

Iman Gatti is a mother to a four-year-old daughter, author, empowerment trainer and certified grief recovery specialist.

She endured severe childhood trauma, witnessing her father murder her mother when she was 6-years-old, and then growing up in the care system.

At 39 Iman was diagnosed with ADHD, but then found out she was diagnosed as a child, which opened up another type of grief she had to heal from.

Iman has used various grief and trauma tools to create a life she feels happy and fulfilled with.

She now works to empower people to heal from grief and trauma, with a focus on self-love and empowerment.

During this episode we explore:

Effects of undiagnosed ADHD as an adult.

How Iman processed the trauma and grief of being diagnosed as an adult, and then finding out she was diagnosed as a child too; How she reparented herself.

The things she had always done differently to others that prompted her to research ADHD symptoms.

How the ADHD diagnosis has positively changed her outlook on life and how she manages day to day activities and experiences.

The 44 types of grief that affect us, (not just death) and how we can manage these.

Advice on how to process grief, and ways to increase emotional intelligence to learn how to verbalise feelings, which can be difficult to do when neurodivergent.

*Trigger warning*

Contains talk about self-harming behaviours, murder, childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, ADHD, Autism, OCD, anxiety, grief, CPTSD and trauma.

Links

Iman Gatti is a mother to a four-year-old daughter, author, empowerment trainer and certified grief recovery specialist.

She endured severe childhood trauma, witnessing her father murder her mother when she was 6-years-old, and then growing up in the care system.

At 39 Iman was diagnosed with ADHD, but then found out she was diagnosed as a child, which opened up another type of grief she had to heal from.

Iman has used various grief and trauma tools to create a life she feels happy and fulfilled with.

She now works to empower people to heal from grief and trauma, with a focus on self-love and empowerment.

During this episode we explore:

The traumatic start to life Iman had.

The impact of grief for a parent as a young child.

How to help a child grieve when they have ADHD, Autism or other neurodivergence.

Advice on how to process grief, and ways to increase emotional intelligence to learn how to verbalise feelings, which can be difficult to do when neurodivergent.

*Trigger warning*

Contains talk about self-harming behaviours, murder, childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, ADHD, Autism, OCD, anxiety, grief, CPTSD and trauma.

Links

Claire Turner is a Success Coach and EFT Practitioner. She is Founder of Claire Turner EFT. She is also an author and works with people to help achieve their goals in anything from business to mind management and even weight loss.

During this second part of our interview with Claire, we explore:

The benefits of using negative affirmations within Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).

Ways to use EFT during panic attacks or high anxiety episodes

Which are the main pressure points to use when Tapping

A live EFT mini session for you to try*.

Part one of this interview (see previous episode) explored:

What EFT is and how it works

The benefits of EFT for mental health, ADHD and wellbeing

The science behind EFT, and what it does to our brains fight or flight responses to reduce anxiety and stress

How EFT can help reduce limiting subconscious beliefs and emotional dysregulation

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about anxiety, depression, trauma, CPTSD, ADHD and stress.

*Please note, when trying the EFT during this episode, if you start to feel uncomfortable, it’s important to continue tapping until the end, rather than stopping midway, to avoid the risk of being left in a high state of negative feeling or anxiety.

Links

Claire Turner is a Success Coach and EFT Practitioner. 

She is also an author and works with people to help achieve their goals in anything from business to mind management and even weight loss.

During this episode Claire talks about her personal and professional experiences of using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).

We explore:

What EFT is and how it works

The benefits of EFT for mental health, ADHD and wellbeing

The science behind EFT, and what it does to our brains fight or flight responses to reduce anxiety and stress

How EFT can help reduce limiting subconscious beliefs and emotional dysregulation

In part two, Claire explains more about the benefits of using negative affirmations with Tapping, and includes a live EFT mini session for you to try.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about anxiety, depression, trauma, CPTSD, ADHD and stress.

Links

Grief is different for all of us, but for young people it can be even more complex whilst they’re still trying to learn about the world around them and how to process their emotions.

The Queen’s recent passing has opened up more conversation about grief and loss, and how to support teenagers and children in particular with this.

This episode explores:

-The affects of losing someone at a young age

-How Grief Can Present for Children

-How Grief Can Present for teenagers

-Complicated Grief

-How to support a young person about funerals

-Ways to support young people through the grieving process.

This episode includes some personal experiences from your host Claire, including her current experience of trying to support her stepsons who lost their mother unexpectedly last year.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about grief, complicated grief, loss of a parent, childhood grief, suicide, anxiety, neurodivergence and depression.

Links

To highlight World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September) this episode focuses on suicide prevention.

We discuss the shocking statistics of suicide found by the World Health Organisation, factors that can increase risk of becoming suicidal, and the stigma that surrounds these feelings.

This episode explores some of the ways we as individuals, communities and countries can support people to reduce their suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

To get involved with the awareness day, use any of the official hashtags from the International Association for Suicide Prevention, including #WorldSuicidePreventionDay, #CreatingHopeThroughAction #WSPD, #WSPD2022 or #BeTheLight.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Suicide, Suicidal Ideation, Death, Grief, Depression, Physical and Emotional Abuse, Parenting with Mental Health Conditions, Self-Harm, Self-Sabotaging Behaviours, Substance Abuse and Neurodivergence.

Links

Self-destructive behaviours can negatively impact our physical and mental health.

These behaviours come in many forms, which we discuss during this episode.

We explore how these behaviours can affect wellbeing and offer tips to reduce or remove them from your life.

Advice from Psychology Today, Kristin Neff, Metro and Thrive Global have been included, as well as our own personal experiences with self-destructive and self-sabotaging behaviours.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, Self-Sabotaging Behaviours, Substance Abuse and Neurodivergence.

Links

Lora Clark is a Life, Mindset and Self Care Coach supporting mums to find their self-identity, worth and acceptance, and she’s also a mum to a 3-year-old daughter.

She has joined the pod today to talk about her own birth trauma and maternal mental health experiences and to explain how self-care and mindset techniques can help in areas like these and with wellbeing in general.

We discuss how mindfulness and journaling can be useful self-care tools, and how these helped reduce the PTSD she developed from the traumatic birth.

Lora also talks openly about her current experience of starting the assessment process with her young daughter who is presenting with SEN.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about maternal and paternal MH, traumatic births, disabilities, medical procedures, premature birth, PTSD, intrusive thoughts, anxiety disorders and neurodivergence.

Links

Natalie Tyler is a care support worker at a children's hospice and has 2 teenage children.

After a hysterectomy aged 36, Natalie experienced early menopause and talks openly about what that felt like at the time and how she got support.

We talk about the three stages of menopause, various symptoms that aren’t always talked about, and the treatment options.

Natalie explains how she has adjusted her lifestyle alongside medication to reduce many of the difficult symptoms she first experienced.

Please note we refer to people experiencing menopause, because not all those diagnosed with it identify as female.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Depression, Anxiety, Physical and Sexual Menopausal Symptoms.

Links

Part two of our interview with Nicola Parker, a mental health practitioner, we continue to talk about the trauma she has experienced throughout her life, including childhood sexual abuse, controlling partners, PTSD, BPD, being a teenage mum and parenting with mental illness.

We focus on how these things affected her mental health and how the healing journey she went onto. She talks about how journaling and exercise became her therapy.

Nicola gives tips about how to heal and turn pains into passions.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Familial sexual abuse, CPTSD, BPD, addiction, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts, teen pregnancy, controlling partners and neglectful parenting.

Links

In this episode we interview Nicola Parker, a mental health practitioner who has experienced much trauma throughout her life, including childhood sexual abuse, toxic partners, PTSD, BPD, being a teenage mum and parenting with mental illness.

She talks about how she’s managed to heal and turn her pains into passions.

Nicola is a trained counsellor and personal trainer, and has also studied NLP, Psychology and Sociology.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Familial sexual abuse, CPTSD, BPD, addiction, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts, teen pregnancy, controlling partners and neglectful parenting.

Links

In this episode Claire talks about some changes that are happening to the pod, which includes saying goodbye to Kathryn.

Claire gives an update on where she is at with ADHD titration and her current mental health which has been taking a few hits lately.

We look at future episodes and where we see this podcast going.

Your ideas for topics to cover are wanted, so we have created a short survey so please take 5 minutes to fill it in (see Links section).

If you want to be interviewed, we’d love to hear your story, whether it is about your wellbeing journey, life as a neurodivergent, the menopause, relationship breakdowns- anything!

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Grief, Sexual abuse, Emotionally-absent parents and Familial Breakdown.

Links

In this episode Claire and Kathryn chat with Lorraine Davies, an Energy Alchemy & Intuitive Life Coach. We discuss the events that lead Lorraine to swap a life of “shoulding” for one where she lives in full alignment with her values, and why she is so passionate about empowering other women to release societal expectations and create for themselves a life full of purpose, abundance and joy!

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about mental health conditions and traumas including nervous breakdown, bereavement, burnout, depression and anxiety.

Links from this episode:

In this episode we speak with Chris Lovett, a Simplicity Coach, Professional Minimalist and author of Discovery of Less: How I Found Everything I Wanted Under Everything I Owned.

Chris opens up about how, in his mid-30s, having become increasingly frustrated with the frenetic pace of life in corporate London (and following a particularly vicious attack from an empty CD case!), he set about selling almost everything he owned, packing a not-quite-small-enough-yet bag and embarking upon an adventure around the world, which ultimately led to a journey of self-discovery where he learnt that “less is progress”.

Listen as Chris explains why decluttering - both physically and mentally - can help boost your mood, alleviate anxiety, and increase your productivity and happiness, and catch his top tips for how to live a simpler life.

*Trigger Warning*

Contains conversation about overwhelm, OCD and anxiety.

Links from this episode:

Daisy Armitage, Hula Hoop instructor and Charity Communications Professional working within mental health research.

Daisy talks about her own mental health experiences with anxiety and possible ADHD, and how hooping has boosted her wellbeing.

She discusses the meditative, mindful and physical benefits it has, as well as shares tips for beginners.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about anxiety, ADHD, depression, body image and men’s mental health.

Links from this episode:

Interview with Tanya Swarbrick, a Trauma-Informed Emotional Health Coach and Breathwork Facilitator

Breathwork and Trauma-Informed coaching can be useful tools for people wanting to improve their wellbeing after trauma has affected it.

Tanya describes her views on where trauma comes from and how it manifests and stores in the body, and goes on to explain how the coaching and breathwork she facilitates can help this.

We explore the differences between therapy and coaching, as well as how breathwork can help with various trauma.

Trauma dumping, inner child work, somatic therapy and personal experiences of trauma and binge eating are also discussed.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about eating disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma, physical and sexual abuse and PTSD.

Links from this episode:

Claire and Kathryn talk about how difficult January can be for many people and look at how they maintain their wellbeing through this time.

Advice and tips are discussed, found from some of the websites mentioned below

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about anxiety, social isolation, suicidal ideation, depression and mental breakdowns.

Please note we are not medical experts, we are only experts of our own mental health experiences.

Jamie Atkins is a former teacher who is now an Early Years Trainor and a Strengths Coach.

He talks about his own mental health experiences, including having a breakdown.

Throughout the episode, Jamie explains what he’s learnt from that time of his life and how he now manages the long-term anxiety he’s been left with.

Jamie also talks about Strengths Coaching using the Clifton Strength Assessment and how this helped him identify ways to better his daily life.

*Trigger warning*

Contains conversation about anxiety, suicidal ideation, depression, OCD, psychosis, panic attacks and mental breakdowns.

Please note we are not medical experts, we are only experts of our own mental health experiences.

To find out more about the pod, visit mindvox.co.uk or @mindvoxpod on Instagram, FB and Twitter

Links from this episode:

Jamie can be found on Instagram and Facebook as @The_Strengths_Coach

This episode focuses on ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and the different ways it presents for children, adults and the genders.

We explore the stereotypes about ADHD within society and the media, and highlight the real symptoms of the condition, as well as their impact upon the person and their life.

Includes our personal experiences of the assessment and treatment process for Kathryn’s daughter, and the current adult assessment that Claire is undergoing.

Links from this episode:

This episode outlines why Mindvox was created and what it’s all about. We look at topics we hope to talk about in upcoming episodes, and give you a little background into our own mental health experiences.