For some people it’s the most wonderful time of the year but for other’s Christmas can be a time of great overwhelm, stress or sadness. It’s also a time when we’re thrown into all sorts of festivities, Christmas parties and meet ups, 12 pubs and pints with your mates, which all tend to centre around alcohol. Although all of these events can be fun, December can really highlight our culture’s complicated relationship with alcohol. Niall is joined by psychotherapist, Olympic medalist and recovery advocate Kenneth Egan, and Alcohol Action Ireland’s Head of Policy & Advocacy, Jennifer Hough, to shine a light on the toxic behaviours that have become so ingrained in society and to open your mind to exploring your own relationship with alcohol. Both Kenneth and Jennifer share their own experiences with alcohol harm but also explain the bigger forces at play in a country that often prioritises an economy over society, and the mental health issues that are often underlying in alcohol abuse. Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last number of months we’ve been exploring how social and societal factors impact the little piece of meat between our ears. Our biggest question, and challenge, is to break down barriers with governance to create better systems for mental health and wellbeing. Niall is joined by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, to ask what the missing links are when it comes to Ireland's governance and our collective wellbeing. They discuss why policies often feel like they prioritise economic growth over people, how inequality leads to social issues that are damaging on so many levels and Ireland's chance to be world leaders in better resourcing housing, healthcare and wellbeing for a healthier and happier society. Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether you’re a parent, guardian, teacher or anyone with children in your life, you have the power to do the work and build secure attachments that will support and bring safety to young people. Raising children is probably the most difficult job you will ever do, and most people don’t want to pass on the pain they experienced in their own childhood. Niall is joined by one of Ireland’s top experts in child and adolescent mental health, Dr. Malie Coyne, who does immense work with children and parents. Growing up as an anxious child herself, Malie has an ability to see the pain of struggling children, and also support parents as they try to navigate the difficulties and worries of parenthood. Her advice is based around just being ‘good enough’ and drives away from the idea of perfection in parenting and our expectations on emotions and wellbeing. Malie believes ruptures are always going to happen, but it’s how we repair them that really counts. Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If we are ever going to truly help people, we need to change the way we look at people’s wellbeing and mental health. Exercising, breathwork, yoga, self help books and even mindfulness are all great tools, but they are not going to be the fix when our whole foundation is in tatters. We’re back in the Therapy Room with our expert psychologists Louize Carroll and Dr. Tony Bates, taking a look at Gallup’s ‘Five Essential Elements of Well-Being’. These are career, social, financial, physical and community, and Tony and Louize break down why these foundational elements of our existence are vital and how when they’re not met people can end up in the therapy room thinking they are the problem. Social forces have so much influence on us and are often completely out of our control, but there are some small steps we can take to steady ourselves amongst the chaos. Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where is My Mind? has been on a tour of Ireland over the last number of weeks and we promised we'd bring you some of our most moving conversations from the road. We have spoken many times about the harrowing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) report that came out earlier this year and how detrimental some of the treatment has been to children and young people. When Niall took the podcast to a stage in Listowel, Co. Kerry he knew he wanted to speak to local man Davin Godfrey, who has been one of the young people gravely affected by the services, having been put on six different types of medication at once despite no formal diagnosis. Davin is a wonderful young man and tells the story of how this impacted his life, the reason behind him waiving his anonymity and why we can't let this happen to any child or person ever again. This episode touches on some difficult subjects, take care when listening. Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rejection is a part of life, but it is one of the most difficult things to process and deal with. Niall gives an insight into his own experience with rejection, as a musician, podcaster and personally. He tells the story of a very recent personal rejection, dissecting the emotions and reactions while appreciating the learnings and new directions it brought. He also presents one of his rejected projects, a guided meditation with music from the incredible Nick Zinner of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in an unequal society, one that doesn’t support or protect our most vulnerable and marginalised people. We can have all of the mental health programmes and motivational talks we want, but if people’s most basic needs aren’t being met how can we expect them to survive, never mind thrive? Niall is joined by Katriona O’Sullivan, a Doctor of Psychology and Senior Lecturer who grew up in deep poverty. Having endured abuse, addicted parents, a teenage pregnancy, homelessness and a society that told her she would never amount to anything, it was education that changed Katriona’s life. She explains how education opened her eyes to the inequalities in the world, why virtue signalling with poor people is just not good enough and what real, impactful ways we can begin to level the playing field and create real change for those living in poverty. This episode deals with some difficult topics, please take care when listening. Tickets for the Where Is My Mind? live tour: https://linktr.ee/bressie Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we become more trauma-informed it is becoming clear that we are all impacted by things way outside of ourselves. Generational trauma is experienced through families, communities and collective experiences in the world, so how can we begin to unravel the pain that we carry? Niall is joined by Dr. Mariel Buqué, psychologist, intergenerational trauma expert and author of upcoming book, ‘Break The Cycle’. Mariel came to working in this space through the experiences of her clients but soon realised it was also her lived reality within her own family. Despite the tough work and dark places it can take you, she decided it was time to break the cycle. Dr. Mariel shares how generational trauma impacts people biologically and psychologically, along with some ways we can begin to integrate healing into our lives and why she believes that it’s in the pain and the darkness that we find our way forward. We tackle some difficult topics in this episode, so please take care when listening. Tickets for the Where Is My Mind? live tour: https://linktr.ee/bressie Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Addiction is such a widespread issue in our society but many of us don’t realise it surpasses alcohol, drugs and gambling. Our brains are wired with reward systems controlled by dopamine, and dopamine hits are plentiful in the modern world. With social media, entertainment, our phones, the news, our brain's reward system is constantly overloaded. Niall is joined by Dr. Anna Lembke, prominent psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist known for her expertise in addiction, pleasure, and the impact of modern life on our brains, and author of ‘Dopamine Nation’. Dr. Lembke explains the many forms of addiction she has seen in her work, why our phones are so addictive and what steps we can take to interrupt the habit loops that may be negatively impacting our lives. Tickets for the Where Is My Mind? live tour: https://linktr.ee/bressie Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are only beginning to understand the complexity of trauma and how it impacts on our physiology. Experts now believe that trauma experienced during childhood can have an impact on our development. Niall is joined by Dr. Bruce Perry, a renowned psychiatrist and expert in childhood trauma and brain development who developed Neurosequential Model©, a developmentally sensitive, neurobiology-informed approach to clinical work, education and caregiving. Bruce explains just how impactful our early experiences can be on us, how generational trauma plays out over generations and why he believes we need a wholly new approach to how we help children who are traumatised. Tickets for the Where Is My Mind? live tour: https://linktr.ee/bressie Follow Niall on IG @bressie, TikTok @niallbreslin, FB @whereismymindpodcast and Twitter @nbrez and visit his website: www.niallbreslin.com.If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling hopeless, it’s important to talk to someone about it now. You can contact one of the resources below for free. In Ireland/U.K.: https://www.samaritans.org/In the U.S.: https://988lifeline.org/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.