chat chit Chris

We know that Christmas can be a particularly tough time for people who may struggle with their mental health; from masking at social events to feeling guilty when we do experience them glimmers of fun and enjoyment.

This links very closely to those who have experienced loss and why this Christmas special focuses on how to support others and yourself through the festive season(and other significant dates) when you have experienced bereavement in the family. We welcome Jo, the founder of BCSY (Bereaved Children Support York) on to the podcast to discuss both her experiences of losing her husband and her sons father as well as the charity she set up. On this episode, amongst talking about our favourite Christmas songs and traditions, we chat about how to manage expectations around Christmas and the communication and honesty that is essential when you've lost a close family member. 

Whether you are a parent trying to support your family through the festive season or a young person trying to understand the loss and bereavement you are going through, this episode of chat chit gives some gems of advice of how to best deal with significant dates and the Christmas season.

Enjoy

That is it for chat chit for season 2 but we will be back sometime in the spring to chat a little bit more for season 3.
Please if you like or have benefitted from the episode then give us a share, review, follow us or rate us on the platform you are listening on.

For anymore information, support and services on mental health, visit Yormind which can help you to support someone else or give you a little bit more understanding of your own mental health as well.

You may have heard in episode 18 that we did a podcast with Mike from changing lives about addiction and the impacts of drugs and alcohol. In this episode we focus on a different type of addiction and the impact gambling can have on your mental health.

My friend Ryan or "Coombsy" joins me on this episode of chat chit to discuss his gambling addiction and his mental health. We discuss Gambling and mental health in tandem and how there is a bit of a chicken and the egg complex when it comes to his story where both became intertwined with each other. From being a serial liar to chasing the wins, we hear about how Ryan has now learnt to manage his addiction and the advice he gives to people who might be struggling with the same thing. He talks about the help he got and how he stays well now. Amongst discussing the larger topics around the stigma of addiction, we hear how stays busy now and give himself purpose through his passions of football and his agency "Inter Sport Management UK"

I have known Ryan since I was 11 and it was great to have him come on a talk so honestly about what he went through because it is certainly not an easy topic to be so open about. A top bloke with a big heart and that certainly comes across in the episode.

Enjoy

If you are worried about your Gambling then you can visit GamCare - The leading provider of support for anyone affected by problem gambling in Great Britain
Please if you like or have benefitted from the episode then give us a share, review, follow us or rate us on the platform you are listening on.

For anymore information, support and services on mental health, visit Yormind which can help you to support someone else or give you a little bit more understanding of your own mental health as well.

We are back with another episode of chat chit and in this one we chat to Emily about her experiences. Emily is one of the York Mind Young person steering group and initially when we first started releasing the podcast she had no desire to speak about her mental health on a podcast. 18 months on and talking and being open about her experiences about what she has been through is a key thing that helps her maintain her mental health. From trying to understand her diagnosis’s to recognizing the how medication can act as a crutch for her mental health, we go through Emily's story and see how far she has come. 
Enjoy.
Please if you like or have benefitted from the episode then give us a share, review, follow us or rate us on the platform you are listening on.

For anymore information, support and services on mental health, visit Yormind which can help you to support someone else or give you a little bit more understanding of your own mental health as well.

Now if you have listened to the podcast for long enough, you will know that we try to focus on the ways that people manage and help themselves to improve their mental health but what about the things that may negatively impact us?

In this episode I speak to the absolute legend that is Mike from Changing lives (alcohol and drug use service in York).We have an open and honest conversation about the impact of certain substances and how they may impact our mental health including some personal anecdotes. We are not trying to scare anyone into never touching alcohol ever again, but what we did want to do is highlight some ways that you can perhaps reduce your consumption or get support with your drug or alcohol usage. 

We focus predominantly on alcohol and marijuana, but what we also talk about is how different drugs come with different hangovers and how they can act as con men. Whether you are using drugs or alcohol as a way to mask and try ignore something that might be going on with your mental health, or you just want to cut down a bit, this episode gives you a way in to start understanding how you may be able to start talking about it.

Enjoy
Please if you like or have benefitted from the episode then give us a share, review, follow us or rate us on the platform you are listening on.

For anymore information, support and services on mental health, visit Yormind which can help you to support someone else or give you a little bit more understanding of your own mental health as well.

It may feel  sometimes like managing your mental health and trying to go to work aren't exactly the most compatible things. For me(Chris), I have always struggled to stay in a job long term because of the impact of stress and a full time job on my mental health.

So in this episode we interview Vicky and Mark who work at York Mind to try support people and businesses to make workplace wellbeing at the forefront of employers minds. We hear about their lived experience of what helps them individually in the workplace, as well as absolutely key advice about how we can keep ourselves healthy at work. Some more unusual anecdotes about fish and the Teletubbies creep into this episode, but it doesn't take away from their insight.

They also talk about York Mind has to offer in terms of training and the new "Knowledge hub" which has been created so that employers have access to information and resources to help their employees through creating  a mentally healthy work environment.
You can sign up to it here York Mind - Knowledge Hub or by contacting corporatewellbeing@yorkmind.org.uk

Enjoy.
Please if you like or have benefitted from the episode then give us a share, review, follow us or rate us on the platform you are listening on.

For anymore information, support and services on mental health, visit Yormind which can help you to support someone else or give you a little bit more understanding of your own mental health as well.

I promise I'm not even trying to come up with weird names for podcast episodes now, they just fall out my brain.

Anyways, welcome back to chat chit and on this episode we have the lovely Beth on the podcast. In this episode we touch on soooo much, it felt like we could've done a 3 parts to this episode, but that's probably because we kept getting distracted and started reminiscing about Sheffield university. Whether you are going to the University of Sheffield or not, this episode covers moving to university and trying to manage anxiety to finding out who you are as a person. We also talk about her dealing with bereavement of a both a close friend and family member. 

Beth shifted careers and is now a trainee counsellor at 1-2-1 counselling and talks how the impact of her own mental health impacted the change of direction to becoming a counsellor. We talk through all the ways Beth manages and learn more about the benefits of Hula hooping to Chaka Khan....

I really enjoyed recording this episode and I hope you feel the same hearing it back.

Enjoy.
Please if you like or have benefitted from the episode then give us a share, review, follow us or rate us on the platform you are listening on.

For anymore information, support and services on mental health, visit Yormind which can help you to support someone else or give you a little bit more understanding of your own mental health as well.