Welcome to a brand new mental health podcast - Headstraight. My name's mark and I'm a mental health nurse with over three decades of experience working with adolescents and young adults who wanted to find better ways to manage their struggles and gain better mental heaalth.

If you're an adolescent or young adult looking for real answers to your mental health questions, you're in the right place. In each episode, I'll tackle your real-life questions head-on, offering practical advice that's easy to understand and put into action. No fancy jargon—just straightforward, practical solutions to help you see things more clearly.

But first, let me introduce you to the four main themes that will serve as the foundation for Headstraight:

1. Self-Awareness: I can't stress enough the importance of self-awareness as a fundamental aspect of personal growth and development. We'll explore understanding your emotions, recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, and cultivating mindfulness. This might be difficut for you, as I will ask you to directly challenge yourself, take an inward look and be open to learning about things you didn't know about yourself.

2. Taking Responsibility: Responsibility is a key component of a healthy mental outlook. I'll discuss the concept of taking responsibility for your actions, choices, and outcomes. We'll explore accountability, decision-making processes, and the positive impact of personal responsibility on your personal success. You will also learn that taking responsibility can free you from freeling out of control and helpless, helping you to become more empowered and in charge.

3. Effective Communication: Communication is essential in all aspects of life. I'll talk about the importance of effective communication skills, including active listening, assertiveness, conflict resolution, and building healthy relationships. Have you ever felt that others just don't hear or understand you? It may be that with new knowledge and tweeking how you connmmunicate, you'll have more successs and feel heard. Throughout the episodes, you'll get practical tips, communication exercises, and examples of effective communication in various contexts.

4. Making Change: Life is full of changes. . I'll explore the process of making positive changes in your life, covering topics like goal setting, overcoming obstacles, and developing resilience. You'll learn strategies for habit formation, time management, and self-motivation. Change sometimes doesn't feel easy, but it's really important if you're going to move forward and develop better mental health

So, how will this podcast be useful to me...? Throughout my work with adolescents and young people, I have been asked hundreds of questions about why they experience their lives the way they do, or why they feel a certain way. I've also heard so many adolescents and young people share their beliefs about themselves and the world around them that, if not explored, would make it difficult for them to move on and gain better mental health.

So for you, I have brought together the most common beliefs and questions that have been shared with me, and I'm going to exlore them, as I'm sure that some of you that are listening right now may be struggling with similar thoughts.

So, on each episode, I will take a question or belief and discuss it, for example, talking about how it may have formed and what effects this thought is having on your mental health. I'll then give you actionalble strategies that you can use to challenge the thought, to see things from a different perspective and ultimately, to gain better mental health.

A thought about your safety.. We, here at Headstraight can't provide you with direct support or treatment. This podcast is designed to give information and to help you to find better ways of managing, but it doesn't replace treatment. If you are actively hurting yourself or are having thoughts of doing so, you need to talk to a trusted adult.

So, come join us at Headstraight to learn and explore better ways to manage your mental health. Don't forget to subscribe - what would you like us to cover...? - send me a voice note - https://www.speakpipe.com/Headstraight

If you need more information about helplines, services or what do to if you're in a crisis, take a look at our resource page: https://www.headstraight.co.uk/resources

Click here to view the episode transcript.