Young Blood - Men’s Mental Health Cal MacPherson

Quality sleep is the top of the waterfall from which all
of our health flows. Better sleep equals better everything else, and whether you've got waking woes, or you're happy with how you're laying your head, there's simple things we can all do to make tonight's sleep
the best yet. 

My New Years resolution for 2024 was to improve my sleep performance. I use wearable a sleep tracker, a consistent early bed time, blue light blocking glasses, ear plugs, the works and I still have a hard time
getting a true eight hours. 

Fortunately for me and you, today's guest on the Young Blood Experts Series is internationally renowned sleep expert, Professor Michael Gradisar. 

Michael worked for twenty years as a clinical psychologist, directing Adelaide's Child and Adolescent Sleep. These days he helps people treat insomnia and adjust their circadian rhythms online and is the Head of Sleep Science at 'Sleep Cycle'; a one-stop
solution sleep tracker with 50 million users worldwide.

This episode features good news for gamers, why playing Call of Duty before bed isn’t as bad for sleep as you might’ve thought... Find out how much shut eye you really need, the difference it makes if you’re not getting
enough, is mouth tape all hype? and are you a good judge of your own sleep quality? Listen all the way through this one to find out all that and more with our sleep guru, Professor Michael Gradisar.

An overweight red-head with ADHD, learning difficulties and no self confidence, Adam Blum was always an easy target...

Ridiculed by the bullies who called him, 'Blum', Adam was tormented and belittled from the moment he started school, all the way into his twenties. The way Adam used to see life, he was a victim, desperately yearning for a different life, while convincing himself he was powerless to create it. For decades, Adam believed all the nasty voices telling him he was useless, including his own, and it almost killed him..

But Adam chose to change the narrative; and although he's tried and failed many times on the journey to becoming Adam 2.0, he's never given up. I've just read his book, you can find that and the link to his podcast, True Blue Conversations, below.

This is Adam Blum's story...



Easy Target - Taming the Black Dog:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/easy-target-adam-blum/book/9781923004825.html



True Blue Conversations podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0YS0ZqW624g6guM03JKwEI

You hear about mental illness and suicide a lot more these days, especially if you follow this podcast; but are things actually getting better or worse?

We live in a time with more awareness and acceptance of mental health issues than ever, yet it's not obvious
all the attention is moving the needle in the right direction. Young Blood exists to share the stories of everyday men, and that won't change; but my guest today brings us the facts and a unique perspective you won't find anywhere else.

Professor Nicholas Procter is Australia's representative to the International Association for Suicide Prevention Council, he literally wrote the textbook for mental
health education in this country, and has dedicated his long career to mental health research.In other words, he is the man when it comes to suicide prevention...


In this conversation, you'll learn what's at the core of so many men taking their lives, and the progress our society is actually making in this area. We'll cover what does and doesn't work for men in managing our mental health; the impact of suicide bereavement on those left behind, and is the truly system broken? Find out on the Young Blood Expert's Series.

All children deserve to feel safe, loved and cared for, but for far too many, that's not the reality.The effects of enduring childhood abuse and neglect are profound, shaping the adults that kids turn into and often perpetuating the cycle.

My guest today is a first generation Australian, raised in a broken home, caught in the crossfire of his mother and father fighting each other and battling their own demons.

Bereft of support when he needed it most, Jason has grown up to build his life around caring for others.He's the Co-owner of the industry disrupting disability support provider, Vana Care; a husband, and a father of three, who's had the guts to pursue his dreams; and the humility to forgive.

This is Jason Wisniewski's story...

Have you ever been to a psychologist? I'm seeing one at the moment, and by last count, around 2 million Aussies have seen a health professional for their mental health in the past 12 months.

As a society we're becoming much more open talking about mental health and going to therapy, but what actually happens when you go for your first appointment and how does it all go down?

My guest today on the Young Blood Experts Series is, Dr Ian Zajac, a clinical psychologist specialising in men's mental health and the Director of MensPsych Psychology Services in Adelaide.

He also does a lot of work on the research side of things and is just all around bloody good to chat to.

Our conversation covers everything from what to expect when you're sitting in a psychs office, to the common struggles young men are facing, the root causes beneath the bad behaviours we want to change, how to have better communication with your partner, how childhood abuse and neglect impacts us later in life, what we can do to build self-respect and much more.

This is Dr Ian Zajac...

Over the next six months we’ll be releasing the first 'Young Blood - Experts Series', 10 episodes of interviews with researchers, psychologists, psychiatrists and authors who can give us the facts and insight we’ve never had before. 

If you listen to Young Blood for the stories of every-day blokes, don’t worry! We’ll still be bringing you a new one of those each fortnight, and every week in between we’ll hear from an expert to teach us something new.