The Richard Nicholls Mental Health Podcast

Send us a text Feeling anxious doesn't mean that we need to run and hide. Sometimes our emotions make mistakes and very often their instructions come from our beliefs. Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Ever heard of Sensory Processing Sensitivity? It's a neurological trait that means that one in 6 people have super duper processing abilities of all of their experiences. Sounds like a superpower doesn't it? Some with it don't always think so though. Take the test https://hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/ Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Why do small setbacks make us feel like giving up completely—and how can we break free from all-or-nothing thinking to finally reach our goals? Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text If you had all the time in the world, what would you do? Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text The words in our head and the words we hear ourselves say have a surprising influence on our life. It's worth checking sometimes whether the self talk we have is a friend or a foe. Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text It may be Valentine's Day this month, a day to remind someone that you love them, but I think we very often need to bring it closer to home. Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Bit of a psychological education episode today all about our decision making and how our emotions can influence it. Support the show Join our Evolve to Thrive 6 month programme https://therapynatters.com Join the Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor X https://x.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Is it true that first impressions of something or someone stick? Yes and no is the rather annoying answer. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text This week's shorter podcast episode is about hedonic habituation, which is the desensitisation we experience to our material things. But if buying things doesn’t ultimately influence our happiness for very long, then what does? Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Problems can begin when catastrophic thinking turns into a habit. When our brains constantly predict the worst, it soon becomes our go-to response, reinforcing a cycle that feels real and unavoidable. As if those thoughts are based on reality rather than imagination. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text In order to figure out the best ways to regulate emotions, Psychologists need to find ways of creating the emotions in the first place. Today we're going to look how to do that and why it's worth it. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Cognitive Distortions are the thinking traps where our mind convinces us of something that isn't actually true. Once habitual and almost a part of our personality, they can very often start the ball rolling for depression and anxiety. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text To some people, the idea of a walk in the park is exactly that. A walk in the park. To someone else though, it's a minimum of 7 out of 10 on the "I feel like something horrible is about to happen" scale. Everyone has their own unique way of feeling and reacting and will need a unique reaction from you too. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text In order to figure out the best ways to regulate emotions, Psychologists need to find ways of creating the emotions in the first place. Today we're going to look how to do that and why it's worth it. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Whether we’re aware of them or not, beliefs drive much of our thinking, and, as a result, they drive a lot of our feelings and behaviours. All the things that influence our mental health. https://www.patreon.com/richardnicholls/gift Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Something that I think is important to bear in mind about making decisions is the unavoidable truth that you will at some point make a mistake. We need to be ok with that. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text For many, anxiety is all about being vulnerable to the possibility of rejection. It's normal for our brain to seek out what we fear and notice dangerous possibilities. But those with bad experiences may have been primed from an early age to expect rejection by default. Because of this, their brain is going to start perceiving rejection everywhere. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Trauma is as close to a disability as you can get without being given a blue badge. It paralyses people. Trauma genuinely alters the brain so much that people have to develop ways of living with it that end up creating behaviours and attitudes that can be dangerous. Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardnicholls.net Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text Last week I made an episode about quietening the mind specifically for sleep, and I got a few messages from patrons saying "That's all well and good but what about quietening it down the rest of the time?" Support the show Social Media Links Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/richardn.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls

Send us a text There are times when our brain just can't seem to switch off. Today we go through some ways to help you with that and hopefully get some good quality rest. Support the show Social Media Links Threads https://www.threads.net/@richardnichollsreal Instagram https://www.instagram.com/richardnichollsreal Twitter https://twitter.com/richardnicholls Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RichardNichollsAuthor Youtube https://www.youtube.com/richardnicholls TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@richardnichollsauthor