The Richard Nicholls Mental Health Podcast
To inspire, educate and motivate you to be the best you can be. Learn about tackling mental health problems like Anxiety and Depression as well as simple tips to understand the world better, in a down to earth and genuine way with the Best Selling Author and Psychotherapist Richard Nicholls.
Episodes
120 episodes
The Social Brain
This week I’m exploring something quietly powerful about the social brain. From old school photos to bonobos recognising family decades later, it turns out we don’t just remember faces… we remember feelings. I also look at how curiosity shapes ...
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5:11
Health Anxiety
If you’ve ever wondered “What if…?” about your health, this one’s for you.I'm digging into the often misunderstood world of health anxiety today, what many still call hypochondria. Which is not about drama or attention-seeking. Hypochondria...
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5:13
Are You Pacing the Cage?
In this episode, I’m talking about something called zoochosis. A term used to describe distress in captive animals, and how something very similar might be happening to us as humans in the modern world.
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5:00
Failure
Because we're not born knowing how to do anything that comes naturally to us as adults, we're literally born to fail along the way.Whether that's learning to walk, talk or how to be calm in difficult situations. We have to learn. We have to...
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Episode 259
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21:15
Limerence: Addicted To Love?
Call it a crush, call it new relationship energy, call it infatuation. But if it becomes an addiction, then you can easily become your own drug dealer by retreating into fantasy.That's when it starts to become a very serious problem.
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Episode 258
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22:27
Willpower
Not only is my house full left over Christmas chocolate but the supermarkets are already pushing Easter eggs onto me and there's only so much willpower we have to resist.But sometimes it's all a matter of perspective.
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Episode 257
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15:35
Parenting - Helicopters vs Bulldozers
Understanding a little bit about the effects of different parenting styles can really help us understand ourselves better. As well as help us to understand others.Let's have a peek into some of the basics shall we?
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Episode 256
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20:16
Phenomenology
Phenomenology is a posh word that psychologists use to mean the idea of someone's subjective and individual experience.We could all have exactly the same experience but feel completely different about it and it's important we understand why...
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Episode 255
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17:32
Dependence and Codependence
If your sense of self is based around helping others and it's the only place where you get your self worth from. It might be worth checking that you don't make things worse.
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Episode 254
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17:53
Accepting Criticism
According to multiple studies, fear of judgement is the number one biggest fear, above dying.The author Elbert Hubbard once wrote, "Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you'll never be criticised." And that's probably the only way t...
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Episode 253
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16:32
Guided Relaxation
Today is International Relaxation Day. So I thought I'd do something different this week for my bonus episode and guide you through a 5 minute relaxation exercise.
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6:42
Boundaries
Most people think of boundaries as being like a physical thing as if there's a chalk outline on the ground everywhere you go and if someone steps into it it makes you upset. The thing is the only one that knows the boundary is there is you....
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Episode 252
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18:13
Motivation
What's the difference between someone who has all the motivation and enthusiasm you could wish for and someone who, even though they don't have depression, still can't feel motivated? Well, in order to answer that I think it's worth looking at ...
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Episode 251
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16:43
Superstition
It's Friday 13th, so today I've got a bonus episode for you about the psychology of superstition.
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5:19
Brain Training & Anxiety
Your brain has a remarkable ability to filter and remember important experiences while discarding the less significant ones. It does so by comparing new experiences with past ones and using emotional reactions to determine their importance....
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Episode 250
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15:25
Obsessive Compulsive Personality
Today is all about Obsessive Compulsive Personality.OCD is talked about a lot because it's such a life destroying disorder, and so is quite obvious if someone has it. But when it's a personality trait people can often just get labelled a...
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Episode 249
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17:22
The 100mph Life
Being behind on your goals doesn't mean rushing to get everything finished, it doesn't mean disrespecting yourself and not looking after yourself.One of the most important factors in getting through a busy life with a healthy and happy m...
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Episode 248
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15:21
Highly Sensitive People
Ever heard of Sensory Processing Sensitivity?It's a neurological trait that means that one in 6 people have super duper processing abilities of all of their experiences. Sounds like a superpower doesn't it?Some with it don't always thin...
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Episode 247
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22:02
Love Yourself
It may be Valentine's Day this month, a day to remind someone that you love them, but I think we very often need to bring it closer to home.
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Episode 246
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14:51
Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive Distortions are the thinking traps where our mind convinces us of something that isn't actually true.Once habitual and almost a part of our personality, they can very often start the ball rolling for depression and anxiety.
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Episode 245
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15:20
Rejection Sensitivity
For many, anxiety is all about being vulnerable to the possibility of rejection. It's normal for our brain to seek out what we fear and notice dangerous possibilities. But those with bad experiences may have been primed from an earl...
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Episode 244
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16:37
Kindness
Kindness is often linked with better mental health. It helps us to feel connected to others, creates a sense of belonging and reduces isolation.But I say there's a time and a place for it, and it might not be now and it might start closer t...
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Episode 243
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15:20
The Power Of Awe
"Awe" tends to be defined as the emotion we experience when encountering something with such perceived vastness that our brain might find it hard to comprehend how it can exist.Being "awed" by an experience can have some surprisingly pow...
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Episode 242
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15:04