Finding Purpose & Saving Lives

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Finding Purpose & Saving Lives

In this episode I talk about my approach to my online work, as well as the mental processors that have been holding me back.

I release everything I do, for free, because I don’t want money to be a barrier for life saving advice.

I moved out of home at 16. Back then I couldn’t afford food, let alone a book or therapy. So now I want to ensure that people who are in a similar situation to me have access to the advice, techniques, tools and resources that helped me to survive.

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#181 Making Better Choices In Response To Triggers & Trauma - Not Getting Drunk/High This Time

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#181 Making Better Choices In Response To Triggers & Trauma - Not Getting Drunk/High This Time

I am not in the best way ATM, but unlike previous times I have felt this way I have made a different choice.

Rather than choosing to inebriate myself, I chose not to. I recognised how I would feel during and after the inebriation, and how I have previously felt and made a different choice.

So now I have been left to sit with the pain, but also to recognise that my pain won’t last (because it never lasts).

I can take good actions:
- I followed my crisis plan
- Undertook self-care
- I prioritised my mental health
- I focused on the good

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131: Dealing With Triggers & Trauma

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131: Dealing With Triggers & Trauma

When you are triggered, you feel like the trauma is happening again.

This is never an easy situation to manage. Whilst triggered, you will experience intense emotions combined with a diminished ability to cope.

This can lead to catastrophe.

In this episode I discuss how I manage my triggers, both internally, as well as how I explain it to those close to me.

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123: What Is & Isn't Self Care - Why You Need To Do More Then Simple 'Feel Good' Activities

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123: What Is & Isn't Self Care - Why You Need To Do More Then Simple 'Feel Good' Activities

Self care is not simply ‘feeling good in the moment’ - It is about real and long term growth. It is about establishing discipline, getting therapy, reaching out for help, diet, exercise and meditation.

Ask yourself ‘will this action help me in both the short and long term?’

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116: Why You Need To Create A Crisis Plan Today

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116: Why You Need To Create A Crisis Plan Today

A crisis plan outlines what you would like to occur when you are going through a mental health emergency.

It acts as a trigger for action that when implemented, takes you through the steps necessary to get the help that you may need.

I strongly suggest that you make a crisis plan up now - while you are in a good place - so that it is there for you when you are not.

Click through to listen

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95: The Lag Between Taking Action & Actually Noticing Results

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95: The Lag Between Taking Action & Actually Noticing Results

There is a lag between taking action to improve yourself (diet, exercise, meditation etc) and noticing the results of those actions.

Keep this in mind whenever you start a new positive habit. If you know that it will take a while to see any benefits. then you will persevere with it long enough to actually see those results.

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91: Who Is Worse Off? Is It Possible To Ever Tell?

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91: Who Is Worse Off? Is It Possible To Ever Tell?

How can you ever know if one person is worse off than another? Given that we all view the world through a subjective lens, this may be impossible. In this episode, I talk about how I approach this issue, and use it to help myself and others.

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66: Express Yourself Daily (ch 3.1 - How To Get Your Sh!t Together)

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66: Express Yourself Daily (ch 3.1 - How To Get Your Sh!t Together)

It wasn’t until I tried writing that I saw major improvements as a direct result of treatment.

Unlike talking therapy, I found that I could express myself far more freely onto a blank page. When I sat down to write, I didn’t have to worry about what the page thought of me. It can’t judge. I could ramble, reiterate and back track without concern for transmitting understanding to someone else.

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48: Spinal Surgery At 26 - Toby Carr (Interview)

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48: Spinal Surgery At 26 - Toby Carr (Interview)

At 26 years old Toby Carr underwent spinal surgery to address a large disc extrusion at C6/C7 (the base of the neck).

“The worst case scenario is you’ll never walk again … and you’ll have limited use of your arms and hands.” …

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29: 'Who Let The Bum In' - (Chapter 1 of Under The Influence)

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29: 'Who Let The Bum In' - (Chapter 1 of Under The Influence)

Zachary reads a chapter of his first book: Under the Influence - Reclaiming my Childhood.

Chapter title: "Who Let The Bum In"

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11: How I Get Myself out of Bad Mental States As Quickly As Possible

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11: How I Get Myself out of Bad Mental States As Quickly As Possible

"When somebody is in a down mental state there is a tendency for them to feel like they have always been in that state.

Personally, when I am going through a bout of anxiety, depression or disociation I feel like I have always been suffering from it. It taints every memory of my past and makes me feel like it will be there for each instance in my future.

To combat this, I have written a 'mental health check list' that outlines that things have and will get better (they always have). As well as lists the activities that have worked for me in the past . 
I leave this on my wall as a reminder and promise to myself that I will try to get better, even if it feels like I can't. 

In this episode I go in depth, explaining what I do to pull myself out of a down mental state..."
 

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8: Why You Shouldn't Let Your Trauma Define You

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8: Why You Shouldn't Let Your Trauma Define You

"There is a risk of falling into the trap of defining ourselves based on our trauma. We might relive it over and over again -in our minds, contemplating what happened, wishing it was different.

Or perhaps we are the complete opposite - running and hiding from it, doing everything we can to not accept the event as part of our past. Perhaps we do both..."

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