Psychotherapist Allan Clarke hosts a fortnightly podcast with worldwide guests talking all things mental health. The difference with the Straight Talking Mental Health Podcast? It is both informative and informal! Complicated and sensitive subjects are presented in a down to earth and relatable manner.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Episode 80: Breaking 80!
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
"We've helped a lot of people. I'm very proud of that and we'll continue to do that."
Episode 80:
This week we're straight talking hitting the landmark of breaking 80! Peter jumps back on and we discuss the impact we have had on people's lives over our 80 weekly episodes. We also discuss the resilience of children, is it real or not and we share our podcast wrapped stats for the year. In order for the podcast to continue we reassess how to continue since Kamron has stepped out of hosting duties, there will be a change, but we will continue! We're also planning a live Xmas party and we want you involved!
Peter is riled as he has to jump through hoops to try get from watching Man Utd but he's smiling after getting away with family. Allan's love life is impeded by Covid but he's smiling getting back to do some learning on a course that was cancelled since first lockdown.
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Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
Episode 79: Law Enforcement (Linda)
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
Tuesday Nov 30, 2021
"Corruption? That's one of the reasons I left, why I resigned."
Episode 79:
This week we're straight talking Law Enforcement with "Linda". Linda was a police officer and detective in South Africa before resigning. We discuss corruption and police brutality, the differences between racism and oppression in SA now, the impact of the job which can lead to relationship difficulties and addictions, trying to juggle being a single mother with the job and humour as a defense mechanisms.
We say goodbye to Kamron on his last episode so our own chat is a bit longer than usual. We discuss why he's smiling because it's cold, future covid restrictions, inconsiderate drivers and Allan's smiling at spectator commentary at the Ireland vs Argentina rugby match.
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Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Episode 78: Mother & Baby Homes (Teresa Lavina)
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
"Their babies would be taken if they didn't have the money to buy them back, which happened in most of the cases."
Episode 78:
This week we're straight talking Mother & Baby Homes with filmmaker Teresa Levina. Teresa's film "Untold Secrets" focuses on survivors of the Mother & Baby homes in Ireland, with a particular emphasis on Anne Silke and her treatment in the Tuam Home, site of the Tuam Babies. The Tuam Babies are 800 babies bodies in a mass septic tank grave at the Tuam Mother & Baby home. The unmarried, often raped, mothers in the home were treated as sub human and very often the children from the homes were essentially sold as slave labour by the Bon Secours nuns who ran the homes. Anne Silke was one such child who worked for a prominent political family in the area who physically and sexually abused her. The same family continues to try and censor Teresa's film putting pressure on any film festival that screens the documentary.
Kamron goes DaVinci-esque as he paints a picture of his bad day and his concerns about another lockdown. Allan is smiling with the Irish rugby teams beating the All Blacks but he's riled by the Miami Showband Killings documentary.
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Tuesday Nov 16, 2021
Episode 77: Our Mental Health
Tuesday Nov 16, 2021
Tuesday Nov 16, 2021
Episode 77:
This week we're straight talking our mental health. We all have a lot going on and who better to talk about mental health on our podcast than us, as we have a check in with ourselves. Peter starts meditating and turns into the Dalai Lama as he gets all philosophical. Kamron is so busy with college, work and internship that he prepares to take a break from the podcast but he's smiling because he's one of these people that likes Xmas decorations up after Halloween. Allan is riled by fuel prices and we discuss the impact of the clocks going back and the lack of daylight on our mental health.
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Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Episode 76: Mental Health in Football(Jim Crawford)
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
"Did I take my foot off the pedal (when I got to Newcastle)? If I'm being honest I would 'yeah just slightly' compared to what I was like at Bohemians."
Episode 76:
This week we're straight talking mental health in football with Republic of Ireland Under 21 Manager Jim Crawford. Jim tells us about his own career and what it was like to move to Newcastle under Kevin Keegan & Kenny Dalglish, the toll it takes on young players moving away from home as teenagers, players that don't make it big and feeling like a failure, the psychology of great players like Ronaldo and how he tries to understand the motivation of young players playing for their country for pride or to enhance their brand.
Peter jumps back in and he's smiling as he prepares to go back over to watch Man Utd for the first time in 6 years (probably won't be smiling for long) and Allan is riled by the increased cases in women being spiked.
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Tuesday Nov 02, 2021
Episode 75: Psychosis (Jadey Swales-Barnes)
Tuesday Nov 02, 2021
Tuesday Nov 02, 2021
"I had quite a severe manic episode but nobody knew, because I was embarrassed.'"
Episode 75:
This week we're straight talking Psychosis with DJ Jadie Swales-Barnes. Jadie tells us about her diagnosis of psychosis, PTSD & Bipolar 1 and the childhood abuse and self harm from a young age which have contributed to her mental health over the years. We also discuss her multiple suicide attempts and her happiness at times at the decision to end her life, the side effects to the multiple medications she has been on over the years and how support from her partner and friends and her passion for music have pulled her out of that dark place.
Kamron is still going through the NCT rigmarole and is under even more pressure time wise after beginning her internship and Allan is riled by TikTok and female sports pundits being there just for the sake of it.
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Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Episode 74: Mental Health in America (Nick Daniel)
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
"I'm coming out saying 'someone's trying to hurt me' and they're coming out with their guns and hands on their holsters.'"
Episode 74:
This week we're straight talking Mental Health in America with author N. Daniel. Nick is an author and caregiver in Minneapolis who actually worked with George Floyd and he tells what his experience of George was like and his experience of the riots. Nick also opens up about his own mental health from suffering with PTSD, Bipolar 1 and anxiety to being committed to a mental health hospital by the courts. We also discuss the failings of the police in America in dealing with mental health issues and recidivism of former prison inmates.
Peter jumps back in for a week and both he and Allan just happen to be having bad days. Peter's night away sans kids is cancelled when one of the kids gets sick and Allan's pissed off with his autism and we discuss the controversy around Dave Chappelle's new stand up.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Episode 73: Immigration (Rocky Callen)
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
"I had a conversation recently where, her son was bi-racial and played football on the same field that there were Klan rallies still to this day'"
Episode 73:
This week we're straight talking Immigration with author Rocky Callen. Rocky is a 1st generation immigrant who at the age of 12 was advocating for bilingual court services in the US. Rocky tells us of her parent's experience of racism being Latin immigrants, we discuss the Netflix documentary "Immigration Nation", her book "A Breath Too Late", being body conscious of the Latina body type (pre J-Lo), being an intern at NASA at 12 and the mental health issues which resulted from the pressure she put herself under to achieve. Rocky also tells us about the HoldOn2Hope collective she set up and how it is used by artists to bring awareness to mental health.
Kamron's car faces the dreaded NCT and he's riled at the prospect of lockdown restrictions not ending in Ireland. Allan gets yet another shite meal up North, gets stood up by a guest and they're both smiling as the podcast reaches number 11 in the mental health podcast charts!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Oct 12, 2021
Episode 72: HUH - How‘s Ur Head (Mark Donnelly)
Tuesday Oct 12, 2021
Tuesday Oct 12, 2021
"I never knew what OCD was, I never knew about OCD until I started asking 'Why am I doing this?!'"
Episode 72:
This week we're straight talking HUH (How's Ur Head) with Mark Donnelly. Mark is the founder of HUH a clothing brand that donates 10% of all sales to mental health charities. We start from the beginning with Mark telling us about his own OCD behaviours that started around his fear of "tiger kidnappings" when he was young and it was only through researching mental health for HUH that he started to know what it was. We also discuss the GAA and mental health and how despite having a mental health charter, it doesn't manifest on a club level, Mark's setting up of HUH during lockdown, reverse culture shock as Mark returned to Ireland from America, companies jumping on the mental health bandwagon and Mark has advice for anyone interested in starting a business.
Kamron shows off his "News voice", Allan powers through the show after a root canal, we chat about Squid Games, Netflix cheating, Facebook down and we discuss how people need to be responsible for their own triggers around certain words.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
Episode 71: Endometriosis (Carly Pitman)
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
"I've never felt pain like it, I was climbing off the table begging for them to knock me out!"
Episode 71:
This week we're straight talking endometriosis with Carly Pitman. Carly explains what endometriosis is for us and tells us of her experience, how for years her condition was dismissed even by doctors, how she was so used to the pain every month from her period that what she thought was just another bad period was actually an ectopic pregnancy and we discuss why she thinks there needs to be more informed consent around the contraceptive pill. Carly also discusses her own mental health struggles from anxiety to depression and the "hell" she went through with the side effects of anti-depressants but how she believes they did actually save her life during lockdown.
Kamron is happy to be back in college properly but he is less than happy when his train home is cancelled and this time it's Allan's turn for his bank card to be hacked!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Episode 70: Miscarriage (Amy Egan)
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
"This is the most natural thing in the world for a woman to do, so why does my body keep rejecting my babies?"
Episode 70:
This week we're straight talking miscarriage with holistic therapist Amy Egan. Amy tells us how she always wanted children and assumed it was as easy as just deciding to get pregnant, how emotional she was when she would get her period, her first experience of a "missed miscarriage", her loss being dismissed by other people, how she punished her body for failing her, her second miscarriage and the anxiety that prevails even after her daughter was born.
Kamron adjusts to his new work and college schedule, he's riled at the housing crisis in Ireland, Allan is even dreaming at how bad the health service is and he weighs up the effort in vs reward out of the podcast.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Sep 21, 2021
Episode 69: Birth Mothers (Anne Marie)
Tuesday Sep 21, 2021
Tuesday Sep 21, 2021
"Society never backed us! No one said to me "here, you can keep your baby, we'll look after you"
Episode 69:
This week we're straight talking Birth Mothers with Anne Marie. Anne Marie is now a psychotherapist but at 18 as an unmarried mother, she was sent to live with a family as live in help to hide her pregnancy, before being forced to give up her baby for adoption. She also tells us of her horrific experience in the hospital, not just around giving birth, how she was treated, the shame she felt, the gossip in her small town that still prevails and she tells us what it was like when she did finally reconnect with her son
Kamron is relieved to find out he gets to complete his degree and we discuss the difficulty of social media around the podcast promotion. Allan watches the new Schumacher documentary and is riled by the "Pray Away" documentary about gay conversion therapy.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Episode 68: Crazy World/ Aslan (Billy McGuinness)
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
"We have to wrap Christy in cotton wool and look after him because, and I don't use this lightly, he is unique!"
Episode 68:
This week we're straight talking the "Crazy World" of Aslan with band member Billy McGuinness. Aslan are 40 years in the music business and are regarded as the band that "should have been as as big as U2". Billy tells us the highs and lows of the band, from starting in a literal pigsty to being multi-platinum, the depressing times of being dropped by two labels, having to go back on the dole and the disappearance of all the hangers on. Billy opens up about front man Christy Dignam's heroin addiction and cancer, Bono's relationship with Christy, what it's like for him and the rest of the band and the fear during covid if they would get to gig again with Christy's health.
Peter jumps back on for a week, which means him and Kamron pick on poor autistic Allan. Peter's life is a roller coaster... literally and the wasps are getting more hate. We discuss Michael Kenneth William's death and Allan is quite riled at seeing a young boy slapped by his mother in a shopping centre!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Episode 67: Carers (”Niamh”)
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
"There was times when she was in crisis and she wouldn't respond to anyone but me."
Episode 67:
This week we're straight talking carers with "Niamh". Niamh is a carer for her twin sister who has mental health issues. She tells us about the impact on her own mental health of being a carer, how she had to put her own life on hold, how much she repressed her own emotions, the constant state of anxiety of worrying if her sister would attempt suicide again and how carer support groups were not supportive!
Kamron is excited and terrified at the pending lifting of all covid restrictions as he reassesses his job, it's his turn to have a toothache and Allan cements his middle age by getting excited about a steam cleaner.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Episode 66: Young Adulthood(Verlin Darrow)
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
"Because I was the first guy in, I was the assistant guru that ran a little branch."
Episode 66:
This week we're straight talking young adulthood with author/ psychotherapist Verlin Darrow. Verlin tells us about his book Prodigy Quest and we discuss the difficulties faced at the developmental stage of being a young adult, the pressure to have the rest of your life figured out once you leave school/ college, as well as the social media pressures of what your life "should" look like. Verlin also discusses his time in helping set up a cult!
Kamron discusses what it's like to be a young adult, he gets his second vaccine and his bank contact him about credit card fraud... mid interview! We also discuss the option of podcast merchandise and Allan is pissed about the All Ireland hurling final!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email hello@stmhpodcast or check out www.stmhpodcast.com