Mind Brew

In 2019, 498 New Zealand men took their own lives. Globally on average, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day. We have a silent pandemic that’s killing our boys and men. All of us, whether you're male or female, young or old, has a role to play in turning those statistics around. In this episode, host Jacqui Maguire speaks with Dr Zac Seidler; a clinical psychologist, researcher and leading men’s mental health expert.

The New Zealand government have pledged that they want New Zealand to be the best place in the world for children and young people.. They have produced a Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy that sets out a shared understanding of what children and young people need and want in order to be well, and what we can and should be doing to support them. It’s been formed to guide our government in improving the wellbeing of all children in New Zealand. Jacqui Maguire talks to the Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft to gain clarity on our countries progress.

What is the relationship between nutritional intake, gut health and our mental health? Jacqui Maguire is joined by Professor Julia Rucklidge, is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Canterbury, to pursue this fascinating and emerging area of mental health. Julia was named in the top 100 Most Influential Women in New Zealand in 2018. Her interests are centred on the role of nutrition in the expression and treatment of mental illness, from ADHD to depression, to stress following natural disasters. Her 2014 TEDx talk has been viewed nearly 1.3 million times. Julia leads the Mental Health and Nutrition Lab, whose aim is to find nutritional interventions that are effective in treating psychiatric/psychological illness. The Lab hosts free online courses, which you can check out here. Julia has also just released a book ‘The Better Brain: How nutrition will help you overcome anxiety, depression, ADHD and stress’. This can be found online and in all good bookstores.

Feeling disconnected is not a unique feeling, but it can be extremely harmful. Research continues to show that the most significant factor in longevity, mental health, disease prevention, and happiness is our relationships. Jacqui Maguire speaks with Shasta Nelson about the whys and hows of meaningful and intimate friendships. Shasta Nelson is a keynote speaker, author, and leading expert on friendship and healthy relationships at work. She is the author of three best-selling books: The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of the Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time, Friendships Don’t Just Happen! and Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness.

Clinical Psychologist Jacqui Maguire speaks to Shirley Pastiroff, author of The Mindful Parent. In over-scheduled and frantic lives many parents have lost touch with their intuition around how to bring up their kids. Mindful parenting helps parents realise that their expertise to parent well is already within them, they just need to rediscover it. This episode takes an incredibly complex but hugely important subject and turns that into simple tools we can all understand and apply. Link to The Mindful Parent: https://renewyourmind.co.nz/themindfulparent/

Jacqui Maguire speaks to George Bonanno, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the Loss, Trauma, and Emotion Lab. In this episode, Jacqui and George discuss how human beings cope with loss, trauma and other forms of extreme adversity (e.g. COVID-19). Resilience, flexible coping, emotion, regulatory processes and grief are all discussed. This is a fascinating listen that sheds light on the hope that most of us will be OK, no matter how big the challenge.

On October 17th New Zealanders will hit the polls to vote on the End of Life Choice Act. If passed this referendum will represent a significant change to life, and how ends, as we currently know it. This episode features Dr Miguel Ricou, a Portuguese clinical psychologist that has specialist knowledge in ethics and euthanasia. This episode has not been produced from the 'yes' or 'no' camp. It is a balanced discussion that raises key issues New Zealanders should clearly think through before they vote. It's encouraged that you read through a summary of the Act before you listen to this episode: https://www.referendums.govt.nz/endoflifechoice/summary.html

Millenials and Gen Zers get often get dealt a pretty rough hand in social commentary. My experience is pretty counter to that. I have come across amazing young people that a driven, innovative and entrepreneurial. What we do know is that our young people today have had to overcome many a challenge. Depression rates for those in their 20s are rising, and they make up the largest cohort of those experiencing anxiety. So what’s going on? Dr Randy Paterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist and author of How to Be Miserable in Your 20s: 40 Strategies to Fail at Adulting. This is not a typical title you would find in the self help section. Randy draws on the psychological science of wellbeing and mental health and flips it on it's head. In this episode we look at the challenges those in their 20s face, methods to re-write unhelpful inner stories and how to cultivate a life led by values. Whilst focused on the 20s age group, this is a worthy listen for any age.

The pursuit to achieve a rich and meaningful life is often misinterpreted as a quest for constant happiness, or avoidance of anything painful and unpleasant. But life doesn’t work that way. In this episode Jacqui Maguire speaks with Dr. Russ Harris about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Instead of trying to rid unpleasant thoughts and feelings, learn to perceive them as transient and harmless.

Kindness has been central to New Zealand's 'Unite for Recovery' COVID-19 campaign. Is being kind just a feel good factor or is there more to it. Jacqui Maguire speaks with Dr Oliver Scott-Curry, who is the Research Director for Kindlab, at kindness.org.

Jacqui Maguire explores the power of 'Grit' with distinguished Professor of Psychology Angela Duckworth and NZ teacher Kelly Layton. Grit can be described as passion and perseverance for long-term goals, and has been linked to high achievement. This episode explores the benefits of grit, and discusses how NZ's dedicated teachers are cultivating this strength in our children.

World renowned organisational psychologist Adam Grant and clinical psychologist Jacqui Maguire talk personal and business resilience during COVID-19. Through a New Zealand lens the pair cover how we can exit lockdown with renewed strength, the art of asking for help, optimising team performance when working from home and leading through a crisis. Woven through the discussion the psychologists banter, reflect on their career highlights and even dip into local politics.