The Richard Nicholls Mental Health Podcast

Send us Fan MailYou know the moment when someone's rude to you and you feel the fuse burning down? In this quick episode I'm talking about keeping your cool, and why it often has less to do with the other person than with when you last ate.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailPostnatal depression, birth trauma, and the intrusive thoughts almost every new parent has but hardly anyone admits to. This month I’m talking about the side of pregnancy and those first months that doesn’t make it onto the cards. We look at the difference between the baby blues and postnatal depression, and the one thing that needs same-day help. Then there are the horrible intrusive thoughts almost every new parent has and almost nobody admits to, what the research says they actually mean. Plus matrescence, dads’ depression, and why “good enough” really is good enough.Sources:Fairbrother et al. 2022, J Clin Psychiatry: harm thoughts and aggressionWorld of Psychology: interview with FairbrotherPaulson & Bazemore 2010, JAMA (via RTI)Yildiz, Ayers & Phillips 2017 (City Research Online)Maternal Mental Health AllianceAction on Postpartum Psychosis FAQNHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde perinatal serviceThe Women’s Hospital: baby bluesNHS: postnatal depressionSupport the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailI've spent years talking about the best way to fill up the gaps in your day. And I think I might owe boredom an apology.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailPart of you wants to change and part of you really, really doesn't, and somehow you're both of them at once. Today I'm looking at Internal Family Systems, the idea that we're all made up of parts, and why the bits of you causing the most trouble are usually the bits working hardest to keep you safe.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailWorry has a brilliant scam going. It takes the credit for everything that didn't happen.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailYou don't need to be a therapist to find that being a good listener can be helpful. Listening is one half of ALL good communication.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailBeing called mature for your age is meant as a compliment. But quite often it's a description of a child who didn't get to be one.This week I'm looking at parentification, which is what we call it when the roles flip and a child ends up doing the caring instead of receiving it.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailOnce we expect something, our brain acts as if it's about to happen any second, and then gets cross when it doesn't. This week we look at why some waits feel endless and others fly by, what the marshmallow test was really measuring, and why something not happening yet might be the best bit!Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailSomebody dies, or something awful happens, and sooner or later somebody will ask if you've got closure yet. Like it's a certificate. So this week I look at where that word actually came from, which is not psychology, and why it contradicts itself, and why the fact that you're still carrying something years later isn't a fault. It's just what humans do.Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us Fan MailThis week I'm looking at Radical Acceptance, where it comes from, what the word radical actually means, and why letting go of the fight with reality isn't the same as giving up. Support the showJoin the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnichollsSocial Media LinksBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.netThreads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsrealInstagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsrealFacebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthorYoutube https://www.youtube.com/richardnichollsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthorX https://x.com/richardnicholls