My Sh*t Therapist

Hello I’m Michelle Thomas and welcome to My Shit Therapist, the podcast pick of the week in The Times! The actual Times! I’m so happy and proud. I’m a one woman band, and sometimes it can feel like I'm chucking stuff out into the void. It’s hard to make an impact with no marketing budget and a full time job, so I’m really glad to have a bit of recognition, and I’m really glad you’re here. And if you want to spread the word you can leave a lovely 5 star review and subscribe , and I’ll be your friend forever.
Today I’m speaking with Hywel Harrington, a trainee therapist from South Wales who now lives in Bristol.
Just a heads up, when I spoke to Hywel he was recovering from top surgery, and we’re going to talk a little bit about the details of that, we’re also going to touch on gender dysphoria, substance abuse, and a suicide attempt, so as ever if you’re not feeling up to it today, come back another time.
Having said that we do laugh a lot in this episode, and Hywel is incredibly charming and funny and wonderful, you’re going to love him. You can find Hywel’s Instagram account @howl.skellington because it’s spooky season.
Thank you so much for listening, until next time take care and take your meds xx

Amanda Prowse is one of the most prolific novelists working today – she’s published 27 novels, many of which have been best-sellers all over the world including An Ordinary life, The Girl In The Corner, and The Coordinates Of Loss. She has co-written one non-fiction title, The Boy Between, with her son Josiah (Josh) Hartley about his suicidal depression.
We talk very candidly about Josh’s suicide attempts and self-harm. Please only listen if you’re feeling up to it, if you think it’s going to trigger you, give it a miss. I loved this conversation because it’s the first time I’ve spoken to a mother and child about their collective experience of one person’s illness, and they both absolutely radiate with love for each other. So although parts it are very, very painful, the love that exists in spite of and because of that pain, is a privilege to witness. If you have a mental health story and you’d like to be a guest on the podcast, email me at myshittherapist at gmail.com or follow me on twitter @michelletomos or @myshittherapistpod The Boy Between is out now, Amanda is @mrsamandaprowse on Instagram and Josh is @josiahhartley97. Thank you for listening, until next time take care and take your meds

SIDEBAR: This week I appeared on a mental health panel for Amazon UK with Laura Thomas and Amanda Prowe. Watch it anytime in March on Amazon.co.uk/IWD Gemma Sherlock is a journalist and the co-host of not one but two mental health podcasts: No, Really, I’m Fine, and Mind over Money. We discuss her experience with panic attacks, and depression, and suicidal ideation. We also talk about what Gemma calls anticipatory grief as her Mother is currently receiving palliative care for terminal cancer. As ever if you’re not feeling up to listening to this episode, tap out for now, and come back to us another time. Follow Gemma on Twitter @Gemmasherlock2. She is currently raising money for Cancer Research UK, find out more at https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/gemmas-walk-all-over-cancer-fundraising-page-398

Jen is a content creator and a sh*t-hot bartender. She hasn’t has a formal diagnosis for bipolar or ADHD, but in this episode you’ll hear about how she came to that conclusion, and how claiming that identity has helped her manage her mental health. We also cover why she defines and names separate identities for the voices in her head, the cultural dissonance between her upbringing in a Korean-American household and the dog-eat-dog hustle-centric hedonist of New York, self medicating with booze, and how to stop negative self- talk in its tracks.
You can find Jen on Insta @thedorkweb
Don't forget: If you have a mental health story you'd like to share on this podcast, email me at myshittherapist at gmail.com or find me on twitter @myshittherapist
Are you ready? Good, let’s get into it.