Pressing Pause

When you’re the overthinking, worrying kind the dark and cold months stretching ahead of us can feel challenging to our wellbeing. It’s harder to feel hopeful and positive and the world can feel a more unkind and scarier place. In this episode we look at: • Where we can find inspiration from those who deal well with the cold and dark • How dropping ‘should’ will help • The simple actions we can take to help ourselves embrace rather than fight the season

This is the second of a two-parter where I share with you five powerful questions that you can ask yourself when your brain is spiralling off into overthinking and you want to calm the thought whirlwind. In this episode we look at: • How a question can spark an idea to help yourself • Why sometimes looking ahead can give you perspective right now • What to ask yourself to pull yourself out of a panicky overthinking spiral

This is the first of a two-parter where I share with you five powerful questions that you can ask yourself when your brain is spiralling off into overthinking and you want to calm the thought whirlwind. In this episode we look at: • How you can challenge your overthinking through asking yourself powerful questions • How the stories you tell yourself keeps you stuck in overthinking • My favourite question to give yourself a different perspective

Overthinkers can spend a lot of time lost in their own thoughts. Giving your attention to how you can support someone else who’s having a difficult time helps you too by bringing you out of your head. In this episode we look at: • Sharing your experience without giving out a list of shoulds • What to say when you don’t know what to say • The frustration felt when you want to fix someone’s life • The most valuable thing you can do to help someone who’s struggling

How can a group of people who we may never meet because they’re famous, been dead hundreds of years or are fictional characters be a source of inspiration and support? By creating your own imaginary advisory board. In this episode we look at: • What is an imaginary inspirational advisory board • How it can help when you’re feeling stuck, challenged or low • How to choose who belongs on your board • Who’s on my own cheerleading team

You’d think happiness is a straight forward topic to talk about but the word itself can mean very different things to different people. In this episode we look at: • Two different kinds of happiness • How much influence we have over how happy we are • How it relates to negative emotions • The fear we feel about being happy

Mindfulness is everywhere, isn’t it? Is it just a fad or is it something that can really make a difference to overthinkers and worriers? In this episode we look at: • How mindfulness is backed up by research and the NHS • How mindfulness reduces rumination, what if-ing and stress • How it strengthens your resilience, benefits those around you as well as yourself and allows you to experience more joy • The reality of what it’s like to practice mindfulness

Looking for approval and permission from our families, friends, workmates and even strangers on social media, to do what we want, to feel however we feel or to be who we want to be, can get us tangled up in overthinking and stuck in our lives. So what we can do about it? In this episode we look at: • How we look outside of ourselves for permission • Why we seek approval from other people • The key areas in life where it’s holding us back • How we can start to give ourselves permission

Sometimes life doesn’t live up to our expectations and the result can really suck. And yet we continue to will it to be different which keeps us stuck in the frustration and upset. So what can we do? In this episode we look at: • How life not living up to our expectations ramps up overthinking and stress levels • How our response and reaction play a key role • What we do and don’t have control over in these situations • The four steps we can take to deal with life letting us down

It’s an odd topic for a podcast for overthinkers but there’s good reason why I focus on helping you to worry less, not stop worrying In this episode we look at: • The damaging message behind a well intended ‘just stop worrying’ • Why denying worry or pushing it away does more damage than good • How facing up to your worry lessens its power over you • What you can do with worry that will help you to focus on the joy in life

Most of us have a first aid kit for when we have a cut or bump but what about when we’re feeling mentally bashed and bruised? A mental health first aid kit is what’s need to provide comfort, support and relief when we feel emotionally beaten down. In this episode we look at: • Why we need a mental health first aid kit • What digital and physical elements to include in your kit • Making it personal and specific to you • How to use your mental health first aid kit when you’re struggling

As overthinkers we fast forward into the future and once we’ve reached a goal or made it through a difficulty we’re move onto what’s next. Constantly striving means we're missing out on the joy in our lives right now. In this episode we look at: • How we move the goalposts • What is destination addiction and hedonic adaptation • What we can do to combat striving and feel more joy in the everyday • How mindfulness, gratitude and savouring play a role

We each have something in our lives that supports our mental or physical health and allows us to be the best version of ourselves so we’re better able to take care of those around us too. You may not think of this as self-care but you know that it would impact you if it vanished from your daily life. • In this episode we look at: • What a non-negotiable is • How it supports your wellbeing • Why having non-negotiables isn’t selfish • Examples of how you could already have non-negotiables

Saying ‘sorry’ can become a go-to word we use when we want to get someone’s attention or ask a question, when we have nothing to apologise for. Using sorry is about more than using one word instead of another, it’s about apologising for taking up space in the world. In this episode we look at: • The different ways we use sorry when we’ve nothing to apologise for • Why it matters that we say sorry when it’s unnecessary • What words to use instead of sorry in situations where no apology

When someone is having a tough time and struggling with difficult emotions, we give them compassion. Yet we find it so hard to do the same for ourselves. By practising self-compassion we drop shame and criticism and give ourselves a break. In this episode we look at: • What self-compassion is and its three key components • Why it’s essential to give ourselves compassion and how it benefits us • How to recognise when we need self-compassion and what to do