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Today's episode is a practical (I thought I'd mix things up/ keep you on your toes) where we go through a technique called 'Box Breathing' which is primarily used for anxiety-reduction.  So today's episode is all about 'how to box breathe' which is a fairly brief episode where we'll just be going through how you do it. I'll then I'll back it up with a fairly extensive/ detailed episode next week which will be entitled 'Anxiety and Controlled Breathing', where we'll delve into what anxiety is, what happens in our minds and bodies when we experience a stress response, and also the science behind how and why breathing techniques can help to calm us the heck down when we’re feeling anxious or panicky or overwhelmed. Hit me up with content ideas at [email protected]

Today’s episode of the Psych Insights Podcast is all about Mean Girls and Social Psychology. So we’ll chat about various concepts and theories relating to social psychology and look at how they are portrayed in what is, hands down, the most quotable movies of all times. Specifically, we’ll be looking at the film through the lens of Social Identity Theory, and chat about related concepts such as stereotypes, social norms, conformity, obedience, prejudice and discrimination. _____ If you enjoy the episode, please share it around, leave a nice review, and hit me up with content ideas at [email protected]

Today's episode of the Psych Insights Podcasts is all about Mindfulness. And I thought I’d do an episode on this topic, because many people think they know what mindfulness is and how it works, but they are sadly mistaken. And mindfulness has become a bit of a buzzword and a trend these days, and the more popular it’s become, the more people there trying to jump on board and spreading misinformed information. Which has resulted in about as much confusion as a chameleon in a bag of skittles. For example, a lot of people think that mindfulness is the same thing as meditation, which it’s not, and a lot of people think that the main purpose of it is to either get rid of your thoughts, or to learn how to control your thoughts, or to make you feel more relaxed, which it’s also not. So I thought I’d do a bit of a ramble today on what mindfulness actually is and how it works to help clear up some of the confusion, and also go through what it’s used for, some of the benefits, and how you can start to incorporate it yourself if you think it would be helpful. If you enjoy, please share it around, leave a nice review, and spread the love. If you have any content ideas/ requests for future episodes, please shoot me an email at [email protected] The mindfulness meditation apps which I recommend are: 1. Headspace  https://www.headspace.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7MPNufqY8wIV_5JmAh2cbgxfEAAYASAAEgKrg_D_BwE 2. Smiling Mind https://www.smilingmind.com.au/ 3. Insight Timer  https://insighttimer.com/en-au  

Today’s episode is all about Psychopaths, Sociopaths and Lord Voldemort. The noseless villain who wreaked havoc on the magical society. So you may find today’s talk a little creepy and unsettling in nature, but if you’re interested in trying to understand the minds of criminals and what would compel a person to behave in such a cruel, inhumane way, then you’ll hopefully find this episode quite fascinating. We’ll go through: 1. What is a psychopath? 2. What is the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath? 3. A psychoanalysis of Lord’s Voldemort’s upbringing, motives and behaviours 4. Was Voldemort more of a psychopath or sociopath?

Today's episode is all about SLEEP. Sleep is a glorious thing, but unfortunately as a society we suck at it (primarily because we have this almost compulsive need to remain stimulated/ distracted with our phones and things, which means it’s harder to ‘switch off’ come night time). Research has found that a solid third of us are sleep-deprived. Today's episode will go through: 1. Why is sleep important? (the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain) 2. How does sleep work? (stages/ structure/ which parts of sleep are most important for different kinds of restoration) 3. The effects of caffeine, alcohol and napping on sleep 4. Tips/ strategies to improve your sleep And finally, I'll answer the age-old question, can counting sheep really improve your sleep and is there any science behind this whatsoever?

Due to popular request, today's episode is all about 'Coping with Covid' and how to avoid turn into a crazy person whilst in lockdown. We'll go through plenty of strategies that you can use to alleviate some of your anxiety, live a happier and more productive life from within the confines of your home, and how to maintain a healthy work-life balance when you live and work in the same place.  *** If you enjoy and/ or find this episode useful, please share it around and leave a nice review. And if you think it's terrible, please leave a nice review out of sympathy. If you have any questions, content ideas for future podcasts, or just want to say hi, shoot me an email at [email protected]

Today's episode is all about 'Interesting Psychology Studies', where I'll talk through a very diverse range of fascinating experiments, findings and insights which are all about the brain, the human experience, and theorising why we do what we do.  We'll talk through a range of different studies, including very renowned experiments which have been super influential the field of psychology, some neurosciencey brain stuff, a fair amount on social psychology, and then some other studies that are a little weird and quirky. Some of these studies date back many many decades ago (before ethics was a thing), meaning that experimenters pretty much had free rein to do whatever they wanted to do, which yielded some very interesting results. Prepare yourself for the following studies:  1. The Stanford Prison Experiment  (Zimbardo et al., 1971) 2. Is Homophobia Associated with Increased Homosexual Arousal? (Adams, Wright & Lohr, 1996) 3. Is Social Pain like Real Pain? (An experimental study of shared sensitivity to physical pain and social rejection. Lieberman et al., 2006) 4. Severed Corpus Callosums  (Series of studies by Roger Sperry, 1959-1968) 5. The Halo Effect (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977) 6. The Marshmallow Test Experiment  (Mischel, 1972) 7. Missing Cutlery in the Workplace  (The case of the disappearing teaspoons: A longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute. Lim, Hellard & Aitkin, 2005 *** If you have any questions, content ideas for future podcasts, or just want to say hi, shoot me an email at [email protected]

Depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, suicide is one of the leading causes of death amongst young people, and it’s estimated that around 20% of the population meet criteria for Major Depressive Disorder at any given time. But many of us don’t understand what depression is, how it works, and what it feels like to be clinically depressed. It’s so much more than ‘just feeling sad’, and the lack of understanding about this condition has created a lot of stigma and insensitivity. Tune in to the podcast to learn more about depression so that you can better support anyone going through it. If you enjoy the podcast, please share it around, push the subscribe button if you’d like to stay up to date with new content, and I’ll be eternally grateful to those who leave a kind review and give it a bunch of stars. Today's episode (depression part 1) is all about explaining what depression is, what it looks and feels like, and the science behind how it's caused and maintained.  Today's episode (depression part 2) will delve into how I work with depressed clients, how you can start to overcome depression if you're experiencing it yourself, or how to support your loved ones through it.  If you have any questions, content ideas for future podcasts, or just want to say hi, shoot me an email at [email protected]

Depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, suicide is one of the leading causes of death amongst young people, and it’s estimated that around 20% of the population meet criteria for Major Depressive Disorder at any given time. But many of us don’t understand what depression is, how it works, and what it feels like to be clinically depressed. It’s so much more than ‘just feeling sad’, and the lack of understanding about this condition has created a lot of stigma and insensitivity. Tune in to the podcast to learn more about depression so that you can better support anyone going through it. If you enjoy the podcast, please share it around, push the subscribe button if you’d like to stay up to date with new content, and I’ll be eternally grateful to those who leave a kind review and give it a bunch of stars. Today's episode (depression part 1) is all about explaining what depression is, what it looks and feels like, and the science behind how it's caused and maintained.  Next week's episode (depression part 2) will delve into treatment options, and how you can start to overcome depression if you're experiencing it yourself, or how to support your loved ones through it.  If you have any questions, content ideas for future podcasts, or just want to say hi, shoot me an email at [email protected]