Welcome to episode 196 with Rory Lamont, who is a former professional Rugby Union player and the co-founder of CAIM, a health and wellness retreat centre in highland Scotland. During his time as a professional rugby player, Rory played for Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks and Toulon. He has 29 international caps for Scotland and has represented his co…

Welcome to episode 195 with Dr Linda Gask who is a writer and a psychiatrist who has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation and been awarded the President’s Medal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2017. Her latest book is titled ‘Out of Her Mind’ which asks the questions ‘Are we failing women’s mental health and what needs to be do…

Welcome to episode 194 with Dr Benji Waterhouse who is a front-line NHS doctor specialising in psychiatry and an award-winning stand-up comedian. He is also the author of the best-selling medical memoir ‘You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here’ where he has written about his work as a psychiatrist and the stories of the patients he has met along the …

Welcome to episode 193 with Tom Fleming of One True Pairing and formerly of Wild Beasts! As a member of Wild Beasts, Tom released 5 acclaimed albums, one of them was nominated for the Mercury Prize and two of the records charted in the top 10. Wild Beasts called it a day in 2018 with Tom putting out his first material as One True Pairing in 2019. H…

Welcome to episode 192 with Nathan Filer, who is a writer, university lecturer and broadcaster and a former mental health nurse. In this episode I chat to Nathan about his route in to nursing and how it formed some of things that he has written books about. I reached out to Nathan after reading his book ‘This Book will Change Your Mind about Mental…

Welcome to episode 191 with Dave Lock, who is more commonly known as the running telephone. For the last 25 consecutive years, Dave has ran the London Marathon to raise funds and awareness for the Samaritans charity and along the way he has become an iconic part of both the marathon and the mental health space. This year he ran as team captain for …

Welcome to episode 190 with Philippa Dawson, who is a writer, producer and performer who is also the creator of Character Flaw, a show about her experiences with ADHD and how it’s impacted her throughout her life. In this episode I chat to Pip about her show, about living with ADHD and how this has impacted her mental health over the years. We chat…

Welcome to episode 189 with Alex Staniforth, who is an adventurer, speaker and the founder of Mind Over Mountains, a charity that brings together walking in nature, mindfulness & professional coaching and counselling in support of good mental health & wellbeing. Alex was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of nine and this would be the catalyst for …

Welcome to episode 188 with Jaxon Feeley, who is a Life and Mindset Coach, motivational speaker and TV personality. Jax served in the military as an RAF Corporal for 4 years, which included a tour of Iraq, before joining MHP Hindley as a prison officer. Throughout his life, Jax had been through plenty of mental health struggles but had always manag…

Welcome to episode 187 with Chris Baker, who is a mentor, coach and public speaker. Chris got in to crime at a young age and spent a long time bouncing in and out of prison. He ended up losing an arm in a motorbike crash while being chased by police and this sent him in to a spiral of depression and self-loathing and he was also sentenced to longer…

Welcome to episode 186 with James McInerney, who is the creator of The Poetry Project. James started off experimenting with words by writing out his thoughts and feelings to instrumental film scores and he found that expressing himself through poetry helped him navigate his way through depression. After publishing several books, he launched The Poe…

Welcome to episode 185 with Dr. Gladys McGarey, who is a 103-year-old still-consulting doctor who is internationally recognised as the ‘Mother of Holistic Medicine’. Dr Gladys was born in 1920 and grew up in India. She joined Women’s Medical College during the second world war and when she began practising, women couldn’t even have their own bank a…

Welcome to episode 184 with Dr Louise Newson, who is a G.P, menopause specialist and member of the UK Government’s Menopause Taskforce who has been described as the ‘medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution.’ She is also an award-winning educator and author and regularly appears in the media as an expert in women’s hormone health. In this epi…

Welcome to episode 183 with The Artist Taxi Driver, who is an artist, taxi driver, educator and speaker who is also known as Mark McGowan. Mark discovered art as part of his mental health recovery when he was an inpatient. He uses the media, activism and mental health to create daily artworks. Mark’s form of performance art over the years has inclu…

Welcome to episode 182 with DJ Paulette, who is a renowned DJ, radio broadcaster and author who has spent more than three decades entertaining crowds all over world and breaking down racial and gender barriers along the way. She was the first female DJ to hold residency at The Hacienda, playing weekly at the ground-breaking LGBTQ+ club night ‘FLESH…

Welcome to episode 181 with Amelia Wrighton, who is the co-founder and CEO of Suicide & Co, a charity that is on a mission to support bereaved individuals and open the conversation around suicide-related grief. Amelia set up Suicide & Co. with Emma Morrisroe after they met at work and realised that they shared the same experience of losing someone …

Welcome to episode 180 with Andrew Jenkins, who is a mental health advocate, speaker and star of the hit BBC series The Traitors. At the age of 21, Andrew was in a car accident that left him pronounced dead at the side of the road. He spent 5 weeks in a coma and when he woke up, was told that he might not recognise his family or be able to walk. Th…

Welcome to episode 179 with Tim Owen, Mike Palmer and Andy Airey, who are collectively known as the 3 Dads Walking! Tim, Mike & Andy are 3 dads, bereaved by suicide who have been walking in memory of their daughters, Emily, Beth & Sophie. In 2021 they walked 300 miles between their 3 homes, to highlight the fact that suicide is the biggest killer o…

Welcome to episode 178 with Hannah Phillips, who is a mother, a runner, a writer, speaker and trainee psychotherapist. Han is a returning guest and first appeared on Proper Mental back at episode 110. In that episode we covered her early experiences with OCD, her relationship with alcohol, getting sober and hitting crisis point shortly after. I rea…

Welcome to episode 177 with Joe Griffin, who is a psychologist and co-founder of the Human Givens approach to psychotherapy. Human Givens is a practical, holistic and scientific approach to therapy that focuses on what individuals need to live mentally healthy and fulfilling lives. It draws on the latest insights from neuroscience and psychological…

Welcome to episode 176 with Vince Freeman, a singer and songwriter who is about to release a debut album that has been a decade in the making. Vince started out by running and playing club shows and regularly racking up 300 gigs a year. He appeared on The Voice in 2012, written multi-million streamer dance tracks, had 5 European Top 10 hits and pla…

Welcome to episode 175 with Allie Bailey, who is an ultrarunner, coach and author. She was the first woman to run 100 miles across a frozen Lake in Mongolia, has ran the full length of the Panama Canal, crossed the inhospitable Namib Desert three times, and completed a 1,000-mile off-road version of the classic Land’s End to John O’Groats route in …

Welcome to episode 174 with Paul Danan, who is an actor and the founder and creator of Morning After Drama (MAD), a theatre company that provides specifically tailored workshops to support people who have experienced trauma, been involved with the criminal justice system, suffered from addiction or experience poor mental health. Paul shot to fame w…

Welcome to episode 173 with Gulwali Passarlay, who is a speaker and campaigner for refugee rights. Gulwali was sent away from Afghanistan at the age of twelve, after his father was killed in a gun battle with the US Army. He was smuggled into Iran and spent the next 12 months traveling through Europe. He crossed 10 countries, was put in prison 6 ti…

Welcome to episode 172 with Bill Ryder-Jones, who is a singer-songwriter, musician, music producer and composer. Bill was a co-founder of The Coral, which they started when he was 13, and he played lead guitar on the first five albums, eventually leaving in 2008. It was around then that Bill started to experience depression, agoraphobia and panic a…

Welcome to episode 171 with Mark Williams, who is an author, speaker and international campaigner for father’s mental health. Mark suffered with PTSD and depression after the birth of his son and he suffered in silence for many years while trying to support his wife who was also struggling with her mental health and they were both in at crisis poin…

Welcome to episode 170 with Lily Bailey who is an author, journalist and activist who has been writing and speaking about OCD and mental illness for a long time and in this episode, I chat to Lily about her experiences with obsessive compulsive disorder and how it’s affected her over the years. We also chat her new book, When I Feel Red, written fo…

Welcome to episode 169 with John Rattray, who is a former professional skateboarder and the creator of Why So Sad? Why So Sad? Is a skate and cycling focused campaign with the goal of driving awareness and education around mental wellbeing and suicide prevention. In this episode I chat to John about getting in to skating and the importance of commu…

Welcome to episode 168 with Jess Greenfield, who is a multi-instrumentalist and a singer with Wonder 45 and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying birds. In this episode I chat to Jess about singing, the music industry and balancing being a mother and a touring musician. We also chat about Jess’ experiences with post-natal mental health issues, the impact th…

Welcome to episode 167 with Nadia Gilani, who is a writer and yoga teacher. Nadia was introduced to yoga as a teenager when her Mum took her along to a class as a way of helping her mental health. Since then, yoga has been a constant and important part of her life but her relationship with the practice has not always been a smooth one. In this epis…

Welcome to episode 166 with Tate Smith, who is an award-winning trans activist, consultant and speaker. Tate started to experience anxiety at high school but this had nothing to do with his gender. It was only later on in his teenage years that he became aware of what it means to be trans and was able to start making sense of himself. In this episo…

Welcome to episode 165 with Roxy Longworth. When Roxy was 13, she was coerced then blackmailed into sending explicit photos, which were spread around her school. The school blamed all of this on Roxy and the shame and embarrassment that was heaped down on her, by the very establishment that was supposed to be looking after her, took a huge toll on …

Welcome to episode 164 with Ian Tucknott who is a creative coach, arts educator and the curator of the Mental Wealth Festival which is hosted by City Lit. The festival is an annual event that provides a forum for informative, challenging and inspiring discussion through workshops, talks, exhibitions, and other activities. In this episode I chat to …

Welcome to episode 163 with Steve Warwick, who is a men’s mental health advocate, eating disorder survivor and the man behind the Instagram page Healthy Done Sexy. In this episode I chat to Steve about his relationship with food from a creative perspective and a mental illness perspective. We chat about Steve’s history with Bulimia, how it showed u…

Welcome to episode 162 with Aidy Smith who is an award-winning broadcaster, journalist, content creator and speaker and the only TV presenter in the UK with Tourette Syndrome. Aidy created The Three Drinkers on Amazon Prime; the show has released 3 seasons since 2019 in over 100 territories and 10+ languages around the world. In this episode I chat…

Welcome to episode 161 with Adam Bloom who is a multi-award-winning stand-up comedian and writer. Adam has made national TV appearances in Britain and The U.S. and has also ghost-written for 50 comedians. Adam has a diagnosis of Bipolar and in this episode, we chat about his experiences with hypomania which is the less extreme part of bipolar and v…

Welcome to a very special Christmas episode of the Proper Mental podcast! Tis the season that not everybody enjoys, for a lot of different reasons. I wanted to put something out at Christmas that might give someone a little lift if they needed one, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. Sometimes 5 minutes can make all the difference. I reached out to ad…

Welcome to episode 160 with The Real Talk Therapist, Tasha Bailey! Tasha is an author, content creator and psychotherapist who specialises in trauma, self-love and creativity. In this episode I chat to Tasha about why she decided to become a therapist and some of the different ways that she supports the people she works with. We chat about the lang…

Welcome to episode 159 with Kunt, who is a sometime comedy songwriter turned major irritant who records and performs as Kunt & The Gang! At Christmas 2020, his other band The K*nts, had an unexpected top 5 hit single with their protest song Boris Johnson is a F**king C**t. Since then, they have had top 20 hits with Boris Johnson is STILL a F**king …

Welcome to episode 158 with Ro Bevan from Christmas For CAMHS, a registered charity who provides special Christmas gifts every year for children and young people who are inpatients in child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) wards across the UK over the Christmas holiday period. Dr Ro Bevan got things started after working on CAMHS wards at Chris…

Welcome to episode 157 with Reed Amber, who is a proud sex worker, educator, anti-shamer and activist. She is also co-founder of ComeCurious, a leading channel about sex and relationships and co-host of the award-winning F**ks Given podcast. Reed describes herself as an anxious child and she became aware of her mental health from a young age. In th…

Welcome to this bonus episode which was recorded live at this year’s Mental Wealth Festival in October 2023. The Mental Wealth Festival is an annual event, hosted by City Lit, and offers free or low-fee events, including in person and online workshops, talks, discussions, exhibitions, and other activities. I was honoured to be asked to join a panel…

Welcome to episode 156, where I’m joined by Chris & Stu from Hardcore Listings for a men’s mental health awareness month special! I reached out to the lads to borrow the Hardcore Listings format and do a Top 5 and they chose to do songs that are good for your mental health. I also really love how comfortable both Chris & Stu are talking about thing…

Welcome to episode 155 with Sammy Trotman, who is the writer and creator of ‘That’s Not My Name’ a show about mental illness, labels and trauma. Sammy started writing the show while she was in a psychiatric hospital and the reasons why she ended up in hospital are what the show is based around. In this episode I chat to Sammy about writing the show…

Welcome to episode 154 with Mark Richardson, who is the drummer in Skunk Anansie and has previously played drums in Little Angels and Feeder. As a child Mark found that playing drums was the only that kept him from bouncing off the walls and he eventually moved to London to join Little Angels before joining Skunk Anansie after he met the band at th…

Welcome to episode 153 with Vanessa Cornell, who is a surfer, writer, teacher a messy mum of 5 and the founder of Nushu, an organisation that holds a safe space and creates a supportive environment for those seeking to live authentic, inspired, and joyful lives through the power of true community. At one point in time, Vanessa had everything that s…

Welcome to episode 152 with Kieran Cunningham, who is an author, climber and mountaineer. After being diagnosed with Bipolar 1 while at university, Kieran spent a decade travelling around the world trying to figure out what he wanted to do and how he was going to live with this diagnosis. Along the way he found that climbing was the perfect way for…

Welcome to episode 151 with Kim Davies! My wife Kim and I originally recorded and released this episode in April 2021. At that time, we were both quite nervous about putting our story out there so I just slipped it out as a bonus with very little promotion. It had such a wonderful response and is still one of the episodes that I get the most feedba…

Welcome to episode 150! I’m not sure if 150 episodes is an actual milestone or not, but it sort of feels like one so I wanted to mark it in some way. I’ve been lucky enough to be asked to tell my own mental health story in a lot of different places but it’s been a long time since I’ve talked about myself on Proper Mental. Very early on, episode 7 i…

Welcome to episode 149 with James McMahon, a journalist and podcaster who spent a long time working at the NME, editing Kerrang! and interviewing pretty much everyone in the music industry. James has lived with OCD for most of his life, although for a lot of that time he had no idea what it was or how to get help. In this episode James and I chat a…