Help me improve my...

If you have the time, feel free to check out our longer episode on sleep. If you just want the key takeaways about sleep and what you can do, check out this bite-sized episode!

Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth interviews Neuropsychologist Harvey Jones about Imposter Syndrome. Together, they discuss: * What is imposter syndrome, and how does it show up in different people? * What are potential triggers for imposter syndrome, or what could make it more likely to happen? * How common is imposter syndrome? (spoiler: up to 82% of people have felt it at some point in their lives) * Harvey and Damon's personal experiences with imposter syndrome * How to best manage imposter syndrome? * Signs that someone else might be feeling like an imposter and how to best support them? * Are there potential benefits of feeling like an imposter at times, or having self-doubt? and much more...

Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones interviews Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth on how can effectively work through and manage guilt and shame. Harvey asks Damon the following: * Why are we talking about guilt and shame in the one podcast episode? * What are the main differences between guilt and shame? * What purposes do guilt and shame serve? * Are guilt and shame typical emotions for people to experience? * Are these emotions seen often in clinical practice? * What are some gender differences in how shame is expressed or reacted to? * Are there any good TED talks to watch on shame and vulnerability? * What would be some signs that someone is feeling guilty? * Do we need to feel guilty about a thought that we have, or are our actions more important? * What are the two maladaptive forms of guilt? * How do we work through guilt effectively? * What are the main shame triggers for people? * What can we learn by feeling guilty about something? * Is it important to focus on what is in our control? * How can we work through shame or become more shame-resilient? * What is a real take-home about shame that would be important for people to know? * Is it important for us to talk to someone we trust about things that we feel ashamed of? * Is loving connection an antidote to shame? * Can prior trauma lead to a greater likelihood of experiencing shame? * How can people best support each other so that they experience less shame? * Any key take-aways on guilt or shame?

Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth interviews Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones on a big area of his expertise - persistent concussion symptoms. Together, they discuss: * What are typical persistent concussion symptoms (PCS)? * How long do the symptoms typically last for? * What can people do to help manage their symptoms? * Are there any medications out there that can help? * Is it safe for people to return to work or school with persistent concussion symptoms? * How do PCS differ from CTE? * Are concussion symptoms just going to get worse over time no matter what is done by a person? * What support services are available for people that have had concussion symptoms for longer than 4 weeks? * What resources are out there that people can check out? and much more!

Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones interviews Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth on how people can improve their overall well-being. Well-being can be a really wide and poorly defined topic, but most people that do come into therapy do so because they are hoping to improve their lives in some way. When you think of wanting to improve your life, what does it look like to you? Would you like to feel happy all the time? Content or satisfied with your life? Or feeling less sad or anxious? What factors do you think would lead to optimal well-being, or people living their best lives? Is it about being famous or rich? Envied by others? Is it having lots of positive emotions? Lots of engagement or flow in your life? Relationship warmth, or how close and connected you are to others? A sense of meaning or purpose? Or just winning a lot and having a big sense of achievement or accomplishment? Harvey and Damon explore all of these topics and more.

Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth interviews Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones on: * What attention is * What inattention is * The difference between ADHD and attention lapses * Why are people more concerned about their attention lately? * Can someone's anxiety or depression actually be their ADHD? * Is medication the only solution to inattention? * What people can do to try to improve their attention * Can meditation or exercise help attention? * Do we all need a three-month detox from our smart phones to improve our attention? * How can a neuropsychologist help people who are concerned about their attention? plus more. Please share if you like the episode or think someone else may benefit.

Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones interviews Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth about improving your anxiety, something both Damon and Harvey encounter daily in their work. Damon aims to shed some light on how he works with clients to help them improve their anxiety. In this episode, anxiety is discussed in general. More specific anxiety disorders will be discussed in future episodes. They talk about: *What is anxiety, and how it presents in Damon’s work as a psychologist? *The difference between anxiety as an emotion and having an anxiety disorder. *The purpose of anxiety in warning us about potential threats. *Some of the most effective ways of improving and managing anxiety. *The role of exposure therapy in helping people manage anxiety. *How it’s common for people to develop anxiety about their anxiety. *Ways that family and friends can support someone with anxiety. Damon finishes the podcast with three key takeaways for helping people improve their anxiety. You can check out Damon’s website, where you will find a list of helpful books about anxiety on his blog.

Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth interviews Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones on a topic he is passionate about - concussion. Harvey wants to improve listeners' understanding of acute concussion symptoms and the main dos and don'ts following a concussion. They discuss what a concussion is, what is important to do in the first 24 to 48 hours after a concussion, and where they could go if they are concerned or want extra support. They also debunk a lot of the myths that are out there about concussions. You don't have to just lie in bed in a dark room. There isn't a certain number of concussions you can have before you have to retire from a sport, and the more symptoms you have doesn't always mean that you have had a worse concussion or your brain is in a worse state. Education and clear guidance can help reduce your risk of persistent symptoms after a concussion. For more information, please check out the Concussion Clinic at Epworth Hospital.

Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones interviews Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth about sleep as they try to cut through all the fads, devices and common advice to give you some practical science-based strategies to improve your sleep. They talk about: *how much sleep we need and how to work this out for ourselves, often without fancy technology. *insomnia and how common it is. *the most evidenced-based intervention for insomnia. *what cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia entails. *the important factors that each sleep strategy targets. They also go through several common sleep complaints. In doing so, they discuss the likely underlying mechanisms of each complaint and identify strategies that might be most helpful for addressing each complaint. Damon finishes the podcast with his three key takeaways for helping people improve their sleep. For a copy of Damon’s book, visit here: Deliberately Better Sleep. You can also check out Damon’s website, where you will find a link to his online CBT-I course.

Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth interviews Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones about all things stress-related. They talk about: * what stress is * if stress is ever a positive thing * the difference between the benefits of acute stress and the negatives of chronic stress * the potential detrimental health factors of chronic stress * what people can do if stress is negatively impacting their health or lives * if it is possible to lower someone's stress levels just by changing the way that they think about things * whether thinking or behavioural strategies are more important for lowering stress * the main traps that people can fall into that lead to stress becoming worse over time * what resilience is and how it can be built up * whether or not social support is crucial for better managing stress. Harvey then ends the podcast with his three key take-aways for helping people to better manage their stress.

Neuropsychologist Dr Harvey Jones interviews Clinical Psychologist Dr Damon Ashworth about what depression is and what can be done about it. They discuss: * The various symptoms of depression * When medication is most useful for people with depression * What the main self-help strategies are that people can try if they are feeling depressed * How therapy can help people with depression to change their behaviours or challenge their beliefs Depression can improve over time, and help is available. If you or a friend or family member is struggling with this, please go and have a chat with your GP about it soon.

Dr Damon Ashworth, Clinical Psychologist, interviews Dr Harvey Jones, Neuropsychologist on everything there is to know about motivation. They discuss what motivation is, the different types of motivation, which is most effective, how people can become more motivated to do certain things, and how they can improve the behaviours that they want to regardless of how motivated they feel.