"When you open up and start to talk about your traumatic experiences, a few things will happen.

More memories will come flooding in and that may become overwhelming. In addition, people will react differently to what you will expect. Some will be supportive and will share their own experiences, while others will disbelieve what you say..."

"Protect your mental state, that way you are in the best place to help others.

It is important to realise that your mental state is the lens in which you view the world, if it is compromised, so to is your ability to judge the people, events and actions of your life..."

"Writing has been one of the most therapeutic things that I have done. I started with poetry, but quickly moved into a longer format of fiction and blogs, culminating with a book ..."

Zachary reveals how he discovered his obsession with avoiding his own thoughts, the addictive pull of social media as well as how creativity can be stifled by too much external input.

"If you are always listening to other peoples words, you are always having an external person influence your thinking process ... by allowing for silence, you get to discover what you truly believe and feel about things."

In this episode you will hear about Zachary's experiences with depression, the symptoms and impact on his day to day functioning.

"When I am depressed people want to cheer me up, which is a nice sentiment of course, but it doesn't address the issue completely. It is analogous to complaining that you cant understand a radio and to help, people keep raising the volume. You can hear it just fine, it is the tuning that is the problem"

"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..."
 

"Low Self Esteem can lead to self blame. In relationships this can result in putting your partners needs, wants and desires over yours.

If left unchecked this process can result in an unhealthy relationship where issues are not addressed, and the potentially toxic or unhealthy relationships are not ended..."

“The midwives wanted to send me home with some Panadol, giving me the instructions to return in two days when the contractions were more serious - the baby was out in six hours” - Maria Phillips.
On meditation, mindfulness and having a 'Calm Birth' ..."