Conversations with My Mind: The Learning Podcast

The more time we spend online, the more thoughtful I become about how we approach connecting to this wonderful, virtual world. In the next two episodes, with the help of my guests, I will be exploring what impact an unsafe use of the internet can bring, what we should be aware of and how we could better navigate online to feel safer, more protected and more in control.
Today, I start by tackling the challenge of online safety. To help me with this, I am joined by a brilliant speaker and cyber security expert, Gareth Thomas. A big part of his job is keeping up-to-date with the latest cyber security threats, making sure the risks are considered, mitigation plans are in place and everyone across the organisation is educated and knows what to do.
We all have heard that prevention is better than any fix. It also remains true when it comes to the online world that many of us are connected to 24/7. Gareth shares a number of fascinating examples of what can happen when things go wrong, and shares key tips we all should be aware of to keep ourselves and our businesses safe, and our minds less anxious.
Find Gareth Thomas on:
LinkedIn: Gareth Thomas
Twitter: @CyberThomas
Find more Online Security tips:
Google Safety Centre: https://safety.google/security/security-tips/
UK Safer Internet Centre: https://saferinternet.org.uk/
National Cyber Security Centre: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/
To learn more about me go to:
Instagram: @conversations.with.my.mind
LinkedIn: Ance Vanaga
Website: www.conversationswithmymind.com
Lovely music created by: Harlowe King

On the day this episode is released it has been 91 days since Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. For three months Ukraine has been fighting with all it has to remain independent and democratic. The ongoing support it is receiving from all over the world, even from the previously neutral countries, says a lot about the importance of how this ends. As a Latvian, I struggle to stay impartial. This war is too close to home and it has shaken up my own values as well.
Along with the physical war there is also an informational war in full swing. Although it is hard to believe the more outlandish propaganda, there’s plenty of subtle, intelligently built misinformation still circulating on this side of the newly laid ‘iron curtain’.
To better understand Ukraine’s story, learn more about its people and break down some of the more prevalent false statements I have invited a Ukrainian political and social activist Maria Kuchapski to join me on this conversation.
Maria shares her own and her family’s story, talks about Ukraine’s history and helps us better understand Ukraine’s relationship with Russia throughout the centuries, including why Russia should be called an imperialist nation. We also explore if there are any Nazis in Ukraine, who are the Azov Battalion members and why Ukraine and its culture is actually closer to other Eastern European countries than it is to Russia.
Content Warning: Throughout this episode we discuss war in Ukraine, genocide and other linked topics. At times you might find the content upsetting. Please do take a break if you need to or skip over certain parts to protect your own mental health.
Find Maria Kuchapski on:
Instagram: @vinokcollective
LinkedIn: Maria Kuchapski
Twitter: @VinokCollective
To learn more about me go to:
Instagram: @conversations.with.my.mind
LinkedIn: Ance Vanaga
Website: https://conversationswithmymind.buzzsprout.com
Lovely music created by: Harlowe King

Slava Ukraini!

This is it - my final episode of Conversations with My Mind Season 1! I want to start by saying the biggest thank you to all of you for your listens, your support, your kind words, encouragement and lovely feedback you have shared with me. I cannot wait to see what the future will bring for this podcast!
To make a full circle and finish where the encouragement to start this podcast was born, with my final conversation I chose to go back to my roots and speak about anxiety. What better way to do this than with someone, who is a registered psychotherapist and licenced psychologist?
I am honoured to introduce you to Dr. Jenn Anders. I have been following her Instagram for a while now and Jenn has one of those amazingly high value profiles where she shares lots of great information and practical tips while showing her own vulnerability and telling about her experiences. As Jenn says herself, she helps anxious humans feel confident and aligned.
Today we explore how anxiety as a feeling differs from a mental health condition, what to be aware of if you have anxiety and clarify if there is a way to fully cure it. We also touch on the 4 attachment styles focusing on how the anxious relationship type specifically can impact our communication and at the end Jenn shares some much needed tips on how to put healthy boundaries with your family in place over the holiday season and why it is so important to do so.
Find Dr Jenn Anders on:
Instagram: @the.anxiety.doc
LinkedIn: Jennifer Anders
Her website: https://www.yellowpinetherapy.com/
To learn more about me go to:
Instagram: @conversations.with.my.mind
LinkedIn: Ance Vanaga
Website: https://conversationswithmymind.buzzsprout.com
Photo credit: Infolklore
Lovely music created by: Harlowe King

Dean Allen is the kind of lecturer you’d like to have in your university - friendly, down to earth, all for encouraging everyone to use their critical thinking and a genuinely good person. He’s been building his career between the UK and South Africa, but in the past few years his heart and opportunities have grounded him and his family in the Eastern Cape.
As a historian and an author of the bestselling book “Empire, War & Cricket” Dean has been giving lectures and speaking extensively on the influence of sports. Coincidentally, I’m publishing this episode on the 18th of July, the Nelson Mandela day. Nelson Mandela is someone Dean mentions in his talks with utmost respect and admiration.
However, this conversation is much bigger than Dean’s studies and lectures. He approached me as he also wanted to share his own mental health journey to remind us to not take everything at its face value. While on the outside looking like he was having the time of his life, Dean had to go through a number of darker periods to get to where he is today.
This episode has two equally important parts. We start by exploring Dean’s personal mental health journey and his experience with support available in the academic space and then we chat more about his research on how sports are not only a great entertainment, but also a power that can influence social, cultural and even political direction.
Find Dean Allen on:
His website: https://www.deanallen.co.za/
Instagram: @dr.deanallen
Facebook: Dr Dean Allen
LinkedIn: Dr Dean Allen
To learn more about me go to:
Instagram: @conversations.with.my.mind
LinkedIn: Ance Vanaga
Website: https://conversationswithmymind.buzzsprout.com
Lovely music created by: Harlowe King

Paul Holbrook left his corporate career to become a leadership coach and in the process realised that almost everyone he talks to struggles with time. He decided to tackle this challenge by creating a self-leadership programme Diary Detox focusing on healthier distribution of time and published a book ‘What Are You Doing? The uncomfortable truth about how you waste time at work’. Instead of being a CEO, Paul chooses to call himself a Chief Management Rebel.

In this episode Paul and I explore the challenge of understanding where our time goes. Paul is a strong believer we all need to make time for our personal life, health and wellbeing in order to protect our work productivity. He explains about the five key categories where our time could be potentially going and how we can start distributing it in a healthier way. We speak about how to move away from working long hours in spite of there always being more work and how to have the sometimes uncomfortable conversations with our colleagues, teams and managers, when we have decided to work differently. We also discuss the ‘Great Resignation’ and the new ‘Hybrid Ways of Working’ to understand the impact they might bring.Find Paul Holbrook on:
His website: https://diarydetox.com/
Personal LinkedIn: Paul Holbrook
Diary Detox LinkedIn: Diary Detox
To learn more about me go to:
Instagram: @conversations.with.my.mind
LinkedIn: Ance Vanaga
Website: https://conversationswithmymind.buzzsprout.com
Lovely music created by: Harlowe King