The Hardcore Self-Help Podcast with Duff the Psych

My wife, Joelle is back on the podcast today. We talk about lots of stuff including anxiety and pregnancy, our plans for the new baby, communication within our relationship, and we also answer some listener questions. Enjoy! Next week will probably be a normal episode, but after that there will be some mini-episodes and guest spots, as I go on paternity leave. Definitely keep sending me your awesome questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com

Here we are. It's 2018. Crazy. In this episode, I reflect on the past year and talk about my hopes and goals for 2018. I talk a bit about my personal life, my professional life, and this podcast. Please stop by Twitter or Facebook and let me know what your hopes for the year are! If you want to send me a question for a future episode, you can reach me at duffthepsych@gmail.com.

I know I already did a holiday themed episode, but I figured you guys could use a little more love as you continue through the holiday season. Rather than answering your questions today, I'm going to lead you through a guided relaxation designed to help you de-stress and relieve some of the stress that often accompanies the holidays. Give yourself the gift of relaxation. Put in some headphones. Chill with me. I got you. No episode next week. Back at it the week after. Keep sending me your questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com Background music credit: https://cctrax.com/cousin-silas/landscapes

Today is a question and answer episode. I'm doing two questions instead of three today, just because I've gotta get up early for a talk I'm giving tomorrow. I think these are two really great questions though. In one of the questions, I reference a video with Kristen Bell, which you can check out at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYUQ_nlZgWE In the other, I reference the cycle of abuse image, which you can see here: http://teaminfocus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Cycle-of-Abuse.png Here are the questions: How can I help my children, who are starting to show signs of depression and anxiety, when I can't even help myself? How can I recognize and move past abuse when I'm unsure about whether I have been abused? As always you can send your questions in to duffthepsych@gmail.com

Hey, friends. I'm not sure if you saw the news, but southern California is on fire. I'm safe, but a lot of friends and acquaintances are not. I'm in this eerie spot where we are very close to the fires, but at very low risk, so "normal" life continues on. Decided to do an episode with some of my tips for getting through disasters like this including: Understanding stress vs anxiety Prepping to avoid freezing Mental rehearsal Importance of rest Focusing on what you DO have control over Mindfulness in disaster situations Finding comfort in the small moments Keeping routine where you can Talking about event without re-traumatizing Processing your feelings Getting help Managing social media consumption Not sure what format next week's episode will be, but please feel free to keep sending your questions over to duffthepsych@gmail.com and be sure to check out the info for my upcoming course at duffthepsych.com/course

Hello, my friends! This episode is just a straight forward question and answer episode with some really awesome questions. This week I am also working on a book proposal for a traditional publisher, which means that you would be able to buy this potential book in stores. That's a bucket list item of mine and I'm excited to keep you updated in the coming weeks/months. Here are the questions for this episode: How can I get help when I'm too anxious to call a therapist? How can I get over my fear of vomiting? How can I get through high school when I have been depressed for years? As always you can send me your questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com

The holidays are crazy for everybody and they can be particularly stressful if you deal with any mental health issues. In this episode of the podcast, I share a few tips that can help you stay afloat during the Holiday season. If you have other tips that work well for you, please share them with my on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych and I will RT them for my audience!

This is a deep dive episode where I spend the entire time talking about one topic of interest rather than taking questions from the audience. In this episode, I cover something that I've been meaning to talk about for a while, which is the word "trigger" and the term 'trigger warning". I cover what the term "actually" means, where it came from, and my mixed feelings about the way that trigger warnings or content warnings are used these days. A the end, I also give some practical tips for when social media becomes too triggering. Next episode will be either an interview with Brent Williams, who wrote the Out of the Woods graphic novel that I review here or just a regular Q&A. Please keep sending me your awesome questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com

Thanks for having some fun with me for the Halloween episode last week. This one will be a regular Q&A episode. I wanted to give a quick shout out to my buddy Speeks Geak for hooking me up with the new intro and outro beat. Check him out over at: https://twitter.com/SpeeksGeak909 In this episode, I cover some great questions on a variety of topics. Here is what I cover: What is bipolar depression? How is it different than "regular" depression? How should I tell my therapist that I don't want to work with them anymore? How do I get my files from them? What can I do about my grandparent with dementia not remembering their spouse? As always you can send me your questions to duffthepsych@gmail.com and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/duffthepsych

This week we are doing something a little different. I wanted to get into the Halloween spirit, so today on the podcast, I tell you the story of 4 spooky psychology experiments that reveal the darker side of the human condition.