BRAINZ PODCAST

Certainty Can’t Fix OCD, But This Can - Brainz Podcast with Lee Solomon

OCD specialist, therapist, educator and founder of The OCD Therapists, Lee Solomon joins the Brainz Podcast to explore one of the world’s most misunderstood mental-health conditions: obsessive-compulsive disorder. Drawing on his own lived experience and his work supporting clients, Lee reveals why OCD is about far more than being tidy or organised, and why intrusive thoughts can feel so frighteningly real.

In this episode, Lee explains how OCD can create an exhausting cycle of unwanted thoughts, distress and compulsions. He explores how checking, reassurance-seeking, researching, avoidance and rumination can become attempts to “fix” fear, and why the relentless hunt for certainty can quietly take over a person’s life.

Lee also shares his deeply personal journey with harm OCD, from living in fear of his own intrusive thoughts to finally understanding what was happening and finding a path forward. He discusses why OCD can affect even highly capable people and why recovery is not about trying to outthink every thought that appears.

From intrusive thoughts, compulsions and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to radical acceptance, uncertainty, self-compassion and the courage to face fear differently, this conversation offers an honest and practical look at OCD through the eyes of someone who has both lived it and dedicated his career to treating it. Lee also shares the message he most wants listeners to hear: your thoughts do not define you, and recovery is possible with the right support.

With podcast host Míceál O'Kane
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your Body Knows More Than You Think - Brainz Podcast with Andrea Hurst

Global wellness visionary and internationally recognised reflexology master Andrea Hurst joins the Brainz Podcast to explore the fascinating connection between the body, mind, emotions, and our overall wellbeing. Drawing on more than three decades of experience, Andrea reveals how reflexology can offer a unique window into the body and why learning to listen to what our bodies are telling us may be more important than we realise.

In this episode, Andrea explains what reflexology actually is and the ancient principles behind the practice, including the idea that the feet act as a mirror of the entire body. She shares how her highly personalised approach goes beyond relaxation, with treatments designed to consider physical wellbeing alongside a person's mental and emotional state.

Andrea also reflects on her remarkable international career, from working with high-profile clients and rehabilitation patients to receiving a US Green Card under the Extraordinary Ability category. She shares how decades of experience, meticulous attention to detail, consistency, and an unwavering commitment to her craft have shaped both her reputation and her approach to wellness.

From reflexology and holistic health to hydration, rest, resilience, complementary medicine, and learning to recognise what our bodies need, this conversation offers a fascinating look at wellness through the eyes of a practitioner who has spent more than 30 years studying and working with the human body. Andrea also reveals the mindset she credits for her success: patience, consistency, endurance, and resilience.

With podcast host Míceál O'Kane
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your Words Shape Who You Become - Brainz Podcast with Case Kenny

Author, keynote speaker, and leading voice on the language and psychology of optimism Case Kenny joins the Brainz Podcast to explore how the words we use can shape the way we feel, behave, and ultimately who we become.

In this episode, Case shares why optimism isn't simply positive thinking, but the belief that things can change. He explains how language can influence motivation, resilience, behaviour, and identity, and why the person we become is built through the small choices and actions we repeat every day.
The conversation also explores the surprising relationship between language and emotion, including why saying "I am anxious" or "I am sad" can cause us to identify with what we're feeling rather than see it as something we're experiencing. Case explains how changing the words we use can create distance from difficult emotions, shift our self-perception, and give us greater choice over how we respond.

Case also explores self-respect and relationships, why fear and scarcity can keep us in situations we've outgrown, why patience can be reframed as faith in ourselves, and why keeping the promises we've made to ourselves is one of the most powerful expressions of self-respect.

From optimism and identity to relationships, self-talk, emotions, and personal growth, this conversation reveals how seemingly small shifts in language can have a profound impact on how we experience ourselves and our lives - and why changing the way we speak to ourselves can begin to change who we become.

With podcast host Míceál O'Kane
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why A Pause Can Change Everything - Brainz Podcast with Engy Neville

Founder of Embracing Zen with Engy, Intuitive Leadership Strategist, and Conscious Leadership Mentor Engy Neville joins the Brainz Podcast to explore conscious leadership, why high achievers can unknowingly operate in survival mode, the power of the conscious pause, and why lasting transformation begins with understanding ourselves.

In this episode, Engy shares how more than three decades in corporate strategy and leadership shaped her understanding of the person behind the title. She explains why communication, delegation, and decision-making skills can only go so far when fear, perfectionism, insecurity, and the need for approval are still driving our behaviour, and how self-awareness can help leaders break unconscious patterns.

The conversation also explores why survival mode can look like success, the hidden cost of overworking, people-pleasing, and constantly chasing the next achievement, and how creating space between a trigger and response gives us greater awareness and choice. Engy also explores how intuition and strategy can work together, why fear and intuition feel fundamentally different, and why reinvention isn't about becoming someone new, but carrying forward the wisdom of who we've already been.

From conscious leadership and emotional intelligence to identity, intuition, survival mode, and personal transformation, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on understanding what drives us, releasing the patterns we've outgrown, and learning to lead and live with greater awareness, alignment, and intention.

With podcast host Míceál O'Kane
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Art Of Healthy Conflict - Brainz Podcast with Sandra Daniel

CEO and co-founder of Openfield Consulting Sandra Daniel joins the Brainz Podcast to explore the future of leadership, why so many organisational change efforts fail, how healthy cultures are intentionally designed, and why lasting transformation begins with people rather than processes.

In this episode, Sandra shares her journey into organisational transformation, revealing how decades of studying leadership, systems thinking, conflict, and human behaviour have shaped her approach to helping organisations navigate complexity. She explains why resistance to change is often misunderstood, why complexity shouldn't always be simplified, and how curiosity, trust, and psychological safety create the conditions for meaningful and sustainable change.

The conversation also explores the relationship between leadership and culture, the surprising reasons burnout can affect entire organisations rather than just individuals, the value of healthy conflict, and why the best leaders ask better questions instead of believing they need all the answers. Sandra also reflects on the 40-year life plan she wrote when she was younger, the importance of embracing uncertainty, and why collaboration, human connection, and shared purpose consistently outperform control, speed, and rigid top-down thinking.

From leadership and organisational culture to burnout, conflict, resilience, and navigating complexity, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on creating workplaces where people can adapt, thrive, and build lasting change together.

With podcast host Míceál O'Kane
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.