Unbottled With Mike Wells: Recent Episodes
Mike Wells
An open conversation around the mental health struggles that we all face day to day; unbottled aims to shine a light on that which we keep bottled up.
It can be so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we need to acquire things before we can be happy and fulfilled. This could be money, status, relationships, the way we look, the list goes on. In this episode, Jason breaks down his own personal battle with trauma, addiction, and constantly seeking things to fix what he thought was wrong with him. It wasn't until he decided to look within that he realised everything he ever thought he needed was already inside of him.
This is a personal favourite of mine, probably because I related so much to his story, and if you've ever found yourself trapped by this way of thinking I have no doubt you'll get something from this episode.
You can connect with Jason here: https://www.wideworldcoaching.com/
Luke Walsh breaks answers the question - what is anxiety, and how can we manage anxiety? Luke Walsh did a great job in this episode of explaining why we should choose to listen to the anxious voice in our head - more often than not it's trying to tell us something we really need to know. We also discussed how lifestyle impacts anxiety, and how to deal with social anxiety.
Luke is a qualified pschotherapist & hypnotherapist operating out of Manchester, England. He takes a fireside approach to his therapy sessions, helping his clients to unpack issues they might be facing around anxiety, depression, mid-life career changes and the effects of childhood trauma to name a few.
You can connect with luke via his website here: https://www.lukewalshtherapy.com/
And via instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lukewalshtherapy/
A psychotherapist answers the question - what is CBT? Cognitive behavioural therapy can be used to treat anxiety, depression, PTSD and more, and Sarah Rees explains in this episode exactly how. She explains how CBT works, and we have a discussion about the benefits of being more compassionate to ourselves too.
You can visit Sarah's website here: https://sarahdrees.co.uk/
And connect with here on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/sarahdrees.co.uk/
Dry January is fully in swing now for a lot of us and whilst some of us might've failed at the first hurdle (myself included) I thought it would be fitting to get Will Armstrong on to discuss his sober journey. 5 years ago Will was trapped in a cycle of constant escapism through alcohol and drugs, and since knocking it on the head every aspect of his life has improved, including his crippling anxiety. We discussed his story, techniques he used to go sober, and we had an open chat about why alcohol is so deeply embedded in our culture. If you're trying to cut down on the booze I promise you this episode will really hit home!
You can connect with Will here: https://www.instagram.com/teetotaltrainer/
It's no secret that a lot of us spend time conjuring up stories in our mind based on worrying about the future. That's why I invited Will onto the podcast to not only share his experience with worry, but shed some light around how we can turn down the volume of the voice in our minds that seems to always be so concerned about how the future will play out.
We discussed practical ways of tackling worry and the importance of avoiding distraction in our lives, ensuring we make time and space to address what's happening in our brains.
You can connect with will via instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/theworrying_warrior/
Aaron joined me this week to talk about how we typically take a reactive approach when it comes to mental health vs a preventative approach. We covered mindset, the relationship between exercising and mental health, the dangers of a one size fits all approach and some interesting ideas about reframing too.
You can connect with Aaron here via instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronr_87/
Tribox instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tribox_/
After suffering from an alcohol and cocaine addiction after leaving the army, Dan received help from SSAFA, the armed forces charity, who provided him with financial support to get his life back on track. Dan has now spent over 18 months walking the entire UK coastline to raise money for SSAFA, and today he walks us through both the mental journey he's faced since leaving the army and the physical one he's facing around the coast.
To donate to Dan's cause, you can click here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/danwalksuk
You can connect with Dan here: https://www.instagram.com/danwalksuk/
Keeping anxiety a secret and bottling it up only gave it more power over me. Talking with those closest to me felt like a huge weight off my shoulders; whilst it might seem daunting it played a big role in working through it.
Feel free to get involved in Movember with a donation here: https://movember.com/m/mikewells12?mc=1
From using alcohol and drugs to mask his pain to starting a mental health support group for men, James' story is both inspiring and relatable. We had an open chat about men's mental health, what we can do to challenge the stigma, and also how he looks after his mental health now.
James is a men's mental health advocate and founder of walk and talk for men, a support group for men that has now expanded up and down the country. After recovering from hitting rock bottom following the loss of his mother and nephew, James now spends his time on making the conversation around mental health louder.
You can connect with James here: https://www.instagram.com/mace_the_basketcase/
Here's a 4-step approach I use that helped me to work through anxiety when it well and truly had a grip on my life, preventing me from going into work and at times socialising too. This won't cure anxiety overnight, but in my experience consistently applying this technique worked wonders for me!
Eating disorders can be crippling and are probably more prevalent in people than we realise. This week, Naida joined me to share how an eating disorder that she developed when she was younger affected her life, and the symptoms she experienced. She walked us through how she recovered, how she approaches food now, and a few other tangents such as how the media can trigger these disorders, particularly in young people.
You can connect with Naida here: https://www.instagram.com/confidently.anxious/
A mindfulness teacher explains how to find peace in the present moment in our modern world. In a time where rates of anxiety and depression are through the roof, Manish's teachings couldn't be more relevant. We discussed happiness, meditation, social media, and even attention. Enjoy!
Manish spent years working in the corporate world before deciding that his life had a deeper purpose. Now, he actively teaches mindfulness to a wide variety of students seeking his help and has founded mindful science centre to help him fulfill this purpose:
https://www.mindfulsciencecentre.com/
https://www.mindfulsciencecentre.com/4-weeks-mindfulness-program/
You can connect with Manish via linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/behlmanish/
Chris Hood walks us through how he was diagnosed with ADHD at 27 years old, and how he manages his ADHD as an adult. He shares what the symptoms of ADHD are, how medication has helped him with ADHD, and also some useful tips he implements into his daily life to help him get by.
You can connect with him here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@happinessinmovement1
https://www.instagram.com/happinessinmovement/
Sean Ruane tells us how he went from planning his own suicide to becoming the founder of a mental health startup. He shares the events that led to his depression, the symptoms he experienced, and the tools and techniques he used to gradually overcome depression. If you or anyone you know has suffered from depression, I hope that Sean's story can help you!
You can connect with Sean here: https://www.myminddata.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanruane_/?hl=en
It's safe to say this is one of my favourite episodes yet - Dr. Nick prior, founder of minderful.com came on to break down what a mental fitness routine is, and how to build one too. I'm a huge fan of looking at your mind in this way; you'd build a fitness routine for the muscles in your body, so why not treat your mind in the same way? Nick's got his own history with mental health and I deeply admire the work he's doing to try and help others that might be going through the same thing. You can find out more about Nick here:
nick@minderful.com
www.minderful.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nicholas-prior-4793a618b/
An ex-police officer shares the traumatic story that led to him developing PTSD, and the strategies he uses to cope with PTSD. Carl Jones walks us through the symptoms that he started to experience when he realised just how much his trauma was affecting him, along with his 'SLAP' method for dealing with mental health.
About Carl:
Carl suffers from PTSD. He was forced to take medical retirement, which meant he lost his career, his job, and his self-worth. As a retired Police Detective, he still wants to help others. He now delivers PTSD keynote speeches, coaches others and has even written a book.
You can find out more about Carl here: https://carljones.org/
Sam Thompson is a 3 x world cheerleading medalist with an inspiring story that has now led to him coaching others how to cheerlead and hosting his own podcast too. He came on to discuss his history of being bullied for pursuing cheerleading and broke down the mindset he's adopted to help him cope over the years.
You can get tickets to sam's upcoming show here: https://www.tamworthartsandevents.co.uk/whats-on-rv?webeventid=CoffeeSam
A certified grief recovery specialist shares practical tips to help us get through the grieving process. Vic Wilson-Crane walks us through her experience in dealing with grief, what to say to someone who's grieving, and also the truth about the 5 stages of grief.
You can find out more about Vic here: https://books.drvictoriawilsoncrane.co.uk/
Shari Lewison-Frisch joins me for an insightful episode where she shares her experience with self-harm, particularly with helping teenagers. She shared some alarming figures and information about self-harm, along with some practical strategies that anybody suffering with thoughts around self-harm can use to help manage them.
You can connect with Shari via this link here: https://sharilewisonfrisch.com/
So after interviewing about 10 people so far on the podcast I thought I'd share some key lessons that I've learned so far and have been able to implement into my own life to help me deal with anxiety when it crops up. I cover a lot of ground here, sprinkling in elements of the episodes so far, discussing things such as sleep, meditation, cold showers, and even mushroom powder.
This week's episode is MAD interesting - Sébastien Zappa came on to spill his personal story about how he tackled his several-year battle with depression using cold exposure and a variety of breathing techniques. We discussed the Wim Hof breathing method, cold showers, the correct way to breathe throughout the day, and more importantly practical ways that you can get started with these methods today. It's safe to say that I'll be blasting myself with cold water at the end of my showers now, and making a more regular routine out of the Wim Hof breathing method, which you can do for yourself via this link: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/practice-the-method
You can connect with Sébastien via this link here: https://respire-aligne.com/
You can also stream my latest song, 'mission' via this link: https://open.spotify.com/track/233CSG56JjFLaKPSAVxCYV?si=59077f2376f049f8
Today I'm joined by TJ Power, founder of the digital mind. TJ's extremely good at taking complex topics and making them easy to understand, and that shines through the entire episode if you ask me. He very clearly breaks down the way that the technology we use 'hijacks' the dopamine in our brains, which can lead to a variety of issues cropping up for our minds. We discussed social media, phones, cold showers, and even breathing along with their relationship to our minds - most importantly he teaches us a diverse range of ways that we can actually trigger a healthy dopamine response in our brains.
You can connect with TJ on instagram via @tjpower
Or via his website here: https://www.thedigitalmind.io/
So this week it's just little old me having a waffle about some issues I've faced in the past regarding body dysmorphia, particularly in my late teens/early 20's. It was definitely an interesting feeling filming this one because I haven't really spoken about it much vs other things I've gone through such as anxiety, so it's safe to say it was quite an introspective half hour. If you've ever experienced some kind of body dysmorphia I think you'll relate a lot to how it impacted me, and hopefully you can get some value as I explain how I now choose to approach it. Cheers!
Hamed came on to share the traumatic story that burdened him from a child into a young man, and how he's managed to turn that trauma on its head and build a positive future for himself and his family. I honestly think that this could be one of the most inspiring stories I've ever come across, and the coping mechanisms he's put in place to process his trauma are not only admirable but also eye-opening and useful. Trust me when I say there's a lot to take from this episode!
You can connect with Hamed on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamed-amiri/
Or on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/hamedamiri1989
You can also stream my new song, 'Perspective' here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1o0bOaOjirobGr2VYbt7qE?si=977ac6ee1f664873
Dr Philip M came on this week to open up about his crippling battle with depression earlier in his life. I really appreciated the depth of his backstory, and we moved on to spend most of the episode talking about the habits he's embodied into his life to help keep depression at bay. We discussed sleep, mindfulness, peer support groups, and the power of striving to make just 1% of progress each day. There are plenty of nuggets of wisdom in here from a man who has experiences that I feel we can all relate to on some level.
You can connect with Phil on Instagram via the handle @dr.mental.wealth
Daniel Sanders, chief scientific officer at Gwella mushrooms joins me for an in-depth discussion around the role that mushrooms can play in tackling the mental health crisis we're currently facing. We covered the stigma surrounding psychedelic mushrooms, how psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms is being used to treat a variety of mental illnesses, and even the impact other mushrooms such as lion's mane can have on us. This was a really eye-opening episode that got me really excited about the future of these compounds and how they can help us all - I'm confident you'll love this one.
You can connect with Daniel via Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-sanders-560032148/
You can also find Gwella mushrooms via Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/gwellamushrooms/?hl=en
Jay Williams from 'young dumb & no income' sat down with me this week and opened up about his past drug & alcohol abuse in his younger years. Now 100 days sober, I invited him on to hear about how this admirable move has impacted his mental health and allowed him to face the things he'd been running from through escapism. This was probably my favorite episode yet; it truly felt like I was sat down in the pub with a friend unpacking each other's troubles over a beer (non-alcoholic of course).
You can connect with Jay via @youngdumb_noincome on instagram
Or by clicking this link https://www.instagram.com/youngdumb_noincome/
In this week's episode, Ryan shares his experience of being a mental health nurse with us. He gave us some solid practical advice that we can all embody into our lives such as journalling, self-reflection, the power of habit, and even sleep. It's safe to say we went off on a fair few tangents but nonetheless, you'll get plenty of value from this one!
You can connect with Ryan on Instagram via @ryan_williams.90
In this weeks episode, Taylor James from The WaffleShop podcast walks us through the traumatic experiences in his life that he's been able to turn into positive experiences; his own podcast being one of them. We discuss the importance of opening up and talking about your struggles, and take a few tangents into men's mental health and even comparing yourself to others too.
You can find Taylor's podcast by searching 'Waffleshop podcast' on spotify, or clicking this link here: https://open.spotify.com/show/60C1ePAB4tZJkwpBMAQCib?si=6324a7696cf0457c
In this weeks episode, David Johnson explains how discovering meditation has allowed him to live a more peaceful life. Once tied down with the grip of many symptoms of mental health that we all experience today, David is now a meditation teacher and has made it his purpose to share what he has learned with the world. We discuss the benefits of meditation, what meditation even is, and some best practices for making it a regular routine.
You can connect with David via his website here: https://www.samadhi.org.uk/
Or on instagram via the username '@samadhi_meditation'
Welcome to the first episode of Unbottled! In this episode, I open up about my journey with anxiety and how it's led me to the point of wanting to start this podcast. I also discuss a number of coping mechanisms that I use to deal with anxiety now, and discuss how the future of this podcast will be formed not only by me, but you, the listener too.