Making Sense Of...: Recent Episodes
Foundation for Change
A fortnightly podcast delivered by the Foundation for Change team that aims to help us process and make sense of our emotional responses to Covid-19, develop connections with others and learn our way forwards together.
Today the Foundation for Change team discuss the most widely recognised model of recovery - the 12 Step programme. In this episode we try to clear up some of the common misconceptions and myths surrounding the 12 Step programme and explore why recovery can’t be approached by using the cookie cutter method.
Self-esteem is the term used to describe a person’s sense of self-worth and value. Poor self-esteem can negatively impact all areas of our lives from making the right decisions for ourselves to being able to identify and express our own needs. Our self-esteem determines how we act and behave in relationships and actually, the kinds of relationships we seek out and stay in. The topic is a huge one given how our self-esteem affects most aspects of our lives.
In this episode, we start off by talking about the first time we encountered the word self-esteem and how our own personal relationship to it has evolved over the years. We discuss where poor-self-esteem originates and how we have each individually found ways that have helped us build up our own resilience. It's often the small, positive changes that can help us keep taking steps forwards. One thing we can all agree on is that improving our self-esteem is not a linear path, so be kind to yourself and know that some days will be better than others.
Spirituality is a divisive word that tends to both intrigue and frighten people. In this episode, we have a go and deconstructing what the word means for us. We explore the baggage the term is laden with and that often prevents people from not only understanding what the word means, but benefiting from what it actually is.
That we didn't explicitly talk about addiction until our 24th podcast episode is very reflective of our approach here at FfC. Though definitely a part of people's history, we encourage those we work with to look at their addiction as a surface symptom of something far deeper. In this episode, we start with asking a statement posed by Gabor Maté: "The question is not what's wrong with people, it's what has happened to people".
The FfC have a meandering chat in response to this, covering shame, the feeling of competing with others whilst in recovery, the 'relapse journey', the moralistic/overly-simplistic/black or white view of addiction, and more. See what you think.
In our new mini-series on addiction, we take some time to explore what addiction is and what it means to the team at FfC. We talk about the many nuances of addiction that are often not known or misunderstood and have a brief foray into FfC team member Bob's first experience with addiction. It might not be what you think...
Positive Psychology was developed in the 90s and is the study of wellbeing rather than pathology/mental illness. Lots of things make us happy, however Dr Martin Seligman – the godfather of positive psychology - wanted to put forward a theoretical model of happiness, a framework of wellbeing which we discuss in the podcast in the context of recovery from addiction.
We delve into tips and tricks to improve happiness and wellbeing and the team discuss whether they’re any good or if they are simply for WEIRD people. Have a listen to find out what we’re on about…
Toxic Masculinity is something that has gained a wider understanding over the last few years and is thankfully being talked about much more in mainstream media. In this episode, the team explore the roots of the term and the ‘psychic mutilation’ experienced by men as a result of the patriarchal system we live in. Rather than understand these as demands unique to men, we explore how it’s helpful to consider the impact these expectations have on men in the first instance and how - since we live in an unequal society - this then impacts upon women.
In this episode we dive into the idea that the way we deal with events in the present - Covid being one such example - is intricately linked to experiences from our pasts, particularly trauma. We explore the many different types of experiences that can leave a traumatic imprint in the body. We particularly look at the physiology of trauma: it is by understanding why our bodies respond to trauma in particular ways and understanding the function of those responses that we can begin the process of healing from trauma.
In this podcast the Foundation for Change team discuss the topic of feminism. This is something that is very close to our hearts and the topic of gender and power is something that runs through all of our programmes, most obviously being central to our Feminism for Change programme.
Since it is such a huge subject the team discuss some of the broader points of feminism that are relevant to people in recovery and personal growth in general, some of the basic principles of feminist theory and briefly touch upon the herstory of its evolution. Feminist theory isn’t just one idea, but rather covers a lot of different ideas evolving across many different stages. One thread that does run throughout Feminist theory, however, is the desire to challenge existing power structures (“that’s just the way things are”) that oppress people. Listen to this episode to find out more.
We live in what could be described as an individualist society. This means as a society we are supposedly motivated by personal goals, rewards and benefits. We can apparently achieve whatever we want as long as we work hard enough. Sounds great! Oh wait, hang on…
In this episode that sits under our series on systems, we explore the concepts of individualism and meritocracy. We hope to help you get a better understanding of just how strong these outside forces are and how they lie for most of our beyond our awareness, yet can still have such a hugely negative impact on our everyday lives.
Grief and loss was the first topic we covered when we started our podcast, just as we had all gone into a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten months on, the subject of grief and loss feels sadly more relevant than before.
With the nation still in lockdown and each of us having to change and adapt to new routines, trying to visualise a ‘new normal’ still feels unclear and a long way off. In this episode, the team look back and reflect both collectively and individually on how their feelings of experiencing grief and loss have evolved over time.
In this episode, we continue our exploration of systemic thinking. Following on from the last couple of episodes - the introduction to it, then looking at how we often don’t think about or question the systems we live in - we now look to deepen our understanding of this way of thinking by looking at social inequality through this systemic lens.
Our latest episode is the second in the series of podcasts that explore the topic of systems. In the first episode of this series we talked about how useful it was to think systemically. How thinking systemically helps frame your life in ways that can bring real insight and understanding to your personal experiences.
In this episode we look more closely at the kinds of systems that we live in and are part of throughout our lives. We also discuss how we might not be too aware of these systems, or pay them much attention because, well they seem to be ‘normal’ or ‘just how things are’...
In our last episode of 2020, we wanted to step back and reflect on the year, particularly on the reasons that led up to us creating the Making Sense Of… podcast. We cast our memories back to March 2020 and to us realising how what we do - in terms of providing information and theories to help people make sense of their lives – took on a relevance we’d never felt before. The question was: how do we get that out when we’re not running physical groups…? The answer was... a podcast!
Our latest podcast is part of a series of several podcasts exploring the topic of systemic thinking – a system of thinking to help think about and understand systems. In this introductory episode, we explore what systemic thinking is (a term many people have heard of but don’t quite fully understand), look at what the benefits to thinking systemically are, and try our best to explain this way of thinking without using the word systems… too much!
Sometimes it can feel difficult to find the positives at a time where the world has changed in ways we could never have imagined. Sometimes you need a framework to lean on, something to help find a way of identifying what you’re grateful for or finding what has been going well even in the most difficult of circumstances. In this episode we tap into the Solution Focused Brief Therapy framework to help us do just that.
In this episode we discuss that most difficult and painful of feelings, shame. Shame is so difficult to express and talk about because, by its very nature, it is a set of feelings that must be hidden at all cost.
Shame can have a devastating impact on our lives. We might use drugs and alcohol or sex to try and run away or avoid the feeling of self-hatred...only to feel worse about ourselves afterwards. We might struggle to let others be close to us because we fear they would be repulsed if they really knew us....
Shame is such a unique and tricky feeling because there is actually shame about feeling shame.
In this, the second part of our podcast on Core Beliefs, we expand upon the concept to consider Core Beliefs from a wider social context . We ask how experiences of social inequality can impact the individual’s beliefs about themselves and the world they live in.
It can sometimes feel like we are our own worst enemies... Often when we‘re trying to make changes or take more positive steps in our lives, we’re met by a chorus of negative, critical inner voices that tell us we’re ‘bound to fail’, or people will laugh at us for trying something we can’t possibly achieve.
In this episode we discuss the kinds of negative core beliefs we hold about ourselves, other people in our lives and the world we live in. Where do these beliefs come from? Why do they seem so plausibly true? And how can they hold us back from doing the things we want to do?
Anxiety means something different to each of us individually. We are generally told to believe it’s a bad thing – how often have we questioned what purpose this inbuilt caution antenna might have? In this episode we discuss that and explore how to build a more healthy relationship to our own anxiety. Is it really something to be so scared of? What are the things we do to escape the feeling of anxiety that usually leave the root cause unaddressed? Becoming aware of the answers to these questions is the first step in building that more positive relationship with our own anxiety.
For something to end, it must have been started at some point. In this episode, we look to the Gestalt Cycle of Experience to provide a framework, a roadmap that takes us through the different stages of beginning something to ending it. It provides a sense of the ideal ‘journey’ but usefully also gives us a sense of the many things that get in the way, the interruptions to the cycle that means that things we have started are left unfinished.
By developing an understanding of the cycle, we can better understand the impact of not finishing things. We can understand the importance of trying to finish what we start or perhaps not even starting something in the first place. Learning about the cycle can also deepen our understanding of ‘unfinished business’ and get us to start thinking about attending to it in whichever way we can.
Enjoy!
Covid-19 has drastically changed the way we live our lives. Such unexpected and extreme events have the potential to wake us up from our comfortable slumber and force us to examine how we live our lives. Many thousands are dying, some possibly people we know. Others are in categories deemed to be high risk. Most of us are being reminded of the fragility of our existence, of our own mortality, and many of us are using this pressing of the pause button to step back and think about how we have lived and how we want to live. A term we have heard again and again during these times is ‘authenticity’.
In this episode, we explore what it means to live an authentic life.
In this podcast we take a look at relationships in recovery, both romantic and friendship relationships. We ask what it is that makes personal relationships so difficult, especially in early recovery. We take a look at some of psychological theories that help us to understand and navigate relationships.
In this podcast we examine the important role critical thinking has in its relationship to how and why we make certain life decisions. At Foundation for Change, critical thinking pretty much underpins all of the learning we cover across all our courses and there’s an important reason for this. Learning how to question what we believe, understanding where those beliefs came from and the impact they have on us means we engage more fully with the world around us and make better life decisions. Developing critical thinking skills can help us live more authentic lives that are true to who we are.
History shows that the kind of political and social upheaval we have been experiencing since the outbreak of coronavirus is not new to human society; we have been here before. In this podcast we explore the idea of “history from below” which takes the approach of looking at the past through the lens of ordinary common people. It reminds us that there is more than one narrative to events than that told to us by those in power.
Cognitive dissonance refers to the feeling of our own thoughts being in conflict with each other. It also relates to the feeling of what we are thinking (and feeling) being in direct conflict with messages coming from outside, namely the government, media and social media. In this podcast we explore the concept of cognitive dissonance, look at some of the many examples that are causing it and have a chat about the impact of being in such unnatural and prolonged states of inner conflict for so long.
In this podcast we go right back to basics to explore Sigmund Freud’s theories about how our ‘self’ is constructed. We also look at the ideas that his daughter, Anna Freud, developed around the defences that we commonly put in place to protect ourselves when we’re faced with difficult experiences in life. Given what’s happening in the world at the moment we can all do with a bit of self-protection along with the awareness of how and why we might be seeking to do this.
This podcast looks at what people may be experiencing as loss during this time. We explore some of the different emotional responses to grief and loss and look at the various types of grief that have been described over time. The podcast ends with an introduction to some psychological frameworks that describe the different stages of the grieving process.