A Drop in the Bucket

This month Sarah and Bekah have a conversation about change and transitions, sparked by things going on in their own lives this year. It's been a busy year for both of us, and there are some really exciting things happening. However, any change, even if it feels positive, comes with some degree of loss of how things were before, and it's important that we're able to validate and process the range of emotions around this. So, we thought we'd do that on here! 

Get ready for some BRAIN FOOD! This month we spoke with Anjuli Sherin; therapist, author of Joyous Resilience and all-round awesome human being. We talk about what resilience is - and what it isn't - and some of the reasons it can feel so hard to be resilient/build resilience, especially in adolescence and early adulthood and what we might have to unlearn later in life. Anjuli clearly practises what she preaches and brings a joyful presence to this episode. We hope you love listening to her as much as we loved talking to her. The book is full of beautiful insights and practical tips to start living this out. You can also sign up to receive free guided meditations on her website - do go and find out more!!  The bookAnjuli's website: www.anjulisherinmft.comInstagram: @AnjuliSherinMFTFacebook: @AnjuliSherinMFT

This month we bring you not one but two lovely guests. Aulus Duo are Ellie and Georgina, a flautist and classical guitarist who we met through the Bottled book project. They are passionate about making conversations about wellbeing, mental health, and emotions normal and commonplace, and thinking about how we start this with ourselves and our immediate circles. We could have talked for hours but don't worry, we didn't. Grab a drink and come and meet Aulus Duo.Instagram: @aulusduoFacebook: @aulusduoTwitter: @aulusduoYoutube

This month (pride month!) we are joined by Callum who shares his story of struggling with his mental health in his teen years and how this related to his journey of discovering and accepting his sexuality. We talk about what it's like to feel that you don't "fit", and how important it is to challenge stereotypes about what it means to be any kind of individual. This is another banger, even if we do say so ourselves, so grab a cuppa and wear a rainbow and come and learn with us as we hear from Callum about his experiences.

This month we bring you a conversation that made us laugh so much our faces hurt. Lauren is someone we reached out to because we loved the way she spoke about... well, anything to be honest, and we really wanted to chat to her. We talk about identifying your passion and staying in your lane to give it your all, Lauren's journey with addiction and recovery, the difficulties faced by people who need help but 'fall between the cracks' of services, and what she thinks people should do with their suggestions - among many other things. We know you'll love this one so grab a box of Jaffa cakes and join us for a really great hour.

It's been 2 years since Bekah's husband said "you should record these conversations for others to hear" and we went - yeah why not, nothing else to do in a global pandemic... We couldn't have imagined at that point where the podcast would take us, the amazing people we would meet, the projects we would get involved in, the friends we would make, and the impact that all this would have on the two of us. So we thought we'd take this opportunity, on our 'birthday', to reflect back over the last two years. We've listened to our original episodes, and we have some updates! We are always growing and learning about ourselves, and we wanted to share some of what we've been learning with you. A HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported this podcast - we are more grateful than we can say. We do have one request, and that is for people to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. This isn't so we can feel good about ourselves (honest!) it's so that we can become more visible in the podcast charts so that more people can find us and hear the amazing stories our guests share with us. Thank you!

This month we have one of those 'Why haven't we ever thought about this before????' moments with Dr Helena Tucker, a Clinical Psychologist and menstrual cycle specialist. We talk about how we are socialised to think about menstruation and the effects it has on our bodies, how we then end up thinking and talking about hormonal changes when we're adults, and the power that it's possible to utilise if we understand our cycles. If you don't menstruate THIS IS STILL FOR YOU. One of the problems is that we don't teach this stuff to EVERYONE and so we all end up not knowing enough.  Helena was so much fun to talk to, so - depending on where you are in your cycle! - join us on a walk or snuggled up under a blanket!Website: https://drhelenatucker.com/Instagram: @dr.helenatuckerHelena's free guide: https://programs.drhelenatucker.com/guideIn the Flo: https://intheflobook.com/The Red School: https://www.redschool.net/

This month we had the genuine pleasure - I would say joy - of speaking with John Roedel. John describes himself as a "Poet. Writer. Comic. Storyteller. Terrible Dancer." (though we have yet to see evidence of the last one). John talks about using poetry to open up about mental health, his journey of faith deconstruction, and shares some beautiful insights into the mystery and wonder that is life. Come and join us for this conversation with our latest new best friend. John's amazing new book of poetry 'Remedy' is now available to buy!Website: www.johnroedel.comInstagram: @john_roedel_writerTwitter: @JohnnyRoedelFacebook: @johnroedelwriter

Happy New Year everyone! We're so excited to kick off 2022 with Tom, who is the host of another fabulous mental health podcast 'Proper Mental'. Like us, he's passionate about having open and honest conversations about mental health to help people feel less alone, raise awareness, and reduce stigma. Tom shares his own story of struggling, especially after becoming a dad, and we talk about how important it is to prioritise our wellbeing - but also how this isn't always easy. We loved talking to Tom, and we're sure you'll love hearing from him - come and join us! Do listen to Tom's podcast, and check him out on Instagram.Instagram: @propermentalpodcastWebsite: propermentalpodcast.com

After a Christmas special last year that was very heavily focused on what Bekah and Sarah do (and let's be honest, the differences between our two Christmasses are not dramatic!) we decided to do something a bit different. This month we're speaking with Sharmin, an old colleague of Sarah's and a Muslim, about her experience of Christmastime as someone who does not celebrate Christmas. We also talk about what it's like to have other important festivals that are not recognised, or even known about, by the society around you. As with all our guests we both went away feeling we learnt a lot, and were extremely grateful to Sharmin for educating us! Grab a seasonal snack and warm drink, and cosy up to join our conversation.

This month we had a brain feast with Dr Nancy Nsiah. Nancy is a Clinical Psychologist who is passionate about antiracism work, and shared so many gems with us in this conversation. We both found it challenging and encouraging, and went away with a lot to think about. We talk more broadly about social justice and Nancy gives her tips for how to continue with this work when it's exhausting, including using Deepa Iyer's social change ecosystem to switch social roles. As usual we've got plenty of fun and relatability alongside the heavy stuff, so grab a drink and join us for this chat with Nancy. Nancy's Instagram: @theartofbeing_wellDeepa Iyer's Social Change EcosystemDeepa Iyer's Instagram: @deepaviyer

This month Bekah speaks with the fantastic Emily, known on social media as 21andsensory. Emily shares her experiences of being diagnosed with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Dyslexia, how these affects her day-to-day life, and what other people struggle to understand about how she experiences the world.Even though we would both say they have a pretty good understanding of neurodiversity, this conversation definitely humbled me (Bekah) in realising how much I don't know and how important it is listen to people when they try to tell you what it's like to be them. Emily has an amazing podcast where she interviews other neurodiverse people, all of who bring their own different and valuable perspectives. We highly recommend checking it out - whether you are neurodiverse, love/support/know someone who is, or just want your eyes opened to how we can make the world a better place for more people. Instagram: @21andsensoryTwitter: @21andsensoryPodcast: 21andsensoryThe TED talk Bekah references: Do Schools Kill Creativity 

This month Sarah gets a bit fan-girly as we are joined by her previous headteacher, who she thinks is the world's most excellent boss. Flora Cooper is a big advocate for her staff taking care of themselves and aims to nurture a working environment where both staff and students feel that they matter and are worth looking after. She speaks about why this is so important to her as a leader, as well as sharing her story of being in an abusive relationship for 20 years. As always we discuss some really tough things with plenty of joy and encouragement built in. Grab a cuppa or take us on your run (as we've heard some of you do!) and come and meet Flora.Find Flora on Twitter: @FloraSCooper

This month we are really thrilled to bring you our conversation with the wonderful Alex Hobern, creator of Happy Dayz clothing. Happy Dayz is a brand that advocates mental health - there is a QR code on each piece of apparel they sell, that when scanned gives access to a mental health hub with support and advice from a community of creators sharing resources, top tips and encouragement. Alex is also known for winning the first series of reality TV show 'The Circle' which Sarah thoroughly enjoyed and Bekah had never heard of...! Plug us in wherever you like to join the conversation and come and meet Alex with us. For more information about Happy Dayz:Website:  www.happydayzclothing.co.ukInstagram: @happydayzclothing_Facebook: @HappyDayzClothing

This month we had the genuine pleasure of speaking to Kate Lucey. Kate is a journalist, wannabe-Cher-impersonator, and author of 'Get a Grip, Love', a book about living with depression and the myriad of unhelpful advice that people struggling with their mental health receive. This conversation shatters one of the myths around depression - that talking about it is always depressing! We talk honestly and seriously about how people are affected by depression but we laugh a lot as well. We are really glad we met Kate and hope you enjoy listening. Her book is out now in hardback and will be out in paperback in November - so start thinking about who it might suit as a stocking filler...Find Kate online:Instagram @kateluceyTwitter @KateLucey__

Welcome back everyone! This month we are bringing you another wonderful person from our own lives - Ellie is Bekah's oldest friend, they met aged 3 at nursery and have been part of each other's lives ever since. Ellie received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in her early twenties after struggling with her mental health in her teenage years. She shares with us her journey of learning to understand and manage her condition, and other people learning to understand and support her. We hope that this conversation gives a useful insight into some of the misconceptions about bipolar, as well as what people who live with this diagnosis might be going through. Everyone's story will be different - this is Ellie's. If you want to find out more about bipolar disorder, check out Bipolar UK.

We know we bang on about the enneagram sometimes but it's because using it as a tool for understanding ourselves and other people better has honestly changed our lives. And this month we are thrilled to be speaking with the woman behind some of this for us. Kristi Rowles is a therapist-turned-enneagram-coach in the US who set up her own thriving business and last year opened the doors to her exciting new venture to certify others to become coaches.  Bekah has trained to be a coach with Kristi's programme, and Sarah is a member of her monthly membership. Both are big on enneagram wisdom and the joys of community.  We love the way Kristi speaks about mental health and the way she holds space so compassionately for people. Come and join us for our lovely conversation, and check out the links below if you want to find out more about Kristi and her business.https://kristirowles.com/https://www.theenneagramuniversity.com/Instagram: @fullandfreeenneagram@enneagramuniversityFacebook: @fullandfreeenneagram

This month we had an amazing conversation with the new CEO of Beyond (a mental health charity supporting young people) - Louisa! We hugely appreciated Louisa sharing her story so openly with us, and think she is such an inspiration. We talk about getting through really dark times and why Louisa is so passionate about people getting help as early as possible, and return to one of our favourite topics - mental health in schools! - as we celebrate the amazing schools festival that Beyond ran in February this year. And good news... it's coming back in 2022!There is obviously a huge need for finding to support these kind of amazing events - if you are able to donate any amount at all please do so at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/now-and-beyondTrigger warning: all of our episodes contain stories of mental health journeys which could be hard for people to hear, but just to let you know that this one does contain conversations around a suicide attempt and subsequent inpatient admission, so if you need to skip forward, or give this episode a miss for now, do look after yourself. There are no details or anything we don't feel is OK to include, but we know that it's important for us  to let you know. This is an incredibly fun and hopeful episode so if you feel OK to join us, come and listen to our conversation with Louisa.Beyond - https://wearebeyond.org.uk/Instagram: @WeAreBey0ndTwitter: @wearebey0ndLouisa - Instagram: @louisanicoleroseTwitter: @lounicolerose

This month we were thrilled to speak with Anita, the artistic genius behind About Last Night Comics. After suffering from PTSD which then developed into a sleep disorder, and several years of therapy, Anita discovered the power of drawing her dreams in her recovery. She started sharing the funny ones on social media and was soon bringing so much laughter to people's feeds. We loved talking with her and we hope you love listening.You can find Anita at https://www.aboutlastnight.wtf/Instagram: @alncomicsFacebook: @alncomics

This week we're welcoming another family member onto the podcast - Sarah's mum! Karen shares her experience of burning out at work in an emotionally demanding healthcare role, and of supporting close friends and family members with their mental health struggles. She and Sarah share their top tips for supporting someone with mental ill health, and as always we have some light hearted conversation woven in. Come and join us for a chat.