The Relative Perspective - Season 2 - September

I'm back to talk about another book I've read about happiness. This month's episode is based on 'The Joy of Small Things' by Hannah Parkinson.  It's an easy read filled with all those little details that we encounter on a daily basis but rarely put into words. In a world where the news is bleak, our time is precious and our money is being stretched, it's reassuring to know that we don't have to go far or look hard for pockets of happiness all around us. It is important for us to remember that, even when it doesn't seem like it, there is happiness to be found in our lives right now. We should take the time to enjoy what we have and Hannah Parkinson offers 109 suggestions for just that.

This month’s (short and sweet) episode is based on the book titled ‘Happiness: Lessons from a new science’ by Richard Layard.  This book opened my eyes to the role of economics and philosophy in the pursuit of happiness.  It wasn’t the easiest of reads and I did a lot of extra research and reading on both the author and the concepts which he champions in his book.  In doing so, but I hope you feel like you get an understanding of what collective wellbeing is and why other people’s happiness is more important that your own and why, if we want to be happy, we should all be striving towards making as many people happy as possible.

I’m early with this month’s episode to the point that I think I’ve forgotten something.  The fact that the episode is less than 40 minutes in length is also worrying.   I say that because I’m just not sure 40 minutes does this book, or this topic justice. That aside, this month I read ‘How to be Sad’ by Helen Russell, well I listened to it (twice) on audiobook. This is a book about sadness, specifically the importance of being sad. Helen explores how staring into sadness allows us to address negative emotions and feel them in a more managed way so that we are not consumed by sadness, but comforted and motivated by it.  Helen writes that there are ways to be good-sad and by addressing sadness and finding a way through it, we are happier for it. To that end, this podcast is a summary of Helen’s book with some of my experiences and feelings thrown in for good measure (in and outside the context of covid).  The episode concludes with ways to be sad and tools which will help you through your sadness.   Whilst I am not an advocate of wallowing, I recognise that the lows in life give you perspective when it comes to the highs of happiness so I hope this episode encourages you to take steps to face your feelings and share your sadness in your own personal hunt for happiness. Please note, that despite the title, you can be sad in all other months and not just February. https://www.helenrussell.co.ukhttps://www.helenrussell.co.uk

Welcome back to The Relative Perspective and a belated Happy New Year! This episode is short and sweet and seeks to introduce this year's theme of 'HAPPINESS'. All the episodes this season will explore the science behind and the topic of happiness through a blend of book reviews, on location recordings, conversations and experiences (you name it, I'll try it). My aim and hope is to learn about what makes people (and me) happy so that I can make better choices about how I should invest my time and money (i.e. doing things that bring me joy). I'm going to share my findings with you and encourage you to make little changes that can have a huge impact on your happiness and in turn, your health.

This month’s episode is about burnout.  Whilst it’s not the cheeriest of topics for the festive season and as we head into the new year, it’s an important one as burnout becomes more and more common and can have detrimental effects on us and those around us. In this episode I talk about what burnout is, the signs and symptoms, burnout (and my own experience in the context of the pandemic) and offer some tips and tricks to help alleviate daily stressors and guard against burnout.   As ever, I hope you find this episode interesting and I hope that it increases your awareness of burnout both in yourself and in those around you. Please remember, if you’re struggling with burnout, please reach out as part of your recovery; speak to your doctor and don’t be afraid to explore your workplace EAP/wellbeing offerings.  Remember, you didn’t cause burnout, you’re not at fault, but the solution and the resolution is in your hands. So with that, thank you for listening to this episode and I wish you a very happy new year.

This month’s episode is a look at (and commentary on) dental services in the UK; think of it as a scale and polish rather than a root canal procedure. I had terrible trouble with my teeth during the pandemic. I couldn’t get the help I needed and so decay became worse, as did the pain. The result was injections, teeth extractions, hours in the chair for treatment including a root canal procedure, drillings, fillings, expensive X-rays and everything else that goes with it. I was advised to try DIY filling kits, was on very strong medication to deal with the pain and I felt like I was losing my smile - all because dental services were inaccessible at the time I needed them the most.  In short, the pandemic laid bare just how bad NHS dental services are (not the care or practitioners, but the access and cost) and the state of the nation's teeth.  Thankfully, I was treated through the NHS and by paying privately and, though it was a long and arduous process, I currently don't have any issues with my teeth. However, not everyone is so lucky. Millions of people are on waiting lists even just to see a dentist and so many individuals have resorted to draconian DIY dentistry such as pulling their own teeth with pliers to relieve their agony.  NHS dentists cannot take anymore patients onto their lists and it’s not economically viable for them to do so (or even keep treating patients on NHS rates). We simply cannot carry on like this. Dental health is indicative of the rest of our health as well as the affluence of an area, but it’s not just people on the fringes of society that struggle - think about service men and women who leave the armed forces. They go from having an army or naval dentist etc to treat them when needed to having no one. They end up at the bottom of a multiple year long waiting list, waiting for a gap (pun intended). This is just one episode full of my ramblings on the subject but I’ve done something research on this and want to point you in the direction of the pilot episode of Unreported Britain as well as the Northern Agenda. As ever, there are thousands of relevant podcasts on this topic and lost of things to read, so I hope this episode encourages you to look into this area in more detail, even retrain as a dentist or maybe just makes you feel a little bit more heard if you had the same issues as me.

This month’s episode is all about sleep.  Sleep is a fundamental pillar to good health - we all know what we are like and how we behave when we haven’t had good night’s sleep and similarly, we feel like we can take on the world when we are well rested.  In this episode I talk about the impact of the pandemic on sleep, the importance of good sleep and offer some tips and tricks to help you head off to slumberland.  As ever, I hope you find this episode interesting and I hope that it encourages you to assess your sleep health/hygiene.  I’m not a great sleeper, so I recognise that good sleep/falling asleep quickly can elude many people.  If you’re struggling with your sleep at the moment (and my voice doesn’t help you drift off), please be assured, there are millions of ASMR videos, thousands of sleep sound playlists available and hundreds of apps to help.  As well as speaking to your doctor, your workplace may invest in subscriptions to meditation/relaxation apps as part of their EAP/wellbeing offerings because they recognise the importance of sleep and the relationship between rest of productivity.  You may want to explore these tools because sleep helps us perform better, show up for ourselves (and in our relationships) and has huge health benefits.

I have been in a bit of a funk this month. Maybe it's the come down from a great wedding and a wholesome summer, maybe it's hormones, maybe it's worrying about buying a house and money or maybe it's because work is a bit intense. I don't know; I'm not able to explain it or get to the bottom of what's caused it but what I do know is that I have consistently shown up to do some form of exercise throughout September. From fleeting moments of feeling a bit perkier to feeling like I've completely broken free of my latest 'meh', exercise has been the key to making me feel a bit better. To that end, this episode is about exercise and the brain. It's a high level round-up of a few final thoughts about why exercise is good for your body and your mind too.

It's August, the height of the summer holidays. I've not really had a substantive break from work or the other demands on my time but I've been busy with wholesome things like catching up with friends, mini breaks and a wedding. I've made time for exercise too because it's a huge part of my (daily) routine and this episode is a collection of me exercising throughout the month in various locations. There are three things I hope you take away from this episode: first, exercise shouldn't be a punishment (i.e. if I run for an hour I can have an ice cream guilt free), second, there are so many forms of exercise and there is bound to be something out there for you whether that’s by yourself, with a friend or in a team and third, I hope you're listening to this episode on the move or that it has inspired you/encouraged you to make a move and do some exercise because there was a time (very recently) when freedom to exercise and be out and about was a luxury and it's really important that we are aware of the opportunities for exercise and the adventures it can bring.

Welcome to July's episode of The Relative Perspective. This month I'm talking about exercise. I am passionate about movement; whether it's running, swimming, walking or yoga, I believe that exercise is the best tool we have out our disposal to improve our health (physical and mental). In this episode I talk to you about my journey with exercise, the role it plays in my life and finding the form that I love. I touch on the impact of the pandemic on exercise and conclude the episode by highlighting some of the benefits of exercise - spoiler alert, the benefits are innumerable, life changing and maybe even life lengthening! If you want more information before my next episode check out 'New Scientist - Essential Guide No. 16 Exercise' and the following podcasts - better yet, check them out whilst you move (or groove): The Rich Roll - Built to Move, Stompcast by Dr Alex George, The Run Pod, Joint Approach (The Physio Podcast) and last but by no means least, The Food Medic.