Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast with Jeremy Godwin

Finding balance in life gets much easier once you stop treating ‘balance’ like a perfect state you’re supposed to reach and somehow maintain. Because it’s not. Most of us have been taught to think of balance as gkeeping every part of life neatly under control, or eventually arriving at a point where it all just works. But real balance is much more practical and realistic than that. It’s about continually deciding where your limited time and energy are best used, based on what matters most to you in the present and in the longer term. 
In this episode of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, I’ll help you rethink what finding balance actually means so that you can make better choices about where your energy goes. We’ll talk about how to stop measuring yourself against unrealistic standards, and how to create more room for the parts of your life that genuinely matter so that you can make balance something you can actually practice… instead of something you’re always trying to achieve. 

👉 Ready to find greater balance in your life? Then let's talk!

💡 TL;DR: Finding balance isn’t about somehow keeping everything equal; it’s about learning how to keep adjusting your time and energy towards what matters most now and in the longer term.

Let's Talk About Mental Health with Jeremy Godwin is about practical mental health advice for real life; each week I teach you how to improve your mental wellbeing with simple tips that actually work, drawing on my professional expertise as a counsellor and my personal experience living with anxiety and depression. Welcome and let's talk!

⏱️ Chapters/Timestamps:
0:00 Balance and mental health
0:34 Finding balance
3:24 What balance actually means
8:46 Why finding balance feels impossible
16:06 How to actually practice balance 
25:33 What I want you to take away

📝 Transcript & show notes: https://ltamh.com/?p=21524  

📖 Buy my book 'Life Advice That Doesn't Suck': https://jeremygodwin.com.au/latds/

📍 Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jeremygodwin

➕ Related episodes:
Finding balance (Episode 49): https://ltamh.com/?p=1986 
What are you really chasing in life? (Episode 349): https://ltamh.com/?p=21240

👋 New here?
Hi! I'm Jeremy Godwin, writer and counsellor plus the host of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, your weekly dose of practical advice for better mental health. I share straightforward tips to help you protect your peace and improve your mental health, with new episodes every Sunday.

🔗 Links:
Let's Talk About Mental Health website: https://ltamh.com
Subscribe for free show notes/transcripts in your inbox: https://ltamh.com/subscribe/
My Digital Store: https://ltamh.com/shop/
Daily Reflection Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/daily-reflection/
Daily Affirmations Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/affirmations/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ltamh
Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltamentalhealth/
Mental health resources: https://ltamh.com/resources/

#findingbalance #manageyourenergy #mentalhealthtips #balance #mindfulliving #mindfulness #mentalhealth #selfawareness #personalgrowth #selfdevelopment #protectyourpeace #ltamh #mentalhealthpodcast #mentalhealthawareness

Being present sounds like the simplest advice in the world... until you try to do it, and it turns out to be the toughest thing ever. This episode is about why being present matters, and why it's so hard to be present even when you try to be.
This week in the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast I'm digging into the practicalities of living in the present more as a tool for better mental health. This isn't yet another list of breathing tricks or five-minute rituals that never sticks; it's about why being present actually matters (hint: it's got far less to do with your mood, and a lot more to do with who you're becoming), and why it's genuinely so hard to do, especially when the world feels heavy and uncertain... and when the idea of 'presence' can start to feel like an unattainable goal. I'm taking an honest look at why your mind resists the present by default, and I'll step you through a handful of realistic and practical ways to actually show up for your own life... instead of just supervising it from a distance. If you've tried the usual 'be present!' advice before and it never really stuck, this episode is the missing piece. 

👉 Ready to start being more present in your life? Then let's talk!

💡 TL;DR: Being present is tough because your mind isn’t built to make it easy. This episode explains why, and how to overcome that challenge so you can be present more.

Let's Talk About Mental Health with Jeremy Godwin is about practical mental health advice for real life; each week I teach you how to improve your mental wellbeing with simple tips that actually work, drawing on my professional expertise as a counsellor and my personal experience living with anxiety and depression. Welcome and let's talk!

⏱️ Chapters/Timestamps:
0:00 Being present and mental health
0:41 Living in the present
2:40 What does it mean to be present?
6:43 Why being present is hard
12:51 How to actually live in the present
24:41 What I want you to take away

📝 Transcript & show notes: https://ltamh.com/?p=21448 

📖 Buy my book 'Life Advice That Doesn't Suck': https://jeremygodwin.com.au/latds/

📍 Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jeremygodwin

➕ Related episodes:
Feeling heavy emotionally (Episode 351): https://ltamh.com/?p=21318 
Overthinking and thought spirals (Episode 321): https://ltamh.com/?p=19518 
How to improve your mental health (Episode 338): https://ltamh.com/?p=20450

👋 New here?
Hi! I'm Jeremy Godwin, writer and counsellor plus the host of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, your weekly dose of practical advice for better mental health. I share straightforward tips to help you protect your peace and improve your mental health, with new episodes every Sunday.

🔗 Links:
Let's Talk About Mental Health website: https://ltamh.com
Subscribe for free show notes/transcripts in your inbox: https://ltamh.com/subscribe/
My Digital Store: https://ltamh.com/shop/
Daily Reflection Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/daily-reflection/
Daily Affirmations Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/affirmations/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ltamh
Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltamentalhealth/
Mental health resources: https://ltamh.com/resources/

📚 Research mentioned in this episode: 
Killingsworth & Gilbert (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, visit https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1192439 for more

#beingpresent #livinginthepresent #mentalhealthtips #mindfulliving #mindfulness #presentmoment #mentalhealth #selfawareness #personalgrowth #selfdevelopment #protectyourpeace #ltamh #mentalhealthpodcast #mentalhealthawareness

Why does everything feel so heavy sometimes, even on days when nothing's technically gone wrong? Let's talk about dealing with mental exhaustion and heaviness. 
In this episode of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, I dig into what's actually happening when that weighed-down feeling takes over: how your brain starts rationing your physical, mental, and emotional energy the moment it hits something it can't control, and why that rationing quietly shrinks parts of your life that had nothing to do with the original problem in the first place. This isn't about making the hard thing disappear (because you probably can't, or you'd have done it already); it's about catching the exact moment "I can't fix this" turns into "so I might as well stop trying at everything," and taking that power back before it costs you more than it should. Whether what's weighing on you is the news, your health, your relationships, or something you couldn't even name out loud yet, the pattern underneath is the same… and so is the way out of that pattern. And if you want to go deeper on the control piece specifically, my episode on focusing on what you can control (Episode 291) is a great one to pair with this. 

👉 Ready to stop letting heaviness and overwhelm shrink your life? Then let's talk!

💡 TL;DR: Feeling heavy and overwhelmed doesn't just make things tough, it quietly rations your energy and shrinks your whole life; this episode is about how to catch it happening and take your power back.

Let's Talk About Mental Health with Jeremy Godwin is about practical mental health advice for real life; each week I teach you how to improve your mental wellbeing with simple tips that actually work, drawing on my professional expertise as a counsellor and my personal experience living with anxiety and depression. Welcome and let's talk!

⏱️ Chapters/Timestamps:
0:00 Heaviness and mental health
0:30 Feeling heavy and overwhelmed?
2:04 What ‘feeling heavy’ actually means
8:39 Why feeling heavy affects your mental health
13:55 How to stop feeling heavy from shrinking your life
24:55 What I want you to take away

📝 Transcript & show notes: https://ltamh.com/?p=21318   

📖 Buy my book 'Life Advice That Doesn't Suck': https://jeremygodwin.com.au/latds/

📍 Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jeremygodwin

➕ Related episodes:
Overcoming hopelessness (Episode 297): https://ltamh.com/?p=17921  
Living with depression (Episode 188): https://ltamh.com/?p=11106  
Focusing on what you can control (Episode 291): https://ltamh.com/?p=17492  
Protecting your peace in chaotic times (Episode 315): https://ltamh.com/?p=19074  

👋 New here?
Hi! I'm Jeremy Godwin, writer and counsellor plus the host of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, your weekly dose of practical advice for better mental health. I share straightforward tips to help you protect your peace and improve your mental health, with new episodes every Sunday.

🔗 Links:
Let's Talk About Mental Health website: https://ltamh.com
Subscribe for free show notes/transcripts in your inbox: https://ltamh.com/subscribe/
My Digital Store: https://ltamh.com/shop/
Daily Reflection Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/daily-reflection/
Daily Affirmations Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/affirmations/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ltamh
Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltamentalhealth/
Mental health resources: https://ltamh.com/resources/

📚 Research mentioned in this episode:
Learned helplessness, visit psychologytoday.com/us/basics/learned-helplessness for more

#overwhelm #existentialdread #mentalhealthtips #feelingoverwhelmed #whydoifeellikethis #thingsicantcontrol #learnedhelplessness #emotionalexhaustion #mentalexhaustion #protectyourpeace #ltamh #mentalhealthpodcast #mentalhealthawareness #createyourfuture

Why is it so hard to work out how to actually create the life you want? What does it take to change your life? And why do so many of us stay stuck in the same patterns, waiting to feel ready and telling ourselves we'll get there "someday," or quietly turning all of our research and reflection into a substitute for real action? It's time to stop waiting for life to start and start taking action today to live the life you want, one that's focused on your mental wellbeing... and this episode will help you do that.

In Episode 350 of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, I explain how to start achieving goals and creating the life you want. We’ll discuss why simply visualising your future can work against you, and I share the handful of simple and practical shifts you can make that will close the gap between knowing and doing; the kind that make starting feel manageable instead of overwhelming, and that hold up even when finding motivation feels difficult. I also touch on how comparing yourself to others and their timelines can quietly pull you off course, and why keeping small promises to yourself is what actually rebuilds trust in your own follow-through. 

If you've been feeling stuck in the same patterns and wondering how to take action in your life without waiting for the ‘right’ moment, this one's for you. And if you're still working out what you genuinely want first, Episode 349 is the natural place to start.

👉 Ready to stop waiting and actually start building the life you want? Then let's talk!

💡 TL;DR: Your life won't change on its own, and waiting for it to change doesn’t work, so this episode shows you how to stop overthinking things and actually start creating the life you want.

Let's Talk About Mental Health with Jeremy Godwin is about practical mental health advice for real life; each week I teach you how to improve your mental wellbeing with simple tips that actually work, drawing on my professional expertise as a counsellor and my personal experience living with anxiety and depression. Welcome and let's talk!

⏱️ Chapters/Timestamps:
0:00 How to change your life
0:44 Create the life you want
2:08 What creating the life you want actually means
7:32 Why knowing what you want isn’t enough
13:05 How to actually build the future you want
23:05 What I want you to take away

📝 Transcript & show notes: https://ltamh.com/?p=21318

📖 Buy my book 'Life Advice That Doesn't Suck': https://jeremygodwin.com.au/latds/

📍 Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jeremygodwin

➕ Related episodes:
What are you really chasing in life? (Episode 349): https://ltamh.com/?p=21240
Stop being hard on yourself (Episode 343): https://ltamh.com/?p=20759
Why figuring out what you want is scary (Episode 341): https://ltamh.com/?p=20629

👋 New here?
Hi! I'm Jeremy Godwin, writer and counsellor plus the host of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, your weekly dose of practical advice for better mental health. I share straightforward tips to help you protect your peace and improve your mental health, with new episodes every Sunday.

🔗 Links:
Let's Talk About Mental Health website: https://ltamh.com
Subscribe for free show notes/transcripts in your inbox: https://ltamh.com/subscribe/
My Digital Store: https://ltamh.com/shop/
Daily Reflection Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/daily-reflection/
Daily Affirmations Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/affirmations/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ltamh
Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltamentalhealth/
Mental health resources: https://ltamh.com/resources/

📚 Research mentioned in this episode:
Gabriele Oettingen's WOOP method, visit woopmylife.org for more

#createyourfuture #personalgrowth #mentalhealthtips #bettermentalhealth #mentalhealth #mentalhealthpodcast #lifepurpose #purposeandmeaning #selfawareness #intentionalliving #goalsetting  #selfimprovement #procrastination #mindsetshift

Do you know what you’re actually chasing in life, and why? Are you clear on what actually matters to you? Because those are essential ingredients for better mental health.

This episode is about understanding your why, as well as the real difference between what you want and what actually matters and how that shapes whether you're living with purpose or just running on autopilot. I get into why so many of us end up chasing the wrong things, especially in a culture that's much better at telling you what to want than helping you ask why, and I talk about why finding purpose and meaning starts with being really honest about your own reasons for pursuing things rather than the results. You'll walk away from this episode with a genuine way to check whether your goals are actually aligned with what matters to you, so that your next move comes from something real rather than someone else's idea of ‘a life well lived’. If you've ever felt like you're doing everything right and yet still can't shake the sense that something's missing, then this episode is for you. 

👉 Ready to work out what you're actually chasing, and why? Then let's talk!

💡 TL;DR: What are you actually chasing in life? Because achieving everything on your list doesn't mean much if you've never actually stopped to ask yourself why you wanted any of it… and that’s what this episode will help you do.

Let's Talk About Mental Health with Jeremy Godwin is about practical mental health advice for real life; each week I teach you how to improve your mental wellbeing with simple tips that actually work, drawing on my professional expertise as a counsellor and my personal experience living with anxiety and depression. Welcome and let's talk!

⏱️ Chapters/Timestamps:
0:00 What are you actually pursuing in life?
0:40 Understanding what you’re chasing in life
3:25 Do you know what you’re pursuing?
9:55 Why understanding your ‘why’ matters
17:01 How to identify what you’re really chasing
24:03 What I want you to take away

📝 Transcript & show notes: https://ltamh.com/?p=21240  

📖 Buy my book 'Life Advice That Doesn't Suck': https://jeremygodwin.com.au/latds/

📍 Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jeremygodwin

➕ Related episodes:
Focusing on what matters (Episode 306): https://ltamh.com/?p=18636
Why figuring out what you want is so scary (Episode 341): https://ltamh.com/?p=20629  

👋 New here?
Hi! I'm Jeremy Godwin, writer and counsellor plus the host of the Let's Talk About Mental Health podcast, your weekly dose of practical advice for better mental health. I share straightforward tips to help you protect your peace and improve your mental health, with new episodes every Sunday.

🔗 Links:
Let's Talk About Mental Health website: https://ltamh.com
Subscribe for free show notes/transcripts in your inbox: https://ltamh.com/subscribe/
My Digital Store: https://ltamh.com/shop/
Daily Reflection Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/daily-reflection/
Daily Affirmations Tool: https://ltamh.com/product/affirmations/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ltamh
Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltamentalhealth/
Mental health resources: https://ltamh.com/resources/

📖 Sources:
APA (2023) https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/purpose-in-life-less-stress-better-mental-health 
Boreham & Schutte (2023) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.23576 

#whatareyouchasing #findingpurpose #mentalhealthtips #bettermentalhealth #mentalhealth #mentalhealthpodcast #lifepurpose #understandingyourwhy #livingwithpurpose #purposeandmeaning #mentalhealthmatters #selfawareness #intentionalliving #findingmeaning