The serotonin theory of depression with Professor Joanna Moncrieff
Welcome to episode 200 with Professor Joanna Moncrieff who is a psychiatrist, author and researcher who is one of the founding members of the Critical Psychiatry Network.
In 2022, Joanna was the lead author of a study that explored the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory of depression and found that no clear evidence that serotonin levels or serotonin activity are responsible for depression.
The study became one of the 400 most shared of the 21 million papers that have ever been tracked and caused great debate throughout the mental health space.
In this episode I chat to Joanna about this research, what it involved and what the findings showed.
We chat about some of the response and criticism to this piece of work and how the chemical imbalance theory came to prominence in the first place.
We talk about some of the other’s factors that could be causing depression if it isn’t in fact serotonin as the research shows.
We also chat about depression, serotonin, anti-depressants, diagnosis and labels and what the future of mental health treatment and support could look like.
Medication is a very personal choice and the aim of this episode isn’t to debate or influence anyone on their views on anti-depressants, just simply to explore this aspect of the mental health conversation because I think that’s important.
Don’t make decisions about your own medication without discussing it with a medical professional.
You can find the original study here: The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence | Molecular Psychiatry
A summary of some of the responses and criticism here: expert reaction to a review paper on the ‘serotonin theory of depression’ | Science Media Centre
And a response from Joanna to that specific criticism here: Response to Criticism of Our Serotonin Paper - Mad In America
Joanna’s new book is called Chemically Imbalanced: the making and unmaking of the serotonin myth and it’s out now.
There is loads more information about Joanna’s work at her website https://joannamoncrieff.com
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.
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If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk
Thanks for listening!
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1:09:16
OCD, poetry and the day that Georgia Lock's brain broke
Welcome to episode 199 with Georgia Lock, who is an actor, poet and an advocate for obsessive compulsive disorder.
In this episode I chat to Georgia about the moment that her ‘brain broke’ and OCD became a part of her life.
We chat about what happened next, what helped looked like for her and how she manages her OCD on a day-to-day basis.
We chat about things like guilt, memory loss, community, going mental and being scared of your own brain.
Georgia uses poetry to explore and understand her diagnosis of OCD and has held workshops to help others to do the same and we chat about being creative and using words to take back control of your story.
It’s a powerful conversation about what it’s like to lose your mind and work to get it back again and it was a wonderful experience to hear Georgia’s story first hand.
Follow Georgia on social media @georgia_nathalie
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.
Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.
If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk
Thanks for listening!
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1:02:20
Why do men die by suicide? with Dr Susie Bennett
Welcome to episode 198 with Dr Susie Bennett, a psychologist and research fellow at the 'Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab' at the University of Glasgow.
Her work focuses on trying to understand why men are more at risk of suicide and what can be done to help more men access a dignified and meaningful life.
Through this work, Susie has been involved in reviewing two decades of research on male suicide, joining forces with 242 people impacted by male suicide to create an agenda of research priorities for male suicide and asking men who have been suicidal in the past week or year to tell her about the barriers they experience around accessing professional support.
In this episode I chat to Susie about why she got involved in researching such a specific topic and how the work has impacted how she sees the world.
We chat about some of the outcomes from her research and get in to things like the cultural norms of masculinity, gender bias and psychological pain and we chat about emotions, relationships and success and how they impact men specifically.
We also chat about how to move past awareness and just telling men to talk and what needs to change if we want to change the heartbreaking statistics around male suicide.
Susie’s work is fascinating and vital. It was an absolute pleasure to explore it with her.
This episode is a big one, we cover important things and things that are tricky to talk about but these are the conversations that we need to having and I hope you get a lot out of listening.
On Susie’s website, http://malesuicideresearch.com you can access all of the studies we talk about in this episode as well as all sorts of interesting reports and talks. Her socials are amazing too @male_suicide_research.
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.
Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.
If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk
Thanks for listening!
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1:17:54
Guardian of The Golden Gate Bridge. Preventing suicide with Kevin Briggs
Welcome to episode 197 with Kevin Briggs, who is a retired sergeant for the California Highway Patrol, known as the "Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge”.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California. It’s about 200 feet above the water and there are 6 lanes of traffic that cross the bridge as well as a separate pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. It is one of the most famous landmarks in the world, partly because of the incredible architecture but also because it’s reputation as a suicide hot spot.
Part of Kevin’s job, as part of the Highway Patrol was to respond to calls for anyone attempting suicide by jumping from the bride. He was the person responsible for talking them back over the railing and keep them safe. It’s estimated that Kevin helped around 200 individuals over his 20 years on the force.
In this episode I chat to Kevin about joining the force and how, as a new police officer, he had to learn very quickly how to talk people off the bridge despite having no formal training in this at all. We chat about what it was like to do this 4 or 5 times a month, just as part of his job and how his approach changed over the years.
We chat about how to talk to someone about suicide and the importance of actually listening and the difference between having these conversations in day to day life versus having them on a ledge, more than 200 feet above water.
We also chat about the picture of Kevin talking a man off the edge of the bridge, how that day played out and what it was like when that photo became famous all over the world.
I’m sure you’ve seen that photo; it does the rounds on social media all the time! It was incredible to chat to Kevin about that day and also all the other days and the work he does now.
He has so much experience in this space and so much knowledge and it was a real pleasure to chat!
There is everything you need to know about Kevin’s work and links to his Tedx at www.pivotal-points.com and you can follow him on social media @guardianofthegoldengate
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.
Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.
If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk
Thanks for listening!
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1:03:34
Professional rugby, plant medicine and The Hero's Journey with former Scotland international Rory Lamont
Welcome to episode 196 with Rory Lamont, who is a former professional Rugby Union player and the co-founder of CAIM, a health and wellness retreat centre in highland Scotland.
During his time as a professional rugby player, Rory played for Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks and Toulon. He has 29 international caps for Scotland and has represented his country in two world cups.
Over the years he was plagued by various injuries and concussions and whilst playing against Wales in the 2012 Six Nations tournament, he suffered a career ending leg break.
The injury, the surgeries, medical drugs and loss of both his career and identity pushed Rory in a mental and spiritual crisis which took him to the brink of ending his own life.
The collapse of his physical and mental health forced Rory to confront himself and he travelled to Costa Rica where he experienced the transformational healing power of the plant medicine Iboga which helped him to identify the changes he needed to make and he began the journey of healing and inner work that would lead him to the work he does now.
In this episode Rory guides me through the highs and lows of his rugby career and the injuries that kickstarted the decline in his mental health.
We chat about his first experience with plant medicine and how it helped him and we chat about what we can learn from depression, about learning to let go and to be vulnerable, the importance of healing as part of a community and why this work needs to be made more accessible.
We also chat about how scary it is to do these things, why men need rites of passage and the role of the hero’s journey and we chat about some of the incredible things that Rory has witnessed while holding space and supporting others.
It was wonderful to hear Rory’s story and how he learned to navigate his struggles. I can’t thank him enough for his openness. The work he does now feels vital and I came away from this conversation feeling hopeful and inspired.
Follow Rory @rory_lamont and @welcometocaim
Learn more about his work at www.welcometocaim.com
You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.
Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from.
If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk
Thanks for listening!
Ireland