In Our Nature

In today's episode we are exploring how our concepts of mental health and illness are not fixed truths but socially constructed ideas. What’s normal and what’s not is made up via thought and is always changing.

Those with a diagnosis that doesn’t feel quite right might especially like this episode, along with those who always feel a bit out of place or like they don’t fit in with ‘normal people’ (like me)

Join me to meander through:

• My bent-double moment of laughing in the bathroom that inspired the episode
• How everything in society has “Rules” which are completely made up with our thoughts (but still have real-world implications)
• Who decides what’s ‘normal’ and what’s a disorder anyway, and why this matters
• How this relates specifically to anxiety disorders, panic disorders, eating disorders and more
• Why recognising the constructed nature of our diagnoses is pretty cool for personal and collective freedom.
• A few funnies from the past
• And Anxious Alice has an insight around this in the realm of parenting

Mentioned:

If Books Could Kill - The Rules

The Rules book

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Thanks for listening. You rock.

If you feel like your mind, car, house, desk, local supermarket and —everywhere, actually, come to think of it— is chaotic, cluttered, full and busy...

...you aren’t imagining it.
This one’s for you.

Today we’re talking about the crucial need for space in our lives —both internally and externally — and how this is rapidly being sold off, occupied and taken over.

Join me as we explore:

• How the erasure of space—mentally, physically, and environmentally— makes us feel like crap
• What the psycho-spiritual guidance to connect with ‘inner space’ might be missing in the context of today’s world
• The parallels between natural ecosystems and human wellbeing and why space is vital for both....yes, vital, and not a 'nice to have' when the kids leave home
• Why the fetish for productivity in our society makes you feel anxious and worthless ...and means finding true space nearly impossible
• How structural forces obstruct our ability to connect with the space within and find peace (aka: it's not your fault, friend)
• An invitation to contribute to part two of this conversation — how might we realistically and practically reclaim and honour space in our lives and communities?

Mentioned

• Last episode here
• Birds, bees, flies, a cow's head
• The F word, once
• Episodes about productivity here, here, here and here.
• To comment, share a story, idea, thought or grumble for the second part of this conversation on Space, email me (let me know if you don’t want your name included in the episode)
• The Playshop on this topic has a couple of spaces, but will be expanded if needed. Email me if you’re interested.
• Everything I do is by donation or gift. You can donate to support my work here if you want (thank you, amazing person).

Thanks for being with me today. You rock 🌏

This episode is a re-release from season one that traces a familiar experience: feeling anxious and restless even when there’s ‘nothing to worry about’. Like when one is hiking in the beautiful mountains with a month off work (me).

Originally aired when the podcast was called Inner Peace and Other Cool Shit, this episode is an important reminder of the upstream influences on our feelings and experiences.

I’m exploring responses to this in upcoming episodes, so this is for the benefit of new listeners (hi, friends) and anyone else needing a refresher.
If you've heard it already and you totally know where that anxious, restless, unsettled feeling comes from — you are free to go! Go outside. Watch a bird wash themselves in a puddle. It's the best.

Original show notes for this ep. are below.

Mentioned in this one:

A belated move to Substack; join me here.

I mention a piece I am working on about rarely experiencing anxiety and restlessness anymore, and how that’s changed. If you want that when it’s finished get your sweet butt on my Friends’ List here.
Please note it is NOT a pollyanna how-to for getting rid of anxiety. It's gritty.

Questions, comments, or ideas, feel free to get in touch with me here

Original show notes:

It's the first episode back after the summer break and I can't wait to talk about horrid feelings with you.

Join me for an exploration on the birth and evolution of anxious, restless, unsettled feelings, and how understanding this helps ease their ickiness so we can return to peace.

This episode will meander through:

• A long intro vividly describing my anxious thought storm while on holiday
• A reminder of the relationship between thoughts and feelings and the outside world
• When it's relevant to look at the content of thought itself, and how understanding this transforms our relationship to it
• An expedition back through history to the origin of our horrid thoughts
• This will include mentions of anxiety, productivity, overwhelm, being busy, hustle culture, rest and more
• How understanding the creation and evolution of thoughts helps us see them as less personal, giving us more opportunity for freedom and ease
• Metaphors and comparisons include the climate and soil, soup and croutons and a couple of bad jokes
• Anxious Alice asks how this historical and evolutionary exploration of thought content reconciles with the orthodox orientation of 'looking upstream to the source of thought'. Isn't she a wise little squirrel?

Looking for fascinating insights into the intersection of human behaviour and our planetary predicament? Curious about the connection between our stories and our systems? This one’s for you.

My guest is Sarah Patterson: President of Common Earth, delightful human, and a catalyst for my own ecological awakening.

Join us as we talk about:

The dual power of our incredible human gift of imagination—its ability to create and innovate, but also its potential to trap us in false or harmful narratives.

The importance of systems thinking in understanding, well... everything.

How our personal and collective stories shape our inner and outer worlds.

What this all has to do with our climate challenges and our own experiences of being human at this time.

How meaningful change really happens, no, really

This episode invites you to rethink your relationship with the world and your relationship with your own thinking. That sounds hard, but they go together beautifully.

About Common Earth:

Common Earth offers education to help build a holistic understanding of the various forces involved in our current climate challenges. They have a series of unique and comprehensive learning programmes coming up, designed to deepen understanding of climate and socio-economic issues from a broad perspective. These courses are funded by Common Earth.

Next intake is early September, so check them out soon if you are interested: https://commonearth.com/courses/

Question, comment, idea for the show? Email [email protected].

Thanks for joining us today you wonderful little bean.

Today we're poking at the power of teeny, innocent-seeming words in creating enormous, perilous towers of thought stories.

Join me to meander through:

• My research project on inner peace and how it led to a little tangent on the power of words
• How seeing the creation of Big Collective Thought releases you from taking your personal, individual thought too seriously
• Exploring how casual historical labels can shape our modern thinking
• Noticing how the recency bias in historical narratives has implications on societal values and norms in the present day (including around productivity, anxiety and progress)
• Links between this and our individual experiences of inadequacy, stress, worry and overwhelm.
• The freedom that comes with recognising how thought patterns are shaped beyond your control - and how seeing your innocence in this can unclip you from your own inadequacies
• Several questionable analogies
• 'Nothingburger' is used on the show for the first time
• Anxious Alice is in a sulk

Mentioned:

Episosde: We’ve Made up What Mental Illness Is (And Who Decides What’s Normal Anyway?)
Episosde: Expanding the Conversation to Meet These Extraordinarily Precarious Times

Episosde: How That Anxious, Restless, Unsettled Feeling Is Originally Created (Clue: It’s Nothing to Do with You)
Email me with questions, comments, ideas or if you need support.
Pop your name on my Friends List here for a monthly email with updates, news and suchlike.
Thanks for listening. You're my favourite.